Legendary Singer Mehdi Hassan remembered on his 9th death anniversary

LAHORE (92 News) – Legendary Singer and "King of Ghazal" Mehdi Hassan is being remembered on his 9th death anniversary on Sunday with tributes paid to his contribution in music field.

Born in a family of classical musicians, Hassan brought ghazals to a world audience. He greatly influenced popular Indian singers of diverse genres like Jagjit Singh and Sonu Nigam. He remained a leading playback singer of the Lollywood Pakistani film industry, along with his contemporary Ahmed Rushdi.

In his musical career, Mehdi Hassan lent his voice to different genres of music. On the one hand, there were the pure ghazals, and on the other, there were the romantic songs he sang as a playback singer for a wide range of movies, particularly in the 1960s and well into the late 1970s.

Additionally, he was at ease while singing Punjabi songs. His Bangla number, “Harano Din-er Kotha Mon-e Porhe Jaaye”, is yet remembered by his fans for the suavity he brought into singing it.

Some of his most popular songs are “Gulon Mein Rang”, “Ranjish Hi Sahi”, “Duniya Kisi Ke Pyar Mein” and “Pyar Bharay Do Sharmeelay Nain”.

He first did playback for the film “Susral” in 1962. Two years later, his ghazal numbers --“Farangi”, “Gulon Mein Rang Bharay”, written by world famous Pakistani poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz, won him a large fan following.

A severe illness in the late 1980s compelled Hassan to give up playback singing and led to his eventual departure from music.