Veena Malik

Veena Malik, born Zahida Malik on 26 February 1978, is an actress, model and comedian. She established herself as one of the leading women in the Pakistani television and film industry with her abilities to mimic others and improvise. Veena grew up expressing an interest in joining the film industry and her grandmother encouraged her. Her father, however, disliked the idea of his daughter being in an industry that was deemed unsuitable for girls in Pakistan and initially resisted her attempts to pursue a career in entertainment. However, she continued to receive support from her grandmother despite the disapproval of many family members. Before starting her career as an actress, Veena worked as a comedian for several television shows and series. She made her acting debut alongside Shaan and Zara Sheikh in Tere Pyar Mein in 2000, which did well at the box office but since she played a supporting role in the film she was barely acknowledged. However, she received widespread acclaim when she appeared in a supporting role in Javed Sheikh’s Yeh Dil Aap Ka Huwa in 2002; the film was a commercial success. In 2003, she appeared in Indo-Pak cross venture Punjabi film Pind Di Kuri which failed to do well. However, the film turned out be the first Indo-Pak venture film with a budget of approximately 70 million rupees. She also appeared in Askari’s Sassi Punno alongside Sana and Moammar Rana and in Jageer. In 2008, Veena appeared in the Punjabi film, Mohabbatan Sachiyan, alongside ex-fiancee Babrik Shah and newcomers Maria Khan and Adnan Khan. The film went on to become a commercial success. In 2010, she worked in Main Jeena Tere Naal, and debut comedy programme Miss Duniya.
Veena has usually been cast as a supporting actor. It is unclear if she herself stayed clear of the leading roles or was denied them. Industry enthusiasts say that the only genre she was good at was ‘comedy’ and that the directors failed to create a leading role around her acting skills. The criticism was taken well by her and she began to hone her skills even more in comedy. In 2002, she hosted a show called Prime Gupshup ushering a new direction for her comedic skills and she improvised on the hour-long show by occasionally mimicking actors. The show’s format was such a great success that she got offers from various other channels as well. She hosted the Geo TV show Hum Sub Umeed Say Hain, in which she was hailed for her parodies. In September 2010, Veena was approached to become part of the Indian television reality show, Bigg Boss Season 4, being hosted by Salman Khan. She accepted the offer and is now a part of the show that started on October 3, 2010 and will run for 14 weeks.

Swaranlata

Swaranlata, known to the world as the ‘tragedy queen’ of her time, was born into a Syal family in Rawalpindi as the youngest of many siblings. She lost her mother at the time of birth and was brought up by her eldest brother, who subsequently also gave her permission to start her acting career. She was described as a ‘tragedy queen’ because of her intense presence on screen and her apt dialogue delivery.

Swaranlata’s first film was Awaaz which was released in 1942 and directed by Rafiq Rizvi. Although Swaranlata was cast in a secondary role, she did her role with great confidence opposite such seasoned actors like Maya Banerji and Wasti. Seeing her enthusiasm for films, she was offered the lead role in Najam Naqvi’s Tasveer (1943) opposite superstar hero of his time Motilal. Tasveer, a romantic comedy about a philandering doctor did great business at box-office and there was no looking back for Swaranlata. She was showered with offers and was cast as the leading lady in lots of movies including Rattan (1944) which is still considered as one of the greatest hits of Indian Cinema and still remembered for it soulful songs scored by Naushad. In 1945, director-cum-producer-cum-actor Nazir started Laila Majnu (1945) under the banner of Hind Pictures, and Swaranlata was cast as Laila. Indian playback singer, Mohd Rafi also appeared in this film, alongside lead pair Swaranlata and Nazir to sing the chorus in tera jalwa jisne dekha. This film, an Arabian love legend, gave rise to a real life romance off the screen as well. Swaranlata converted to Islam and changed her name to Saeeda Bano. Swaranlata and Nazir got married and were inseparable till Nazir’s death in 1983.

The Swaran-Nazir pair was a very creative ensemble, churning out many movies together both before and after Partition. Theirs was a love marriage and although they had a difference of 20 years between them, their relationship was a stable and loving one. Swaran would often mention of the tough times they had at the time of Partition when they left everything they had behind in Bombay and shifted to Lahore. It was Bari Malik, who gave them refuge when they arrived in Lahore. The duo had to start from scratch and in the process became one of the pioneers of the Pakistan film industry.

In1949, Nazir and Swaranlata made their first Pakistani venture, Sachchai, at their dilapidated studios, with equipment that would have been more valuable as museum artifacts. The film lacking in quality, got poor response at the box office. This did not deter Nazir. He embarked on the second project, Pheray, the first Punjabi Film of Pakistan, made with a meagre 65,000 rupees. It was completed within a record time of 6 weeks. Swaranlata and Nazir played the lead roles, and Pheray proved to be a big money maker even in competition with the films produced in Bombay. It found its place in the archives of our national film industry as the first Pakistani movie to have celebrated its silver jubilee.

