Shaheed (lit.'Martyr') is a 1962 Pakistani Urdu language music blockbuster classical film directed and produced by Khalil Qaiser under the production banner of K. K. Productions, and was the new banner that Qaiser formed.[2] It is written by Riaz Shahid, while the music is composed by Rashid Attre. It features Musarrat Nazir, Allauddin and Husna in the lead among other protagonist characters. It is recognized one of the successful films of the Pakistani cinema while its film budge and theatrical box office metrics are uncertain. In 2016, the Lok Virsa Museum screened the film as part of retaining historical film records in the museum.

Shaheed
Directed byKhalil Qaiser
Written byRiaz Shahid (dialogues)
Screenplay byRiaz Shahid
Produced byKhalil Qaiser
Starring
Music byRashid Attre
Production
company
K. K. Productions
Release date
  • 5 January 1962 (1962-01-05) (Pakistan)[1]
Running time
125 minutes
CountryPakistan
LanguageUrdu

Attre's composition from the poems by Munir Niazi and Faiz Ahmad Faiz played a prominent role in the film. It was later nominated for the Nigar Awards, presented by the Nigar magazine.[3] The film became the recipient of nine Nigar Awards, leading it to become one of the Pakistani films with maximum awards received.[4] The film revolves around political and social themes, in particular anti-imperialism theme reportedly based on Lawrence of Arabia. A few years later when the film was released, its director was killed by an unidentified person or a group of people.

Plot edit

The fictional story of the film involves a European trader named Lawrence who arrives in Saudi Arabia wearing a helmet with a cigar in his hand, accompanied by his femme fatale named Laila. After reaching in the country, he formulates a plan to extract petroleum from the Arabian Desert. He subsequently meets a person named Haris who works as an Arab blacksmith. Haris decides to resist the European trader, a former chieftain who has been exiled from the desert or the country,[4] while Emir opposes petroleum extraction.[1] Laila falls in love with Haris, he however falls in love with Aaliya.[4] After she learns about his love, she returns to her home and this event leaves her heart broken. She then sings a song titled "Us bewafa ka shahar" (the city of the unfaithful) which became one of the prominent songs of the 1960s.

Laila, a femme fatale has been exiled from the tribe for her involvement in street dancing which is supposed to be a shameful act in the Arabian tribes. Despite being neglected by Haris, she wants him to takeover the trader, and later she sets herself ablaze for Harris's victory in resistance and the oil refinery is damaged. She also sets herself ablaze as a result of her honour suicide in an attempt to regain her pride in the tribe and to save her country from the foreigner.[4]

Cast edit

Soundtrack edit

All music is composed by Rashid Attre

Saheed
No.TitleLyricsSinger (s)[5][6]Length
1."Us bewafa ka shehar hai"Munir NiaziNaseem Begum 
2."Nisar Mein Teri Galiyon Ke"Faiz Ahmed FaizMunir Hussain 
3."Habibi Hayya Hayya"Tanvir NaqviNaseem Begum 
4."Meri Nazrein Hain Talwar"Tanvir NaqviNaseem Begum 
5."Jab Sanwali Shaam Dhale"Qateel ShifaiNaseem Begum 
6."Main Ka Kaha Aaiye Dhale"Tanvir NaqviNaseem Begum, Ahmad Rushdi 
7."Main Ka Kaha Aaiye Dhale"Tanvir NaqviNaseem Begum, Ahmad Rushdi 
8."Oh Kahe Dil Ki Umang"Tufail HoshiarpuriZubaida Khanum 
9."Theher Theher Kei Teer"Tanvir NaqviNaheed Niazi 

Legacy edit

Considered as an important film of the year it was released, Shaheed is among the only a few female-led films, that became successful at box office too.[7][8][9]

Shaheed was selected among the "Top ten films" of the Pakistani cinema by the critic Aijaz Gul, as published in "Asian Film Journeys: Selection from Cinemaya".[10] The critic also included it in the same list as published by BBC Urdu.[5]

The film was remade by Hassan Tariq as Watan (1981), starring Rani, Muhammad Ali and Shahid in leading roles.[11]

Awards and nominations edit

Year Award Category Awardee Nominated work Result Ref.
1961 Nigar Awards Best film Shaheed Shaheed Won [3][12]
Best director Khalil Qaiser
Best script writer Riaz Shahid
Best screenplay Riaz Shahid
Best actress[6] Musarrat Nazir
Best supporting actor Talish
Best musician[13] Rasheed Attre
Best lyricist Faiz Ahmed Faiz
Best playback female singer Naseem Begum

References edit

  1. ^ a b c Alavi, Suhayb (14 May 2017). "Wheel of Time - Instep". thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  2. ^ "Lok Virsa to screen Pakistani film 'Shaheed' on Saturday". 22 February 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Bold, courageous venture of Pakistani cinema screened". www.thenews.com.pk.
  4. ^ a b c d e Rabe, Nate. "Sound of Lollywood: In Pakistan's version of 'Lawrence of Arabia', a stirring lament for love". Scroll.in.
  5. ^ a b "کیا آپ نے پاکستان کی یہ دس 'بہترین' فلمیں دیکھی ہیں؟" – via www.bbc.com.
  6. ^ a b "Mussarat Nazir: the iconic heroine - Part II". Daily Times. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 21 September 2020.
  7. ^ Illustrated Weekly of Pakistan. Pakistan Herald Publications. 1967.
  8. ^ Mathew Joseph C., ed. (25 August 2016). Understanding Pakistan: Emerging Voices from India. Routledge. ISBN 978-1138234901.
  9. ^ "9 Most Iconic Films in the History Of Pakistani cinema (scroll down to Shaheed (1962))". Pakistani Cinema.Net. 17 May 2019.
  10. ^ Asian Film Journeys: Selections from Cinemaya. Wisdom Tree. 1 May 2011. ISBN 978-81-8328-178-2.
  11. ^ "Remembering renowned film director HASSAN TARIQ on his 30th anniversary on April 24, 2012". pakmag.net. Archived from the original on 25 March 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2023.
  12. ^ "The Nigar Awards 1957-71". 24 July 2008. Archived from the original on 24 July 2008.
  13. ^ Dutt, Sharad (22 February 2020). "Revered Maestro Rasheed Attre". Millennium Post. Retrieved 21 September 2020.

External links edit

Shaheed at IMDb