We are indifferent to history regardless of whether it’s a houri or whore. We suffer from collective amnesia and take it as a blessing. If history, any history, is compatible with our imagined faith why to burden our memory and retain it and if it goes against our religious inclinations why to have it at all, goes our logic.

The history of films has been a special target of our neglect. How ironic it is that Lahore which along with Calcutta [now Kolkata] and Bombay [now Mumbai] has been a centre of films production has no film archive. It doesn’t even have a single decent book on the history of its films. Looking at a recent exhibition of Punjabi films’ Posters put up at the Institute of Art and Culture, Lahore, and curated by Kainat Thebo, made one wonder how Iqbal Qaiser, a research scholar, could collect such a huge number of pre- and post-Partition posters? There is absolutely no support of any kind for such an endeavour at official or institutional level. The pre-Partition posters were a treat to look at. They carry historical value as they tell origins and early evolution of Punjabi films. Isn’t it ironic that all the pre-Partition posters have been obtained from Pune-based Film and Television Institute of India?

The first Punjabi film Ishq-e-Punjab aka Mirza Sahiban was produced in Bombay and screened on March 26, 1935, at Narinjan Talkies, Lahore. It ran just for three days because its poor sound track made it a botched job and sealed its fate. Because of this mishap some historians tend to ignore it and refuse to take it as the first Punjabi film. But it’s nevertheless the first film of our language ever made. Second Punjabi film was shot in Calcutta and shown at Palace Theatre, Lahore, on March 26, 1937. The film titled Shila urf Pind di Kuri was produced and directed by K.D. Mehra.

Noor Jahan, then Baby Noor Jahan, made her debut in this film as an actor and also recorded her first song “Langh aa ja Pattan Chnanah da” composed by Mubarak Ali. Noor Jahan’s elder sister and mentor Haider Baandi also acted in it. She was in fact responsible for introducing Noor Jahan to the world of theatre and film. Gul Bakauli, the first Punjabi film shot in Lahore, was produced by well-known and highly respected Dil Sukh Pancholi. It was directed by Barkat Ram Mehra. The film was screened at Parbhaat Talkies on November 12, 1939. Master Ghulam Haider, an iconic music director, composed its music. The last film of that era Kamli hit the screens in 1946. About 34 Punjabi films were produced before the Partition in the studios of Kolkata, Mumbai and Lahore.

Silent films preceded talkies. The first silent film made in Lahore in 1924 was on the life of Lord Buddha titled The Light of Asia. “Daughter of Today” aka Ajj di Dhee was another important talkie. The caste included Bille Love, Maya, Vijay Kumar, A.R. Kardar, Vilayat Begum, Hiralal, M. Ismael and Ghulam Qadir. It was directed by Shankar Dev Arya and offered for viewing in 1928. A.R. Kardar was assistant director. It was produced by Gopal Krishan Mehta. Kardar, affectionately called Mian ji, laid the foundation of film production in Lahore and later emerged as one of the most celebrated film directors in the history of films.

Lahore had eight film studios: Shori, Pancholi I , Pancholi II, Pardhaan, Leella Mandair, Northern Studios, City Studios and Imperial Studios. In the aftermath of the Partition Shori became Shahnoor, Pancholi i U.B, Pancholi II Punjab Art Studio and Pradhan Malika. The rest had already been consumed by fires ignited by communal hatred. It’s interesting to know how mad passion and absolute commitment drove those who laid the foundations of film industries in Lahore. Led by A.R. Kardar Hiralal, M. Ismael, Ghulam Qadir and some others worked like labourers to put up a makeshift studio adjacent to Bradlaugh Hall, known all over India for hosting political and cultural activities.

The posters seen at the exhibition clearly depict three distinct periods in terms of content and culture; 1930s to 1947, 1947 to 1970s and 1980s to 2000. Early period has films that mainly touch history [real and imagined] legends, social life and culture.

The very titles of the films tell the story: Mirza Sahiban, Heer Sial, Pind di Kuri, Dullah Bhatti, Sohni Kumharan, Sassi Punu, Ravi Par, Yumla Jat etc. The films derive their appeal from collective life and evoke historical memory of the people capturing the vivid glimpses of our age-old culture. The films are mélange of mythology, history and social reality. It’s a sort of creative effort aimed at self-discovery. Films produced from 1947 to 1970s are mainly about romance [hero and heroine spend time together, nudge nudge, wink wink], social life and struggle against feudalism. Pheray, Laaray, Mundri, Yakkay wali, Heer Ranjha and Zulm da Badla are some of the notable movies of the period. Yakkay wali deals with gender discrimination exposing hypocritical aspect of patriarchy: a woman can get licence to sell her flesh but is denied licensee to drive a cart to eke out her living. The period from late seventies to year 2000 proved to be lethal for the future of films. Brutal dictatorship of General Ziaul Haq promoted some suicidal trends in film production for political motives; violence and bigotry.

The famous Russian assault rifle Kalashnikov was portrayed as a symbol of status and its indiscriminate use a sign of a macho man. A film in those days was little more than blood and gore. Senseless violence in the conditions of extreme political and cultural repression was thought to be cathartic. Basheera, Maula Jat and Hashu Khan are some of the films that reflect the unhinging of social mind at a spectacular level with their gut wrenching stuff. Such a sickening streak of cultural madness eventually degenerated into cultish worship of horribly negative characters. Leading male characters of films morphed into mindless vandals who relished death and destruction, promoted caste prejudice and glorified fetish of vendetta. The titles of the films say it all: Bala Gujjar, Hakim Arain, Noori Natt, Jat da Khraak and Putar Shahiyye da etc. There is much in the names indeed. Film ceased to be family entertainment. What it offered instead to its viewers was a horrifying series of crude images of unending bloodletting. The film industry nudged by narrow state ideology dug its own grave. Now it lies there decomposed under its own debris. Can it be revived? Let’s leave the question for another day. — soofi01@hotmail.com

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2021