Nazir Begum with Mala - contributed by Dr. Asad Minhas

Nazir Begum was a Pakistani playback singer active from mid-50s to 60s in Urdu and Punjabi films. She sang two of her earliest duets with Mehdi Hassan for Miss 1956 (1956) and remained middle-of-the-range singer throughout the late 50s and 60s singing for many Urdu and Punjabi films including Hasrat, Saperan, Chaudhary etc

1963 was an important year in Nazir Begum’s career because she sang some of the biggest hits of her career that year including Sama jab payara pyara ho, Suno ji baat (both were duets with Ahmed Rushdi) for Maa Ke Aansoo and Nimbhuan da jora for Punjabi film Tees Maar Khan.

With the increasing popularity of Noor Jehan as a playback singer in the early 60s, Nazir Begum along with many other playback singers took back seats and their careers started to go downhill. However, Nazir continued to sing in films like Neelam, Hath Jodi, Naghma-e-Sehra, Chattan, Samunder, Neela Parbat etc before she disappeared into oblivion with the arrival of the 70s.

Munawwar Sultana

Munawwar Sultana started her career as radio and playback singer probably around mid 40s. She used to take musical lessons from Master Ghulam Haider. She, 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 na aisa bhi koi majboor ho jayey from Akeli (1951), Awaaz mein pyar ka bhar kai rang from Barkha (1953) and Mohabbat muskuari jhoom uthi har shai jawani mein with Fazal Hussain from Aagosh (1953).

Her songs for Punjabi film Pheray (1949) Mainou rab di sohn teray naal pyar ho gaya and Wey akhiyan laawein na (a duet with Inayat Hussain Bhatti) composed by G.A. Chishti were the main reasons for the success of the film. The movie went on to became first Punjabi Silver Jubilee film of Pakistan. Similarly, her songs composed by Mubarak Ali for film Do Ansoo (1950) were instrumental in securing the future of Urdu films as Do Ansoo was the first Urdu Silver Jubilee film of Pakistan.

In late 50s, she married the then Station Director of Radio Pakistan – Ayoob Romani. Her marriage coupled with the arrival of new playback singers – especially Zubaida Khanum and Naseem Begum ended her singing career.

She died on 20th May 1995 in Lahore .

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 truly patriotic Pakistanis at the fall of Dhaka. The song was composed beautifully by Suhail Rana. One can appreciate the versatility of this superb playback that he sang another totally different ditty in the same film, QUWK, which was the title song, Qasam uss waqt kee, written so fabulously by Josh Malihabadi. It was this undeniable talent that spelled Mujeeb Alam’s genius. The pathos and the vibrancy of his vocals hit anybody first up, the moment you listened to him.

Mujeeb died on June 2nd, 2004, of a heart attack, but his ailment was not just car­diac arrest. Mujeeb felt denied. He felt unstable due to a lack of expression and exposure. He felt so depressed because he was still in sur, and yet he was not able to voice his appeal through his songs to talk of these times. He was full of that same melody, that warmth of life that turned the decibels into messages. Yet, the media was deaf to all his brilliant numbers. A year ago. when I first visited him in Liaquat National, he was in distress and had the doctor’s strict order not to talk too much, but when he saw me, he just kept on complaining that I never told him Talat Mehmood was my uncle. He for­got his own pain, and his eyes shed saline water, and he kept on repeating, “It is a criminal act, from you that you never told me you were Talat Mehmood’s nephew. He was my roohani mentor, he made me what I am today. Listening to Yeh hawa ych mat yeh chandni and other such songs, and singing along with those numbers made me Mujeeb Alam. Yet, you plain forgot to tell me that you are closely related to him!” I felt almost embar­rassed, because there were many patients in the ward and there were doc­tors and nurses hustling along. They were all looking at us. But, Mujeeb Alam forgot his own sufferings and kept shaking his head. “You didn’t mention such a treasure that belongs to your family!”

Within six months, I had to rush back to the hospital, because he had had another heart attack. Governor lshratul Ibad had given him some amount for treatment, but that was chicken feed for the sort of fundings needed to pay hospital and medicine bills, and operational procedures. I wrote about him to get the attention of the health ministry and the governor to make a recom­mendation to Radio Pakistan or PTV to constitute a musical committee, where the senior singers could be employed on a regular amount, where they could organize music shows, introduce young singers, look after poorly paid folk singers, etc. But why would the government care for the artistes? They only sing the tunes of their paymasters!