Swaranlata acted with most actors of her era including Santosh, Darpan, Dilip Kumar and Karan Dewan, and came to be known as one of the greatest actresses of Pakistan. Some of her notable films in Pakistan include Shehri Babu (1953), Naukar (1955), and Noor-e- Islam (1957). Naukar was Golden-Jubilee hit film about poor maid (Swaranlata) and her husband (Nazir) who had to give in their newly born baby to their rich Begum Sahiba (Raagini). When Begum has her own child, the poor boy must suffer along with the poor maid. This was a soap opera in the real sense of the term, which provided sentiments for tears to both women and men folks. Ironically, Naukar was based on a plagiarized script from an Indian film Aulad (1954). Noor-e-Islam, a story based on religious sentiments, attracted a great number of family viewers with its na’ats. One of these - Shah-e-Madina Yasrab ke waali, sare nabi tere dark e sawali – gained tremendous popularity amongst public.

In the later part of her career, Swaranlata switched to character roles and appeared in some of her last films including Sawal (1966), and Duniya Na Mane (1971). Notable among them was Sawal, one of the finest films directed by Hassan Tariq. It was a story about upper-middle-class girl (Saloni), who had gone much too far in imitation of Western manners and disowns her own son for worldy pleasures. Swaranlata gave moving performance as Saloni’s mother.

Swaranlata gradually moved away from films as she became more engrossed on the home front. Being a reserved person by nature, she avoided public gatherings and mingled just with her good friends who had stood by her through the good and bad times. Whenever she was forced into the limelight, in the shape of interviews or the recipient of an award, she always appeared dignified and straightforward, not being afraid to voice her opinions about anything. She was also a good Samaritan and helped many families with their children’s education. She enjoyed good music, both Western and South Asian.

She survived the death of her husband, youngest daughter and her son-in-law with the same grit that she displayed throughout her life. She did shed tears, but she would always get right back up again and immerse herself in her daily routine. After her husband’s death she faced a lot of hardships which she countered with dignity, displaying the mettle that she was made of.

Swaranlata, passed away at the age of 83 in her family home in Lahore on February 8, 2008, in the early hours of the day – Fariha Rashed, Ummer Siddique, Sambreen Rashed and Mushtaq Gazdar

Firdous

Real name Parveen, Firdous was introduced by Nakshab in Fanoos (1963) as a supporting actress, while the main leads were played by Komal and Salam Peerzada. The film was about a haunted Haveli, where a dancer is seen performing her classical dances, and making occasional appearances at the old gate of the palatial home of Nawab, who had died long ago. However, the film flopped due to some vital technical flaws in the film.

When Firdous started her career, she didn’t enjoy immediate success and most of her earlier films flopped including Khandaan, Malang, Lai Laag and Aurat. With the success of the Punjabi film Malangi in 1965, she was finally accepted by the audiences. One of the songs from this film “Mahi vay sanoun bhul na javein” sung by Noor Jehan and picturized on Firdous was one of the main reasons for the success of this film. The acceptance turned into adulation as her pairing with the Punjabi superstar Akmal clicked in a huge way and two started scoring one jubilee hit after another (Akbara, Chacha Jee etc). When Firdous danced those energetic thumka filled numbers with her hair let loose dervish style, the public was mesmerized by her charm. Soon Akmal and Firdous were having a torrid love affair (many people insist that they had married). Akmal died suddenly in 1967, and insiders in the industry claim that there was more to his death than just death by overdose or liver failure. Insiders claim that it was Firdous’ disgruntled brothers who were responsible for poisoning Akmal – a star who is still talked about as King of the 60′s.

Despite the loss of Akmal, Firdous soldiered on relentlessly and featured in many hit films with the top Punjabi actors  of that time including Habib, Sudhir, Yusuf Khan and the man who would eventually play a major part in her life – Ejaz Durrani. Producer Masood Parvez bought Firdous and Ejaz together for the folk tale of Mirza Jat in 1967 which became a raging success. Then he followed up with the same Firdous – Ejaz combination for the similar Murad Baloch and other producers quickly began to cash in on the hottest pair in Lollywood with films like Jawani Mastani, Dilan De Sauday, Sheran Dee Jorri, Hameeda, Yaar te Pyaar, Ishq na Poochay Zaat all following in rapid succession. Then Masood Parvez hit the jackpot in 1970 casting the two for the legend of Heer Ranjha. The film, its songs and its stars became a rage and is still considered to be among the finest films ever to have come out of Lollywood and certainly the best ever Punjabi film.

However, by then Ejaz and Firdous were involved with each other romantically and Noor Jehan refused to sing songs for any film featuring Firdous. Because of this, Firdous’ career started to go downhill and one by one producers stopped signing Firdous for their upcoming projects and work began to dry up completely for the once super-busy actress. Noor Jehan refusal to sing songs for her effected her career to such an extent that Firdous was forced to play character role in Urdu film Aansoo (1971) during the height of her career!

Based on Riaz Arshad’s novel “Andhi Jawani”, Aansoo was one of the best films made during the early period of colored Lollywood films. The film dealt with the sensitive issue of rape and its after effects. In Ansoo, Firdous played Shahid’s mother and reminded her adoring fans of her ability as a performer. She was quiet stunning, even if in the unfamiliar role of a mother.

However, even the success of Ansoo couldn’t save her career and that coupled with the arrival of new Punjabi heroines including Mumtaz, Aasiya and Anjuman plus her scandal with Shahid hit the final nail in her coffin. Firdous left film industry in 1976 and joined it again after 8 years in 1984 as an unsuccessful character actress in films including Yeh kaisey hua (1984), Hitler (1986) etc. Nowadays, Firdous lives a retired life in Lahore.