''Umar Marvi'' ( Sindhi: عمر مارئي), ( ur, ), is a Pakistani film adapted from a popular Sindhi folk tale,

Umar Marvi Umar Marvi or Marui ( sd, عمر مارئي, ur, ), is a folktale from Sindh, Pakistan about a village girl Marvi Maraich, who resists the overtures of a powerful King and the temptation to live in the palace as a queen, preferring to be in simpl ...

, produced by Syed Hussain Ali Shah Fazlani, directed by Shaikh Hassan and starring Fazlani himself,

Nighat Sultana Nighat Sultana was a Pakistani actress. She acted in both Urdu and Punjabi films and is known for her roles in films ''Chann Mahi'', ''Umar Marvi'', ''Saat Lakh'', ''Insaf'', ''Insan Badalta Hay'', ''Neend'', '' Dil Mera Dharkan Teri'', ''Afsana ...

Noor Mohammed Charlie Noor Mohammed Charlie (1911–1983), popularly known as Charlie, was a Pakistani actor born on 1 July 1911 in Ranavav village, Porbandar, Saurashtra, British India. Best known for his comedy roles, he was the first 'star' comedian and has been ...

and Bibbo. Released on March 12, 1956, it was the first ever

Sindhi language Sindhi ( ; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by about 30 million people in the Pakistani province of Sindh, where it has official status. It is also spoken by a further 1.7 million people in India, where it is a scheduled language, withou ...

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

made in Pakistan.

Plot

The story of Marvi and Umar is a popular Sindhi folk tale, on which the poet Shah Abdul Latif Bhittai based one of the ''surs'' of his ''Risalo''. Umar (Syed Hussain Ali Shah Fazlani), king of

Umarkot Umerkot (formerly known as Amarkot) is a city in the Sindh province of Pakistan. The local language is Dhatki, which is one of the Rajasthani languages of the Indo-Aryan language family. It is most closely related to Marwari. Sindhi, Urdu and ...

, is looking for a bride but finds none to his liking. Phog (

) mentions the unmatchable beauty of Marvi (

), a village girl from Malir whom he loves but who is engaged to a fellow villager, Khet. Umar decides to check out Marvi for himself and immediately falls under her spell. After unsuccessfully asking for her hand from her father, he resolves to abduct her. Confined in Umar's palace, Marvi stubbornly refuses to become his wife, faithful to her pledge to Khet. Turning down silks and jewelry, she longs for her people, the Marus. When Marvi seems about to surrender, having lost hope of being rescued, a wet-nurse reveals that they are milk siblings, thus ruling out any possibility of marriage between them. Umar then hands Marvi back to her people, but Khet and the Marus suspect her chastity. Upon hearing the news, Umar goes for Malir to defend Marvi's honor. Both have to undergo a trial to prove their innocence by walking through a fire holding a red-hot iron rod. Umar and Marvi come out of the pyre unhurt. In the end, Umar accepts his mistake and blesses Marvi and Khet as they finally marry.

Reception and awards

The film met with wide popular success both in India and Pakistan. After its release in Pakistan, the rights of the movie were bought by an Indian distributor named T.M. Bihari.
Suhail Hashmi and M. Iqbal received civil awards from the President of Pakistan (''sadarti'' awards) for their role, respectively, as director of photography and art director.Abdus Salaam Sufi, "Sindhi Filmon ki Tareekh" (publication details unknown).

Cast

* Syed Hussain Ali Shah Fazlani as Umar *

as Marvi *

as Phog * Bibbo

References

External links

''Umer Marvi'' at IMDB.com
Sindhi-language films Pakistani fantasy films 1956 films Pakistani romance films {{Pakistan-film-stub

Plot

Reception and awards

Cast

See also

References

Further reading

External links