With the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the map of South Asia was redrawn overnight — along with the fate of countless families.

Millions migrated to the new homeland, while others stayed behind due to various reasons. The ripple effects touched every walk of life but, in the world of showbiz, the separation was most visible. Actors, singers and writers found themselves on opposite sides of a borderline no one had imagined, yet still bound by shared roots no amount of politics could erase.

Have you ever wondered what links PTV’s Uncle Urfi to Amitabh Bachchan’s Zanjeer? Or why Dilip Kumar embraced TV director Sahira Kazmi when they met for the first time on his visit to Pakistan? Or why the late Jiah Khan of Housefull and Ghajini evokes unmistakable Kavita vibes?

The connection between Uncle Urfi and Zanjeer lies in their casting. Actor Imtiaz, unforgettable as Beena’s father Abrar in Uncle Urfi, was the younger brother of Iftikhar Sharif — better known simply as Iftikhar — who played Police Commissioner Singh in Zanjeer.

Iftikhar, a talented singer and painter, portrayed a wide array of screen characters, including father, uncle, great-uncle, grandfather, police officer, police commissioner, courtroom judge and doctor, from the ’50s to the ’90s. Imtiaz, on the other hand, became a familiar face in Fatima Suraiyya Bajiya’s and Haseena Moin’s dramas on Pakistan Television — he also enacted various roles, from a bureaucrat to the “driver baba” in Tanhaiyaan.

After Partition, countless actors, singers and writers found themselves across the Pakistan-India border from their loved ones. These were connections politics could never erase…

TV actor and singer Tipu Sharif is related to these legendary actors, and has visibly inherited the creative genes from the brothers Iftikhar Sharif and Imtiaz.

As for celebrated TV actor, producer and director Sahira Kazmi, her story began with actor Shyam (Shyam Sundar Chaddha), a famous lead actor in Bollywood and a close friend of legendary short-story writer Saadat Hasan Manto. She is his daughter.

Tall and handsome, Shyam died in 1951 during a film shoot after falling off a horse. Shyam’s friend Dilip Kumar employed his widow Mumtaz (Taaji) as his secretary, to ensure their children’s education and financial stability. Taaji later married Dr Ansari, moved to Pakistan, and her eldest daughter — initially taking on her stepfather’s surname and later her husband Rahat Kazmi’s — is known to us now as Sahira Kazmi!

When Dilip Kumar visited Pakistan in 1997, he met Sahira and warmly embraced her, fulfilling a decades-old wish.

Jiah Khan, the late actress who debuted with Amitabh Bachchan in Nishabd in 2007, died young in 2013. She was famous for her roles in Sajid Khan’s Housefull and Amir Khan’s Ghajini. For those who grew up watching the ravishing Pakistani film star Kavita during the ’70s and in the ’80s on STN/NTM, could vouch for some facial connection.

It was not just a nostalgic comparison, however, but a family link, as Jiah Khan was born Nafisa Rizvi to the brother of film actress Sangeeta (real name Parveen Rizvi) and Kavita (real name Nasreen Rizvi) in the US in 1988.

Among sisters divided by circumstances were Zohra Sehgal (1912-2014) and Uzra Mumtaz (1917-2010), born five years apart in a Muslim family from Rampur. During the ’40s and ’50s, both performed in Prithviraj Kapoor’s theatre. Before that, they were part of an international dance troupe.

Zohra starred in Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar (1946), a milestone of parallel cinema that won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Uzra’s marriage to writer Hameed Butt in 1964 brought her to Pakistan, where she acted in TV dramas such as Neelay Haath and Zard Dopehr.

Zohra, even as a 90-year-old, charmed audiences in films such as Cheeni Kum (as Amitabh’s mother) and Saawariya (as Ranbir Kapoor’s nanny). The sisters lived apart but did reunite in 1993 for the play Ewk Thi Nani, performed first in Lahore and later in India. Famous Pakistani television and film actress Samiya Mumtaz is their niece!

From Cheeni Kum, one gets to know about Salim Durrani, a cricketer who would hit sixes on demand. A kind of Shahid Afridi in the ’60s. Durrani, due to his fame and charismatic personality, was one of the earliest Indian cricketers to step into films. The Afghan-born all-rounder played nearly 30 Tests between 1960-73, before parting ways with the game, partly due to his hot-headed temperament.

Blessed with matinee-idol looks, Salim Durrani debuted opposite Parveen Babi in Charitra (1974), even lip-syncing to a song by Mohammed Rafi. But his screen presence was soon eclipsed by a striking lookalike with a deeper voice — Amitabh Bachchan.

During Salim’s rise and fall, his father was away in Karachi. Abdul Aziz Durrani, a professional cricketer credited with nurturing Karachi’s Mohammad brothers, had moved to Jamnagar in 1935 when Jam Sahib Digvijaysinhji offered him a post as a sub-inspector. Salim, who was born in 1934, moved to India in 1937 and spent the next 10 years with his father.

After Partition in 1947, Aziz relocated to Pakistan, while his family stayed in India. Master Aziz, as he was known, transferred his cricket knowledge to the Muhammad brothers, whom he coached during the ’50s. Among his most famous students is Pakistan’s batting legend Hanif Mohammad.

Music, too, had its cross-border stories. Khayyam, born Muhammad Zahoor Khayyam Hashmi, was once part of the ’50s duo Sharmaji-Vermaji in Bollywood, before Verma came over to Pakistan. Rehman Verma gave music to many Pakistani films, while Khayyam had to struggle throughout the ’60s.

He later became a much sought-after Indian music director, with hits such as Kabhi (1976), Trishul (1978), Noorie (1979), Thorri Si Bewafai (1980) and Umrao Jaan (1981). His brother, Mushtaq Hashmi, settled in Pakistan and became famous for performing folk and pop duets with Dr Amjad Pervez on television during the ’70s.

Mushtaq later retired as GM of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) and died in 2015; Khayyam outlived him by four years. Their youngest brother, a legend in the field of radio transmission, was programme producer Shakoor Bedil, who also enjoyed a brief stint as a playback singer in films.

Even the “serial kisser” of Bollywood, Emraan Hashmi, has a cross-border tale. The actor with multiple hits in Bollywood has a link with Pakistani films. His grandmother, Purnima (born Meherbano Mohamedali) was the sister of Mahesh Bhatt’s mother Shirin Mohamedali.

Emraan’s estranged grandfather, director Shaukat Hashmi — who helmed the first East-West Pakistan co-production Hamsafar (1959) in Lollywood and later remade the Raj Kapoor-Dilip Kumar starrer Andaz in Pakistan as Jalay Na Kyun Parwana (1968) with Nadeem and Kamal — moved to Pakistan after a family dispute, leaving behind his son, who was Emraan’s father.

Shaukat remained active in Pakistan during the ’70s as well and even directed Bandhan with Waheed Murad and Ghulam Mohiuddin, which had the famous song by A. Nayyar, ‘Tanhaiyyon mein dhal jayein gey.’

These stories, and more, remind us that, while we may be divided by borders, destiny knows no frontiers. If greatness is written for you, fate will find you — no matter wherever you may be.

Published in Dawn, ICON, September 14th, 2025