Bashir Ahmad (Singer)
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Bashir Ahmed (11 November 1939 – 19 April 2014) was a Pakistani-Bangladeshi
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 ...
, lyricist, and musician who started his career from
Lollywood Lollywood is Pakistan's film industry, which has served as the base for both Urdu- and Punjabi-language film production. Lahore has been the center of Pakistani cinema since independence in 1947. However, with the Urdu film hub largel ...
in the 1960s. He is known for his playback songs in the films ''Talash'' (1963) and Darshan (1967). He was awarded
Ekushey Padak Ekushey Padak () is the second highest civilian award in Bangladesh, introduced in memory of martyrs of the Bengali language movement of 1952. The award is given to recognize contributions in a number of fields, including culture, education, and e ...
in 2005 by the
Government of Bangladesh The government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh () is the central government of Bangladesh. The government was constituted by the Constitution of Bangladesh comprising the executive (the president, prime minister and cabinet), the ...
and
Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer () is the highest award for male film playback singers in Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of coun ...
for his performance in the film ''Kokhono Megh Kokhono Bristi'' (2003). He is known as ''East Pakistan's
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 ...
'' because his singing style is inspired by him.


Early life

Born on 18 November 1939 in
Kolkata Kolkata, also known as Calcutta ( its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River, west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary ...
,
West Bengal West Bengal (; Bengali language, Bengali: , , abbr. WB) is a States and union territories of India, state in the East India, eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabi ...
, Ahmed migrated to
Dhaka Dhaka ( or ; , ), List of renamed places in Bangladesh, formerly known as Dacca, is the capital city, capital and list of cities and towns in Bangladesh, largest city of Bangladesh. It is one of the list of largest cities, largest and list o ...
,
East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...
, after the partition period in 1960.


