Meena Shorey

"Meena Shorey, born as Khurshid Jehan, was a Pakistani actress who mainly focused on Hindi/Urdu and Punjabi cinemas. She was born on November 17, 1921, at Raiwand, Punjab, a second child amongst four. As her father was not able to hold a proper job, her family was poor. As such, when Shorey’s elder sister had married and moved to Bombay, her siblings and mother had followed. It was at this stage, Shorey had captured the attention of Sohrab Modi at the launch event of his movie Sikander and had offered her a supporting role in it. Since then she had taken on the name Meena. Sikander proved to be a success and it had catapulted her into stardom.

She further went on to act in three more movies of Sohrab Modi, Phir Milenge (1942), Prithvi Vallabh (1943) and Pattharon Ka Saudagar. Roop K Shorey, based in Lahore, had moved to Bombay with the wish of signing Meena, but due to a bounded contract, she was unable to work with him at the time. By successfully passing a few hurdles, Shorey finally worked with Roop K Shorey on his film, Chamam. She furthered career by acting in multiple films such as Anmol Ratan, Dholak and Ek Ladki Thi, the latter giving her the name “Lara-Lappa Girl,” due to the hit song, “Lara Lappa Lara Lappa Laayi Rakhdi.” Her last films in the Indian cinema Shrimati 420 and Chandu. She then moved on to Pakistan and worked on Pakistani films, where her first movie was Miss 1956, directed by J C Anand.

She later worked on several films such as Bara Aadmi (1957), Duniya (1958), Mausiqar(1962), and more. On a total, she had worked on about 25 and more Pakistani movies, in which she had about eleven lead roles. Ultimately, her career came to an end, spiraling down and ending with Nishani (1979). On the personal side, Shorey was married five times. Her first marriage was with Zahur Raja, an actor-producer-director. Her second marriage was to actor Al Nasir. The third marriage was with Roop K Shorey, which lasted till 1956. The fourth and final marriages were to Raza Mir and Asad Bokhari, respectively. Unfortunately, her last years were in poverty, managing her life through a small stipend from the Pakistan Arts Council and by Rotary Club. Her death occurred in 1989, with her burial taken care by charity money, and only a few in attendance. "