Pakistani Film Music

[Q2]

Pakistani Film Music

The power of film, and film music in South Asian society can hardly be overstated. Highlighting the point, Pradip Krishen observes, “Urban environments are cluttered with its signs, filled with its sounds. Its tastes and values spill out to define the very texture of contemporary mass and middle-class culture”. This mass culture affects a wide range of activities, but perhaps its most important effect is on music. Film music is the most widely listened to music in South Asia , and since 1931 (the year of the first Indian talkie and the first film song) it has become the dominant force in the construction of musical taste.

Film music in Pakistan has largely been dominated by one female voice, that of Noorjehan. She was already in the prime of her career when Lata Mangeshkar made her debut as a play-back singer in Bombay before Partition. Before the era of play-back singing, Noorjehan was an actress-singer. After Partition, she migrated to Lahore with her husband, Shaukat Hussain Rizvi, the famous producer/ director and film-editor who started Shah Noor Studios in Lahore, one of the centres of Pakistani film activity for the last fifty years. The legendary male film singer Muhammad Rafi made his own debut singing a duet with her. Noorjehan may well have recorded more songs than all the other vocalists in Pakistan films put together. Noorjehan has a full throated voice capable of handling lower registers with remarkable command, a quality that makes her equally at ease with Punjabi and Urdu songs. Her versatility has rendered a large number of her songs part of the region’s collective musical memory.
The Punjab and especially Lahore have made a significant contribution to the film music of India. One pioneering film music director, Ustad Jhande Khan, was a native of Gujranwala, a town 40 miles north-west of Lahore, and the man who introduced Lata to films, Master Ghulam Haidar, was from a rababi family of Lahore. In the late 1940s many of the leading film personalities, music directors and musicians in Bombay were from Lahore or the surrounding areas.
Until the 1960’s Pakistani film music enjoyed a robust period of creative activity with a great number of songs acquiring popularity across the sub-continent. The major music directors of this period (with the noted exception of Khawaja Khurshid Anwar) were mostly rababis. Some of the great names were, Master Inayat Hussain, G.A. Chishti, Rashid Attre, Master Tasadduq, Master Abdullah, Firoze Nizami, Tufail Farooqi and Ustad Nazar. During the early 1960s Urdu film and music quality declined as the result of various factors. The dominance of trend-setting music directors who had experience of Bombay declined and they were replaced by a new and younger generation who tapped the Punjabi film market.
Despite the upheaval of Partition and the later ban on Indian films, Bombay film music continued to have a strong impact on the musical tastes of the middle classes in Pakistan through the medium of radio. Farmaishi programmes on All India Radio featured a large number of letters from Pakistan. Radio Ceylon was a trend-setting station that featured commercial advertisements and broadcast long hours of film music, which could be heard all over the sub-continent. Located in Bombay, it pioneered commercial ‘top of the charts’ type programmes (known as ‘Binaca Geet Mala’, sponsored by Binaca tooth paste) and enjoyed huge audience participation. Since it was not subject to the policy restrictions in force on the Indian or Pakistani state radios, which had to broadcast a range of programmes from educational to agricultural, it broadcast Indian film music almost exclusively through the day.
Although some Pakistani radio farmaishi programmes using local film music also had a regular audience, the influence enjoyed by Indian film songs was paramount.

Noor Jehan: The supreme soprano

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(Hamari Sanson main aaj tak wo Hina ki khushbu)
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(Mujh say Pehli si Mohabbat meray Mehboob na maang)

With the passing away of Noor Jehan, an entire generation of Pakistani female playback singers has now become history.
First to cross over was Naseem Begum, in 1973, then we lost Mala in 1990 and now Noor Jehan, too, is gone.
These are changing times and trends. Just think of the music we hear nowadays, which is so different to the classic music which our ears were accustomed to hearing, during the grand era of Pakistani film music.
The legendary performer who delivered flawless lyrics was none other than Noor Jehan, who, in keeping with her temperament, passed over quietly on December 23, 2000, at the age of 74.
Born in Kasur, nurtured in the lap of the music world in Calcutta and exposed in her teens, to the artistic atmosphere of Bombay film industry, Noor Jehan embarked upon a singing/acting career in 1935 with total confidence and know-how.
Noor Jehan received hundreds of awards, numerous titles and world-wide recognition in her sixty year music career.

