Murad (extreme left) in his college days with Santosh Kumar and Pervez Malik (1950s). The picture has a note handwrttien by Santosh Kumar wishing Pervez Malik the best of luck.

The 60’s marked the beginning of the golden period in Pakistani Cinema. There were two factions responsible for making great films. One was based in Karachi and was lead by the legends Murad, Masroor Anwar, Pervaiz Malik and Sohail Rana. The other talented group was based in Lahore and comprised of renowned personalities like Khawaja Khurshid Anwar, Ahmed Rahi, Saifuddin Saif and Masood Parvaiz. Pakistani cinema thrived in the 60’s, with political and romantic films like Bombay-Wallah (1961), Shaheed(1962), Aina(1966) and Armaan (1966). At its peak, it is estimated that Pakistani studios released more than 100 films a year and around 700 cinemas were operating in the country.