Mujeeb Alam was not much different from the brilliant Indian singer, Manna Day, who always remained under the shadows of Rafi and Kishore, although he was a classical musician. Mujeeb also had to play second fiddle to Ahmed Rushdi and Mehdi Hasan. Mujeeb not only had a beautiful voice for sad songs, he was equally brilliant in romantic numbers. He burst onto the film scene with Nashad’s uncannily composed and arranged number from film Jalwa, in 1966, which was phrased Koi ja ke unse kehde / hamein yoon na aazmaein. It was a memorable song, picturized on Darpan, in a mehfil, and Mujeeb just excelled at it. His number, Roothi roothi huee masoom nazar, in Mohsin Shirazi’s detective flick, Jaan Pehchan was liked, not only because of good composition by Muslehuddin, but also due to his nice rendition. Then he had another hit in Ehtesham’s Urdu movie, Chakori, with Robin Ghosh’s melodious Woh mere samne tasweer baney baithey hain, filmed on Nadeem. His solo hits like Main khushee se kyoon na gaoon (Lori), Ae jaan­-e-aarzoo tujhe kaise bhulaein hum (Jaan-e-Aarzoo), Main tere ajnabi shehr mein and Main tera shehr chorr jaoonga (Shama Aur Parwana), Dunyawalo tumhari dunya mein (Saughat), Kisi ke bechain dil kee dharkan (Main Kahan Manzil Kahan), Yeh phool hai ya sitara koi bata de mujhe (Pyasa), Yoon kho gaey tere pyar mein hum (Afsana), Zara tum hee socho (Dil Deke Dekho), etc. were hot favorites with the people. His top-notch duets include Too chanda hai mera (Bequsoor), Badlon ke taley (Shama Aur Parwana), Urrta hua waqt thaam lo (Yeh Aman), Kho gaey tum kahan (Jangli Phool), Meri Jaan meri hamsafar na ro (Doosri Shadi),Hari hari rut aaee sawan kee (Main Zinda Hoon), Aa re aa re dil ke saharey (Dosti), Aaja pyari nindya (Majboor), Sathi kahan ho (Lakhon Mein Aik), Wafa ka wadah hai kis ne torra (Jawab Do), Mujhe Jaan se bhee pyara (Dillagi), etc.

As Masood Rana’s geetmala is film Hamrahi, Mujeeb Alam’s geetmala could be called Shama Aur Parwana, which was composed brilliantly by the maestro Nisar Bazmi. Hasan Tariq’s romantic tragedy had five numbers by Mujeeb, and each one of them better than the other! The last film songs by Mujeeb were probably Khuda kabhi na karey gham se humkinar tujhe (Anjana) and Tujhe dekh kar dii ko yoon lag raha hai (Mang Meri Bhar Do). He also sang many hits for radio and television, which are rarely played by the media – Zulqarnain Shahid

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 halls but in the streets as well in places where the film was being shown. Naturally, soon after it, she lent her vocals for the leading lady of the times, Shabnam in Talaash for the song Kuch Apni Kahiyay, Kuchch Meri Suniyay.

This took her to heights of popularity. Those were the days of Malika-e-Tarannum Noor Jehan and Naseem Begum, a time when Firdousi Begum made her niche in the world of music. It was simply miraculous. She was a God-gifted and a born artiste. Even today, her voice takes us back to the days when Western music was creeping in over films. That was the time that she gave a distinct flavor to Eastern music.

Firdousi Begum was duly rewarded for her contributions in the classical genre in films. The President Award was conferred on her for her songs in the Bengali film Rasiya.

She was born at Kooch Behar, Bengal, in 1941 to a family of musicians. Her father, Abbasuddin was a renowned music maestro. Naturally, due to her musically rich surroundings Firdousi Begum got the opportunity to learn music at a very early age from respected Ustad Muneer Hussain Khan and Janab Mastan Gama. Ustad Qadir Zameeri, who was the nephew of well-known Ustad Zameeruddin Khan, taught her the art of Thumri and Ghazal Gayikee to the maximum perfection. During her childhood she was in Calcutta but after the partition, she came to Dacca with her father as the family migrated to erstwhile East Pakistan.

She started presenting musical programs for children from Dacca Radio station as soon as the family settled there. Her fame, Gayikee and sonorous voice made her an instant hit. From then onwards, people started inviting her to prestigious musical programs. In 1955, Firdousi Begum’s first song was broadcasted for Radio Station Dacca. On the occasion, along with renowned artists, singers, musicians and intellectuals, the well-known poet of Bengal, Qazi Nazarul Islam was also present. He was all praise for this fascinating singer.

