Sultana's parents were related to actress
Shamim Bano, the wife of famous Pakistani film producer and director
Anwar Kamal Pasha, who cast her in his directorial
Qatil in 1955 in a supporting role with the screen name Nazli, marking her acting debut. Later the same year, she landed the second lead in Humayun Mirza’s
Intikhab.
S. M. Yusuf's
Saheli in 1960 proved her greatest success till that point. The film celebrated its
golden jubilee on the box office and Sultana's portrayal of a loving wife and a selfless friend earned her another
Nigar Award for Best Actress. In 1962, she played a newlywed bride who elopes soon after her marriage in
Khawaja Khurshid Anwar's
Ghunghat. A reviewer from the
Outlook found her performance as "indifferent but tolerable". She played the titular role in
S. Suleman's
Baaji and earned praise for the portrayal of a young frustrated widow. While reviewing
Baaji,
Herald called her performance "the strongest element of the film". She briefly left the industry after her marriage with
Darpan. With her portrayal of a blind country girl in
Ek Musafir Ek Haseena, released in 1968, she made a comeback to the films, but it couldn't push her carrer further as most of her films at that time like
Meri Bhabhi (1969),
Hamjoli (1970) and
Azmat (1973) were not commercially successful at the box office. In the 1970s, she moved to performing character roles in
S. Suleman's
Abhi To Main Jawan Hoon and two films by
Hassan Tariq,
Mazi Haal Mustaqbil and
Seeta Maryam Margaret. These were her last critically acclaimed films before she gradually faded away from the screen. After the death of her husband Darpan in 1981, Sultana appeared in a handful of films and managed his recruiting agency till her own death a decade later. Sultana had worked in over 225 films during her 37-year film career and received a number of awards. She was known for performing tragic roles. == Personal life ==