70 Facts About Ahmed Rushdi

Ahmed Rushdi was a versatile Pakistani playback singer and was "an important contributor to the golden age of Pakistani film music".

Besides popular music, Ahmed Rushdi helped popularize the ghazals of Naseer Turabi.

Ahmed Rushdi was born to a religious, conservative family of Hyderabad Deccan in 1934.

Ahmed Rushdi's father, Syed Manzoor Mohammad, taught Arabic, Islamic history and Persian at Aurangabad College, Hyderabad, Deccan.

Ahmed Rushdi died when Rushdi was only six years old.

From a young age, Ahmed Rushdi was fond of listening to the musical programs, including songs, which were broadcast from the radio.

Ahmed Rushdi neither inherited music from anyone, nor was anybody in his family ever affiliated with music.

Ahmed Rushdi's singing talents impressed a very close friend of his father, whom he called uncle and who loved him dearly.

Ahmed Rushdi enrolled in a local music academy in Hyderabad, Deccan.

Ahmed Rushdi did not get any sort of formal training of classical music either before or after becoming a successful playback singer, but he had effective command over high and low notes.

Ahmed Rushdi sang his first song in the Indian film Ibrat in 1951 and got recognition.

Ahmed Rushdi's family moved to Pakistan and settled in Karachi in 1954, where he began participating in variety shows, music programs, and children's programs on radio.

Ahmed Rushdi lent his voice to many hit films like Bara Admi, Wah Rey Zamaney, Raat Ke Rahi, Yeh Dunya, and many more.

Ahmed Rushdi further strengthened his status as one of the top male playback singers in Mehtaab, in which he sang "Gol Gappay Wala Aaya" for actor Alauddin; they would again be teamed in Susral.

Music director Khalil Ahmed recorded an extremely sad number, "Kisi chaman mei raho tum", in singer Saleem Raza's voice but wanted Rushdi to re-record the song as he was not satisfied with Saleem Raza's singing.

Ahmed Rushdi did so, and the song recorded in his voice satisfied composer Khalil.

Ahmed Rushdi lent his voice to Waheed Murad, Nadeem, Mohammad Ali, Santosh Kumar, Darpan, Habib, Rehman, Shahid, Qavi Khan, Ghulam Mohiuddin, and Rahat Kazmi and was tailor-made for every actor of the film industry.

Ahmed Rushdi's voice was even ideally suited to comedians such as Munawar Zarif, Lehri, Nirala, Nanha, and Rangeela.

Ahmed Rushdi recorded the ghazal "Shok-e-awargi", written by poet Habib Jalib for actor Syed Kamal, in the 1963 film Joker.

Ahmed Rushdi sang the ghazal "Mei Nahi Manta" for the same film and gained Habib Jalib countrywide fame.

Ahmed Rushdi recorded a qawwali, "Madiney waley ko mera salam kehdena", along with Munir Husain the same year.

Ahmed Rushdi recorded four songs for this film in the composition of music director Robin Ghosh.

Ahmed Rushdi sang for Waheed Murad in the 1969 film Naseeb Apna Apna.

Ahmed Rushdi won different awards for songs like "Dil tumko de diya hai" and "Hum se na bigar aye larki".

Ahmed Rushdi recorded all the songs for Waheed Murad in this film.

Ahmed Rushdi sang four solo songs and one duet for Waheed in the film Khalish.

Ahmed Rushdi recorded three songs in the film, including the sad song "Khudara mohabbat na karna".

Ahmed Rushdi recorded a romantic number "Teri jabeen se chodhwin ka chand jhankta rahey" for actor Rehman.

Ahmed Rushdi recorded a sad song, "Angara mera mann", for the film Jaal, which was released the same year.

Ahmed Rushdi was fond of acting and appeared in thirteen films as an actor, including Anokhi, Kaneez, Saat Lakh, and Dekha Jaye Ga.

Ahmed Rushdi composed a music album in singer Mujeeb Aalam's voice.

Ahmed Rushdi recorded a romantic number "Rangat gulabi chehra kitabi" for Shahid.

In 1975, Ahmed Rushdi recorded "Dil ko jalana hum ne chor diya" for Mohabbat Zindagi Hai.

Ahmed Rushdi sang another song, "Mashriqi rang ko chor ke", for the same film.

Ahmed Rushdi recorded two songs for Nadeem, "Tu samney hai mere" and "Bheegey hue mousam mei".

Ahmed Rushdi sang a classical number "Tere naina barey chit chor" for the film Jab Jab Phool Khiley the following year.

Ahmed Rushdi sang in films like Accident, Achey Mian, Bohut Khoob, Baarat and Aag Aur Zindagi.

