Noor Jehan

Noor JehanTemplate:Efn (21 September 1920Template:Snd23 December 2000<ref>https://minutemirror.com.pk/remembering-legendary-madam-noor-jehan-on-her-97th-birthday/Template:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>) was a Pakistani playback singer and actress who worked in both British India and later in Pakistan's cinema. Her career lasted over six decades, during which she recorded 10,000 songs. Jehan had proficiency in Hindustani classical music, as well as in other genres such as Punjabi and Sindhi. She made her directorial debut with the film Chann Wey in 1951, becoming the first female film director in Pakistan. She is recognized for her contributions to music in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in Pakistan. She was given the title of Malika-e-Tarannum ("Queen of Melody") in Pakistan.<ref name="b501">Template:Cite web</ref>

Along with Ahmed Rushdi, she holds the record for having given voice to the largest number of film songs in the history of Pakistani cinema. She recorded about 10,000 songs in various languages, including Urdu, Punjabi, and Sindhi.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> She sang a total of 2,422 songs in 1,148 Pakistani films during a career that lasted more than half a century.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She is also considered to be the first female Pakistani film director.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Early life

Noor Jehan was born as Allah Wasai on 21 September 1920 into a Punjabi Muslim family in Kot Murad Khan, near Kasur, Punjab, British India.<ref name="Noor Jehan's Biography">Template:Cite web</ref> She was one of eight children of Imdad Ali and Fateh Bibi.<ref name="CITEREFNoor1">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

From an early age, she displayed a keen interest in music and began singing at the age of six. Her father recognized her talent and arranged for her to receive formal training in classical music. She studied under Ustad Ghulam Mohammad and later with Kajjanbai, focusing on the Patiala Gharana style of Hindustani classical music, including forms like thumri, dhrupad, and khyal.<ref name="lastfm">Template:Cite web</ref>

By age nine, she had attracted the attention of Punjabi musician Ghulam Ahmed Chishti, who composed early pieces for her and introduced her to stage performances in Lahore. Her family later moved to Calcutta in the early 1930s in hopes of establishing careers in the performing arts for her and her elder sisters, Eiden Bai and Haider Bandi. Theatre owner Diwan Sardari Lal supported their relocation, and Noor Jehan continued her training while participating in musical theatre. The acclaimed singer Mukhtar Begum, wife of playwright Agha Hashar Kashmiri, mentored the young performer and helped her enter the film industry. It was during this time that she adopted the stage name Baby Noor Jehan.

Career

File:Yamla Jatt (1940 film).jpg

Poster of Yamla Jatt (1940) Noor Jehan, M. Ismail, Pran

Career in British India

File:Humjoli 1946.jpg

Noor Jehan in 1946 film Humjoli

Noor Jehan began to sing at the age of six and showed a keen interest in a range of styles, including traditional folk and popular theatre.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref name=DawnNews/><ref name=MillenniumPost/> Realising her potential for singing, her father sent her to receive early training in classical singing under Ustad Ghulam Mohammad and Kajjanbai.<ref>Template:Citation</ref><ref name=DawnNews/><ref name=MillenniumPost/> She started her training at age 11 in Calcutta, where instructors instructed her in the traditions of the Patiala Gharana of Hindustani classical music and the classical forms of thumri, dhrupad, and khyal.<ref name=DawnNews>Template:Citation</ref><ref name=MillenniumPost>Template:Citation</ref>

At the age of nine, Noor Jehan drew the attention of Punjabi musician Ghulam Ahmed Chishti, who would later introduce her to the stage in Lahore.<ref name=DawnNews/> He composed some ghazals, na`ats, and folk songs for her to perform, although she was keener on breaking into acting or playback singing.<ref name=DawnNews/> Once her vocational training finished, Jehan pursued a career in singing alongside her sister in Lahore, and would usually take part in the live song and dance performances prior to screenings of films in cinemas.<ref name="Noor Jehan's Biography"/>

