Noor Jehan

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Noor Jahan
Noorjahan1.jpg
Noor Jahan in Anmol Ghadi
Background information
Native name
??? ????
Birth name
Allah Rakhi Wasai
Born
21 September 1926
Kasur, Punjab, British India
Died
23 December 2000 (aged 74)
Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan
Genres Film music, Ghazal, Classical music, Punjabi, Qawwali
Occupation(s) film director, film actress, singer, music composer
Years active
1930 1996
Noor Jahan[1][2] or Noor Jehan[3] was the adopted stage name for Allah Rakhi Was
ai (21 September 1926 23 December 2000), a singer and actress in India and Pakis
tan. Her career spanned seven decades. She was renowned as one of the greatest a
nd most influential singers of her time in South Asia and was given the honorifi
c title of Malika-e-Tarannum (Urdu: ???? ?????, the queen of melody).[2] in Paki
stan.
Born into a Punjabi family of musicians, Wasai was pushed by her parents to foll
ow in their musical footsteps and become a singer but she was more interested in
acting in films. She recorded about 10,000 songs in various languages of India
and Pakistan including Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and Sindhi languages.[4] Along with
Ahmed Rushdi, she holds the highest record of film songs in the history of Pakis
tani cinema. She is also considered to be the first female Pakistani film direct
or.
Jahan was awarded the Pakistan President's Award in 1965 for her acting and sing
ing capabilities.
Contents [hide]
1 Early life
2 Career
3 Acting career in Pakistan
4 As a playback singer
5 Patriotic songs
6 Personal life
7 Last years and death
8 Filmography
9 References
10 External links
Early life[edit]
Noor Jahan was born into a Muslim family in Kasur, Punjab, British India[5] and
was one of the eleven children of professional musicians Madad Ali and Fateh Bib
i.[4][6]
Career[edit]
Wasai began to sing at the age of five or six years old and showed a keen intere
st in a range of styles, including traditional folk and popular theatre. Realisi
ng her potential for singing, her mother sent her to receive early training in c
lassical singing under Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. He instructed her in the trad
itions of the Patiala Gharana of Hindustani classical music and the classical fo
rms of thumri, dhrupad, and khyal.[7]
At the age of nine, Wasai drew the attention of Punjabi musician Ghulam Ahmed Ch
ishti,[8] who would later introduce her to stage in Lahore. He composed some gha

zals, naats and folk songs for her to perform, although she was more keen in bre
aking into acting or playback singing. Once her vocational training finished, Wa
sai pursued a career in singing alongside her sisters in Lahore and would usuall
y take part in the live song and dance performances prior to screenings of films
in cinemas.[citation needed]
Theatre owner Diwan Sardari Lal took the small girl to Calcutta in early 1930s a
nd the entire family moved to Calcutta in hopes of developing the movie careers
of Allah Rakhi and her older sisters, Eiden Bai and Haider Bandi. Mukhtar Begum
encouraged the sisters to join film companies and recommended them to various pr
oducers. She also recommended them to her husband, Agha Hashar Kashmiri, who own
ed a maidan theatre (a tented theatre to accommodate large audiences). It was he
re that Wasai received the stage name Baby Noor Jahan. Her older sisters were of
fered jobs with one of the Seth Sukh Karnani companies, Indira Movietone and the
y went on to be known as the Punjab Mail.[4]
In 1935, K.D. Mehra directed Punjabi movie Pind di Kuri in which Jahan acted alo
ng with her sisters and sang the Punjabi song Langh aja patan jhanaaN da O yaar
which became her earliest hit. She next acted in a film called Missar Ka Sitara
(1936) by the same company and sang in it for music composer, Damodar Sharma. Ba
by Noor Jahan also played the child role of Heer in the film Heer-Sayyal (1937).
One of her popular songs from that period Shala jawaniyan maney is from Dalsukh
Pancholi s Punjabi film Gul Bakawli (1937). All these Punjabi movies were made in
Calcutta. After a few years in Calcutta, Noor Jahan returned to Lahore in 1938.
In 1939, Ghulam Haider composed songs for Jahan which led to her early populari
ty.
In 1942, she played the main lead opposite Pran in Khandaan. It was her first ro
le as an adult, and the film was a major success. Khandaan's success saw her shi
fting to Bombay, with director Syed Shaukat Hussain Rizvi. She shared melodies w
ith Shanta Apte in Duhai (1943). It was in this film that Noor Jahan lent her vo
ice for the second time, to another actress named Husn Bano. She married Rizvi l
ater the same year.[9]
Jahan's last film in India was Mirza Sahibaan (1947) which starred Prithviraj Ka
poor's brother Trilok Kapoor. Noor Jahan sang 127 songs in Indian films and the
number of talking films she made from 1932 to 1947 was 69. The number of silent
movies was 12. Fifty-five of her films were made in Bombay, eight in Calcutta, f
ive in Lahore, and one in Rangoon, Burma.[citation needed]
Acting career in Pakistan[edit]
After the creation of Pakistan in 1947, Rizvi and Jahan decided to move to Pakis
tan. They left Bombay and settled in Karachi with their family.
Three years after settling in Pakistan, Noor Jahan starred in her first film in
Pakistan, Chan wey (1951), opposite Santosh Kumar, which was also her first Punj
abi film as a heroine and playback singer. Shaukat and Noor Jahan directed this
film together making Noor Jahan Pakistan's first female director. Noor Jahan's s
econd film in Pakistan was Dopatta (1952) which was Produced by Aslam Lodhi, Dir
ected by S Fazli and assisted by A H Rana as Production Manager. Dopatta turned
out to be an even bigger success than Chan wey (1951).
From 1953 to 1954, Jahan and Rizvi were divorced due to personal differences. Sh
e kept custody of the three children from their marriage. News of several affair
s followed, including one with cricketer, Nazar Mohammad. In 1959, she married a
nother actor, Ejaz Durrani, nine years her junior.[9]
Durrani pressured her to give up acting,[9] and her penultimate film as an actre
ss/singer was Mirza Ghalib (1961). This contributed to the strengthening of her
iconic stature. She gained another audience for herself. Her rendition of Faiz A

