99notes at 19:16, 19 March 2026

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{{Short description|Indian director (1922–1971)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name = K. Asif
| image = K. Asif.jpg
| image_size = 250px
| caption = Asif on the set of ''[[Mughal E Azam]]'' (1960).
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1922|06|14}}
| birth_place = [[Etawah]], [[United Provinces of Agra and Oudh|United Provinces]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1971|03|09|1922|04|14 }}
| death_place = [[Bombay]], [[Maharashtra]], India
| spouse = {{ubl
| Akhtar Asif
| [[Sitara Devi]]
| [[Nigar Sultana (actress)|Nigar Sultana]]
}}
| children = 6
|relatives=[[Dilip Kumar]] (brother-in-law)<br>[[Nasir Khan (actor)|Nasir Khan]] (brother-in-law)
| birth_name = Asif Karim
| years_active = 1945 - 1971
| occupation = {{hlist|Film director|film producer|screenwriter}}
}}

'''K. Asif''' (born '''Asif Karim'''; 14 June 1922 – 9 March 1971) was an Indian [[film director]], [[film producer]] and [[screenwriter]] who is known for his epic film, ''[[Mughal-e-Azam]]'' (1960).

==Early life==
Asif was born in [[Etawah, Uttar Pradesh]], India to parents Dr. Fazal Karim and Bibi Ghulam Fatima. Asif went to Bombay and later took the professional name K. Asif. He eventually became a successful film director and producer.<ref name=cineplot>{{cite web|url=http://cineplot.com/k-asif#comment-313061 |archive-date=15 September 2019 |title=Profile of K. Asif (1924-1971)|website=Cineplot.com website|date=9 June 2010 |access-date=12 August 2023|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915223846/http://cineplot.com/k-asif#comment-313061}}</ref>

==Career==
His directorial debut, ''[[Phool (1945 film)|Phool]]'' (1945), did very well at the box-office. In 1944, Asif planned to make a film called ''Mughal-e-Azam'' based on the life and times of [[Mughal Empire|Mughal]] Emperor [[Akbar the Great]]'s court dancer, based on the Urdu novel ''Anarkali''<nowiki/>' written by [[Imtiaz Ali Taj|Syed Imtiaz Ali Taj]], with [[Chandra Mohan (1905–1949)|Chandramohan]] as the male lead and the then upcoming actress [[Nargis]] as the female lead. However, in 1946, before the production of the film could begin, Chandramohan, died. Asif temporarily shelved the film. He produced the film ''Hulchul'' and released it in 1951.<ref name=cineplot/>

At that time, Asif recast ''Mughal-e-Azam'' with [[Dilip Kumar]] in the male lead and [[Madhubala]] in the female lead and restarted the production of the film in the same year. In 1960, after twelve years in production, ''[[Mughal-e-Azam]]'' was released and became a huge hit at packed cinema houses across India.<ref name=cineplot/>

After the release and success of ''Mughal-e-Azam'', Asif planned yet another motion picture called ''[[Love and God]]'', his first directorial venture to be made completely in [[Color motion picture film|color]], and began production. The film was to star [[Guru Dutt]] and [[Nimmi]]. However, in 1964, when Dutt died, shooting came to a halt. Asif recast [[Sanjeev Kumar (actor)|Sanjeev Kumar]] in the male lead and resumed production. While filming, K. Asif died on 9 March 1971 at the age of 48/49 and the film was abandoned. In 1986, Asif's senior widow, Akhtar Asif, (younger sister of [[Dilip Kumar]]) released the film in an incomplete form.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}

==Personal life==
K. Asif married four times. His first wife was Nigar Sultana who was approved of and welcomed by his family. She remained married to him until her death, despite his other marriages, and was the mother of six of Asif's children.

Asif's second wife was the singer and actress [[Sitara Devi]]. The marriage between them happened in unusual circumstances. Asif had a sister, Sikandar Begum, who was married to her first cousin, the actor [[Nazir Ahmed Khan]] (not to be confused with the actor [[Nasir Khan (actor)|Nasir Khan]], brother of [[Dilip Kumar]]). Nazir Ahmed Khan fell in love with Sitara Devi and married her while still being married to Sikandar Begum; as a Muslim man in India, he could have up to four wives concurrently. Asif became enamoured of Sitara Devi, who was his sister's co-wife and his cousin's second wife. Nazir and Sitara were soon divorced, and shortly afterwards, Asif married Sitara, who thus became the wife, successively, of Sikandar Begum's husband and brother.

