The beauty of Sukkur, Multan, Lahore and Swat was artfully captured in Road to Swat | Photos: Guddu Film Archive
In its early years, Pakistan’s film industry produced films of all genres from all three major centers: Karachi, Lahore and Dhaka. They gave excellent movies in the first 20 years of Pakistan which back then comprised Eastern and Western wings. Romantic films, social films, comedies and musicals were frequently made, and some producers even ventured into horror and adult genres. Historical films, costume dramas, patriotic films and westerns were all well-received, but there always used to be room for something new.
Syed Kamal had the honour of leading the star cast of the country’s first-ever road-trip film. Kamal was doing selected projects by the late ’60s after having made a name for himself with some commercial hits. He was ready for experiments, as were his friends who had just given the crazy action-comedy, Nayi Laila Naya Majnoon, in 1969.
Niazi Malik (producer), Munawwar Rasheed (director), Iqbal Rizvi (dialogue-writer) and Tassaduq Hussain (music director) teamed up for the second venture, which would be their first in colour. Nayi Laila Naya Majnoon (NLNM), which also had Naseema Khan, Lehri and Aaliya in the cast, targeted the youth of the country. Aaliya’s nasal style of saying her lines and superb dances in NLNM became very popular.
Road to Swat, released in 1970, was the first road-trip movie to be made in Pakistan
Veteran writer Iqbal Rizvi, who wrote the dialogues for Road to Swat(RTS), already had Gulfam, Heera Aur Pathar and Armaan to his credit. In a recent meeting with Icon he recalled the zero-point of the film, “It was director Munawwar Rasheed who asked me for a film “Jo ek jaga na ho, chalti rahay” [which would not be in one place but be on the move] to which I replied “Sarrkon pe na bana dain?” [Why not make it on the roads?]
RTS revolved round three cousins played by Kamal, Maqsood and Safeer (Lehri) trying to earn a living after completing college education. Kamal is a judo champion, Lehri a good sprinter and Maqsood a top biker. Due to financial constraints, they all drop their plans to study further. When their love interests, played by Naseema Khan, Mahpaara and Aasiya (not to be confused with her more famous namesake), plan a trip to Swat, the fun begins.
Enter Hanif, a known villain from that era, who wants to marry Seemi (Naseema Khan) for her wealth. He makes several attempts to kidnap her and the three friends team up to save her. Kamal and Maqsood pose as two elderly guards while Lehri joins them as a driver. Together they thwart several kidnapping attempts, sometimes in disguise. The scene where Maqsood saves Naseema Khan from the baddies is a treat to watch because of the stunts he performs.
Malik Maqsood Golawala was the stunt double for Kamal in NLNM. An expert driver, Maqsood used to perform stunt rides in the well of death (‘Gola’) and had also performed in Congo and South Africa before joining films. Iqbal Rizvi remembered meeting him and was told that he could even walk the tightrope.
The scenic beauty of Sukkur, Multan, Lahore and Swat were artfully captured in RTS but the climax where Maqsood performs the breathtaking stunt of riding a bike on a tightrope over the mighty River Swat is terrifying to watch.
But a multi-star cast also led to multiple issues. Iqbal Rizvi recalled an incident where Mahpara and Aasiya had a rather filmi off-screen fight. Mahpara was a couple of films old in the industry while Aasiya was making her debut with RTS. The crewwere staying at a hotel and everybody was waiting for breakfast. Niazi Malik and Rizvi were responsible for collecting eggs from the locality for the entire crew of at least 35-40 persons. When the waiter started laying out the plates, he put one in front of Aasiya before Mahpara. Claiming seniority, Mahpara wanted hers first. Thus began a fight with verbal barbs and soon turned more aggressive. They were eventually stopped by Niazi.