Meena Shorey (13 November 1921 – 3 September 1989) was a Pakistani film actress who worked first in
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, ...
and later
Pakistani cinema
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.
...
. She appeared 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 ...
/
Urdu
Urdu (;"Urdu" '' Punjabi films. Credited in films by her mononym, Meena, her real name was Khurshid Jehan. She started her acting career playing a character role, as Ambhi, Raja of Taxila's sister in
Sohrab Modi
Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi Va ...
's '' Sikandar'' (1941). Married to her third husband, Roop K. Shorey, by the mid-1940s, she found fame when she acted in her husband's film '' Ek Thi Larki'' (1949), opposite actor Motilal. The story was written by
I. S. Johar
Inder Sen Johar(16 February 1920 – 10 March 1984), better known as I. S. Johar, was an Indian actor, writer, producer and director, who excelled in comedic roles.
Early life
Inderjeet Singh Johar was born on 16th February, 1920 in Talagang ...
, who also starred in the film. The "foot-tapping" music composed by Vinod became a "huge hit", with Meena becoming an "icon" for the "new liberated" young women. Meena was acclaimed as the "Lara Lappa Girl", from the song of same title in the film. She was one of the first women to be recognised in Indian cinema as a "comedienne of calibre". She was also popularly known as ''The Droll Queen of Partition'' as she worked in both in India and Pakistan.
In 1956, she went to Lahore, Pakistan with her husband, where they were invited by Pakistani producer
J.C. Anand
Jagdish Chand Anand better known as J.C. Anand (1922 – 17 May 1977) was a Pakistani film producer and distributor. One of the largest distributors within the country, he founded Eveready Pictures in Karachi.
Background
Anand was born in ...
to make a film there following her mass popularity with the public in both India and Pakistan. The film Shorey made was ''Miss 56'', a copy of the Guru Dutt-
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, ...
starrer '' Mr. & Mrs. '55''. Instead of returning to India when her husband did, she decided to stay back in Pakistan, continuing her acting career there. Some of her best films in India included the Punjabi film ''Chaman'' (1948), ''Actress'' (1948), ''Ek Thi Ladki'' (1949), ''Dholak'' (1951), and '' Ek Do Teen'' (1953).
Early life
Meena was born Khurshid Jehan, on 17 November 1921, in
Raiwind
Raiwind ( Punjabi & ur, ) is a town (now promoted to Tehsil Head Quarter) located within union council 149 (Dholanwal) in Allama Iqbal Town of Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. The town serves as the headquarters of Tablighi Jamaat and hosts the annua ...
,
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 a ...
,
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 ...
, the second of four children. Her family was poor and her father struggled to support the family. His first business venture, in
Ferozepur
Firozpur, also known as Ferozepur, is a city on the banks of the Sutlej River in Firozpur District, Punjab, India. After the partition of India in 1947, it became a border town on the India–Pakistan border with memorials to soldiers who died ...
, failed when Khurshid was very young. Moving to Lahore, he then worked at a dyeing business, which also failed. However, by this time, he had managed to arrange a good marriage for his eldest daughter, Wazir Begum, and she left for Bombay after her marriage. A few years later, Wazir Begum called Khurshid to stay with her for some time in Bombay, her idea being to arrange a suitable marriage for Khurshid also, from among her husband's relatives.
However, fate took an unexpected turn when
Sohrab Modi
Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi Va ...
noticed Meena at the launch of his film '' Sikandar'' (1941), which she attended with her brother-in-law, and offered her a supporting role in the film, giving her the name, Meena.
Career
In India
'' Sikandar'' in 1941 was the first film Meena acted in, which had her in the small role of King of Taxila's sister. This was a historical film about the invasion of India in the Jhelum region by
Alexander
Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history.
Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...
(Sikandar). It was directed by
Sohrab Modi
Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi Va ...
and starred
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 ...
as Sikandar. The film became "an all-India hit" and provided an instant launching pad for her. She then went on to act as the second lead in three more films under Modi's Minerva Movietone banner, '' Phir Milenge'' (1942), '' Prithvi Vallabh'' (1943) and ''
Pattharon Ka Saudagar
''Pattharon Ka Saudagar'' is a Bollywood film. It was released in 1944. It was directed by Shorey Daulatvi for Sohrab Modi's Minerva Movietone banner. The music was composed by Mir Saheb and the film starred Al Nasir, Sheela, Meena Shorey, K. N ...
''.
Roop K. Shorey, who was based 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 ...
, migrated to Bombay and wanted to sign Meena for his film, '' Shalimar'' (1946). However Meena had signed a contract with
Sohrab Modi
Sohrab Merwanji Modi (2 November 1897 – 28 January 1984) was an Indian stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include ''Khoon Ka Khoon'' (1935), a version of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'', '' Sikandar'', ''Pukar'', ''Prithvi Va ...
, which prevented her from working not only in ''Shalimar'', but also in
Mehboob Khan
Mehboob Khan (born Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan; 9 September 1907 at filmreference.com. – 28 ...
