The Shahnoor Studios (also spelled as Shahnur Studios) is the studio taken over by Syed Shaukat Hussain Rizvi and his first wife,

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 ...

in the aftermath of the

independence of Pakistan The Pakistan Movement was a religiopolitical and social movement that emerged in the early 20th century as part of a campaign that advocated the creation of an Islamic state in parts of what was then British Raj. It was rooted in the two-nation th ...

in 1947. The studio is one of the oldest studios 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 ...

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# ...

and was previously known as Shori Studios.

History

During the 1940s in

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 ...

, Rizvi initially owned a company called ''Shaukat Art Productions''. Before coming to Pakistan, Rizvi had directed 5 films in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

starring

. * Khandan (1942) - a hit film, with music by Ghulam Haider * Naukar (1943) - a film written by

Saadat Hasan Manto Saadat Hasan Manto (; Punjabi, , , ; 11 May 1912 – 18 January 1955) was a Pakistani writer, playwright and author who was active in British India and later, after the 1947 partition of India, in Pakistan. Writing mainly in Urdu, he produc ...

* Dost (1944) - a hit film, with music by Sajjad Hussain * Zeenat (1945) - a hit film, with music by ''Meer Saheb'' and ''Hafiz Khan'' and the all-female super-hit

Qawwali Qawwali is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing originating in the Indian subcontinent. Originally performed at Sufi shrines throughout the Indian subcontinent, it is famous throughout Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan and has ...

"Aahein Na Bhari Shikve Na Kiye" * Jugnu (1947) - a hit film, with super-hit music by Feroz Nizami In 1948, after the independence of Pakistan, Noor Jehan and Rizvi shifted to

. On the vandalised remains of what had been the old ''Shorey Studios'', they rebuilt a new studio called Shahnoor Studios, taking the word 'Shah' from Rizvi's name and the word 'Noor' from Noor Jehan's name. It was built from scratch and was finally completed and opened in 1950. The first film to be made there was the Punjabi

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

Chanway ''Chanway'' or ''Chan Wey'' () is a 1951 Pakistani Punjabi-language film directed Noor Jehan (in her directorial debut) with the supervision of Shaukat Hussain Rizvi. It was written by Syed Imtiaz Ali Taj. Feroz Nizami provided the music ...

(1951), a blockbuster film with music by Feroz Nizami. Noor Jehan and Rizvi directed this Punjabi film together, since Rizvi did not speak the Punjabi language fluently. The film became a huge success and brought Noor Jehan fame and fortune in Pakistan. The studio's early years brought great success as all of Rizvi's films were shot in this studio. However, with the divorce of Rizvi and Noor Jehan in 1955, Noor Jehan had to write off her share of the Shahnoor Studios to Shaukat Hussain Rizvi in the divorce court, to get the custody of her daughter, Zile Huma and also agree to the condition that she would not shoot films in this studio again. Syed Shaukat's career, after the divorce, wasn't as great as it used to be in India, because in marrying Noor Jehan, he was mainly successful because of her. He was only able to make three flop films after his divorce. After the death of Shaukat Hussain Rizvi in 1998 at age 85, this studio is currently managed by Rizvi's three sons ''Asghar Hussain Rizvi'', ''Shahenshah Rizvi'' and ''Ali Mujtaba Rizvi''.

References

Pakistani film studios Mass media in Lahore {{film-studio-stub

History

See also

References