''Kartar Singh'' is a 1959 Pakistani Punjabi film about the

partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

in 1947 and the widespread violence related to it. It describes the conflicts between

Hindus Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

and the

Sikhs Sikhs ( or ; pa, ਸਿੱਖ, ' ) are people who adhere to Sikhism (Sikhi), a monotheistic religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ...

. This film is said to be based on real-life events in 1947. The title role is about an

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

Kartar Singh who is a petty criminal and a trouble-maker, played by Allauddin who became very well-known after it, and often remembered as Kartar Singh. On seeing this film in Indian Punjab theater screens, it is said that Sikhs failed to recognize him as a Muslim, as he is not a Sikh in real life. ''Kartar Singh'' is considered to be one of the blockbuster Punjabi films in Pakistan and ranks highly in the history of

Punjabi cinema Punjabi cinema, sometimes Metonymy, metonymously referred to as Pollywood or Punjwood is the Punjabi language, Punjabi-language film industry centered around the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, and based in Amritsar and Mohali. The ci ...

. This film was also shown for three years in East Punjab, India.Kartar Singh (1959 film) – a film review on Google Books website
Retrieved 7 June 2022

Crew's Background

The director and producer of this film

Saifuddin Saif Saifuddin Saif (20 July 1922 12 July 1993) was a Pakistani lyricist, poet, film producer-director, and the founder of Rehnuma Films, a film studio of 1954. He was involved in writing poems and lyrics before and after the Partition. However, ...

had migrated to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

after directly experiencing tragic events of

Partition of India The Partition of British India in 1947 was the Partition (politics), change of political borders and the division of other assets that accompanied the dissolution of the British Raj in South Asia and the creation of two independent dominions: ...

in 1947. He was a respected leftist intellectual of

who was also a member of many progressive movements in Pakistan in the 1950s. Saifuddin Saif was born in

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

in 1922 and died on 12 July 1993 at

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

at age 71.

Plot Summary

This film is set in a village in

Punjab, India Punjab (; ) is a States and union territories of India, state in northern India. Forming part of the larger Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, the state is bordered by the States and union territories of India, Indian states of Himachal ...

where Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs are shown to be living peacefully before 1947. Vaid Prem Nath is well respected in the village. Umer Din is a

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

veteran who has fought in

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

and lives in the village. Kartar Singh is the main villain who is a petty criminal and a trouble-maker in the village. When

happens, the Muslims of the village including Umer Din and his love interest Laila want to migrate to Pakistan. As they are leaving, there is hostility and violence everywhere in the village. During this time, Umer Din's sister is abducted by the Sikhs but she is protected by an elderly Sikh who gives her shelter and looks after her. When his son tries to force himself on her, the old man kills him. The old man sends Umer Din a letter that his sister is safe and unviolated and sends her safely back to Pakistan. Kartar Singh, on one of his raids into Pakistan, has a scuffle with Umer Din, who works with the Pakistan Border Police, at the border. Umer Din shoots him but just wounds him and lets him escape back to India. His life saved, Kartar Singh has a change of heart. In order to redeem himself, he takes Umer Din's younger brother, sheltered by Vaid Prem Nath, back to him in Pakistan. But Kartar Singh himself is killed at the border as Umer Din suspects he has come on one of his raids again and shoots him down.

Cast

* Allauddin as Kartar Singh * Zarif as Vaid Prem Nath, a local Hindu ''Hakim'' *

Sudhir Sudhir is an Indian given name, Indian masculine given name. The Sanskrit word ' means "very wise", "resolute". Notable people with the name include: *Sudhir (Pakistani actor) (1922–1997), Pakistani actor *Sudhir (Hindi actor) (1944–2014), ...

as Umer Din, a veteran soldier of

Musarrat Nazir Musarrat Nazir Khawaja ( ur, ; born 13 October 1937) is a Pakistani singer and film actress, who acted in many Urdu and Punjabi films. She, many years later, also sang solo, mostly wedding and folk songs. Early life Her parents were a Punja ...

as love interest of Umer Din * Laila as sister of Umer Din *

Bahar Begum Bahar Begum (born Kishwar Begum; ) is an actress best known for many Pakistani movies since 1956. She was first introduced to the Pakistani film industry by the renowned film director Anwar Kamal Pasha in film Chann Mahi (1956). Anwar Kamal P ...

