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Darpan
Darpan
درپن
	Darpan in 1963
Born	Syed Ishrat Abbas; 1928; United Provinces, British India
Died	8 November 1980 (aged 51–52); Lahore, Pakistan
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1950–1980
Spouse	Nayyar Sultana (m. 1962)
Children	Syed Qaisar Abbas (son); Syed Ali Abbas (son);
Relatives	Santosh Kumar (brother); Sabiha Khanum (sister-in-law); Mansoor (brother); S. Suleman (brother); Zareen Panna (sister-in-law);
Awards	Nigar Awards in 1959 and 1960

Syed Ishrat Abbas (Urdu: سیّد عِشرت عبّاس), (1928 – 8 November 1980) better known by his stage name Darpan (Urdu: درپَن), was one of the original romantic heroes of the "Golden Age" of Pakistan's film industry (also commonly known as Lollywood).^[1]^[2]

Early life

Syed Ishrat Abbas was born into a middle-class family originally from the United Provinces of India, where he was born in 1928. His older brother, Santosh Kumar, was also a film actor. Another brother, S. Suleman, is a film director.^[1]

Career

Darpan was introduced in the film Amanat in 1950 and went on to feature in the Pakistani Punjabi film Billo in 1951. After starring in a few more films produced in Lahore, he decided to try his luck in India, where he only had moderate level of success. Notable films from this period include Barati (1954), and Adl-e-Jehangir (1955) opposite Meena Kumari.

Darpan came back to Lahore after a few years, where the film industry was then booming, and he acted in Baap Ka Gunah (1957). He had a breakthrough with his self-produced film Sathi. Raat Ke Rahi (1960), Saheli, Gulfam, Qaidi, Anchal, Baji, Shikwa, Ik Tera Sahara and Naela (1965) were some big films in which he played vital roles. Critics applauded his lead role performance back in Pakistan's film Saheli (1960) in which he starred alongside Nayyar Sultana and Shamim Ara.^[3]^[4]

He won a Best Actor Nigar Award for his performance in Saheli (1960), as well as a Presidential award.^[5] His last big film as hero was Payal Ki Jhankar in 1966. He was the hero in two of Waheed Murad's produced films Insaan Badalta Hai and Jab Se Dekha Hai Tumhen. He played the villain in Ik Gunah Aur Sahi, and was a supporting actor in Khuda Te Maan, Jub Jub Phool Khile (1975) and a few other films.

Personal life

Darpan was a good-looking and attractive man with hazel eyes and a rich playboy's smile.^[3] At first glance, he seemed like a non-serious flirt and a 'lady killer'. At least, that was his 'professional image as an actor'. He used to play non-serious fun-loving roles in the movies quite unlike his older actor brother Santosh Kumar who used to take serious romantic roles in the Pakistani movies of the 1950s and 1960s.^[3]^[6]

When it came to marriage, Darpan fell for a shy, typically eastern and a lady-like fellow actress, Nayyar Sultana. They had been paired together earlier in a super-hit Pakistani film Saheli (1960) which also starred Shamim Ara and was directed by veteran film director S. M. Yusuf.^[3]

Death

He died in Lahore on 8 November 1980 at age 52.^[6]^[1]

Filmography

Darpan did a total of 70 films - 58 films in Urdu language, 2 in Hindi language, 8 in Punjabi language and 2 films in Pashto language.

Film

In India

Year	Film	Role	Language
1954	Barathi	Atmaram	Hindi
1955	Adl-e-Jehangir	Prince Khurram	Hindi

In Pakistan

Year	Film	Language
1950	Amanat	Urdu
1951	Billo	Punjabi
1953	Mehbooba	Urdu
1957	Baap Ka Gunah
1957	Noor-e-Islam
1958	Jan-e-Bahar
	Mukhra	Punjabi
	Rukhsana	Urdu
1959	Sahara
	Khullja Sim Sim
	Shama
	Saathi
1960	Noukari
	Raat Kay Rahi
	Saheli^[1]^[5]
1961	Insan Badalta Hai
	Gulfam^[1]
	Lakhon Fasane
1962	Qaidi
	Mousiqaar
	Aanchal^[1]
	Beta
	Unchay Mahal
1963	Jab se dekha hai tumhen
	Yahudi ki larki
	Baji^[1]
	Teer Andaz
	Shikwa
	Dulhan
	Ik Tera Sahara
	Tange Wala
1964	Baap ka Baap
	Shikari
	Inspector
	Shabab
1965	Koh-e-Qaaf
1965	Naila^[2]
1966	Al-hilaal
	Hamrahi
	Jalwah
	Mere Mehboob
	Payal Ki Jhankar
	Mojza
1967	Sham Savera
	Bahadur
	Sitamgar
	Shola Aur Shabnam
1968	Baalam
	Ik Musafar Ik Haseena
	Saiqa
1969	Meri Bhabi
	Fasana-e-Dil
	Saza
1970	Hamjoli
1970	Chann Sajna	Punjabi
1971	Ishq Deevana
1973	Khuda Te Maan
	Azmat	Urdu
	Khushia	Punjabi
1974	Jawab Do	Urdu
1974	Deedar	Urdu
1975	Nadir Khan	Punjabi
	Izzat	Urdu
	Aik Gunnah Aur Sahi
	Jub Jub Phool Khile
1976	Ajj Di Taza Khabar	Punjabi
1977	Cheekh	Urdu / Pashto
1979	Nawabzadi	Urdu
1986	Laram	Pashto

Awards and recognition

Year	Award	Category	Result	Title	Ref.
1959	Nigar Award	Best Actor	Won	Saathi	^[7]
1960	Nigar Award	Best Actor	Won	Saheli	^[7]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g Muhammad Suhayb (11 February 2018). "SPOTLIGHT: CELLULOID LOVE". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 16 July 2022.
^ ^a ^b Muhammad Ali (3 December 2019). "Film 'Naela' screened at National History Museum's amphitheatre". Daily Times (newspaper). Retrieved 16 July 2022.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Darpan – Nayyar Sultana". Cineplot.com website. 26 November 2009. Archived from the original on 27 August 2018. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
^ Aijaz Gul (1 March 2016). "'Saheli' screened [Saheli (1960 film)]". The News International (newspaper). Retrieved 16 July 2022.
^ ^a ^b "Ten best Pakistani films selected by film critic Ijaz Gul". BBC News website. 5 September 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2022.
^ ^a ^b Darpan's 32nd death anniversary today Geo News (TV channel), Published 8 November 2012, Retrieved 16 July 2022
^ ^a ^b "Pakistan's "Oscars": The Nigar Awards". The Hot Spot Online Film Reviews website. 24 November 2017. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 16 July 2022.