Anwar Hussain (born 1 February 1949), known popularly by his first name Anwar, is an Indian

playback singer A playback singer, also known as a ghost singer, is a singer whose singing is pre-recorded for use in films. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras; the actual singer does not app ...

who rose to prominence in the Hindi playback industry because of the uncanny resemblance of his voice with that of singer

Mohammed Rafi Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) was an Indian playback singer and musician. He is considered to have been one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent. Rafi was notable for his versatility and ...

Early years

Anwar was born in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

on 1 February 1949. His father, Ashiq Hussain (Ahmed Ali Khan), was an accomplished

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

and

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

player and an assistant music director to the musician Ghulam Haider. Anwar is the brother of actress

Asha Sachdev Nafeesa Sultan, better known by her screen name Asha Sachdev is an Indian actress known for her roles as a supporting actress in Bollywood films of the 1970s and 1980s. She acted in a few early films as a lead actress as well, including the hit ...

, through Ashiq's first marriage to actress Ranjana Sachdev, and the half-brother of actor

Arshad Warsi Arshad Warsi (born 19 April 1968) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. He is the recipient of several awards including a Filmfare Award from five nominations and is noted for acting in varied film genres. Before making his acting deb ...

through his second marriage after divorce. The siblings have never lived together and are estranged from each other. The young Anwar was classically trained by

Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan Ustād or ostād (abbreviated as Ust., Ut. or Ud.; from Persian ) is an honorific title used in West Asia, North Africa, South Asia and Southeast Asia. It is used in various languages such as Persian, , Azerbaijani, Urdu, Hindi, Bengali, Marathi ...

, along with Mahendra Kapoor, the same teacher who was the preceptor of the legendary playback singer

Mahendra Kapoor Mahendra Kapoor (9 January 1934 – 27 September 2008) was an Indian playback singer. In a long career spanning decades, his repertoire included popular songs such as ''Chalo ekbaar phir se Ajnabi ban jayen hum dono'' ( Gumrah) and ''Neele Gaga ...

also. Anwar started singing Mohammad Rafi songs at various concerts. It was during one of those musical shows that Anwar was spotted by the music director Kamal Rajasthani, who gave him a chance to sing for his film ''

Mere Gharib Nawaz Mere may refer to: Places * Mere, Belgium, a village in East Flanders * Mere, Cheshire, England * Mere, Wiltshire, England People * Mere Broughton (1938–2016), New Zealand Māori language activist and unionist * Mere Smith, American televisi ...

''.

Singing career

Anwar made his debut as playback singer in the film ''Mere Gharib Nawaaz'' (1973) and the music director who gave him this break was Kamaal Rajasthani. Music Director Kamal Rajasthani relates that during the recording sessions of the song "Kasme Hum Apno Jaan Ki" for this film,

was so impressed that he described Anwar as the one singer who could take his place after him. Indeed, the rendition of that song shows promise, but the film, flopped very badly at the box office and the songs also did not find traction with the audience. In 1977, comedian

Mehmood Mahmud is a transliteration of the male Arabic given name (), common in most parts of the Islamic world. It comes from the Arabic triconsonantal root Ḥ-M-D, meaning ''praise'', along with ''Muhammad''. Siam Mahmud *Mahmood (singer) (born 1 ...

and music director

Rajesh Roshan Rajesh Roshan Lal Nagrath (born 24 May 1955) is an Indian Hindi cinema music director and composer. He is the son of music director Roshan and singer Ira Roshan. Personal life Rajesh Roshan has a Punjabi Hindu father and Bengali Brahmin m ...

hired Anwar to sing for the film ''

Janta Hawaldar ''Janta Havaldar'' () is a 1979 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Mehmood, with Rajesh Khanna playing the title role, paired opposite Yogita Bali. The film has Ashok Kumar and Hema Malini making extended guest appearances. This film was no ...

''. The songs "Teri Aankhon Ki Chahat", and "Humse Ka Bhool Hui", were picturised on famous actor

Rajesh Khanna Rajesh Khanna () (; born Jatin Khanna; 29 December 1942 – 18 July 2012) was an Indian actor, film producer and politician who worked in Hindi films. He is called as the "First Superstar of Hindi cinema", he consecutively starred in a record ...

