Naseem Begum ( ur, ), (24 February 1936 – 29 September 1971) was a popular, and well known Pakistani

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

playback singer A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not ap ...

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

Nigar Awards 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 ...

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

Noor Jehan Noor Jehan (Punjabi: ) (born () Allah Rakhi Wasai ; 23 September 1926 – 23 December 2000; sometimes spelled Noorjehan),Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema,'' British Film Institute, Oxford University Press ...

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

Pakistani film industry Cinema of Pakistan, popularly known as Lollywood ( ur, ), refers to the filmmaking industry in Pakistan. Pakistan is home to several film studios centres, primarily located in its three largest cities – Karachi, Lahore, and Faisalabad. ...

. She was the original singer of the popular song "Aye Rahe Haq Ke Shaheedo".

Early life

Naseem Begum was born in the city of

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

, in 1936. She acquired her musical training from the classical singer

Mukhtar Begum Mukhtar Begum was a Pakistani classical, ghazal singer and actress. She was known as ''The Queen of Music'' for singing songs in films and on radio. She worked in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu films and was known for her roles in films ''Hathili Dulh ...

, the elder sister of the renowned ghazal vocalist

Farida Khanum Farida Khanum (Urdu: ) is a Pakistani classical singer from the city of Kolkata West Bengal. She is also known by her honorific title ''Malika-e-Ghazal'' (The Queen of Ghazal) in both Pakistan and India. Early life She was born in the fall of ...

Career

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

Ghulam Ahmed Chishti Ghulam Ahmed Chishti (Punjabi, ur, ), (often abbreviated to G.A. Chishti) (Punjabi, ur, ), (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 ...

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

Personal life

Naseem married a book publisher named Deen Mohammad at Lahore and had five children but her six youngest 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 and she suffered a brain hemorrhage, she died on 29 September 1971 in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second List of cities in Pakistan by population, most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th List of largest cities, most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is th ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

at the age of 35.

Filmography

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

Kartar Singh (1959 film) ''Kartar Singh'' is a 1959 Pakistani Punjabi film about the partition of India in 1947 and the widespread violence related to it. It describes the conflicts between Hindus, Muslims and the Sikhs. This film is said to be based on real-life e ...

* Salma (1960) * ''Sham Dhalay'' (1960) * ''Saheli'' (1960) * Ghunghat * ''

Shaheed ''Shaheed'' ( , , ; pa, ਸ਼ਹੀਦ) 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); ...

'' (1962) * Aulad * '' Baji'' (1963) * '' Dulhan'' (1963) * ''Ik Tera Sahara'' (1963) * ''Haveli'' (1964) * '' Farangi'' (1964) * ''Kaneez'' (1965) * ''Maader-e-Watan'' (1966) * ''Payel Ki Jhankar'' (1966) * ''Zarqa'' (1969) In addition to these films, she also sang for many Punjabi films, some of which are ''Kartar Singh'' (1959), ''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 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 ...

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 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, ...

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 women singers 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 Punjabi people Pakistani classical singers Women ghazal singers Pakistani ghazal singers