Meet Pakistan’s superstar Santosh Kumar, brother of star Darpan, often called ‘Foreign Minister’, he was...

The partition of India and Pakistan is one of the biggest events in recent history. The two countries saw riots, bloodbath and separation of several shared areas in 1947. Many artists left their respective countries to settle down in another marked on religious lines.However, one industry that kept the folks on both sides of the Redcliffe Line was the film industry, owing to their common love for motion pictures. The division saw separate film industries flourish on both sides. While India’s film industry saw the rise of stars such as Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand and Ashok Kumar, Pakistan also found new film stars rising. One such actor was Santosh Kumar.

Interestingly, Santosh Kumar’s original name was Syed Musa Raza. He was born in Lahore of British India on December 25, 1925. When he grew up, he studied at the Osmania University of British India. He was good in his studies and subsequently cleared the prestigious ICS examination. Just when he was preparing for his civil services duties, he was drawn towards the business of films. After the partition, his family decided to move to Lahore in present day Pakistan, where he started working in Urdu and Punjabi films.

Though his first film was called Ahinsa (Hindi), he soon started featuring in Urdu and Punjabi films like Meri Kahani, Beli and Do Ansoo. His breakthrough moment came with the film Saat Lakh (1957) for which he received the Nigar Award too. His roles in Ghunghat (1962) and Daman (1963) were also appreciated. Santosh passed away in 1982. The Pakistan government conferred upon him Sitara-i-Imtiaz in 2010 for his contribution in the field of arts.  Santosh’s had another actor brother Syed Ishrat Abbas, who acquired the stage name of Darpan. They had two more brothers—Mansoor and Suleiman.

Both—Santosh and Darpan—worked during the golden romantic age of Pakistani cinema. Santosh was one of the most known romantic heroes of the era. Not only this, he was also jokingly called the ‘Foreign Minister’ of the Pakistani film industry due to his knowledge on various subjects.

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