Tribute paid to iconic Noor Jehan

RAWALPINDI: Progressive Writers Association (PWA) and PNCA (Pakistan National Council of the Arts) joined hands in paying well-deserved rich homage to Madam Noor Jehan at PNCA.

Noorjehan’s life and career opened up this evening like chapters from film history with glowing tributes from her birth in a small town in Qasoor in 1926 through her eventful long journey from Lahore to Kolkata in 1930, return to Lahore, and later Mumbai and then back to Lahore and finally for eternal rest in Karachi. Her rise as an actress and singer in the forties, marriage with film director-editor Shaukat Hussain Rizvi, success with films like , Khandan, Zeenat, Bari Maa, Anmol Ghari and Jugno. On the eve of Independence with riots in full swing, the couple was all set to move from British India to Pakistan. Many of their friends advised and even insisted on not bringing an end to their glowing film career, and remain in Mumbai, taking a low-key dip for a while. It was 1947 when Noor Jehan and Dilip Kumar shared the romantic lead in Shaukat Rizvi’s Jugno, and Noorjehan recorded her only duet with Mohammad Rafi ‘Jahan badla wafa ka bewafai ke siwa kya hai’. Dilip Kumar went to the extent in asking both of them to stay in Mumbai. However, Shaukat Rizi was adamant to cross the border and Noor Jehan was equally determined to move back saying ‘Jahan sey aai hoon waheen wapis jaoon gi’.

The couple began a second beginning in Lahore (they both had worked here earlier during the forties). A partly-damaged film studio was allotted to them and renovated. Urdu films made here, competing with latest Indian hits, in the late-forties, and early fifties, did not do well at the box office. Shaukat Rizvi and NoorJehan made a smart move like Nazir and Swarnalata did with Larey, Pheerey and Sheri Babu. They both went for a Punjabi musical Chunway, composed by Feroz Nizami with Noorjehan, Jehangir and Santosh Kumar in leads. Chunway was a sleeper but soon got up and did good business.

Shaukat Rizvi from U.P did not even have a basic command over Punjabi language. He brought in Noorjehan (already playing the female lead in Chunway) to take care of the Punjabi dialogue delivery and wardrobe on the film set, and in return, gave her the credit for direction as well (‘Buy One, Get One Free’ kind of trade in).