Armaan (1966)

Armaan was released on Friday, March 18, 1966, at a time when the country was echoing with protests against the Tashkent Agreement signed by President Ayub Khan and the Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.

It was said that a war ‘won’ on the front had been ‘lost’ on the table. Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, the dissident foreign minister who was generally identified with a hard line stance against India, had just received an overwhelming ovation at the Lahore Railway Station from a multitude of his admirers.

Then, as the film opened in Naz Cinema, Karachi, and across West and East Pakistan, it captured the imagination of the entire society. Did the masses recognise, unconsciously, their deepest ideals in the fantasy about an educated and principle-centered aristocrat stepping down from his ranks for courting an orphaned girl of humble background and himself getting transformed in the process?

At least that was the gist of the hero’s journey from the festive Ko Ko Korina to the mature Jab pyar mein do dil miltay hain; and from the light-hearted rendition of Akele na jana by Ahmad Rushdi to the symphonic and cataclysmic orchestra accompanying the voice of Mala, at the end. In retrospect, one may say that this was not very unlike the expectations that people were beginning to develop from Bhutto around the same time — regardless of whether or not the politician lived up to the ideals given by poets.

The film was the first Pakistani release to become a “Platinum Jubilee” (running for 75 cumulative weeks). The middle class, usually reluctant to go to the cinema, got attracted in large numbers (in some ways this shift had already started with Saheli four years earlier and Naela the last year but it reached its climax with Armaan). The hairstyle of the writer, producer and actor Waheed Murad became the default for that generation. Conservatives and liberals, rich and poor, educated and the illiterate, were equally mesmerised.

The legends spawned by Armaan spread wide and were going to prove lasting. Fellow film-maker Nazrul Islam, in his greatest film Aaina (1977) eleven year later, named the heroine Najma (played by Shabnam) after the role played by Zeba in Armaan. In a subsequent film, Nahin abhi Nahin (1980), Nazrul not only named the main character Armaan, but even persuaded the lead actor Faisal Rehman to use this as a real name (recently, Faisal has directed a television sequel to Nahin abhi Nahin where the protagonist Armaan, now grown up and teaching in a college, confronts the spirit of Allama Iqbal and seeks answers to questions about the existence and destiny of Pakistan).

If Armaan is one of the pegs around which threads of our collective consciousness are tied then it very well deserves that prestige. It was an offering from well-educated and imaginative youth who respected their culture and wanted to bring a healthy change through the unity of imagination. Waheed had an M.A. degree in English from Karachi University and his obsessions included James Joyce, Virginia Woolf and Henry James (one of his dreams was to make a stream of consciousness films and he arguably achieved it three year later in one of his productions).

In developing the story of Armaan, he drew upon Cinderella, She Stoops to Conquer, The Taming of the Shrew, Jane Eyre and Wuthering Heights, but he used his sources ingenuously for creating a brevity that effectively conveyed the messages ingrained in the greatest cultural movements of recent history (attachment to Iqbal ran in Waheed’s family, since his grandfather Manzur Ilahi Murad was an acquaintance of the poet-philosopher in Sialkot).

Director Pervez Malik, who also wrote the screenplay, had a master’s degree in film-making from California. Camera work, imagery and symbolism were on a par with some of the best masterpieces of that time: one could identify allusions to La Dolce Vita and Hiroshima Mon Amour. Later, Pervez was going to win a Pride of Performance Award for his patriotic films, including a trilogy about the awakening of the masses through the power of love: Anmol (1972), Dushman (1974) and Pehchan (1975). The second of these is also significant because a year before India discovered “the angry young man” in Deewar (1975), Pervez Malik had created the icon here and articulated its social context with much more clarity and boldness than elsewhere.

Masroor Anwar, who wrote the dialogues and lyrics, had received a fresh impetus from his work in the 1965 war. A fascinating aspect of the lyrics of Armaan is that each song from this film, although so moving as an expression of ordinary love, can also be interpreted as a national song.

Consider, for instance, Akele na jana. The Ahmad Rushdi version is probably what every Pakistani may like to say to Pakistan: “Diya hosla jis nay jeenay ka hum ko….” (you are a beautiful feeling that gave us the courage to live; you are the certainty that never leaves the heart; you the hope that lasts). It should surprise no one that the same Masroor Anwar later gave such national songs like Sohni dharti and Wattan ki mitti gawah rehna.

Sohail Rana, who gave music to Armaan, came from a literary family. His father, Rana Akbarabadi, was a renowned poet and had approved of his son’s passion only on the condition that the talent should be used for perpetuating noble values. Sohail not only composed music for memorable national songs, including Apni jaan nazr karoon, Sohni dharti and Jeevay Pakistan but was also destined to set music to Hum Mustafavi Hain by Jamiluddin Aali, which was adopted as the national anthem of the Islamic Summit Conference in 1974 (it retains that status and is played wherever the summit is held).

