Robin Ghosh and Shabnam with movie actor Waheed Murad on the sets of Bandhan
Two highly popular and immensely talented East Pakistanis, who stayed behind after the creation of Bangladesh, were actor Shabnam and her husband composer Robin Ghosh.
Shabnam (Jharna in real life) and Robin Ghosh were both Bengalis, but while she was (rather is) a Hindu, Robin was a Baghdad-born Christian. They made their debut around the same time in Bengali movies. When the first Urdu film Chanda was produced in Dhaka, the Ehtesham-Mustafiz team signed the two who had by then tied the nuptial knot. They neither confirmed nor denied the matrimonial alliance. Shabnam played the second lead. Sultana Zaman was the heroine but the younger woman stole the show.
Chanda (1962) proved to be a big hit, if one may use film parlance. The soft, soothing folk music of Bengal, the picturesque beauty of the outdoor locales, and more than anything, the sultry charm of Shabnam, who personified what the Urdu press called ‘Bengal ka jadoo’ (the proverbial magic of Bengal), contributed immeasurably to the movie’s success.
Talash (1963), produced by the same team, was a bigger triumph. It went on to celebrate golden jubilee, paving the way for many Urdu films produced in the country’s east wing.
Robin had a chequered career initially, but Shabnam continued to go from strength to strength.
In 1967 came the record-breaking flick Chakori, which is remembered today for the new male lead player Nadeem (Nazeer Baig) as also for the scintillating songs scored by Robin Ghosh, who got his second Nigar Award trophy for best music (the first was for Talash).
The husband-wife team came to Karachi, which they found to their greater liking than Lahore. They bought a house in the PECHS area. Shabnam’s first assignment was Eastern Film Studios’ multi-starrer Ladla, but the movie hardly created ripples at the box-office.
Producer-director Pervez Malik’s Jahan Tum Wahan Hum was the US-trained film-maker’s first flop. He had directed super successes like Heera aur Patthar and Armaan, a few years earlier. Robin’s fine compositions didn’t reach the masses. Shabnam, however, remained in great demand both in Karachi and Lahore.
Robin’s career would have taken off but he spent most of his time escorting his star wife. Shabnam remained among the top heroines and she also acted in a few Punjabi films when they came in vogue. She found it easier to speak in Punjabi than in Urdu when she made her debut in Chanda. It was because Urdu was not widely spoken in Dhaka but, on the other hand, Punjabi was the lingua franca of Lahore, where she spent most of her time.
Robin’s career blossomed from 1972 onwards when he recorded some memorable ditties for such movies as Ehsas, Chahat, Sharafat, Do Saathi, Jio Aur Jeene Do, Amber, Dooriyan and the box-office bombshell Nazrul Islam’s Aina. Then came the lean period, from 1988 to 1995 when his name appeared on screen only three times.
A tragedy occurred when sometime in 1995 Shabnam suffered a stroke, from which she ultimately recovered. In 1999 she and her spouse moved back to Bangladesh, where they had large families to support them, carrying with them a number of awards and medals.
In Dhaka Robin officially retired but would occasionally work with musical programmes on TV. As for Shabnam she did what are called ‘character roles’, the most successful of which was Mummy, the title role which won her kudos. About five years ago, they paid a visit to what was once West Pakistan and were warmly received.
Robin unluckily died in February 2016. Shabnam is alive and still resides in Bangladesh. According to a close friend in Dhaka, in her old age, few things please Shabnam more than recalling the fruitful years she and her husband spent in Karachi and Lahore. —AN.
Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, December 11th, 2016