Mala (Pakistani singer)

Naseem Nazli (Urdu: مالا; November 9, 1939 – March 6, 1990‎), popularly called Mala, was a Pakistani playback singer of Urdu and Punjabi films. In the 1960s, Mala was a 'hit pair for singing duet film songs' with famous playback singer Ahmed Rushdi and they gave numerous hits to Pakistan film industry. She sang many super hit songs in almost two decades of her singing career in the 1960s and 1970s.^[1] Mala's career suffered with the arrival of Runa Laila in the film industry.

Her Career

Mala's given name was Naseem Nazli. She was born in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. She was the younger sister of music composer Shamim Nazli. Mala was interested in singing and music from a young age. Fortunately, her elder sister happened to be her first music teacher and Naseem learned the essentials 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 Anwar Kamal Pasha who persuaded Naseem to try her luck and not give up in the Pakistani film industry. Her first major break 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 and the film went on to become a memorable film. In 1963, Mala rendered her voice to a tragic Urdu composition, Dil daeta hai ro ro duhai,Kisi sey koi pyaar na karey for the film Ishq Par Zor Nahin (1963). The music was composed by Master Inayat Hussain and the song was picturised on Yasmin and this film song ended up being a mega-hit of 1963.Film song lyrics were written by Qateel Shifai.

Additionally, Mala's greatest accomplishment was the film song 'Akele Na Jaana' in film Armaan (1966 film). Mala teamed up with music director Sohail Rana. In 1963, Mala won the Nigar Award for best singer for the film Ishq Par Zor Nahin. In 1965, she won the Nigar Award for best singer for the film Naila.Mala was married to film producer Ashiq Bhatti. The last days of Mala were fraught with loneliness and misery. She could not come to grips with the harsh realities of life. Over and above, she found herself in the midst of deep financial crisis. Mala died on March 6, 1990.She also sang many memorable super-hit film songs for films in the Punjabi language in her active years 1962 to 1972.^[2]

References

External links

• Mala's Profile at cineplot.com website-July 17,2010, Retrieved 14 October 2015
• Mala at the Internet Movie Database, Mala's Profile at Internet Movie Database website, Retrieved 14 October 2015