Born to Madad Ali and Fateh Bibi at Kot Murad Khan, Kasur (A City in Punjab - now in Pakistan) in the late 1920's, Melody Queen Noor Jehan was named Allah Wasai by her parents. It is not clear exactly when Noor Jehan was born. Some put it in 1926 and others in 1929, on the 21st September. If she was born on this date in 1929 it would make her exactly a week older than another singing colossus, Lata Mangeshkar.

Noor Jehan had five brothers - Nawab Din, Gul Muhammad, Muhammad Hussain, Muhammad Shafi and Inayat Hussain and five sisters - Eidan Bai, Haider Baandi, Gulzar Begum, Meena Begum and Undam Begum. From an early age she displayed signs of having a melodious voice, which became even more apparent by the time she was five or six years old. She could pick up just about anything - be it a folk song or popular number from a theatrical drama - imitating it to perfection. Realising her immense talent Noor Jehan's mother started her training in singing and dancing. She took up singing when she was only seven when she started making appearances on stage with her elder sisters Eidan Bai and Haider Baandi for rural theatre companies known as Taka Theatre. She did not sing original songs but the famous film hits of the day. She came to Lahore with her sisters for better opportunities where she took part in the zinda nach gana (live song and dance) which usually preceded the actual film show.


Looking for an even bigger stage the sisters moved to Calcutta in 1934/1935 where Mukhtar Begum, the leading singing star of the stage, encouraged the three sisters and recommended them to various producers. In later life Noor Jehan adopted Mukhtar Begum's style of performing and wearing of a sari. The sisters got permanent jobs with one of the Seth Sukh Karnani Companies, Indira Movie Tone. Their popularity grew as they became known as Punjab Mail. At this time, director K D Mehra was in the process of making a Punjabi film and persuaded his producer to cast the three in Pind Di Kuri (1935). And so began the film career of Baby Noor Jehan. She next acted in a film called Misar Ka Sitara (1936) by the same company and sang in it for composer Damodar Sharma. Five films later Baby Noor Jahan played the role of Heer's childhood in the film Heer Sayyal (1937). The role of Heer in this film was played by Balo, the mother of the 60's star Sabiha Khanum.


After four years in Calcutta back in Lahore it was Master Ghulam Haider who spotted her immense talent as a singer and composed songs that made her famous overnight. Baby Noor Jehan hit the nationwide rating with Gul Bakawali (1939) for renowned Mumbai producer Dalsukh Pancholi in 1939 where she recorded her first film song 'Shala Jawaniyan Mane' that was an instant hit. Baby Noor Jehan's appeal changed from a child struggling to play bit parts into a young woman with immense potential ready to take off and launch her singing and acting career. When it was decided to cast her as a heroine the basic problem with the producer and the director was how to erase the impression of her being a child from public perception. They feared that she would not be accepted as a heroine by the audience that had billed her a few years earlier as a child star. The first step was to remove the 'Baby' prefix from her name, and though she was young she was big built and appeared much older than her age. Her image on screen posed no problems to the director and so was born Noor Jehan, set to enter an adult world barely in her mid-teens.


Noor Jehan was first cast as a heroine in Khandan (1942) opposite Pran (who later became Indian Cinema's most hated villain) as the hero. The film was also a debut for director Shaukat Hussain Rizvi (who later married Noor Jehan). Pancholi had previously involved Rizvi in the editing of Gul Bakawali (1939), Yamla Jatt (1940) and Chaudhry (1941). The songs of Khandan (1942) compsed by Ghulam Haider became instant hits and established her as the leading singer of films in India. Its success saw her immigrating to Bombay where she shared melodies with the singing star Shanta Apte in Duhai (1943). After that there was hit after hit with songs from Nadan (1943), Naukar (1943), Dost (1944), Lal Haveli (1944). By now her popularity outstripped all others. She was the darling of the masses, recognised and adored both for her singing and acting.


After taking the role of leading lady in Nadan (1943), she was presented with second lead in Naukar (1943) while Shobana Samarth (Indian film actress Nutan's mother) played the heroine opposite Chandramohan. Dost (1944), directedby Rizvi, had the extremely gifted Motilal as the leading man opposite Noor Jehan, with Rizvi (who was now her husband) playing her brother in the film. It was in this film that Noor Jehan lent her voice for the first time to another actress, Husn Bano. It was in Lal Haveli (1944) that Noor Jehan starred opposite singing star Surendra Nath for the first time (they later made the all time classic Anmol Ghadi (1946)). Lal Haveli (1944) was also notable for the fact that Meena Kumari, then a child star, acted as the young Noor Jehan.


