Shabnam and Nadeem

It would be hard to say when Nadeeem first met Shabnam, but the first film he did with her was Suroor Barabankvi’s Tum Mare Ho in 1968. Generally, Nadeem was paired with Shabana, while Rehman was doing movies with Shabnam. There weren’t too many fans of the Nadeem-Shabnam pair in East Pakistan then. Everybody liked Shabana with Nadeem. In fact, Shabnam was already being cast together with Waheed Murad in Lahore more often during that time. So, Nadeem seldom had a chance to seriously consider Shabnam as his screen partner. But his next film with her i.e. Nazneen didn’t do badly, but Shama Aur Parwana was their first real success in 1970.

After that, the two stars consistently snuggled close to each other, with films like Jaley Na Kyun Parwana, Chiragh Kahan Rohni Kahan, Man Kee Jeet and Ehsas, and that made them a star attraction together. Their respect for each other grew over the years as their expressive inputs increased. In the early 1970s, Nadeem was doing more films with Deeba (Sangdil, Aao Pyar Karien, and Ansoo), Shamim Ara (Suhag, Angarey, Aanch) and Nisho (Bazi, Sehrey Ke phool). But as time progressed, by the mid 1970’s, Nadeem had lots of movies with Shabnam, and their pair was established as a symbol of quality work, like Ehsas, Badal Aur Bijli, Society, Do Badan, Dillagi, Sharafat etc

In 1977, Aaina was released and created records of the longest running film and biggest earner of Pakistan history. After 1977, Nadeem and Shabnam attained a phenomenal rise in fortunes. Aaina established them for another decade. In the 1980’s, the pair continued to remain the prime actors of the country, with films like Bandish, Hum Dono, Qurbani, Dehleez, Kamyabi, Naraz etc.

It was always conjectured that Nadeem and Shabnam had soft corners for each other, though each of them had married lives of their own. Nothing concrete is there, in matters of proof that they over-indulged in any romantic overtures off-screen. Of course, tea and sympathy is always on the agenda!

Probably the last film they did together was Javed Fazil’s Faisla, which also featured Javed Sheikh. It was a massive hit and people still remember it as the Maula Jat of Urdu films!

Nadeem and Shabnam in Aina (1977)

Aina, a musical love story with a tinge of social comment, created history for having the longest combined run in Karachi—almost 250 weeks. The record for the business that it grossed at the box-office was surpassed in 1995, almost twenty-two years later, by Munda Bigra Jaey. Starring Shabnam, Nadeem, Rehan, Qavi, Bahar, Hanif and Shahzeb and produced by M.A. Shamsi of Kashif Films, it was, in the real sense, director Nazrul Islam’s brainchild. The film was based on an oft-repeated plot, involving a young man from a middle income family contented with his job as assistant manager at a hotel, and a rich and pampered though good-natured girl. They fall in love but when the time comes to get married, the girl’s parents, as usually happens, oppose the match. The ensuing tussle turns into a verbal battle between the arrogance of the rich and the pride of a have-not. Ultimately in desperation the parents give up but warn the couple that they are now on their own. Now the part-time romance is transformed by the full-time vagaries of daily existence. The realities of life dawn on the girl who misses her parents. She becomes more and more desperate when the husband sticks to his egoistic stand and flatly refuses to let her accept any gift or support from her parents. The differences between husband and wife reach a breaking point.

In the meanwhile a baby boy is born to them. The wife’s parents use the birth of their grandchild as an opportunity to take their daughter away after telling her that the baby died in childbirth. The man is left with the child, he leaves the city and finds work at a hill resort. Some years pass; both long for each other. In the end, the heroine goes to that particular hill station for health reasons and there she hears a young boy singing the same song she used to render for her beloved. Songs often serve as vital signs of recognition in the cinema of the subcontinent. The gambit works well with the audience, even though it has been used in dozens of movies. In Aina the heroine chases the boy who, through the song, leads her to his father. The film ends with the happy reunion of the lovers and good sense prevailing in all concerned.

What made Aina different from run-of-the-mill ventures, was the innovation in the picturization of half a dozen enchanting songs composed by Robin Ghosh on lyrics closely linked with the situation and narrative of the story. Suroor Barabankvi and Bashir Niazi, colleagues of Nazrul and Robin Ghosh, together created some of the finest melodies in the realm of film. Nayyara Noor in her soothing voice sang Roothe ho tum, tum ko kaise manaun piya. Yet another popular song was Waada karo Sajana which was filmed on a speedboat and sung by Mehnaz and Akhlaq. Mehdi Hasan excelled in a most unusual tune Kabhi mein sochta hun. Mehnaz sang some of cinema’s most unforgettable duets with Akhlaq and Alamgir such as Pyar karti hun, kis se and Mujhe dil se na bhulana. The last song, also rendered by Mehdi Hasan and Nayyara, hit the popularity charts as the theme song of Aina.

