Munawar Sultana (8 November 1924 – 15 September 2007) was an

Indian cinema The cinema of India, consisting of motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various film industries, each focused on p ...

actress, who acted in

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

films. She is cited as one of the "popular" actresses of the late 1940s to early 1950s period, along with

Noor Jehan Noor Jehan (21 September 192623 December 2000) was a Pakistani playback singer and actress who worked in both British India and later in Pakistan's cinema of Pakistan, cinema. Her career lasted over six decades, during which she recorded 10,00 ...

, Swarnalata and

Ragini Ragini may refer to: *Rāgini, the feminine counterpart of a raga, a melodic mode in Indian classical music *Ragini, an Indian feminine given name from the above People *Ragini (actress) (1937–1976), Indian film actress, one of the Travancore si ...

. Her specialty was playing a selfless woman, enduring the rough treatment meted by her husband and family, but who eventually "brought her erring husband back home". She came into prominence with Mazhar Khan's ''Pehli Nazar'' (1945), her first film in a leading role. A discovery of actor-producer-director Mazhar Khan, she became inundated with film offers, becoming one of the busiest actresses by 1949, along with other leading ladies such as

Suraiya Suraiya Jamal Sheikh (15 June 1929 – 31 January 2004), mononymously known as Suraiya, was an Indian actress and playback singer who worked in Hindi films. She is regarded as one of the greatest and finest actresses in the history of Indian c ...

and Nargis. She starred in films with the leading heroes of the era like

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 ...

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 ...

, Surendra, Motilal,

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 Born in the Kapoor Haveli i ...

, Mahipal etc. Some of her successful films were ''Pehli Nazar'', '' Dard'' (1947), '' Elaan'' (1947) ''Kaneez'' (1947), and '' Babul'' (1950).

Early life

Munawar Sultana was born on 8 November 1924, in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, into a strict

Punjabi Muslim Punjabi Muslims are Punjabis who are adherents of Islam. With a population of more than 112 million, they are the third-largest predominantly Islam-adhering Muslim ethnicity in the world, after Arabs and Bengalis. The majority of Punjabi Musl ...

family. Munawar was born on the same day as Pakistani singer

Munawar Sultana Munawar Sultana (8 November 1924 – 15 September 2007) was an Indian cinema actress, who acted in Hindi films. She is cited as one of the "popular" actresses of the late 1940s to early 1950s period, along with Noor Jehan, Swarnalata and Rag ...

, and has the same name, but the two are not related. According to an interview with son Sarfaraz and daughter Shaheen, conducted by Shishir Krishna Sharma, Munawar's father was a radio announcer. Munawar wanted to become a doctor, but was side-tracked by an offer in films. This was a small role in the film, Dalsukh Pancholi's '' Khazanchi'' (1941), where she played a barmaid, and had a song, "Peene Ke Din Aaye" picturised on her. She went by the screen name Asha for this period.Filmography of Munawar Sultana on Cinestaan.com website
Retrieved 18 January 2022 According to Patel, Munawar came to

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

from Lahore, courtesy of the actor-director Mazhar Khan in 1945. She became popular with her film ''Pehli Nazar'', a role she stated was one of her favourites.

Career

In 1945, she was visited in Lahore by producer-actor-director Mazhar Khan, who contracted her on a monthly fee of Rs. 4000 plus an apartment, and brought her to Bombay. Munawar's first film with Mazhar was ''Pehli Nazar'', where she was cast opposite actor Motilal. In the popular song "Dil Jalta Hai Toh Jalne Do" (Let the Aflame Heart Burn) playbacked by singer Mukesh for Motilal, Khan focused on Munawar's close-ups during the picturisation.

1940s

Following ''Pehli Nazar'', she was kept busy through 1947 to 1949 working in several films.

Baburao Patel Baburao Patel (1904–1982) was an Indian publisher and writer, associated with films and politics. Career Baburao: A Pioneer of Indian Cinema. Baburao was a key figure in the early days of Indian cinema. He started his career as a journalist ...

wrote in the cine-mag

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 reportedly ...

1949, about her being one of the most over-worked actresses along with Suraiya and Nargis. In 1947, Munawar acted in four films ''Dard'', ''Elaan'', ''Andhon Ki Duniya'' and ''Naiyya''. ''Dard'' was directed by

Abdul Rashid Kardar Abdur Rashid Kardar (2 October 1904 – 22 November 1989) was an Indian film actor, director and producer. He is credited with establishing the film industry in the Bhati Gate locality of Lahore, British India (now in Pakistan). Early life an ...

under Kardar Productions. In spite of no big stars being in the film, it turned out to be a surprise "musical hit" at the box office. The hero of the film was Kardar's brother Nusrat (Kardar), while

played the second lead, with Munawar Sultana as the main heroine. Munawar lip-synced three songs voiced for her by Uma Devi, a Naushad discovery. The song "Afsana Likh Rahin Hoon" became a big success. '' Elaan'' garnered positive reviews for Munawar. A Muslim social, the film was praised for its "progressive attitude" towards the need of education. It was directed by

