KARACHI: Melody Queen and one of legendary Pakistani actresses Madam Noor Jehan was honoured by Google on her 91st birthday with a doodle.
Born as Allah Wasai on September 21, 1926 to an impoverished musician Madad Ali in Kasur, Noor Jehan started out her career as a singer from Calcutta at the age of nine as a talented child star.
After partition, she moved from Bombay and started her film career in Pakistan as actress, singer and the first female film director with film “Chann Wey” in 1951.
She recorded about 10,000 songs in various languages including Urdu, Hindi, Punjabi and Sindhi.
Being the most influential singers of her time in South Asia, Noor Jehan was given the honorific title of ‘Malika-e-Tarannum’ (Queen of Melody).
Madam Noor Jehan ruled the film industry for more than 35 years. She was not only a celebrated playback singer but also a gifted ghazal singer.
In 1957, Noor Jahan was awarded President’s Award for her acting and singing capabilities.
She also gave Pakistan a new genre, which later developed into a category we all know today as national songs or milli naghme. The beginning of the new genre was made during the 1965 war, when Madam sang live on radio and TV some of the most gripping songs ever composed .
On December 23, 2000, she died as a result of heart failure and was buried in Karachi. The nation had lost a legend.
