At this years Shanaakht Festival in Karachi, running from November 9-11 at the Imperial, three Lollywood classics will be screened. In the 1950s and 1960s, Sassi, Koel, and Armaan ruled the box office, boasting big stars such as Waheed Murad and Madam Noorjehan, and even better soundtracks. But can these gems from our past still wow audiences today? Dawn.com revisits the classics to help you decide whether to take a trip down memory lane next week.
Armaan (1966)
Cinderella meets homegrown Elvis. Orphan Najma (Zeba) grows up in Murree indebted to her rude but rich aunt. Debonair Nasir (Waheed Murad) enters the scene (singing the super-hit Ko Ko Koreena at a club) and is packed off to Murree by his father to pick and marry one of Najma's two cousins Seema or Dolly. On the way to Murree, Nasir switches identities with his sidekick Shahid and promptly falls in love with Najma upon reaching the hill station. But Najma and Seema are nurturing a deep dark secret that threatens to turn their lives upside down.
Produced by Waheed Murad and directed by Pervaiz Malik, Armaan was Pakistan's first platinum jubilee blockbuster and had Ahmed Rushdi crooning to some of Sohail Rana's choicest gems such as Ko Ko Koreena, Akele Na Jaana and Jab Pyar Main Do Dil Milte Hain. Watch it to find out why your mom goes into a swoon every time someone says 'Veedu.'
Koel (1959)
Here's a health warning watch this only if you are a die-hard fan of Noorjehan's brand of overacting and have a thing for one-dimensional characters who sigh over childhood romances for decades. Otherwise you really are better off forwarding all that sappy romance between Zarina (Noorjehan) and Salman (Aslam Pervaiz) to get to the absolutely brilliant soundtrack. Madam packs a mellifluous punch with Dil ka diya jalaya, Rhim jhim rhim jhim pade phhuar, Tere bina sooni sooni, O bewafa, Sagar roye lehren shor machayen and Mehki fizayen in her penultimate outing as the aging leading lady of Koel. Produced by Khursheed Anwar and directed by Masood Pervaiz, Koel is a clichéd offering that ruled the box office solely on the strength of Noorjehan's vocals set to Khwaja Khursheed Anwar's timeless compositions.
Sassi (1954)
This was the film that put its immensely talented leading lady Sabiha Khanum firmly on the path to stardom. Based on the Sindhi legend of Sassi Punhu, Sassi was a big budget venture produced by JC Anand which went on to become Pakistan's first golden jubilee hit. Daud Chand directed the cast that included Sudhir, Shahnawaz and Asha Posley. Watch out for the Kausar Parveen's rendition of the Hemant Kumar's classic 'Na yeh chand hoga na tarey rahein gay.'
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