Robin Ghosh recorded Firdousi Begum’s first song for film Chanda. Thereafter, Firdousi Begum was the busiest playback singer of her days. The song Kahan Ho Tum Ko Dhoond Rahey Hain Yeh Baharain Yeh Sama under the music direction of Robin in the film Chakori was a big hit. Mousam Rangeela Nasheeli Hawa of Talaash was another famous song. Firdousi Begum also rendered a hit Woh Meray Samnay Tasveer Banay Baithay Hain. Her song Koee Dil Main Aakay Muskura Gaya in actor/director Rehman’s film Milan is another instance. Khan Ataullah Rehman was the music director of this film and Rehman himself was the main character. Her song Haiy Yeh Alam Tujhay Bhulanay Mein in the film Nawab Siraj-ud-daula is still fresh in the memory of music lovers. There is a long list of her films, but Chanda, Talaash, Saat Rang, Kajal and Preet Na Jane Reet are noteworthy.

During her artistic sojourn, Firdousi Begum came to Karachi for the recording of songs for the film Meera. Here she met a handsome youth Nazir Baig. She was taken in by this young man and referred him to director Ehtesham, commenting that this guy would be a promising singer. On her recommendation, Nazir Baig was called to Dacca. Here Nazir Baig acquired his film name Nadeem and in addition to his job, he was signed as hero of the film Chakori.

Thus Firdousi Begum not only gave the sweetest songs but also a sweetheart Nadeem to the cine lovers for all times - Zameer Ahmed

Happier days of the sixties. Bashir Ahmed discusses a song with Bangladeshi singer, Meena Ali, while young Naseema Garaj listens intently.

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 when all seemed so hunky dory with our world, enveloping us in a false sense of security that nothing untoward can happen to our lovely world of warmth and good will. But, Jo khizan mein kho gaee hai who bahaar dhoondta hai was a melancholic cry from far away land of dream that is lost forever. Composed by that brilliant music director, Nashad, it was sung by Bashir Ahmed, his last song for a Pakistani film!

Not many people know that Bashir Ahmed, the famous singer and playback from Bangladesh, was not Bengali. In fact he didn’t even know Bengali language. He belonged to a Delhi Saudagran family, but was born in Calcutta (Kolkata now) in 1940. He was crazy about music, and was accepted as a pupil by Ustad Vilayat Hussain at the age of 15. Later, he came to Bombay, and became a pupil of Ustad Barey Ghulam Ali Khan. He got lots of encouragement from him. In 1960, Bashir Ahmed migrated to Dhaka.

In Dhaka, his mentor and brother-in-law, Ishrat Kalkatvi introduced him to Robin Ghosh. Ishrat Sahab was writing songs for film Talash, although eventually, Suroor Barabankvi contributed more songs to the film. Robin Ghosh was making tunes for the film, and he gave Bashir Ahmed a chance to prove himself. Bashir Ahmed sang some beautiful numbers for Talash, including that unforgettable soft romantic one, titled Kuch apni kahiyye, kuch meri sunyey. Bashir sang another most famous song, Main rickshawalla matwala, which those who have listened to it can never forget. He had two other songs in the film, both duets. With such a famous beginning, he was sure to stay on. Bashir was also a poet and a lyricist, with a pseudonym B.A Deep. Film-maker, Mustafiz they contacted Bashir and asked him to write a song for his film, Saagar, which he did, titled Ja dekha pyar tera, and sang it too. Similarly in Robin Ghosh’s another lilting offering, Karwan, in 1964, Bashir wrote and sang a memorable hit, Jab tum akele hoge hum yaad aaeingey , which used to be played quite often during the sixties on radio Pakistan. So, he wrote film songs, as B. A. Deep, and also continued to sing as Bashir Ahmed for films like Saagar, Karwan, Eindhan, Milan, Kangan and Darshan. He won a lot of approval from the West Pakistan too at that time, for those songs in Darshan. The hits from the films were Yeh sama pyara pyara, Yeh mausam yeh mast nazarey, Tumharay liyay iss dil mein, Din raat khayalon mein, Hum chaley chor kar, Gulshan mein baharun mein too hai and Chun liya ik phool ku, with Madam Noor Jahan.

Listening regularly to Hemant Kumar’s compositions was enough to make Bashir note details of arrangement in the songs. This made him suggest the instrument that should be used for that particular song. His usual orchestra was on the softer side, and mostly he depended on the piano, the flute and sitar or sarangi, and very rarely did he resort to the guitar, the clarinet or the saxophone. You can see that even in Hum chaley chor kar in Darshan, where he has to go a little on the higher plain, he still worked well in the piano. In Milan, Rehman’s own production, during which he lost one of his legs, the artistes worked almost free for him. Basher too, did not take any amount for two songs he wrote for Milan, phrased Tum jo milay pyar mila, which he sang with Noor Jahan, and Jo mujh se door sahi. Another hit from Milan is Tum salamat rahu muskurao hanso.

