Gul Hameed was the first film superstar of the Indo sub-continent. Born in village Pir piai Nowshera in 1905 he didn’t live long and joined the great majority in 1936. It is the considered view of the film critics that Bollywood didn’t see the likes of this handsome good good-looking, debonair film hero again. He had joined the police service and while on official duty in Lahore was spotted by the famous film director of his time A R Kardar who prodded him to work in his film and so started his film career. Those were the days of silent movies and his job took him to Bombay now Mumbai and Calcutta now Kolkata, which were also film centres of yore along with Lahore. Since it was the era of silent movies he started his film career in silent movies and made his mark by excellent acting in films like yahudi ki larhki, Heer Ranjha, Seeta and Chandar Gupt. Very few people know that film Seeta in which he had worked was the first Indian movie to be given entry into film festival of Venice in 1934 where it was awarded with honorary diploma also. He was working as director and script writer for a film billed as Khyber pass when he was diagnosed with throat cancer in Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar where he died. He did work in some talkies too.
He had fallen in love with his co- star, one Patience Cooper a film heroine of those days and after she embraced Islam and adopted the name of Sabira Sultana. they entered into wedlock. As ill luck would have it, Gul Hameed was diagnosed with throat cancer which was incurable those days and he died of it in 1936 when he was barely 30.
He lies buried in a road side cemetery near Amangarh, Nowshera. What a pity that no TV channel has not produced a special documentary on this legendary film personality hitherto.