[Q2]

Mehdi Hassan: (A Profile in Excellence )

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Ham say Badal Gaya wo nighaian to kia howa
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Khuda Karay Mohabbat main yeh Maqaam aayay

Lata Mangeshkar's highly laudatory remarks:" Mehdi Hasan kay galay mein bhagwan bolta hai", in the early seventies, had hardly surprised an average Pakistani, because they know the greatness of their most prominent play-back singer.
Mehdi Hasan's illustrious singing career began with this ghazal: "Meray khayal-0- khwab ki duniya liye huway"(Film: Shikaar: 1962, lyrics: Hafeez Jallundhar, composer: Asghar Ali Mohammed Husain, film director: Rafiq Anwar.
Mehdi's magnificent, magical, masterpieces have refused to age with the passage of
Moreover, in an interview to Radio Pakistan's compere, Taj Bakht, which was broadcast twice between 1985-87, Mehdi Hasan had dealt, at length, his continuous efforts to bring quality in the songs and ghazals.
From the melancholy strains of "Aye duniya kya tujh say kahein", "Tanha thee aur hamaysha say tanha hai zindagi", "Qissa-e-gham mein tera naam", "Dil diya dard liya", "Zindagi aik safar hai", to satires like "Laga hai misar ka bazaar deikho" (Tehzeeb)
Likewise, from the romantic scores like "Meray dil kay taar", "Teray bheegay badan ki khushbu say"(Sharafat), to moralistic numbers like "Sau baras ki zindigi mein aik pul" (Insaaf aur qanoon), Mehdi's superb art is evident everywhere.

[Q2]

Saleem Raza: (The Inimitable Singer)

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Ayo Bachon sair karain tum ko PAKISTAN ki
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Jhatak kay Daaman

One of the greatest playback singers of Pakistan, whose hundred percent songs (solo's and duets) were either hits or superhits, the singer with whom every female singer of Pakistan considered an honor to sing duets, the singer who was the last word, when it came to sad songs, the singer about whom every music director in Pakistan was confidant that he is going to deliver the song as precisely as he is expected, the singer whose name once stamped on any movie, guaranteed its success, the singer whose singing records have not been broken to date, the singer whose songs are considered as precious today as they were four decades ago, the singer who remained unchallenged in his entire career, the singer who was, is and will be considered the king of sad songs, these are some of the comments which Saleem Raza's attentive ears were accustomed listening in his day to day life and which obviously kept him happy, healthy and hilarious every day from dawn to dusk. Saleem Raza was a gem which have been lost forever.
He had been residing in Canada for quite sometime for personal reasons. There, he had been providing training to young music lovers. He passed over in Canada in 1983 at the age of 52.

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*Sohail Rana: (Musings on Music) *

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Sohail Rana, who is the son of renowned poet Rana Akbar Abadi, was born in his native city, Agra, Uttar Pardesh, India, in 1938, to a highly literary, academic and respectable family.
Rana Akbar Abadi migrated to Karachi, Pakistan.Soon after partition, young Sohail, who was in his ninth year at that time, resumed his education and subsequently passed his intermediate examination.
He demonstrated an unusual aptitude for music as a teenager. He learned music from various experts and familiarized himself with numerous musical instruments, which added to his experience.
Relatively speaking, ‘Jab say dekha hai tumhain' was far more successful for its melodious songs than ‘Insaan badalta hai.'
Huge audience were drawn to its two highly popular numbers:
‘Ye khushi ajab khushi hai' (singer: Ahmed Rushdi)
‘Jab say dekha hai tumhain, dil ka ajab Aalam hai (singer: Saleem Raza)
Movie zealots agree that ‘Jab say dekha hai tumhain' proved to be a stepping stone in the fabulous career of Sohail Rana.
Readers, let us draw near and listen to his gift:
Ko-ko- korina, Bay taab ho udhar tum, Jab pyar mein do dil miltay hain'
In 1964, Sohail Rana composed the super hit songs for the golden jubilee film, ‘Heera aur pathar'. That is part of what sets the quality so far above its competition.
Its music is so innately appealing, so fresh-spirited, that one has to admit that the standards were set for a much grander scale.
By the mid-sixties, Sohail Rana had become such a success, where he was able to fathom the depths of emotions through his musical masterpieces.
Sohail Rana's excellent composition for the songs of ‘Armaan' are, indeed, his greatest achievement as a music director, which will stand as a musical high point as long as the Pakistan film industry exists.
Further, he won the Nigar and graduate award for the best composer for the film ‘Armaan'.
Furthermore, movies like ‘Heera aur pathar' and ‘Armaan' also shows that the best of the human soul has not yet died.
To listen to the musical genius, Sohail Rana, is an experience like no other.
The rhythm of sound is music and Sohail Rana can best be described as maestro of the music. His is a music which can lift people above particular circumstances and inspire them.
Sohail Rana, who is widely known as an extremely decent human being, worked diligently and came out with yet more superfluous compositions for the film ‘Ehsaan' in 1967. The idea which keeps him motivated is the glory of his remarkable achievement.
He produced lilting music for director Pervez Malik's movie, ‘Meray hum safar', three of its popular numbers are listed here below:
‘Wada karo milo gey' (Mujeeb Alam)
‘Hai bay qarar tamanna' (Mujeeb Alam)
‘Tujh jaisa dagha baaz' (Runa Laila)
During the early 1970s, he took a job with the Pakistan television corporation and redoubled his efforts to compose national songs.
His musical masterpieces, ‘Sohni dharti' (singer: Shehnaz Begum, lyricist: Masroor Anwar) has become part and parcel of Pakistani culture.
Additionally, he devoted his time and energy to compose songs for children and immortalized each and every song:
‘Sung sung chaltay rehna'.
‘Dosti aisa nata'.
‘Shawa bhy shawa'.
Given here below are the names of some of Sohail Rana's bright students who attained name and fame for themselves and for their mentor, as well.
Riffat.
Late Nazia Hassan.
Zohaib Hassan.
Afshan Ahmed.
Nazneen.
Fatima Jafry.
Tehseen Javed.
Yusuf memon (Who achieved fame in mahafil-e-na'at and milad)
Sohail Rana is still boyish of expression at 63, and smile lines radiate from his eyes which are bright with inquisitiveness and beaming with pride. Though Sohail Rana has settled in Canada and does not take active participation in music today, the human spark, spirit, compassion, love and understanding which are the basic ingredients of his music and which have been imbibed in the hearts of a myriad of music lovers the world over, will never go away.