Bashir Ahmed’s other songs include songs like Hum to urtey panchi hain from an unreleased film, Urte Panchi, Beete hue din raat and Zara kitab se nazar hattaiye from film Maina, Main hu aik awara from Footpath and Phir aik baar wahi naghma gunganana du zara from film Gori, Ae mere daur ke dukhi insan from the art film, Iss Dharti Par etc.

In 1971, when the situation worsened, he came to this wing, and stayed here for five years. Unfortunately, he was not encouraged in the industry and the Hill Station songs, namely Mera dil najaney and Mere seene per sar rakhdo remain his only contributions in this period. A film that was made on the Dhaka Debacle in the late70s, called Sangtarash, also included his numbers, namely Bol zara kuch duniyawaley and Mukhrey mein chand, but the film, despite pleadings of the film-maker to the military regime of Zia, remained unreleased. So, he went back to Bangladesh in 1975, and only sings private songs in functions now – Zulqarnain Shahid

Back to Legends – Noor Jehan

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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 ghazal to geet. Her mastery over melody with a strong background of classical music remains unmatched. She sang Punjabi songs and Urdu ghazals with equal ease and amazing finesse.

Noor Jehan was born in Kasur on Sept 21, 1926. Her given name was Allah Wasai. She started her career on the stage at the age of six when Dewan Sardari Lal, financier of a theatre in Calcutta, took her there with her two older sisters Eiden Bai and Haider Bandi, who were both stage singers. The three sisters instantly shot into the limelight. Allah Wasai became Baby Noor Jehan.

Director K.D. Mehra cast them in his Punjabi film Pind Di Kuri in which Noor Jehan sang her first film song. One of the film’s songs, Langh aaja patan channa dey o yaar, became an immediate hit, and remains a popular number even today. The picture was released in 1935, and the next year Noor Jehan was given roles in Fakhri-i-Islam and Heer Sial. In 1937, when Pancholi Studio was set up on The Upper Mall in Lahore, its owner, Dilsukh Pancholi, employed Noor Jehan and her sisters for the film Gul Bakawli. It set a record at the box office.

In 1940, Noor Jehan was cast in Yamla Jat, with M. Ismail in the male lead, and the following year she sang for the film Chaudhry. The same year, Pancholi started work on the Urdu film Khandan for which he acquired the services of Syed Shaukat Husain Rizvi as director. Rizvi had edited every film in which Noor Jehan had acted or sung since Calcutta, and their association was to later blossom into love and marriage.

Khandan was the first picture in which Noor Jehan was cast as the leading lady. She was only 15 years old at that time, and the prefix Baby was now dropped from her name. It is said Pancholi did not like the togetherness of Noor Jehan and Rizvi, and after the film was completed – released in 1942, it went on to become a hit – he sacked the actress. Noor Jehan’s leading man in Khandan was Pran.

Rizvi and Noor Jehan then moved on to Bombay where the former started making Naukar, based on a story by Saadat Hasan Manto. The film flopped, but the two decided to get married. Rizvi then made Dost in which he played the role of Noor Jehan’s brother. This too flopped. Between 1943 and 1946, Noor Jehan acted in Duhaai, Nadaan, Lal Haveli, Bhai Jan, Village Girl, Badi Maan, Zeenat, Anmol Ghari, Dil and Hamjoli. Zeenat proved extremely successful at the box-office, and its qawali number, Aahen na bhareen, shikwey na kiye… is still fondly remembered by many.

Two Noor Jehan films were released in 1947 – Mirza Shahiban and Jugnu. Jugnu was directed by Rizvi and was a resounding success. Noor Jehan’s leading man in Jugnu was Dilip Kumar and the music was by Feroze Nizami. The song Yehan badla wafa ka… was on the lips of young and old alike.

After partition in 1947, Noor Jehan and Shaukat Hussain Rizvi shifted to Lahore where they were allotted the Shori Studios, subsequently renamed Shahnoor Studios. Here, Rizvi started his new picture Chanway (1951) which also did well. It was at this point that Noor Jehan decided that she would sing only for films in which she also acted. In 1952 came Dupatta which was directed by Sibtain Fazli. She also acted in Imtiaz Ali Taj’s Gulnar which did average business at the box-office. A little later she appeared in M.A. Rasheed’s Patey Khan and seemed to have fallen in love with its distributor, M. Naseem. This created a gulf between Noor Jehan and Shaukat Rizvi and their marriage broke up.