Theatre owner Diwan Sardari Lal took the small girl to Calcutta in the early 1930s, and the entire family moved to Calcutta in hopes of developing the movie careers of Allah Wasai and her older sisters, Eiden Bai and Haider Bandi.<ref name=DawnNews/> Mukhtar Begum (not to be confused with actress Sabiha Khanum) encouraged the sisters to join film companies and recommended them to various producers.<ref name=DawnNews/> She also recommended them to her husband, Agha Hashar Kashmiri, who owned a maidan theatre (a tented theatre to accommodate large audiences).<ref name=DawnNews/> It was here that Wasai received the stage name, Baby Noor Jehan.<ref name=DawnNews/> Her older sisters were offered jobs with one of the Seth Sukh Karnani companies, Indira Movietone, and they went on to be known as the Punjab Mail.<ref name="CITEREFNoor1"/>

In 1935, K.D. Mehra directed the Punjabi movie Pind di Kuri, in which Noor Jehan acted along with her sisters and sang the Punjabi song "Langh aja patan chanaan da o yaar," which became her earliest hit.<ref name=DawnNews/> She then acted in a film called Missar Ka Sitara (1936) by the same company and sang in it for music composer Damodar Sharma. Jehan also played the child role of Heer in the 1937 film Heer-Sayyal .<ref name=DawnNews/> One of her popular songs from that period, "Shala Jawaniyan Maney" is from Dalsukh Pancholi's Punjabi film Gul Bakawli (1939).<ref name=DawnNews/> All these Punjabi movies were made in Calcutta.<ref name=DawnNews/> After a few years in Calcutta, Jehan returned to Lahore in 1938. In 1939, renowned music director Ghulam Haider composed songs for Jehan which led to her early popularity, and he thus became her early mentor.<ref name=DawnNews/>

In 1942, she played the main lead opposite Pran in Khandaan (1942).<ref name=DawnNews/> It was her first role as an adult, and the film was a major success.<ref name=DawnNews/> The success of Khandaan saw her shifting to Bombay, with the director Syed Shaukat Hussain Rizvi.<ref name=DawnNews/> She shared melodies with Shanta Apte in Duhai (1943).<ref name=DawnNews/> It was in this film that Jehan lent her voice for the second time, to another actress named Husn Bano.<ref name=DawnNews/> She married Rizvi later the same year.<ref name=us-noorJahan>Template:Cite web</ref> From 1945 to 1947 and her subsequent move to Pakistan, Noor Jehan was one of the biggest film actresses of the Indian Film Industry.<ref name=DawnNews/> Her films: Badi Maa, Zeenat, Gaon Ki Gori (all 1945), Template:Lang (1946), Mirza Sahiban (1947) and Jugnu (1947) were the top-grossing films of the years 1945 to 1947. Mirza Sahiban was her last film released in India in which she was paired opposite Trilok Kapoor, brother of Prithviraj Kapoor.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Alongside Suraiya, she was the biggest star in the country before Independence.<ref name="Follywood Flashback">Template:Cite book</ref>

Acting career in Pakistan

In 1947, Rizvi and Jehan decided to move to Pakistan, upon the independence of the British Indian Empire, and had resulted in partition of India.<ref name=DawnNews/> They left Bombay and settled in Karachi with their family.<ref name=DawnNews/>

Three years after settling in Pakistan, Jehan starred in her first Pakistani film Chan Wey (1951), opposite Santosh Kumar, which was also her first Pakistani film as a heroine and playback singer. Shaukat Hussain Rizvi and Noor Jehan directed this film together, making Jehan Pakistan's first female director.<ref name=DawnNews/> It became the highest-grossing film in Pakistan in 1951. Jehan's second film in Pakistan was Dupatta (1952) which was produced by Aslam Lodhi, directed by Sibtain Fazli and assisted by A. H. Rana as production manager.<ref name=DawnNews/> Dupatta turned out to be an even bigger success than Chan Wey (1951).<ref name=DawnNews/>

