K. Asif (born Karimuddin Asif; 14 June 1922 – 9 March 1971) was an Indian

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

, film producer and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

who is known for his epic film, ''

Mughal-e-Azam ''Mughal-e-Azam'' () is a 1960 Indian Epic film, epic historical drama film produced and directed by K. Asif. Starring Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar, Madhubala, and Durga Khote, it follows the love affair between Mughal Empire, Mughal Prince ...

'' (1960).

Early life

Asif was born in Etawah, Uttar Pradesh, India to parents Dr. Fazal Karim and Bibi Ghulam Fatima. Asif went to Bombay and later took the professional name K. Asif. He eventually became a successful film director and producer.

Career

His directorial debut, '' Phool'' (1945), did very well at the box-office. In 1944, Asif planned to make a film called ''Mughal-e-Azam'' based on the life and times of

Mughal Mughal or Moghul may refer to: Related to the Mughal Empire * Mughal Empire of South Asia between the 16th and 19th centuries * Mughal dynasty * Mughal emperors * Mughal people, a social group of Central and South Asia * Mughal architecture * Mug ...

Emperor

Akbar the Great Akbar (Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar, – ), popularly known as Akbar the Great, was the third Mughal emperor, who reigned from 1556 to 1605. Akbar succeeded his father, Humayun, under a regent, Bairam Khan, who helped the young emperor exp ...

's court dancer, based on an Urdu novel 'Anarkali' written by Syed Imtiaz Ali Taj, with Chandramohan in the male lead and the then upcoming actress

Nargis Nargis Dutt (born Fatima Rashid, also known as Nirmala Dutt; 1 June 1929 – 3 May 1981) known mononyomusly as Nargis was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest and finest actresses in the ...

in the female lead. However, in 1946, before the production of the film could begin, the male lead, Chandramohan, died. At that time, Asif temporarily shelved the film until further notice. He produced the film ''Hulchul'' and released it in 1951. At that time, Asif recast ''Mughal-e-Azam'' with

Dilip Kumar Dilip Kumar (born Muhammad Yusuf Khan; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021) was an Indian actor and film producer, who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated Hindi cinema from the 1950s throughout t ...

in the male lead and

Madhubala Madhubala (born Mumtaz Jehan Begum Dehlavi; 14 February 1933 – 23 February 1969) was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. She is considered as one of the greatest and finest actresses in the history of Indian cinema. One of the country ...

in the female lead and began the production of the film in the same year. In 1960, after twelve years in production, ''

'' was released and became a huge hit at packed cinema houses across India. After the release and success of ''Mughal-e-Azam'', Asif planned yet another motion picture called

Love and God ''Love and God'' (also known as "Kais Aur Laila") is a 1986 Indian Hindi-language film which was the final film produced and directed by K. Asif. This film was his only directorial venture to be made completely in color. Through this film, the d ...

, his first directorial venture to be made completely in

color Color (or colour in English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth English; American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, see spelling differences) is the visual perception based on the electromagnetic spectrum. Though co ...

, and began production. The film was to star

Guru Dutt Guru Dutt (born Vasanth Kumar Shivashankar Padukone; 9 July 1925 – 10 October 1964; also known as Gurudatta Padukone) was an Indian film actor, director, producer, choreographer, and writer.Rajadhyaksha, Ashish, and Paul Willemen. 9941998 ...

in the male lead and

Nimmi Nimmi (born as Nawab Bano; 18 February 1933 – 25 March 2020), was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi and Urdu films. Considered as one of the leading actresses of the "golden era" of Indian cinema, Nimmi was among the highest paid actresses ...

in the female lead. However, in 1964, when lead actor

died, shooting came to a halt. Asif recast

Sanjeev Kumar Sanjeev Kumar (born Harihar Jethalal Jariwala; 9 July 1938 – 6 November 1985) was an Indian actor. Considered as one of the greatest actors of Indian Cinema, he is well remembered for his versatility and genuine portrayal of his characters. ...

in the male lead and resumed production of the film. During the production of the film, K. Asif died on 9 March 1971 at the age of 48/49 and the film was abandoned. In 1986, Asif's senior widow, Akhtar Asif, (younger sister of

) released the film in an incomplete form.

