Munawar Sultana (8 November 1924 – 15 September 2007) was an Indian cinema actress, who acted in Hindi films.

She is cited as one of the "popular" actresses of the late 1940s to early 1950s period, along with Noor Jehan, Swarnalata and Ragini.

A discovery of actor-producer-director Mazhar Khan, she became inundated with film offers, becoming one of the busiest actresses by 1949, along with other leading ladies such as Suraiya and Nargis.

Munawar Sultana was born on 8 November 1924, in Lahore, Punjab, British India, into a strict Punjabi Muslim family.

According to an interview with son Sarfaraz and daughter Shaheen, conducted by Shishir Krishna Sharma, Munawar's father was a radio announcer.

This was a small role in the film, Dalsukh Pancholi's Khazanchi (1941), where she played a barmaid, and had a song, "Peene Ke Din Aaye" picturised on her.

In the popular song "Dil Jalta Hai Toh Jalne Do" (Let the Aflame Heart Burn) playbacked by singer Mukesh for Motilal, Khan focused on Munawar's close-ups during the picturisation.

In spite of no big stars being in the film, it turned out to be a surprise "musical hit" at the box office.

Bombay Talkies had gone through several changes following Himanshu Rai's death, and Devika Rani's partnership with S. Mukherjee had produced several box office hits.

[9] Munawar formed a "hit-pairing" with Shyam in this film, while Lata Mangeshkar came into prominence under the music direction of Ghulam Haider.

[10] Meri Kahani was directed by cameraman Keki Mistry and produced by Sharaf for Super Team Federal Productions (Bombay).

The film was praised for its "versatility" and "well-balanced production values", along with good performances by Munawar, Mazhar and Geeta Bali.

While working in films, Munawar met Sharif Ali, an affluent businessman who supplied furniture for movie sets.

He had financed and produced two films starring Munawar Sultana, namely Meri Kahani (1948) and Pyar Ki Manzil (1950).