Sabiha Khanum

Sabiha Khanum was born Mukhtar Begum in a village near Gujrat in Punjab, Pakistan, to Mohammad Ali (Maahia), who was from Delhi, and Iqbal Begum (Baalo), who was a stage and film actress from Amritsar. She was raised in a conservative rural environment by her grandparents but got her first acting opportunity on stage in Lahore, after moving there to be with her father. A cultural delegation visited a cinema house in Sialkot, Pakistan, in 1948. Mukhtar Begum (then a young girl in 1948), who was part of the delegation, sang the Punjabi song "Kithhay gaey oon pardesia way" from the film Sassi Punnoon (which starred Baalu and Aslam). Her performance was praised, and soon Mohammad Ali introduced his daughter to stage drama writer and poet, Nafees Khaleeli. Noting her determination, Khaleeli offered her a role in the drama Buut Shikan, which she accepted. Nafees Khaleeli gave her the screen name Sabiha Khanum. ==Career==

At Nafees Khaleeli's request, the film director Masood Parvez offered her a role in the film Beli (1950), giving Sabiha her debut as a film actress. Beli was also by Masood Pervez's first directorial. Next, Sabiha played the role of 'Noori' in famous director/producer Anwar Kamal Pasha's Do Ansoo (1950), also starring Santosh Kumar, and Gulshan Ara. It was the first film to celebrate a Silver Jubilee in the new film industry of Pakistan. The film was based on a Noor Jehan earlier hit Bhai Jaan (1945) and looks at how a man inadvertently ruins the lives of his wife and daughter. In fact, such was the impact of the film that it was remade twice, subsequently in Pakistan in Punjabi and Anjuman in Urdu. She was awarded the 6 Nigar Award and the Pride of Performance Award for her acting career. Sabiha ventured into television serials in the 1980s. The most notables are Dasht and Ehsaas. She also sang two patriotic songs: • Sohni dharti Allah rakhay qadam qadam aabad tujhay • Jug jug jeeye mera pyara watan, lub pay dua hai dil mein lagun In Anwar Maqsood's stage show Silver Jubilee in 1983, she rendered the song Yaad karoon tujhay shaam saweray from the film Mauseeqar (1962). As the final lyrics faded away that evening, the audience stood up and applauded. Sabiha Khanum, who had been in the public eye for four decades, finally retired, and lived with her eldest daughter in the United States. Her other children also settled there. == Personal life ==

Sabiha married co-star Santosh Kumar on 1 October 1958. Santosh was already a married man with children. The two, after initial opposition from Sabiha's father, married during the making of Hasrat (1958). They starred together in 47 movies and played a couple in the majority of them. They together had three children, including one son named Syed Ahsan Raza and two daughters named Fareeha Shaharyar and Afia Chaudhry. Sabiha's grand daughter Sarish Khan is a model and actress. ==Illness and death==

She lived with her daughter in Leesburg, Virginia until her death on 13 June 2020 at the age of 84. She had been hospitalized for the past few months due to kidney issues. ==Filmography==

Television series Film Other appearance ==Awards and recognition==

Sabiha Khanum has won several Nigar awards during her lifetime: ==References==