Ghulam Haider (1908 – 9 November 1953; also known by the honorary title Master Ghulam Haider) was a

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 ...

music composer who worked both in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and later in

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# ...

after its

independence Independence is a condition of a nation, country, or state, in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the status of ...

in 1947. He changed the face of film songs by combining the popular Raags with the verve and rhythm of

Punjabi music The music of Punjab reflects the traditions of the Punjab region associated with Punjabi language. Punjab is currently divided into two parts: East Punjab, in India, and West Punjab, the most populous province of Pakistan. The Punjab has diver ...

, and also helped raise the status of film music directors in

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 ...

. He is also known for giving her first break in the film industry to the well-known playback singer,

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar (; born Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 6 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. He ...

in ''Majboor'' (1948 film). In an interview, Lata Mangeshkar herself disclosed on her 84th birthday in 2013, "Ghulam Haider is truly my Godfather. It was his confidence in me that he fought for me to tuck me into the Hindi Film Industry which otherwise had rejected me". Remembering her early rejection, Lata once said, "Ghulam Haider was the first music director who showed complete faith in my talent. He introduced me to many producers including ''S. Mukerji'', a big name in film production, but when he too rejected me, Ghulam Haider was very furious. Hence, finally he convinced

Bombay Talkies Bombay Talkies was a movie studio founded in 1934. During its period of operation, Bombay Talkies produced 40 movies in Malad, a suburb of the Indian city of Bombay. The studio was established in 1934 by Himanshu Rai and Devika Rani. Afte ...

, a banner bigger than S. Mukerji and introduced me through their movie Majboor (1948 film)".

Early life

According to one account, Ghulam Haider was born in 1908 in

Narowal Narowal ( Punjabi / ; ) is a historic a city located on the western bank of river Ravi in Punjab Pakistan. It was found by a Jat named Baba Naro Bajwa many centuries ago. The city is the capital of district Narowal, and a part of the Guj ...

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

(now in Pakistani Punjab). Another account says that he was born in

Hyderabad Hyderabad is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part of Southern India. With an average altitude of , much ...

Sindh Sindh ( ; ; , ; abbr. SD, historically romanized as Sind (caliphal province), Sind or Scinde) is a Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Pakistan. Located in the Geography of Pakistan, southeastern region of the country, Sindh is t ...

. According to a major newspaper, "Ghulam Haider hailed from Muslim Punjabi Khatri family. After passing his intermediate examination, he was admitted to a college of dentistry and completed his education as a dentist. Being curious about music, he started learning music from Babu Ganesh Lal. His love for music made him leave his career as a dentist, facing the wrath of his family, he still found a job with Alfred Theatrical Company and Alexander Theatrical Company as a piano player in

Calcutta Kolkata, also known as Calcutta (List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, its official name until 2001), is the capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal. It lies on the eastern ba ...

, and worked with Jenaphone (Genophone) Recording Company as a music composer as well. He composed music for the then famous singer, ''Umrao Zia Begum'', who was working for Pancholi Studios,

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 ...

. He later married her in 1938.

Career

Haider broke into films with the father-son duo Roshan Lal Shorey and Roop Kumar Shorey, and then A.R. Kardar gave him the opportunity to compose music for the 1935 film, ''Swarg Ki Seerhi''. But he got his first big breakthrough with D.M. Pancholi's Punjabi film, ''Gul-E-Bakavali'' (1939) starring

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 ...

. This was followed by film Yamla Jat (1940). His first big hit song came with Khazanchi in 1941, which helped cause a revolution in the music industry. The music of the film ''Khazanchi (1941)'', in particular, the song ''Sawan Ke Nazare Hain'' sung by

Shamshad Begum Shamshad Begum (Urdu: شمشاد بیگم, IAST: ''Śamśād Bēgam''; 14 April 1919 – 23 April 2013) was an Indian singer who was one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry. Notable for her distinctive voice and range, sh ...

and Ghulam Haider himself caused a revolution in music composing. By then Music Directors of the 1930s, who had composed film songs set in classical ragas, were beginning to sound commonplace. ''Khazanchi's'' refreshingly 'free wheeling music' not only took the audiences by storm but also made other film music directors sit up and take notice. With this film, Ghulam Haider ensured that the Indian film song would never be the same again. Khandan (1942), the first film of

as lead actress, was also a big hit and established him as a top film composer. Film Poonji (1943) was also successful. Then Haider moved 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 composed music for many films including

Humayun Nasir al-Din Muhammad (6 March 1508 – 27 January 1556), commonly known by his regnal name Humayun (), was the second Mughal emperor, who ruled over territory in what is now Eastern Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Northern India, and Pakistan from ...

(1945) and Majboor (1948 film), the first major breakthrough film for

in Hindi films. Films

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 ...

(1948) and Kaneez are his other big hits.

Pioneering work

He introduced

, Sudha Malhotra and Surinder Kaur to the

Indian Film Industry The cinema of India, consisting of Film, motion pictures made by the Indian film industry, has had a large effect on world cinema since the second half of the 20th century. Indian cinema is made up of various #Cinema by language, film indus ...