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**Ahmed Rushdi (We Remember You WE MISS YOU) **

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Sohaila Rana (Left) and Ahmed Rushdi (Right)

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Kabhi to tum yaad ayangi
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Chor chalay ham chor chalay yeh shehar tumhaara

One fine morning in 1954, people were listening a song from radio Pakistan Karachi’s station: The message of the song was unique, the voice was clear and forceful and the lyrics were “Bunder Road say Keamari”.

Little did the listeners realized that the boy who was singing then, is going to become the part and parcel of the golden era of Pakistan film industry for the next twenty nine years, and in the transaction he would leave two thousand assorted songs. In fact, he wanted to become an actor but ended up as a playback singer.
Ahmed Rushdi was born in 1938 in a middle class, respectable family in Hyderabad Deccan, India. He migrated to Pakistan soon after independence.
First he appeared in Radio Pakistan’s “Bacchon ki duniya” in the early 1950"s. The first step in his professional career was a song for Karachi’s film “Karnama” in 1954. He familiarized the public in Karachi with his attractive voice for many years.

In 1959, he was invited to Lahore and few songs were recorded for film “Raaz”. One of the songs “Chalak rahi hain mustiyan” a duet with Zubeida Khanum became very popular.

What ever the secret (Raaz) was it did opened the doors of the Lahore film industry for Rushdi. After this came "Saperun, in which his memorable song, “Chand sa mukhra, gora badan” (Nigar award) ranked him amongst the three great singers of those times.
In 1960, actor Kamal’s “Jokar” was released and a song by Rushdi “Shauq -e-awargi,aaj is sheher mein” was an instant success. Then came “Mehtab” in 1961 and it brought “Goal guppay wala” (Nigar award). Essentially, Rushdi’s goal guppa reached almost each and every home in Pakistan.

In fact, 1964 proved to be a milestone in Rushdi’s career: What happened was that an extremely sad song had to be recorded for the movie “Aanchal”, since Saleem Raza was the last word in tragic songs, so the music director Khalil Ahmed was expected to go ahead with the assignment.

However, Khalil had selected Rushdi. The producer/director could not afford to take any chances in the realm of the song, therefore, they insisted on Saleem Raza. Khalil, in turn, argued that he knows better whose voice is conducive for his particular music. To cut the long story short, Khalil was given the green signal to go ahead.

The future of two persons were at stake: Khalil’s, as well as Rushdi’s, for, if the song had not clicked, then both of them would have lost their credibility. Khalil, on his part, left no stone unturned regarding the composition of the song, as for Rushdi, he picked every fiber of pathos and pain which his head and heart could muster, which he dipped deeply in Khalil’s music. Result: “Kisi chaman mein raho tum”_ to this day, this song is relegated amongst the three greatest super hits of Rushdi’s twenty nine year singing career.

The 1960’s were the decade of challenges for Rushdi, since apart from Saleem Raza, he was in direct competition with highly talented singer like Mehdi Hasan (who is now considered as one of the greatest playback/ghazal singers of all time), S.B. John, Mujeeb Alam, Masood Rana, Bashir Ahmed and the list goes on and on.

However, with his God-gifted, well balanced, romantic-tragic renditions, he faced all challenges with courage and patience. All most all music directors in general and Sohail Rana in particular reaped Rushdi’s enormous talents for various situations in movies.

Rushdi had that amazing quality which made him feel quite snug in a variety of audiences: Here is a man, who is going to bring cheers for millions with “Mil gaye hum ko pyar ki ye manzil (Ik nagina) and tears with “Jab pyar mein” (Armaan”)

All film experts are unanimous that Rushdi’s voice best suited on the great Waheed Murad. In fact, Rushdi’s songs had a tremendous impact on the success of those movies.

