Santosh Kumar

Syed Musa Abbas Raza, (Urdu: سیّد مُوسٰی عبّاس رضا; 25 December 1925 – 11 June 1982) better known as Santosh Kumar (Urdu: سنتوش کُمار), was a Pakistani film actor who was popular in the 1950s and 1960s. He is also known as The First Romantic Hero of Pakistan. He was from an Urdu-speaking family from Lahore, Pakistan. His brother Darpan was also a film actor during the same period, while another brother, S. Suleman, was a film director.

Santosh Kumar's birth name was Syed Musa Raza. He was born in 1925 in Lahore, British India. He graduated from Osmania University, Hyderabad, British India. He then passed the ICS examination and was waiting to work as a civil servant in the government, before a friend persuaded him to look towards cinema instead.

After the Partition of India in 1947, Santosh Kumar migrated to Lahore, Pakistan with his family.

Owing to his education and awareness, Santosh Kumar was always designated to lead national entourages of actors and artists to represent Pakistan in meetings held abroad, and because of this became known as the foreign minister of the Pakistani film industry. This was revealed by him in one of his interviews broadcast by the Radio Pakistan in the mid-1960s.

The first Nigar Award for best actor in the history of Nigar Awards was presented to him for the film Waada (1957). He also won the Best Actor Nigar Awards in 1962 and 1963. He was awarded the Sitara-i-Imtiaz Award by the President of Pakistan in 2010, long after his death. Shaam Dhalay (1960) is the only movie he produced, directed and played the lead role in.

Santosh Kumar was Pakistan's superstar film hero, along with Sudhir, but he was the first-ever top romantic hero. His first film was Ahinsa in 1947 in India. In Pakistan, his first film was Beli in 1950, and in the same year he became film hero of the first-ever Pakistani silver jubilee Urdu film Do Ansoo (1950).

Initially, he was married to Jamila Begum in 1953. They had three children: two daughters, Roohi and Aaliya, and a son Syed Mohsin Raza. On 1 October 1958, he married his frequent co-star and actress Sabiha Khanum, with whom he also had three children: two daughters, Fareeha Shahryar and Aafiya Chaudhry, and a son Syed Ahsan Raza. He remained married to both his wives till his death in 1982. Santosh's grandson Syed Mobin Abbas is a fashion model and actor starring in many videos and fashion shows. His granddaughter Sarish Khan is a model and actress.

Santosh Kumar died on 11 June 1982 at age 56.