. Both the film and song were superhit; hence Anwar started getting work and recognition. Here onwards, for several years, Anwar was on a roll. He sang duets alongside playback singers

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...

and

Alka Yagnik Alka, AlkA or ALKA may refer to: People * Alka Ajith (born c. 1997), Indian multilingual playback singer * Alka Amin (active from 2011), Indian television actress * Alka Balram Kshatriya, Indian politician, Member of the Parliament of India repr ...

, under music directors

Khayyam Ghiyāth al-Dīn Abū al-Fatḥ ʿUmar ibn Ibrāhīm Nīsābūrī (18 May 1048 – 4 December 1131), commonly known as Omar Khayyam ( fa, عمر خیّام), was a polymath, known for his contributions to mathematics, astronomy, philosophy, ...

, Laxmikant Pyarelal,

Kalyanji Anandji Kalyanji Virji Shah (30 June 1928 – 24 August 2000) was the ''Kalyanji'' of the Kalyanji-Anandji duo. He and his brother Anandji Virji Shah have been famous Indian film musicians, and won the 1975 Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, f ...

Bappi Lahiri Bappi Aparesh Lahiri (born Alokesh Aparesh Lahiri; 27 November 1952 – 15 February 2022), also known as Bappi Da was an Indian singer, composer and record producer. He popularised the use of synthesised disco music in Indian music industry and ...

Anu Malik Anwar Sardar "Anu" Malik (born 2 November 1960) is an Indian music composer, singer, music arranger and score composer. He is an Indian National Award and Filmfare Award winning musician, who primarily composes music for the Hindi film indus ...

and Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen. In a career span stretching over thirty years, Anwar sang a variety of songs including

filmi Filmi ("of films") music soundtracks are music produced for India's mainstream motion picture industry and written and performed for Indian cinema. In cinema, music directors make up the main body of composers; the songs are performed by playba ...

songs, classical songs and contemporary

ghazals The ''ghazal'' ( ar, غَزَل, bn, গজল, Hindi-Urdu: /, fa, غزل, az, qəzəl, tr, gazel, tm, gazal, uz, gʻazal, gu, ગઝલ) is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. A ghazal may be understood as a p ...

bhajans Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

qawwali Qawwali ( Punjabi: (Shahmukhi), (Gurmukhi); Urdu: (Nasta'liq); Hindi: क़व्वाली (Devanagari); Bengali: কাওয়ালি (Bengali)) is a form of Sufi Islamic devotional singing, originating from the Indian subcontinent ...

, and

Sufi Sufism ( ar, ''aṣ-ṣūfiyya''), also known as Tasawwuf ( ''at-taṣawwuf''), is a mystic body of religious practice, found mainly within Sunni Islam but also within Shia Islam, which is characterized by a focus on Islamic spirituality, ...

songs. The Hindi blockbuster movie YEH ISHQ NAHIN ASAN released on DEC 31, 1984 exclusively featured Anwar Hussain as the male singer lead besides others. This movie starred Rishi Kapoor, Padmini Kolhapure, Radha Saluja and Yogita Bali where the character of the poet/architect Salim Ahmed Salim was played very well by Rishi Kapoor who is well-known to request his playback singer and by then Mohammad Rafi had already left the world (July 1980) and the closest semblance to his voice was Anwar Hussain's rather than Shabbir Kumar's. Frankly, the gazals and songs sung by Anwar Husssain for this movie excels any other movie-group for which Anwar Hussain may have sung.

