Noel Dias (4 March 1932 – 25 November 1983), better known as Saleem Raza ( ur, ), was a Pakistani playback singer. He started his singing career from

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 ...

, Pakistan and quickly gained popularity. Raza was a classically- trained singer and was more famous for singing sad songs. Raza's career suffered due to the rise of singer

Ahmed Rushdi ), Rushdi Sahab ( ur, ) , birth_date = , birth_place = Hyderabad Deccan, British India , death_date = , death_place = Karachi, Pakistan , origin = Pakistani , instrument = Vocalist , genre = ...

in the late 1950s. He left playback singing in 1966 as he lost his popularity with the film composers and moved to Canada where he died in 1983.

Career

Saleem Raza was born Noel Dias in a Christian family. After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, he migrated to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

and settled in

. He first sang for Lahore Radio Station. Raza also made friends with an artist of the time, Mohni Hameed. Raza and Hameed were often seen attending events together. Additionally, Raza learned music from the music composers of the day including Master Sadiq Ali, and Ustaad Aashiq Husain. He was introduced to the Pakistani film industry by veteran film 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. He ...

. Raza's first lucky break came in director Syed Ata Ullah Hashmi's 1955 film . He lent his voice to the 'sad' musical composition, (Duet, Saleem Raza – Kausar Perveen). He also sang as a playback singer in film producer

Anwar Kamal Pasha Anwar Kamal Pasha ( ur, ), (23 February 1925 – 13 October 1987) was the pioneer in the Pakistan film industry and an early Pakistani film director and producer from Lahore, Pakistan. Life and career Pasha was a graduate from the For ...

's in 1955. Although his big breakthrough came with the song , in

Saifuddin Saif Saifuddin Saif (20 July 1922 12 July 1993) was a Pakistani lyricist, poet, film producer-director, and the founder of Rehnuma Films, a film studio of 1954. He was involved in writing poems and lyrics before and after the Partition. However ...

's film (1957). Saleem Raza Profile on Pakistan Film Magazine
Retrieved 15 July 2021 He went on to sing many other songs in films like ''(1957)'', (1960), (1963 film) and many more. His last film was (1966).

Career decline

Raza remained a dominating singer in the late 1950s due to his popularity in singing tragic songs. In 1961, the music director,

Khalil Ahmed Khalil Ahmed (3 March 1936 – 22 July 1997) was a Pakistani composer for radio, television, and films. He started his career with film ''Aanchal (1962)'' and remained one of the leading music directors in Pakistan in the 1960s. He composed ...

, recorded a sad song, , in Raza's voice for film ''(1962)'' but he was not satisfied with his singing style. Initially, he decided to re-record the same song in Mehdi Hassan's voice but changed his mind because Hassan was facing difficulty with high notes as the composition had a wide range and variations. Khalil Ahmed finally invited the famous singer

to sing the same song; Rushdi not only satisfied Khalil but the song was also a hit. Apart from Ahmed Rushdi, Raza was in direct competition with highly talented singers like Munir Hussain, Mehdi Hassan,

Masood Rana Masood Rana ( ur, , 6 August 1941 – 4 October 1995) was a Pakistani film playback singer. He began his singing career in 1962 with the film ''Inqalab'', became one of the top male singers in both Urdu and Punjabi films for more than thr ...

Mujeeb Aalam Mujeeb Aalam (2 September 1948 – 2 June 2004) was a Pakistani playback singer who had a short film career. His singing style was a mixture of Mehdi Hassan and Ahmad Rushdi's style. He sang dozens of hit songs in late 1960s. However, h ...

and Bashir Ahmad. Moreover, his voice was best suited for Syed Musa Raza (Santosh Kumar) and his brother Darpan. The two actors also lost their popularity in the mid-1960s. These were the basic factors which affected his popularity. Later, with the change in the recording devices, Raza found it difficult to adjust to the new equipment, resulting in a setback to his career.

Death

Raza migrated to

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1975, and established a

music school A music school is an educational institution specialized in the study, training, and research of music. Such an institution can also be known as a school of music, music academy, music faculty, college of music, music department (of a larger ins ...

there. For eight years, from 1975 to 1983, Raza taught music to numerous music students. He also started performing in local South Asian musical concerts. Raza suffered from

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

, which took his life on 25 November 1983. He was fifty-one years of age.