I personally feel that no write -up on Rushdi’s art will ever be considered comprehensive without “Aye abr-e-karam” (Naseeb apna apna). His romantic voice which mixed with the rainy/stormy midnight and the ease with which he sang on top of the thunder storm and lightning shows the true caliber of Rushdi.

“Abr-e-karam” brings in my mind the sincere suggestion of Dr.Noor-ul-ain Aqeel , an avid admirer of Rushdi, who asserts that the word ‘dar’ is the theme of this song. The 1970’s brought new faces like Alamgir, Mohammed Ali Shayki, Asad Amanat, Ghulam Abbas, A.Nayyar etc. Thanks to Rushdi’s flexibility, he survived.

The 1980’s happened to be the period of tragedies for Rushdi. He had not been feeling well, the tide had turned against him. Intelligent enough, he soon realized that the time was running out for him.
Hence, at the first flickering of ill-health and before the final fretful moments he wanted to fulfil his ardent desire, which was to present his farewell distinctive gift to his myriad lovers: The greatest favor an artist can do to the society.

He unleashed all his faculties and came out in flying colors with “Aanay walo suno”(Not recorded for film). His last recorded song was a duet with Mehnaz for “Badalti rahein”.

He had suffered two heart attacks which left him very weak. Doctors had advised him to abstain from singing. On the night of April 11,1983, he suffered a third heart attack which took his life. He was 45.

The journey which Rushdi had started from Mehdi Zaheer’s “Bunder Road” in 1954 had ended at Azar Hafiz’s
“Aanay walo suno” in 1983.

The wistful voice of Rushdi, which had mesmerized millions for two generations, is silenced for ever.

Ahmed Rushdi is gone. As for his memory, it is like the blowing wind that will touch and shake the strings of our hearts to keep us awake for years to come

[Q2]

Naseem Begum: (The Tragedy Queen)

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Ay Rah e Haq kay shaheedon

In the 1950's, Naseem Begum took music lessons from a well-known songstress cum actress of the sub-continent, Mukhtar Begum, who also happened to be the wife of the famous stage writer, Agha Hashar Kaashmiri. Moreover, composer Sheheryaar introduced her to the Pakistan film industry.

Naseem Begum had a voice that on one hand had a profound melancholy and on the other hand was an amazing blend of torment and anguish:
It was her intense tragic voice that fills one's eyes with tears as one listens to these numbers Naseem Begum, of rich and poignant voice, had innumerable admirers who had an advanced music awareness of her songs, relative to her predecessors.
Her voice was well suited for loud songs that demanded a high pitched voice. High and low notes came to her with utmost ease :
It was the excellence of her singing that scored both with the composers and cine-goers from one end of Pakistan to the other.

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Mala: (Marvelous Mala Mesmerizes Millions)

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Tujh pay Qurbaan (loschayyyyyyyyy ) :bhangra:

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Sapnon main uri uri jaoon

Akele na jana
Hamay chore kar tum
Tumharay bina hum
Bhala kiya jeeyain gey

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.
In her thirty year singing career (1960- 90), she sang for numerous music directors.
Her first break in films came, when she sang a simple composition “Aaya ray dekho sawan aaya ray”(Sooraj Mukhi)
Shortly afterwards, she rendered her voice to a tragic composition “Dil daeta hai ro ro duhai kisi”(Ishq per zoar nahi: Nigar award)
The despondency and despair which were vividly caught by Mala were simply examplary. Mala always sang with the appropriate diction and inflexion. I would cite two instances:
The last days of Mala were fraught with lonliness and misery. She could not come to grips with the harsh realities of life. Over and above, she found herself in the midst of deep financial crisis. During those days, she cried a lot whenever she listened or sang her favorite lyrics “Ab thandi aahein bhar pagli ja, aur mohabbat kar pagli”.
Eventually, her immense pain and suffering came to a halt on March 6,1990, when she said farewell to the world.

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Masood Rana: (Music is my life)

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Teray Bina yoon Gharian beetin

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Tum hi ho mehboob meray

One of his greatest accomplishments was, indeed, the introduction of Masood Rana to the Pakistani music. Masood Rana began his singing career in 1962.
With his charismatic voice and God-gifted talents, he rapidly climbed the rungs of the ladder and within no time, he was competing with the remarkable singers of his period. Masood did justice to all poets in general, and to josh Malihabadi, in particular.

National songs written by Josh Malihabadi and recorded in Masood's voice are an asset for the Pakistanis:' Dil ko jab bay kali nahi hoti, zindigi, zindigi nahi hoti' (poet: Josh Malihabadi)
'Aye watan hum hain teri shama kay perwano main' (film: 'Aag ka darya:1966, poet: Josh Malihabadi, music: Ghulam Nabi, Abdul Lateef)

Maestro Masood had that extremely rare ability to prolong a lyric and then, bringing the last word of that lyric to an abrupt halt, the last word of the lyric was uttered in less then a second.
Film: 'Hamrahi' was a milestone in Masood's singing career. All songs of 'Hamrahi' are relegated as the 'Best of Masood Rana'.
The thirst for Masood Rana's songs never abates.