Recent years

In an interview given to

Hindustan Times ''Hindustan Times'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper based in Delhi. It is the flagship publication of HT Media, an entity controlled by the KK Birla family, and is owned by Shobhana Bhartia. It was founded by Sunder Singh Lyall ...

in November 2007, he cite the rise of

Kumar Sanu Kedarnath Bhattacharya (born 20 October 1957), better known as Kumar Sanu, is an Indian playback singer. He is known as the King of Melody in Bollywood. He is famous for singing thousands of Bollywood Hindi songs. Apart from Hindi, he has al ...

after the release of

Aashiqui Aashiqui () is a 1990 Indian Hindi musical romantic drama film and first installment of Aashiqui series directed by Mahesh Bhatt, starring Rahul Roy, Anu Aggarwal and Deepak Tijori in pivotal roles. The film was known for its music, by com ...

as the reason for his moving to the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, where he gave music lessons and performed live shows to audiences in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. In 2004 Anwar composed an album called ''Meri Aashiqui Se Pehle'' broadcast on popular ''RKB'' show of Sahara Channel. All the songs in the album were mesmerising so much so that one would sense the magic of Mohammad Rafi and appreciate Anwar's talent. In 2007 he admitted being in construction business. He stated that he was expecting the release of his latest album ''Tohfa''. He is not in good terms with his half brother Arshad Warsi and half sister Asha Sachdeva. He was reported by the

Mumbai Mirror The ''Mumbai Mirror'' is an Indian English-language newspaper published in Mumbai, Maharashtra. Launched in 2005 as a compact daily newspaper, its coverage focuses on city specific local news and civic issues concerning education, healthcare an ...

to be living on a very meager income obtained by singing in a night bar. Thanks to a 20 November 2010 interview published in the

, Anwar got a few offers to sing for few TV shows like ''

Rishton Ke Bhanwar Mein Uljhi Niyati Rishton Ke Bhanwar Mein Uljhi Niyati is an Indian television series that premiered on Sahara One on 6 January 2007. The series is produced by Dheeraj Kumar of Creative Eye Limited. The show ended on 27 March 2015. Plot The story begins when Niy ...

.''

Notable songs

;Film songs * "Humse Ka Bhool Huyi, Jo Yeh Sajaa Hum Ka Mili" (film: ''

'' (1979) ;starring

) * "Teri Aankhon Ki Chahat Mein, To Main Sab Kuch Bhula Doonga" (film: ''

'' (1979) ;starring

) * "Ek Akela Man Ka Panchhi" (film: ''

Sardar Sardar, also spelled as Sardaar/Sirdar ( fa, سردار, , 'commander', literally 'headmaster'), is a title of royalty and nobility that was originally used to denote princes, noblemen, chiefs, kings and other aristocrats. It has also been u ...

'') * "Sohni Meri Sohni ... Rab Se Zyaada Tera Naam Leta Hoon" (with

; film: ''

Sohni Mahiwal Sohni Mahiwal or Suhni Mehar ( pa, , ਸੋਹਣੀ ਮਹੀਂਵਾਲ is one of the four popular tragic romances of Punjab including Sindh. In Sindh Sohni's shrine is in Shahdadpur Town of Sangar District. The others are Sassi Punnun, Mirza ...

'', starring

Sunny Deol Ajay Singh Deol (born 19 October 1956), better known by his stage name Sunny Deol, is an Indian actor, film director, producer, politician and current Member of Parliament from Gurdaspur (Lok Sabha constituency) of Punjab, India. As an actor, ...

and

Poonam Dhillon Poonam Dhillon (born 18 April 1962) is an Indian actress and politician. A former Femina Miss India (1977), she is best known for her 1979 film '' Noorie.'' Some of her well-known films include '' Red Rose'' (1980), '' Dard'' (1981), ''Romance' ...

) * "Yeh Pyar Tha Ya Kuch Aur Tha" (film: ''

Prem Rog ''Prem Rog'' () is a 1982 Hindi-language musical romantic drama directed by Raj Kapoor, with screenplay written by Jainendra Jain and Kamna Chandra. The film tells the story of a man's (Rishi Kapoor) love towards a woman, who is a higher sta ...

'' (1982); starring

Rishi Kapoor Rishi Raj Kapoor (4 September 1952 — 30 April 2020) was an Indian actor, film director and producer who worked in Hindi films Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry base ...

; this particular song he sang with old times singer

Sudha Malhotra Sudha Malhotra is an Indian playback singer. She also acted in some Bollywood films and as a playback singer, worked in popular Bollywood movies in the 1950s and 1960s, like ''Arzoo'', ''Dhool Ka Phool'', ''Ab Dilli Door Nahin'', ''Girl Friend' ...