Personal life

K. Asif married four times. His first wife was Nigar Sultana who was approved of and welcomed by his family. She remained married to him until her death, despite his other marriages, and was the mother of six of Asif's children. Asif's second wife was the singer and actress

Sitara Devi Sitara Devi (born Dhanlakshmi; 8 November 1920 – 25 November 2014) was an Indian dancer of the classical Kathak style of dancing, a singer, and an actress. She was the recipient of several awards and accolades, and performed at several prest ...

. The marriage between them happened in unusual circumstances. Asif had a sister, Sikandar Begum, who was married to her first cousin, the actor

Nazir Ahmed Khan Nazir Ahmed Khan (1904 26 August 1983) () was one of the founding fathers of Pakistan film industry. He was a versatile filmmaker, actor, director and producer. Personal life Nazir was born in 1904 in a Kakazai Pathan family in Lahore, P ...

(not to be confused with the actor Nasir Khan, brother of

). Nazir Ahmed Khan fell in love with Sitara Devi and married her while still being married to Sikandar Begum; as a Muslim man in India, he could have up to four wives concurrently. Asif became enamoured of Sitara Devi, who was his sister's co-wife and his cousin's second wife. Nazir and Sitara were soon divorced, and shortly afterwards, Asif married Sitara, who thus became the wife, successively, of Sikandar Begum's husband and brother. However, the marriage of Asif and Sitara lasted no more than a few months, and they were soon divorced. This happened because by then, Asif had fallen in love with the actress Nigar Sultana, who played the important role of Bahaar in Asif's magnum opus,

. Asif divorced Sitara Devi, apparently at her insistence, and married Nigar Sultana. Born in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

south India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

, Nigar Sultana had previously been married to the actor/director S. M. Yusuf. That marriage had been childless and had ended in divorce when Yusuf moved to

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

some years after the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

in 1947. Asif and Nigar Sultana became the parents of a daughter, the small-time actress

Heena Kausar Heena Kausar is an Indian actress who appeared in several Hindi language films in the 1970s. She is the widow of dreaded Indian gangster and underworld don Iqbal Mirchi. Biography Kausar is the daughter of filmmaker K. Asif, famous as the pr ...

, who appeared in bit roles in a number of forgettable films. She became the second wife of the underworld gangster

Iqbal Mirchi Mohammad Iqbal Memon (25 April 1950 – 14 August 2013), known as Iqbal Mirchi, was an Indian underworld figure, known as the right-hand man of India's most wanted criminal, Dawood Ibrahim. Mirchi was often called a drug baron for his thrivin ...

, a close associate of India's most wanted criminal,

Dawood Ibrahim Dawood Ibrahim (, ; born 26 December 1955) is an Indian mob boss, drug lord, and terrorist. He reportedly heads the Indian organised crime syndicate D-Company, which he founded in Mumbai in the 1970s. Ibrahim is wanted on charges including ...

. Among other crimes, Iqbal Mirchi is said to have been a drug-dealer and to have laundered Dawood Ibrahim's ill-gotten wealth through his "successful business ventures."Tame end to Iqbal Mirchi
/ref> Asif's fourth and last wife was Akhtar, the younger sister of actor

. Asif and Akhtar became acquainted with each other since Asif used to visit Dilip Kumar's house frequently during the making of Mughal-i-Azam. It is said that Dilip Kumar was extremely unhappy about his sister marrying Asif, and the consequent rift between Dilip Kumar and Asif never healed. Akhtar Begum and Asif remained married until his death in 1971. It was Akhtar Begum who ensured the completion and release of Asif's last movie, "

," which was released in 1986, fifteen years after Asif's death.

Filmography

Awards

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

Filmfare Award for Best Film The Filmfare Award for Best Film is given by the ''Filmfare'' magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films. The award was first given in 1954. Here is a list of the award winners and the nominees of the respective years. Eac ...

– ''

'' * 1960:

Filmfare Award for Best Director The Filmfare Best Director Award is one of the main awards presented given by the annual Filmfare Awards to recognise directors working in Hindi cinema. It was first presented in 1954 in the inaugural year. Superlatives Bimal Roy has the re ...

– ''Mughal-e-Azam'': Nominated *

: President's for Best Feature Film in Hindi – ''Mughal-e-Azam''

Bibliography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Asif, K. 1922 births 1971 deaths Hindi-language film directors Film producers from Mumbai Indian male screenwriters People from Etawah Aligarh Muslim University alumni Filmfare Awards winners Film directors from Mumbai Hindi film producers Film producers from Uttar Pradesh Film directors from Uttar Pradesh 20th-century Indian screenwriters 20th-century Indian male writers