The year 1945 was a turning point for Noor Jehan. In Master Vinayak's Badi Maa (1945) she played lead with "Baby Lata Mangeshkar" and "Baby Asha Mangeshkar" in supporting roles. During breaks in shooting she would ask the then unknown Lata to join in impromptu singing sessions and said "Mark my words, this girl will one day become a tremendous singer." Noor Jehan's influence on the early songs of Lata is still discernible. Lata has always respected Noor Jehan and considers her one of her favourite singers. Some critics even believe that if Noor Jehan hadn't left fame and fortune in India when migrating to Pakistan during the partition of India, Lata may not have been as successful as she is today. If Noor Jehan had stayed Lata would have had to face serious competition.


The year 1945 also brought Noor Jehan her first superhit in Bombay, Zeenat (1945). It was her inimitable rendition of "Bulbulo Mat Ro Yahan" that gained her the title Malka-e-Tarranum, Queen of Melody. She dethroned reigining singing star Khurshid and rendered obsolete the nautch girl style of Zohra Ambalewali and Amirbai Karnatki.


In 1946 Noor Jehan acted in the enduring classic Anmol Ghadi (1946). The title is a fitting description of the magical moments in this film with superhit songs like 'Awaz De Kahan Hai', 'Jawan Hai Mohabbat', 'Mere Bachpan Ke Saathi', 'Aaja Meri Barbad Mohabbat' and 'Kya Mil Gaya Bhagwan' composed by Naushad to make her the undisputed queen of films if there was any doubt left about her being the diva. Composers and lyricists vied to have their creations rendered by the Queen. In the film she plays a poetess called Lata caught in a love triangle featuring the other two singing stars of that era, Suraiya and Surendra Nath. So popular was the film that Noor Jehan's other two films released that year, Dil (1946) and Humjoli (1946), were pale in comparison.


In Jugnu (1947) she starred with Dilip Kumar, then a rising star. The duet 'Yahan Badla Wafa Ka Bewafai Ke Siva Kya Hai' catapulted the then struggling Mohammed Rafi, who also made a special guest appearance in the song 'Woh Apne Yaad Dilane Ko'. Noor Jehan had very few duets as her voice did not require the support or enhancement of others. Her effortless emotive capabilities and her fluid grasp over the substance and essence of the lyrics is amazing, even in this day.


Noor Jehan's last film in India was Mirza Sahiban (1947) which starred Prithviraj Kapoor's (Father of Raj, Shashi and Shammi Kapoor, Grandfather of Rishi and Randhir Kapoor, Great-Grandfather of Karisma Kapoor) brother Trilok Kapoor. Many of the songs were hits like 'Aaja Tujhe Afsana Judaai Ka Sunaye' and the duet with G M Durrani 'Haath Seene Pe Jo Rakh Do To Qarar Aaye'.


The partition of India was the partition of the film industry. During partition in 1947, Noor Jehan decided to migrate to Lahore in the newly created Pakistan, despite Bombay being the real centre of show business. What was then the hearbeat of India, Noor Jehan became Pakistani. This must have been a momentous decision for her. She was undoubtedly at the height of her career both as a singer and an actress and she did not foresee any competition of any kind in the near future. Her husband, Shaukat Hussain Rizvi, too did not hail from that part of the subcontinent. He was from Uttar Pradesh and there was no compulsion to shift to Lahore. Many of the Muslim performers who were struggling then to make a place for themselves did not opt for Pakistan and stayed behind in Bombay as that was the real centre of film making. Many of them flourished in later years and earned the kind of money and fame that would not have been possible in the new country. Movement in the opposite direction was led by Dalsukh Pancholi who had to abandon his beloved Lahore and move to Bombay.


All the factors were loaded against Noor Jehan migrating to the new country. Bombay was well-established and not disrupted so violently by the partition of India. Lahore had nothing. It had a provincial film industry and periodically lost its talent to the bigger and better world of Bombay. There were many misgivings about the new country. Everything had to be constructed from scratch. Everything was new, the currency, the capital, the ideology.


Noor Jehan was not a struggling artiste who found her rise to the top blocked by popular stars. She had found her place at the top. She needn't have come to Pakistan. She could have stayed in India and enjoyed her reign at the top. Yet she opted to come to Pakistan and along with her husband set up the Shahnoor Studio in the outskirts of Lahore on the remains of the vandalised Shorey Studio. This can only be attributed to her committment to the new country.


