Legendary melody queen Noor Jehan passes away

ISLAMABAD, DEC 23: Pakistanâ€™s â€˜melody queenâ€™ Noor Jehan, died in the port-city of...

ISLAMABAD, DEC 23: Pakistanâ€™s â€˜melody queenâ€™ Noor Jehan, died in the port-city of Karachi today at the age of 72, family sources said.Jehan, who started as an actress and singer before independence, was a contemporary of living Indian superstars like actor Dilip Kumar and Lata Mangeshker.

Equally popular in India, Noor Jehan shot to fame because of her singing and won the Pakistani title of melody queen in 1970s. She also won popularity in Pakistan for singing martial songs during the countryâ€™s 1965 and 1971 wars with India. Considered one of the top singers of the sub-continent, she was sometimes referred to as â€˜Umm Kalthoum of the region after the legendary singer of Egypt.

The official APP news agency reported Noor Jehan died in the afternoon of heart failure. She will be buried in Karachi, it said.

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Noorjahan, known as the Mallika-e-Tarannum, was a definative diva of the 40s. A mere child, when film maker K D Mehra introduced her to the bustling studios of the pre-independence Lahore, Noorjahan first shot into limelight when movie moghul dalsukh pancholi cast her in his Khandaan (1942) opposite Pran.Its success saw Noor Jehan immigrating to Bombay, bringing with her Punjabi ethos and soon she captivated the film capital with her salwar kameezes and her vibrant voice.

When noorjahanâ€™s golden larynx spun eternal classics like her Zeenat (1945) hit Bulbulon mat ro yaahan aansoo bahana hai mana, she dethroned reigning singing star Khurshid and rendered obsolete the nautch girl style of Zohrabai Ambalewali and Amirbai Karnataki.

This singing star reached her apotheosis with mehboob Khanâ€™s blockbuster Anmol Ghadi (1946). Naushad â€™s nuggets Awaaz de kahan hai, Jawan hai mohabbat and Mere bachpan ke saathi immortalised her.

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