Shaheed Latif

Shaheed Latif Biography

Shaheed Latif was a Bollywood director in the 1940s to 1960’s known for the movies Ziddi (1948), Arzoo (1950), Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi (1966), Picnic (1966) and Sone Ki Chidiya (1958). He died at the age of 53 when he was active in Bollywood and has completed almost 3 decades in the industry. He is also known as the director who successfully launched Evergreen hero Dev Anand through Ziddi in 1948. It was his debut movie as a director too. The movie made Dev Anand a bankable actor too. Earlier he was associated with film industry as a screenwriter and dialogue writer.

Noted Urdu poet Kaifi Azmi started his Bollywood career as a lyricist through his movie - Buzdil in 1951. Shaheed Latif was married to noted Urdu writer - Ismat Chugtai with whom he has involved in a few movies like Ziddi. Chugtai worked as scenarist and producer for many of her husband’s projects like Arzoo (1950), Darwaza (1954), Society (1955), and Sone Ki Chidiya (1958). She has also written screenplays and dialogues too. They married in 1941, and the couple had two children.

He was born in Chandausi, Uttar Pradesh in 1913. He graduated at Aligarh Muslim University and while studying there, he came close to great writer Saadat Hasan Manto as well as his future wife, a leading Urdu writer known for feminist works. His association with film field started with Bombay Talkies in the 1940’s. He wrote dialogues and scripts for a few movies before his directorial debut with Ziddi.

Baharen Phir Phi Aayenge was one of his last works known for memorable songs like Aap ki haseen rukh pe. The movie starred Mala Sinha, Dharmendra and Tanuja in lead roles. He passed away in 1968.

Published: N/A

Updated: June 17, 2014