Naseem Begum (), (24 February 1936 – 29 September 1971) was a famous

Pakistani Pakistanis (, ) are the citizens and nationals of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan is the fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the second-largest Muslim population as of 2023. As much as ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

playback singer A playback singer, as they are usually known in South Asian cinema, or ghost singer in Western cinema, is a singer whose performance is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and the performers lip-sync the ...

. She was known as ''The Tradegy Queen'' for singing sorrowful and downhearted songs in films. She rose to prominence in the late 1950s, and by 1964, she had won the prestigious

Nigar Awards The Nigar Awards () were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema, after having been revived in 2017 following a 15-year absence. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The ...

on four occasions. Despite originally being billed as a ''Second

Noor Jehan Noor Jehan (21 September 192623 December 2000) was a Pakistani playback singer and actress who worked in both British India and later in Pakistan's cinema of Pakistan, cinema. Her career lasted over six decades, during which she recorded 10,00 ...

'', Naseem Begum quickly carved out her own successful niche in the

Pakistani film industry The film industry of Pakistan, consisting of motion pictures, has had a large effect on Pakistani society and culture since the nation's independence. Pakistani cinema is made up of various sub-industries, including Lollywood, which mak ...

. She was the original singer of the popular song "Aye Rah-e-Haq Ke Shaheedo".

Early life

Naseem Begum was born in the city of

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance in South Asia. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one form or another ...

, in 1936. She acquired her musical training from the classical singer Mukhtar Begum, the elder sister of the renowned ghazal vocalist

Farida Khanum Farida Khanum (Urdu: ) is a Pakistani classical singer. She is also known by her honorific title ''Malika-e-Ghazal'' (The Queen of Ghazal) in both Pakistan and India and is widely regarded as one of the greatest exponents of the ghazal genre ...

Career

Her first film, as a playback singer, was music director

Ghulam Ahmed Chishti Ghulam Ahmed Chishti (Punjabi, ), (often abbreviated to G.A. Chishti) (Punjabi, ), (17 August 1905 – 25 December 1994) was a Pakistani music composer, attributed as being one of the founders of Indian and Pakistani film music. He is also some ...

composed ''

Guddi Gudda Guddi Gudda was a 1956 Pakistani Punjabi-language film directed by Wali Sahib. Cast *Musarrat Nazir * Sudhir * Asha Posley *Agha Talish *M. Ajmal *Zubaida Khanum *Ghulam Mohammad Music The film's music was by Ghulam Ahmed Chishti, popularly k ...

'' (1956). In 1958, the music composer Mian Sheharyar was greatly impressed by her vocal range, and gave her the opportunity to sing for his film ''Begunah'' (1958). Naseem Begum immediately achieved success with her song "Nainon mein jal bhar aayey", which became one of the most popular tracks of the 1950s. She gained popularity after singing memorable duets with famous playback singer

Ahmed Rushdi Ahmed Rushdi (; 24 April 1934 – 11 April 1983) was a versatile Pakistani playback singer and was "an important contributor to the Cinema of Pakistan#The Golden Era (1959–1977), golden age of Pakistani film music". Regarded as one of the gr ...

. For her contributions towards singing industry and for army for her moral support in the Indo-Pak war, she was honored by the

Government of Pakistan The Government of Pakistan () (abbreviated as GoP), constitutionally known as the Federal Government, commonly known as the Centre, is the national authority of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, a federal republic located in South Asia, con ...

with the

Pride of Performance The Pride of Performance (), officially known as the Presidential Pride of Performance, is an award bestowed by the Pakistan, Islamic Republic of Pakistan to recognize people with "notable achievements in the field of art, science, literature, sp ...

in 1965.

Personal life

Naseem married a book publisher named Deen Mohammad at Lahore and had five children but her sixth and youngest child, a son, died during pregnancy complications.

Illness and death

She was experiencing labor pain and was admitted to the hospital, as she was expecting, and was about to give birth. However, due to pregnancy-related complications, she suffered a brain hemorrhage and died on 29 September 1971 in

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

at the age of 35. She was laid to rest at

Miani Sahib Graveyard The Miani Sahib Graveyard ( Punjabi, ) is the largest graveyard in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. It is in the centre of Lahore. Its origins date back to the Mughal era, making it one of the oldest graveyards in the region. Miani Sahib Graveyard ...

, Lahore.

Filmography

Some remarkable films for which Naseem Begum sang some heart-warming songs are: * ''Guddi Gudda'' (1956) * ''Kartar Singh'' (1959) * ''

Salma Salma may refer to: People * Salma (given name), a list of people * Happy Salma (born 1980), Indonesian actress * Salma (writer), pen name of Indian Tamil writer, activist and politician born Rajathi Samsudeen in 1968 * Abu Salma, Palestinian ...