Other films in which Noor Jehan sang and acted included Agha Gul’s Lakht-e-Jigar, Masud Pervaiz’s Intezar, Anwar Kamal Pasha’s Anarkali, J.C. Anand’s Nooran, Hassan Tariq’s Neend and Khurshid Anwar’s Koel. Her films Pardesan and Ghalib failed which led to differences between Noor Jehan and M. Naseem, and the two parted ways.

Noor Jehan then came close to Ejaz who was then being cast as a hero in several films, and the two were soon married. She then decided to quit acting and concentrate on playback singing. She sang for Masud Pervez’s Heer Ranjha, with the music being provided by Khurshid Anwar and the songs written by Ahmed Rahi. Many of the numbers, including Mein tey ho ho gaiyee qurban rey, were immensely popular. She became the centre of attraction for all film-makers who vied with on another to have her sing for their ventures.

For the loved ones, it seems that Noor Jehan has the quality of being a paras or a good luck charm. From Khandan to Gulnar, she had been a part of Shaukat Hussain Rizvi long career in films both before and after independence. After their divorce Shaukat could make only three films, Jaan-e-Bahar, Ashiq, and Dulhan Rani, but none of these clicked with the audience, creating doubts in the film trade about the capabilities of the maker of such great hits as Khandan, Zeenat, and Jugnu.

Similarly, Ejaz too went through the same kind of turmoil soon after he separated from the singing goddess and never quite reached the form that he had once attained with her. Ejaz then turned to production and made Dosti starring Shabnam, Rahman, Husna, and himself under the competent direction of the veteran Sharif Nayyar, and shot on locale partly in London and partly in the beautifully photographed northern areas of Pakistan. Yet the main attraction turned out to be the musical compositions of A. Hameed sung in the voice of the crooner, Noor Jehan. Chitthi zera saiyanji ke naam likh de and other lyrics by Tanvir Naqvi enthralled film-goers for so long that the film broke all previous records and became yet another diamond jubilee (in local cinema lingo `diamond jubilee’ refers to a hundred-week run) bonanza of Pakistani cinema.

It is estimated that since 1935, Noor Jehan sang some 3000 film and non-film songs which is a record. Her rendering of Faiz’s Mujh Sey Phehhli Si Mohabbat, recorded for the film Qaidi, moved the great poet so much that he was reported to have gifted the poem to the singer. Her patriotic songs sung during the 1965 conflict struck an emotional chord among the masses. Her colorful personality had inspired the incomparable Manto sketch entitled Noor Jehan Suroor-i-Jehan.

In her later years, critics say Noor Jehan had overexposed herself and descended to the level of singing double-entendre songs which were popular but a far cry from the standards she had set for herself earlier in her singing career. Noor Jehan is survived by two sons and four daughters. The sons, Akbar Rizvi and Asghar Rizvi, run Shahnoor Studios and one of the daughters, Zille Huma, is a popular singer. Noor Jehan and Lata Mangeshkar shared many things. Both were born in September and both started their singing career from childhood. Both played roles in feature films and both remained active for about 60 years as singers. Besides, both Noor Jehan and Lata worked in the film Badi Maa, made in Bombay in the forties, and both sang thousands of hit songs – Source(s) - Various

Mehdi Hassan

Nowhere else in the world one can find any example where literature and music are inalienably strung together, save for Urdu adab. It is because in the subcontinent one of the richest genres of Urdu literature, ghazal is not only something to extract reading pleasure from but also to sing and lend one’s ears to. And this wouldn’t have been achieved if India and Pakistan didn’t have musical geniuses like Madame Noor Jehan, Begum Akhtar and Mehdi Hassan, who used the sing to the fullest.

It is widely considered that the era of the 1950s and 60s was the golden age of radio broadcasting in the Indian sub-continent. It was during this period that a rich and mellifluous voice captured the hearts of all the listeners through broadcasts on Radio Pakistan. The melodic renditions of classical ghazals in a cultivated and cultured manner were its attributes and created a storm amongst the masses, musical connoisseurs and erudite musicians. Almost half a century has gone by and yet it still never fails to captivate. The voice is indeed that of Mehdi Hassan, the unparalleled master of ghazal.

The evolution of the ghazal is a momentous one. Initially written in Persian, it can trace its origins in India during the advent of the Muslim rule in India during the 12th century. Hazrat Amir Khusrau (1253-1324), the eminent poet, scholar, statesman and musicologist is credited with many masterpieces of Persian poetry and can be termed as a major propagator of the ghazal. The pinnacle of the ghazal can be said to have been between the 18th and 19th centuries when Urdu became the preferred language of poetry and culture throughout India, poets such as Sauda, Mir Taqi Mir, Zauq, and Mirza Ghalib penned ghazals which are considered as hallmarks of Urdu poetry. Gradually, during the course of time, ghazals started to be expressed through melody and musicians started to use them as part of their repertoire. Ustad Mauzuddin Khan and Gauhar Jan were the early pioneers who built a reputation in the field and set the initial groundwork. Later, vocalists of the caliber of Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, Mukhtar Begum and Begum Akhtar established themselves as major exponents of ghazal gayaki. However, Mehdi Hassan has added a further dimension to this art form.

