Doraha (1967 film)

Doraha
Film poster of Doraha
Directed by	Pervaiz Malik
Produced by	Sohail Rana Pervaiz Malik
Starring	Waheed Murad Shamim Ara Deeba Talish Ibrahim Nafees
Music by	Sohail Rana
Release date	August 25, 1967
Running time	approx. 3 hours
Country	Pakistan
Language	Urdu

Doraha, a Pakistani Urdu black & white film, is a classic romantic and melodious film of the 1960s and a remarkable film of Pervaiz Malik's and Waheed Murad's careers. At the box office, the film failed to become a big hit, as it was expected, but it later gained more importance after several years, especially during the 1980s and 1990s due to its superb music and hit songs. The film was produced by Sohail Rana and Pervaiz Malik and was also directed by Pervaiz Malik. Cast included Waheed Murad, Shamim Ara, Deeba, Ibrahim Nafees and Talish. For Doraha, Waheed Murad originally cast Zeba, but after her marriage with Mohammad Ali, he picked Shamim Ara. His close circles knew that Shamim Ara was just a replacement. All the dialogue and songs were for Zeba.^[1]

Release

The film was released by United Talents on August 25, 1967 on cinemas of Karachi and Lahore.^[2] During the same year, Doraha got tough competition from other successful films like Chakori, Laakhon mein ek, Darshan and Aag. It completed only 40 weeks on cinemas with 7 weeks on main cinemas in Karachi, which was far less than the producers' expectations. Nevertheless, the film got the status of a 'Silver Jubilee film'.

It was also a big hit in Dhaka and other cities of the then East Pakistan, nowadays Bangladesh.

Music

The music of the film is composed by Sohail Rana.^[3] The songs of Doraha, particularly, Bhooli hui hoon daastan..., Mujhe tum nazar se gira tau rahe ho... Haan isi more par... Tumhein kaise bata doon... and Ajnabi zara souch lo... became very popular on the Radio at that time. The evergreen songs of the film were written by Masroor Anwar and mostly sung by Ahmed Rushdi and Mala. Only one song was recorded in Mehdi Hassan's voice. Waheed Murad declared Rushdi's song, "Bhooli hui hoon daastan", his favorite song.^[4] The film Doraha proved to be a milestone in Ahmed Rushdi's career:

• Tumhen kaise bata doon by Ahmed Rushdi
• Bhooli hui hoon daastan by Ahmed Rushdi
• Bhooli hui hoon daastan by Ahmed Rushdi and Mala
• Mujhe tum nazar se gira tau rahe ho by Mehdi Hassan
• Haan isi mor par by Ahmed Rushdi
• Ajnabi zara souch lo by Ahmed Rushdi
• Koi mere dil mein by Mala
• Wafaaon ka badla by Mala
• Ae chand zara ruk jaana by Mala

References