Swaran Lata (, , 20 December 1924 – 8 February 2008) was a Pakistani film actress. She started her career in the film industry in British India and later moved to Pakistan. She was known as The Tragedy Queen for her portrayal in emotional, tragic roles, and moving dialogue delivery. She worked both in Bollywood and in Pakistani cinema.
Early life Swaran Lata was born into a Sikh family in Rawalpindi, British India, now in Pakistan on 20 December 1924.Swaran Lata's Profile Retrieved 25 April 2022 She did her Senior Cambridge diploma from Delhi and then joined the Academy of Music and Arts, Lucknow. In the early 1940s, her family moved to Bombay. She acted in a total of 22 movies in British India from 1942 to 1948.
Swaran Lata later converted to Islam after she married Nazir Ahmed, a famous actor, director and producer at the time. She changed her name to Saeeda Bano. The Swaran-Nazir pair was a very creative couple, churning out many movies together both before and after the Partition of India in 1947.
Film career Swaran's parents died when she was very young and she lived most of her adolescent life with her elder brother, whom she recalls being "very strict" on her. However, it is the story of how she got discovered that Swaran tells with great passion:"I was a student at a college in Lucknow, India. When I was traveling from Delhi to Lucknow, a few film directors happened to see me. They approached me to act in films but I was not interested at first. One of them then went to my elder brother with the offer, and to my utmost surprise he agreed".Team of actress Swaran Lata and film director Nazir on Dawn (newspaper) Published 17 Dec 2008, Retrieved 25 April 2022Swaran Lata started her career as a stage actress. Her first film was Awaaz released in 1942. Her position as a lead actress was secured when she played the lead in the box office hit Rattan (1944). She fell for Nazir, her co-star in Preet and Laila Majnu (both 1945) and married him. At the time of the Partition of India in 1947 Swaran and Nazir, left everything they had behind in Bombay and migrated to Pakistan, settling in Lahore, Punjab. The duo had to start from scratch and were considered among the pioneers of the early Pakistani film industry.
Swaran Lata was the lead actress of Pakistan's first ever silver jubilee film Pheray (1949). This film was a Punjabi film but she was comfortable as an Urdu language speaker who was educated in Lucknow, the home of Urdu littérateurs. For the film, she was coached in Punjabi language by Baba Alam Siahposh, a Punjabi poet, who was also one of the lyricists of the film songs.
As a lead actress, Laarey (1950), Naukar (1955), Heer (1955) were her famous films, and as a supporting actress, Sawaal (1966) was her famous film. From 1960 onwards, she cut back her film appearances and mainly shifted towards supporting roles until she gracefully retired in 1971.Profile of actress Swaran Lata on upperstall.com website Retrieved 25 April 2022
In her lifetime, Swaran worked with great names like Prithviraj Kapoor and Motilal in India and with Santosh Kumar, Darpan, Inayat Hussain Bhatti and Habib in Pakistan.
Personal life Lata was initially married to Pessi Billimoria, whom she reportedly divorced in late 1945. The same year, she married actor Nazir Ahmed Khan. The couple had four children including three daughters and one son. Famous Pakistani actor Nauman Ijaz is her grandson.
Death Swaran Lata died at the age of 83 in Lahore, Pakistan on 8 February 2008.
Filmography Television shows YearTitleRoleNetwork1983 Silver Jubilee Herself PTV1987 Aaap Ka Zamir Herself PTV
Film Year Film Language 1942 Awaaz Hindi1943 Inkaar Tasveer Pratiggya Heer Ranjha Punjabi Ishaara Hindi 1944 Uss Paar Swarna Bhoomi Raunaq Rattan Ghar Ki Shobha Badi Baat Maharathi Karna 1945 Preet Laila Majnu Pratima Chand Tara 1946 Wamaq Azra Insaf Maa Baap Ki Laaj Sham Savera 1947 Abida 1948 Gharbar 1949 Sachai Urdu Pheray Punjabi 1950 Anokhi Daastan Urdu Laaray Punjabi 1952 Bheegi Palken Urdu 1953 Shehri Babu Punjabi 1955 Khatoon Urdu Naukar Heer Punjabi 1956 Sabira Urdu Soteeli Maa 1957 Noor-e-Islam 1959 Shama 1962 Billo Jee Punjabi 1965 Azmat-e-Islam Urdu 1966 Sawaal 1969 Qasm Us Waqt Ki 1971 Duniya Na Maney
Other appearance Year Title RoleNetwork 1997 Tum Jo Chaho Tu Suno Herself PTV
See also List of Lollywood actors
References
External links , Swaran Lata filmography on IMDb website Filmography of actress Swaran Lata on Complete Index To World Film (CITWF) website Archived