, and was picturised on Anwar's sister

.) * "Nazar Se Phool Chunti Hai" (film: '' Ahista Ahista'') * "Yun Zeher Zindagi Ka" (film: ''Salaam e Mohabbat'' (1983), starring Tabrez and

Farida Jalal Farida Jalal (born Farida Sami; 18 May 1950) is an Indian actress who primarily worked in Hindi films. In a film career spanning almost fifty years, Jalal appeared in over 200 films. Best known for her character-driven roles in independent cin ...

) * "Mohabbat Ab Tijarat Ban Gayi Hai" (film: ''

Arpan ''Arpan'' () is a 1983 Hindi-language drama (film and television), drama film, produced and directed by J. Om Prakash under the Filmyug Pvt. Ltd. banner. It stars Jeetendra, Raj Babbar, Reena Roy and Parveen Babi and Laxmikant–Pyarelal comp ...

'' (1983); starring

Jeetendra Ravi Kapoor ( ; born 7 April 1942), known mononymously by his screen name Jeetendra, is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He also serves as the chairman of the Balaji Telefilms and Balaji Motion Pictures. Early life ...

) * "Rab Ne Banaya Mujhe Tere Liye" (with

; film: ''

Heer Ranjha ''Heer Ranjha'' (or ''Heer and Ranjha'') ( pnb, , ਹੀਰ ਰਾਂਝਾ ) is one of several popular tragic romances of Punjab, other important ones being "Sohni Mahiwal", "Mirza Sahiban" and " Sassi Punnhun". There are several poetic na ...

'' (1992); starring

Anil Kapoor Anil Kapoor (born 24 December 1956) is an Indian actor and producer who works primarily in Hindi films, besides television and international films and television. In a career spanning over 40 years as an actor and since 2005 as a producer, Kapo ...

) * "Zindagi Imtihan Leti hai" (film: '' Naseeb'' (1981); starring

Amitabh Bachchan Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...

) * "Haathon Ki Chand Lakeeron Ka" (film: ''

Vidhaata Vidhaata ( ''Creator'') is a 1982 Indian action drama film directed by Subhash Ghai and produced by Gulshan Rai under his own production company Trimurti Films. It stars Dilip Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Padmini Kolhapure, ...

'' (1982); starring

Dilip Kumar Mohammed Yusuf Khan (; 11 December 1922 – 7 July 2021), better known by his stage name Dilip Kumar, was an Indian actor who worked in Hindi cinema. Credited with pioneering method acting in cinema, he dominated the Indian movie scene from lat ...

) * "Shair Bana Diya" (film: ''

Yeh Ishq Nahin Aasaan ''Yeh Ishq Nahin Aasaan'' () is a 1984 Indian Bollywood film directed by Tinnu Anand. It stars Rishi Kapoor, Padmini Kolhapure in pivotal roles. Cast * Rishi Kapoor as Salim Ahmed Salim * Padmini Kolhapure as Salma Mirza * Deepti Naval as Sahi ...

'' (1984); starring

) * "Mere Khayalon Ki Rehguzar Se" (film: ''

'' (1984); starring

) * "Aisa Bhi Dekho Waqt" (film: '' Saathi'', starring

Aditya Pancholi Aditya Pancholi (born 4 January 1965) is an Indian actor, producer and playback singer working in Hindi cinema. Acting career 1985–87: Television movies and serials He was signed for a few television video films produced by Hiba, which ...

) ;Other selected hit songs * "Chand Se Phool Talak" (film: '' Jaan-E-Wafa'') * "Yeh Husn Yeh Shabab" (film: '' Shiv Charan'') * "Mausam Mausam lovely Mausam" (film: '' Thodisi Bewafaii'') * "Ek Pal Hasna" (film: '' Bahar Aane Tak'') * "Huzoor Aap Yeh Tohfa" (film: '' Ghar Ka Sukh'' * "Kahan Jateho Ruk Jao" (film: ''

Dulha Bikta Hai ''Dulha Bikta Hai'' is a 1982 Hindi drama film directed by Anwar Pasha starring Raj Babbar, Anita Raj and Neelam. Cast * Raj Babbar * Anita Raj * Neelam * Simple Kapadia * Madan Puri * Iftekhar * Jagdish Raj * Urmila Bhatt Soundtrack #"K ...