In the 1970s and the ’80s, Sohail was best known to the youth in Pakistan through his popular television programme in which he taught music and good manners. Armaan, in a way, had started with him. One night in 1963 or 1964 he heard a melody in his dream. He woke up and wrote it down. The words that were given to it eventually were, Akele na jana…

The rest is film history, though sadly unwritten for the most part – Khurram Ali Shafique

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1966, Genre – Drama, Country – Pakistan, Language – Urdu, Producer – Waheed Murad, Director – Pervez Malik, Music Director – Sohail Rana, Cast - Zeba, Waheed Murad, Nirala, Rozina, Tarannum

Zeba & Waheed Murad

It was as if the world was waiting for them with bated breath. Fewer pairs in the history of the sub-continental cinema have awakened such interest and curiosity as Waheed Murad and Zeba. She was senior to him and had worked with all top heroes of her time, being cast together with Sudhir (Baghi Sipahi) Darpan (Jab Se Dekha Hai Tumhein), Kamal (Tauba and Ashiana), Mohammed Ali (Head Constable) and Ratan Kumar (Sameera), before she got a chance to star opposite Waheed in Parvez Malik’s Heera Aur Patthar, in 1964. She had more experience, but when they met on the set of Heera Aur Patthar, it was instant magic. Waheed was a happy-go-lucky Youngman, fresh out of college, with high ideals, and Zeba full of zest and jest, was also blessed with poise on the screen. They exchanged couplets, dialogue, jokes, anecdotes, what not, and become friends within a few minutes of their mulaqat. Therefore, it took Parvez Malik to suggest this pair.

Before Heera Aur Patthar, or even after that, other producers and directors did not have the insight to realize their compatibility. Even after H aur P succeeded, Waheed was busy working with unequal screen partners like Naghma (Mamta), Bahar (Doctor) and Sabra Sultana (Bahu Begum). Only S.M Yousuf cast Waheed with Zeba in Eid Mubarak, in 1965, which was immensely appreciated. But Armaan, in 1966, just changed the screen scope of the Pakistani cinema. The first Platinum Jubilee hit proved that the two merged incredibly. Specially, that last scene of Arman, where they rush into each other’s arms on the popular strains of Sohail Rana, Akeley Na Jana, was the talk of the town. They were stars of the decade within the 1st day of the release, and people talked about them as eternal lovers. When they were happy on the screen, the audience felt they were happy off-screen too. When Waheed had a frown on his face in Ehsan, for a scene, where Zeba, a widow did not wear his gift, the cine goers felt the lovers’ tiff crosses over to the real life.

Insaniyat, which portrayed parted lovers, Zeba married to a chronic patient (not figuratively) Tariq Aziz and Waheed forced by circumstances to treat him, left a big impression on the people’s minds because Waheed dies in the tragic film. Ehsan and Rishta Hai Pyar Ka were their last pictures together, as Mohammed Ali had proposed to Zeba and they got married. In Kaneez and Jaag Utha Insan, Ali, Zeba and Waheed picturised scenes side by side, and it was a known fact that Mohammed Ali had proposed to Zeba during the making of Kaneez, where, by the way, Waheed did the lead. In an emotional scene, when Waheed slaps Mohammed Ali, the audience clapped for the hero. Immediately after marriage, Ali and Zeba launched Aag, while Waheed changed the leading lady in Doraha, and picked Shamim Ara.

Only close circles of Waheed know that Shamim Ara was just a replacement. All the dialogue and songs were for Zeba. Bhooli huee hoon dastan was an echo of the sad heart. And Haan isse morr par/ iss jagah baith kar tum ne wadah kiya tha sath do gey zindagi bhar/ chorr kar tum na jaoge haan issi mor par… what it meant just doesn’t need words to convey.

Zeba & Mohammed Ali

If Pakistani film industry was able to put forward a pair of regal grace, timeless integrity, expressive brilliance and screen glory as well as marital blessings, it is the couple called Ali-Zeb. Different views do continue to exist, but when you see that Mohammad Ali and Zeba made their debut together for Fazli Sahib’s Chiragh Jalta Raha, then you must believe that they were destined to rule the reel and the real life together. Coming down from Radio Hyderabad, Mohammad Ali became what he was, the premier Pakistani film artiste, because of his interest in poetry, theatre, vocal delivery and a most dominating screen presence. It was once said of him that no film star could match him in expression and body language. That’s the reason that he drew out the highest accolades from the critics in films like Aag Ka Darya and Khamosh Raho. Unlike Ali, who played the villain and smaller roles in many films before coming up trumps in Khamosh Raho, Zeba won acclaim immediately after debut, in films like Jab Se Dekha Hai Tumhein, with Darpan and Dil Ne Tujihe Maan Liya, with Kamal. Baji followed the same year, in 1963. So, both the stars were off to good starts to their career.

Mohammad Ali despite a sober, literary background, used to be the most popular personality among friends and colleagues. And females were no exception. He was quite friendly with his co-stars like Bahar, Shamim Ara, Deeba and others. So Zeba though a most jovial person herself, found him quite interesting even on the first day they met. They did many films together before their marriage, like Head Constable, Rivaj, Kaneez, Jaag Utha Insan and Waqt Ki Pukar. But after Kaneez, the Ali-Zeb pair was united forever with marital bonds. And forthwith, S. Suleman launched a film on a jolly, romantic subject, called Aag. When that proved a hit, another such film, Jaise Jante Naheen was followed up and was a success too. Most interestingly, those who point out that the Waheed-Zeb pair was ultra popular, must also take into account that right after Ali and Zeba got married, the cine-goers, despite being stunned by the parting of Waheed and Zeba, gave the newly wedded couple the certificate of acceptance by making Aag a massive success. Both Doraha and Aag were released the same year and were both immensely liked. What does that mean? That the film-goers were essentially moved by good performances and did not condemn one pair or actor for other. Today our cinema has lost that viewership due to bad performances.

Apart from churning out hits together during the ‘60s and ‘70s, like Aag, Jaise Jante Naheen, Baharein Phir Aaeingee, Dil Diya Dard Liya, Najma, Afsana Zindagi Ka, Mohabbat, Aurat Ek Paheli, Naukar, Mohabbat Zinndagi Hai, Jab Jab Phool Khilay, Phool Mere Gulshan Ka, Daman Aur Chingari etc, the Ali-Zeb couple has remained a duo to be admired for social service and cultural contribution to the civic life.