. Besides them, as a film song composer, he played a key role in giving first breakthrough popularity to

in film Khandan. Master Ghulam Haider also gets major credit for introducing the Punjabi folk music and instruments like

dholak The ''dholak'' is a two-headed hand drum, a folk percussion instrument. The dholak is most commonly recognised in countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, but can also be found amongst the Indo-Diaspora in countries s ...

in the film music. His pioneering work in music later inspired many Punjabi film music directors like Hansraj Behl, Shyam Sunder, Husnlal Bhagatram and Feroz Nizami. His assistants in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

were film music composers Madan Mohan, Datta Naik and

Nashad Nashad (; 11July 192314January 1981) was a film composer and music director of Indian and Pakistani film industry. He composed music for Hindi films in the 1940s and 1950s, credited on-screen under the names Nashad and then later migrated to P ...

, not to be confused here with

Naushad Naushad Ali (25 December 1919 – 5 May 2006) was an Indian composer for Hindi films. He is widely considered to be one of the greatest and foremost music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly known for popularising the use of ...

. Later in Pakistan, film music director A. Hameed worked as his assistant.

Death

After

in 1947, he returned to

in 1949 and his first

film was Shahida (1949). He composed music for many other

films like ''Beqarar'' (1950), ''Akeli'' (1951) and ''Bheegi Palken'' (1952) but the films flopped. He died just a few days after the release of Pakistani film Gulnar (1953) due to throat cancer at age 45.

Awards and recognition

* Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (Medal of Distinction) by the

President of Pakistan The president of Pakistan () is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. The president is the nominal head of the executive and the supreme commander of the Pakistan Armed Forces.

in 2011. *

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 ...

Award 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 ...

in 2018.

Filmography

His major films are: *Gulnar (1953) *Aabshar (1953) * Beqarar (1950) *Do Saudagar (1950) *Putli (1950) * Shahida (1949) * Kaneez (1949) *Majboor (1948) *

(1948) *Shama (1948) *Barsaat Ki Ek Raat (1948) *Patjhar (1948) *Jag Beeti (1947) * Manjhdhar (1947) *But Tarash (1947) *Mehndi (1947) *Jag Beeti (1946) *Bairam Khan (1946) *

(1945) *Phool (1945) * Chal Chal Re Naujawan (1944) *Bhai (1944) * Poonji (1943) * Khandan (1942) *Zamindar (1942) *Chaudhry (1941) * Khazanchi (1941) * Yamla Jat (1940) *Gul-E-Bakawali (1939) *Majnu (1935) *Swarg Ki Seerhi (1935) *Thief of Iraq (1934)

Popular compositions

*Yasrib ko janey waley, mera salaam le ja - a

Naat A nucleic acid test (NAT) is a technique used to detect a particular nucleic acid sequence and thus usually to detect and identify a particular species or subspecies of organism, often a virus or bacterium that acts as a pathogen in blood, Tissue ...

song, (singer: Umra-o-Zia Begum) *Aashiyaane Ko Mere Jab (film: Thief of Iraq 1934) *Paigham saba lai hai gulzar-e-nabi se, aaya hai bulawa mujhe darbar-e-nabi se - a

song, (singer:

, lyrics by Wali Sahib), a Radio Lahore Production (1938) *Shala jawania maney, aakha na morin, pee lai (singer: Baby

, film: Gul-E-Bakawali 1939) *Pinjare De Vich Qaid Jawanee Mastanee (singer: Baby

, film: Gul-E-Bakawali 1939) *Kankan dian pakkian faslaan ne (singer:

, film: Yamla Jat 1940) *Bas bas we dholna, tere naal ki bolna (singer:

, film: Yamla Jat 1940) *Sawan ke nazarey hain, ha ha ha (singer:

, film: Khazanchi 1941) *Ek Kalee Naazon Ki Palee (film: Khazanchi 1941) *Tu koun si Badli mein, mere Chand hay aa ja (singer:

, film: Khandan (1942) *Mere liye jehan mein chain hay na qarar hay (singer:

, film: Khandan (1942) *Sajan Aa Ja, Rajan Aa Ja (film: Bhai 1944) *Chamko Chamko Bijaliya, Han Bijaliya (film: Chal Chal Re Naujawan 1944) *Mujhe Madhur Lagata Hai Unsey (film: Chal Chal Re Naujawan 1944) *Ai Chand Tu Bata De (film:

1945) *Data Toree Daya Se Abb Des Hamara (film:

1945) *Ho Chand Chamaka Andhere Me Aaj Hai: (film:

1945) *Ashkon Pe Huwa Khatam Mere Gham Kaa Fasana: film: Bairam Khan (1946) *Gulshan Pe Hai Bahar, Koyal Kee Hai Pukar (film: Jag Beeti (1947) *Ham Hain Dukhiya Iss Duneeya Me (film: Jag Beeti (1947) *Aaj Mohe Sajan Ghar Jana (film: Majhdhaar 1947) *Aa Jao Beedeshi Baalama (film: Padmini (1948) *Aajaa Bedardi Baalama (film:

1948) *Aana Hai Toh Aa Jao Gar (film:

1948) *Ab JiKe Koyi Kyaa Kare (film: Majboor (1948)) *Dil Mera Toda, Mujhe Kahin Ka Na Chhoda (singer:

) - film: Majboor (1948) *Watan ki rah mein, watan ke no-jawan shaheed ho (singer:

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and range of voice ...

, film:

1948) * - singer:

- film ''Gulnar'' (1953 film) *Bachpan Ki Yadgaro, Mein Tumko Dhundhatee Huun - film ''Gulnar (1953 film)''

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Haider, Ghulam Pakistani composers Pakistani film score composers 1908 births 1953 deaths Hindi film score composers People from Hyderabad District, Pakistan 20th-century composers 20th-century Indian musicians Recipients of Tamgha-e-Imtiaz Recipients of the Pride of Performance All India Radio people