Naseem Begum ( Punjabi, ur, ; 9 November 1942 – 5 March 1990), known professionally as Mala ( ur, ), was a Pakistani

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 ...

Urdu Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

and Punjabi films. In the 1960s, Mala was a 'hit pair for singing duet film songs' 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 = ...

and they gave numerous hits to Pakistan film industry. She was also called ''Princess Mala Begum'' as she provided the singing voice for actresses who portrayed roles of royal and upper-class families in films. She sang many popular film songs spanning almost three decades of her singing career in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Mala's career suffered a setback with the arrival of

Runa Laila Runa Laila ( bn, রুনা লায়লা, ur, ; born 17 November 1952) is a Bangladeshi playback singer and composer. She started her career in Pakistan film industry in the late 1960s. Her style of singing is inspired by Pakistani ...

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. ...

Early life

Mala's given name was Naseem Begum. She was born on 9 November 1942 in Faisalabad, Punjab. She was the younger sister of music composer ''

Shamim Nazli Shamim Nazli ( Punjabi, ur, ), (1940 - November 27, 2010) was a Pakistani music director. She composed playback music for movies like ''Baharein Phir Bhi Ayein Gi'' (1969) and '' Bin Badal Barsaat'' (1975). She was the elder sister of playback ...

''.

Career

Mala was interested in singing and music from a young age. Her elder sister happened to be her first music teacher and Naseem learned the basics of music from her. On Shamim Nazli's request, music composer, Baba Ghulam Ahmed Chishti recorded two songs for the Punjabi film ''Aabroo'' (1961) in Mala's voice. However, the film flopped. Despite the fact that her elder sister got her a break in films, it was the film producer Anwar Kamal Pasha who persuaded Naseem to try her luck and not give up on the

. Her first hit in films came in 1962. She changed her name to Mala and sang a simple Urdu composition, ''Aaya re dekho'' for the film ''Sooraj Mukhi'' (1962). The music was composed by Master Abdullah. In 1962, Mala rendered her voice to a tragic Urdu composition, for the film (1962). The music was composed by '' Master Inayat Hussain ''and the song was picturised on actress Yasmin and this film song ended up being a popular song of 1962. The film song lyrics were written by

Qateel Shifai Muhammad Aurangzeb or Qateel Shifai ( ur, ), (24 December 1919 – 11 July 2001) was a Pakistani Urdu poet and lyricist. Early life and career Qateel Shifai was born in Haripur District as Muhammad Aurangzeb in 1919 in British India (now Paki ...

. Additionally, Mala's greatest accomplishment was the film song 'Akele Na Jaana' in the film

Armaan (1966 film) Armaan ( ur, ) is a 1966 Pakistani black-and-white film produced by Waheed Murad and directed by Pervez Malik. It was the first Pakistani film to complete 75 weeks in cinemas and, thus, became the first Pakistani (Urdu) " Platinum Jubilee" ...

. Mala teamed up with music director

Sohail Rana Sohail Rana (born 31 March 1938) is a Pakistani music composer for films and television. He was introduced by actor Waheed Murad in Pakistan film industry and gained popularity when singer Ahmed Rushdi sang his compositions in such films as ...

and film songs writer

Masroor Anwar Masroor Anwar (6 January 1944 – 1 April 1996) was a ghazal poet, film song lyricist and a film screenwriter. He wrote the lyrics for ' Ko Ko Korina', South Asia's first pop song, and working alongside Sohail Rana, film director Pervez ...

.
Besides

Urdu language Urdu (;"Urdu"
''

Punjabi language Punjabi (; ; , ), sometimes spelled Panjabi, is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language of the Punjab, Punjab region of Pakistan and India. It has approximately 113 million native speakers. Punjabi is the most widely-spoken first lan ...

Personal life

''Mala'' married twice but both of her marriages failed miserably. She had a daughter from husband ''Muhammad Ashiq Butt'' who was a film producer and she named her daughter after her musical iconic film,

Naila Naila is a town in the Frankenwald hills, in the Hof district of Bavaria. Naila is from the larger city of Hof, on both banks of the Selbitz river. History The earliest documentation of Naila dates at 9 January 1343. The first settlements ...