In Aina Nazrul infused a romantic note through the songs, using the elements of nature as tools to enhance their impact. His use of open spaces to create the mood of the scenes in contrast with the normal lip-sync presentation of songs greatly appealed to the audience. He took the liberty of showing the love birds engrossed in each other or dancing to the rhythmic beat of the song, sometimes played in the background and sometimes being sung by them. This allowed a great deal of freedom in juxtaposing the performers in a vast landscape through very, very long to very big shots with smooth transitions. He was not the innovator of this technique, yet in Aina, it was used imaginatively and skillfully. Shabnam and Nadeem enacted the romantic scenes with aplomb and were lauded by urban youth and young married couples.

It is an interesting coincidence that Bollywood’s Raja Hindustani, the topmost money maker of 1996, has almost the same plot. Aamir Khan and Karishma Kapoor play the roles enacted by Nadeem and Shabnam in Aina. The musical love story of a rich girl and a modest but proud young man once again comes out as a winner. It shows a remarkable similarity in the kind of themes appreciated by the audiences of India and Pakistan even after fifty years of Partition.

Aina established Calcutta-born Nazrul Islam as one of the topmost directors of Pakistani cinema.

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1977, Genre – Drama, Country – Pakistan, Language – Urdu, Producer – M.A. Shamsi, Director – Nazrul Islam, Music Director – Robin Ghosh, Cast – Shabnam, Nadeem, Qavi Khan, Bahar, Rehan, Hanif, Shahzeb

Shabnam

It was Bengali jadoo right out of the books of incantations when Shabnam appeared as Jharna in the first ever Urdu film from East Pakistan, titled Chanda. She was destined to become a true superstar, unmatched in the history of our industry. She came to cinema in the mid-1950s, Bengali films included, and her long career stretched to the early 1990s. So that makes it more than 40 years of dominance.

Shabnam started her film career by working in low budget East-Pakistani films like Chanda, Talash, Aakhri Station and Darshan. In Aakhri Station, Shabnam played the role of a mentally handicapped young woman. Though she only has a one-line dialogue throughout the movie, she portrayed her character with a rare pathos. To date it remains one of her most memorable roles and even Shabnam considers it to be her finest performance. Another East Pakistani Film – Darshan was released on a commission basis by Ghaffar Danawalla as nobody was willing to take the risk of buying the movie’s distribution rights. However, the film’s fascinating environment, soulful music and Rahman’s slick direction caught the attention of audiences all over the country. Darshan brought good luck to Shabnam, as the film drew attention in West Pakistan too, and she was signed by Film Arts (production company owned by Waheed Murad) for their Karachi-based production Samander. The story attributed to Waheed Murad, was derived from B.R. Chopra’s big hit Naya Daur (1957), starring Dilip Kumar, Vyjayantimala and Ajit. Waheed, Hanif, and Shabnam played the roles in the Pakistani version which was picturized on the lives of poor fishermen rather than the tonga wallas of the original movie.

Directed by Rafiq Rizvi, Samander did not do very well but the movie proved to be a stepping stone for Shabnam on her way to becoming a much sought-after actress in the western wing of the country. Like Nadeem she continued her work at Dhaka but gradually increased her engagements in Lahore. Soon she got more offers pairing her with other top actors, including Sudhir, Kamal, Waheed Murad, Mohammed Ali and most of the time with her colleague in Dhaka, Nadeem. With sheer commitment, hard work and the support of her husband Robin Ghosh a composer, Shabnam quickly adapted to the new atmosphere. She soon developed her own style of Urdu with a Bengali accent which appealed to audiences instantly. Moreover, the charm of the Bengali belle captivated film-goers to such an extent that her accent was considered more an asset than a deficiency.

In the late sixties she proved her mettle with hits like Ladla and Andaleeb, but the early seventies marked the beginning of her real stardom. Dosti and Anmol were both major successes. The Shabnam-Nadeem pair made the best team with ace director Pervez Malik. Together they created some of the most successful movies of Pakistan. In the years to come, Shabnam was to reach the heights of stardom rarely achieved by any other actress before her. In 1979, her film Aina, became Pakistan’s longest running film, and was shown for almost five years. In the early 1980s, she continued her dominance by changing her overall style to the modern look and acted in such films as Naheen Abhi Naheen, Bandish, Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna, etc.

Amongst actresses Shabnam has won the most Nigar Awards. Like Nadeem she too has been given lifetime achievement award by the Nigar Award Committee. Her performance in films like Aakhri Station, Aas, Dosti, Talash, Anmol, Naheen Abhi Naheen, Dooriyan, Aina, Pakeeza and Qurbani won her many laurels.

Sometime during the late 80′s or early 90′s Shabnam went back to her native country Bangladesh. Her last released film in Pakistan was Aulad Ki Qasam (1997). She did few films in Bangaldesh including Amma Jaan which, according to her, did good business but failed to revive her career in films in that part of the world. She attributes the cold response to the lack of quality roles, hence resulting in a self-induced retirement. But that does not mean she is not open to offers if the role is good and her health allows her to take up any such offers – Mushtaq Gazdar, Zulqarnain Shahid, & Ummer Siddique