as friend of love interest of Umer Din * Fazal Haq as village shop-keeper *

Inayat Hussain Bhatti Inayat Hussain Bhatti ( ur, ), (12 January 1928 – 31 May 1999) was a Pakistani film playback singer, film actor, producer, director, script writer, social worker, columnist, religious scholar and a promoter of the development of the Punj ...

as village street singer *

M. Ajmal Mohammad Ajmal Qadri (popularly known as Ajmal) (17 May 1910 – 19 June 1988) was best known for his role as ''Kaido'' in classic Pakistani Punjabi film Heer Ranjha (1970 film). This film had super-hit music by music director Khwaja Khurs ...

as Jarnail Sehan Singh

Release

The film was released on 18 June 1959 on the

Eid-ul-Azha Eid al-Adha () is the second and the larger of the two main holidays celebrated in Islam (the other being Eid al-Fitr). It honours the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (Ishmael) as an act of obedience to Allah's comm ...

day in

Music and Songs

The music of the film was composed by Salim Iqbal. The lyrics were written by

Amrita Pritam Amrita Pritam (; 31 August 1919 – 31 October 2005) was an Indian novelist, essayist and poet, who wrote in Punjabi and Hindi. A prominent figure in Punjabi literature, she is the recipient of the 1956 Sahitya Akademi Award. Her body of wo ...

, Waris Ludhianvi and

himself, the producer and director of the film. The playback singers included

Zubaida Khanum Zubaida Khanum (1935 – 19 October 2013) was a Pakistani playback singer who recorded over 250 songs during Golden Age of Pakistani film music of 1950s and 1960s. She was considered Pakistani equivalent to Marni Nixon of Hollywood for givi ...

, Saleem Raza and

Naseem Begum Naseem Begum ( ur, ), (24 February 1936 – 29 September 1971) was a popular, and well known Pakistani film playback singer. She was known as ''The Tradegy Queen'' for singing sorrowful and downhearted songs in films. She rose to promine ...

and ''Sain Akhtar''. *"

Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu (English: "Today I Invoke Waris Shah" or "I Say Unto Waris Shah", Punjabi: , ਅੱਜ ਆਖਾਂ ਵਾਰਸ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੂੰ) is a famous dirge by the renowned Punjabi writer and poet Amrita Pritam (1919-2005 ...

" – Sung by

, lyrics by

*"Ajj Mukk Gayee Ae Gaman Wali Shaam, Tainu Sahda Pehla Salaam" – Sung by Saleem Raza,

, lyrics by

*"Gori Gori Chandni di Thandi Thandi Chhan Ni" – Sung by

, lyrics of all other film songs are by ''Waris Ludhianvi''. *"Rab Ik Bujharat" – Sung by Saleem Raza, lyrics by the

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

poet

Waris Shah Waris Shah ( pa, ; ; 1722–1798) was a Punjabi Sufi poet of the Chishti order, known for his contribution to Punjabi literature. He is primarily known as the author of ''Heer Ranjha'' . Background Waris Shah was born in Jandiala Sher Kh ...

*"Baarin Barsi Khattan Gaya Si" – Sung by ''Sain Akhtar'' and chorus — a Banghra song *"Mahi Ne Tainu Le Jaana Ni Goriye" – Sung by

*"Desan Da Raja Meray Babul Da Pyaara" – Sung by

and others

Reviews and response

In Pakistan

This film is considered to be as one of the greatest Punjabi films of

. Highest-grossing film of its time and one of the highest-grossing film of Pakistani film industry. Film crew included most popular talent of the

Pakistani film industry Cinema of Pakistan, popularly known as Lollywood ( ur, ), refers to the filmmaking industry in Pakistan. Pakistan is home to several film studios centres, primarily located in its three largest cities – Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad. ...

, was a top hero of Pakistani films for four decades.

later known for her rendering and popularisation of Punjabi folk songs like ''Mera Laung Gawacha'' and ''Lathhe Di Chaadar''. She was a popular lead actress of Punjabi films in the 1950s and 1960s.

