Naseem Begum (), (24 February 1936 – 29 September 1971) was a famous

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 ...

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

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 ...

. She was known as ''The Tradegy Queen'' for singing sorrowful and downhearted songs in films. She rose to prominence in the late 1950s, and by 1964, she had won the prestigious Nigar Awards on four occasions. Despite originally being billed as a ''Second

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 ...

'', Naseem Begum quickly carved out her own successful niche in the Pakistani film industry. She was the original singer of the popular song "Aye Rah-e-Haq Ke Shaheedo".

Early life

Naseem Begum was born in the city of

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

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 ...

, in 1936. She acquired her musical training from the classical singer Mukhtar Begum, the elder sister of the renowned ghazal vocalist Farida Khanum.

Career

Her first film, as a playback singer, was music director Ghulam Ahmed Chishti 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 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 ...

. For her contributions towards singing industry and for army for her moral support in the Indo-Pak war, she was honored 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 ...

with the

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 ...

in 1965.

Personal life

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

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 ...

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# ...

at the age of 35. She was laid to rest at

Miani Sahib Graveyard The Miani Sahib Graveyard ( Punjabi, ) is the largest graveyard in the city of Lahore, Pakistan. It is in the centre of Lahore. Its origins date back to the Mughal era, making it one of the oldest graveyards in the region. Miani Sahib Graveyard ...

, Lahore.

Filmography

Some remarkable films for which Naseem Begum sang some heart-warming songs are: * ''Guddi Gudda'' (1956) * ''Kartar Singh'' (1959) * '' Salma'' (1960) * '' Shaam Dhalay'' (1960) * '' Saheli'' (1960) * ''Ghunghat'' (1962) * ''

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 ...

'' (1962) * ''Aulad'' (1962) * '' Baaji'' (1963) * '' Dulhan'' (1963) * ''Ik Tera Sahara'' (1963) * ''Haveli'' (1964) * '' Beti'' (1964) * ''

Farangi Farang () is a Persian word that originally referred to the Franks (the major Germanic people) and later came to refer to Western or Latin Europeans in general. The word is borrowed from Old French or Latin , which are also the source of ...

'' (1964) * '' Kaneez'' (1965) * '' Aag Ka Darya'' (1966) * ''Maader-e-Watan'' (1966) * ''Payel Ki Jhankar'' (1966) * '' Shahansha-e-Jahangir'' (1968) * '' Zarqa'' (1969) In addition to these films, she also sang for many Punjabi films, some of which are ''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 The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (); also known as ''Radio Pakistan'', serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate its founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in P ...

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 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 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 20th-century Pakistani singers Pakistani classical singers Women ghazal singers Recipients of the Pride of Performance Pakistani ghazal singers People from Punjab Province (British India)