Career

Ahmed became a pupil of Ustad ''Vilayat Hussain'' at the age of 15. Later, he came to
Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...
, and became a student of
Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan (2 April 1902 – 23 April 1968) was a Pakistani vocalist, from the Kasur Patiala Gharana.
. Ahmed performed along with
Geeta Dutt Geeta Dutt (born Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri; 23 November 1930 – 20 July 1972) was an Indian Indian classical music, classical and playback singer. She found particular prominence as a playback singer in Hindi cinema and Bengali cinema (India) ...
. Around the 1960s, when the film producer and owner of Gulistan Cinema Hall, Dossani invited Talat Mahmood and Ahmed to
East Pakistan East Pakistan was the eastern province of Pakistan between 1955 and 1971, restructured and renamed from the province of East Bengal and covering the territory of the modern country of Bangladesh. Its land borders were with India and Burma, wit ...
to perform, after their tour of
Chittagong Chittagong ( ), officially Chattogram, (, ) (, or ) is the second-largest city in Bangladesh. Home to the Port of Chittagong, it is the busiest port in Bangladesh and the Bay of Bengal. The city is also the business capital of Bangladesh. It ...
and
Mymensingh Mymensingh () is a metropolis, metropolitan city and capital of Mymensingh Division, Bangladesh. Located on the bank of the Old Brahmaputra River, Brahmaputra River, about north of the national capital Dhaka, it is a major financial center ...
, Mahmood returned to India but Ahmed decided to stay back. In Dhaka, his mentor and brother-in-law, Ishrat Kalkatvi introduced him to Robin Ghosh. Kalkatvi was writing songs for the film ''Talash'' (1963), although eventually, Suroor Barabankvi contributed more songs to the film. Ghosh was making tunes for the film. Ahmed sang some numbers for ''Talash'', including the soft romantic one, titled ''"Kuch Apni Kahiye Kuch Meri Suniye, Yeh Sham Yeh Tanhai Yun Chup To Na Rahiye"''. Ahmed sang another song titled ''Main Rickshawalla Matwala''. He had another duet in the film, ''"Tum Bhi Haseen Dil Bhi Jawan"''. Ahmed was also a poet and a lyricist, with a pseudonym ''B. A. Deep''. Film-maker, ''Mustafiz'', they contacted Bashir and asked him to write a song for his film, ''Saagar (1965 film)'', which he did, titled ''Ja dekha pyar tera'', and sang it too. Similarly in Robin Ghosh's another lilting offering, ''
Karwan Karwan is one of the major neighbourhoods in Hyderabad, Telangana, India. It is a part of the old city of Hyderabad. It is 10 km from the IT hubs like Gachibowli, HITECH City, etc. It had major importance in the trade which happened durin ...
'', in 1964, Bashir wrote and sang ''Jab Tum Akele Hoge Hum Yaad Aayenge''. He wrote film songs, as ''B. A. Deep'', and also continued to sing as Bashir Ahmed for films like ''Saagar'', ''Karwan'', ''Indhan'', ''
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
(1964 film)'', ''Kangan'', '' Darshan (1967)'', Soye nadiya Jaage Paani (1967) and Jahan Baje Shehnai (1968). The songs from the films were ''Yeh Sama Pyara Pyara, Yeh Hawaein Thandi Tthandi'' (singer Mala), ''(Yeh mausam yeh mast nazare, pyar karo to inse karo)'', ''(Tumhare Liye Iss Dil Mein Itne Mohabbat Hai, Itne Mohabbat Kaun Karega Kahan Paoge Kis Dil Mein Hoge)'', ''(Din Raat Khayalon Mein Tujhe Yaad Karoonga, Par Naam Tera Leke Main Aawaz Na Doonga)'', ''(Hum Chale Chhor Kar Teri Mehfil Sanam, Dil Kahin Na Kahin To Behal Jayega)'', ''(Gulshan Mein Baharon Mein Tu Hai),'' and ''(Chun Liya Ik Phool Ko)'', with Madam Noor Jahan. In 1971, when the situation worsened in Pakistan, he was not encouraged in the industry as music directors considered him a pale version of Ahmed Rushdi (who remained the greatest singer in the history of
Pakistani cinema The film industry of Pakistan, consisting of motion pictures, has had a large effect on culture of Pakistan, Pakistani society and culture since the nation's independence. Pakistani cinema is made up of various sub-industries, including ...
) and the film
Hill Station A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in Western imperialism in Asia, colonial Asia, but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by ...
's songs, namely ''Mera Dil Na Jaane Kabse Tera Pyar Dhoondta Hai'' and ''Mere Seene Par Sar Rakhdo'' remain his only contributions in this period. A film that was made on the Dhaka Debacle in the late 1970s, called ''Sangtarash'', also included his numbers, namely ''Bol Zara Kuch Duniya Wale'' and ''Mukhre Mein Chand'', but the film, despite pleadings of the film-maker to the military regime of Zia, remained unreleased. So, he went back to Bangladesh in 1975 and continued his music career there. As a playback singer in the
Lollywood Lollywood is Pakistan's film industry, which has served as the base for both Urdu- and Punjabi-language film production. Lahore has been the center of Pakistani cinema since independence in 1947. However, with the Urdu film hub largel ...
, Ahmed sang 61 songs in 24 Urdu films.


Personal life and death

Ahmed was married to Meena Bashir (Born:16 May, 1959 - Died: 8 August, 2014), a singer. Together they had a daughter, Humayra and a son, Raja Bashir. Ahmed died on 19 April 2014, aged 74 at his residence in Mohammadpur, Dhaka, Bangladesh. He had been suffering from various diseases including cancer.


Film songs


Non-film songs


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed, Bashir 1939 births 2014 deaths Singers from Kolkata 20th-century Bangladeshi male singers 20th-century Bangladeshi singers Pakistani playback singers Best Male Playback Singer National Film Award (Bangladesh) winners Recipients of the Ekushey Padak Indian emigrants to Bangladesh Bangladeshi people of Indian descent Pakistani composers Pakistani film score composers 20th-century Pakistani male singers 20th-century Pakistani singers