However, the marriage of Asif and Sitara lasted no more than a few months, and they were soon divorced. This happened because by then Asif had fallen in love with the actress [[Nigar Sultana (actress)|Nigar Sultana]], who played the important role of Bahaar in Asif's magnum opus, ''[[Mughal-e-Azam]]''. Asif divorced Sitara Devi, apparently at her insistence, and married Sultana. Born in [[Hyderabad]] in [[south India]], Sultana had previously been married to the actor/director [[S. M. Yusuf]]. That marriage had been childless and had ended in divorce when Yusuf moved to [[Pakistan]] some years after the [[partition of India]] in 1947. Asif and Sultana became the parents of a daughter, the minor actress [[Heena Kausar]],<ref>[http://cineplot.com/heena-hina-kausar/ Heena (Hina) Kausar]</ref> who appeared in bit roles in a number of films. She became the second wife of the underworld gangster [[Iqbal Mirchi]], a close associate of India's most wanted criminal, [[Dawood Ibrahim]]. Among other crimes, Iqbal Mirchi is said to have been a drug-dealer and to have laundered Dawood Ibrahim's ill-gotten wealth through his business ventures.<ref>[https://mumbaimirror.indiatimes.com/mumbai/other/tame-end-for-iqbal-mirchi/articleshow/21849431.cms? Tame end to Iqbal Mirchi]</ref>

Asif's fourth and last wife was Akhtar, the younger sister of actor [[Dilip Kumar]]. Asif and Akhtar became acquainted with each other since Asif used to visit Kumar's house frequently during the making of Mughal-e-Azam. It is said that Kumar was extremely unhappy about his sister marrying Asif, and the consequent rift between Kumar and Asif never healed. Akhtar Begum and Asif remained married until his death in 1971. It was Akhtar Begum who ensured the completion and release of Asif's last movie, ''[[Love and God]]'', which was released in 1986, fifteen years after Asif's death.<ref name=cineplot/>

==Filmography==
{| class="wikitable"
! Year
! Title
! Director
! Writer
! Producer
! Notes
|-
|1945
|''[[Phool (1945 film)|Phool]]''<ref name=cineplot/><ref name=upperstall>{{cite web|url=http://www.upperstall.com/people/k-asif|url-status=dead|title=K. Asif filmography|access-date=12 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026162619/http://www.upperstall.com/people/k-asif |archive-date=26 October 2012|website=Upperstall.com website}}</ref>
| {{yes}}
|[[Kamal Amrohi]]<ref name=cineplot/>
|
|
|-
| 1951
|''[[Hulchul (1951 film)|Hulchul]]''<ref name=cineplot/><ref name=upperstall/>
|
|
|{{yes}}
|
|-
| 1960
| ''[[Mughal-e-Azam]]''<ref name=cineplot/><ref name=upperstall/>
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
| {{yes}}
|
|-
| 1986
| ''Sastaa Khoon, Mehanga Paani''<ref name=cineplot/>
| {{yes}}
|
|
| Incomplete
|-
| 1986
| ''[[Love and God|Love And God]]''<ref name=cineplot/><ref name=upperstall/>
| {{yes}}
|
|
| Posthumous release
|-
|}

==Awards==
* [[8th Filmfare Awards|1960]]: [[Filmfare Award for Best Film]] – ''[[Mughal-e-Azam]]''<ref name=cineplot/>
* 1960: [[Filmfare Award for Best Director]] – ''Mughal-e-Azam'': Nominated
* [[8th National Film Awards|1960]]: [[National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi|President's {{nat|Silver Medal}} for Best Feature Film in Hindi]] – ''Mughal-e-Azam''<ref name="8thaward">{{cite web|url=http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm8thNFAAward.aspx|title=8th National Film Awards (scroll down to page 12 of 44 for Film Review of Mughal-e-Azam (1960 film)|publisher=[[International Film Festival of India]]|access-date=12 August 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012062918/http://iffi.nic.in/Dff2011/Frm8thNFAAward.aspx|archive-date=12 October 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Bibliography==

* {{cite book|author1=K. Asif|author2=Nasreen Munni Kabir|author3=Suhail Akhtar|title=The immortal dialogue of K. Asif's Mughal-e-azam|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dSEcAQAAIAAJ|year=2007|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-568496-4}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*{{IMDb name|0039339|K. Asif}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Asif, K.}}
[[Category:1922 births]]
[[Category:1971 deaths]]
[[Category:Hindi-language film directors]]
[[Category:Film producers from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Indian male screenwriters]]
[[Category:People from Etawah]]
[[Category:Aligarh Muslim University alumni]]
[[Category:Filmfare Awards winners]]
[[Category:Film directors from Mumbai]]
[[Category:Hindi film producers]]
[[Category:Film producers from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Film directors from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian screenwriters]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]

K. Asif - Revision history

99notes at 19:16, 19 March 2026