Urdu and Punjabi musical movies

Some notable Urdu and Punjabi films for which Raza sang songs include: ''Saat Lakh'' (1957), ''

Ishq-e-Laila ''Ishq-e-Laila'' is a 1957 Pakistani Urdu language fantasy romance film directed by Munshi Dil and produced by J.C. Anand. The film is primarily known for its blockbuster music by Safdar Hussain and lyrics by Qateel Shifai. It stars Sabiha Kh ...

'' (1957), ''

Bedari ''Bedari'', a Pakistani Urdu black and white film, was a classic melodious film of 1956. This film had an identical plot and the songs like Indian film Jagriti (1954), with replacement of some words, and music was taken directly from Jagriti as ...

'' (1957), ''Daata'' (1957), '' Saheli'' (1960), ''Rehguzar'' (1960), ''Salma'' (1960), ''Gulfaam'' (1961), ''Saperan'' (1961), ''Azra'' (1962), ''Mousiqaar'' (1962), ''Aanchal'' (1962), ''Qaidi'' (1962), ''Ik Tera Sahara'' (1963), ''Tauba'' (1964), ''Chingari'' (1964), ''Payal Ki Jhankar'' (1966), ''Noor-e-Islam'' (1957), '' Chann Mahi'' (1956), '' Kartar Singh'' (1959), ''Mouj Mela'' (1963).

Some popular songs

1. , film (1957), music by Akhtar Hussain Akhhian 2. ''Shah-e-Madina (saw), Yasrib kay wali'', film ''Noor-e-Islam'' (1957), lyrics by Naeem Hashmi, music by Hassan Latif 3. , film (1959) 4. , poet Tanvir Naqvi, music director Muslehuddin, film (1960) 5. , film (1961) 6. , film (1962) 7. , film (1962), music by

Master Inayat Hussain Master Inayat Hussain (Punjabi, ur, ; 1916 – 26 March 1993) was a Pakistani film music composer. Early life and career Inayat Hussain was born in the Bhati Gate area of Lahore in 1916.Qateel Shifai Muhammad Aurangzeb or Qateel Shifai ( ur, ), (24 December 1919 – 11 July 2001) was a Pakistani Urdu poet and lyricist. Early life and career Qateel Shifai was born in Haripur District as Muhammad Aurangzeb in 1919 in British India (now Paki ...

, music by Master Inayat Hussain 10. , film (1964) – A Qawwali song, lyrics by

Fayyaz Hashmi Fayyaz Hashmi ( ur, ; 1920 2011) was a Pakistani poet and screenwriter who worked both in the Indian and Pakistani film industry. He penned some memorable songs such as the famous nazm Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo and ''Tasveer teri dil mera beh ...

, music by

A. Hameed A. Hameed (born Shaikh Abdul Hameed; 1924 – 20 May 1991) was a Pakistani film score composer and music director. He started his career in Bombay cinema (in modern-day Bollywood) and later worked in Lollywood. The first Pakistani film he wor ...

11. , film (1965), music by A. Hameed 12. , film (1966) 13. , music by

Rashid Attre Abdul Rasheed Attra (15 February 1919 – 18 December 1967), also known as Rasheed Attre, was a Pakistani film score composer.Rasheed Attre Abdul Rasheed Attra (15 February 1919 – 18 December 1967), also known as Rasheed Attre, was a Pakistani film score composer.Nigar Award The Nigar Awards ( ur, , translit=Inʿām Negār, lit=Picture Awards) were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The Nigar Awards ...

Best Singer for film (1960) *

Nigar Award The Nigar Awards ( ur, , translit=Inʿām Negār, lit=Picture Awards) were presented in an annual award show to recognize outstanding achievement in Pakistani cinema. The honors are awarded by Nigar Magazine founded in 1948. The Nigar Awards ...

Best Singer for film (1963) * ''Gold Medal'' Award in 1966 by the Pakistan Arts Council, Lahore

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Raza, Saleem 1932 births 1983 deaths Canadian Christians Naturalized citizens of Canada Pakistani emigrants to Canada Pakistani playback singers Pakistani Christians Singers from Lahore Punjabi-language singers Urdu-language singers Nigar Award winners Deaths from kidney failure 20th-century Pakistani male singers