By Dr. Sohail Ansari 

Here is another actress from the silent movies era who chose Karachi as her abode following partition.

Sultana Razaaq: a beautiful charming actress who migrated to Karachi after Partition.

Ibrahim Muhammed Yakut Khan was the Nawab of Sachin. His wife, Fatima Begum was probably the first woman director of the sub-continent. Their three daughters, Nawabzadi Zubaida, Nawabzadi Sultana and Nawabzadi Shahzadi, were all actresses. Sultana was an actress from the days of silent films who also worked in talkies and her younger sister Zubeida was the heroine of the first talkie film in India. They were among the few girls who entered the film industry at a time when it was not considered to be appropriate for girls from respectable families.

Sultana who was born in Surat, Gujrat, married a wealthy man called Seth Razaaq and left the film industry. After Partition, they moved to Pakistan and settled in Karachi, with their beautiful daughter, Jamila. The cultural conditions were pretty conducive to the nurturing of talent in Karachi. Jamila started to acquire prowess in classical dance.

Humayun Mirza was very impressed by Jamila and gave her a leading role in his film, Intekhab. At this juncture, Sultana Razaaq also made a movie, Hum Aik Hain, which was released in November 1961. Some of the scenes of the movie were picturised in color, and is considered as one of the first coloured experience of Lollywood. Aslam Parvaiz played the lead opposite Jamila, but the film flopped. Jamila married the well known Pakistani cricketer, Waqar Hasan. He established and runs a business under the name National Foods at Karachi.