During 1953 and 1954, Jehan and Rizvi had problems and got divorced due to personal differences.<ref name=DawnNews/> She kept custody of the three children from their marriage.<ref name=DawnNews/> In 1959, she married another film actor, Ejaz Durrani, nine years her junior.<ref name=us-noorJahan/> Durrani pressured her to give up acting,<ref name=us-noorJahan/> and her last film as an actress/singer was Ghalib (1961).<ref name=DawnNews/> This contributed to the strengthening of her iconic stature.<ref name=DawnNews/> She gained another audience for herself.<ref name=DawnNews/> Her rendition of Faiz Ahmed Faiz's "Mujhse Pehli Si Mohabbat Mere Mehboob Na Maang" is a unique example of tarranum, reciting poetry as a song with music of Rasheed Attre in the Pakistani film Qaidi (1962).<ref name=DawnNews/> Jehan last acted in Baaji in 1963, though not in a leading role.<ref name=DawnNews/>

Jehan bade farewell to film acting in 1963 after a career of 33 years (1930–1963).<ref name=DawnNews/> The pressure of being a mother of six children and the demands of being a wife to another fellow film actor, forced her to give up her career.<ref name=DawnNews/> Jehan made 14 films in Pakistan, ten in Urdu and four in Punjabi as a film actress.<ref name=DawnNews/>

As playback singer

After quitting acting she took up playback singing.<ref name=DawnNews/> She made her debut exclusively as a playback singer in 1960 with the film Salma.<ref name=DawnNews/> Her first initial playback singing for a Pakistani film was for the 1951 film Chann Wey, for which she was the film director herself.<ref name=DawnNews/> She received many awards, including the Pride of Performance in 1965 by the Pakistani Government.<ref name=DawnNews/> She sang a large number of duets with Ahmed Rushdi, Mehdi Hassan, Masood Rana, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mujeeb Aalam.<ref name=DawnNews/>

File:Noor Jehan & Lata Mangeshkar.jpg

Jehan with singer Lata Mangeshkar<ref name="IWMBUZZ">Template:Cite web</ref>

She had an understanding and friendship with many singers of Asia, for example with Alam Lohar and many more.<ref name=DawnNews/> Jehan made great efforts to attend the "Mehfils" (live concerts) of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Roshan Ara Begum.<ref name=DawnNews/> Lata Mangeshkar commented on Jehan's vocal range, that Jehan could sing as low and as high as she wanted, and that the quality of her voice always remained the same.<ref name=DawnNews/> Singing was, for Jehan, not effortless but an emotionally and physically draining exercise.<ref name=fridaytimes>Template:Cite news</ref> In the 1990s, Jehan also sang for then débutante actresses Neeli and Reema.<ref name=DawnNews/> For this very reason, Sabiha Khanum affectionately called her Sadabahar (evergreen). Her popularity was further boosted with her patriotic songs during the 1965 war between Pakistan and India.<ref name=DawnNews/>

In 1971 Madam Noor Jehan visited Tokyo for the World Song Festival as a representative from Pakistan.<ref name=DawnNews/>

Jehan 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.<ref name=DawnNews/> She met all her erstwhile heroes and costars, including Surendra, Pran, Suraiya, composer Naushad and others.<ref name=DawnNews/> The website Women on Record stated: "Noor Jehan injected a degree of passion into her singing unmatched by anyone else. But she left for Pakistan".<ref name=fridaytimes/>

In 1991, Vanessa Redgrave invited her to perform at a fundraising event to benefit the children of the Middle East held at Royal Albert Hall London.<ref name=DailyTimes>Template:Cite news</ref> Lionel Richie, Bob Geldof, Madonna, Boy George, and Duran Duran were some of the performers at the star-studded event which was attended, amongst many others, by thespian John Gielgud, Nobel Prize-winning playwright Harold Pinter, and Oscar-winning actress Dame Peggy Ashcroft.<ref name=DailyTimes/> She has also sung "Saiyan Saadey Naal", a song of well-known Pakistani folk singer, songwriter and composer Template:Ill for the film Dam Mast Kalander/Aalmi Gunday.

