Zubaida Khanum (1935 – 19 October 2013) was a Pakistani
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 recorded over 250 songs during
Golden Age
The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the ''Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages of Man, Ages, Gold being the first and the one during ...
of Pakistani
film music
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to e ...
of 1950s and 1960s. She was considered Pakistani equivalent to
Marni Nixon
Margaret Nixon McEathron (February 22, 1930 – July 24, 2016), known professionally as Marni Nixon, was an American soprano and ghost singer for featured actresses in musical films. She is now recognized as the singing voice of leading ac ...
of Hollywood for giving voice to featured actresses in movie musicals.
Film career
Zubaida Khanum made her debut as a singer in film '' Billo'' (1951), when renowned Pakistani music director
Ghulam Ahmed Chishti
Ghulam Ahmed Chishti ( Punjabi, ur, ), (often abbreviated to G.A. Chishti) ( Punjabi, ur, ),
(17 August 1905 – 25 December 1994) was a Pakistani music composer, attributed as being one of the founders of Indian and Pakistani film music. ...
introduced her into the film industry, but she got her big breakthrough from film ''Shehri Babu'' in 1953 in which she instantly had many run-away super-hit film songs. Zubaida also acted as a supporting actress in a handful of films including ''Patay Khan'' (1955). and ''Dulla Bhatti'' (1956).Zubaida Khanum appeared as a playback singer in film ''Dulla Bhatti'' (1956) on IMDb website Retrieved 4 May 2018 However, she earned a name for herself as the most melodious film playback singer of Punjabi and
attracted huge public admiration as they sang numerous hit duets during 1950s.Zubaida Khanum passes away Dawn (newspaper), Published 20 Oct 2013, Retrieved 4 May 2018
Her career lasted only for 8 years but her realistic voice and convincing super-hit film songs emerged as remembrance to the golden period of Pakistan's film industry. She recorded over 300 film songs during her career.
She worked with all the famous film music directors of the time including
Ghulam Ahmed Chishti
Ghulam Ahmed Chishti ( Punjabi, ur, ), (often abbreviated to G.A. Chishti) ( Punjabi, ur, ),
(17 August 1905 – 25 December 1994) was a Pakistani music composer, attributed as being one of the founders of Indian and Pakistani film music. ...
,
Rasheed Attre
Abdul Rasheed Attra (15 February 1919 – 18 December 1967), also known as Rasheed Attre, was a Pakistani film score composer.Khwaja Khurshid Anwar
Khwaja Khurshid Anwar (21 March 1912 − 30 October 1984) was a Pakistani filmmaker, writer, director and music composer who earned recognition in both India and Pakistan. He is credited as being one of the most original and inventive music di ...
and A. Hameed.
Early life
Zubaida Khanum was born 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 ...
, in 1935, in a Muslim family. The family migrated to
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. ...
after
independence
Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the statu ...
in 1947.
Zubaida did not belong to any traditional
gharana
In Hindustani music (North Indian classical music), a ''gharānā'' is a system of social organisation in the Indian subcontinent, linking musicians or dancers by lineage or apprenticeship, and more importantly by adherence to a particular mus ...
of classical music and never received any formal music lessons. She was given a head-start as a child when she was given an opportunity to sing at the
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. ...
station of
Radio Pakistan
Radio Pakistan serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate Radio Pakistan's founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in Pakistan. The network was established on 14 August ...
. Renowned Pakistani Swaran Lata and her film producer husband
Nazir took a liking to her singing on the radio station and signed her up for their upcoming film ''Shehri Babu'' (1953) in which she sang many super-hit film songs.
She married film cameraman Riaz Bukhari at the height of her career and quit the film industry to lead a family life. She had two daughters and two sons. One of her sons is a film cameraman
Syed Faisal Bukhari Syed Faisal Bukhari (born August 9, 1963) is a Pakistani film and television director, producer, and cinematographer. He is a son of the late legendary Pakistani film playback singer Zubaida Khanum and the late film cameraman Syed Riaz Bukhari., Ret ...
.
Death
Zubaida Khanum died on 19 October 2013 due to
cardiac arrest
Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...
at her home 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. ...
at age 78.
Filmography
Some of her hit films were:
* '' Billo'' (1951)
* ''Shehri Babu'' (1953)
* ''Pattan'' (1955)
* '' Heer'' (1955)
* ''Patay Khan'' (1955) (she also acted in this movie besides playback singing)
* ''
Chann Mahi
''Chan Mahi'' is a Pakistani Punjabi film released on 2 November 1956. The film was directed by Anwar Kamal Pasha and it became a popular musical film in 1956 with many super-hit film songs.
Producer and director Anwar Kamal Pasha introduced ...
Saat Lakh
''Saat Lakh'' () is 1957 Pakistani Urdu film directed by Jaffer Malik and produced by Saifuddin Saif. It stars Sabiha Khanum and Santosh Kumar in the lead with supporting role by Nayyar Sultana and guest appearance by Neelo. The film is prim ...
'' (1957)
* ''
Yakke Wali
''Yakke Wali'' is a 1957 Pakistani Punjabi language film directed by M. J. Rana and produced by Bari Malik. It tells the story of a woman who earns a living by driving a tanga. Musarrat Nazir played the title role in the film with Sudhir, M. Ajm ...
Kartar Singh (1959 film)
''Kartar Singh'' is a 1959 Pakistani Punjabi film about the partition of India in 1947 and the widespread violence related to it.
It describes the conflicts between Hindus, Muslims and the Sikhs. This film is said to be based on real-life ev ...
''
* ''
Koel
The true koels, ''Eudynamys'', are a genus of cuckoos from Asia, Australia and the Pacific. They are large sexually dimorphic cuckoos that eat fruits and insects and have loud distinctive calls. They are brood parasites, laying their eggs in ...
Raat Ke Rahi
''Raat Ke Rahi'' is a 1959 Indian Hindi drama film written and directed by Naseem. It was a Pushpanjali production with music by Bipin Babul and lyrics by Vishwamitra Adil. The cast included Shammi Kapoor, Jabeen Jalil, Nazir Hussain, Achal ...
'' (1960).
* ''
Ghalib
Mirza Beg Asadullah Khan (Urdu, fa, مرزا بیگ اسد اللہ خان; 27 December 1797 – 15 February 1869) also known as Mirza Ghalib (Urdu, fa}) was an Urdu and Persian language, Persian shayar (poet), poet of the 19th century Mughal Em ...