Death

Mala died on 5 March 1990 and was laid to rest at

Miani Sahib Graveyard The Miani Sahib Graveyard ( Punjabi, ur, ) is the largest graveyard in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. It is in the centre of Lahore.https://www.economist.com/news/asia/21727124-it-may-make-death-unequal-life-pakistan-inaugurates-luxury-graveyard ...

, Lahore. Later her sister was also buried near her grave.Pakistani playback singer Mala remembered
Pakistan Today (newspaper), Published 7 March 2013, Retrieved 27 September 2022

Mala's popular film songs

* "Sapnon mein urri urri jaaoon", Sung by Mala, lyrics by

, music by Rasheed Attre in film ''Mehboob'' (1962) * "Dil deta hai ro ro duhai kisi se koi pyar na kare", Sung by Sain Akhtar Hussain and Mala, lyrics by

, music by '' Master Inayat Hussain'' in film ''Ishq Par Zor Nahin'' (1962) * "Mein nein tau pareet nibhai, saanwaria re nikla tu harjai", Sung by Mala, lyrics by

Himayat Ali Shair Himayat Ali Shair ( ur, ; July 14, 1926 – July 15, 2019) was an Urdu poet, writer, film songwriter, actor and radio drama artist from Pakistan. He received the 2002 Pride of Performance Award for his literary services in Urdu literature from ...

, music by

Khalil Ahmed Khalil Ahmed (3 March 1936 – 22 July 1997) was a Pakistani composer for radio, television, and films. He started his career with film ''Aanchal (1962)'' and remained one of the leading music directors in Pakistan in the 1960s. He compos ...

in film ''Khamosh Raho'' (1964) * "Taangay walia sawari aan mein teray haan dee", Sung by Mala, lyrics by ''Hazeen Qadri'', music by

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. H ...

in film ''Daachi'' (1964) * "Jaa re bedardi tu nein kahin ka hamein na chhorra", Sung by Mala, lyrics by

Fayyaz Hashmi Fayyaz Hashmi ( ur, ; 1920 2011) was a Pakistani poet and screenwriter who worked both in the Indian and Pakistani film industry. He penned some memorable songs such as the famous nazm Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo and ''Tasveer teri dil mera be ...

, music by ''A. Hamid'' in film ''Aashiana'' (1964) * "Chunni kaisri tay gottay dian dhaarian", Sung by Mala, Naheed Niazi and

Irene Perveen Irene Perveen also spelled as Irene Parveen is a Pakistani playback singer from the 1960s, who mainly sang for Pakistani films. She gained popularity for her film song, "''Tumhi ho mehboob mere''" for movie ''Aaina'' (1966). Early life Irene w ...

, lyrics by ''Tanvir Naqvi'', music by ''Master Inayat Hussain'' in film ''Lai Lag'' (1964) * "Reham karo ya shah-e-do-aalam" Sung by Mala, lyrics by

, music by ''A. Hamid'' in film ''

Eid Mubarak Eid Mubarak is an Arabic term that means “Blessed feast/festival'”. The term is used by Muslims all over the world. Internationally Muslims use it as a greeting on the feast. In the social sense, people usually celebrate Eid al-Fitr after R ...

'' (1965) * "Chhadd challi babula terian mein gallian", Sung by Mala, lyrics by ''Hazeen Qadri'', music by Master Abdullah in film

Malangi ''Malangi'' ( Punjabi: ) is a 1965 Pakistani biographical and musical film directed by Rashid Akhtar and produced by Chaudhry Mohammad Aslam. Film starring actor Akmal, Shirin, Yousuf Khan, and Talish. This was a 'Golden Jubilee' film of 196 ...

