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March 3, 2002
REVIEW: The unforgettable queen
SHE caught the showbiz bug at the tender age of seven, grew up in Lahore, Calcutta (Kolkata) and Bombay (Mumbai), acted and sang with musical giants and ruled over the film world for over six decades. Rarely had an artiste in the subcontinent achieved such an enviable position in her lifetime as Noor Jehan, the Melody Queen. With her exceptional voice, extraordinary talent and a charming face, Allah Wasayee of Kasur, became an institution in herself.
She was the only artiste who could bask in her glory in her own lifetime as writers waxed eloquent in praise of her. Whether it was Shaukat Husain Rizvi, her first husband, or Saadat Hassan Manto who made ‘naughty’ remarks at her, people were charmed by her. When she died in 2000, even more tributes poured in.
Melody queen: tributes to Pakistan’s superstar Noor Jehan has nine pieces written after her death and which appeared in national newspapers as obituaries and tributes. Compiled and edited by S.M. Shahid, himself an accomplished student of the art who is well-versed in the intricacies of Indo-Pakistani music, this book contains pieces which have been carefully selected. Shahid’s own contribution is the most challenging — the selection of the best songs with their description in terms of the technicalities of music. These songs are preserved on a CD that comes with the book.
To write about Noor Jehan is to write about a history of three generations — from theatre music to silent movies to talkies. Then there is the acting, the playback singing, the composition and the performance to be taken note of. Born to the family of musicians of Kasur, to which some great musicians of the subcontinent belonged, Allah Wasayee began playing with the musical notes at the age of four.
Her father, Madad Ali, recognized the talent that the little girl had and to enrich it he moved to Lahore. Here under the able guidance of Ustad Ghulam Mohammad Khan, she made rapid progress and became a mature singer at the age of seven when she was brought to the stage. Her maiden performance was a runaway success and her parents and mentor decided to focus on dance and acting as well.
This led the family to move to Calcutta, which at that time was the centre of theatre and gramophone recording. Almost all gramophone companies had set up their studios there with sales offices at Bombay. The sound track technology was still in the process of evolution. Theatre was still very popular.
In 1935, she got a role in “Pind di kuri”, the first Punjabi film of the subcontinent, in which she also sang her first film song “Lang aa patan chana da o yar”. It became an instant hit. This was the beginning of a career baby Noor Jehan had perhaps never dreamed of. This was followed by “Heer Siyal” (1937) and “Sassi Punnoo” (1938), in which she performed as a child artiste for the heroines.
During the second world war, filmdom began moving to Bombay and Noor Jehan also shifted there. Thus began a new era which demanded greater skills from her. She rose to the challenge and acted and sang in films produced under various banners, but Pancholi had a name of its own. Then came the love affair with writer, director and producer Shaukat Hussain Rizvi who changed her perception of life. She acted with great actors, sang to the tunes of maestros and duets with legendary singers. This was the brightest and most memorable period of her performing life.
After Independence, she came to Pakistan and settled in Lahore which had emerged as a strong centre of film production and even Pancholi would postpone releasing a film if Lahore was to release one of its productions. Here, began another phase of her life, which continued till 1997.
Noor Jehan lived a full life. From stage acting to dancing and playback singing, from love affairs to culinary pleasures, she had a lifestyle of her own. Hers was a multi-faceted personality.
The melody queen offers a glossy overview of the various aspects of her life and art. While Sarwat Ali undertakes a detailed journey into her life from a singing child to a celebrity, Sultan Arshad touches the technical aspects of her singing. Khalid Hassan wraps up her life with accounts of personal encounters with the artiste which makes it interesting and also revealing. There are quotes, “I am Noor Jehan because I have worked hard to become Noor Jehan” and answers to intriguing questions, which did she consider her best song (Badnam mohabat kaun kare) to make Khalid Hassan’s piece readable.
M. Rafiq takes a nostalgic look at her life, specially the events that led to some bickerings. Saeed Malik terms her as the voice of the century. Zafar Samdani recalls her role in the promotion of art; Zia Gurchani presents a comprehensive view of her art.
A chapter contains tributes from the living film artistes, playback singers, vocalists, composers and stage artistes. But the last piece by Shahid is remarkable. It is a tedious and arduous task to select a few songs from among thousands and then interpret them in the technical phraseology of music. Commonly film composers do not confine themselves to a certain raag and tend to embellish a composition with manifold raags. The 20 compositions selected were set by Master Ghulam Haider, Sajjad Hussain, K. Dutta, Shiyam Sundar, Naushad, Firoz Nizami, Hunslal and Bhagatram, Akhtar Hussain, Khwaja Khurshid Anwar, Tafu, and Rashid Atre.
To say that Noor Jehan was a great artiste does no justice to her true status in art. In a society where singing and dancing are still considered a taboo, this book is a real tribute to a legend that was Noor Jehan.
Melody queen: tributes to Pakistan’s superstar Noor Jehan
Compiled and edited by S. M. Shahid
89/1, Saba Avenue, Phase V Extension, Defence Housing Authority, Karachi Tel: 021-5845346
Partly sponsored by Pak-Arab Refinery Ltd.
94pp. Rs590 (with CD)
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