Sohail Rana (born 31 March 1938) is 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 A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and defi ...

for

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 ...

s and

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

. He was introduced by actor Waheed Murad in Pakistan film industry and gained popularity when 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 ...

sang his compositions in such films as Armaan and Doraha.#ThrowbackThursday: Music virtuoso Sohail Rana, Ahmed Rushdi
The Express Tribune (newspaper), Published 24 September 2014, Retrieved 27 December 2021 He is now based in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

.Shades of glory: Sohail Rana

Dawn Dawn is the time that marks the beginning of twilight before sunrise. It is recognized by the diffuse sky radiation, appearance of indirect sunlight being Rayleigh scattering, scattered in Earth's atmosphere, when the centre of the Sun's disc ha ...

(newspaper), Published 19 April 2009, Retrieved 28 December 2021

Early life and education

Sohail Rana was born in

Agra Agra ( ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra is the ...

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 the home of Urdu poets ''Mr.& Mrs.Rana Akbarabadi''. The family moved to

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# ...

soon after the

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 earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of Karachi The University of Karachi (; informally Karachi University, KU, or UoK) is a public research university located in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan. Established in June 1951 by an act of Parliament and as a successor to the University of Sindh (which is ...

through D.J. Science College initially. Later he received his final B.A. degree from National College,

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

. Sohail Rana learned music from various

ustad Ustad, ustadh, ustaz or ustadz (abbreviated as Ust., Ut. or Ud.; from Persian language, Persian ''ustād'') is an honorific title used in West Asia, North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is used in various languages, incl ...

s and familiarised himself with the Eastern classical music and the Western music, which added to his experience. Sohail Rana was also musically inspired by veteran Indian film music director

Naushad Ali 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 ...

. For 25 years, they wrote letters to each other. Naushad Ali also used to advise him on film music in those letters. Pakistani music director Feroze Nizami's film music also inspired him.

Career

Films

The film ''Jab Se Dekha Hai Tumhain'' was Waheed Murad's second film as a producer and the musical debut of Sohail Rana. Some other popular songs of his are ''

Ko Ko Korina "Ko Ko Korina" (Urdu:) is a song which appeared in the 1966 Urdu-language film '' Armaan'' and is considered the first pop song of Pakistan, and often of all South Asia. Produced during the Golden Age of Pakistani cinema, the song's lyrics wer ...

'', ''Bay taab ho udhar tum'', ''Jab pyar mein do dil miltay hain'', ''Oont pay baitha mera munna'', which were recorded by Ahmed Rushdi. Sohail Rana composed the hit songs for the golden jubilee film, '' Heera Aur Pathar'', released on 11 December 1964. The film completed 68 houseful weeks. The film became a musical hit, and Sohail Rana became a well-known name in the Pakistani film industry. The composition of ''Mujhay tum say mohabbat hai'' (singers: Ahmed Rushdi and ''Najma Niazi'', and ''Ja ja ray chanda ja ray'' (singer: Mala earned him some fame for the above film. Pakistan's first

platinum jubilee A platinum jubilee is a celebration held to mark an anniversary. Among Monarchy, monarchies, it usually refers to a 70th anniversary. The most recent monarch to celebrate a platinum jubilee is Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and the ...

film was '' Armaan'' (1966). It is an epic tale of broken hearts and broken dreams. The evergreen song ''Akele na jaana'' (singer: Mala), with sixty five musicians back then, the biggest orchestra ever gathered until then in Pakistani cinema. Further, Sohail Rana won the prestigious Nigar Award and Graduate awards for the best composer for the film Armaan (1966 film). By the mid-1960s, Sohail Rana had become a successful film composer. He contributed compositions for the film '' Ehsaan'', released on 30 June 1967. The film attained Silver Jubilee with such favourite songs as ''Ik naye maur pay'', ''Aye meri zindigi aye meray hum safar'', ''Do akhian, ye do sakhian''. The songs of the film '' Doraha'' were composed by him, and he was also the producer of the film. The famous tracks are ''Mujhay tum nazar say gira to rahay ho'', ''Bhooli huwee hoon dastaan'', ''Tumhain kaisay bata doon tum meri manzil ho''. Over the years, he composed for the nazms, ''Qasm us waqt ki'', ''Jab zindigi karwat badalti hai'' (Film: ''Qasam us waqt ki'', (singer: ''Mujeeb Alam'') also became a popular film song. Sohail Rana produced lilting music for Nigar Pictures ''Meray hum safar'', released in 1972, three of its popular numbers are ''Wada karo milo gey'' (Singer: Ahmed Rushdi, ''Hai bay qarar tamanna'' (singer: Mujeeb Alam) and ''Tujh jaisa dagha baaz'' (singer:

Runa Laila Runa Laila (born 17 November 1952) is a Bangladeshi playback singer and composer. She started her career in the Pakistani film industry in the late 1960s. Her style of singing is inspired by Pakistani playback singer Ahmed Rushdi and also f ...

