Meena Shorey
Meena Shorey was a Pakistani film actress who worked first in Indian cinema and later Pakistani cinema. She appeared Hindi/Urdu and Punjabi films. Credited in films by her mononym, Meena, her real name was Khurshid Jehan. She started her acting career playing a character role, as Ambhi, Raja of Taxila's sister in Sohrab Modi's Sikandar. Married to her third husband, Roop K. Shorey, by the mid-1940s, she found fame when she acted in her husband's film Ek Thi Larki, opposite actor Motilal. The story was written by I. S. Johar, who also starred in the film. The "foot-tapping" music composed by Vinod became a "huge hit", with Meena becoming an "icon" for the "new liberated" young women. Meena was acclaimed as the "Lara Lappa Girl", from the song of same title in the film. She was one of the first women to be recognised in Indian cinema as a "comedienne of calibre".
In 1956, she went to Lahore, Pakistan with her husband, where they were invited by Pakistani producer J.C. Anand to make a film there following her mass popularity with the public in both India and Pakistan.. The film Shorey made was Miss 56, a copy of the Guru Dutt-Madhubala starrer Mr. & Mrs. '55. Instead of returning to India when her husband did, she decided to stay back in Pakistan, continuing her acting career there. Some of her best films in India included the Punjabi film Chaman, Actress, Ek Thi Ladki, Dholak, and Ek Do Teen.
Early life
Meena was born Khurshid Jehan, on 17 November 1921, in Raiwind, Punjab, British India, the second of four children. Her family was poor and her father squandered what little property they had. He then worked at a dyeing business in Lahore, which also failed. Meena's elder sister, Wazir Begum, who was married and lived in Bombay, had their mother and siblings come there. Sohrab Modi noticed Meena at the launch of his film Sikandar, which she attended with her brother-in-law, and offered her a supporting role in the film, giving her the name, Meena.Career
In India
Sikandar in 1941 was the first film Meena acted in, which had her in the small role of King of Taxila's sister. This was a historical film about the invasion of India in the Jhelum region by Alexander. It was directed by Sohrab Modi and starred Prithviraj Kapoor as Sikandar. The film became "an all-India hit" and provided an instant launching pad for her. She then went on to act as the second lead in three more films under Modi's Minerva Movietone banner, Phir Milenge, Prithvi Vallabh and Pattharon Ka Saudagar.Roop K. Shorey, who was based in Lahore, migrated to Bombay and wanted to sign Meena for his film, Shalimar. However Meena had signed a contract with Sohrab Modi, which prevented her from working not only in Shalimar, but also in Mehboob Khan's Humayun. On a visit to Lahore, she was signed by producer Dalsukh Pancholi, for two films Shehar Se Door and Arsi. She finally freed herself from the contract by taking Modi's wife Mehtab's help, getting the amount of money asked for by Modi, lowered.
In 1948, Chaman in Punjabi, was directed by Roop K. Shorey, who having suffered a loss of the family business in Lahore had moved to Bombay following the partition. There he set up his banner Shorey Films and produced the film Chaman with the help of his wife's finances. It had Meena act in the "first post—Partition, Punjabi film in India". It co-starred Karan Dewan, Kuldip Kaur and Majnu, and became a "major hit". The "melodious music", which was composed by Vinod became "instantly popular". One of the famous songs from the film was "Chan Kithan Guzari Aai Raat Way" sung by Pushpa Hans and chorus. It was the debut of Pushpa Hans as a singer.
In 1949, came Ek Thi Larki, produced and directed by Roop K. Shorey, with story written by I. S. Johar. The music was composed by Vinod whose song "Lara Lappa Lara Lappa Laayi Rakhdi" became the "highlight of the film". A "trendsetter", the song continued to remain popular over the years. The playback singing was provided by Lata Mangeshkar, and though it's counted as one of Lata's earliest hits, the person mainly remembered for the song is the actress lip-syncing it in the film, Meena, who became "known thereafter as the Lara-Lappa Girl". The film was stated to be "the biggest runaway- hit" making Roop K. Shorey one of the top comedy film directors.
