From stage to screen

Sabiha Khanum was an actor in Pakistani cinema who worked in both Urdu and Punjabi films. In a tribute, critic Aijaz Gul identifies her birth name as Mukhtar Begum and describes a childhood in Gujrat followed by stage work in Lahore. He names Masood Pervaiz’s Beli, released in 1950, as an early film. Her work developed in the years after Partition, as filmmakers and performers built careers in Pakistan’s changing film industry. Stage experience and screen acting involve different forms of performance, and her early path connects both to the cultural life of Punjab.[1]

Films with Santosh Kumar

A Dawn tribute by Parvez Rahim discusses Sabiha’s recurring screen partnership with Santosh Kumar, whom she later married. It names Do Aansoo, directed by Anwar Kamal Pasha, among her early films and lists later work including Sassi, Mukhra and Shikwa. Rahim also notes her prominence in the 1950s and 1960s as Pakistani films competed for audiences. A screen partnership involved directors, writers, musicians and production teams as well as its stars. The tribute gives one contemporary assessment of her career; film prints and detailed credits can help readers investigate individual performances and release histories.[2]

Producing and character roles

Asif Noorani’s remembrance points to Sabiha’s range across leading and later character roles, naming the Punjabi film Naaji, which she produced, alongside Kaneez and Anjuman. He also records colleagues’ recollections of her acting. Such memories are personal judgments, but they offer evidence of how fellow performers regarded her work. The same career cannot be reduced to a single screen pairing or genre: she performed in films in more than one language and also took on production. Her films can be explored through surviving prints, reviews, interviews and catalogues rather than through fame alone.[3]

Sources & notes

Source records include access dates and, where known, limits on what was examined. Checks used AI assistance; independent human or specialist review has not been completed.

  1. Aijaz Gul. A Tribute to Iconic Sabiha Khanum ↗Written source · Source date: 2020 · Locator: Aijaz Gul tribute, page 1: Gujrat childhood, Lahore stage and Beli. Accessed 2026-11-04.The film critic’s tribute was read. It is a retrospective account; film prints, birth records and the underlying interviews were not independently examined.Return to From stage to screen, paragraph 1 ↑
  2. Parvez Rahim. Sabiha Khanum ↗Written source · Source date: 2020-06-20 · Locator: Parvez Rahim’s Dawn letter: Beli, Do Aansoo, screen partnership and later films. Accessed 2026-11-04.The published reader’s tribute was read as a retrospective account. The film prints and production records were not independently checked; its reported award year differs from another cited remembrance and is not adopted here.Return to Films with Santosh Kumar, paragraph 1 ↑
  3. Asif Noorani. In memoriam: The charm of Sabiha Khanum ↗Written source · Source date: 2020-06-28 · Locator: Asif Noorani remembrance: Naaji, later roles and colleagues’ recollections. Accessed 2026-11-04.The published remembrance and attributed recollections were read. It reports dates for death and an award that differ from the other Dawn tribute; neither date is asserted here. The films and original interviews were not independently examined.Return to Producing and character roles, paragraph 1 ↑
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Record PH-PEO-0202 · English edition · human review not performed