Dawood Butt

Dawood Butt was born in 13th November 1950 at Qila Lachman Singh, in Lahore. His father Ghulam Muhammad Butt was one of the famous transporters of Lahore. He matriculated from Muslim Model High School, Bhatti Gate. Later he was admitted to Government Islamia College, Civil Lines and passed his Intermediate. One of his friends was Amjad Ashfatta, whose elder brother Sultan Mahmood Ashfatta was considered as a famous film writer of that time.

The two friends were very keen on watching movies. They often used to go to the Ravi shores of Lahore, where outdoor shootings of movies used to take place. Once they were watching the shooting of a movie, he realized that a big movie actor standing respectfully in front of the director on the set and he immediately starts thinking what kind of person is this director, in front of whom everyone is standing politely. This thought led him to become a director.

When his father came to know that his son wants to become a film director, he advised his son to show something special in this field. Accepting his father’s challenge, he went to his friend and told him the whole story. Then Amjad revealed this story to his elder brother Sultan Mahmood Ashfatta, who took him to renowned director Altaf Hussain. Thus, he joined Altaf Hussain’s unit. In those days, Altaf Hussain was making a Punjabi color film “Insaan Ik Tamasha” in 1972. When director Aslam Dar saw him and said you are a made up hero and why don’t you try to become a hero in the movies instead of dreaming to be a director. After that he worked very hard and continued to assist director Altaf Hussain in ‘Jhali’, ‘Awara’ and ‘Anjana’. During the last two films, he was also promoted from Assistant to Chief Assistant. However, ‘Anjana’ could not be released. This was an Urdu film where Rangeela and Aaliya were in lead roles and the producer was Riaz Bokhari.

When Altaf Hussain was directing the film ‘Das Numbari’, the producer of this film, Khawaja Hanif, saw him, who as the Chief Assistant was working with great responsibility and hard work. He immediately offered him to direct a film, ‘Jailer Te Qaidi’. He accepted the direction of the film with the permission of his mentor Altaf Hussain. Muhammad Kamal Pasha was the writer of this film.

Dawood Butt and Altaf Hussain

The film producer wanted Lala Sudhir to play the role of jailor in the film, but he was too old these days and was not considered. This was the first film for which Sultan Rahi and Mustafa Qureshi were paired, which later became so popular that no other duo could be established at the Punjabi box office. Before the release of ‘Jailer Te Qaidi’, he got three or four more films, and it was a record that a new director got more films before the release of his first film.

However, ‘Jailer Te Qaidi’ was released on 28th November 1975 in Lahore’s Nigina Cinema and was a huge success. One of the songs of this movie was ‘Yar Badshah Dildar Badshah’ gained extreme popularity. Actress Neelo and Iqbal Hassan played the lead roles in it. After the success of this film, he became very famous, many filmmakers came to him to direct his films, but he refrained from making more films and always took as much work as he could do with honesty.

Under his direction films like ‘Dada’, ‘Danka’ and ‘Alarm’ also achieved great success at the box office. In Urdu language, he directed the film ‘Sheikh Chili’, in which actor Shahid played the title role, while Rani was the heroine of this film.

In 1983, the Punjabi film ‘Kala Samandar’ directed by him, in which Mumtaz, Yusuf Khan, Mustafa Qureshi and Aaliya were the cast, and director Younis Malik’s Punjabi film ‘Dahshat Khan’ both were released. The two films were based on the same story and were made in a competitive manner. But the contest was in favor of director Dawood Butt. The role played by Mustafa Qureshi in ‘Kala Samandar’ was played by actor Habib in the film ‘Dahshat Khan, while Rani, Shahid and Anjuman also played key roles. The roles of Aaliya and Anjuman were similar in both the films. Aaliya character was more Then an association in every respect. In 1985, another super-hit Punjabi film “Babar Khan” directed by him was released in which Yusuf Khan and Rani played the lead roles. That was the year when director Dawood Butt was given the National Award for his super-hit Punjabi film ‘Vadera’. The film’s Art director Jamal Saifi, Actors Mustafa Qureshi and Ghulam Mohiuddin also received national awards. This classical Punjabi film was released on 20th December 1985 at Shabistan cinema in Lahore and Godin Cinema in Karachi. Film producer was Farooq Malik and cast includes Arif Siddiqi, Babar, Altaf Khan, Agha Talish, Nayab, Jaggi Malik, Afshan Qureshi, Firdous and Zumurd while Anjuman was the heroine of this film. Mustafa Qureshi played the title role of “Vadera” in such a way that his natural acting in every scene impressed the movie-goers immensely. Sujawal Shah’s role is one of the few unforgettable roles in his film career. This film was also copied in India. In 1986, another successful film ‘Putar Shahiya Da’ was released, in which Yusuf Khan played the title role.

In 1988, Dawood Butt directed a very high profile domestic, social and lyrical Punjabi film, ‘Tohfa’, which was produced by his old friend and colleague Haji Butt. ‘Tohfa’ was inspired by the stories of past Punjabi films ‘Dilan De Sode’ and Urdu film ‘Anjuman’. The film was well received by the women. Nadira and Ismail Shah played the lead roles in the film, while Neeli and Aaliya also performed key role. Other cast members of the film includes Nimmo, Altaf Khan, Khanum, Seema, Abid Ali and Sultan Rahi.

‘Jaal’, ‘Choran di Rani’, Akhri Shikar, Chiragh Bali, Tiffa Gujjar, were his some notable films which made under his direction. His last film “Sami Rawal” was in Seraiki language. Apart from directing films, he also directed a drama serial for a private TV channel.

He passed away on 16th January 2022 after a short illness. He left behind five daughters to mourn his death. Later his burial took place at Miani Sahib Graveyard, Lahore. The deceased was a very noble man. Self-denial and truth-telling was the hallmark of his status. He was the only film personality of the present day who could memorize the complete list of director’s films or any of his films. He was a walking film encyclopedia.

Karachi and Lahore Leading film journalists and researchers from all over Pakistan used to seek guidance from him regarding film information.

Dawood Butt Filmography:

As a Director

Jailor Tay Qaidi (1975), 2 Dushman (1976), Malik Zada, Dada, Danka (1977), Alaram, Shera Dakait (1978), Sheikh Chilli, Raju Rangbaz (1980), Khar Damagh (1981), Akhri Chattan 1982, Kala Samundar (1983), Babar Khan, Wadera (1985), Kafarra, Puttar Shahiya Da (1986), Toffa, Sherni (1988), Jan Nisar, Changeza (1989), Jailor, Choran Di Rani (1990), Akhri Shikar 1991, Ibra (1993), Hathkari (1994), Teefa Gujjar (1997), Duniya Say Kia Darna (1999), Dosa, Charagh Bali 2002, Society Girl (2011) Sammi Rawal (2017).

As Producer

Dada (1977)