). Similarly, ''Tujhay apnay dil say mein kaisay bhula doon'' (singer Ahmed Rushdi) is one of the greatest hits from the film ''Shehnai''.Sohail Rana Filmography on IMDb website
Retrieved 17 June 2019 From 1974 to 1976, Sohail Rana was appointed as the general manager National Orchestra, for

Pakistan Television Corporation Pakistan Television Corporation (; reporting name: PTV); also known as ''Pakistan Television'', is the Pakistani state-owned broadcaster founded by the Government of Pakistan, operating under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. I ...

(PTV), based at

center. His musical masterpieces are ''Sohni Dharti'' (singers: Shehnaz Begum,

Mehdi Hassan Mehdi Hassan Khan (; 18 July 1927 – 13 June 2012), known as Mehdi Hassan, was a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer of great renown. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of ghazal singing, ...

, lyricist: Masroor Anwar) have become part and parcel of Pakistani culture. Likewise, ''Jeeway Pakistan'', ''Zameen ki goud'', and ''Mein Bhi Pakistan Hoon'' achieved tremendous success. Furthermore, he composed music for 2 MGD's (Mass gymnastic displays) held in 1975 and 1976 in Islamabad. Also in Islamabad in 1989 he composed music for SAF games (South Asian Federation) games with 100 singers, 150 piece brass band and 35 piece orchestra. The film ''Badal Aur Bijli'' was also a huge success, essentially due to his ''Bansi bajanay walay'' (singer:

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 ...

), ''Dheeray dheeray zara paoon utha'' (singers: Masood Rana and Mala), ''Aaj janay ki zid na karo'' (singer:

Habib Wali Mohammad Habib Wali Mohammad (), (16 January 1921 – 3 September 2014) was a Pakistani ghazal and film playback singer. Early life Habib Wali Mohammad was born on January 16, 1921, in Rangoon in the Burma province of British India (now in Myanmar) ...

and little later a private recording by Farida Khanum). The Farida Khanum version has been used in an

Indian film The cinema of India, consisting of 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 film industries, each focused on pr ...

Monsoon Wedding (though without Sohail Rana's permission). Besides RPG recording company also released an album (Asha) in which two of his compositions "Aaj jaane ki zid na karo" and "Mujhey tum nazar se gira tau rahe ho" were also released. Apart from that, Sohail Rana also composed music for the films, ''Phir chand niklay ga'' (1970) and ''Usay deikha Usay chaaha'' (1974). He also served as Resident composer in PIA Arts Academy sponsored by

Pakistan International Airlines Pakistan International Airlines, commonly known as PIA, is the flag carrier of Pakistan. With its primary hub at Jinnah International Airport in Karachi, the airline also operates from its secondary hubs at Allama Iqbal International Airport ...

from 1972 to 1974, where he conducted Ballet

Heer Ranjha '' Ranjha'' () is a classical Punjabi folk tragedy with many historic poetic narrations; with the first one penned by Damodar Gulati in 1600s, on the preexisting oral legend; and the most famous one, ''Heer'', written by Waris Shah in 17 ...

, composed and re-arranged music for folk dances and under the directorship of Zia Mohyeddin and with a team of eighty-eight dancers, musicians, singers, he toured the whole world performing in prestigious auditoriums and earned the appreciation of international audience. Sohail Rana also gave music for the films ''Saughat, Dil Dekay Dekho, Dil Diwana, Shehnai'' and ''Baazi''. In total he has composed music for about twenty-four movies. The film ''Hesaab'' which was released in 1986 happened to be the last movie for which Sohail Rana composed music. Three of those movies, ''Guriya'', ''Pagal'' and ''Hulchul'', could not be released. However, popular numbers from the film ''Guriya'' and ''Hulchul'' are available on cassettes and vinyl EPs.