Ajmal Ajmal is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: * M. Ajmal, Pakistani film old best actor * Ajmal Ameer, Indian actor in Tamil and Malayalam film Industries * Ajmal Kasab, Pakistani terrorist * Ajmal Khattak, Pakista ...

was also a great Pakistani performer. Actress

was in a supporting role of a mother. She became popular for supporting roles like mother of

Sultan Rahi Sultan Rahi ( ur, ﺳﻠﻄﺎﻥ ﺭﺍﮨﯽ ; June 24, 1938 – January 9, 1996) was a Pakistani actor, producer and screenwriter. He established himself as one of the leading and most successful actors of Pakistani and Punjabi cinema, and ...

in most of the Punjabi films of 1980s. Laila became well-known for one of the popular wedding songs of the film. She was given lead roles in films after the popularity of her wedding song in this film and ''Zarif'' who had a role of a Hindu, was a great comedian of Pakistan film industry. He was the elder brother of famous comedian

Munawar Zarif Munawar Zarif ( Punjabi, ur, منور ظریف) (25 December 1940 – 29 April 1976) was a Pakistani film actor and comedian. His fans named him ''Shahenshah-e-Zarafat'' ( ur, شہنشاہِ ﻇﺮﺍﻓﺖ), meaning ''The Emperor of Humo ...

. ''Fazl Haq'' and ''Ghulam Mohammed'' were senior actors and were included in most of the films of that time. Playback singer

also performed in this film. He was known as a film hero only for some films but as a playback singer for many. The iconic actor of

Pakistani cinema Cinema of Pakistan, popularly known as Lollywood ( ur, ), refers to the film industry, filmmaking industry in Pakistan. Pakistan is home to several film studios centres, primarily located in its three largest cities – Karachi, Lahore, and ...

Allauddin was given the film's title role. His Punjabi dialogue spoken by the Sikhs became very popular. Film song

Ajj aakhaan Waris Shah nu Ajj Aakhaan Waris Shah Nu (English: "Today I Invoke Waris Shah" or "I Say Unto Waris Shah", Punjabi: , ਅੱਜ ਆਖਾਂ ਵਾਰਸ ਸ਼ਾਹ ਨੂੰ) is a famous dirge by the renowned Punjabi writer and poet Amrita Pritam (1919-2005 ...

was a poem written by

in reaction to

after her first-hand experience of the tragic events. She was loved on both sides of the border. As a token of respect and love, the Punjabi poets of

from the ''Punjab Academy'', Pakistan sent her ''chaddars'' (green silk sheets edged with gold) from the tombs of

and fellow

mystic poets

Bulle Shah Syed Abdullah Shah Qadri ( pa, ; ; 1680–1757), known popularly as Bulleh Shah ( pa, ; ) and Bulleya, was a Punjabi philosopher and Sufi poet during 17th-century Punjab. His ancestors had migrated from Bukhara (modern-day Uzbekistan ...

and

Sultan Bahu Sultan Bahu ( pa, , ਸੁਲਤਾਨ ਬਾਹੂ ; also spelled Bahoo; 17 January 1630 – 1 March 1691), was a 17th-century Punjabi Sufi mystic, poet, scholar and historian. He was active in the Punjab region (present-day Pakistan) duri ...

. This touched her the most and

had her picture taken with these ''chaddars''. In 2015, Kartar Singh (1959 film) was screened by the ''Mandwa Film Club'' at the

National Institute of Folk and Traditional Heritage Heritage Museum ( ur, ), also known as Lok Virsa Museum is a museum administered and managed by Lok Virsa - National Institute of Folk & Traditional Heritage. It is a museum of history and culture in Islamabad, Pakistan, located on the Shakarpa ...

(

Lok Virsa Museum Heritage Museum ( ur, ), also known as Lok Virsa Museum is a museum administered and managed by Lok Virsa - National Institute of Folk & Traditional Heritage. It is a museum of history and culture in Islamabad, Pakistan, located on the Shakarpa ...

) in

Islamabad Islamabad (; ur, , ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's ninth-most populous city, with a population of over 1.2 million people, and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital T ...

, Pakistan. "It was the third film featured by the film club as part of an ongoing series."

In India

It is reportedly said that this film was shown for three years in

. A major Indian movie website 'upperstall.com' gives a detailed review of this film and comments, "The film manages to bring out the horrors of partition, of how man debased himself totally and the absolute, senseless violence he unleashed on a fellow human being in the name of religion. In fact, what strikes one as a pleasant surprise about ''Kartar Singh'', actually is the restraint in the story in terms of dealing with the various communities and bringing forth the message of humanity."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kartar Singh (1959 film) Punjabi-language Pakistani films 1959 films Films set in Lahore Pakistani black-and-white films Films set in the partition of India