hmed Faiz's Mujh se pehli si mohabbat mere mehboob na maang is a unique example
of tarranum, reciting poetry as a song. Noor Jahan last acted in Baaji in 1963,
though not in a leading role.
Noor Jahan bade farewell to acting in 1963 after a career of 33 years (1930 to 1
963). The pressure of being a mother of six children and the demands of being a
wife to another actor forced her to give up her career. Noor Jahan made 14 films
in Pakistan, ten in Urdu, four in Punjabi.
As a playback singer[edit]
After quitting acting she took up playback singing. She made her debut only as a
playback singer in 1960 with the film Salma. Her first initial playback for a P
akistani film was for 1951 film 'Chann Way', for which she was the film director
herself ![10] She received many awards, including the Pride of Performance in 1
965. She sang a large number of duets with Ahmed Rushdi, Mehdi Hassan, Masood Ra
na, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mujeeb Aalam.
She had a great understanding and friendship with many great singers of Asia, fo
r example with Alam Lohar and many more singers also.Noor Jehan made great effor
ts to attend 'Mehfils' (live concerts)of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan,Ustad Fateh Ali
Khan,Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Roshanara Begum.Lata Mangeshkar commented o
n Noor Jehan's vocal range that Noor Jehan could sing as low and as high as she
wanted and that the quality of her voice always remained the same. Singing was,f
or Noor Jehan,not effortless but an emotionally and physically draining exercise
.[11] In the 1990s, Jahan also sang for then dbutante actresses Neeli and Reema.
For this very reason, Sabiha Khanum affectionately called her Sadabahar (evergre
en). Her popularity was further boosted with her patriotic songs during the 1965
war between Pakistan and India.
Jahan visited India in 1982 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Indian talkie
movies, where she met Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in New Delhi and was
received by Dilip Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar in Bombay. Here is a direct quote fr
om a website in India called 'Women On Record' about Noor Jehan's singing talent
,"Noor Jehan injected a degree of passion into her singing unmatched by anyone e
lse. But she left for Pakistan".[12]
Patriotic songs[edit]
During the 1965 India-Pakistan war. Noor Jahan sang many Pakistani patriotic son
gs enthusiastically, which became tremendously popular. Some of these songs are
listed below:
Ae watan kay sajeelay jawano, Mere naghmay tumharay leeyay hain
Aeh putr hataan tay nahin wikday, Tu lubni ain wich bazar kuray Written by famou
s Pakistani poet Ghulam Mustafa Tabassum
Mereya dhol sipahia, Tenun Rub dyaan rakhhan
O mahi chhail chhabilah, Haey neen kernail neen jarnail neen
Yeh hawaoun kay musafir, Yeh samandaroun kay rahi, Meray sir bakaf mujahid, Mera
y suf shikan sipahe
Rung laey ga shaheedoun ka lahoo, Yeh lahoo surkhee hay aazadi kay afsanay ki
Mera sohnan shehr Qasoor neen, Hoya dunya wich mashhoor neen
Besides this, she also sang famous patriotic song Roshan meri aankhon mein (Writ
ten by Poet Late Manzoor Ahmar who died in poverty).The song was for Pakistan TV
sung in the 1990s.
Personal life[edit]
Jahan married Shaukat Hussain Rizvi in 1942, the marriage ended in 1953 with div
orce; the couple had three children, including singer Zil-e-Huma. She married Ej
az Durrani in 1959. The second marriage also produced three children but also en
ded in divorce in 1979.