(1965) * "Ballay ballay wai lokaan paahnay phull uddia", Sung by Mala and others, lyrics by ''Hazeen Qadri'', music by Master Abdullah in film ''Malangi'' (1965) * "Mujhe arzoo thi jiski who paigham aa gaya hai", Sung by Mala, lyrics by

, music by ''Master Inayat Hussain'' in film ''

'' (1965) * "Gham-e-dil ko inn aankhon sey chhalak jana bhi aata hai", Sung by Mala, lyrics by

, music by Master Inayat Hussain in film ''Naila'' (1965) * "Dil ke veraanay mein ik shama hai roshan kab se", Sung by Mala, lyrics by

, music by ''Master Inayat Hussain'' in film ''Naila'' (1965) * "Ab thandi aahein bhar pagli, jaa aur mohabbat kar pagli", Sung by Mala, lyrics by

, music by ''Master Inayat Hussain'' in film ''Naila'' (1965) * "Saaz-e-dil chhaira hai humne, hukam tha kuchh gaaeay" Sung by Mala, lyrics by

, music by ''Safdar Hussain'' in film ''Pardah'' (1966) * "Yeh samaan pyaara pyaara, yeh hawaain thandi thandi", Sung by Mala, lyrics and music by ''Bashir Ahmed'' or (B. A. Deep) in film ''Darshan'' (1966) * "Shama ka shola bharak raha hai", Sung by Mala, lyrics by ''Mushir Kazmi'', music by

Nisar Bazmi Nisar Bazmi (1 December 1924 – 22 March 2007) was a composer and music director of Indian and Pakistan film industry.

in film ''Aadil'' (1966) * "Akelay na jaana hamein chorr kar", Sung by Mala, lyrics by ''Masroor Anwar'', music by

in film '' Armaan'' (1966) * "Chanda se milnay chali hai chakori", Sung by Mala and Firdausi Begum, lyrics by ''Akhtar Yousuf'', music by Robin Ghosh in film '' Chakori'' (1967) * "Ni lang jaana assaan dilaan te paer dhar ke", Sung by Mala, lyrics by Ahmad Rahi, music by ''Rehman Verma'' in film ''Sassi Punnun'' (1968) * "Tujhay piyar ki qasam hai", Sung by Masood Rana/Mala, lyrics by Suroor Barabankvi, music by

Karim Shahabuddin ''Karim Shahabuddin'' was a Pakistani music director who scored music in Bengali and Urdu films in the late 60s and early 70s. He is known for composing the song, "''Dekha Na Tha Kabhi Hum Ne Ye Samaan''" (vocalized by Alamgir and Nahid Akhtar) ...

in film ''Chand Aur Chandni'' (1968) * "Mohey aaii na jag se laaj, mein itna zor se naachi aaj, ke ghunghroo tuut gai", Sung by Mala, lyrics by

, music by

Nisar Bazmi Nisar Bazmi (1 December 1924 – 22 March 2007) was a composer and music director of Indian and Pakistan film industry.

in film ''Naaz'' (1969) * "Kisne torra hai dil hazoor ka", Sung by Mala, lyrics by

Khawaja Pervez Khawaja Pervez ( ur, ), (28 December 1930 – 20 June 2011) was a prominent Pakistani film composer- lyricist and film songwriter for both Urdu and Punjabi language films. His real name was Khawaja Ghulam Mohiuddin. His professional car ...

, music by ''Kamal Ahmad'' in film ''Rangeela'' (1970) * "Chalo kahin duur, yeh samaj chorr dein", Sung by Mala and

Mehdi Hassan Mehdi Hassan Khan ( ur, مہدی حسن خاں , translit=) 18 July 1927 – 13 June 2012) was a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer for Lollywood. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of gh ...

, lyrics by

Habib Jalib Habib Jalib (24 March 1928 - 12 March 1993; Urdu, Punjabi: ) was a Pakistani revolutionary poet, left-wing activist who opposed martial law, authoritarianism and state oppression. Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz said that he was the poet of ...

, music by ''A. Hamid'' in film ''Samaaj'' (1974)

Awards and recognition

References

External links

* (Mala's filmography at the Internet Movie Database website) {{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Mala 1942 births 20th-century Pakistani women singers Pakistani ghazal singers Pakistani radio personalities Nigar Award winners 1990 deaths Pakistani playback singers People from Faisalabad Punjabi people Urdu-language singers Punjabi women Singers from Faisalabad Pakistani classical singers Punjabi-language singers Women ghazal singers Radio personalities from Lahore Pakistani women singers