's ''
Humayun
Nasir-ud-Din Muhammad ( fa, ) (; 6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), better known by his regnal name, Humāyūn; (), was the second emperor of the Mughal Empire, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Pakistan, Northe ...
'' (1945). On a visit to
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 ...
, she was signed by producer Dalsukh Pancholi, for two films ''Shehar Se Door'' (1946) and ''Arsi'' (1947). She finally freed herself from the contract by taking Modi's wife Mehtab's help, getting the amount of money asked for by Modi, lowered.
In 1948, ''Chaman'' (Garden) in Punjabi, was directed by Roop K. Shorey, who having suffered a loss of the family business in Lahore had moved 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-m ...
following the partition. There he set up his banner Shorey Films and produced the film ''Chaman'' with the help of his wife's finances. It had Meena act in the "first post—
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 ...
Karan Dewan
Karan Dewan (born Dewan Karan Chopra; 6 November 1917 - 2 August 1979) was an Indian cinema actor in Hindi films. He worked in over seventy films from 1941 to 1979. He started as a journalist while still in college, editing a film-based magazin ...
,
Kuldip Kaur
Kuldip Kaur, (1927–3 February 1960), was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi and Punjabi films. Known for her roles as negative characters, she was cited as Indian cinema's "most polished vamps" and actor Pran's "opposite number". She st ...
and Majnu, and became a "major hit". The "melodious music", which was composed by Vinod became "instantly popular". One of the famous songs from the film was "Chan Kithan Guzari Aai Raat Way" sung by Pushpa Hans and chorus. It was the debut of Pushpa Hans as a singer.
In 1949, came '' Ek Thi Larki'', produced and directed by Roop K. Shorey, with story written by I. S. Johar. The music was composed by Vinod whose song "Lara Lappa Lara Lappa Laayi Rakhdi" became the "highlight of the film". A "trendsetter", the song continued to remain popular over the years. The
playback singing
A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not app ...
was provided by
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her con ...
, and though it's counted as one of Lata's earliest hits, the person mainly remembered for the song is the actress lip-syncing it in the film, Meena, who became "known thereafter as the Lara-Lappa Girl". The film was stated to be "the biggest runaway- hit" making Roop K. Shorey one of the top comedy film directors.
She acted in ''Ek Teri Nishani'' in 1949 opposite
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 sec ...
and the film also starred
I. S. Johar
Inder Sen Johar(16 February 1920 – 10 March 1984), better known as I. S. Johar, was an Indian actor, writer, producer and director, who excelled in comedic roles.
Early life
Inderjeet Singh Johar was born on 16th February, 1920 in Talagang ...
,
Cuckoo
Cuckoos are birds in the Cuculidae family, the sole taxon in the order Cuculiformes . The cuckoo family includes the common or European cuckoo, roadrunners, koels, malkohas, couas, coucals and anis. The coucals and anis are sometimes separ ...
and
Om Prakash
Om Prakash (born Om Prakash Chibber 19 December 1919 – 21 February 1998) was an Indian film actor. He was born in Jammu as Om Prakash Chibber and went on to become a well-known character actor of Bollywood. His most well-known movies are Na ...
.
In 1950, she acted in the Karan Dewan Production's ''
Anmol Ratan
''Anmol Rattan'' (Rare Jewel) is 1950 Bollywood drama film directed by M. Sadiq. The film was produced by Jaimani Dewan for his Dewan Productions banner, with music composed by Vinod. The film starred Karan Dewan, who was known as a "jubilee ...
'', with Karan Dewan and Nirmala. ''Dholak'' (1951) was produced by Shorey Films and directed by Roop Shorey. It starred Meena with Ajit, with music composed by Shyam Sunder. Shyam Sunder was stated to have given some "unforgettable melodies" in this film among others. In 1953, in '' Ek Do Teen'', Shorey tried to recreate the magic of ''Ek Thi Ladki'', by continuing with the same "Lara Lappa" theme. Meena was once again paired with Motilal, and music was provided by Vinod. However, the film was unable to have the same effect as ''Ek Thi Ladki''. Her last two films released in India were
G. P. Sippy
Gopaldas Parmanand Sipahimalani (14 September 1914 — 25 December 2007), better known as G. P. Sippy, was an Indian film producer and director who worked in the Bollywood industry.
Biography
Sippy was born in Sindh, British India (now in Pak ...
's ''Shrimati 420'' for Sippy Films and '' Chandu'' (1958) directed by Majnu and starring
Om Prakash
Om Prakash (born Om Prakash Chibber 19 December 1919 – 21 February 1998) was an Indian film actor. He was born in Jammu as Om Prakash Chibber and went on to become a well-known character actor of Bollywood. His most well-known movies are Na ...
,
Shashikala
Shashikala Saigal (née Jawalkar; 4 August 1932 – 4 April 2021), better known by her first name, was an Indian film and television actress, who played supporting roles in hundreds of Bollywood films beginning in the 1940s.
Early years
Shash ...
,
Mehmood
Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''.
Siam Mahmud
*Mahmood (singer) (born 1 ...
