Sassi (film)

Sassi is a 1954 Pakistani romance film directed by Dawood Chand and produced by J.C. Anand under the banner of Eveready Pictures.

It was a remake of the director's own Sassi Punnu (1939) which was based on the legend of the same name. In this 1954 film, Sabiha played the title role in the film opposite Sudhir, while Asha Posley, Nazar and Ghulam Mohammad were in supporting roles. The musical socre of the film was composed by G. A. Chishti. Sassi was a commercially successful film, and is recognised as the first golden jubilee hit film of the Pakistani cinema.

Plot summary
The plot is based on Sassui Punnhun, one of the four popular tragic romances of the Punjab. It revolves around Sassi who faces hardships and difficulties while seeking his beloved husband who was separated from her by the rivals.

Cast

 * Sabiha
 * Sudhir
 * Ghulam Mohammad
 * Asha Posley
 * Nazar
 * Shah Nawaz
 * Saleem Raza
 * Maya Devi
 * Bibbo
 * G. N. Butt

Production
Sassi was the remake of director Dawood Chand's 1939 film Sassi Punnu. Sabiha Khanum played the title role in the film, the role played by her mother in 1939 version. The film had a big production budget for that time. Filming took place in Swat region and some areas of Lahore.

Hemant Kumar's song Na Yeh Chand Hoga, Na Taray Rahen Ge was plagiarized in the film.

Release and reception
Sassi was released on 3 June 1954 in the cinemas of Lahore and Karachi. The film ran for 51 weeks and created history by being the first Pakistani film to celebrate its Golden jubilee at the box office.

The film was released in India as well.

Impact
This was the first golden jubilee hit film of the newly established Pakistani film industry, this film helped boost the Pakistani film industry in its earl days.

Due to the film's success, Eveready Pictures made another folktale-based film Sohni (1955), also starring Sabiha and Sudhir.