Shabman, the senior actress who was the poster girl of Lollywood in the 1970s broke into tears while she talked about leaving Pakistani and its film industry in the late 1990s.
“It was very painful for me but I did it for my family, especially my father, who suffered from a heart attack in Bangladesh while I was in Pakistan,” said the film star at the literary festival organised by Old Ravians Union (ORU) at Government College University (GCU), Lahore.
Shabnam had a whole session dedicated to her named: ‘An interaction with Shabnam Ghosh’.
“I lived and worked for almost three decades in Pakistan, how could I forget the people who gave me so much love and respect,” said she.
When she was asked about the Bangladeshi cinema, she said:
“It is in the same condition as Pakistani cinema nowadays.”
She said the actors were not very demanding when she worked in the film industry, adding that “they were no concept of five-star hotels as they used to stay in tents most of the time during outdoor shooting.”
She also mentioned that her husband, music director Robin Ghosh was very supportive and understanding of her film life and never asked questions when she came home late from work.
The festival opened with a session which paid glowing tributes to Bano Qudisa. Poet Yasmeen Hameed, Anees Ahmed, the son of Bano Qudsia, Prof Dr Saadat Saeed and Dr Khalid Sinjarni talked about the late writer.
In the third session, Usman Peerzada, Feryal Gauhar and Sarmad Khoosat deliberated on cinema in Pakistan. Yasmin Tahir, Editor Rashid Rehman and Navid Shahzad shed light on the life and works of Syed Imtaiz Ali Taj and chief justice SA Rehman.