Zubaida Khanum

Zubaida Khanum
Born 1935
Amritsar, British India
Died October 2013 (aged 77–78)
Lahore, Pakistan
Genres Punjabi, Urdu
Years active 1950s–1960s

Zubaida Khanum (1935 - 19 October 2013) was a playback singer from Pakistan who recorded almost 250 songs during Lollywood's "golden era" of the 1950s and 1960s.[1][2][3] She was considered Pakistani equivalent to Marni Nixon for giving voice to featured actresses in movie musicals.[4]

Career

Zubaida Khanum debuted as a playback singer in film Billo in 1951, and got breakthrough from film Shehri Babu in 1953.[5] Zubaida also acted as a supporting actress in a handful of films including Patey Khan (1955)[6] and Dulla Bhatti (1956).[7] However, she earned her name as the best melody singer of Punjabi and Urdu in the 1950s.[8] She recorded almost 250 songs, predominantly solo but also in duets. Her career lasted only for a decade but her songs emerged as remembrance to the golden period of Pakistan's film industry.

Personal

Zubida Khanum was born in Amritsar, British India, in 1935, in a Muslim family. The family migrated to Lahore after independence in 1947.

Zubaida did not belong to any traditional gharana[2] and never received any formal music lessons.[9] She was given a head-start as a child when she was directed to the Lahore station of Radio Pakistan.[4]

She married to cameraman Riyaz Bukhari at the height of her career and quit the film industry. She had two daughters and two sons. One of her sons is a cameraman Syed Faisal Bukhari.[1][2]

Zubaida Khanum died on 19 October 2013 due to cardiac arrest at her home in Lahore.[1]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Pakistani singer Zubaida Khanum dies aged 78". BBC News. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 4 November 2013.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Lollywood loses another gem: Zubaida Khanum passes away". Dawn.com. 20 October 2013.
  3. ↑ "Legendary singer Zubaida Khanum passes away". Daily Times. 20 October 2013.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "Zubaida Khanum: The voice of Indian film". The Independent. 10 November 2013. Retrieved 30 October 2013.
  5. ↑ Ahmad, Munir (10 June 2010). "Rich tribute paid to Zubaida Khanum". The Nation.
  6. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0244707/
  7. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402980/
  8. ↑ "Legendary singer Zubaida Khanum passes away". Tribune - The Express. 19 October 2013.
  9. ↑ Zubaida Khanum - The legendary Pakistani film singer. Interview with Shehnaz Sheikh. Pakistan Television. Retrieved 9 April 2014.