[Q2]

*Mujeeb Alam: (Music First) *

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Vichree meet mila de

Mujeeb Alam lived in the long shadow of highly successful Pakistani singers in the mid-sixties.However, soon he made is own distinct way into the world of music.
Essentially he was a very humorous person He loved to exchange jokes and made friends easily. Further, he had that rare ability to be with some one in their best or worst moments. Additionally, he had a certain hale and heartiness, which was the cornerstone of his personality.
The song which brought over night fame for him was 'wo meray samnay tasweer banay baithay hain (film: Chakori:1967, director: Ehtesham, composer: Robin Ghosh, Mujeeb won the Nigar Award for this song)
Likewise, all the songs of film 'Shama aur perwana', which were recorded in Mujeeb's resonant voice proved to be super-hits.

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**
Runa Laila: (A Great Singer of the Yesteryears)**

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Taiz howi hay dil ki dharkan jaanay kiyoon

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Sayyan ji ka nainon say

A look back at the early sixties offers a glimpse of the golden age of the Pakistan film music. One of the most prodigious and eminent discovery of those days which the Pakistanis had yet seen was the charming Runa Laila.
I do concur with the popular notion of those music experts, who had predicted in the initial stage of her career that here is a girl (Runa was in her early teens then) who has obviously absorbed something of the fervor radiating from the greatest music directors of the past.
Each and every wish of the highly cherished composers came true.
Moreover, since she was the best bet in the country.
For more than a decade, Runa ruled the music world like a princess. She received the fair share of both songs and ghazals, which eventually paid enormous dividends, primarily, because she did her utmost to meet or exceed the higher standards of her times.
Runa’s enchanting voice was immaculate for ghazal singing, which, on the one hand, promised further fame for her, and on the other, immortalized those gorgeous ghazals. A case in point is Ubaidullah Aleem’s magnificent "Aziz itna he rakho"
Her adorers have always been, are and hopefully will be ,all praise for her in mirth and misery, in rhythm and rhapsody, for those of us who have seen those good old times have vivid memories of the "Runa –craze" when her dress, her hair-style, her demeanor, her every move were quickly copied by her female fans.

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Habib Wali Mohammad: (Rare as a century flower)

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aaj jaanay ki zid na karo

Habib Wali Mohammad was born in 1921, in Rangoon, to a conservative memon family.He migrated to Bombay at a young age. He was very fond of listening to Qawwali since his childhood. Innocent as he was, he thought that Qawwali is what the music is all about.
A little later, he started taking interest in classical music in Bombay. He took lessons in classical music from Ustaad Fayyaz khan's nephew, Latafath Husain. However, due to academic pursuits, his interest in music was pushed aside. With the passage of time, he was more inclined towards ghazal singing. He participated in college musical functions and came to be known as the 'Taan sain' in his college.
As soon as he finished his college education, his parents sent him to America and he completed his MBA degree in the U.S.A. He returned to Bombay in the mid forties, and took part in a music competition, in which 1200 singers had participated. Habib Wali Mohammad had sung Bahadur Shah Zafar's immortal ghazal:
'Lagta nahi hai jee mera, ujray dayar mein' and a panel of judges awarded him the first prize. Encouraged by this honor, at a young age, he took more interest in ghazal singing. During his stay in America, he had been out of touch with music. Hence, he felt lonely and missed his earlier college functions at Bombay. In his own words: He was not happy in 'Ujray dayar mein' the same ghazal which had won him an award of a life time. He put a lot of effort and came out with a gramophone record of ghazals in his voice.
In those days, a prominent Indian actress, Meena Kumari, was affiliated with Radio Ceylon, she happened to listen to those ghazals and liked them so much, that she made it a point to broadcast them daily from Radio Ceylon.
Thousands of listeners heard those ghazals on radio and rushed to the music stores to buy the gramophone records: Habib Wali Mohammad became a celebrity.
After partition, he migrated to Pakistan and sang hundreds of ghazals for the gramophone companies.(including a geeth written by Perveen Shakir: 'Gori karath singhar') In eighties, he recorded ghazals in audio cassettes which were composed by renowned music director Nisar Bazmi. Also, he received offers to record play back songs for the Pakistan film industry.
First and foremost, he is a prominent businessman.(Shalimar silk mills is owned by Tabani group), however, at his leisure, he did record quite a few numbers for movies. He never made music his profession. Music has always been a hobby for him. Every now and then, he take some time off for Radio, television, film or private concerts. Once in a while, he sings when he is alone (don't ask in what sort of mood!) The number of his admirers increase every day, as well as his interest in music. He has attained success in all musical gatherings and concerts.
Apart from this, he also received the prestigious nigar award. This, too, came a little late, and, according to Radio Pakistan's announcer, Azim Sarwar, when the nigar award came in the hands of Habib Wali Mohammad, this is what he said: 'Dair lagi Aanay mein tum ko'
He sang a ghazal written by Ustaad Qamar Jalalavi which was an instant super hit: 'Kab mera nasheman ahelay chaman'. Habib Wali Mohammad's elder brother, Ashraf Ali Tabani, has served as the governor of Sind, for quite some time.