Mehboob Khan Mehboob Khan Ramzan Khan (9 September 1907
at filmreference.com. – 28 May 1964) was a pr ...

and had Surendra as the male lead. The year 1948 saw Munawar in four more films. ''Parai Aag'' was produced by Great India Pictures and directed by Najam Naqvi. The film starred Munawar with

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 ...

and Ulhas. ''Sona'' (''Gold'') was another Mazhar Khan-directed film for his Mazhar Arts Production. ''Majboor'' was a

Bombay Talkies Bombay Talkies was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation, Bombay Talkies produced 40 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay. The studio was established in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. Afte ...

production, under the direction of Nazir Ajmeri. It had

Shyam Shyam is a name of Krishna and an Indian masculine given name and surname. Notable people with this name include: ;Shyam *Shyam (actor) (1920–1951), Indian Hindi film actor *Shyam (composer) (born 1937), an Indian music composer from Kerala *Shya ...

opposite Munawar with music by Ghulam Haider. Bombay Talkies had gone through several changes following

Himanshu Rai Himanshu Rai (1892 – 16 May 1940) was an Indian actor and film director. Regarded as one of the pioneers of Indian cinema, he is best known as the founder of the studio in 1934, along with Devika Rani. He was associated with a number of mov ...

's death, and

Devika Rani Devika Rani Chaudhuri (30 March 1908 – 9 March 1994), usually known as Devika Rani, was an Indian actress who worked in Hindi films. Widely acknowledged as the First Lady of Indian cinema, Devika Rani is regarded as one of the greatest ...

's partnership with S. Mukherjee had produced several box office hits. With first, Mukherjee, and then Devika Rani leaving as head of production of Bombay Talkies,

Ashok Kumar Ashok Kumar (born Kumudlal Ganguly; 13 October 1911 – 10 December 2001), was an Indian actor who attained iconic status in Indian cinema. He is regarded as one of the greatest actors of Indian cinema. He is considered to be the first Super-st ...

and S. Vacha returned to Bombay Talkies and took over control. Their first film was ''Majboor''. The story was an "inter-communal" love story, with a Muslim boy falling for a Hindu girl. Munawar formed a "hit-pairing" with Shyam in this film, while Lata Mangeshkar came into prominence under the music direction of Ghulam Haider. ''Meri Kahani'' was directed by cameraman Keki Mistry and produced by Sharaf for Super Team Federal Productions (Bombay). The film co-starred Munawar and

with Surendra. A comedy of errors, it has the hero in a double role leading to mistaken identities. 1949 was Munawar's busiest year with seven releases. ''Dil Ki Duniya'' was directed by Mazhar Khan for his Noble Arts Production. It co-starred Geeta Bali and Mazhar with Munawar. The film was praised for its "versatility" and "well-balanced production values", along with good performances by Munawar, Mazhar and Geeta Bali. The film was claimed to have done "well" at the box office. Her standout film that year was '' Kaneez'', directed by Krishna Kumar for Caravan Pictures. A Muslim social, it had Munawar with

, and Kuldeep Kaur. She played a suffering woman married to a wayward husband, who eventually returns to her. It was described as one of her best roles.

1950s

Out of her four films released in 1950, Munawar's most notable film was '' Babul'' (Father's House). She acted opposite

and

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 this love triangle. Directed by S. U. Sunny, the music was composed by

Naushad Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) was an Indian composer for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the use of ...

. The film became a major success at the box office. She acted in a few more films till 1956, with Jallad being her last appearance.

Personal life

While working in films, Munawar met Sharif Ali, an affluent businessman who supplied furniture for movie sets. He had financed and produced two films starring Munawar Sultana, namely ''Meri Kahani'' (1948) and ''Pyar Ki Manzil'' (1950). They got married in 1954, at which point Munawar Sultana quit acting. Her final film, ''Jallad'' was released in 1956, but had been completed before she got married. Munawar Sultana eventually had seven children. The family lived in a house on Ambedkar Road in the posh Pali Hill area of Mumbai, where many of Munawar's contemporaries in the film industry also lived. Unfortunately, her husband passed away suddenly in 1966, when the eldest of their seven children was only eleven years old. However, the family was still comfortably off as both Munawar Sultana and her husband had managed to keep their finances in good condition. For the last eight years of her life, she suffered from Alzheimer's disease. She died peacefully at her home on 15 September 2007, at the age of eighty-two.Who is Munawar Sultana?
Cinestaan.com website, Published 15 September 2016, Retrieved 18 January 2022

Filmography

List:

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sultana, Munawar 1924 births 2007 deaths Actresses from Lahore Actresses in Hindi cinema Actresses from Mumbai Actresses in Urdu cinema 20th-century Indian actresses