Zeenat Begum
زینت بيگم
Born
Shamim Akhtar[1]

(1931-11-11)11 November 1931
Malerkotla, Punjab, British India
Died11 December 2007(2007-12-11) (aged 76)
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
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

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

Music career

Zeenat Begum was a tawaif and a renowned classical singer.[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

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

Death

She died on 11th December 2007 in Lahore, Pakistan.[1][10]

Filmography

Film

Year Film Language
1942NishaniHindi
1942MangtiPunjabi[11]
1943SaharaHindi[12]
1944DaasiHindi
1944ChandHindi
1944PanchhiHindi
1944Gul BalochPunjabi[13][14]
1945ChampaHindi
1946Kahan GayeHindi
1946Shehar se DoorHindi
1946RehanaUrdu
1946ShalimarHindi
1946Khush NaseebHindi
1948Teri YaadUrdu
1949Ek Thi LarkiHindi
1949KaneezHindi[15]
1949PherayUrdu[16]
1950JahadUrdu
1950Hamari BastiUrdu
19502 AansooUrdu
1950ShammiPunjabi
1951MukhdaHindi
1951EidUrdu
1951GhairatUrdu
1951BilloPunjabi
1952SholaUrdu
1952NathPunjabi
1953SailabUrdu
1953IlzamUrdu
1963Ik Tera SaharaUrdu
1970Naya SaveraUrdu
1975Mohabbat Zindagi HaiUrdu

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 "Zeenat Begum profile". cineplot.com website. 2 November 2010. Archived from the original on 1 November 2011. Retrieved 19 April 2019.
  2. 1 2 3 "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. ↑ Profile of Zeenat Begum on pakmag.net website Retrieved 19 April 2019
  11. ↑ Routledge Handbook of Indian Cinemas. Routledge. p. 165.
  12. ↑ A Woman of Substance: The Memoirs of Begum Khurshid Mirza, 1918-1989. New Delhi : Zubaan, an imprint of Kali for Women. p. 147.
  13. ↑ "Punjab's Rafi, Rafi's Punjab — a bond of love". Tribune India. 26 December 2021.
  14. ↑ Remembering Mohammed Rafi. VIJAY. POOLAKKAL. p. 2.
  15. ↑ Rajadhyaksha, Ashish; Willemen, Paul (1999). Encyclopaedia of Indian cinema. British Film Institute. p. 313. ISBN 9780851706696.
  16. ↑ 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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