Mehdi Hassan was born in 1927 in a village called Luna in Rajasthan, India into a family of traditional musicians. He claims to be the 16th generation of hereditary musicians hailing from the Kalawant clan of musicians. Mehdi Hassan had his musical grooming from his father Ustad Azeem Khan and uncle Ustad Ismail Khan who were both traditional Dhrupad singers. The life story of Mehdi Hassan is a journey of trials and tribulations. After partition the family migrated to Pakistan and suffered severe financial hardships.

To make ends meet Mehdi started working in a bicycle shop and later became a car and diesel tractor mechanic. Despite the hardships, his passion for music didn’t wither and he kept up the routine of practice on a daily basis. His struggle ended when he was given the opportunity to sing on radio in 1952, primarily as a thumri singer, this got him recognition within the musical fraternity. At that time, Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, Begum Akhtar and Mukhtar Begum were considered the stalwarts of ghazal gayaki, Mehdi Hassan also had a passion for Urdu poetry and started to experiment by singing ghazals on a part time basis. He cites radio officers Z.A. Bukhari and Rafiq Anwar as additional influences in his progression as a ghazal singer. They gave him ample opportunities to display his mastery over the ghazal on radio. He sang ghazals of all the renowned Urdu poets and soon his innovative style was soon appreciated by both the masses and discerning audiences.

Mehdi Hassan’s gayaki incorporates the subtle elements of both Dhrupad and Khayal. He carefully embellishes ghazals by using behlawas, murkhis, taans and zamzamas. Further grace is given by touches of Rajasthani folk singing. Another important feature of his style is the importance of correct pronunciation, delivery of words are of utmost importance and he never compromises the true expression of a word regardless of the constraints put forward by the musical composition. The mutual bond between melody and the lyrical content is responsible for making the art of Mehdi Hassan so appealing. In addition he has raised the profile of ghazal gayaki which was previously considered a taboo amongst classical exponents and reformed it into a major melodic genre which sits on an equal footing with thumri, dadra, kajri and tappa. His influence was such that some leading classical vocalists of that era took to ghazal singing.

Mehdi Hassan’s popularity resulted in his becoming one of the most popular playback singers of the Pakistani film industry from the early 1960s to the late 1980s. Many of his film based ghazals have become classics.

One also has to give credit to music directors associated with radio Pakistan and the Pakistan film industry who composed many beautiful melodies for Mehdi Hassan to adorn. Composers such as Ustad Niaz Hussain Shami, Pandit Ghulam Qadir (Mehdi Hassan’s brother), Master Inayat Hussain, Khawaja Khurshid Anwar, Rashid Attrey, Nisar Bazmi and Mohsin Raza are additional contributories to Mehdi Hassan’s success.

The government of Pakistan has awarded Mehdi Hassan the pride of performance as recognition to his services rendered to music, and he was also recently awarded a life achievement award by Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation. As with a stature of a person like Mehdi Hassan, he has released many recordings, toured worldwide on an extensive basis and performed in the renowned concert halls around the world. He recently took part in the 50th anniversary of Rajasthan celebrations in India in which the leading artistes of Rajasthani origin participated. He currently devotes most of his time with his family in between Pakistan and the USA.

Despite advancing age, Mehdi Hassan still reigns as the undisputed master of the ghazal. He has left such an indelible mark in the field of ghazal gayaki that almost all the ghazal singers of today are influenced by him. Mehdi Hassan has also been instrumental in training the next generation of ghazal singers. His sons Asif and Kamran are following in their father’s footsteps and trying to carve a career as ghazal singers, other prominent disciples are Parvez Mehdi, Ghulam Abbas, Salamat Ali, Asif Javed and Talat Aziz – Saqib Razaq

Mala

In the good old days Mala was sometimes compared (erroneously) to Lata, perhaps due to her shrill voice and the duo of Rushdie-Mala was to the Pakistani films what Rafi-Lata was to the Indian counterpart.

Mala’s real name was Naseem. She was born in Faisalabad, Punjab. She had been interested in singing and music from a young age. Fortunately, her sister, Shamim Nazli, happened to be her first music teacher and Mala learnt the essentials of music from her.

