Sultan Rahi (; June 24, 1938 – January 9, 1996) was a

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

actor, producer and screenwriter. He established himself as one of the leading and most successful actors of Pakistani and Punjabi cinema, and received a reputation as Pakistan's "

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

". During a career spanning 40 years, he acted in some 703 Punjabi films and 100 Urdu films, winning around 160 awards. His first film was the Urdu-language ''Baghi'' in 1956. He was 18 years old in this film. This was the first

Pakistani film The film industry of Pakistan, consisting of motion pictures, has had a large effect on Pakistani society and culture since the nation's independence. Pakistani cinema is made up of various sub-industries, including Lollywood, which mak ...

to be screen in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

Rahi acted with many heroines but he was known for his duo with Anjuman; ''Khoon da Hisab'' (1995) was his last film with Anjuman. Rahi earned two Nigar Awards for his work in ''Babul'' (1971) and ''Basheera'' (1972). In 1975 he portrayed the character of Maula Jatt in ''Wehshi Jatt'', winning his third Nigar Award. He reprised the role in its sequel '' Maula Jatt'' (1979), his best-known film. Some of his other films include '' Sher Khan'', '' Sharif Badmash, Chan Veryam'', ''Kaley Chore'', ''The Godfather'', '' Sharif Badmash'' and ''Wehshi Gujjar''.

Early life and family

According to Mushtaq Gazdar Rahi was born in

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

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 ...

, in 1938. Mazhar Iqbal of ''Pakmag'' further notes that he was from an

Urdu-speaking Native speakers of Urdu are spread across South Asia. The vast majority of them are Muslims of the Hindi Belt, Hindi–Urdu Belt of northern India, followed by the Deccanis, Deccani people of the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in south-central I ...

family, who had migrated to Rawalpindi from

Muzaffarnagar Muzaffarnagar (, ) is a city under Muzaffarnagar district in the Indian State of Uttar Pradesh. It is situated midway on the Delhi - Haridwar/Dehradun National Highway ( NH 58) and is also well connected with the national railway network. It ...

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

and that he was born in Muzaffarnagar as well. His father, Subedar Major Abdul Majeed, was a retired officer from the

British Indian Army The Indian Army was the force of British Raj, British India, until Indian Independence Act 1947, national independence in 1947. Formed in 1895 by uniting the three Presidency armies, it was responsible for the defence of both British India and ...

who belonged to a Punjabi

Arain Arain (also known as Raeen) are a large Punjabi Muslim agricultural community with a strong political identity and level of organisation. At the beginning of the last century, they numbered around 1 million and were mainly rural cultivator ...

family. He had five children, of which one, Haider Sultan, is also an actor.

Career

He began his film career in 1956 as a guest actor in the film '' Baghi''. His first breakthrough came with the film '' Wehshi Jatt'' (1975). This was the unofficial prequel to '' Maula Jatt'' (1979). ''Maula Jatt'' was released on 11 February 1979, which became his most successful Pakistani film. His other works include '' Behram Daku'' (1980), ''Sher Khan'' (1981), '' Sala Sahib'' and '' Ghulami'' (1985). Sultan Rahi appeared in key roles in over 535 films.

Death

On 9 January 1996, Rahi and his friend Ahsan, a film director, were travelling from

Islamabad Islamabad (; , ; ) is the capital city of Pakistan. It is the country's tenth-most populous city with a population of over 1.1 million and is federally administered by the Pakistani government as part of the Islamabad Capital Territory. Bu ...

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 ...

on the main highway in Pakistan,

Grand Trunk Road Grand Trunk Road (formerly known as Uttarapath, Sadak-e-Azam, Shah Rah-e-Azam, Badshahi Sadak, and Long Walk) is one of Asia's oldest and longest major roads. For at least 2,500 years it has linked Central Asia to the Indian subcontinent. It r ...

. Their vehicle got a flat tyre near Aimanabad Chungi, not far from Gujranwala. While they were changing the tyre, thieves approached the vehicle and tried to rob them. Rahi and his friend were both shot; Rahi eventually succumbed to his wounds, dying as a result.

Legacy

Rahi worked in the Punjabi film industry for over four decades. He was the highest paid Pakistani actor of his time. He was named in

the Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

as the most prolific actor.

Bahar Begum Bahar Begum (born Kishwar Begum; ) is an actress best known for many Pakistani movies since 1956. She was first introduced to the Pakistani film industry by the renowned film director Anwar Kamal Pasha in the film Chann Mahi (1956). Anwar K ...

reacted by saying: "I remember Sultan always saying that this industry will miss him when he’s gone but at the time, I don’t think we fully understood what he meant, but he truly proved his worth, There was only one Sultan Rahi in Lollywood and there will always be one Sultan Rahi – no one can replace him".

Mustafa Qureshi Mustafa Qureshi (born 11 May 1938) is a Pakistani film and television actor. He has acted in more than 600 movies, in Urdu, Punjabi and Sindhi languages. He is best remembered for playing the antagonist Noori Natt in '' Maula Jatt'' (1979) ...

commented that "Our onscreen chemistry was unique in a number of ways. Our pairing was the most popular film partnership throughout Lollywood's history, It’s true, there will never be another Sultan Rahi, ever. Everything he earned was a result of sheer hard work and talent". Film director Pervaiz Rana added: "Even though we are still making Punjabi films and many new heroes have entered and left the industry, I don’t think the golden era of Sultan Rahi will ever come back. His dialogues are etched in our hearts and memories, It’s the country’s love for Sultan that continues to reflect in his pictures and posters being plastered in shops and on buses."

Awards and honours

; Nigar Awards Won * Nigar Awards 1971 - Special Award for ''Babul''Sultan Rahi's Nigar Award (1971) on cineplot.com website
Retrieved 6 June 2019 * Nigar Awards 1972 - Best Actor for ''Basheera''Sultan Rahi's Nigar Award (1972) on cineplot.com
Retrieved 6 June 2019 * Nigar Awards 1975 - Best Actor for '' Wehshi Jatt''

Filmography

Discography

*''Alif Allah Chambe Di Booti, Vol. 1'', Oriental Star Agencies, 1996 (re-released in 2015). *''Sajda, Vol. 2'', Oriental Star Agencies, 1996.

Bibliography

Zāhid ʻAkāsī, ''Sult̤ān Rāhī : Pākistānī Filmon̲ Kā Sult̤ān'', Lahore : Jumhuri Publications, 2019 (reprint of the 2010 edition), 169 p. Biography.

References

External links

*
Filmography of Sultan Rahi on Complete Index To World Film (CITWF) website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rahi, Sultan 1938 births 1996 deaths 20th-century Pakistani male actors Male actors from Rawalpindi Nigar Award winners Pakistani male film actors Pakistani film producers Pakistani stunt performers Male actors in Punjabi cinema Male actors in Urdu cinema Muhajir people Deaths by firearm in Pakistan Assassinated Pakistani people 20th-century Pakistani screenwriters People from Muzaffarnagar