Archive for the ‘Playback Singers’ Category
Naheed Niazi
Naheed Niazi was one of the popular playback singers of the late 50s and 60s. She was discovered by Khurshid Anwar, who wasn’t happy with the available choices of playback singers (with the exception of Noor Jehan). Khurshid Anwar wanted Noor Jehan to sing Zehr-e-Ishq’s songs. Noor Jehan refused to sing because she was still ...
Kauser Parveen
Kauser Parveen was one of the most popular playback singers of the 50s. Third, and best known of the 3 famed Nath sisters (the other two being Asha Posley and Rani Kiran), she was born in Patiala – India, in 1933. She started her career in early 50s and came into prominence when she sang ...
Zeenat Begum
Zeenat Begum (not to be confused with actress Zeenat) was a kothewali (courtesan). Her first recorded songs mostly composed by Pandit Amarnath and mostly sung in Punjabi language for HMV and Jienophone appeared around 1937. Her first success as a playback singer came in 1942 when she sang for Pt. Govind Ram for Punjabi film Mangti. ...
Naseem Akhtar
Naseem Akhtar was younger sister of Sardar Akhtar (wife of famous Indian director Mehboob Khan) and Bahar Akhtar (wife of A.R. Kardar – another famous Indian director credited for establishing the film industry of Lahore). Details are sketchy about Naseem Akhtar. She was an established playback singer before partition and sang for major music directors of ...
Munawwar Sultana
Munawwar Sultana (along with the music composer G.A. Chisthi) is mostly credited for bringing the dead film industry of Lahore-Pakistan back to life. Munawwar Sultana sang the earliest hits in Pakistani films (both in Urdu and Punjabi) including Koi dil ki nishani dai gaya from Do Ansoo (1950), Ayey khushi kai zamaney and Mohabbat mein ...
Mujeeb Alam
I could not forget that brilliant rendering of Faiz’s Iss dhoop kinarey sham dhaley! Mujeeb Alam sang it for A.J. Kardar’s Qasam Uss Waqt kee, released in 1969, with his warmly vibrant voice that spoke volumes about the mix of dear wishes and secret sorrows that burgeoned in the bosom of all the ...
Firdousi Begum
The fascinating voice of Firdousi Begum reverberated in the horizons of the film world at the very outset of the 60’s. She made her debut with song Ankhain Tori Rah Takain in Urdu film Chanda which was released in 1962. The songs were so sweet that the cine lovers echoed them not only in the ...
Bashir Ahmed
When first I heard this most haunting number, Mera dil najaney kab se tera pyar dhoondta hai, from Iqbal Yusuf’s cloak-&-dagger movie, Hill Station, released in 1972, I was transported back to the days when I had visited East Pakistan at a very young age. The song seem to nostalgically harken back to the days ...
Noor Jehan
Noor Jehan the Melody Queen reigned supreme over the South Asian music scene for more than six decades. She rose from near oblivion of the backwaters of Kasur, then hardly more than middle-sized Punjab town, to the dizzy heights of stardom as far back as the 40s, with songs ranging from classical to folk and ...
Mehdi Hassan
Mehdi Hassan has no equal when it comes to male ghazal singers. Hailing from a family of professional singers, he has put his own mark on the technique of ghazal singing. His voice, though small, is capable of rendering the most delicate melodic patterns in a manner which is authoritatively and unmistakably his. He has ...
Random Profiles
Munawwar Sultana : Photo Not Available
Munawwar Sultana (along with the music composer G.A. Chisthi) is
Meena Chaudhary : Meena Chaudhary in Ilzaam
Song and dance is the part and parcel of
Sultan Rahi : Sultan Rahi
The late documentary film maker Mushtaq Guzdar in his chronicle on
Badar Munir : Badar Munir
He was a pillar of strength for Pashto film-makers and audiences,
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