Shabana was the sensation of 1976 and signaled an adjustment in Lollywood hierarchy catapulting pint sized Babra into the "A" league beside reigning (but fading) queen Shabnam. The film created Lollywood history when it became the first to cross the double "Diamond Jubilee" barrier (a 200 week theatrical run) and landed a bunch of Nigar awards as icing on a highly lucrative cake.

The film was an enormous money spinning bounty for its producers and the soundtrack became a craze - in particular the song Tere siva dunya main kuch bhi nahin which was recorded separately by Mehdi Hassan and Nahid Akhtar. The film success is all the more remarkable considering how very ordinary it actually is, with nothing new to offer in the way of storyline at all.

Events begin with Shahid who is a lecherous rich mans spoilt son who has two stooges who cater to his needs for fresh booze and women on a nightly basis. Shahid is the epitome of debauchery and one day he takes a fancy to the petite (read midget-like) Farzana (Babra) who is a steno-typist at his office. We learn that though Farzana is the demure, dutiful, saintly type, her sister is a spunky, vivacious…and dare we say, bubbly type, full of enthusiasm and mischief who enjoys a good party. This second sister may not be as "correct" as her puritanical elder sister but she is a tough character none the less and despite her partying lifestyle, she doesn't allow men to take advantage of her. While the frivolous Shabana is partying it up, her sister is about to be horribly ensnared in slime-ball Shahid's dastardly trap. He spins a web of deceit around the unsuspecting Farzana and traps her into a secret marriage which is only attended by his closest aides and a dubious maulvi. Having consummated his marriage Shahid informs his stunned bride that her services are no longer required and when she objects, he tosses her out of the apartment window sending her plunging to her death.

Farzana survives and when she returns home crippled, her mother and sister Shabana are horrified to hear the tale of woe that befell her. The mother (Seema) kicks the bucket upon hearing of her daughter's tragedy but the resilient Shabana swears to take revenge on the scumbag who deceived her saintly, legless and now also pregnant sister! Meanwhile Shahid's luck turns for the worse when his Taliban father finds him merrymaking and proceeds to cut him off from the family fortunes in favour of his younger brother who is due back from abroad having completed his education. Shahid reels in horror when Shabana returns to the office pretending to be a resurrected Farzana and resumes her duties as secretary. Just about the same time, Shahid's younger brother played by Waheed Murad arrives home to find his elder brother behaving in a rather abnormal, flustered manner. Now Shabana's plan kicks into gear and she begins to blackmail Shahid about the attempted murder and begins to make him pay for the cruelty that he inflicted on her sister.

Meanwhile Waheed falls for Shabana (pretending to be Farzana) finding her array of knockout bell-bottoms simply irresistible and the two get married having serenaded each other with disco dances by a rather un-picturesque Rawal Lake. The song picturizations are all slow-mo and split screen with the director placing various shiny objects in the lens for "effect". The result is that both the best songs of the movie are ruined by the most horrendously tacky picturisation, with Babra and Waheed looking utterly ludicrous discoing it up in the countryside! Ultimately, just when Shabana has tortured Shahid sufficiently by singing to him and behaving like a punch drunk retarded dwarf, her plan goes awry when her loving and devoted husband Waheed Murad overhears them and assumes that they are having a raging affair and were married before he met her. Finally, in a shattering climax, all is revealed and injustices addressed…..at long last.

The films is remarkable for how utterly unremarkable it is. However for those who like that sort of thing (and there are evidently millions out there who did), Babra gives her typically frothy, spunky and utterly moronic performance that audiences found so endearing for some bewildering reason. In many a movie she repeated the same sort of persona of the mischievous (ch)imp-like girl who would bounce around making demented facial expressions and speaking in a retarded girlie voice - this was the Babra Sharif persona and many contend that this is how she is in reality - a truly sobering thought. The point is that the public at large loved this moronic persona that Babra created and played up and she scored numerous hit films playing, in essence the same character. Shahid looks paunchy but turns in a pretty decent performance displaying a certain penchant for comedy. Waheed Murad looks jaded but plays his role with conviction.

The film is really carried on the tiny shoulders of Babra Sharif who is ably supported by Shahid and one cannot underestimate the effect that the hit song had on the films raging success, despite the fabulously cheesy picturization. The song tere siva dunya main is indeed a catchy tune and worthy of its status as a Lollywood classic yet it is clearly inspired by Rajesh Roshan's music from the film Julie and in particular the Kishore Kumar song dil kya kare jab kisi ko kisise pyar ho jaye. The film ought to be remembered also for the nightmarish wardrobe provided to the actors………those flares that Babra sports could house and entire camp of Afghan refugees! Shabana won 5 Nigar Awards including Best Actor and Actress for Shahid and Babra respectively, best music director, best lyrics and best male singer (Tere Siva) for Mehdi Hassan.