Today, we will tell you about Pakistan's legendary actor Sultan Rahi whose name is registered in the Guinness Book of World Records even after 28 years of his death. He was named in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most prolific actor. Sultan Rahi is the only Pakistani actor to have received 160 awards doing more than 800 films in his acting career of just 40 years. Out of 800 films, he played the lead role in 535 films. He also holds the record of doing double roles in 59 films. He was the highest-paid Pakistani actor of his time.
Sultan Rahi's contribution to Pakistani cinema can be gauged from the fact that his film 'Maula Jatt' (1979), a Diamond Jubilee film, ran in theaters for 15 months and was called a cult classic film. It remains one of the most successful Pakistani films to date.
Throughout his career, Sultan Rahi established himself as one of the leading and most successful actors of Pakistani and Punjabi cinema. He was called Pakistan's 'Clint Eastwood'.
During a career spanning 40 years, he acted in some 703 Punjabi films and 100 Urdu films, winning around 160 awards.
Even today, the credit for changing the map of Pakistani cinema and bringing about its golden era is given to Sultan Rahi, whose films were remade in India and abroad. Even today, there is a saying in Pakistani cinema that there is no actor like Sultan Rahi and there will never be anyone.
While Sultan Rahi touched new heights as far as his career was concerned, his life did end on a tragic note.
Sultan Rahi was born in Rawalpindi, British India, in 1938. He reportedly migrated to Rawalpindi from Muzaffarnagar in Uttar Pradesh. Some reports state that Sultan Rahi was born in Muzaffarnagar and not Rawalpindi. He was the son of Subedar Major Abdul Majeed, a retired officer from the British Indian Army.
Sultan Rahi always wanted to become an actor due to which he often used to visit film studios. However, due to his looks, people used to make fun of him in his childhood.
Sultan Rahi began his journey in the film world in 1956 as a guest actor in the film 'Baghi'. However, his breakthrough role came with 'Wehshi Jatt' (1975) which was an unofficial prequel to 'Maula Jatt' (1979). Sultan Rahi's other works include 'Behram Daku' (1980), 'Sher Khan' (1981), 'Sala Sahib', and 'Ghulami' (1985).
Sultan Rahi was married to Shaheen but that marriage ended in a divorce. He then got married to Naseem Sultan. He had five children, of which one, Haider Sultan, is also an actor.
Despite being so successful and a trendsetter of his time, Sultan Rahi's life ended on a tragic note in 1996. On January 9, 1996, Sultan Rahi and his friend were travelling from Islamabad to Lahore. After their car got a flat tyre, both Sultan Rahi and his friend got down to install a spare tyre.
At this time, thieves approached the vehicle and tried to rob them. Sultan Rahi and his friend were both shot. Sultan Rahi eventually succumbed to his wounds and died.
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