Personal life

In 1941, Noor Jehan married Shaukat Hussain Rizvi of Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India.<ref name=DailyPakistanGlobal>Template:Citation</ref> In 1947, Shaukat Rizvi decided to migrate to Pakistan, and Noor Jehan moved too, ending her career in India.<ref name=DailyPakistanGlobal/> She next visited India only in 1982.<ref name=DailyPakistanGlobal/> Her marriage to Rizvi ended in 1953 with a divorce; the couple had three children, including their singer daughter Zil-e-Huma.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Noor Jehan was also in a relationship with cricketer Nazar Mohammad.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> She married Ejaz Durrani in 1959.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> The second marriage also produced three children but also ended in divorce in 1971.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> She also had affair with actor Yousuf Khan.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Last years and death

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Jehan's gravesite at the Gizri Graveyard near the Saudi Consulate in Karachi

Jehan suffered from chest pains in 1986 on a tour of North America and was diagnosed with angina pectoris, after which she underwent bypass surgery.<ref name=GulfNews>Template:Citation</ref> According to her daughter, Shazia Hassan, she was suffering from chronic kidney disease in her last years and was on dialysis.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> In 2000, Jehan was hospitalised at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, and suffered a heart attack.<ref name=GulfNews/> On 23 December 2000 (night of 27 Ramadan), Jehan died as a result of heart failure.<ref name=GulfNews/> Her funeral took place at Jamia Masjid Sultan, Karachi and was attended by over 400,000 people.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> She was buried at the Template:Ill in Karachi.<ref name=GulfNews/> She was given a state funeral by President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf. He ordered her funeral be taken to Lahore from Karachi, but her daughters insisted on burying her in Karachi on the night she died.<ref name=GulfNews/> In the wake of her death, a famous Indian writer and poet, Javed Akhtar, in an interview in Mumbai, said that "In the worst conditions of our relations with Pakistan in 53 years, in a very hostile atmosphere, our cultural heritage has been a common bridge.<ref name=GulfNews/> Noor Jehan was one such durable bridge. My fear is that her death may have shaken it."<ref>Template:Citation</ref>

Awards and honours

Noor Jehan received more than 15 Nigar Awards for Best Female Playback Singer, eight for Best Urdu Singer Female and the rest for Punjabi Playback. She has also received the Millennium Singer Award in Pakistan.<ref name=TheExpressTribune>Template:Citation</ref>

• In 1945, for the film Zeenat, she was awarded a gold medal by Z.A. Bukhari.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite news</ref>
• Noor Jehan was ranked eighth in a list of Most Influential Pakistanis.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• Mohammad Rafi always wished to make duets with her. Asha Bhosle, a Bollywood playback singer, stated in an interview:Template:Shy

Jehan was one of my favourite singers and when I listened to her Ghazals, I realized how unusual compositions were those, so I decided to take them to a larger audience which they deserve.

She added that;

The world will never see a singer like her. Just as people have not seen another Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar there would never be another Noor Jehan.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

• British weekly newspaper Eastern Eye ranked Noor Jehan at 16th in a list of 20 Bollywood singers of all time. The entertainment editor of Eastern Eye wrote that:

Jehan was the first female singing star of the Indian cinema and helped to lay the foundation of playback singing as we know it. She inspired a generation of singers including Lata Mangeshkar before single-handedly kick-starting music In Pakistan and inspired subsequent generations there.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