Roop K. Shorey and Meena were invited to Pakistan by Pakistani film producer
J.C. Anand
Jagdish Chand Anand better known as J.C. Anand (1922 – 17 May 1977) was a Pakistani film producer and distributor. One of the largest distributors within the country, he founded Eveready Pictures in Karachi.
Background
Anand was born in ...
to make a film. ''Miss 1956'' (1956) was a plagiarised version of Guru Dutt's ''Mr. & Mrs. '55'' (1955) and starred Meena Shorey, Santosh Kumar,
Shamim Ara
Shamim Ara (22 March 1938 – 5 August 2016) was a Pakistani film actress, director and producer. She was known as ''The Tragic Beauty'' because of the tragic heroine roles she often portrayed in films. She was one of the most popular actres ...
, and
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 ...
. The music was composed by G. A. Chisti. Meena was well received 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 ...
and she decided to stay back when her husband returned to India. She went on to become the "first Pakistani actress to model for Lux" and became known as the "Lux Lady of Pakistan".
Her most famous film was ''Sarfarosh'' (1956), in which she had a special character role, with two very popular songs based around her. Originally slated to play the main lead, she was then assigned this side role and carried it off with aplomb. Directed by
Anwar Kamal Pasha
Anwar Kamal Pasha ( ur, ), (23 February 1925 – 13 October 1987) was the pioneer in the Pakistan film industry and an early Pakistani film director and producer from Lahore, Pakistan.
Life and career
Pasha was a graduate from the For ...
, the film starred
Sabiha Khanum
Sabiha Khanum ( ur, ; born Mukhtar Begum; 16 October 1935 – 13 June 2020), was a Pakistani film actress. She is also known as the "First Lady of Pakistani Cinema", and is often recognized for her role in Pakistani cinema during the 1950s a ...
Rasheed Attre
Abdul Rasheed Attra (15 February 1919 – 18 December 1967), also known as Rasheed Attre, was a Pakistani film score composer.
Some of the films she acted in a main role were ''Bara Aadmi'' (1957), directed by Humayun Mirza in Urdu and co-starring Meena Shorey and
Ejaz Durrani
Ejaz Durrani (18 April 1935 – 1 March 2021), known mononymously as Ejaz, was a Pakistani film actor, director and producer active from 1956 to 1984. He was married to legendary Pakistani actress-singer Noor Jehan. He is mostly remembered for ...
, ''Sitaron ki Duniya'' (1958), directed by M. H. Mohib, ''Jagga'' (1958) in Punjabi and directed by Saqlain Rizvi, ''Behrupiya'' (1960) (Punjabi) directed by Aslam Irani. Her other notable films were ''Mausiqar'' (1962) directed by Qadeer Ghori, ''Andhi Mohabbat'' (1964) and ''Khamosh Raho'' (1964) directed by Jameel Akhtar.
Personal life
Meena is reported to have married five times.
#Her first marriage was to actor-producer-director Zahur Raja. In ''
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 ...
'' April 1942, it was mentioned in an interview with Zahur Raja that Zahur and Meena were married for the last "six months". The two met while shooting for ''Sikandar'' and fell in love. "Zahur has been married for six months to Meena, a pretty young actress who is at present making probably her last film ''Phir Milenge''".
#Her second marriage was to actor and co-star, Al Nasir. She separated from him by the mid-40s, and Al Nasir went on to marry the actress
Veena
The ''veena'', also spelled ''vina'' ( sa, वीणा IAST: vīṇā), comprises various chordophone instruments from the Indian subcontinent. Ancient musical instruments evolved into many variations, such as lutes, zithers and arched harps ...
. Baburao Patel mentioned him as one of Meena's ex-husbands in a column in ''Filmindia'' August 1946, "Al Nasir, the once reported ex-husband of film actress Meena, is now reported to have married film actress Manorama of Punjab".
#Her third marriage was to Roop K. Shorey which lasted till 1956. Due to the relative length of the marriage, about 7–8 years, and the fact that she briefly attained success as an actress only in this period, she came to be known by her third husband's name. They separated after a successful trip to Pakistan, when Meena decided to remain in that country, while Roop Shorey, a
Hindu
Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...
gentleman, stuck to the original plan of returning to India.
#Her fourth marriage was to Raza Mir, a Pakistani film cinematographer and film producer
#Her fifth marriage was to Asad Bokhari, her co-star in ''Jamalo'' (1962).
In Pakistan, Meena lived a life of poverty towards the end of her life, and had to struggle to survive after 1974–75. Then Meena went to live with her nephew and
Malika Pukhraj
Malika Pukhraj (Punjabi, ur, ملكہ پکھراج ) (1912 – 2004) was a highly popular Ghazal and folk singer of Pakistan. She was generally known as "Malika", meaning "The Queen", publicly. She was extremely popular for her rendition ...
helped her financially. Upon her death, her funeral arrangements were made by charity money. She died on 3 September 1989, 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, Pakistan
Punjab (; , ) is one of the four provinces of Pakistan. Located in central-eastern region of the country, Punjab is the second-largest province of Pakistan by land area and the largest province by population. It shares land borders with the ...