Film-making in the northern part of the subcontinent has been/is the story of three great cultural cities; Kolkata, Mumbai and Lahore.

South India, culturally rich and proud of its long history of creative expressions, is altogether a different world. Sadly, we have been little exposed to it despite the fact that people in the south have an organic relationship with the land of Harappa that now stands hidden beneath the patina of time.

Lumiere brothers, we all know, projected their first film - a very short one - in November 1895 in Paris. Soon after they had their show in July 1896 in Watson Hotel, Mumbai. The first film ever made in India was Pundalik based on the life of a god man in 1912 in Mumbai. The next film was Raja Harishchandra by D. G Phalke in 1913. When and how creative people started producing films in Punjab is a fascinating story passionately told by Iqbal Qaiser in his book “Film te Lahore–From Punjab Film Industry to Lollywood” published by Sulaikh Bookmakers, Lahore. It is a meticulously researched and well-referenced book that relies on facts rather than heresy. The author acknowledges his debt to Ashiq Sadiq, Pervaiz Rahi and Sardar Mundeep Singh Sidhu for their contribution in bringing the history of Punjab’s film industry to the fore. The book has three chapters; birth of Punjab’s film industry (1927-2000), Punjabi film and Lahore (1947-2000) and Lahore’s film studios and cinema halls. In his preface, Iqbal Qaiser tells us how the first film in Lahore was shot: “…Four persons laid the foundation of Lahore Film Industry. And they were Mian Abdur Rasheed Kardar (aka A.R. Kardar), Muhammad Ismael (aka M. Ismael), Master Ghulm Qader and Gopal Krishan Mehta. They short 60 to 70 foot film on the Shimla hill of Lawrence Garden. The same group made their first regular film titled ‘Daughter of Today’ in 1928. All the young men were Punjabis based in Lahore. The first talkie produced in Lahore was ‘Heer Ranjha’ in Hindi language. The Lahore cine goers booed it. As they came out of its premier show they shouted ‘Oye, Heer ne Munshi Fazil kar lia a (look, Heer has done her Munshi Fazil ( an Urdu language course).’ With this started the language conflict of whose glimpses you would see in this book. After the bloody Partition of Punjab, Urdu wallahs launched their campaign to take control of the Punjab Film Industry. They went to the extent that in their effort to stymie Punjabi films, they actually killed film industry in Pakistan. You shall be surprised to know that in one of their meetings with Ziaul Haq they asked him to ban Punjabi films.”

Mundeep Singh Sidhu from Patiala writes in his blurb: “…Iqbal Qaiser has earned kudos by writing a complete history of Punjab film industry in Punjabi, his mother language. He has made us proud … This book is not just a history of film. It also reflects the step-motherly treatment being meted out to Punjabi language in Pakistan.”

What is remarkable about this book is that it is not merely a dry history of film making in Punjab but also a narrative of social debates, linguistic controversies and political conflicts of our collective life. The book is like a film where you meet creative mad men and women, enchanting actors, intelligent film directors, connoisseurs of visual arts, smart film producers and above all pluralistic culture of Punjab which is now in its death throes. Don’t miss this book.

“Phul Kikkran de” is Dr. Ikramul Haq’s book of poems published by Kitab Trinjan, Lahore. Biographic note says that Dr Ikram is a senior advocate who has specialisation in taxation, intellectual property rights and arbitration laws. He has also served in Pakistan civil service for a number of years. He has co-authored a large number of books.

He hitherto has six books in English language to his credit some of which are ‘Practical Handbook of Pakistan, Pakistan: From Hash to Heroin and New Horizons: Punjabi & Urdu poetry (with Siraj Munir& Shahid Jamal)’. One hardly expects good poetry from someone associated with law that values hair splitting and sophistry rather than imagination. But of course exceptions are there as one can see in the case of Dr. Ikramul Haq who has made his belated debut with his verses which are as serious as they are fresh. He seems to be a rooted poet whose vision of life springs from the concrete experiences of ordinary life.

Ordinary life when interpreted imaginatively assumes an extra-ordinary dimension in the sense that it creates new meanings in what is commonplace and prosaic. What is perennially there escapes our attention simply because it has been perennially there and thus it gets neglected. The fact is that what is ignored for being there for long may carry underneath a bigger reality than what appears like a nova which may blind the eye but leaves behind nothing but darkness.

The experience of woman’s presence in our life is an important theme in his poetry, not in the traditional sense but as a victim of pervasive gender oppression. See how a girl feels commoditised in one of his poems. “The teeth of my comb are broken / We expect some guests today / we receive such guests day after day / Whenever they come to see me, my mother advises me thus: dear girl, put on your colourful clothes / shine your eyes with kohl / wear your jewelry / I say, o dear mom, I will be all made up the way you suggest / but my comb has got its teeth broken / how would your trembling fingers detangle my hair tangles?”

As a young man the poet imbibed the atmosphere that bred dreams and hope of a better tomorrow. The dreams have yet not been realised but the poet hasn’t lost hope, the hope of seeing the inequitable world being transformed. Poets are made of stubborn stuff who never stop dreaming. “…When you win with effort / then take along all who have lost / together start the game again / such a game in which all are winners / and no one mourns for losing.”

Dr. Ikram’s poetic landscape is dotted with images from rural and urban life in a seamless way which is no mean feat. In our world of inescapable despair he keeps his optimistic outlook alive: “… A soft beam of light can eat up the entire pitch darkness.”

Dr. Ikramul Haq’s poetry offers us an aesthetic joy of a socially conscious experience. — soofi01@hotmail.com

Published in Dawn, November 27th, 2023