Aftab Manghi
- Producer
He was born in Sukkur, Pakistan on June 4 1946. His father, Ali Hassan
Manghi was a politician, and his mother was a housewife; she encouraged
him to consider a career in films, rather than politics. He attended
St. Mary's High School in Sukkur, but the family moved to Karachi,
Pakistan, when his father was banned from politics and exiled from his
home base by General Ayub Khan. In Karachi he attended a private
American school and graduated from the University of Sindh with a BA in
Political Science and Economics in 1968.
In 1969 he established Galosyl Motion Pictures before producing and taking the lead role in the film Shaher Aur Saaey, released in Pakistan in 1974. Between 1974 and 1976 he wrote two screenplays, although he was unable to obtain funding for them due to his father's political beliefs. However, he did produce a short 7-minute film entitled Faith and Emotions (1976-77) for his friend Professor S. Haroon Ahmed, a prominent psychiatrist in Karachi. He commissioned 3 more screenplays, although while these were in progress martial law under the late dictator General Zia-ul-Haq came into force. Once again the political situation became tense and work on his screenplays was suspended.
In 1980 he decided to involve himself in the distribution of foreign films and invested in the National Film Development Corporation (NAFDEC). In 1985 and 1988 he was elected Chairman of the foreign films investors and distributors body, Pakistan Motion Picture Investors Association (PMPIA), an association created by importers and distributors to maintain a balance between NAFDEC and film importers.
Shortly afterwards, being a profound believer in the freedom of film and art in all forms, he launched a campaign against NAFDEC to de-nationalise and free film importers, film-makers and cinema-owners from the clutches of degenerate bureaucratic rule. This campaign succeeded in closing down NAFDEC during 1989-90.
Since 1980 he has been chief executive of Ajrak Entertainment Company in Karachi, and has imported, through NAFDEC and latterly independently, around 45-50 foreign films, including The Mummy, The World Is Not Enough (2000), Gladiator, Mission Impossible 2, Sleepy Hollow, The Haunting and The Phantom (2001). In more recent years he was executive producer on first-time producer and director Hasan Zaidi's film, Raat Chali Hai Jhoom Ke (2002) (The Long Night), which was Pakistan's first ever digital film.
Whilst in the process of planning more productions, he remains involved in importing American films into Pakistan. He was elected as a jury member for the second Kara Film Festival (Karachi's International Film Festival) held in December 2002.
In 1969 he established Galosyl Motion Pictures before producing and taking the lead role in the film Shaher Aur Saaey, released in Pakistan in 1974. Between 1974 and 1976 he wrote two screenplays, although he was unable to obtain funding for them due to his father's political beliefs. However, he did produce a short 7-minute film entitled Faith and Emotions (1976-77) for his friend Professor S. Haroon Ahmed, a prominent psychiatrist in Karachi. He commissioned 3 more screenplays, although while these were in progress martial law under the late dictator General Zia-ul-Haq came into force. Once again the political situation became tense and work on his screenplays was suspended.
In 1980 he decided to involve himself in the distribution of foreign films and invested in the National Film Development Corporation (NAFDEC). In 1985 and 1988 he was elected Chairman of the foreign films investors and distributors body, Pakistan Motion Picture Investors Association (PMPIA), an association created by importers and distributors to maintain a balance between NAFDEC and film importers.
Shortly afterwards, being a profound believer in the freedom of film and art in all forms, he launched a campaign against NAFDEC to de-nationalise and free film importers, film-makers and cinema-owners from the clutches of degenerate bureaucratic rule. This campaign succeeded in closing down NAFDEC during 1989-90.
Since 1980 he has been chief executive of Ajrak Entertainment Company in Karachi, and has imported, through NAFDEC and latterly independently, around 45-50 foreign films, including The Mummy, The World Is Not Enough (2000), Gladiator, Mission Impossible 2, Sleepy Hollow, The Haunting and The Phantom (2001). In more recent years he was executive producer on first-time producer and director Hasan Zaidi's film, Raat Chali Hai Jhoom Ke (2002) (The Long Night), which was Pakistan's first ever digital film.
Whilst in the process of planning more productions, he remains involved in importing American films into Pakistan. He was elected as a jury member for the second Kara Film Festival (Karachi's International Film Festival) held in December 2002.