Mala started her career somewhere around late fifties but her real break came through Naila, the first West Pakistani color film. Many were surprised in the beginning when Master Inayat Husain announced his decision to give away all female numbers from that movie to this lesser known crooner. Most surprised was Syed Afzal Husain, the chief recordist at the Evernew for he didn’t know what to do with a voice that was so shrill and high-pitched. At last he came out with the ingenuous idea of switching off all the lower keys on the recording machine – something that had never been tried before. The experiment was successful (who could forget such pieces from that movie as Tarapna bhi hamain aata hai and Mujhe arzoo thhi jiski) .

Soon after that early success came Arman. Sohail Rana had actually asked Noor Jehan to render the sad climactic version of Akailay na jana but as destiny would have it, the song somehow could not be got recorded in her voice and came to the lot of Mala. There was no looking back for her after that. Even a brief list of her popular songs would be too long to be presented here. Perhaps we should say that, as a rule, any popular female song from the mid 60′s to late the mid 70′s that is not a Noor Jehan or Runa Laila number is sure to be a Mala feature. A few of the absolutely unforgettable ones are: Mujhe talash thhi jiski (Jahan Tum Wahan Hum), Yeh ada yeh naz (Road To Swat), Hum nay to pyar bohat (Neend Humari Khwab Tumharay), Kiya hai jo piyar (Dil Mera Dharkan Teri),Tujh pay qurban (Sarhad), Hava nay chupke say keh diya kiya (Lori). Also should be mentioned a popular song that has seen a revival through quite a few modern singers these days but was originally a Mala soundtrack from Naaz – Ghunghroo toot gaye.

Mala also tried her luck with film production with Baharein Phir Bhi Ayengi, in which she also gave a break to her sister Nazli as the first ever (and the only so far) female composer in Pakistani films. Ahmed Rushdie, who had also cherished a desire for acting, also played a side role in that movie but it bombed at box-office. Some of the songs did become very popular but they were plagiarized from Indian film hits (For instance, the most popular Mala song Piyar kay naghme kisne chhairay was a carbon copy of Aaj kal teray meray piyar kay charchay hain zaban per from the Shashi Kapoor starrer Brahmchari).

Mala faded out of the popular music scene towards the late seventies and died on March 6,1990 – Khurram Ali Shafique

Naseem Begum

Naseem Begum was a well known Pakistani playback singer who was born in Amritsar, British India, in 1936. She took her musical lessons from the classical singer Mukhtar Begum – elder sister of ghazal singer Farida Khanum and wife of noted poet and playwright, Agha Hashr Kashmiri.

Naseem Begum started her career in late 50s when she sang Nainoun mein jal bar aayey for music composer Sheriyar in film Begunah (1958).

As was the case with Indian singer Lata Mangeshkar and her clone Suman Kulyanpur (who was also known as poor man’s Lata), Naseem Begum’s singing style was very similar to that of Noor Jehan. She was commonly known as Noor Jehan’s substitute. However, unlike Suman Kulyanpur who was mostly reduced to singing duets with Mohd Rafi, Naseem Begum posed serious threat to Noor Jehan. She won four Nigar Awards for Best Female Playback Singer in a short span of five years from 1960-1964! Their singing rivalry is clearly evident in film Baji (1963), where Noor Jehan sang such beautiful solos and duets Dil kai afsaney, Ab yahan koi nahin aayey ga, Sajan lagi tori agan but the playback Award was fetched by Naseem Begum for her solo in the film – Chanda tori chandni mein jiya jala jayey re.

Although Naseem Begum worked with most music directors of her time, her pairing with music composers Rashid Attre and A. Hameed was most fruitful and gave us some unforgettable songs.

A. Hameed probably gave her the most famous song of her career Hum Bhool gayey har baat from Saheli (1960). Other hit songs from Saheli included Humnai jo phool chuney (Naseem Begum with chorus) and the sad eternal duet of Naseem Kahin do dil jo mil jatey with Saleem Raza.

After composing the songs of Saheli, A. Hameed himself became a fan of Naseem Begum, and preferred her over any other female singer. He again gave her exemplary hits in Aulad (1962), with songs like Tum milay pyar mila (with Munir Hussain), Naam le le ke tera hum to jiyay jaeinge and that beautiful song for women, Tum quom kee maa ho socha zara/ Aurat se hamein yeh kehna hai!

Similarly her songs for Rashid Attre were in a class of their own. Who can forget superhit songs of Gulfaam, Shaheed, Shaam Dhaley, Al-Hilal, Salma and Zerqa. Doley meray paoun, chuley meray jhumke, Sanwariya man bhaiyou re and Wah ji wah from Salma (1960) remained on popularity charts for weeks. Sou baar chaman mehka, sou baar bahaar aayi and Us bewafa ka shehr hai from Shaam Dhaley (1960) and Shaheed (1962) respectively fetched her Nigar Awards for Best Playback singer.

