Munawar Sultana (8 November 1924 – 15 September 2007) was an

Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, Ko ...

actress, who acted in

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

films. She is cited as one of the "popular" actresses of the late 1940s to early 1950s period, along with

Noor Jehan Noor Jehan ( Punjabi: ) (born () Allah Rakhi Wasai ; 23 September 1926 – 23 December 2000; sometimes spelled Noorjehan),Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema,'' British Film Institute, Oxford University Pres ...

, Swarnalata and Ragini. Her specialty was playing a selfless woman, enduring the rough treatment meted by her husband and family, but who eventually "brought her erring husband back home". She came into prominence with Mazhar Khan's ''Pehli Nazar'' (1945), her first film in a leading role. A discovery of actor-producer-director Mazhar Khan, she became inundated with film offers, becoming one of the busiest actresses by 1949, along with other leading ladies such as

Suraiya Suraiya Jamal Sheikh (15 June 1929 – 31 January 2004), popularly known by the mononym Suraiya, was a popular actress and playback singer in India's Hindi-language films. She was active from 1936 to 1963, and was the most celebrated actress ...

and Nargis. She starred in films with the leading heroes of the era like

Prithviraj Kapoor Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an Indian actor who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and establish ...

Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...

Surendra Surendra is an Indian masculine given name. Notable people with this name include: * Surendra (actor/singer) * Surendra Bhave * Surendra Chaturvedi * Surendra Dubey * Surendra Gambhir * Surendra Hiranandani * Surendra Jain * Surendra Jha 'Sum ...

, Motilal,

Trilok Kapoor Trilok Kapoor (11 February 1912 23 September 1988) was an Indian actor and a member of the Kapoor family who worked in Bollywood films. He was the younger brother of actor Prithviraj Kapoor. Early and personal life Trilok was born as the seco ...

Mahipal Mahipal (1919 -2005) was an Indian actor who worked in bollywood mostly in stunt films like ''Parasmani, Zabak, Cobra Girl, Jantar Mantar, Arabian nights themed movies such as Alibaba and 40 Thieves, Aladdin Aur Jadui Chirag, Roop Lekha, Sune ...

etc. Some of her successful films were ''Pehli Nazar'', '' Dard'' (1947), '' Elaan'' (1947) ''Kaneez'' (1947), and '' Babul'' (1950).

Early life

Munawar Sultana was born on 8 November 1924, in

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. ...

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

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 ...

, into a strict

Punjabi Muslim Punjabi Muslims ( pa, ) are adherents of Islam who identify linguistically, culturally, and genealogically as Punjabis. Primarily geographically native to the Punjab province of Pakistan today, many have ancestry in the entire Punjab region, ...

family. According to an interview with son Sarfaraz and daughter Shaheen, conducted by Shishir Krishna Sharma, Munawwar's father was a radio announcer. Munawwar wanted to become a doctor, but was side-tracked by an offer in films. This was a small role in the film, Dalsukh Pancholi's '' Khazanchi'' (1941), where she played a barmaid, and had a song, "Peene Ke Din Aaye" picturised on her. She went by the screen name Asha for this period.Filmography of Munawar Sultana on Cinestaan.com website
Retrieved 18 January 2022 According to Patel, Munawwar came to

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

from Lahore, courtesy of the actor-director Mazhar Khan in 1945. She became popular with her film ''Pehli Nazar'', a role she stated was one of her favourites.

Career

In 1945, she was visited in Lahore by producer-actor-director Mazhar Khan, who contracted her on a monthly fee of Rs. 4000 plus an apartment, and brought her to Bombay. Munawar's first film with Mazhar was ''Pehli Nazar'', where she was cast opposite actor Motilal. In the popular song "Dil Jalta Hai Toh Jalne Do" (Let the Aflame Heart Burn) playbacked by singer Mukesh for Motilal, Khan focused on Munawar's close-ups during the picturisation.

1940s

Following ''Pehli Nazar'', she was kept busy through 1947 to 1949 working in several films.

Baburao Patel Baburao Patel (1904–1982) was an Indian publisher and writer, associated with films and politics. Career He was the editor and publisher of India's first film trade magazine, ''Filmindia'', the first edition of which was published in 1935. B ...

wrote in the cine-mag

Filmindia ''filmindia'' is an Indian monthly magazine covering Indian cinema and published in English language. Started by Baburao Patel in 1935, ''filmindia'' was the first English film periodical to be published from Bombay. The magazine was reportedl ...