[Q2]

Nusrat: (The Genius Lives On)

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nusrat and party--mast qalandar

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Nusrat and party---aankhian udeek dia

Dum mustt mustt, dum mustt
dekho phirtay hain dum, dum Ali, Ali
dum mustt Qalandar mustt, mustt
sakhi lal Qalandar mustt, mustt
Imagine the awesome influence of one of the greatest Qawwal about whom two thousand plus articles have been written in the past three years alone the world over.
Besides, more than one thousand observations are online; a lot of them have been penned by the western writers who do not understand a word of Urdu.
In 1979, at the height of his fame, Nusrat had accepted an invitation to perform at the nuptials of Rishi, son of legendary actor Raj Kapoor, which was attended by the big-wigs of the Indian film industry.Nusrat achieved recognition in the United States basically because of his work with Peter Gabriel and Eddie Vedder.
Nusrat composed music for many foreign movies like Martin Scorcese's 'Last temptation of Christ', Oliver Stone's 'Natural Born Killers', Tim Robbin's 'Dead Man Walking', Hindi film 'Bandit Queen' etc.
Nusrat collaborated with British Raver 'Massive Attack'.
Nusrat had offered Joan Osborne to visit Pakistan to acquire the first hand information on eastern music.
Nusrat had plans to record an experimental album with Luciano Pavarotti. However, due to Nusrat's deteriorating health the plans could not be materialized.
Nusrat belonged to a family of Qawwals and recorded 120 albums in his thirty year career (1967-1997).
Besides, he had received life-time achievement awards in France, Japan and Pakistan.
A Grammy nomination was announced for Nusrat in 1997 in the traditional folk category for his album 'Intoxicated spirit'.
Nusrat had signed to American Recordings in the United States in 1996, which was soon followed by his first North American tour, in which he performed to celebrity-packed shows where ever he went.
Nusrat and Peter Gabriel worked together at the VH1 Honors concert, the song was 'In your eyes'
Nusrat's Qawwalis had mesmerized Peter Gabriel so much so that the latter had invited him to work with 'WOMAD' on various assignments, including work on an album, numerous festival appearances and releases on the Virgin/Real world records label, recorded in England.
The first one, 'Shahenshah' was appropriately named after Nusrat's Pakistani title 'ShahenShan-e- Qawwali'.
'Dum mustt Qalandar mustt' was Nusrat's and experimental composer Michael Brook's joint venture in which Nusrat endeavored to present a blend of east and west.
Another successive attempt of the title track by 'Massive Attack' resulted in a grand U.K. club hit.

From 1988 onwards, Peter Gabriel's real world label brought Nusrat in the for-front of international audience.
'Dust to Gold' which is comprised of the following four master-piece Qawwalis and which were recorded when Nusrat's art was at its zenith:
'Khwaja tum he ho'
'Data teira darbar'
'Koi hai na hoga'
'Noor-e-Khuda hai husn-e-sarapa Rasool'
Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan was born on July 12,1948 in Lyallpur, modern Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan to a renowned Qawwal family. Nusrat took keen interest in Qawwali since his childhood.
His father, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan and his uncle ,Mubarak Ali Khan were prominent Qawwals of their times.
In 1971, 23 year old Nusrat came in the lime-light, when he had a vision that he was performing at the shrine of the reputable muslim scholar, Hazrat Khwaja Moin-uddin Chishti, in Ajmer, India.
Nusrat's initial recording were done in Pakistan in 1973 and many EMI (Pakistan) albums came out in the voice of Nusrat and his uncle, Mubarak.
In the next two decades (1973-93) more than 50 albums were released, which were stamped with Nusrat's name on innumerable Pakistani, British, American, European and Japanese labels.
Nusrat's major breakthrough came with the Real World label which took his popularity to Europe and America.
I have yet to see a fan of Nusrat who is not moved by these lyrics:
'Tera naam loon zaban say
teiray Aagay sar jhuka doon
mera ishq keh raha hai
main tujhay Khuda bana doon'
Nusrat died on Saturday August 16, 1997 due to a cardiac arrest at a London hospital at the age of 49.
A befitting tribute to Nusrat by late Jeff Buckley:
'Part Buddha, part demon, part mad angel... his voice is velvet fire, simply incomparable'.
There had been Qawwals before Nusrat and there are Qawwals after him, too, but there will never be another genius quite like Nusrat.