• In 1945, she became the first woman in the subcontinent to sing Qawwali in the film Zeenat.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> American Queen of Pop Madonna commented that, "I can copy every singer but not Noor Jehan".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• In 1957, she received President's Award for her acting and singing in film Intezaar. It was the same film for which Khwaja Khurshid Anwar also received President's Award for Best Music Director.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
• In 1965, she received Special Nigar Award for her wartime songs.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
• In 1965, she was awarded Pride of Performance by the president of Pakistan for her singing and acting capabilities.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
• She became the Second Pakistani Female Vocalist after Roshan Ara Begum to receive Pride of Performance.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
• In 1965, she received Tamgha-e-Imtiaz from the army for her moral support in the Indo-Pak war.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
• In 1972, she received Silver Disc Award for Best Ghazal Singer followed by Farida Khanum and Roshan Ara Begum was the first to receive the award.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• She was the only Pakistani singer to sing with the Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum.<ref>Template:Cite webTemplate:Dead link</ref>
• In 1981, she received Special Nigar Award for her excellence in 30 years of her career in Pakistan.
• In 1987, she received NTM Life Time Achievement Award.
• In 1991, she became the first Pakistani singer to sing at the Royal Albert Hall London.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
• In 1996, she received Sitara-e-Imtiaz.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
• In 1998, she received PTV Life Time Achievement Award.
• In 1999, she received Millennium Award for her services to Pakistani cinema.<ref name=TheExpressTribune/>
• In January 2000, Pakistan Television PTV gave her the title of Voice of Century.
• In 2002, she received First Lux Life Time Achievement Award.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
• In August 2014, she was declared as the Greatest Female Singer Of Pakistan of all times.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
• In August 2017, she was ranked at the top of Female Pakistani Singers.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• She also retained the designation Cultural Ambassador of Pakistan.<ref>Template:Citation</ref>
• On 21 September 2017, Google Doodle commemorated her 91st birthday.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Films

Year	Film	Notes
1935	Pind Di Kudi<ref name=":0">Template:Cite book</ref>	as Child artist
1935	Sheela
1936	Misr Ka Sitara<ref name=":0"/>	as Child artist
1937	Heer-Sayyal<ref name=":0"/>	as Child artist
1939	Gul Bakawli
1939	Imandaar
1939	Pyam-e-Haq
1936	Gul-e-Bakawali<ref name=":0"/>	as Child artist
1940	Sajani
1940	Yamla Jat
1941	Chaudhry
1941	Red Signal
1941	Umeed
1941	Susral
1942	Chandani
1942	Dheeraj
1942	Faryad
1942	Khandan	Shot in Lahore.<ref name=":0"/> Second Highest Grossing Indian Film of 1942
1943	Naadaan
1943	Duhai
1943	Naukar	Fifth Highest Grossing Indian Film of 1943
1944	Lal Haveli
1944	Dost
1945	Zeenat	Highest Grossing Indian Film of 1945
1945	Gaon Ki Gori	Second Highest Indian Grossing Film of 1945
1945	Badi Maa	Third Highest Grossing Indian Film of 1945
1945	Bhai Jaan
1946	Template:Lang	Highest Grossing Indian Film of 1946 (with Surendra (actor))
1946	Dil
1946	Humjoli
1946	Sofia
1946	Maharana Pratap
1947	Mirza Sahibaan	Fourth Highest Grossing Indian Film of 1947
1947	Jugnu	Highest Grossing Indian Film of 1947 (with Dilip Kumar)
1947	Abida
1947	Mirabai
1951	Chanway	First Film in Pakistan, Biggest Hit of 1951
1952	Dopatta	Biggest Hit of 1952 in Pakistan
1953	Gulnar
1955	Patey Khan
1956	Lakt-e-Jigar	(released 17 February 1956)
1956	Intezaar	(released 12 May 1956)
1957	Nooran	(released 30 May 1957)
1958	Choo mantar
1958	Anarkali	(released 6 June 1958)
1959	Neend	(released 16 October 1959)
1959	Pardaisan
1959	Koel	(released 24 December 1959)
1961	Ghalib	(released 24 November 1961)
1963	Baaji	(released 3 May 1963)
1994	Danda Peer
1996	Dam Mast Kalander/Aalmi Gunday	(released 27 September 1996)

In popular culture

• In Pakistani film, Manto the role of Jehan was played by Saba Qamar.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• In 2022, Pakistani television actress Ayeza Khan paid tribute to Jehan by adapting her look in TV drama Laapata.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• In 2022, a commemorative tribute to Jehan featured within the 'FaceoftheMonth' series by Indian film scholar, Ashish Dwivedi, published in The Edge Magazine.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

• Template:IMDb name, Retrieved 16 November 2017
• Template:Cite news
• Template:Cite news