Ahmed Rushdi sang in films such as Farzana, Hanstey Aansoo, Haseena Maan Jaye Gi etc.

Ahmed Rushdi was not only singing for films, but was an equally busy figure for radio and television.

Ahmed Rushdi remained a leading singer between 1954 and 1983.

Ahmed Rushdi sang for all the famous actors of the Pakistani film industry.

Ahmed Rushdi recorded his last song "Ban ke misra ghazal ka" in 1983 for the film Hero, which was picturised on Waheed Murad and the song was a hit.

Ahmed Rushdi recorded a large number of duets in many languages with Noor Jahan, Zubaida Khanum, Runa Laila, Mala, Naheed Niazi, Irene Parveen, Naseem Begum, Mehnaz, Rubina Badar and Naheed Akhtar in his 33-year singing career.

Ahmed Rushdi is credited with the honorific nickname of "Magician of Voice" because of his ability of singing in different genres including happy, comedy, tragedy, qawwali, lullaby, patriotic, pop, revolutionary and folk.

Ahmed Rushdi was not only the first South Asian vocalist to go pop but inspired generations with his clear delivery, timely expressions and rendition of songs.

Ahmed Rushdi had the unique quality of giving expressions during singing along with producing sounds of different birds and objects.

Ahmed Rushdi recorded a song "Burhapey mein dill na lagana" in the film Jub Jub Phool Khile for actors Waheed Murad and Nadeem in both young and old voices in a single go which attracted huge admiration from music critics.

Ahmed Rushdi is considered to be the first regular pop singer of South Asia as he introduced hip-hop, rock and roll, disco and other modern genres in South Asian music and has since then been adopted in Bangladesh, India and lately Nepal as a pioneering influence in their respective pop cultures.

Ahmed Rushdi sang playback hits along with Runa Laila until the Bangladesh Liberation War when East Pakistan was declared an independent state.

Ahmed Rushdi's wife died in 1992, nine years after Rushdi.

Ahmed Rushdi belonged to a Sayed family and was a religious person.

Ahmed Rushdi was against allowing his daughters to adopt singing as a profession.

The music director Lal Mohammad Iqbal made his entry into the Pakistan film industry, because Ahmed Rushdi introduced him to different producers, which he disclosed after Ahmed Rushdi's death.

Likewise, the poet Masroor Anwer got his first film as Ahmed Rushdi insisted the music director Manzoor-Ashraf give Masroor a chance.

Ahmed Rushdi was singing less for films and film music itself was facing a decline.

Ahmed Rushdi opened a music academy in order to teach music and playback singing to youngsters.

Ahmed Rushdi never faced downfall as far as his singing career was concerned.

Until the 1970s, Ahmed Rushdi was one of the leading voices in the Indian subcontinent.

Ahmed Rushdi recorded fewer songs in his last years on the advice of doctors.

Since 1976, Ahmed Rushdi was a heart patient and his doctors advised him to abstain from singing, but Rushdi refused by saying that music was his life.

Ahmed Rushdi was immediately taken to the hospital but was pronounced dead by the doctors.

Ahmed Rushdi's last non-film song was "Aaney walo suno" which was a duet with Mehnaz.

Ahmed Rushdi changed the sound of film music in the Indian subcontinent and his impact has been felt on the Indian and Bangladeshi film industries.

Ahmed Rushdi is widely regarded as one of the remarkable singers from South Asia and was effective in every genre of singing including ghazals and qawwalis.

Indian playback singer Kishore Kumar, being an admirer of Ahmed Rushdi, paid him a tribute at Royal Albert Hall London by singing Rushdi's one of the songs "Aik urran khattola aye ga kisi lal pari ko laye ga".

Many of his contemporaries compared his music with that of classically trained singers, although Ahmed Rushdi never had any influences from any classical singer.

Ahmed Rushdi is famously known as "Magician of Voice" and his popularity turned traditional classical singers against him but did not affect his fame and his death is termed as an irreparable loss to the industry.

In 2018, Ahmed Rushdi's impact forced Coke Studio Pakistan to produce a remake of Rushdi's first South Asian pop song "Ko Ko Korina" in the voices of Momina Mustehsan and Ahad Raza Mir, which raised nationwide hue and cry to the extent that Minister for Human Rights in Pakistan Shireen Mazari had to come out in media to term the remake as "horrendous" since the classic was widely believed to be destroyed by both singers.

Ahmed Rushdi influenced many singers in the music industry including A Nayyar, Mujeeb Aalam, Naheed Niazi, Runa Laila and Bashir Ahmad.

Ahmed Rushdi is included among those artists around the world who continue to be popular and enjoy a huge fan base even after their death.