Noor Jehan better know as Mallika-e-Tarranum (Queen of Melody) in Pakistan is still revered in India. is one of the greatest singers in the Indian subcontinent Noor Jehan has appropriately sung around 10, 000 songs in Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and Sindhi films in both India and Pakistan.
Noor jehan is remembered today as a great singer of yesteryears but very few people of this generation know that she was one of the most leading heroines in Hindi Film industry before partition of 1947.
she started her career as a child artist in Hindi film industry and was already a well know child artist of 1930’s known as baby noor jehan, there are numerous films to her credit as a child artist.
Noor jehan was first cast as a lead heroine in Khandaan 1942 opposite Pran the legendary Villain of Bollywood. the movie was directed but Shaukat Hassan Rizvi who incidentally became her husband.
She was the darling of masses, recognized and adored both for her singing and acting.In 1946, Noor Jehan acted in the enduring classic Anmol Ghadi (1946). The title was a fitting description of the magical moments in this film with super hit songs composed by Naushad making her the undisputed queen of films if there was any doubt left about her being a diva.
her songs from Anmol Ratan"jawan hai mohobbat, awaz de kahan hai, Aja meri barba Mohobbat ke sahare, udan khatole pe ud jaoon re, socha tha kya kya hogaya are popular even today
around the same time Mangeskar sisters were also hitting the scene and many people of yesteryears believe that Lata in her early carrier used to imitate Noor Jehan and would not have reached such heights if Noorjehan had stayed back in India.
The partition of India was the partition of the film industry. During the partition in 1947, Noor Jehan decided to migrate to Lahore in newly created Pakistan, despite Bombay being the real center of show business. What was then the heartbeat of India was that Noor Jehan became Pakistan. This must have been a momentous decision for her. She was undoubtedly at the height of her career both as an actress and a singer and she did not foresee any competition of any kind in the near future. The reason she opted to go to Pakistan was because she loved her hometown, Kasur and wanted to be in the country of her hometown.
In Pakistan after few years after partition she started her career again by acting in some movies and it took no time for her to mesmerize people once again. She received many awards, including with the highest Pakistani honor in entertainment, Tamgha e imtiaz (The Pride of Performance) in 1966, Pakistan’s top civil award and countless cultural awards.
She revisited India in attend a function celebrating the golden jubilee of the Indian Talkie. The Mallika-e-Tarranum, enthralled her fans on this side of the border with her evergreen voice.
as long as she was alive Noorjehan remained the beloved of the subcontinent esp of the older generation. she breathed her last in year 2000 and we all lost a invaluable treasure