Munawwar Sultana

Munawar Sultana
Munawwar Sultana in Raat Ki Rani (1949)
Born	Munawar Sultana 8 November 1924 Lahore, British India
Died	15 September 2007(2007-09-15) (aged 82) Mumbai
Nationality	Indian
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1945-56
Spouse(s)	Sharaf Ali
Children	4 sons, 3 daughters

Munawar Sultana (1924–2007) (her name in all her films opening credits), also written as Munnawar Sultana, or Munawar Sultana was an Indian cinema actress, who acted in Hindi/Hindustani films. She is cited as one of the "popular" actresses of late 1940's to early 1950s period, along with Noor Jehan, Swarnalata and Ragini. Her forte was playing roles of a selfless woman, enduring the rough treatment meted by her husband and family, but who eventually "brought her erring husband back home".

She came into prominence with Mazhar Khan's Pehli Nazar (1945), her first film in a leading role. A discovery of actor-producer-director Mazhar Khan, she became inundated with film offers, becoming one of the busiest actresses by 1949, along with other leading ladies like Suraiya and Nargis. Some of her successful films were Pehli Nazar, Dard (1947), Elaan (1947) Kaneez (1947), and Babul (1950).

Munawar Sultana was born on 8 November 1924, in Lahore, British India, into a strict Punjabi Muslim family. According to an interview with son Sarfaraz and daughter Shaheen, conducted by Shishir Krishna Sharma, Munawwar's father was a radio announcer. Munawwar wanted to become a doctor but was side-tracked by an offer in films. This was a small role in the film Dalsukh Pancholi's Khazanchi (1941), where she played a barmaid, and had a song "Peene Ke Din Aaye" picturised on her. She went by the screen name Asha for this period. According to Patel, Munawwar came to Bombay from Lahore courtesy the actor-director Mazhar Khan in 1945. She became popular with her film Pehli Nazar, a role she stated was one of her favourites.