Saleem Raza (Pakistani singer)

Not to be confused with Saleem Raza.
Saleem Raza
Birth name Noel Dias
Born 4 March 1932
Amritsar, British India
Died 25 November 1983 (aged 51)
Vancouver, Canada
Genres Classical music, ghazal
Occupation(s) Playback singer
Instruments Vocalist
Years active 1955–1983

Saleem Raza (4 March 1932 – 25 November 1983) was a Pakistani playback singer. He started his singing career from Lahore film industry and quickly gained popularity. Raza was a classically trained singer and was more famous for singing sad songs. Saleem Raza's career suffered due to the rise of the singer Ahmed Rushdi in the late 1950s. He left playback singing in 1966 as he lost his popularity with the composers and shifted to Canada where he died a few years later.

Career

Saleem Raza was born as Noel Dias in Amritsar, India in a Christian family. After partition, he migrated to Pakistan and settled in Lahore. He changed his name to Saleem Raza and started singing at Lahore Radio Station. Raza made friends with an artist of the time, Mohni Hameed.[1] Saleem Raza and Mohni Hameed were often seen together for long periods of time. Additionally, Saleem Raza learned music from music composers of those days including M. Sadiq Ali, and Ustaad Aashiq Husain. Saleem Raza’s break came in director Syed Ata Ullah Hashmi’s 1955 film Naukar. Saleem Raza lent his voice to the tragic score, Taqdeer kay malik deikh zara kya zulm hai (Duet, Saleem Raza – Kausar Perveen). But his first film as a playback singer was Qatil in 1955. His breakthrough came with his song Yaaro mujhe muaaf rakho, main nashey mein hoon (Saat Laakh – 1957).[2] He sang many other songs in films like Aas paas, Do rastey, Haboo, Hamsafar, Seema and many more. His last film was Pail ki jhunkar (1966).

Downfall

Saleem Raza remained a dominating singer in the late 1950s due to his popularity in singing tragic songs. In 1961, the music director, Khalil Ahmed, recorded a sad song, Kisi chaman main raho tum bahaar bun kay raho, in Raza's voice for film Anchal but was not satisfied with his expressions. Initially, he decided to re-record the same song in Mehdi Hassan's voice but changed his mind because Mehdi Hassan was facing difficulty with high notes as the composition had variations. Khalil finally invited the famous singer Ahmed Rushdi to sing the same song and Rushdi not only satisfied Khalil but also the song was a super hit. Apart from Ahmed Rushdi, Saleem Raza was in direct competition with highly talented singers like Mehdi Hassan, Masood Rana, Mujeeb Aalam and Bashir Ahmad. Moreover his voice was best suited on Syed Musa Raza (Santosh Kumar) and his brother Darpan. They also lost their popularity in the mid 1960s. These were the basic factors which affected his fame. Later, with the change in the recording devices, Raza found it difficult to adjust to the new equipment, resulting in a setback to his career.

Death

He migrated to Vancouver, Canada, in 1975, and established a music school. For eight years, from 1975 to 1983, Saleem Raza taught music to numerous music students. He also started performing in musical concerts. Saleem Raza suffered from kidney malfunction, which took his life on 25 November 1983. He was fifty-one years of age.[3]

Urdu and Punjabi musical movies

Here are the names of some Urdu and Punjabi famous films for which Salim Raza sang songs which even today make a large number of fans nostalgic.

Saat laakh, Ishq-e-Laila, Bedari, Saheli, Rehguzar, Salma, Gulfaam, Saperan, Azra, Mousiqaar, Aanchal, Qaidi, Ik tera sahara, Tauba, Chingari, Pail ki jhankar Noor E Islam, Chann mahi, Kartar Singh, Mouj mela, Dil dian lagiyan

Some famous songs of Salim Raza

1. Bedard zamanay walon nay kab dard kisi ka jaana hai (Aas paas 1957)

2. Shah-e-Madina (saw), Yasrib kay wali (Noor-e-Islam 1957)Poet Was Naeem Hashmi

3. Ae nazneen tujh sa koi haseen ham nay kabhi (Shama 1959)

4. Zindgi mein ek pal bhi chain aye na, iss jahan main kash koi dil lagaey na (Hamsafar 1960)

5. Bana kay mera nasheman (Do rastay 1961)

6. Tujh ko maalum nahin, tujh ko bhala kya maalum (Anchal 1961)

7. Jan-e-baharan, rashke-e-chaman, ghuncha dahan, shireen badan (Azra 1962)

8. Tum jug jug goe maharaj ray, hum teree nagarya main aaey (Mousiqar 1962)

9. Ae dil kisi ki yaad mein hota hay beqarar kyun, jiss nay bhula dia tujhay us ka hai intezar kyun(Ik tera sahara 1963)

10. Na milta gar yeh tauba ka sahara hum kahan jatay (Tauba 1964)

11. Jo kisi kay qareeb hotay hain, woh baray khush naseeb hotay hain (Shabnum 1965)

12. Ek hamen awara kehna, koi bara ilzam nahin (Insaan 1966)

13. Husn ko chand jawani ko kanwal kehtay hain, tairee surat nazar aaey to ghazal kehtay hain (Payel ki jhankar 1966)

14. Yaro mujhay muaf rakho main nashay main hoon, ab jaam do to khali he do main nashay main hoon (Saat laakh 1957)

15. Meray dil ki anjuman main teray ghum say roshni hai, na bhula sakoon ga tujh ko tera pyar zindagi hai

References

  1. ↑ Saleem Raza. http://www.imran-music.com/saleem_raza_song.htm
  2. ↑ Mazhar Iqbal. "Salim Raza". Mazhar.dk. Retrieved 15 June 2010.
  3. ↑ "Saleem Raza". Anisshakur.tripod.com. Retrieved 15 June 2010.