Anjuman

The most successful Punjabi film herione in the 1980´s, Anjuman came from Multan to Lahore. Her first appearance was,however, in Urdu film "Waadey ki Zanjeer" in 1979. She had major roles in mega-hit films "Sher Khan" and "Chan Varyam" and played side-role in "Sala Sahib". All three films were diamond jubilee hits and were released on the same day , an unique record, which she shared with her century partner hero Sultan Rahi, her playback voice (singer) Melody Queen Madam Noor Jehan and Musician Wajahat Attre.Anjumen was a darling of The relatively less educated class which went to cinema frequently. She could dance according to their taste and she had a figure of a traditional Punjabi Mutyaar which suited the Punjabis at the time.What she also did was to stereotype an actress in the punjabi cinema, at least in terms of girth. So much so, that by the time Neeli came into the scene in 1988, people were just shocked at seeing a slim smart looking heroine. The punjabi film fight sequences however, became more realistic; one could understand how a man punched by Anjuman can go flying in the air. But what the audiance failed to understand was what the directors thought when they showed her commit double summersaults in the air and perform a flying kick.

In 1992, there was a Naeem Bokhari TV talk show on STN where Anjuman was a guest. Naeem Bokhari asked her if she had had any education. A little embarrassed, she replied that she had just toured "Oxford and Cambridge", at which Naeem Bokhari started laughing and told her that "touring doesn't cut it". She obviously replied that she had had no formal education, but would have liked to have had it.

Anjuman later felt challenged by Neeli for a short while and by Reema as well but she was finally sort of replaced by Saima who may not be exactly an Anjuman but was a much needed change in the industry although this came when she actually married and left for UK.Anjuman got married to an Income Tax officer by the name of Mubeen Malik and quit films to pursue a life of a typical house wife. Malik soon grew fed up of her lifestyle which he saw as being less than perfect. There were reports of Malik being shocked at his wife's "fast" life and slowly but surely bickering and fighting became the tone of their marriage. During this time the one man industry of Sultan Rahi was brought down by a brutal and callous murder on the National Highway.

Lollywood was deprived of its most enormous star and the industry was gutted with the body blow of their one and only hero's death. The Punjabi film industry virtually ground to a halt, crushed by the loss of the great Rahi.

Anjuman and Malik meanwhile managed to tolerate each other and she had a couple of kids and life went on like this for a few years until her kids were old enough to manage without her constant care. The cravings to work infront of the camera returned gradually. Her comeback as herione in 1999 was not successful.Anjuman signed a couple of films and her return vehicle was to be a film with her in the title role of Chaudrani. The adoring masses welcomed their beloved Queen home and lifted Chaudrani to considerable success upon release.

Anjuman was back, but lady luck was desperately fickle and very soon the golden touch began to fade. Anjuman however perceived Chaudrani's success as vindication of everything she had planned. She put her foot down and refused any further character roles opting only for solo heroine projects. Then she jacked up her price to a lofty Rs.300,000 ,the demand that she made in her pomp. Suddenly she felt that she was in a position to be calling all the shots, but in any film industry you are as good as your last hit and she was soon to taste the vagaries of stardom. Her next release was Jag Mahi opposite similarly dinosauric Ghulam Mohiuddin in 2000.It had a very tepid response and barely lasted a few weeks playing to largely empty halls. Anjuman's next release was going to prove a litmus test of sorts and this she failed disastrously. The film Peengan opposite Saud was met with derision and unprecedented rejection.

Audiences started shouting slogans of "Maa Puttar"(Mother and Son) and "Buddhee Ghori Laal Lagaam" during the film which had a shattering effect on Anjuman's confidence. Yet her pride and stubbornness refused to budge on her stance on character roles as well as the size of her pay check. Peengan was laughed off the cinemas and suddenly the industry began to mutter about Anjuman being like a kiss of death if she was in the romantic lead.

There was much depression in the Malik household as news spread from the industry that distributors had made an announcement that they would not be handling any Anjuman starrer for fear of financial loss. The poor producers who she had already signed for suffered enormous losses. A few films which had been partly completed were recalled by the producers and shorn of any Anjuman involvement.

In the film Badmaash for which Anjuman had already canned two songs and numerous scenes, she was was abruptly dropped and replaced by upcoming starlet Noor. The producer felt they would be better off cutting Anjuman from the film and likewise cutting their costs rather than going ahead with the project with Anjuman as the leading lady. This was an indignity that was very difficult to bear for Anjuman who fell to the depths of depression during this period.

Further news arrived that Anjuman's scenes from the film "Badmaash tey Qanoon" had also been dropped and edited out of the film and that she had been replaced by Nargis. This was the final straw for Anjuman, the humiliation proving too much to take. She announced her immediate retirement and that she was just hanging around to complete her couple of on hand assignments and that she would shortly be leaving Pakistan altogether and head for a life of anonymity in UK where her husband Mubeen Malik owns a flat. . Her final two movies were Jatti Da Vair in 2000 [1]and Ek Dhee Punjab Di which is a title befitting a final Anjuman effort.Her glittering career ended on a sour note,however,Anjuman will always remain the pride of Multan.

Her departure may have been a crushing blow to many of her die hard fans who admired the "thumkas"(Dance Maneuvers) of Anjuman.In the mid 80's the extent of the dominance of Sultan Rahi,Mustafa Qureshi and Anjuman was such that it was not considered a viable project unless these three elements were part of the set up. Film after film after film saw the three stars appear with different names, but merely repeating their roles from the previous efforts. None the less, the public lapped it up and all three became icons of an era.

Filmography