Murad with Shamim Ara and Madam Noor Jehan at a Lollywood event.

The pioneers responsible for laying the groundwork for the film industry in Pakistan included film producer Syed Shaukat Hussain Rizvi, his wife, actress and singer Noor Jehan, actress Swaran Lata, actor and director Nazir Ahmed Khan, directors Wahiduddin Ziauddin Ahmed, d Luqman, Sabtain Fazli, music directors Feroze Nizami, Khawaja Khursheed Anwar, actors Santosh Kumar, Syed Ishrat Abbas (known as Darpan) and many more. These renowned personalities produced great films despite the various challenges they faced at the time. Their efforts led to the growth and expansion of cinema in the country. Until 1971, Pakistan had three main film production centres; Lahore, Karachi and Dhaka. The largest of these production centres was based in Lahore and came to be widely known as ‘Lollywood’.