In 1950, she acted in the Karan Dewan Production's Anmol Ratan, with Karan Dewan and Nirmala. Dholak was produced by Shorey Films and directed by Roop Shorey. It starred Meena with Ajit, with music composed by Shyam Sunder. Shyam Sunder was stated to have given some "unforgettable melodies" in this film among others. In 1953, in Ek Do Teen, Shorey tried to recreate the magic of Ek Thi Ladki, by continuing with the same "Lara Lappa" theme. Meena was once again paired with Motilal, and music was provided by Vinod. However, the film was unable to have the same effect as Ek Thi Ladki. Her last two films released in India were G. P. Sippy's Shrimati 420 for Sippy Films and Chandu directed by Majnu and starring Om Prakash, Shashikala, Mehmood and Pran.
In Pakistan
Roop K. Shorey and Meena were invited to Pakistan by Pakistani film producer J.C. Anand to make a film. Miss 1956 was a plagiarised version of Guru Dutt's Mr. & Mrs. '55 and starred Meena Shorey, Santosh Kumar, Shamim Ara, and Noor Mohammed Charlie. The music was composed by G. A. Chisti. Meena was well received in Lahore and she decided to stay back when her husband returned to India. She went on to become the "first Pakistani actress to model for Lux" and became known as the "Lux Lady of Pakistan".Her most famous film was Sarfarosh, in which she had a special character role, with two very popular songs based around her. Originally slated to play the main lead, she was then assigned this side role and carried it off with aplomb. Directed by Anwar Kamal Pasha, the film starred Sabiha Khanum and Santosh Kumar and had music by Rasheed Attre. The film was a superhit box-office success.
Some of the films she acted in a main role were Bara Aadmi, directed by Humayun Mirza in Urdu and co-starring Meena Shorey and Ejaz Durrani, Sitaron ki Duniya, directed by M. H. Mohib, Jagga in Punjabi and directed by Saqlain Rizvi, Behrupiya directed by Aslam Irani. Her other notable films were Mausiqar directed by Qadeer Ghori, Andhi Mohabbat and Khamosh Raho directed by Jameel Akhtar.
Personal life
Meena is reported to have married five times.- Her first marriage was to actor-producer-director Zahur Raja. In Filmindia April 1942, it was mentioned in an interview with Zahur Raja that Zahur and Meena were married for the last "six months". The two met while shooting for Sikandar and fell in love. "Zahur has been married for six months to Meena, a pretty young actress who is at present making probably her last film Phir Milenge".
- Her second marriage was to actor and co-star, Al Nasir. She separated from him by the mid-40s, and Al Nasir went on to marry the actress Veena. Baburao Patel mentioned him as one of Meena's ex-husbands in a column in Filmindia August 1946, "Al Nasir, the once reported ex-husband of film actress Meena, is now reported to have married film actress Manorama of Punjab".
- Her third marriage was to Roop K. Shorey which lasted till 1956. Due to the relative length of the marriage, about 7–8 years, and the fact that she briefly attained success as an actress only in this period, she came to be known by her third husband's name. They separated after a successful trip to Pakistan, when Meena decided to remain in that country, while Roop Shorey, a Hindu gentleman, stuck to the original plan of returning to India.
- Her fourth marriage was to Raza Mir, a Pakistani resident
- Her fifth marriage was to Asad Bokhari, her co-star in Jamalo.
