Veteran Pakistani film actress Shabnam turns 74

Veteran Pakistani film actress Jharna Basak, commonly known as Shabnam is celebrating her 74th birthday today with her son Roni Ghosh.

Born on 17th August, Shabnam was a Bangladeshi stage and film actress and was introduced to Pakistani fiml industry by legendary actor Waheed Murad in 1968, after which, she appeared in over 160 films and remained active in the 1960’s, 70s and 80s.

Shabnam married to the music composer and director Robin Ghosh and got fame for her various appearances. But after her husband’s death last year, Shabnam is covered with the grief and solitude.

Today, the actress is celebrating her day with her only son, Roni Ghosh.

The actress appeared as a main lead in ‘Ammajan’ as her last film in Dhaka film industry directed by Kazi Hayat released in 1999.

The actress worked in 152 Urdu films, 14 Bengali and 4 Punjabi films by making her debut film in Bengal.

‘Chanda’ was her first Urdu film shot in Bangladesh. The apparent actress appeared in many films including, Ayna, Nacher Putul, Sondhi, Sondeho, Karon, Sohodhormini, jogajog, juli, Bashira, Dil and many others during her film career.

Shabnam is living in Bangladesh and visited Pakistan in February this year.

Shabnam spoke to the Geo News on her recent visit to the Karachi Literature Festival in Karachi.

“Jharna sounds good but Shabnam has its own spark,” said Shabnam, while speaking about her real and reel life names.

“I worked in over 150 films. Initially, it was difficult for me to work in Urdu films, but slowly and gradually I became more confident.”

The veteran actress shared that she started working even harder after the success of her film ‘Chanda’. “I wasn’t sure about the success of my film ‘Dillagi’, but it also went on to become one of the biggest hits,” she said. “When I met Mr Aslam Dar in 2012, he said that ‘Dillagi’ was still proving to be a big hit.”

Shabnam, who ruled the Pakistani film industry for three decades, claimed that she was never involved in a race to claim the number one position with anyone. “I shared good relations with all my contemporary actresses,” she said. “Zeba, Nisho, Sangeeta and all other actresses were my friends.”

Shabnam also shared that she worked with all the actors of her time.

Shabnam said that she was offered an Indian film when she was in Canada, but she declined the offer. She also revealed, “I really wanted to work with Amitabh Bachchan.”

Shabnam said that it was really difficult to spend time after Robin passed away. On the other hand, she praised how Karachi had transformed over time and had become more beautiful. The actress advised young actors to work really hard and respect time by being more punctual.

Shabnam thanked all her fans for remembering her and giving her so much respect on her visit to Pakistan.