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Zeenat Begum

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Zeenat Begum
زینت بيگم
Born
Shamim Akhtar[1]

(1931-11-11)11 November 1931
Died11 December 2007(2007-12-11) (aged 76)
Other namesQueen of Yesteryear[2]
Occupations
  • Playback singer
  • Actress
  • Producer
Years active1942 – 2007
Spouses
Abdul Jabbar
(m. 1949; div. 1955)
  • Saqlain Rizvi
Children1

Zeenat Begum (born Shamim Akhtar; 11 November 1931 – 11 December 2007), sometimes known as Zeenat, was a Pakistani singer.[1] She was known as The Queen of Yesteryear for singing songs in films and on radio.[2]

Early life

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Zeenat Begum was born Shamim Akhtar in 1931 on November 11 at Malerkotla, Punjab, British India.[3]

Music career

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Zeenat Begum was a tawaif and a renowned classical singer.[2][1] She was discovered by Pandit Amar Nath around 1937.[1][4] Her first success as a playback singer came in 1942 when she sang for Govind Ram's Punjabi film Mangti (1942) and she also made her debut as an actress in the film.[2] The film was marked as the first Golden jubilee film produced in Lahore.[1][5]

Her first Hindi film was Nishani (1942).[6] She sang for other notable films including Panchhi (1944), Shalimar (1946), Shehar se Door (1946) and Daasi (1944).[7][8]

Zeenat Begum migrated from Lahore to Bombay in 1944.[1] She sang for several music directors in Bombay, including younger brothers of Pandit Amar Nath – Pandit Husnlal Bhagatram, Master Ghulam Haider, Pandit Gobind Ram etc.[1] The last film she sang for in India was Mukhda (1951).[1] She migrated to Pakistan and joined Lahore Radio station and worked there until the late 1950s.[1] After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, many new playback singers arrived in Pakistan which affected the playback singing career of Zeenat Begum.[1] Though she remained a prominent singer of Radio Lahore in 1950s and 1960s.[1][9]

Personal life

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Zeenat married Abdul Jabbar, they later divorced in 1955. Later she married Saqlain Rizvi and they had one child together.

Death

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She died on 11 December 2007 in Lahore, Pakistan.[1]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Film Language
1942 Nishani Hindi
1942 Mangti Punjabi[10]
1943 Sahara Hindi[11]
1944 Daasi Hindi
1944 Chand Hindi
1944 Panchhi Hindi
1944 Gul Baloch Punjabi[12][13]
1945 Champa Hindi
1946 Kahan Gaye Hindi
1946 Shehar se Door Hindi
1946 Rehana Urdu
1946 Shalimar Hindi
1946 Khush Naseeb Hindi
1948 Teri Yaad Urdu
1949 Ek Thi Larki Hindi
1949 Kaneez Hindi[14]
1949 Pheray Urdu[15]
1950 Jahad Urdu
1950 Hamari Basti Urdu
1950 2 Aansoo Urdu
1950 Shammi Punjabi
1951 Mukhda Hindi
1951 Eid Urdu
1951 Ghairat Urdu
1951 Billo Punjabi
1952 Shola Urdu
1952 Nath Punjabi
1953 Sailab Urdu
1953 Ilzam Urdu
1963 Ik Tera Sahara Urdu
1970 Naya Savera Urdu
1975 Mohabbat Zindagi Hai Urdu

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Zeenat Begum profile". cineplot.com website. 2 November 2010. Archived from the original on 1 November 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "Mallikas of yesteryear". Himal Southasian. 14 January 2022.
  3. ^ "زینت بیگم: فلمی صنعت کی ایک بھولی بسری آواز". ARY News. 23 January 2022.
  4. ^ "Spotlight: World's greatest mums". Dawn News. 8 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Mohammad Rafi remembered". Dawn News. 26 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Zeenat Begum's Song List – (1942–1951)". Cineplot.com. 21 May 2011. Archived from the original on 1 November 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Zeenat Begum". Cineplot.com. Archived from the original on 13 September 2019. Retrieved 19 April 2020.
  8. ^ Cinema Vision India Volume 2. Bombay S. Kak. p. 34.
  9. ^ Sangeet Natak, Issues 99-102. New Delhi : Sangeet Natak Akademi, 1965. p. 72.
  10. ^ Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas. Routledge. p. 165.
  11. ^ A Woman of Substance: The Memoirs of Begum Khurshid Mirza, 1918-1989. New Delhi : Zubaan, an imprint of Kali for Women. p. 147.
  12. ^ "Punjab's Rafi, Rafi's Punjab — a bond of love". Tribune India. 26 December 2021.
  13. ^ Remembering Mohammed Rafi. VIJAY. POOLAKKAL. p. 2.
  14. ^ Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1999). Encyclopaedia of Indian cinema. British Film Institute. p. 313. ISBN 9780851706696.
  15. ^ Swami ji (26 May 2020). "Pheray (1949 film) - a film review (scroll down to read this title)". Hot Spot Online website. Archived from the original on 13 June 2020. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
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