Noor Jehan Birthday Special: ‘Jawan hai mohabbat, haseen hai jamana, lutaaya hai dil ne khushi ka khajana’, this song is from the film Anmol Ghadi and this song was sung by the queen of musical instruments Noorjehan. The magic of her voice was such that whoever heard her would get lost in her voice. For many decades, she ruled the hearts of people with her magical voice.
Lata Mangeshkar was also a fan of Noor Jahan
Noor Jahan’s popularity can be gauged from the fact that ‘Bharat Ratna’ Swar Kokila was also her big fan. When Lata Mangeshkar started singing in films, she was influenced by Noor Jahan. Both of them became very good friends in a very short time, but after the partition of the country, Noor Jahan went to Pakistan and Lata Mangeshkar stayed in India. However, the heat of partition did not affect their friendship.
Born on 21 September 1926 in Kasur, Punjab, Noor Jahan’s childhood name was Allah Rakhi Vasai. Noor Jahan’s parents worked in theatre and they were also inclined towards music. The atmosphere at home was musical and it influenced her too. When she was six years old, she started singing, her family members were also impressed by this hobby of hers and they arranged for music education for Noor Jahan at home.
Noor Jahan was an actor as well as a singer
Noor Jahan received her initial musical training from Kajjanbai, but later she received classical music training from Ustad Ghulam Mohammad and Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. During this time, she tried her hand at acting as well as singing in her childhood. She started her film career as a child artist with the film ‘Hind Ke Taare’ released in 1930. Till then her name was Allah Rakhi Vasai. However, singer Mukhtar Begum gave her the name Noor Jahan.
By 1937, Noor Jahan’s family shifted to Lahore. Noor Jahan acted in the film ‘Gul-e-Bakwali’ and it proved to be a superhit and its songs also became very popular. After this, she did films like ‘Yamla Jat’ (1940), ‘Choudhary’.
Her songs ‘Kachiyan Ve Kaliyan Na Tod’ and ‘Bas Bas Ve Dholna Ki Tere Naal Bolna’ became popular among the people. Her film ‘Khandan’ was released in 1942, in which she caught people’s attention for the first time. Later she married the director of this film Shaukat Hussain Rizvi, but they separated in 1953. Noor Jahan’s second marriage was with Ejaz Durrani, which broke up after a few years.
Dilip Kumar had tried to stop him in India
After the partition of India and Pakistan, Noor Jahan went to Pakistan forever. Film actor Dilip Kumar had offered Noor Jahan to stay in India, but she refused to stay here and said, ‘I will go back to where I was born.’
However, she continued singing for Indian films even after moving to Pakistan. While living in India, Noor Jahan worked in ‘Khandaan’, ‘Jugnu’, ‘Duhai’, ‘Naukar’, ‘Dost’, ‘Badi Maa’ and ‘Village Girl’. Noor Jahan’s last film as an actress was ‘Baazi’, which was released in 1963. She made 14 films while living in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, she continued singing. Noor Jahan was awarded more than 15 Nigar Awards for best female singer, eight for best Urdu singer and many awards for Punjabi playback singer. Due to her melodious voice, she was given the title of Mallika-e-Tarannum. Mallika-e-Tarannum said goodbye to the world on 23 December 2000 due to a heart attack. She was 74 years old at that time.
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