Abdur Rashid Kardar (2 October 1904 –22 November 1989) was an Indian film actor, director and producer.
He is credited with establishing the film industry in the Bhati Gate locality of Lahore, British India (now in Pakistan).
[3] Kardar started as an arts scholar and a calligraphist making posters[1] for foreign film productions[4] and writing for newspapers of the early 1920s.
In 1928, the first silent film, The Daughters of Today was released in Lahore at a time when the city only had nine operational cinema houses.
The Daughters of Today was the brain-child of G.K. Mehta, a former officer with the North-Western Railway, who had imported a camera into the country for this very project from London.
Hailing from the Bhati Gate locality, where it was not unusual to find writers and poets, Kardar saw a viable future for a film industry.
In 1928, with no work left after their maiden venture, Kardar and Ismail sold their belongings to set up a studio and production company under the name of United Players Corporation, the foundation stone for the film industry in Lahore.
Shootings were only possible in the day-light but nevertheless the area had some very important landmarks like the Ravi Forest and the tombs of Mughal emperor Jahangir and his wife Nur Jahan, the queen.
It is reported that the team working at the studios would commute on tangas and even lost equipment once while travelling on the bumpy roads on the horse-drawn carriage.
Roop Lal Shori, a resident of Brandreth Road in Lahore, upon hearing of a new film industry in the city, returned to his hometown.
[citation needed] Dillagi's music by Naushad became extremely popular, especially Suraiya's song "Tu Mera Chand".
[11] Dulari (1949) had equally popular music, with a memorable Mohammed Rafi song "Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki".
Suresh used to be a child artist and has acted in several films like Basant (starring Mumtaz Shanti, Ulhaas and baby Madhubala then).
The legendary singer Mohammad Rafi got his first hit from the song, 'Suhani raat dhal chuki' – from Kardar's film Dulari (1949).
Recently some photographs by Life magazine's James Burke emerged which showed the prevalence of the casting couch in the Hindi Film Industry way back in the 1950s as well.