''Zeenat'' is a 1975 Pakistani film directed by

S. Suleman Syed Suleman (29 December 1938 14 April 2021), also known as S. Suleman or Sullu Bhai, was a Pakistani film director. He also appeared in Bollywood films with minor roles before Muhajir (Pakistani), migrating to Pakistan and after migration, h ...

. Shahnam played the title role in the film opposite

Nadeem Nadeem (also spelled Nadim or Nedim; ar, نديم) is an Arabic masculine given name. It means "best friend of the drinker" "companion", "confidant" or "friend". Originates from the plural word "Nadama""نَدامَى" which means, drink to forg ...

and

Shahid ''Shaheed'' ( , , ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); ...

. It revolves around the sufferings of a baby girl and her journey to womanhood, until she is accepted by her grandfather, who hated her throughout his life. The

Mehdi Hassan Mehdi Hassan Khan ( ur, مہدی حسن خاں , translit=) 18 July 1927 – 13 June 2012) was a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer for Lollywood. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of gh ...

's ghazal featured in the film, "Rafta Rafta Wo Meri Hasti Ka Samaa Hogye" became hugely popular and he eventually went on to win a

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 it as a playback singer. The film was a golden jubilee hit at box office. At 19th Nigar Awards it won five awards.

Plot

Nawab Nawab (Balochi language, Balochi: نواب; ar, نواب; bn, নবাব/নওয়াব; hi, नवाब; Punjabi language, Punjabi : ਨਵਾਬ; Persian language, Persian, Punjabi language, Punjabi , Sindhi language, Sindhi, Urd ...

Hashmat wants a male heir from his son Waqar and daughter-in law-Nargis due to the threats of division of property later on in life. However, when a girl, Zeenat is born the Nawab orders to have her killed. However on Waqar's and Nargis's begging, he leaves her on the condition she is to be raised with her servants away from her parents and the main house. Owing to

maternal mortality Maternal death or maternal mortality is defined in slightly different ways by several different health organizations. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines maternal death as the death of a pregnant mother due to complications related to pre ...

, (

Childbirth Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births globall ...

) Zeenat's mother dies and her father is also killed in an accident, leaving her newly born brother Shaukat behind. As Shaukat gets older, he does little except going out to clubs and wasting his grandfather's money on bad hobbies and habits. He transfers all the property on to his name by deception because his grandfather (the Nawab) refused to, due to his nature and bad habits. On the other hand, Zeenat gets married to Khurram, son of Nawab's hakim. Khurram goes abroad soon after his marriage and his mother throws Zeenat out of the house. She goes to her grandfather's house where the Nawab realises his mistake as the male heir he wanted at the time, now treats him badly. He eventually disowns Shaukat which brings him on to the right path. Khurram returns from abroad and yells at his mother for her bad deeds. He goes and brings Zeenat back home with proper rukhsati ceremony from her grandfather's house.

Cast

Shabnam Jharna Basak (born 17 August 1946), known by her stage name Shabnam, is a Bangladeshi–Pakistani stage and film actress. Actor Waheed Murad introduced her to the Pakistani film industry by offering her a lead role in his film ''Samundar'' in 1 ...

in dual role as Nargis/ Zeenat * Nadeem Baig as Waqar *

as Khurram * Munawwar Zarif as Shaukat *

Agha Talish Agha Ali Abbas Qizilbash (also known as Agha Talish, ur, ) (13 November 1923 – 19 February 1998) was a Pakistani actor who made his debut in 1947 and was mostly known and recognized in Pakistan for playing character actor or villain role ...

as Nawab * Najma *

Najma Mehboob Najma Mehboob (1949 – 6 December 1983) was a Pakistani film and TV actress. She mostly played character and mother roles in dramas and films both in Urdu and Punjabi languages. She died in a train accident during a film shoot in 1983. Early l ...

* Tamanna

Awards

''Zeenat'' received 5

Nigar Awards 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 ...

in the following categories:

References

{{Reflist 1975 films Pakistani romantic drama films 1970s Urdu-language films Urdu-language Pakistani films