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OF MEN, MUSIC AND MOVIES

Shabnam and Robin Ghosh win hearts in Pakistan

H.Q. Chowdhury
Sunset Boulevard is a 40-kilometer winding thoroughfare from Los Angeles to the blue Pacific, covering Hollywood. It is known for the galaxy of restaurants, clubs and abode of movie stars. But “Sunset Boulevard” is also a famous American film on a waning movie star. Directed by Billy Wilder with Gloria Swanson and William Holden in the lead, it is considered an all time black and white classic.
In life, every successful person is Sunset Boulevard's, Gloria Swanson, in some form or the other. In the film industry, it is most visible because of the enormity of a star’s popularity. But then for some stars, there is no fading. Grace Kelly or Audrey Hepburn for example; they were always in the news. In the subcontinent, we have that in Dilip Kumar who went on to become the Sheriff of Mumbai once the chips were down, and in the Bengali community - Suchitra Sen. In spite of being a recluse for decades, even today if there is news that she has had a sneezing bout, her fans get flu’
When Shabnam and Robin Ghosh visited Pakistan after a 12-year hibernation to accept Lifetime Achievement Award from Pakistan Television, the sun never seemed to set in that country. From April 23 to May 14, it was a grand gala with people all around suddenly bouncing back to life in the midst of bomb blasts and political rife. The couple during their nostalgic “safar” sent the entire nation into a frenzy; there was ecstasy all around. The press, electronic media, professionals' associations, business groups, politicians were literally in competition to extend hospitality to the couple; and when they were in public places, special security measures had to be arranged to keep the “aam” at bay.
Shabnam and Robin Ghosh left Dhaka in 1968 to seek greener pastures in the then West Pakistan film industry. It was incidentally the time when the industry there, was going through a transformation. Sabiha, Shamim Ara, Musarrat Nazir, Nayyar Sultana, Neelo were past their peak and the new generation of actors notably Zeba, Rani, Deeba, Rozina, Sangeeta and Nisho were successfully taking over. In music, Rashid Attre and Feroze Nizami were dead; Khurshid Anwar, GA Ghisti and Tassaduq Hussain were almost spent forces. But composers like Master Inayat Hussain, A. Hamid, Nisar Bazmi, Nashad, Khalil Ahmad, Lal Mohammad Iqbal, M. Ashraf and Sohail Rana were doing commendable work. Thus, for Shabnam and Robin Ghosh, the future was not to be a cakewalk, that also in a different cultural platform.
Shabnam, despite her flawed Urdu, soon developed a school of acting that was unique to the Pakistani audience while Robin Ghosh added a new dimension in the music industry. Over the years, their films ran from months to years generating business unheard of. In a country where quality of films was not much of a factor, they put dashes of refinement, wherever possible, albeit Bengali style to capture the heart of cine goers and become "industry standard”. The way Shabnam carried herself in Pakistan not only caught fancy of the common man but also of personalities like Nusrat Bhutto and even President General Ziaul Huq's daughter, who secretly flew in once a
week to meet her favourite star in Lahore with due support from her mother!
Shabnam's artistic skills blessed the Pakistan silver screen with about 160 films and in the process she worked with actors, popular and unknown, to produce some of the greatest box office hits of all times. With over 50 block busters ranging from a minimum 25 week to 400 week run, including films like “Andaleeb”, “Dosti”, “Anmol”, "Mere Humsafar”, “Sharafat”, "Chahat”, “Aaj Aur Kal”, "Pakeeza”, “Qurbani”, “Uff Yeh Biviyan”, “Aaina”, “Bivi Ho to Aisa”, "Dooriyan”, "Naaraz”, she became an all-time film legend and one of the greatest feminine icons of her time. Upheld as a standard of beauty, grace and style, her talent and persona influenced the directors so strongly that they attempted to make other actresses into her image without success.
Robin Ghosh did not lag behind in his field. He was already a much talked about composer in that country through his Urdu compositions in “Ghanda”, “Talash”, "Karwaan”, "Bhaiya” and "Ghokori”. He took off in style in "Jahan Turn Wahan Hum” and then produced outstanding music in “Do Sathi”, "Ehsas”, “Sharafat”, “Chahat”, "Aaina”, “Bandish”, “Ambar”, “Nahin Abhi Nahin”, “Aahat”, “Kiran Aur Kali”, "Umang”, "Dooriyan” and "Bhigey Badan” to be amongst the all-time greats in Pakistan film music. Just as in Dhaka, when he composed those exquisite numbers for Ferdousi Begum, Anjuman Ara, Farida Yasmeen, Bashir Ahmad, and Abdul Jabbar, he did the same for Mehdi Hasan, Akhlaq Ahmad, Alamgir, Nayyara Noor and Mahnaz giving them a new boost to their careers.
So, there was every reason for the Pakistani cine-goers to rejoice once the couple arrived. Besides die regular TV shows, interviews, Pakistan TV hosted a grand reception for them on April 28 at the governor's house in Lahore. It was a show unprecedented in the history of the Pakistan film world, though qualitatively, the musical programme presented could have been more imaginative.
Former Prime Minister Gilani flew in from Islamabad to hand over the Lifetime Achievement Award to the couple, saluting them as "the greatest cultural ambassadors of the two countries”. Stars of yesteryears and fans jointly voiced that a street or boulevard should be named after them — an honour given only to the unforgettable Noorjahan, not to forget the Pakistan Arts Council-Nigar programme in Karachi where it was proposed that the couple be given a special status by the two countries.
But there is an unfortunate part too. The Lifetime Achievement Award was from Pakistan Television for which neither Shabnam nor Robin Ghosh ever took part as an actor or a musician and not from the cultural ministry or anything of that sort. Was it therefore a strategy to uplift the face of the 'not so popular' government TV channel or an image building effort of the ruling party, or perhaps both? The opposition, primarily Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz Sharif, a Robin Ghosh fan) and MQM with able support from the “non government” TV channels, took their turns too with flashy receptions. After all the elections are close! But so what? It only proved the enormous 'vote power' that "Shabnam Begum or Shabnam Bhabi” as popularly known, still has in that country. Yes, not all stars fade.
Sounds like a fairy tale? Just Google or YouTube “Shabnam Robin 2012” and you are there for some 'jhalak'! The writer is a film and music connoisseur.