On my way back home while listening to the radio station, the host of the radio show announced, “The next song to be played now is from the movie “Qurbani” and being the title of the song “Aap Jaisa Koi” music by biddu and singer Nazia Hassan. One simply cannot forget this song and the singer who ignited disco fever among the masses back then.
So many interesting anecdotes came to my mind when listening to the movie. Qurbani followed by this song “Aap Jaisa Koi” and popular pop singer Nazia Hassan. My mind started thinking why not write a short article and share a couple of anecdotes here.
He was an actor, producer and director of Qurbani fame namely Feroz Khan, who had become close to the London-based Indian songwriter Biddu, who was popular for the hit songs he had composed in the late 1970s.
Feroz Khan had two conditions firmly set for Biddu. First, the recording of this song would be done in London and not in Mumbai. Second, the playback singer would not be from India. While Feroz Khan was looking for a singer in London that he could sing in Hindi. It was here that the actor Zeenat Aman suggested the young singer Nazia Hassan to Feroz Khan. For the shooting of the movie Qurbani in London, the producer had rented a place in Chelsea during the shoot.
Nazia Hassan started singing in the late 1970s when she appeared on various television shows on PTV as a child artist. She was only eight years old then. Her professional break came at the young age of fifteen when she sang for the 1980 film Qurbani. The recording of this song took place in a studio on the corner of Oxford Street.
The theme of the song was the introduction scene of Sheela (Zeenat Aman), the beautiful nightclub dancer in a red dress, while Rajesh (Feroz Khan) is in the club watching Sheela’s performance.
Hearing this beautiful number from the young Nazia Hassan, her mother felt that she would either make it a big hit or break it as a flop. The father was a little apprehensive because he did not want his children’s studies to be affected in any way. What is surprising is that music is only a hobby for Nazia, but her achievements in this craft were something that many would aspire to achieve in her career.
The movie Qurbani The music album sold more than ten lakh copies at the time. It was the first time that a non-Indian and the youngest Nazia Hassan won the Filmfare Award for Best Singer in the year 1981. The premiere of this film Qurbani in June 1980 was really a great event. The Marathi Mandir theater in Mumbai was packed for the next three months to full capacity. Not only the film, but also the music was able to make the cash registers ring at the box office.
As time went on and with the growing popularity of the song, Nazia Hassan was seen performing it live center stage. Qurbani it popularized the word “Disco” in India and people got excited about disco music.
Pakistani young singer Nazia Hassan captured the hearts of millions of people around the world and became a popular star overnight. The song “Aap Jaisa Koi” (means someone like you) changed everything then in the 1980s. The privileged place in Binaca Geetmala for the next 14 weeks, Nazia Hassan topped the charts with “Aap Jaisa Koi” leaving behind Lata Mangeshkar at number two position for his movie songs Aasha.
Mail Qurbani In 1981 Nazia released her first music album entitled “Deewan Nightclub”. Some of his hit numbers include Disco Deewane, Boom Boom, Ao Na and Lekin Mera Dil to name a few. It was only in the year 1992 after the release of her album that Nazia left her career as a singer. She completed her education in the UK, obtaining a law degree. After a hugely successful career as a singer, she later worked with the United Nations in the Security Council. She continued her social work even in New York and worked for children from the UN platform. The Government of Pakistan has awarded Nazia Hassan with its highest civilian award, the Pride of Performance.
Nazia Hassan passed away at a very young age. She succumbed to lung cancer in London on August 13, 2000. She had been admitted to North London Hospice in London N12 three days earlier when her condition deteriorated.
Nazia Hassan passed away early, but she still remains forever young and beautiful in our minds. India Today nominated her as one of the 50 people who helped change the face of India while “Aap Jaisa Koi” it remains India’s first international sound when it comes to music.
Tribute to this legendary singer Nazia Hassan. If Nazia had been alive, she would have been 50 years old today.
