Chakori

Actress Chakori who worked in many Urdu, Punjabi and Pushto films in 70s and 80s passed away in Lahore on November 1st, 2010. She was admitted to Jinnah hospital few days ago and was suffering from Asthma, Diabetes, Heart and Liver disease.

Chakori was most famous for her role as “Daro Natni” in Maula Jatt (1979). Maula Jatt took Chakori to the moon. She attained the status of the second best heroine of the Punjabi films, after Anjuman, and in some cases even rivaled her.

According to her son Hassan Kaifi, her funeral prayer will be held in Allama Iqbal Town after Zuhr prayers.

Click here for her detailed profile

Maula Jatt (1979)

There is no need to go into the story, a gandasa, a howling musical note, fits of staccato laughter and the dialogue are the only things you need to savour the very essence of Maula Jatt. Memorably scripted by Nasir Adib, and directed with a contagiously maddening, no-holds-barred approach by Yunus Malik, Maula Jatt was made in 1979, and then never forgotten. What you do need to know is that ultimately, Maula Jatt is all about how there is no Yin without the Yang, the eternal struggle between good and evil.

Sultan Rahi as Maula Jatt is the good. Literally the mama’s boy – infamously appearing out of nowhere when his mother, at the top of her lungs, shouts his name, Maula likes to growl, scowl and yell maniacally and when the time comes – which it does, in abundance- Maula likes to shed a lot of blood and enjoys ripped off limbs flying in the air and bits of human intestines dangling from his gandasa, all in the name of honour, justice and the Punjabi way. Mustafa Qureshi (in the role of a lifetime) as Noorie Nath is the evil. A demented sadomasochist like no other, his entry is the tale of legends. We are introduced to a close-up of his foot wrapped in chains, the howling musical note, the staccato laughter and then the most menacing yet hilarious entry dialogue known to man: “Nawa ayah ain soneya?” And if we weren’t having enough fun, Chakori, as Daro Nathni, gives a spectacular performance, probably the best of her career as the sister of Noorie Nath who is as at least as demented and psychotic as her brother.

What you need to remember by heart-as many do- are the confrontations between Maula Jatt and Noorie Nath where both exchange booming one liners, the juggat as well as a number of high pitched war cries, the barrak both unique to Punjabi culture. Ok, the visual style might give some a headache-the sudden close-ups, the whiplash pan – which is very popular in Indian soap-operas today. The production values are horrible and the sound is pathetic, but who can deny the sheer menace of Noorie Nath, the electric chemistry between Sultan Rahi and Mustafa Qureshi, the last fight -where Maula Jatt slaughters at least a hundred men, and made a diehard fan exclaim that it inspired the makers of Matrix 2 to do the same with Neo – and the dialogue, which if nothing else, is street poetry (Rating – 2 OUT OF 5)

Cast and Production Credits

Year – 1979, Genre – Action, Country – Pakistan, Language – Punjabi, Producer – Sarwar Bhatti, Director – Yunus Malik, Music Director – Inayat, Cast – Sultan Rahi, Mustafa Qureshi, Chakori, Aasiya, Kaifi, Adeeb

Chakori

Dusky damsel, Chakori could be called one of the most popular female artists of the mid 1980’s. With her earthy appeal and that saucily aggressive style of acting, the doe-eyed Chakori was actually the first film actress in the Punjabi films to challenge Anjuman. It was a time when Aasiya, Naghma, and Aaliya were leaving the field, and a few girls had overstayed, like Mumtaz, Zamarrud and Sangeeta. So, Anjuman was leading the fray by a huge margin. At this juncture Chakori took the Punjabi cinema by storm.

Actually, Chakori started her film career in the Sindhi films. When she joined the ranks, in 1971, with Mehboob Mittha, the Sindhi films were making slow progress. Chakori performed a secondary role in this film, which had Anila Ejaz in the lead role with Mushtaq Changezi. Chakori was spotted by a film-maker, A. H. Siddiqui, who had her in mind for his next film. When he made Jeejal Ma; a movie in a rural background, he immediately thought of Chaokri and cast her in the leading role with the number one hero of the Sindhi films, Mushtaq Changezi. The pair was an instant hit and she became the talk of the tinsel town. Her verve and curve was enough to launch her in the big circuit. The same year she appeared in another hit movie, Pyar Kayo Singhar, which was created by Yusuf Nasar, a well known Sindhi film maker. Mushtaq Changezi and Chakori were the leading artists in this film too. They complemented each other so well that the Sindhi cinema, otherwise on a slide, was resurrected and went from strength to strength. This proved to be a fusion of hearts too and they soon got married. Later, Pyar Taan Sadqey, Munjho Pyar Pukarey and many such films were also released to a responsive public.

Watching Chakori perform with distinction in the Sindhi films, the producers and directors were convinced that she was hot stuff for the Urdu and Punjabi flicks too. At this juncture, director Javed Fazil was making an Urdu movie called Goonj, which was his debut, somewhere in the late 1970’s. Fazil called Chakori to Lahore and gave her a secondary role in Goonj, which she performed to satisfaction. Goonj was a multi-starrer, in the typical tradition of Fazil’s films, which starred Shahid, Ghulam Mohyuddin and Usman Peerzada. It was enough to give Chakori an important foot holding in Lollywood. She decided to stay over in Lahore and do more films. But, this did not meet Mushtaq Changezi’s approval. So, they decided to separate. Soon, she became a lead in Punjabi films like Guarantee, Alaram, Maula Jutt, Challan, Hirasaat etc. Amongst these, Maula Jutt was the film that took Chakori to the moon. She had attained the status of the second best heroine of the Punjabi films, after Anjuman, and in some cases even rivaled her. Maula Jutt was a huge success throughout Pakistan, and Chakori’s loud demeanor even challenged the heroes. She was no damsel in distress, for sure. Simultaneously, she was doing Urdu movies like Sheeshay Ka Ghar, Hera Pheri, and Takrao etc.

By this time, Chakori had worked in lots of films with Kaifi, establishing a pair. But, that wasn’t just a matter attached to the box-office; Kaifi and Chakori had come closer off the screen too. They were working together in most of the films like Dangal, Milega Zulm Da Badla, Jeedar, Taqat, Raju Rocket, Behram Daku etc. Kaifi had married Ghazala earlier, and they were still together . But , Kaifi and Chakori still got married . Later, after their films started to flop and their pair lost its magic, Kaifi divorced Chakori and she married to a businessman. She had no other option but to join the Pushto films, which were on the increase in the country during the days of General Zia . At the apex of her popularity, she was not inclined to do roles that needed her to show expressive talent. This caused her downfall soon, and she left the industry during the early 1990’s – Zulqarnain Shahid – Mag The Weekly – Karachi