Renowned Playback Singer Mala Remembered

Popular playback singer of Urdu and Punjabi films Mala was remembered on her birth anniversary on Thursday

ISLAMABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 9th Nov, 2023) Popular playback singer of urdu and Punjabi films Mala was remembered on her birth anniversary on Thursday.

Born on November 9, 1939, in Faisalabad (then Lyalpur) her real name was Naseem Nazli.

In the 1960s, Mala was a 'hit pair for singing duet film songs' with famous playback singer Ahmed Rushdi and they gave numerous hits to the Pakistan film industry. She sang many super hit songs in almost two decades of her singing career in the 1960s and 1970s.

Mala's career suffered with the arrival of Runa Laila in the Pakistani film industry. Her elder sister Shamim Nazli was a music composer. On Shamim Nazli's request, music composer, Baba Ghulam Ahmed Chishti recorded two songs for the Punjabi film Aabroo (1961) in Mala's voice.

Her first major break in films came in 1962. She changed her name to Mala and sang a simple Urdu composition, Aaya re dekho for the film Sooraj Mukhi (1962).

In 1963, Mala rendered her voice to a tragic Urdu composition," Dil daeta hai ro ro duhai, kisi sey koi pyaar na karey" for the film Ishq Par Zor Nahin (1963).

Mala's greatest accomplishment was the film song 'Akele Na Jaana' in the film Armaan in 1966.

In 1963, Mala won the Nigar Award for best singer for the film Ishq Par Zor Nahin. In 1965, she won the Nigar Award for best singer for the film Naila (1965. Mala was married to film producer Ashiq Bhatti and she died on March 6, 1990.