'' (1960) * ''

Shaam Dhalay ''Shaam Dhalay'' is a Pakistani romance drama film directed and produced by Santosh Kumar. It was the only film that Kumar ever directed and produced. Kumar also played the lead role opposite Sabiha Khanum. The music of the film was composed b ...

'' (1960) * '' Saheli'' (1960) * ''Ghunghat'' (1962) * ''

Shaheed ''Shahid'' ( , , ) denotes a martyr in Islam. The word is used frequently in the Quran in the generic sense of "witness" but only once in the sense of "martyr" (i.e. one who dies for his faith); the latter sense acqui ...

'' (1962) * ''Aulad'' (1962) * ''

Baaji Baaji may refer to: * Baaji (2019 film) ''Baaji'' () is a 2019 Pakistani romantic drama film, directed by Saqib Malik and produced by his Production company Page 33 Films. The film features Meera as Shameera Osman Khalid Butt as Rohail Khan/ Kh ...

'' (1963) * '' Dulhan'' (1963) * ''Ik Tera Sahara'' (1963) * ''Haveli'' (1964) * '' Beti'' (1964) * ''

Farangi Farang () is a Persian word that originally referred to the Franks (the major Germanic people) and later came to refer to Western or Latin Europeans in general. The word is borrowed from Old French or Latin , which are also the source of ...

'' (1964) * '' Kaneez'' (1965) * ''

Aag Ka Darya (; ''River of Fire'') is a landmark historical Urdu-language novel written by Qurratulain Hyder providing context to the partition of the Indian subcontinent into two nation-states. It has been described as "one of the Indian Subcontinent's ...

'' (1966) * ''Maader-e-Watan'' (1966) * ''Payel Ki Jhankar'' (1966) * ''

Shahansha-e-Jahangir A list of films produced in Pakistan in 1968 (see 1968 in film) and in the Urdu language: 1968 See also * 1968 in Pakistan References External links Search Pakistani film - IMDB.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Pakistani Films Of 1968 1968 Lists of 19 ...

'' (1968) * ''

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'' (1969) In addition to these films, she also sang for many Punjabi films, some of which are ''Tees Maar Khan'' (1963), ''Jeedar'' (1965), ''Mukhra Chann Warga'' and ''Genter Man'' (1969). Some big musical films on her credit are ''Lutera'' (1964), ''Koun Kisi Ka, Kousar'', ''Chann Puttar'' (1970), ''Mera Veer'' (1967), ''Chann Veer ''(1969), ''Langotiya'' and ''Yeh Raste Hain Pyar Ke''.

Patriotic songs

Naseem Begum had also sung many patriotic songs which stir the soul of listeners. "Ae rah-e-haq kay shaheedo wafa ki tasveero, Tumhain watan ki hawain salaam karti hain", Mushir Kazmi wrote lyrics of Aye Rah-e-Haq Ke Shaheedo while music was given by Mian Sheharyar and vocalist was Naseem Begum for the

Radio Pakistan The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (); also known as ''Radio Pakistan'', serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate its founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in P ...

recording in 1965. Majority of listeners still wrongly believe that Aye Rah-e-Haq Ke Shaheedo was sung by Malika-e-Tarannum

. Later in 1966, veteran Pakistani film producer/director

Saifuddin Saif Saifuddin Saif (20 March 1922 12 July 1993) was a Pakistani lyricist, poet, film producer-director, and the founder of Rehnuma Films, a film studio of 1954. He was involved in writing poems and lyrics before and after the Partition. However ...

used this song in his film ''Maader-e-Watan'' (1966) in which this song's music was arranged by Salim Iqbal.

List of her popular songs

*Aye Rahe Haq Ke Shaheedo * "Veer Mera Ghori Charia" * "Uss Bewafa ka Shehr Hai Aur Hum Hain Dosto, Ashk-e-Rawaan Ki Nehar Hai aur Hum Hain Dosto" * "Sau Baar Chaman Mehka Sau Baar Bahar Aayi, Duniya ki Wohi Raunaq Dil ki Wohi Tanhayi" * "Mera Bichhra Balum Ghar aa Gaya Ghar aa Gaya, Meri Payal Bajai Chhanan Chhanan Chahann" * "Chanda Toray Chandani Main Jiya Jala Jaye Re" * "Habibi Hayya Hayya Habibi Hayya Hayya" * "Hum Bhool Gaye Har Baat Magar Tera Pyaar Nahin Bhoole"

Awards and recognition

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Naseem 1936 births Pakistani radio personalities Singers from Lahore Punjabi-language singers Radio personalities from Lahore Nigar Award winners Punjabi women Pakistani playback singers 1971 deaths Musicians from Amritsar Urdu-language singers 20th-century Pakistani women singers 20th-century Pakistani singers Pakistani classical singers Women ghazal singers Recipients of the Pride of Performance Pakistani ghazal singers People from Punjab Province (British India)