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 A film studio (also known as movie studio or simply studio) is a major entertainment company or motion picture company that has its own privately owned studio facility or facilities that are used to make films, which is handled by the production ...

of 1954. He was involved in writing poems and lyrics before and after the

Partition Partition may refer to: Computing Hardware * Disk partitioning, the division of a hard disk drive * Memory partition, a subdivision of a computer's memory, usually for use by a single job Software * Partition (database), the division of a ...

. However, most of his films written before partition remained unreleased due to political instabilities in the subcontinent. He was best known for his film Kartar Singh, and is also credited for writing lyrics for Pakistan's historical and first-ever feature film '' Teri Yaad'', which helped him to appear among the prominent writers. As a poet, he wrote eleven

gazal The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a ...

s and four

nazm ''Nazm'' () is a major part of Urdu and Sindhi poetry that is normally written in rhymed verse and also in modern prose-style poems. is a significant genre of Urdu and Sindhi poetry; the other one is known as ''ghazal'' (). is significantly ...

s on various subjects, including fifteen on

friendship Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept o ...

, fifteen on

social Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

, one on

hope Hope is an optimistic state of mind that is based on an expectation of positive outcomes with respect to events and circumstances in one's life or the world at large. As a verb, its definitions include: "expect with confidence" and "to cherish ...

, and a poetic book titled ''Kham-e-Kakul'', also known as ''Khan-e-Kamal'' (amazing ruler).

Early life and education

Saifuddin was born and raised in

British Raj The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent; * * it is also called Crown rule in India, * * * * or Direct rule in India, * Quote: "Mill, who was himsel ...

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 ...

. He received his education from the

Govt. M.A.O. College Lahore Government Muhammadan Anglo Oriental College (abbreviated to Govt. M.A.O. College Lahore; ur, ;) is a public college located adjacent to Civil Secretariat Lahore. It is among the oldest educational institutions in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. I ...

, but left midway after he was barred from taking part in board exams over joining

political activism Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...

of the

Khaksar Movement The Khaksar movement ( ur, ) was a social movement based in Lahore, Punjab, British India, established by Inayatullah Khan Mashriqi in 1931, with the aim of freeing India from the rule of the British Empire. The Khaksars opposed the partiti ...

, a social movement aimed at freeing India from the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts esta ...

Career

Saif started his career as a lyricist, but his childhood was originally associated with poetry writings and after leaving the college, he pursued poetry as a career. He migrated to Pakistan following the partition and settled 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. ...

where he initially worked as a dialogue writer and lyricist in the

cinema of Pakistan 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. ...

. He later established Rahnuma Films, a full-fledged

filmmaking Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, casti ...

production. He also wrote lyrics before partition, but none of the films was released. After his migration to Pakistan, all the films he worked for were released, and he was subsequently considered one of the prominent filmmakers of Pakistan. His first film as a lyricist was ''Hichkolay (1949)'', and later wrote songs for ''Amanat'' in 1950 and ''Naveli'' in 1952. His work for ''Ghulam'' and ''Mehbooba'' films of 1953 are generally recognized as his commercial success. After his commercial success, he established his film company called Rahnuma Films. He also worked as a producer, director and

scriptwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. T ...

in ''Raat Ki Baat'' and ''Saath Lakh'' (1957), including

Lollywood Lollywood ( ur, , translit=lâli vuḍ) refers to Pakistan's film industry based in Lahore, previously the base for both Punjabi and Urdu language film production. Lahore has been the center of Pakistani cinema since the partition of ...

's historical film '' Kartar Singh'' (1959), which is claimed to have covered real events and bloodshed of the 1947 partition. He wrote "Payal Main Geet Hain Chham Chham Ke" song for film ''Gumnaam'' (1954) and also for film ''Qatil'' (1955). Besides films, he primarily used to write poems which were sung by the prominent Pakistani singers, including

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 ...

Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan ( pa, ; born Pervez Fateh Ali Khan; 13 October 1948 – 16 August 1997) was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, and music director. He was primarily a singer of qawwali — a form of Sufi music, Sufi devotional music. ...

, and Mahdi Hasan. Saif wrote a book titled ''Khan-e-Kamal'', comprising a collection of

Work

Awards and recognition

Nigar Award The Nigar Awards ( ur, , translit=Inʿām Negār, lit=Picture Awards) were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The Nigar Awards a ...

for Saifuddin Saif as Best Script/Story Writer for film Saat Lakh (1957) *

for Best Film Saat Lakh (1957)

Bibliography

Death

Saifuddin Saif died on 12 July 1993 in Lahore, Pakistan and is buried near

Model Town, Lahore Model Town Society ( Punjabi, ur, ) is a gated neighbourhood in Gulberg, Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. History Model Town, established in 1921, is a fruition of Dewan Khem Chand's lifelong dream to see the establishment of what he called “ ...

cemetery. His life is covered in a MPhil

thesis A thesis ( : theses), or dissertation (abbreviated diss.), is a document submitted in support of candidature for an academic degree or professional qualification presenting the author's research and findings.International Standard ISO 7144: ...

book titled ''Shair-e-Kujkulah'' by Robina Shaista.

References

External links

Saifuddin Saif
on

Rekhta Foundation Rekhta is an Indian literary web portal owned by the Rekhta Foundation, a nonprofit and non-governmental organization dedicated to the promotion of the Urdu literature in South Asia. It has digitalized about ninety thousand books during the peri ...

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saif, Saifuddin 1922 births 1993 deaths Indian emigrants to Pakistan Pakistani male poets Pakistani lyricists Film directors from Lahore Pakistani film producers Nigar Award winners