Filmography
In India
List:| Year | Film | Director | Co-stars | Composer | Studio/Producer |
| 1941 | Sikandar | Sohrab Modi | Sohrab Modi, Prithviraj Kapoor, Vanmala, Zahur Raja | Mir Saheb, Rafiq Ghaznavi | Minerva Movietone |
| 1942 | Phir Milenge | Sohrab Modi | Sohrab Modi, Sardar Akhtar, K. N. Singh | Mir Saheb | Minerva Movietone |
| 1943 | Prithvi Vallabh | Sohrab Modi | Sohrab Modi, Durga Khote, K. N. Singh, Al Nasir, Vanmala | Rafiq Ghaznavi, Saraswati Devi | Minerva Movietone |
| 1943 | Sahara | J. P. Advani | Renuka Devi, Narang, Pran | Gobind Ram | Vaswani Art Productions |
| 1944 | Pattharon Ka Saudagar | Shorey Daulatvi | Al Nasir, Sheela, K. N. Singh | Mir Saheb | Minerva Movietone |
| 1945 | Bhai Jaan | S. Khalil | Noor Jehan, Karan Dewan, Anees Khatoon, Shah Nawaz | Shyam Sunder | United Films |
| 1945 | Neelam | Essa | Sadhana Bose, Khursheed, Harish | Khan Mastana | A. H. Productions |
| 1946 | Shehar Se Door | Barkat Mehra | Al Nisar, Om Prakash, Ajmal | Amarnath | Pradhan Pictures |
| 1947 | Arsi | Daud Chand | Al Nasir, Pran, Cuckoo, Asha Posle | Lachhiram, Shyam Sunder | Jeewan Pictures |
| 1947 | Ek Teri Nishani | B. K. Sagar | Trilok Kapoor, Om Prakash, Shyama, I. S. Johar | Amarnath, Sardul Kwatra | Kwatra Art |
| 1948 | Actress | Najam Naqvi | Rehana, Prem Adeeb, David, Misra, Abbas Nausha, Mukri | Shyam Sunder | Filmistan |
| 1948 | Dukhiyari | D. K. Ratan | Surendra, Trilok Kapoor, Chandra Mohan, Cuckoo | Gyan Dutt | Jeevan Jyot Kala |
| 1948 | Chaman | Roop K. Shorey | Meena Shorey, Karan Dewan, Majnu, Shyama | Vinod | Shorey Films |
| 1948 | Patjhad | Ravindra Dave | Geeta Bali, Om Prakash, Amarnath | Ghulam Haider, S. D. Batish | Pancholi Art |
| 1949 | Ek Thi Larki | Roop K. Shorey | Motilal, Kuldip Kaur, I. S. Johar, Majnu | Vinod | Shorey Films |
| 1949 | Zevaraat | Habib Sarhadi | Yakub, Masood, Jayant | Hansraj Behl | Habib Productions |
| 1950 | Anmol Ratan | M. Sadiq | Karan Dewan, Nirmala, Gulab, Gope | Vinod | Dewan Productions |
| 1950 | Raj Rani | Satish Nigam | Usha Kiran, Rehman, Satish | Hansraj Behl | Jagat Pictures |
| 1951 | Dholak | Roop K. Shorey | Ajit, Majnu, Manmohan Krishna, Yashodhara Katju | Shyam Sunder | Shorey Films |
| 1951 | Kale Badal | Anant Thakur | Shyam, Pushpa Hans, Jeevan | Shyam Sunder | National Film of India |
| 1952 | Ajeeb Ladki | Mohammed Ehsan | Naseem Banu, Rehman, Shashikala | Ghulam Mohammed | Taj Mahal Pictures |
| 1953 | Ek Do Teen | Roop K. Shorey | Motilal, Satish, Majnu, Yashodhara Katju | Vinod | Shorey Films |
| 1953 | Aag Ka Dariya | Roop K. Shorey | Karan Dewan, Prithviraj Kapoor, Shammi, Majnu | Vinod | Shorey Films |
| 1954 | Raman | Hiren Bose | Karan Dewan, Purnima, Om Prakash, Majnu, Cuckoo | Vinod | Metropolitan Films |
| 1955 | Jalwa | Roop K. Shorey | Karan Dewan, Begum Para, Majnu, Hari Shivdasani | Vinod | Shorey Films |
