49 Facts About Noor Jehan

Noor Jehan was a Pakistani playback singer and actress who worked in both British India and later in Pakistan's cinema.

Noor Jehan's career lasted over six decades, during which she recorded 10,000 songs.

Noor Jehan made her directorial debut with the film Chann Wey in 1951, becoming the first female film director in Pakistan.

Noor Jehan is recognized for her contributions to music in the Indian subcontinent, particularly in Pakistan.

Noor Jehan was given the title of Malika-e-Tarannum in Pakistan.

Noor Jehan recorded about 10,000 songs in various languages, including Urdu, Punjabi, and Sindhi.

Noor Jehan sang a total of 2,422 songs in 1,148 Pakistani films during a career that lasted more than half a century.

Noor Jehan is considered to be the first female Pakistani film director.

Noor Jehan was born Allah Rakhi Wasai into a Punjabi Muslim family in Kot Murad Khan, Kasur, Punjab, British India and was one of the eight children of Imdad Ali and Fateh Bibi.

Noor Jehan began to sing at the age of six and showed a keen interest in a range of styles, including traditional folk and popular theatre.

Noor Jehan started her training at age 11 in Calcutta, where instructors instructed her in the traditions of the Patiala Gharana of Hindustani classical music and the classical forms of thumri, dhrupad, and khyal.

At the age of nine, Noor Jehan drew the attention of Punjabi musician Ghulam Ahmed Chishti, who would later introduce her to the stage in Lahore.

Noor Jehan composed some ghazals, na`ats, and folk songs for her to perform, although she was keener on breaking into acting or playback singing.

Once her vocational training finished, Noor Jehan pursued a career in singing alongside her sister in Lahore, and would usually take part in the live song and dance performances prior to screenings of films in cinemas.

Noor Jehan recommended them to her husband, Agha Hashar Kashmiri, who owned a maidan theatre.

Mehra directed the Punjabi movie Pind di Kuri, in which Noor Jehan acted along with her sisters and sang the Punjabi song "Langh aja patan chanaan da o yaar," which became her earliest hit.

Noor Jehan then acted in a film called Missar Ka Sitara by the same company and sang in it for music composer Damodar Sharma.

Noor Jehan played the child role of Heer in the 1937 film Heer-Sayyal.

In 1939, renowned music director Ghulam Haider composed songs for Noor Jehan which led to her early popularity, and he thus became her early mentor.

Noor Jehan shared melodies with Shanta Apte in Duhai.

From 1945 to 1947 and her subsequent move to Pakistan, Noor Jehan was one of the biggest film actresses of the Indian Film Industry.

In 1947, Rizvi and Noor Jehan decided to move to Pakistan, upon the independence of the British Indian Empire, and had resulted in partition of India.

Three years after settling in Pakistan, Noor Jehan starred in her first Pakistani film Chan Wey, opposite Santosh Kumar, which was her first Pakistani film as a heroine and playback singer.

Shaukat Hussain Rizvi and Noor Jehan directed this film together, making Jehan Pakistan's first female director.

Noor Jehan kept custody of the three children from their marriage.

Noor Jehan's rendition of Faiz Ahmed Faiz's "Mujhse Pehli Si Mohabbat Mere Mehboob Na Maang" is a unique example of tarranum, reciting poetry as a song with music of Rasheed Attre in the Pakistani film Qaidi.

Noor Jehan last acted in Baaji in 1963, though not in a leading role.

Noor Jehan bade farewell to film acting in 1963 after a career of 33 years.

Noor Jehan made 14 films in Pakistan, ten in Urdu and four in Punjabi as a film actress.

Noor Jehan made her debut exclusively as a playback singer in 1960 with the film Salma.

Noor Jehan received many awards, including the Pride of Performance in 1965 by the Pakistani Government.

Noor Jehan sang a large number of duets with Ahmed Rushdi, Mehdi Hassan, Masood Rana, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mujeeb Aalam.

Noor Jehan had an understanding and friendship with many singers of Asia, for example with Alam Lohar and many more.

Noor Jehan made great efforts to attend the "Mehfils" of Ustad Salamat Ali Khan, Ustad Fateh Ali Khan, Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Roshan Ara Begum.

Noor Jehan's popularity was further boosted with her patriotic songs during the 1965 war between Pakistan and India.

In 1971 Madam Noor Jehan visited Tokyo for the World Song Festival as a representative from Pakistan.

Noor Jehan visited India in 1982 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Indian talkie movies, where she met Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in New Delhi and was received by Dilip Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar in Bombay.

Noor Jehan met all her erstwhile heroes and costars, including Surendra, Pran, Suraiya, composer Naushad and others.

In 1941, Noor Jehan married Shaukat Hussain Rizvi of Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India.

In 1947, Shaukat Rizvi decided to migrate to Pakistan, and Noor Jehan moved too, ending her career in India.

Noor Jehan was in a relationship with cricketer Nazar Mohammad.

Noor Jehan suffered from chest pains in 1986 on a tour of North America and was diagnosed with angina pectoris, after which she underwent bypass surgery.

In 2000, Noor Jehan was hospitalised at Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, and suffered a heart attack.

On 23 December 2000, Noor Jehan died as a result of heart failure.

Noor Jehan's funeral took place at Jamia Masjid Sultan, Karachi and was attended by over 400,000 people.

Noor Jehan was given a state funeral by President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf.

Noor Jehan ordered her funeral be taken to Lahore from Karachi, but her daughters insisted on burying her in Karachi on the night she died.

Noor Jehan received more than 15 Nigar Awards for Best Female Playback Singer, eight for Best Urdu Singer Female and the rest for Punjabi Playback.

Noor Jehan has received the Millennium Singer Award in Pakistan.