1949, about her being one of the most over-worked actresses along with Suraiya and Nargis. In 1947, Munawar acted in four films ''Dard'', ''Elaan'', ''Andhon Ki Duniya'' and ''Naiyya''. ''Dard'' was directed by

Abdul Rashid Kardar Abdur Rashid Kardar (1904–1989) was an Indian film actor, director and producer. He is credited with establishing the film industry in the Bhati Gate locality of Lahore, British India (now in Pakistan). The hero of the film was Kardar's brother Nusrat (Kardar), while

played the second lead, with Munawwar Sultana as the main heroine. Munawwar lip-synced three songs voiced for her by Uma Devi, a Naushad discovery. The song "Afsana Likh Rahin Hoon" became a big success. '' Elaan'' garnered positive reviews for Munawwar. A Muslim social, the film was praised for its "progressive attitude" towards the need of education. It was directed by

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 ...

and had Surendra as the male lead. 1948 saw Munawar in four more films. ''Parai Aag'' was produced by Great India Pictures and directed by Najam Naqvi. The film starred Munawar with

Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress and producer who worked in Hindi-language films. She ranked as one of the highest-paid entertainers in India in the post-independence era, ...

and Ulhas. ''Sona'' (''Gold'') was another Mazhar Khan-directed film for his Mazhar Arts Production. ''Majboor'' was a

Bombay Talkies Bombay Talkies was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation, Bombay Talkies produced 40 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay. The studio was established in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. After Ra ...

production, under the direction of Nazir Ajmeri. It had

Shyam Shyam is a name of Krishna and an Indian masculine given name and surname. Notable people with this name include: ;Shyam *Shyam (actor), Indian Hindi film actor *Shyam (composer), an Indian music composer from Kerala * Shyam Benegal, Indian film di ...

opposite Munawwar with music by Ghulam Haider. Bombay Talkies had gone through several changes following

Himanshu Rai Himanshu Rai (1892 – 16 May 1940), one of the pioneers of Indian cinema, is best known as the founder of the studio in 1934, along with Devika Rani. He was associated with a number of movies, including ''Goddess'' (1922), ''The Light of Asia ...

's death, and

Devika Rani Devika Rani Choudhuri (30 March 1908 – 9 March 1994), usually known as Devika Rani, was an Indian actress who was active in Hindi films during the 1930s and 1940s. Widely acknowledged as the first lady of Indian cinema, Devika Rani ha ...

's partnership with S. Mukherjee had produced several box office hits. With first, Mukherjee, and then Devika Rani leaving as head of production of Bombay Talkies,

Ashok Kumar Kumudlal Ganguly (13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), better known by his stage name Ashok Kumar and also by Dadamoni, was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema and who was a member of the cinematic Ganguly family. He ...

and S. Vacha returned to Bombay Talkies and took over control. Their first film was ''Majboor''. The story was an "inter-communal" love story, with a Muslim boy falling for a Hindu girl. Munawwar formed a "hit-pairing" with Shyam in this film, while Lata Mangeshkar came into prominence under the music direction of Ghulam Haider. ''Meri Kahani'' was directed by cameraman Keki Mistry and produced by Sharaf for Super Team Federal Productions (Bombay). The film co-starred Munawwar and

with Surendra. A comedy of errors, it has the hero in a double role leading to mistaken identities. 1949 was Munawar's busiest year with seven releases. ''Dil Ki Duniya'' was directed by Mazhar Khan for his Noble Arts Production. It co-starred Geeta Bali and Mazhar with Munawar. The film was praised for its "versatility" and "well-balanced production values", along with good performances by Munawwar, Mazhar and Geeta Bali. The film was claimed to have done "well" at the box office. Her standout film that year was '' Kaneez'', directed by Krishna Kumar for Caravan Pictures. A Muslim social, it had Munawwar with

, and Kuldeep Kaur. She played a suffering woman married to a wayward husband, who eventually returns to her. It was described as one of her best roles.

1950s

Out of her four films released in 1950, Munawar's most notable film was '' Babul'' (Father's House). She acted opposite

and

Nargis Nargis Dutt (born Fatima Rashid; 1 June 1929 – 3 May 1981) was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, she made her screen debut in a minor role ...

in this love triangle. Directed by S. U. Sunny, the music was composed by

Naushad Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) was an Indian music director for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the ...

. The film became a major success at the box office. She acted in a few more films till 1956, with Jallad being her last appearance.

Personal life

While working in films, Munawar met Sharif Ali, an affluent businessman who supplied furniture for movie sets. He had financed and produced two films starring Munawar Sultana, namely ''Meri Kahani'' (1948) and ''Pyar Ki Manzil'' (1950). They got married in 1954, at which point Munawar Sultana quit acting. Her final film, ''Jallad'' was released in 1956, but had been completed before she got married. Munawar Sultana eventually had seven children. The family lived in a house on Ambedkar Road in the posh

Pali Hill Pali Hill is an affluent residential area spread across the adjoined suburbs of Bandra and Khar in Mumbai, India (sharing postal codes 400050 and 400052 respectively). Geography Pali Hill lies on the western side of Mumbai. It runs parallel to ...

area of Mumbai, where many of Munawar's contemporaries in the film industry also lived. Unfortunately, her husband passed away suddenly in 1966, when the eldest of their seven children was only eleven years old. However, the family was still comfortably off as both Munawar Sultana and her husband had managed to keep their finances in good condition. For the last eight years of her life, she suffered from Alzheimer's disease. She died peacefully at her home on 15 September 2007, at the age of eighty-two.Who is Munawar Sultana?
Cinestaan.com website, Published 15 September 2016, Retrieved 18 January 2022

Filmography

List:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sultana, Munawar 1924 births 2007 deaths Actresses from Lahore Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses from Mumbai Actresses in Urdu cinema Punjabi people 20th-century Indian actresses