Saifuddin Saif
Saifuddin Saif was a Pakistani lyricist, poet, film producer-director, and the founder of Rehnuma Films, a film studio in Lahore, in 1954.
He was involved in writing poems and lyrics before and after the Partition. However, most of his films written before partition remained unreleased due to political instability in the subcontinent. He was best known for his film Kartar Singh, and is also credited for writing lyrics for Pakistan's historical and first-ever feature film Teri Yaad, which helped him to appear among the prominent writers.
As a poet, he wrote eleven ghazals and four nazms on various subjects, including fifteen on friendship, fifteen on social issues, one on hope, and a poetry collection titled Kham-e-Kakul, also known as Khan-e-Kamal.
Early life and education
Saifuddin was born on 20 March 1922 in the household of Khawaja Meraj Din and was raised in Amritsar in British India. He received his education from the Govt. M.A.O. College Lahore, but left midway after he was barred from taking part in board exams over joining political activism of the Khaksar Movement, a social movement aimed at freeing India from the British Raj.Career
Saif started his career as a lyricist, but his childhood was originally associated with poetry writings and after leaving the college, he pursued poetry as a career. He migrated to Pakistan following the partition and settled in Lahore where he initially worked as a dialogue writer and lyricist in the cinema of Pakistan. He later established Rahnuma Films, a full-fledged filmmaking production in 1954. He also wrote lyrics for films before partition, but none of the films was released. After his migration to Pakistan, all the films he had worked on were released, and he was subsequently considered one of the prominent filmmakers of Pakistan.His first film as a lyricist was Hichkolay , and later wrote songs for Amanat in 1950 and Naveli in 1952. His films Ghulam and Mehbooba are generally recognized as commercially successful. After his commercial success, he established his film company called Rahnuma Films. He also worked as a producer, director and scriptwriter in Raat Ki Baat and Saat Lakh, and Lollywood's historical film Kartar Singh, which is claimed to have covered real events and bloodshed of the 1947 partition.
He wrote the song "Payal Main Geet Hain Chham Chham Ke" for the film Gumnaam and also songs for the film Qatil.
Besides film lyrics, he primarily used to write poems which were sung by the prominent Pakistani singers, including Noor Jehan, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, and Mahdi Hasan. Saif wrote a book titled Khan-e-Kamal, comprising a collection of gazals.
Work
| # | Title | Year | Type/Credited as | Remarks |
| 1 | Teri Yaad | 1948 | Lyricist | |
| 2 | Hichkoley | 1949 | Lyricist | |
| 3 | Amanat | 1950 | Lyricist | |
| 4 | Naveli | 1952 | Lyricist | |
| 5 | Ghulam | 1953 | Lyricist | |
| 6 | Mehbooba | 1953 | Lyricist | |
| 7 | Raat Kee Baat | 1954 | Writer, producer-director | The film flopped under the Rehnuma Films banner |
| 8 | Gumnaam | 1954 | Song-writer | |
| 9 | Qatil | 1955 | Song-writer | |
| 10 | Saat Lakh | 1957 | Writer, producer-director | It was Pakistan's first film that won Nigar Awards |
| 11 | Kartar Singh | 1959 | Writer, producer-director | After the success of film Kartar Singh, he became one of the most sought-after producer/directors in Pakistan |
| 12 | Roopmati Baaz Bahadur | 1960 | lyricist | - |
| 13 | Darwaza | 1962 | producer-director | - |
| 14 | Madr-e-Watan | 1966 | Producer-director | |
| 15 | Kham-e-Kakul | 1992 | Poetry | Also known as Khan-e-Kamal |
Awards and recognition
- Nigar Award for Saifuddin Saif as Best Script/Story Writer for film Saat Lakh
- Nigar Award for Best Film Saat Lakh
Death