Gul Hamid (1905-1936) was an Indian actor. He started his acting career in silent films and later played leading roles in talkies. He had many honors to his credit. He acted in Heer Ranjha, the first film produced in Punjabi and in Seeta, a talkie that won an honorary diploma in the 1934 Venice Film Festival and that was also the first Indian film shown at an International film festival. Hamid also wrote the script, acted in, and directed the film Khyber Pass (1936). [1] Hamid died of Hodgkin's Disease in 1936.
Gul Hamid was born in Pirpiai; nowshera, a village near the Kabul River in the North West Frontier Province of British India (now in Pakistan).[2] His father was Saif Ullah Khan. Gul Hamid Khan had three brothers named Abdul Hameed Khan, Gul Jamal Khan and Sayed Jamal Khan. Gul Hamid Khan was married to Patience Cooper (later Sabra Begum) from 1930–1936, one of the first early silent movie actors.[3]
"Gul Hamid, a handsome young man from Peshawar, became an all-India celebrity when A. R. Kardar cast him in his hit movie. It is said that the movie industry never again saw an actor with Gul Hamid's looks".[4] He made his film debut with Sarfarosh alias Brave Hearts in 1930, which was a silent movie made in Lahore & directed by A. R. Kardar. In 1931, his films Aatishe Ishq and Wandering Dancer were released.
Gul Hamid also had the honour of working in the first ever Punjabi feature film Heer Ranjha released in 1932. This film was made in Lahore and directed by A. R. Kardar.
In 1933, his film Yahudi Ki Ladki was released based on Agha Hashar Kashmiri's play Yahudi Ki Larki.
Gul Hamid's film Seeta, produced by East India Film Company & directed by Debaki Bose was the first talkie shown in an international film festival when it was shown in 1934 at the Venice Film Festival, where it won an honorary diploma. His other films released in 1934 were Chandar Gupt, Mumtaz Begum, Sultana and Night Bird.
1935 was the rich year of Gul Hamid's career as many of his films were released in it. In Karwan-E-Hayat (a 1935 adventure film) and Bharat Ki Beti (1935), his heroine was Rattan Bai. His other notable talkies (films) in 1935 were Soteeli Maa, Badruhi, Saleema and Murderer. Yasmin was also released the same year, in which his name was Behram.
Only three films are present on the record to be released in 1936 i.e., Sunehra Sansar, Baghi Sipahi and Khyber Pass.
Khyber Pass was the film in which he not only acted, but also wrote its script and directed it.
He worked with his wife, Patience Cooper, in three films i.e., Baghi Sipahi, Murderer (1935) and Khyber Pass. After starting his film career from Lahore, he moved to Calcutta, where he worked in more than a dozen of silent films and talkies. Some of his films were made in Bombay too.
He died in 1936 due to Hodgkin's lymphoma.
| 1930 | Safdar Jung | A. R. Kardar | Mumtaz Begum, Gulzar, Hiralal | Playart Phototone/United Players Corp. |
| Sarfarosh | A. R. Kardar | Gulzar, Rafiqe Ghaznavi, Ghulam Qadir | Playart Phototone | |
| 1931 | Farebi Shahzada | A. R. Kardar | Gulzar, M. Ismail, Hiralal | United Players Corp. |
| Khooni Katar | A. R. Kardar | Gulzar, M. Ismail, Nazir | United Players Corp. | |
| Farebi Daku | A. R. Kardar | Gulzar, M. Ismail, Nazir | United Players Corp. | |
| 1932 | Heer Ranjha | A. R. Kardar | Rafiq Ghaznavi, Anwari Bai, M. Ismail | Playart Phototone |
| 1933 | Aurat Ka Pyar | A. R. Kardar | Mukhtar Begum, Mazhar Khan, Anwari Bai | East India Film Company |
| Yahudi Ki Ladki | Premankur Atorthy | K. L. Saigal, Rattan Bai, Pahari Sanyal | New Theatres | |
| 1934 | Seeta | Debaki Bose | Prithviraj Kapoor, Durga Khote, Trilok Kapoor | East India Film Company |
| Chandragupta | A. R. Kardar | Sabita Devi, Nazir Ahmed, Mazhar Khan | East India Film Company | |
| Sultana | A. R. Kardar | Zarina, Nazir Ahmed, Mazhar Khan | East India Film Company | |
| 1935 | Murderer | G. R. Sethi | Lalita, Mazhar Khan | East India Film Company |
| 1936 | Baghi Sipahi | A. R. Kardar | Patience Cooper, Mazhar Khan, Bimla Kumari | East India Film Company |
| Khyber Pass | Gul Hamid | Patience Cooper, Lalita Devi | East India Film Company |
Gul Hamid Khan was married to Patience Cooper (later Sabra Begum) from 1930–1936, one of the first early silent movie actors.[5]