Mujeeb Aalam (2 September 1948 – 2 June 2004) was a Pakistani playback singer who had a short film career. His singing style was a mixture of Mehdi Hassan and Ahmad Rushdi's style. He sang dozens of hit songs in late 1960s. However, he lost his popularity in mid-1970s as more versatile singers like

Akhlaq Ahmed Akhlaq Ahmed ( ur, ; 10 January 1946 – 4 August 1999) was a Pakistani people, Pakistani film playback singer and still considered one of the leading voices of the film industry. Early life and career He was born in Delhi in 1946 and st ...

and A Nayyar entered

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

film industry The film industry or motion picture industry comprises the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking, i.e., film production companies, film studios, cinematography, animation, film production, screenwriting, pre-production, p ...

Early life and career

Mujeeb Alam was born in 1948 in the city of Kanpur and then settled with his parents in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

. He started his career at the age of 14 from

Radio Pakistan Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 Augus ...

, Lahore. Musician ''Hassan Latif'' gave him the chance to sing in his film

Nargis Nargis Dutt (born Fatima Rashid; 1 June 1929 – 3 May 1981) was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, she made her screen debut in a minor role ...

, but the film didn't release. However, in 1966, he recorded songs for the film ''Jalwa'' and in 1967, a song from

Chakori ''Chakori'' ( bn, চকোরী ur, چکوری), is a Pakistani Urdu feature film. This film was released on 22 March 1967 on Eid-ul-Azha Day in Dhaka, East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). The film was directed by Captain Ehtesham. It was Nadeem' ...

''Woh mere samney'' became popular. He got recognition in the mid- sixties and became one of the prominent playback singers in the industry. He sang over 12,000 songs and won a number of awards. He also performed at hundreds of musical concerts in and outside Pakistan. Alam’s songs were picturised on film artists like

Nadeem Nadeem (also spelled Nadim or Nedim; ar, نديم) is an Arabic masculine given name. It means "best friend of the drinker" "companion", "confidant" or "friend". Originates from the plural word "Nadama""نَدامَى" which means, drink to forg ...

, Waheed Murad, and

Mohammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and activist. Nicknamed "The Greatest", he is regarded as one of the most significant sports figures of the 20th century, a ...

Death

Mujeeb Aalam retired from films in 1979. He used to participate in private shows and musical programmes which were broadcast from

Pakistani television Television in Pakistan started in 1964 and the first live transmission of Pakistan Television began on 26 November 1964, in Lahore.North Nazimabad North Nazimabad ( ur, نارتھ ناظم آباد) is a suburb of, Karachi, Pakistan. North Nazimabad was developed in the late 1950s as a residential area for the employees of the federal government of Pakistan, and was named after Khawaja Nazim ...

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former c ...

, for quite some time. On Wednesday 2 June 2004, according to his daughter, he left his home at 11:15 pm and as they were about to approach Super Highway when Aalam complained of chest pain and he felt difficulty in breathing. He stopped the car, picked up a bottle of water but fell on the steering wheel. She further said that her father was taken to a private hospital near Sohrab Goth where he was pronounced dead. He was 55 years old.Death anniversary of Mujeeb Alam observed
Radio Pakistan website, Published 2 June 2020, Retrieved 19 December 2021 Aalam's funeral prayers were held on Thursday afternoon at a Mosque near his residence in ''Gulshan-i-Maymar''. He was laid to rest at ''Sakhi Hasan graveyard''

where his friend, playback singer

Ahmed Rushdi ), Rushdi Sahab ( ur, ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Hyderabad Deccan, British India , death_date = , death_place = Karachi, Pakistan , origin = Pakistani , instrument = Vocalist , genre = ...

is also buried.

Popular songs

* "Main teray ajnabi shehr main" * "Main tera shehr chhor jaoon ga" for film ''Shama Aur Parwana'' (1970), lyrics by

Saifuddin Saif Saifuddin Saif (20 July 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 ...

, music by Nisar Bazmi * "Main khushi se kiyoon na gaoon, mera dil bhi gaa raha hai" * "Woh naqab rukh ulat kar meray samnay na aain". * "Woh meray samnay tasweer banay baithay hain" for film

in 1967, music by Robin Ghosh. This was a breakthrough hit song for him that earned him real fame and a

Nigar Award The Nigar Awards ( ur, , translit=Inʿām Negār, lit=Picture Awards) were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The Nigar Awards ...

in Pakistan.

Awards and recognition

as 'Best Singer' for film

in 1967.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aalam, Mujeeb Muhajir people 1948 births 2004 deaths People from Kanpur Nigar Award winners Pakistani playback singers Singers from Karachi 20th-century Pakistani male singers