Television

Additionally, he devoted his time to compose over 2000 songs for children. His program for children were telecast from PTV for 19 years from 1968 to 1987, from ''Kaliyoan Ki Mala'', to ''Sang Sang Chaltay Rehna''. Given below are the names of some of Sohail Rana's well-known students who attained fame for themselves in Pakistani media. Muhammad Ali Shahki, Amjad Hussain, Alamgir, Mona sisters, Benjamin Sisters, Afshan Ahmed, Adnan Sami, Wasim Baig,

Nazia Hasan Nazia Hassan (3 April 1965 – 13 August 2000) was a Pakistani singer, songwriter, lawyer, political analyst and philanthropist. Referred to as the " Queen of South Asian Pop", she is considered one of the most influential singers in South Asia ...

Zohaib Hassan Zoheb Hassan (born November 18, 1966) is a Pakistani pop icon, singer, songwriter, producer, and was a part of the superduo Nazia and Zoheb, with his sister Nazia Hassan. Early career and breakthrough Zoheb and his sister Nazia spent their chi ...

, Nazneen, Fatima Jaffrey, Anwar Ibrahim and Mehnaz. Sohail Rana released two cassettes of Na'at by Anwar Ibrahim ''Jaan-e-Madina'' vol. 1 and 2. Both of these cassettes contained the Naats and Humds by Sohail Rana's poet father Rana Akbarabadi. Sohail Rana also composed the Summit Anthem ''Allah-O-Akbar'', for

, in the voice of Mehdi Zaheer and a group of hundred singers, for the first Islamic Summit conference held 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, in 1974.

Popular patriotic songs

Life in Canada

Sohail moved to

Mississauga, Ontario Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

in Canada in the early 1990s where he has opened a school for singers and musicians. In 1997, Punjabi playwright and director Atamjit Singh visited Canada and also directed his play 'Rishtiaan da Kee Rakhiye Naa' that is based upon Saadat Hasan Manto's well-known story Toba Tek Singh. Sohail Rana composed the music of this play that was sung live in

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

. The pain of the

in 1947 was revisited jointly by the artistes and spectators of the two countries. Later Sohail Rana was honoured for his music. As of 2005, he was starting to perform live with interactive multi-media and gave series of concerts in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, Canada involving artists from Pakistan and

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 ...

. He made an appearance on

Geo TV Jang Media Group (), also known as Geo Group, is a Pakistani media conglomerate and a subsidiary of Dubai-based company Independent Media Corporation. It has headquarters in Printing House, Karachi. It is the publisher of the Urdu language new ...

special in 2009 ''Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo'' (THE TRIBUTE). Sohail Rana was invited to Pakistan by GEO TV, where he, with the stars like Shafqat Amanat Ali Khan, Fariha Pervez, Ahmed Jahanzeb, Ali Haider, Muhammad Ali Shahki, Humaira Channa, Sajjad Ali, along with an orchestra of 37 members presented his popular songs of yester-years.

Awards and recognition

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 (1981) 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.

*''Gold Discs'' from

EMI EMI Group Limited (formerly EMI Group plc until 2007; originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At t ...

in (1974) for his vinyl album, ''Khyber Mail'' * Pakistani television (PTV) awarded him with PTV Awards in 1982 and 1989 * ''Lifetime Achievement Award'' in 2007 from

(PTV) *

Sitara-i-Imtiaz The Sitara-e-Imtiaz () also spelled as Sitara-i-Imtiaz, is the third-highest (in the order of "Imtiaz") honour and Civil decorations of Pakistan, civilian award in the State of Pakistan. It recognizes individuals who have made an "especially me ...

(Star of Excellence) Award by the

in 2012 * Nigar Award as Best Music Director for Armaan (1966 film) He was also given the United Nations ''Peace Messenger Award'', conferred on him, at the United Nations headquarters in New York in 1987.

References

External links

"South Asian Canadian anthem to be unveiled in Toronto", ''DNA India''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rana, Sohail Pakistani composers Pakistani emigrants to Canada Naturalized citizens of Canada Living people People from Agra Nigar Award winners Recipients of the Pride of Performance Recipients of Sitara-i-Imtiaz Pakistani film score composers University of Karachi alumni Musicians from Karachi Musicians from Mississauga Pakistani musicians Muhajir people Pakistani children's musicians 1938 births PTV Award winners