Daily Times

Many compare Pakistani singer Mala’s voice with that of Lata Mangeshkar from India. I do not agree, though both had shrill voices initially but their tones were utterly different and got gradually refined. To me it used to be difficult to comprehend some words rendered by Mala in her earlier songs especially sung on higher notes, a feature she gradually got rid of by singing popular songs of music composers Master Inayat Hussain, Nisar Bazmi and Suhail Rana. Basically she needed to be given tunes composed in lower notes but she got to sing more songs composed in higher notes. That was not her fault. Lack of clarity in some songs should be attributed to music composers. It is basically the one of the tasks of a melody maker to pick the right vocals for his creativity. A conservative assessment of Mala’s active singing years are from 1962 to 1972.

Mala’s real name is Tasneem Nazli. She was born on November 9, 1939 and she died on March 6, 1990. Her sister Shamim Nazli was the only female music composer of Pakistani film industry. Tasneem coopted Mala as he film name. Mala was a Pakistani playback singer of Urdu and Punjabi films.In the later part of her singing career, it actually suffered due to arrival of Runa Laila in playback scene. Mala was born in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. Mala desired to become a singer and her sister Shamim Nazli was a natural choice for her to learn music from her. Her sister approached the famous music composer Baba Ghulam Ahmed Chishti who accommodated Shamim and gave Mala two songs for the Punjabi film Aabroo. Unfortunately this film was a flop. Famous director cum producer Anwar Kamal Pasha came to her rescue and her first major break in films came in 1962 when she rendered a simple Urdu composition, ‘Aaya Re Daikho’ for the film Sooraj Mukhi in the music of Master Abdullah. This time the film was a success. However the hit song came in 1963 when Master Inayat Hussain gave Mala a break along with Sain Akhtar Hussain in the film ‘Ishq Par Zor Nahi’. The song was’Dil Daita Hai Ro Ro Duhai, Kisi Sei Koi Pyaar Na Karey’. The song was filmed on Yasmin and is even popular today. It was written by Qateel Shifai. The simplicity of a mountain girl’s warning to the girls not to get involved in love was the hallmark of this song. Mala bagged her first Nigar Award for this song in 1962.

In the Black & White days, I have a video of Mala’s songs ‘Dil Lei Kei Na Dil Tarpana, Chale Na Kahin Jana’ filmed on Naghma’s dancing steps with Muhammad Ali hovering around her. Mala sounded well in such light songs. Before this song, she had sung ‘Laai Ghata Motion Ka Khazana’ for the film ‘Chand Aur Chandni’ made in East Pakistan.The second hit song of this film is ‘Yei Samaa Mauj Ka Caravan’ by Mala and Masood Rana. This movie was released on April 12, 1968. It was romantic cum musical film. Besides the romantic pair, the other cast comprised Reshman, Mustafa, Asghar, Mirza Shahi, Naina and Sultana. Writer was Najma Rehman and producers were FA Dossani and Mustafiz. Lyricist was Suroor Barabankavi. Masood Rana also sang another song ‘Tujhe Pyar Ki Qasam Hei, Mera Pyar Bun Kei Aa Jaa’ with Mala for this film. Mala’s above mentioned song ‘Laai Ghata Mausam Ka Tarana’ was also a catchy proposition filmed on innocent looking Shabana. Music composer was Karim Shahabuddin for this movie. The music he produced also demonstrated a cultured touch and exuded decency. Instead of noisy rhythmic patterns in vogue, he created serene musical pieces composing outstanding instrumental interludes using Western instruments like keyboard, saxophones and flutes.

By singing such songs as above, Mala had become a popular playback singer by mid nineteen sixties. In 1968 Mala sang songs for Pakistani film ‘Sangdil’ in the music of M Ashraf. One of the songs was a club song ‘Aa Sun Lei O Jan-e-Wafa’ filmed on Deeba quite unlike her usual roles. She wears blouse and pants. Nadeem plays Spanish Guitar and Masood Akhtar gives a villainous entry. Another dance sequence ‘Dil Ko Jalaye Tera Pyar’ with Mala’s shrieks, loud guitar interludesand amateurish dance by Saiqa makes this song not a very good one. However ‘O Mere Shokh Sanam’ with Masood Rana filmed on Deeba and Nadeem sounds tolerable. In the film ‘Insaniyat’ which was Pakistani version of Indian film ‘Dil Aik Mandir’, Tariq Aziz plays Sitar and Zeba Begum sings Mala’s song ‘Mere Hamdum Mere Saathi Main Teri Dumsaaz Hun’. Continued