[Q2]

Nayyara Noor

[thumb=H]Nayyara-Noor1875_8709766.JPG[/thumb]

1875.0.3409224
Iss parcham kay saayay talay ham aik hain

1906.Ae Jazba-e-Dil
Ay Jazba e dil gar

Nayyara became a singer by chance. What happened was that in the early seventies, she was doing a course with a diploma granted at completion in textile designing from the national college of arts. At that time colleges and universities regularly held all Pakistan contests in various subjects, in which she often participated and won prizes, as well. A little later, she introduced herself to the relevant people in the Pakistan television. In those days, Rafiq Waraij had been affiliated with an entertainment program. He had heard about Nayyara's talents and decided to give her an opportunity to sing. Besides, in the mid-seventies, Nayyara had recorded a lot of geeth and ghazals for Arshad Mehmud for Pakistan television's 'such gup' and 'taal matol'. Moreover, during those days, she was fond of listening to Begum Akhtar's (Nayyara is inspired by Begum Akhtar) ghazals in old fashioned r m p gramophone record players (audio cassette players were not common then) which further enhanced her aptitude in music. Further, in college days, she was accustomed to singing ghazals, which had been originally recorded in Begum Akhtar's voice and Nayyara gained a lot of popularity. In Nayyara's own words: 'Ghazal leaves a profound impact on the listener. The effect is rapid and lasting'.
Let us look at some all time great ghazals recorded in her voice:
'Rang barsaat nay bharay kuchh tou' (poet: Nasir Kazmi: Nayyara's favorite poet)
'Phir sawan ruth ki pawan chali' (poet: Nasir kazmi)
'Aye ishq hamay barbaad na kar': (Nazm, poet: Akhtar Shirani, composer: Khalil Ahmed)
During her long singing career, she has sung ghazals, geeth, nazm and national songs. Sober and shy, she has always maintained her high singing standards from the beginning. She has also recorded hundreds of songs for the Pakistani films.
From romantic scores like:
'Tera saya jahan bhi ho sajna (film: 'Gharana', lyrics: Kaleem Usmani)
'Too he bata,pagli pawan (film: 'Phool meray gulshan ka')
'Itna bhi na chaho mujhay' (film: 'Parda na uthao')
'Roothay ho tum, tum ko kaisay mana oon piya' (film: 'Aa'ena', lyrics: Kaleem Usmani, music: Robin Ghosh)
to tragic numbers like:
'Aaj gham hai tou kiya'(film:'Mastana')
'Toot gaya sapna'(film:'Subha ka tara')
Nayyara's versatile voice touches the hearts of her myriad of fans in Pakistan and across the borders alike. For her, fame is the word. Some of her super hit songs are listed here below:
'Boal ri gurya boal' (film: 'Aas', lyrics: Masroor Anwar)
'Ik ajnabi chehray'(film:'Baghi haseena')
'Mera pyar tumhe ho'(film: 'Farz aur mamta)
'Mausum tou diwana hai'(film: 'Dou saathi')
'Tera pyar bun kay Aaye' (film: 'Bhool')
Zara meri nabz deikh kar'(film: 'Ajnabi')
'Phool bun ja-oon gee' (film: 'Qismath')
'Kuchh loag mohabbat ka sila' (film: 'Gumrah')
Nayyara's innumerable admirers look forward to listening to her mellifluous voice for many years.
Nayyara: Keep on smiling!

[Q2]

*Nazia Hassan: (A Tribute to Her) *

[thumb=H]Nazia-Hasan1875_8709766.JPG[/thumb]
[thumb=H]Nazia-Hasan21875_8709766.JPG[/thumb]

6308.Hindi - Nazia Hassan - Aap Jaisa Koi (remix)
Aap jaisa koi

87.Nazia - Thullay
Tali day Thallay

The news of the death of pop star Nazia Hassan on Sunday, August 13, 2000, spread like wildfire. Within seconds, the internet, newspapers and the rest of the news media around the globe were flashing the news of her final journey.
Amidst the sobs and tears, almost every one had one thing in mind, i.e., "God Almighty had showered Nazia with all the bounties, except length of age.
One could easily rank her as the first and foremost pop singer of Asia, generally and the Indo-pak subcontinent in particular. Born in a well to do, highly enlightened family in 1965, she had shown an aptitude for music from her earlier days.
As a young child, she frequently appeared in Pakistan television's music program for children, called "Sang Sang". Sohail Rana was the lead person of that show. Her father Baseer and her mother Muneeza took great interest in the upbringing and education of Nazia and her younger brother, Zohaib. Both of these gifted kids were admitted to school in London, where they received education as well as lessons in music.
In 1978, in England, thirteen year old Nazia recorded a song "Aap jaisa koi meri zindigi mein Aaye, tou baath bun jaaye" (film: Qurbani, music:Biddu, lyrics: Indeevar, picturised on Zeenat Aman). "Aap jaisa koi" is considered the first pop song of the Indo-Pak Subcontinent, the greatest achievement of Nazia, hence, a milestone in her music career.
In 1979, both Nazia and Zohaib came out with their first music album "Disco Deewanay", which happened to be a record breaking collection of pop songs.

