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naziahassan.com.pk
This 13th August 2002 it will be two years since Pakistan’s sweetheart , Nazia Hassan passed away.
Millions of Pakistanis across the world wept as they heard or read this news. Nazia Hassan at the tender age of thirteen won the hearts of millions of Asians around the world through her unique style of music. She will always be regarded as the undisputed pioneer of sub-continental pop music, selling a staggering 60 million records internationally in a career spanning two decades. What really made Nazia unique in the eyes of her fans, was not her success but the fact that she used her iconic status to promote social causes. She relentlessly worked for special children and for youth and women in distress residing in the underprivileged areas of Karachi. She initiated an NGO, called BAN (Battle Against Narcotics) and became an active member of organisations such as Voice of Women, National Youth Council of Pakistan, etc. In 1991 she joined the Department of Political and Security Council Affairs at the United Nations Headquarters in New York and worked there for 2 years. In her third year she offered her services to UNICEF. Her social and academic excellence won her a scholarship in Columbia University’s Leadership Program but she was unable to avail it because around this time she was diagnosed with cancer. After a successful operation Nazia returned to Pakistan, as the doctors advised her to rest and be in a stress free environment. Upon her return however, she was greeted with an arranged marriage which in her own words ‘became another cancer’ for her. The marital stress led to a relapse of her cancer, forcing Nazia to return to the United Kingdom for treatment, accompanied by her parents and son. During the course of her painful treatment, Nazia decided to file for divorce, ‘I can only fight one cancer at a time,’ she said. Ironically her divorce was completed ten days before her death, despite the fact that her ex-husband tried to contest her ‘right of khulla,’ given to her at the time of her marriage. Sadly, even after her death Nazia’s soul was made to suffer since her ex-husband tried to get possession of her body from her parents, and thereby further torturing the already suffering family. In her last Will and Testament, Nazia had clearly stipulated to her lawyers that her son Arez should remain with her parents, but this too, was contested by her ex-husband in a court of law, before she was even buried. A few months later, The High Court of London gave custody of the child to Nazia’s parents; he now resides happily with them in London.
It is ironical that a person who was so caring and gave so much happiness to millions around the world could never find peace and happiness for herself. Does the case of Nazia say something about the world today or is it that the good always die young ? Whatever the answer maybe Nazia’s fans still remember her as ‘our own Princess Diana, our own Queen of Hearts’. Nazia we hope you are at peace now and can hear this in Heaven!
Reminiscing Nazia
By Zabar Hassni
I vaguely remember our family gathering in the summer of 1985. Many of our relatives from the province of Punjab came to visit us in Karachi. It was a family tradition. Every other year either we would go to visit them or they would come to Karachi to spend a few weeks with us. It was one of those summers and I was hanging out with a couple of my older cousins in our balcony which faced the beach. Having survived three previous hot summers in Karachi I knew the value of the cool breeze that would rise from the sea and hit our balcony. We were chatting and listening to Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ on my very first stereo. It was then when one of my cousins mentioned a song called ‘App jaisa koi meri zindagi mei aay’ (‘If someone like you comes into my life’) by a female artist named Nazia Hassan. I had no idea whom he was talking about. Nevertheless they popped in her cassette and hit the play button. I listened to the song and within a few seconds into it, I felt the melodious beat overcoming the hot summer day and the cool breeze that came from the sea. That was my first introduction to the queen of pop!
‘App jaisa koi’ was a hit single featured in the 1980 Bollywood movie, Qurbani. The song took South Asia by storm and Nazia, who was only 15 years old, became a star overnight. This was soon followed by her debut album Disco Dewane which also featured her brother Zoheb Hassan. The album was an instant hit. Pakistani and Indian youth welcomed this new and fresh style of music and singing with open arms. The incredible success of the album signaled one fact clearly: The sibling duo was here to stay and South Asia would be singing their tunes for a long time.
Nazia Hassan was born in 1965 in London to an affluent Pakistani family. As a kid she used to sing around the house with her brother. She was gifted with this incredible nasally voice that was plain yet intriguing. Music was simply a hobby for her and she had never considered singing as a career choice. She didn’t arrive at the crossroads of her musical journey until she met Biddu, a British-Indian composer. He was really impressed by the nasally quality of her voice. After discussing his thoughts with Feroz Khan the director and star of Qurbani, Nazia was asked to sing what would become her history-making song, ‘Aap jaisa koi.’ And that was it, her crossroads, and she chose the path that began her musical adventure.
Released in 1980, the title track from Disco Diwane was a number one hit not only in South Asia but also in a few countries in South America and the Middle East. Both the audio and video albums made record sales in India. However, Pakistani media took some time to accept this non-traditional style of singing and dancing. Pakistan Television (PTV) was reluctant to put these edgy and bold videos on air as the Pakistani television audience at the time was not used to disco/pop genre. It wasn’t long before they were able to see the Pakistani youth going crazy over the audio album and the success of the music videos in India. The videos were aired in 1981 and they were a blast. The “disco deewane mania” took over the country and Nazia and Zoheb Hassan became household names. Jinnah’s land was finally introduced to pop music.
The duo released another album ‘Boom Boom’ the same year. The songs from this album were featured in another Bollywood movie, ‘Star’. The movie didn’t do very well but the songs made history yet again. It was time for young Pakistanis, who only had Alamgir, Sheki and Naheed Akhtar as their listening choices, to get accustomed to the music of Nazia and Zoheb. And they did. Nazia and Zoheb Hassan became superstars in both countries. They were on TV talk shows, on the cover of magazines, on radio and on everyone’s lips. Historically India and Pakistan had a very unstable and dangerous relationship since their independence from the British rule. Both countries have had a really tough time in getting along with each other. Thus it was refreshing to see the youth in both countries singing the same tunes.
The Hassans released two more albums, ‘Young Tarang’ and ‘Hotline’ in 1985 and 1987, respectively. Both were hit albums. The siblings loved what they were doing and the audience simply wanted more. It wasn’t just one particular thing about their songs or their style of music. It was a combination of factors. The lyrics were provocative, energizing, exciting, intriguing and listeners were able to relate to them. Nazia’s nasally voice, MTV style videos and disco/pop music all played into what felt like a cultural revolution.
As far as Pakistanis’ music exposure was concerned, it was the best of times and the worst of times. General Zia-ul-Haq’s 'Islamization' of the country during the 80s became an obstacle for music lovers, whether they were the audience or the performers. Almost all musical shows on TV that involved women were banned. The mullahs had a serious problem with a brother and sister dancing together on screen. Nazia’s first video that aired on TV in the early 80s was shot waist up so the audience couldn’t see her dancing feet.
In 1988, General Zia was killed in a plane crash. Following the shock, the country went quickly into a recovery mode. The new government had the responsibility of lifting the morale of millions of people. Many things changed and many things created opportunities for a change. The music industry lifted itself up as well and made an entry back into people’s houses. The Nazia and Zoheb phenomenon paved the road for new and young talents all over the country.
By the early 1990’s, Pakistan experienced a new wave of young and hip bands. Music Channel Charts became one of the most popular shows in Pakistan’s music history. People would actually schedule their evenings around the show time. It was a great musical era. My sister and I used to sit in front of the TV and watch the weekly song ranking and share our excitement or complaints depending on which songs climbed up the charts. This was around the time when our generation was introduced to bands like Vital Signs, Arid Zone, Collage, Fringe Benefits, Milestones, Strings, Sequencers, Yatagaan and Junoon. This was the result of the revolution that Nazia and Zoheb brought about in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
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