''Shaheed-e-Mohabbat Boota Singh'' is a 1999 Indian Punjabi-language feature film based on the real-life love story of

Boota Singh Boota Singh sometimes spelled as Buta Singh, was a Sikh ex-soldier of the British Army who served at the Burma front under the command of Lord Mountbatten during World War II. He is popularly known in India and Pakistan for his tragic love story ...

and Zainab, starring

Gurdas Maan Gurdas Maan is an Indian playback singer, songwriter and actor mainly associated with Punjabi and Hindi language music and films. He gained national attention in 1980 with the song "Dil Da Mamla Hai". Since then, he had gone on to record over ...

and

Divya Dutta Divya Dutta (born 25 September 1977) is an Indian actress and model. She has appeared in Hindi and Punjabi cinema, in addition to Malayalam and English-language films. She has received many awards including a National Film Award, a Filmfare Aw ...

in the lead roles. The film is directed by

Manoj Punj Manoj Punj was an Indian Punjabi film director. He directed the hits in Punjabi Cinema. After graduating with a degree in arts, and experiencing theater in Chandigarh, he assisted Prof. P. S. Nirola who made corporate and documentary films. He ...

and produced by

Manjeet Maan Manjeet Maan (also spelled as Manjit Maan) is an Indian film producer and director who works in Punjabi cinema, Punjabi language films. She is the wife of noted singer-songwriter and actor Gurdas Maan, and is the owner of Sai Productions, a fil ...

Arun Bakshi Arun Bakshi is an Indian film and television actor and also a singer. He has acted as a character actor in over 100 Hindi films, and as a playback singer has also sung 298 songs. He has also worked in Punjabi and Bhojpuri cinema. He also played ...

, Gurkirtan and

Chetana Das Chetana Das (born in Shillong, Meghalaya, India is an Indian actress from Assam. She is popular face in Assamese cinema for comic roles. She is the comedy queen of Assamese film industry. Early life Chetana Das was born in Shillong. She comple ...

played supporting roles. The film won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Punjabi at the

46th National Film Awards The 46th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1998. Ceremony took place on 15 ...

. The movie was an international hit and was screened at many national and international film festivals, including the 1999

Vancouver International Film Festival The Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, for two weeks in late September and early October. The festival is operated by the Greater Vancouver International Film Fest ...

and the

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pla ...

. It is the first film by Maan's home production,

Sai Productions Sai Production Private Limited is an Indian film production house based in Mumbai, owned by singer-songwriter and actor, Gurdas Maan and his wife Manjeet Maan. The company began with TV software but, since 1998, has produced several award winn ...

Plot

The film stars

and

in the lead roles. The film is set in the

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

around the time its of

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 ...

in 1947. A

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

ex-soldier,

, who served in the British Army at the

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 ...

front during the

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 ...

, is in his thirties when he returns to his village near

Jalandhar Jalandhar is the third most-populous city in the Indian state of Punjab and the largest city in Doaba region. Jalandhar lies alongside the Grand Trunk Road and is a well-connected rail and road junction. Jalandhar is northwest of the state ...

. All his age-mates are married, but he is unmarried. He has found no woman to marry as his youth is flying away. A hope to have a family of his own yet lurks in a corner of his heart. A trader assures Boota that if he could raise Rs. 2000/-, he would buy a young bride for Boota from UP or

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West Be ...

. Boota starts saving every penny.

Boota Singh rescues a Muslim girl

India got freedom in 1947 and

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 ...

was born; communal riots begin on both sides of the new border. Boota's village comes in the grip of riots. One day while Boota works in his fields, a beautiful young

Muslim 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 Abrah ...

girl, being chased by the vengeful locals, comes to him for help. The youths demand the girl or Rs. 2500/-. Boota argues that he only has Rs. 1800, and is able to shake them off by giving them his life's savings. His hopes to settle down by raising dowry money are shattered when he needs to use his savings to rescue the

girl, Zainab. With nowhere to go she stays with Boota Singh.

Boota and Zainab get married

The villagers object that Boota cannot keep Zainab in his home like this: he should either marry her or leave her in a refugee camp, where people bound for

live. Boota decides that, since he is far older, he should leave her at the camp. He is about to send Zainab off with a man bound for Pakistan and who is prepared to marry her there. But Zainab, who has learned about the sacrifice he made for her and is touched by his simplicity, asks Boota if he is so poor that he cannot even feed her two

roti Roti (also known as chapati) is a round flatbread native to the Indian subcontinent. It is popular in India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Maldives, Myanmar, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, Guyana, Suriname, Jamaica, Trinid ...

s per day to keep her alive. Boota Singh and Zainab fall in love and get married. Boota's life transforms overnight. Then they have a baby girl. Boota Singh is pretty happy, matrimonially speaking; he is leading a pleasant life.

The end

An uncle of Boota, who was scheming that Boota would die unmarried and the family property would go to him, becomes envious of his marriage with Zainab. A few years later, when

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

agree to deport women left behind in the riots, he informs the police that there is such a

woman in their village. In Boota's absence police forcibly dump Zainab into a truck bound for a refugee camp (leaving the child behind). Zainab is sent to her parents' home in the village of Barki in Pakistan. Boota sells all his land and goes along with his child to Pakistan illegally. He is beaten by Zainab's relatives. Then they inform the police and Boota is brought before a judge who is quite willing to free him if his wife owns up, but under pressure from her family, she backs off. A disappointed and mournful Boota jumps with his daughter before an oncoming train. He dies, but miraculously, his daughter survives. Pakistani youth, overcome by this, hail him "Shaheed-E-Mohabbat Boota Singh" (lit. ''Martyr-in-Love Boota Singh'') and erect a memorial and a trust in his name.

Cast

Music

The music director is

Amar Haldipur Amar Haldipur is a noted music director or composer of Indian music industry. He composed music for number of Bollywood as well as Punjabi movies including Shaheed-E-Mohabbat and Channa Sachi Muchi. His sons Siddharth Haldipur and Sangeet Haldipu ...

and the playback singers are

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...

Anuradha Paudwal Anuradha Paudwal (born 27 October 1954) is an Indian playback singer who works predominantly in Hindi cinema. She has been described in media as one of the most prominent Bhajan singer and also as one of the most successful playback singers ...

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 Karaamat Ali Khan, with

Amar Noorie Amar Noorie (also spelled as Amar Noori) is an Indian singer and actress who works in Punjabi-language films. She was married to Sardool Sikander, a noted Punjabi singer. Early life and career https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3 ...

as a guest singer. The movie has six original tracks: # "Ishq Ni Darrda Maut Kolon," sung by Karaamat Ali Khan # "Eh Kaisi Rutt Aayi" sung by

# "Meri Chunni Da Chamke," sung by

and Gurdas Maan # "Gaddiye Ni Der Na Karin," sung by Gurdas Maan # "Main Rowan Tarle Paawan," sung by Asha Bhosle and Gurdas Maan # "Aseen Tere Shehar Nu," sung by Gurdas Maan # "Ishq Da Rutba" sung by

References

External links

* {{IMDb title, id=0308875 Punjabi-language Indian films Films set in the partition of India 1999 drama films 1999 films Films set in the 1940s Films set in Punjab, India India–Pakistan relations in popular culture 1990s Punjabi-language films Films set in the British Raj Best Punjabi Feature Film National Film Award winners Films set in Lahore Indian interfaith romance films