She became the heart-throb of teenagers with songs like:

Komal Palkain Bojhal
Boom Boom
Dum Dum, Dee Dee
Aaona Pyar Karain, and many more.
Nazia was married to an enterpreneur, Ishtiaq Beig, in 1995, with whom she had a son, Areez, in 1997. She had been battling against cancer since 1996 and eventually succumed to it on Sunday morning. She was only 35 years old.
An admirer of Nazia had confided in me the other day: "How could this happen to such a decent girl, with a sweet voice, who had brought happiness to the lives of millions of music lovers around the world. OH God, why Nazia"?
"Nazia had, indeed, walked all the steps, which had been ordained for her by an authority, which is greater than any human agency"
I answered calmly.

[Q2]

Munni Begum: (A Symbol of Simplicity)

[thumb=H]Munni-Begam1875_8709766.JPG[/thumb]

16928.Meri Daastaane

3910.D-FM-Lazat-e-Gham Badha Dijeye

Hum khud tarashtay hain manazil kay raho sung
Hum wo nahin hain jin ko zamana bana gaya

The above mentioned lyrics (sheir) holds true in the case of Munni Begum.

Let us read the real life story of this ghazal singer as narrated by her:

"There are artists who achieve great name and fame, when they are at the pinnacle of their career. As far as I am concerned, all I have been endeavoring to do is just to be like an artist and that is it. An artist of high repute and the height of artistry are a far-fetched idea for me. I had been interested in music and singing since my childhood.
Besides, I was the youngest child in my family, hence, apart from being the center of attraction for my parents, I received the maximum love and attention from both my father and mother. Later, I took some music lessons from the famous singer, Khwaja Ghulam Mustafa Warsi. Moreover, I spent three years in the college of music.After a while, I settled down in Karachi and since then I have been striving to get recognition as an artist.
I have been through extremely difficult times and I have faced tremendous However, I was never discouraged. Further, by the time I had started my practical life, the entire responsibility of my family had fallen on my shoulders. hardships. All I could do was to take one day at a time.
Slowly, but surely, bad times passed over. I feel that what ever I have attained in my life has been made possible because of my father. I consider myself one of the most fortunate daughters in this world. Each and every step that I took to reach my destination was accompanied with the guidance, prayer and co-operation from my dedicated father.
Furthermore, I also believe that because of his unconditional love and devotion, I was able to perform in functions. Gradually, I recorded ghazals for the radio and television musical programs. Soon my audio and video cassettes were penetrating the musical industry in Pakistan and then, all over the world.

Today, I stand in front of you. I have been singing ghazals for over two decades. Music lovers are acquainted by the fact that I have chosen an entirely different style of singing, from the beginning. Rather, I have simplified my presentation for the sake of the general public.

Take, for instance, these ghazals: "Hua zamana keh us nay hum ko na bhool kar bhi salam bheija"

"Mareez-e-mohabbat unhe ka fasana" (poet: ustaad Qamar Jalalavi)

This is one of those ghazals which took my name the world over. I had recorded the following ghazal for Pakistan television's music program "Andaaz apna apna":

"Dil ko haal-e-qaraar mein dekha"

Basically, artists feel very pleased to be feted. I wish some one comes to me to say that he likes the way I sing, or that I am a great singer. Once I had been to Dubai for a concert. When I took a cab from the airport, the cab-driver was playing an audio cassette of my ghazals. Out of curiosity, I inquired whether he knows the name of the singer. "Munni Begum, she is a renowned singer, do you like her ghazals," he replied. I remained silent.

[Baba_G]

excellent thread Q2 :k:

[Q2]

Thank you BabaG, just in love our beloved Watan…credit to pakistanmusic !

Due to lack of time I could not complete it in time the way I wanted to, there are so many artists still left, few names are as follows:

Fareeda Khanam
Ustad Amanat Ali Khan
Ghulam Alai
Ghulam Abbas
Akhlaq Ahmed
Naheed Akhter
Mehnaz
Shehnaz Begam
Patahanay Khan
Allan Faqeer
Alamgir
Muhammad Ali Shehki
Afshan
Fatima Jafri

and few more, and I will add them later if possible. Thank you the whole Team.

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[funguy]

Great work!. This thread will be a source of information on Pakistani Music for years to come...

I am glad you included Nazia Hasan since she is the true pioneer of Pop in Pakistan. It was her and Zoaib who paved the way for hundreds of the present day bands in Pakistan.

Thank you Q2.

[system]

Nice stuffff… :k:

[5Abi]

very impressive Q2. This will serve as reference now :k: