By Omair Alavi The world knows Jawed Sheikh as one of the finest TV and film actors from Pakistan. He has worked in countless Bollywood films as well, playing father to Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor. However, there is another side to his career that many don’t know – he is also…
SAMAA | Omair Alavi – Posted: Oct 8, 2017 | Last Updated: 4 years ago
By Omair Alavi
The world knows Jawed Sheikh as one of the finest TV and film actors from Pakistan. He has worked in countless Bollywood films as well, playing father to Salman Khan, Shah Rukh Khan and Ranbir Kapoor. However, there is another side to his career that many don’t know – he is also a revolutionary director who along with Syed Noor staged the revival of the 90s. From Mushkil until Yeh Dil Aapka Huwa, most of his films were super hits and their soundtrack is still popular, something unheard for Pakistani films. On the eve of his 63rd Birthday, he is working on Wujood his directorial comeback after nearly a decade. Let’s refresh our memories regarding his film hits (as a director) before he adds a few with his upcoming venture.
Dil Hogaya Hai – Mushkil (Tehseen Javed/Mehnaz, 1995)
This Amjad Bobby classic sounded much like a Robin Ghosh number and helped Pakistani film songs enter the Indian airspace since it was in the Top 10 of leading Indian film shows of those days. Tehseen Javed is outstanding as the vocalist while late Mehnaz makes an entry towards the end. The magical pairing of Jawed Sheikh – Neeli set the screen on fire and their chemistry is evident.
Mushkil Hai Bada Mushkil Hai – Mushkil (Amjad Bobby/Mehnaz, 1995)
Jawed Sheikh passed the test of a director when he was in charge of this Amjad Bobby composition. Here he dances in midst of his friends Behroz Sabzwari and Khalid Butt while trying to romance Neeli who looks out of this world due to her natural beauty and elegance. They don’t lip sync in the marriage scene and that’s something only a thinking director would do – lip sync would have looked so awkward.
Bus Bhai Bus – Chief Saab (Sajjad Ali, 1996)
How do you make an already popular song more popular when it is included in a film? Shoot it like never before and surprise the audience. That’s exactly what Jawed Sheikh the director did for Chief Sab’s title song where not only his brother Saleem Sheikh looked a proper tapori out but also enthralled the audience with his dance moves. The place where they shot the song was the old Lahore Airport and everyone including Behroz Sabzwari looked good in the damp conditions.
Suno Suno – Chief Saab (Waris Baig/Shazia Manzoor, 1996)
Saleem Sheikh and Meera have never looked this good in films – they danced around in Turkey and the director captured them well on screen. Waris Baig and Shazia Manzoor were used as Pakistani versions of Kumar Sanu and Alka Yagnik and Amjad Bobby’s compositions made it all come out as brilliant.
Raat Nasheeli – Chief Saab (Waris Baig/Fariha Pervez, 1996)
Then there was this sexy number where Meera sizzled and the audience didn’t move away from their screens for they hadn’t seen someone this lovely in a long time. Amjad Bobby composed a Bollywood-ish song that was filmed in a similar way – Fariha Pervez outshines Waris Baig as a playback singer and it’s a pity that she wasn’t used much in films.
Karay Kuchi Kuchi Dil Mera – Chief Saab (Waris Baig/Shazia Manzoor, 1996)
Jawed Sheikh and Neeli had this frosty song filmed on them where Waris Baig and Shazia Manzoor were fantastic as playback singers. The surroundings, the steps, and the cinematography were much better compared to films of that era.
Title Song – Yeh Dil Aapka Huwa (Kumar Sanu, Kavita Krishnamurthy) 2002
When Jawed Sheikh finally got a chance to make an international film, he did that in style. Not only did he use playback singers from abroad (before that, they worked in pseudonyms), he came up with the first film shot in digital format, using 5.1 Surround and with new sound effects for punches and kicks. This Kumar Sanu – Kavita Krishnamurthy song composed by Amjad Bobby is still popular and played on the Radio, and people mistake it for a Bollywood song.
Falak Se Sitara – Yeh Dil Aapka Huwa (Sonu Nigam, Kavita Krishnamurthy)
The film paved the way for new filmmakers to venture into films and the credit goes to Jawed Sheikh’s trusted people – late Amjad Bobby for composing a brilliant soundtrack, lyricist Nida Fazli for playing with the names of the characters to come up with this song and late Waqar Bukhari for capturing the beautiful people and scenery on film.
Dil Ko Dildar Mila – Yeh Dil Aapka Huwa (Kavita Krishnamurthy)
The dance steps in this mehndi song remind one of Nimbooda because the choreographer was the same – Saroj Khan from Bollywood. Our very own Amjad Bobby composed the number and Kavita Krishnamurthy sang it to the best of her ability, making Sana looking prettier than ever!
Wo Ladki Hai Ya Jadu – Yeh Dil Aapka Huwa (Sonu Nigam, 2002)
This song featured twice in the film when both the friends were talking to each other about the same girl. Here Sonu Nigam sings for Saleem Sheikh and their combo is well captured under the direction of elder brother Jawed who moved to character roles from this film onwards.
