Biography

One of the biggest singing & acting stars of 1940's Bollywood! In Pakistan after 1947, Noor Jehan played lead actress roles in films Chann Way (1951)Dopatta (1952) Paatey Khan (1955) Chhu Mantar (1958) Koel (1959). Noor Jehan also was the lead vocalist for film songs in all the above listed films.Then,of course, she continued with her film-song singing career in Pakistan until the early 1990s.She sang hundreds of hit film songs in both Punjabi and Urdu languages,became a music icon in Pakistan as a result of this.She passed away on Dec.23, 2000 in Karachi, Pakistan.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Nisar Ahmad Grewal

Noor Jehan was born in the village Kot Murad Khan, near Kasur, Punjab,Pakistan on Sept. 21, 1926. Her birth name was Allah Wasai. At the age of 6, she appeared on stage in the city of Calcutta for stage director Dewan Sardari Lal as Baby Noor Jehan. In 1935, she sang on stage for the famous musician Ghulam Ahmad Chishti in Calcutta.Pancholi Studio owner Dalsukh Pancholi gave her first big break in Lahore in his film Gul-E-Bakavli (1939).Her first big hit came with the film Khandan (1942) and Zeenat (1945). Then she married producer-director of this film Shaukat Hussain Rizvi. In 1947, when the British divided old India into India and Pakistan, Noor Jehan (I) and her husband Shaukat Hussain Rizvi migrated to Lahore,Pakistan to make their films in Pakistan. Noor Jehan continued to act and sing as a playback singer in Pakistani films until 1961.In 1961,she wanted to focus on raising her children and spend more time with them,so she gave up acting in films and just continued her singing as a film playback singer until 1993.Due to advanced age and bad health,she quit her singing on the advice of her doctors. She died in Karachi,Pakistan on Dec.23,2000 at age 74, where she was living under the care of her daughter and son-in-law.She was known as a music icon in both Old Undivided British India and Pakistan among the public due to her thousands of hit film songs that she left behind.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Nisar Ahmad Grewal

Lata Mangeshkar commented on Noor Jehan's vocal range that Noor Jehan could sing as low and as high as she wanted and that the quality of her voice always remained the same.Noor Jehan made great efforts to attend 'Mehfils'(live concerts)of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Roshanara Begum and Ustad Salamat Ali Khan.The close association with the stalwarts of classical music built a solid foundation in music for Noor Jehan.She had the intelligence to employ her knowledge of classical music skillfully into her singing of 'ghazal'and 'geet'.Singing did not come easily to Madam Noor Jehan.She put her heart and soul into recording songs.Singing was,for Noor Jehan,not effortless but an emotionally and physically draining exercise.She was continuously working hard to maintain and improve the quality of her singing voice.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Nisar Ahmad Grewal