| Darpan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Syed Ishrat Abbas 1928 Uttar Pradesh, British India |
| Died | November 8, 1980 Lahore, Pakistan |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1950–1980 |
| Spouse | Nayyar Sultana |
Syed Ishrat Abbas (سید عشرت حسین) better known by his stage name Darpan (Urdu: درپن) was one of the original romantic heroes of the "golden age" of the Pakistan Film Industry (also commonly known as Lollywood). He belonged to an educated Shia family originally from Uttar Pradesh, India where he was born in 1928.
His brother, Santosh Kumar, was also an actor and another brother, S. Sulaiman, is a director. He started his film career with the Punjabi film Billo in 1951.[1] After starring in a few more films produced in Lahore, he decided to travel to India to try his luck there, where he only had moderate success. Notable films from this period include Adl-e-Jahangir opposite Meena Kumari and Barati. Critics applauded his performance in Saheli in which he starred alongside Nayar Sultana and Shamim Ara. He won a Nigar Award for his performance in Saheli as well as a Presidential award. He died in Lahore on November 8, 1980.
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Darpan was a top hero in the beginning of the 60s. He was introduced in film Amanat in 1950 and after only one more film Billo, he left Pakistan and tried his luck in Mumbai, where he appeared in two Indian films Barati and Adl-e-Jahangir. But he was more active in non-professional activities there and became one of many victims of famous Indian actress Nigar Sultana[2](who played famous Dil Araam role in classic Indian film Mughal-e-Azam and was married to director S.M. Yousuf and actor Zahoor Raja also!). Darpan came back to Lahore after a few years, where film industry was booming and he acted in first film Baap ka gunah. But he got breakthrough from his self-produced film Sathi. Raat ke rahi, Saheli, Gulfam, Qaidi, Anchal, Baji, Shikwa, Ik tera sahara and Naela were some big films in which he played vital roles. His last big film as hero was Payal ki jhankar in 1966. He was hero in Waheed Murad's two produced films Insaan badalta hai and Jab se dekha hai tumhen. He was villain in Ik gunah aur sahi and supporting actor in Khuda te maan, Jab jab phool khiley and a few other films.[3]