Last years and death[edit]

Gravestone of Madam Noor Jehan,Gizri Graveyard near the Saudi Consulate in Karac
hi
Jahan suffered from chest pains in 1986 on a tour of North America and was diagn
osed with angina pectoris after which she underwent a surgery to install a pacem
aker. In 2000, Jahan was hospitalised in Karachi and suffered a heart attack. On
23 December 2000, Jahan died as a result of heart failure. Her funeral took pla
ce at Jamia Masjid Sultan, Karachi and she was buried at the Gizri Graveyard nea
r the Saudi Consulate in Karachi.
Filmography[edit]
Year
Film
1935
Sheela
1939
Gul Bakavli
Imandaar
Pyam-e-Haq
1940
Sajani
Yamla Jat
1941
Chaudhry
Red Signal
Umeed
Susral
1942
Chandani
Dheeraj
Faryad
Khandan
1943
Nadaan
Duhai
Naukar
1944
Lal Haveli
Dost
1945
Zeenat
Gaon ki Gori
Badi Maa
Bhai Jaan
1946
Anmol Ghadi
Dil
Humjoli
Sofia
Jadoogar
Maharana Pratab
1947
Mirza Sahibaan
Jugnu
Abida
Mirabai
1951
Chanwey
1952
Dopatta
1953
Gulnar
Anarkali
1955
Patey Khan
1956
Lakt-e-Jigar
Intezar
1959
Nooran
1958
Choomantar
Anarkali
1959
Neend
Pardaisan
Koel
1961
Mirza Ghalib

References[edit]
Jump up ^ Firoze Rangoonwalla, Indian Filmography, publisher: J. Udeshi, Bombay,
August 1970, passim.
^ Jump up to: a b Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, Encyclopaedia of Indian
Cinema, British Film Institute, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2002, pp. 1
66.
Jump up ^ The film poster, Wikipedia article on 1947 Hindi film Jugnu.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Noor Jahan". Archived from the original on 4 June 2008. Ret
rieved 29 May 2008.
Jump up ^ Noor Jahan Biography
AOL Music
Jump up ^ http://www.hamaraforums.com/index.php?showtopic=33048
Jump up ^ "Noor Jahan Biography". Retrieved 29 May 2008.
Jump up ^ "G.A. Chishti". Retrieved 30 May 2008.
^ Jump up to: a b c "Noor Jahan". Retrieved 31 May 2012.
Jump up ^ 9
Jump up ^ http://www.thefridaytimes.com/beta3/tft/article.php?issue=20121102&pag
e=24
Jump up ^ 11
The Friday Times Weekly-Lahore, Pakistan. 'Madam Ji' on Noor Jehan Nov.2,2012
External links[edit]
Noor Jahan at the Internet Movie Database
Rich tributes paid to Noor Jahan DAWN.com
Noor Jahan's immortal melodies DAWN.com
The unforgettable queen
DAWN.com
The Melody Queen lives on DAWN.com
[show] v t e
Pride of Performance for Arts
[show] v t e
Nigar Award for Best Female Playback Singer
[show] v t e
Special Awards from Nigar Awards
Authority control
VIAF: 80899551 GND: 129060925 MusicBrainz: d423ecdc-242d-4fbb-aa04-eb69337e75e7
Categories: 1926 births2000 deathsPeople of British India20th-century Pakistani
actressesPeople from Kasur DistrictPakistani film actressesPakistani ghazal sing
ersPunjabi-language singersPakistani film singersPakistani female singersPakista
ni film directorsRecipients of the Pride of PerformanceRecipients of Tamgha-e-Im
tiazNigar Award winnersPunjabi peopleActresses in Hindi cinema20th-century singe
rsPakistani expatriate musicians in India
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