Noor Mohammed Charlie
Charlie in Musafir (1940)
Born
Noor Mohammed Memon

(1911-07-01)1 July 1911
Ranavav village, Porbandar, Saurashtra, India
Died30 June 1983(1983-06-30) (aged 71)
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Occupation(s)Actor, singer, director
Years active1925–1969
Children12

Noor Mohammed Charlie (Urdu: نور محمد چارلی,1 July 1911 – 30 June 1983), popularly known as Charlie, was an Indian/ Pakistani actor born in 1911 in Ranavav village, Porbandar, Saurashtra, India.[1][2] Best known for his comedy roles, he was the first 'star' comedian and has been referred to as India's first comedy king.[3] He acted with several top actresses of those days as a comic hero. Being a great fan of Charlie Chaplin, he took the name "Charlie" as his screen name following the release of his popular film The Indian Charlie (1933).[4] He had a successful career in pre-partition India from 1925–1946. His shift to Pakistan following partition saw his career going down with less than 12 films.[3] He shifted to the US to live with his son and returned later to Pakistan where he died in 1983.[1]

Early years

Noor Mohammed was born into a Memon family.[5] Hating school as a young boy, Noor Mohammed often played truant to visit cinema theatres. At an early age he started working at repairing broken umbrellas.[3] In 1925 he was employed by the Imperial Film Company at Rs. 40 a month when he walked boldly in announcing that he could sing.[3]

Career

Charlie made his debut in Krishna Film Company's Akalna Bardan (1928) directed by Prafulla Ghosh. At this time he was billed as Noor Mohammed and did other films like Lekh Par Mekh and Vasant Leela. In 1929 he was signed up by Elfin Film Company for The Indian Charlie which was however not released till 1933.[6] His Ezra Mir directed film Zarina in 1932 with the advent of Talkies made him a popular actor. He acted under Ezra Mir in one more film Premi Pagal (1933) and with Sarvottam Badami in Chandrahasa (1933). These films made him very popular with the audience.[3] Finally, in 1933 The Indian Charlie was released which "became such a huge sensation", catapulting him to stardom.[4] The success of the film was the reason for the change of name to Noor Mohammed "Charlie", and in later films as just "Charlie".

In 1934, Charlie joined Ranjit Film Company acting in successful films like Toofani Taruni (1934), Toofan Mail (1934) and Barrister's Wife (1935). He often co-starred with other famous comedians like Dixit and Ghory.[7] The 1940s saw him acting in several hit films. Musafir (1940), directed by Chaturbhuj Doshi, in which Charlie played a foreign-returned prince who on his return finds his kingdom in a mess, became very popular. Other films of this time include Dhandora (1941), which he directed, A. R. Kardar's Pagal (1941), Jayant Desai's Bansari (1943), Mehboob Khan's Taqdeer (1943), Jayant Desai's Manorama (1944), Mahesh Chandra's Chand Tara (1945), Zia Sarhadi's Yateem (1945) and Phani Majumdar's Insaaf (1946).[4] He starred with top actresses like Swarnalata, Mehtab and Leela Chitnis. He sang with artists like Suraiya and Amirbai Karnataki. At the height of his success he charged more than Prithviraj Kapoor and other top stars of that time.[3]

Career in Pakistan

Following the Partition of India in 1947, Charlie opted to live in Pakistan. His first film in Pakistan was the Daud Chand directed Mundri (1949) in Punjabi. He then did Nazeer Ajmeri's Beqarar (1950), both films were well appreciated.[5] Though he went on to act in about a dozen Urdu, Sindhi and Punjabi films in Pakistan, not all were successful.[1][4] He came back to India in 1960 and acted in three films; Zameen Ke Taare (1960), Zamana Badal Gaya (1961) and Akeli Mat Jaiyo (1963). According to Sanjit Narwekar in his book Eena Meena Deeka: The Story of Hindi Film Comedy, the Indian Government at that time refused Charlie citizenship and he had to return to Pakistan. After acting in a few more Lollywood films, Charlie went to US to join his son.[8]

Family and death

Noor Mohammed Charlie had six sons and six daughters. He returned to Pakistan from US and died on 30 June 1983 in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan.[1] His one son was a renowned film and TV actor, Latif Charlie, who died on 19 July 2011 at the age of 75.[9] Noor Mohammed's grandson (Latif Charlie's Son) is Yawar Charlie, who was a former actor having acted in TV episodes of JAG and General Hospital and now specialises in West Hollywood CA Homes and Property Listings. His gay wedding made headlines in South Asia [10][11] Another grandson, through Latif Charlie, is RJ Dino Ali.[12] his other grandson through another son, Noorarash Charlie, is a designer/theater actor based in Tehran.[13]

Influences

Chandulal Shah, the owner of Ranjit Film Company stated in one of his interviews that Charlie "ruled the roost" among comedians.[14] According to film historian Harish Raghuvanshi as quoted in Times of India, "Noor Mohammed developed a style of comedy of his own, which influenced great comedians like Johnny Walker and Mehmood."[3] Abrar Alvi mentions that Johnny Walker was a "great admirer" of Charlie and copied his body style and "mannerisms".[15]

He was the first comedian to have songs picturised on him. His "Palat Tera Dhyan Kidhar Hai", under the music direction of Naushad and with lyrics by Arshad Gujarati remains popular with copies in later films. His other popular song was "Zindagi Hai Fareb Fareb Se Nibhaaye Jaa" from Chand Tara (1945).[16] This trend of a singing comedian was later picked up by Johnny Walker and Mehmood. His film Barrister's Wife (1935) had the first filmi qawwali picturised on him to appear in Indian Cinema, "Nazariya Taane Hai Teer Kaman", composed by Rewashankar, and "Banne Khan", with lyrics by Pandit Narayan Prasad Betaab.[17]

Filmography

India

YearFilmDirector
1932Sharafi LootD. N. Madhok
1932ZarinaEzra Mir
1932Premi PagalEzra Mir
1933The Indian Charlie
1933ChandrahasaSarvottam Badami
1934Mohabbat Ki KasautiP. C. Barua
1934Toofan MailJayant Desai
1934Toofani TaruniChandulal Shah
1934SitamgarhJayant Desai
1934Farzand-e-Hind aka LeatherfaceVijay Bhatt
1934NadiraJayant Desai
1935Noor-e-WatanJayant Desai
1935Keemti AansuChandulal Shah
1935Raat Ki Rani
College Kanya
1935Barrister's WifeChandulal Shah
1935Desh DasiChandulal Shah
1936Sipahi Ki SajniChandulal Shah
1936Laheri LailaJayant Desai
1936Rangila RajaJayant Desai
1936Raj RamaniJayant Desai
1936JwalamukhiD. N. Madhok
1936Chalak ChorRaja Sandow
1936Matlabi DuniyaJayant Desai
1936Dil Ka DakuD. N. Madhok
1937Dil FaroshD. N. Madhok
1937Pardesi PankhiChandulal Shah
1937Shama ParwanaD. N. Madhok
1937ZamboM. D. Bhavnani
Zameen Ka ChandJayant Desai
1938SecretaryChaturbhuj Doshi
1938GhunghatwaliKanjibhai Rathod
1938RikshawalaEzra Mir
1938BazigarManibhai Vyas
1939Ban Ki ChidiyaJayant Desai
1939Nadi KinareManibhai Vyas
1939ThokarA. R. Kardar
1940Aaj Ka HindustanJayant Desai
1940AchhutChandulal Shah
1940MusafirChandulal Shah
1941DhandoraCharlie
1941PagalA. R. Kardar
1943TaqdeerMehboob Khan
1943SanjogA. R. Kardar
1943BansariJayant Desai
1943PagliShankar Mehta
1944RaunaqDwarka Khosla
1944ManoramaJayant Desai
1944Us PaarChimanlal M. Luhar
1945GhazalZahur Raja
1945Chand TaraMahesh Chandra
1945YateemZia Sarhadi
1946Aayi BaharShankar Mehta
1946DulhaManibhai Vyas
1946InsafPhani Majumdar
1960Zameen Ke TaareChandulal Shah
1961Zamana Badal GayaJayant Desai
1963Akeli Mat JaiyoNandlal Jaswantlal

Pakistan

YearFilmLanguageDirector
1950BeqararUrduNazir Ajmeri
1951AkeliUrduM. M. Mehra
1956Umar MarviSindhiSheikh Hassan
1958PardesiSindhiS. A. Ghaffar
1958Sitaron Ki DunyaUrduM. H. Mohib
1958Prai ZaminUrduSheikh Hassan
1965Pilpili SahibUrduAslam Irani
1967KafirUrduM. Saleem
1969Pyar Ki JeetUrduJameel Mirza

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Noor Mohammed Charlie". mazhar.dk. mazhar.dk. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  2. Babu, Sathish. "Noor Mohammed Charlie". imprintsonindianfilmsreen.blogspot.in. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Khan, Saeed (1 July 2012). "India's 1st comedy king". Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. TOI. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Roychoudhury, Amborish (18 May 2013). "Laughing Out Loud". Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. The Times of India Crest Edition. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  5. 1 2 Shahid, Zulqarnain. "Charlie". cineplot.com. cineplot. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  6. Narwekar, Sanjit (2005). The Story of Hindi Film Comedy –The Indian Charlie. India: Rupa Publications. p. 21. ISBN 9788129108593. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  7. Narwekar, p. 23
  8. Narwekar, p. 29
  9. "Latif Charlie will be missed". No. Inpaper Magazine. Dawn.com. Dawn Media Group. 30 July 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  10. Yalamanchili, Pavani. "Hot News Mix". theaerogram.com. The Aerogram. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  11. Charlie, Yawar. "Yawar Charlie". yawarcharle.com. PropertyMinder. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
  12. Rabia Mushtaq (07 Oct - 13 Oct, 2017), "DINO ALI - Keeping His Scene On", MagTheWeekly. Retrieved 22 March 2019.
  13. "روزنامه هنرمند شماره 1130 - مگ لند".
  14. Narwekar, p. 27
  15. Saran, Alvi., Sathya, Abrar. (2008). Ten Years with Guru Dutt: Abrar Alvi's Journey. India: Penguin Books India. p. 94. ISBN 9780670082216.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. Narwekar, p. 26
  17. Singh, Surjit. "1935 Article". hindi-film-songs.com. Surjit Singh. Retrieved 23 August 2014.
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