Mukhtar Begum was a Pakistani classical, ghazal singer and actress. She was known as ''The Queen of Music'' for singing songs in films and on radio. She worked in Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu films and was known for her roles in films ''Hathili Dulhan'', ''Ali Baba 40 Chor'', ''Nala Damayanti'', ''Dil ki Pyas'', ''Ankh ka Nasha'', ''Muflis Ashiq'' and ''Chatra Bakavali''.

Early life

Mukhtar Begum was born in 1901 in

Amritsar Amritsar (), historically also known as Rāmdāspur and colloquially as ''Ambarsar'', is the second largest city in the Indian state of Punjab, after Ludhiana. It is a major cultural, transportation and economic centre, located in the Majha r ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

. Mukhtar was the older sister and she had four siblings, a sister including Farida Khanum and three brothers. She attended

Patiala Gharana The Patiala ''gharana'' (, ) is one of the vocal (tradition, school, or style of music) of Hindustani classical music, named after the city of Patiala in Punjab, India where it was established. The ''gharana'' was founded in the mid to late 19th ...

's Classic Music School. A teacher named Ustad Mian Meherbaan Khan there liked her singing and he was the teacher of Ustad Aashiq Ali Khan. So he trained Mukhtar Begum in Hindustani vocal classical music since the age of seven.

Career

In the 1930s, she moved to

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

and she did stage plays and theatre which were written by famous Urdu playwright and poet

Agha Hashar Kashmiri Agha Hashar Kashmiri (born Muhammad Shah, 3 April 1879 – 1 April 1935) was an Urdu poet, playwright and dramatist. A number of his plays were Indian Shakespearean adaptations. Early life He started to show interest in stage dramas and mo ...

. Mukhtar Begum also went to

Bombay 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- ...

and there she also worked in theatre. After doing theatre, she started working in silent films and made her debut in 1931 and she appeared in both Hindi, Punjabi and Urdu films including ''Nala Damayanti'', ''Dil ki Pyas'', ''Ankh ka Nasha'' and ''Muflis Ashiq''. Mukhtar Begum also composed songs for two films in which she worked including ''Prem ki Aag'' and ''Bhesham''. In Calcutta, She met

Noor Jehan Noor Jehan ( Punjabi: ) (born () Allah Rakhi Wasai ; 23 September 1926 – 23 December 2000; sometimes spelled Noorjehan),Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen, ''Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema,'' British Film Institute, Oxford University Pres ...

and her family and she encouraged Noor Jehan and her sisters to join films and theater. So she introduced them to some producers and to her husband Agha Hashar Kashmiri. Mukhtar Begum, along with her family, moved to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

after Partition and she settled in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city. ...

. She continued to sing ghazals for radio and television. At Lahore, Mukhtar Begum then went to Radio Pakistan. From there, she sang many songs. Mukhatr Begum also worked as a music teacher and she trained singer Naseem Begum and her own younger sister Farida Khanum in classical music singing and ghazals.

Personal life

Mukhtar married Urdu poet, playwright and dramatist

and Mukhtar's younger sister Farida Khanum is also a famous ghazal singer.

Illness and death

Mukhtar Begum suffered a paralysis and contracted a prolonged illness from which she died on 25 February 1982 at age 80 in

Karachi Karachi (; ur, ; ; ) is the most populous city in Pakistan and 12th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 20 million. It is situated at the southern tip of the country along the Arabian Sea coast. It is the former cap ...

and she was laid to rest at Society's Graveyard in Karachi.

Filmography

Film

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Begum, Mukhtar 1901 births 20th-century Khyal singers Singers from Kolkata Actresses in Hindi cinema Pakistani radio personalities 20th-century Pakistani women singers Urdu-language singers 20th-century Indian singers Muhajir people 20th-century Indian women classical singers People of British India 20th-century Indian women singers Women ghazal singers Indian film actresses Punjabi-language singers 20th-century Indian women musicians Radio personalities from Lahore Indian musical theatre actresses Pakistani classical singers 20th-century Indian actresses Patiala gharana 1982 deaths Pakistani ghazal singers Indian stage actresses Punjabi people Singers from Lahore People from Amritsar Hindi-language singers Punjabi women 20th-century Pakistani actresses Actresses in Punjabi cinema Indian silent film actresses Pakistani women singers Pakistani stage actresses Musicians from Amritsar Pakistani film actresses Actresses in Urdu cinema