'') * "O Saathi Re" (film: '' Cobra'') * "Maine Zameen Par Chand" (film: '' Parbat ke Us Paar'') * "Dil Toot Gaya Hai Apna" (film: '' Anokha Insaan'') * "Ruk Jaa Saathi" (film: '' Gehri Chot'' (1983); starring

Shashi Kapoor Shashi Kapoor (pronounced �əʃi kəpuːɾ (born Balbir Raj Kapoor; 18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) was an Indian actor and film producer who is best known for his work in Hindi films. A recipient of several accolades, including four Nation ...

) * "Uthao Jaam Masti Mein" (film: '' Beshak'') * "Kisi Soorat" (film: '' Awara Zindagi'') * "O Jaane Jaana Jaane Bahara" (film: ''

Pratigyabadh ''Pratigyabadh'' is a 1991 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Ravi Chopra. It stars Mithun Chakraborty, Kumar Gaurav, Beena Banerjee, Neelam Kothari and Sunil Dutt. Plot ''Pratigyabadh'' is the story of a simple man (Mithun Chakraborty), an ...

'') * "Main Tere Paas Hoon" (film: '' Do Dishayen'') * "Lagi Re Mehndi" (film: '' Maqaar'') * "Jab Aaye Aise Pal Kabhi" (film: ''

Yudhpath '' Yudhpath '' () is a 1992 Bollywood film directed by Ravi Ravan Kathuria and starring Sudesh Berry, Mohnish Bahl, Kiran Kumar, Rakesh Bedi, Tinnu Anand and Siddharth Ray. The movie was released on 27 March 1992. The film is an action movie. ...

'') * "Yeh Safar Bhi Kitna Suhana Hai" (film: '' Sawaal'') * "Ek Taj Mahal Dil Mein" (film: '' Kasak'') * "Tumhen Jhamgata Aashiqon ka" (film: '' Padosi Ki Biwi'') * "Hum Unki Aarzoo Mein" (film: '' Noor E Illahi'') * "Dil Deewanon Ka Dola" (film: ''

Tahalka ''Tahalka '' () is a 1992 Indian Hindi-language action adventure film directed by Anil Sharma, featuring an ensemble cast including Dharmendra, Naseeruddin Shah, Aditya Pancholi, Javed Jaffrey, Amrish Puri, Mukesh Khanna, Ekta Sohini, Pallavi ...

'') * "Main Faqeer Ishq Mera" (film: '' Ishq Khuda Hai'') * "Aag Hawa Mitti Aur Paani" (film: ''

'') * "Jaa Meri Deeye Ladli" ( Punjabi film: ''

Sarpanch A sarpanch ( IAST: ''Sarpañch'' Hindi: ''सरपंच'') or Gram Pradhan or Mukhiya is a decision-maker, elected by the village-level constitutional body of local self-government called the Gram Sabha (village government) in India. The Sarp ...

'') * "Ek Gal Das Mainu Bottle" (Punjabi film: ''Sarpanch'') * "Koi Pardesi Aaya Pardes Mein" (film: '' Hum Hain Lajawab'') ;Selected classical ghazals * Bahar Aai Hai Bharde * Aap Ka Aitbar Kaun Kare * Tarkh-E-Mohabbat * Tu Hi Apne Hath Se * Phool Si Soorat ;Selected contemporary ghazals * Lab Pe Tere Iqraar E Mohabbat * Yeh Kafas Hi Mujhko Aziz Hai * Jabse Kareeb Hoke Chale * Ghadiyan Ginte Din Beete ;Contemporary ghazal albums * Nagma * Mehboob Mere * Tohfa

References

External links

Official site
*

Keeping his master's voice alive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anwar 1949 births Living people Bollywood playback singers Indian male playback singers Singers from Mumbai