It was not as if Naseem’s pairing with other music directors was any less fruitful. For Master Inayat Hussain, she sang the sad solo Ghanghor ghata lehrai hai and the romantic heart stopping duet with Salim Raza – Badaloun mein chhup raha hai chand kiyoun – both from Ek Tera Sahara (1963). Badaloun mein chhup raha hai chand kiyoun was later copied by Indian composer Anu Malik for his 1993 Pooja Bhatt, Rahul Roy starrer Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee.

Similarly, Khurshid Anwar used her voice efficiently in Chhun Chhun chhun, meray payal ki dhun from Ghoonghat (1962). In this unusual song, Khurshid Anwar experimented with nature’s music and blended chirping of birds effectively in his tune. Mera bicchra balam ghar aa gaya (Haveli, 1964) was yet another hit song Naseem sang for Khurshid Anwar.

Naseem Begum continued playback singing throughout the 60s before she died prematurely on September 29, 1971 – Ummer Siddique

Note

Sources dont agree on first Naseem Begum’s song. Some list Guddi Gudda (1956) as her first film as playback singer and some list Begunah (1958) as her debut film. If you have any information, please leave a comment.

Ahmed Rushdi with Masood Rana

The men hovering around that brilliant playback singer, Ahmed Rushdi, who played such important cameos in his career, like Parvez Malik, Waheed Murad, Suhail Rana and Masroor Anwar were all greats in their own capacity. They had all brought about a sort of revolution in our films, which could be called neo-romanticism in our cinema of the 60s, with films like Heera Aur Patthar, Arman, Ehsan and Doraha. Rushdi was inspired by such men. He was a world class singer, who is recognized as one of the most popular male playbacks of the sub-continent in the last 50 years, along with Mohammad Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Mehdi Hasan and Saleem Raza. Once Nisar Bazmi told me that “Rafi and Rushdi are amongst those few singers in the sub-continent, whose voices did not form ‘cones’, as they rose up to touch the upper notes. Their volumes rose up without getting squeaky!” This is no small compliment from the best in the game.

Rushdi, a master of all moods, was adept at singing all styles, be it happy, comedy, tragedy, qawwali, lullaby, and patriotic, pop, revolutionary or folk numbers. Literally, he did justice to all music directors, whether they wanted him to become mellow in Bengal or emotionally unrestrained in Punjab, or an all purpose man in Karachi films. Everywhere he ventured, he stunned people with his brilliance and versatility.

Syed Ahmed Rushdi was born in 1935, to a well respected Hyderabad Dekkan family of Maulana Hafiz Qari Syed Manzoor Mohammad, a revered religious scholar. Singing was strictly disallowed in his household, but Rushdi was crazy about music and wanted to sing all sorts of songs. In this context, he met many talented seniors, and took admission in a small music school by another name. According to my statistician friend, Shahenshah, the first film he sang for was Ibrat, in 1954, in India, although generally it was held that Rushdi sang his first number for Karnama (1956). He was just 16 then. Ibrat, which had in its cast one called Arsalan, Rushdi’s elder brother, turned out to be a flop, but very soon, in 1954, he came to Karachi with his family, and gave an audition at Radio Pakistan. He first sang Himayat Ali Shaer’s poem, Clifton Kee Ik Shaam, which was appreciated. Soon followed another hit, Bandar Road se Kemari, which was a mega-hit of the times.

Recognition of Rushdi’s services to radio, television, cinema and overall to the nation, 20 years after his death, could be summed up in the adage ‘better late than never!’ He has been decorated with a Pride of Performance posthumously, but it is less than what he deserved. He served the country distinctively, and the least our government could have done for him was to take care of his family, and look after their well being. But in a country that doesn’t even declare its cultural policy, what can you demand from the government?

Rushdi came to the fore through one of the most popular numbers ever fashioned in Karachi, Bandar road se Kemari meri chali re ghora gari, which was supposed to be written and composed by a superlative musician, Mehdi Zaheer. But, actually, it was just written by him, while the composition was a re-hash of Lata’s famous number, Bahey ankhiyon se dhaar, jia mora beqarar! If you know both tunes, you will note how similar the songs are. Yet, it was a case of the copy being more popular than the original. The tune fitted the wordings like a hand in a glove. It was such a huge hit that people do not even remember Lata’s song.

Rushdi’s first film song in Pakistan was recorded for Karnama, which was a duet with Nazeer Begum, and was titled Chamkein seep ke moti jaise. He had three other duets in the film.

Rushdi is known for his songs with all the master tunesmiths, and he did justice to all of them – Zulqarnain Shahid