| 1955 | Shri Naqad Narayan | K. D. Mehra, I. S. Johar | Motilal, Majnu, Om Prakash, Badri Prasad | Vinod | Kanav Brothers Productions |
| 1956 | Shrimati 420 | G. P. Sippy | Johnny Walker, Om Prakash | N. Dutta | Sippy Films |
| 1958 | Chandu | Majnu | Om Prakash, Shashikala, Mehmood and Pran | Bipin Babul | N. R. Productions |
In Pakistan
List:| Year | Film | Director | Co-stars | Composer | Studio/Producer |
| 1956 | Sarfarosh | Anwar Kamal Pasha | Sabiha Khanum, Santosh, Allauddin, Asif Jah | Rasheed Attre | Anwar Kamal Pasha |
| 1956 | Miss 56 | Roop K. Shorey | Santosh, Aslam Pervaiz, Shamim Ara, Noor Mohammed Charlie | Ghulam Ahmed Chishti | J.C. Anand |
| 1957 | Bara Aadmi | Humayun Mirza | Ejaz Durrani, Allauddin, M. Ismail | Ghulam Nabi, Abdul Latif | Husain D. Silva |
| 1958 | Sitaron ki Duniya | M. H. Mohib | Sheda Imam, Rukhsana, Noor Mohammed Charlie | Zafar Khursheed | Sheda Imam |
| 1958 | Aakhri Nishan | Ashfaq Malik | Sudhir, Neelo, Nazar, Talish, Allauddin | Rehman Verma | Vaswani Art Productions |
| 1958 | Jagga | Saqlain Rizvi | Ilyas Kashmiri, Salim Raza, Zeenat Begum | Ghulam Ahmed Chishti, Rasheed Attre | Faqir Shah |
| 1959 | Bacha Jamoora | Aslam Irani | Akmal Khan, Nayyar Sultana, Ilyas Kashmiri, Ajmal | Rafiq Ali | Akbar Irani |
| 1959 | Gulshan | Jaffer Malik | Sudhir, Aslam Pervaiz, Allauddin | Rasheed Attre | M. Ghulam Nabi |
| 1960 | Behrupia | Aslam Irani | Akmal Khan, Nayyar Sultana, Zarif, Ajmal | Tufail Farooqi | M. Ashiq, M. Taj |
| 1961 | Gulfarosh | Zahur Raja | Nayyar Sultana, Zahur Raja, Naeem Hashmi, Kamal | Tassaduq Hussain | Anwar Kamal Pasha |
| 1962 | Mauseeqar | Qadir Ghori | Sabiha Khanum, Santosh Kumar, Abbas Nosha, Nusrat Kardar | Rasheed Attre | Rasheed Attre |
| 1962 | Jamalo | M. J. Rana | Asad Bukhari, Naghma, A. Shah, Ajmal, Zarif | Ghulam Ahmed Chishti | Wazir Ali |
| 1963 | Maa Beti | Choudhary Latif | Yasmin, Yousuf Khan, Akmal Khan, Rukhsana | Safdar Hussain | Choudhary Latif |
| 1963 | Teen Aur Teen | Sheikh Iqbal | Habib, Lehri, Jafri, Sheikh Iqbal | Rehman Verma, G. A. Chisti | Rekha Iqbal |
| 1963 | Yahudi Ki Ladki | Chawla | Nayyar Sultana, Darpan, Talish | Muslehudin | Saghar Jaffery |
| 1964 | Phool Aur Kante | Sheikh Iqbal | Habib, Tarana, Saba, Saqi | M. A. Munoo | M. Ashraf |
| 1964 | Khamosh Raho | Jameel Akhtar | Deeba, Yousuf Khan, Mohammad Ali | Khalil Ahmad | T. H. Rizvi |
| 1964 | Azad | Dilshad Malik | Santosh, Bahar, Yousuf Khan, Asad Bukhari, M. Ismael, Allauddin | Rasheed Attre | Fayyaz Malik |
| 1964 | Andhi Mohabbat | Amin Malik | Laila, Akmal Khan, Nusrat Kardar, Talish | Manzoor Ashraf | M. Nasim |
| 1968 | Adalat | Hassan Tariq | Zeba, Haidar, Rani, Rukhsana, Aslam Pervaiz, Talish | Tasadduq Hussain | G. S. & Co. |
| 1969 | Najo | Qadeer Ghori | Firdous, Ejaz Durrani, Aliya, Zeenat Begum, Asad Bukhari | Manzoor Ashraf | S. Sheikh, Qadeer Ghori |
| 1976 | Waada | Aslam Dar | Asiya, Waheed Murad, Deeba, Saiqa, Lehri | Kemal Ahmad | Asghar Joora |