After the holocaust of partition as things settled down, the film industry in Pakistan picked up the pieces and made a beginning with whatever was available. With the splitting of India into two, so was the labour force, many technicians, music directors, actors and actresses either stayed in India or shifted there. The richness and variety of music directors in Bombay could not be matched by the Punajbi dominated composers of Lahore and this was sorely felt as a limiting factor in the growth of the film music in the early years of the country. It also limited the variety and richness that could have been there for Noor Jehan to exploit. Being a singer of great creative ability, she made a virtue of her limitation and began exploring different styles. This exploration of a limited area has been the greatest contribution by Noor Jehan to the film music of Pakistan.


Three years after settling in Pakistan, Noor Jehan starred in her first film in Pakistan, Chanwey (1951) opposite Santosh, which was also her first Punjabi film as a heroine. Shaukat Hussain and Noor Jehan directed this film together making Noor Jehan Pakistan's first lady director. The film was a runaway hit. Most of the songs rendered by Noor Jehan in the film became instant hits, not only in Pakistan but also in India, songs like 'Tere Mukhde Tey Kala Kala Til Ve' composed by Feroze Nizami. The film itself ran to packed houses for a long time in all the major cities in East Punjab, proving that Noor Jehan was still loved by millions of cinegoers and listeners of film music on both sides of the border. Indeed, the three year gap in her career had not made any dent whatsoever in her popularity.


Noor Jehan's second film in Pakistan was Dupetta (1952) which turned out to be an even bigger success than Chanwey (1951). Such was the popularity of the musical score that no song based programme on Radio Pakistan, All India Radio or the newly introduced Hindi Service of Radio Ceylon, seemed complete without one or two of the film's numbers, which included songs such as 'Chandni Raatein', 'Tum Zindagi Ko Gham Ka' and 'Sanwariya Tohe Koi Pukare'. Dupetta (1952) was also actress Yasmin's first Pakistani movie. Yasmin later became Shaukat Hussain Rizvi's second wife.


In 1953, another Rizvi produced film, Gulnar (1953), directed by Imtiaz Ali Taj - the author of the Urdu classic drama Anarkali, though a well made, film proved to be an average grosser at the box office. However, it's songs - 'Bachpan Ke Yaadgaro', 'Lo Chal Diye Wo Hum Ko Tasalie Diye Beghair' and 'Sakhi Ri Nahin Aaye Sajanwa More' penned by Qateel Shifai and composed by Ghulam Haider were highly appreciated by music connoisseurs as well as the masses.


After a years break Noor Jehan returned with another Punajbi film, Patey Khan (1955) opposite Aslam Pervez, another hit. Composer Akhtar Hussain scored some of his finest compositions of his career, including 'Kali Kali Jaan Dukh', 'Mor Le Muhar Channa', all faultlessly rendered by Noor Jehan. In fact, Indian music director O P Nayyar was so moved when he heard 'Kali Kali Jaan Dukh' that it brought tears to his eyes and he insisted on hearing it again and again.


Two films were released in 1956 with Santosh as the male lead. One of which was Lakhte Jigar. The film faired below average at the box office, but the film's music is considered to be the best of composer G A Chisti's long and illustrious career. Composing for a Noor Jehan starrer for the first time, Chisti nonetheless managed to come up with some of the most captivating tunes he ever scored, which included songs such as 'Wo Khwab Sohana Toot Gaya', 'Chanda Ki Nagri Se Aaja' and 'Chanda Re Chanda Mere Daman Ko Thaam Re'. Noor Jehan immortalised Chisti's compostions.


The second Noor Jehan starrer of 1956 was undoubtedly one of the most significant musicals of Pakistani cinema. Directed by Masud Pervez, Intezar (1956) was ace composer Khwaja Khurshid Anwar's first release in Pakistan after his return from Bombay in the early 50's. This film was also the first time the Melody Queen and the musical giant worked together, and what a combination that was to be. Almost every song he composed for her and she rendered became a rage. Lata Mangeshkar, while recording an interview for the Urdu service of All India Radio in the 1970's, referred to Intezar (1956) as one of her favourite Pakistani musical hits. Even now songs such as 'Jis Din Se Piya Dil Le Gaye', 'O Janewale Re', 'Vo Sawan Ki Ghanghor Ghata' are considered master pieces. The orchestration in 'O Janewale Re' was way ahead of its time. Small wonder then that Noor Jehan was given the first President's Award in 1957 for best singer and best actress for Intezar (1956).


Compard to 1956, the following year was much less eventful. The one release was Nooran (1957), another Punjabi film, with Sudhir playing the male lead. Though the film had some enchanting numbers, 'Tere Bol Ne Tey Meriya Ne Buliyaan', 'Vekhiya Howe Ne Kisse Takiya Howe', the film failed to click at the box office.


The year 1958 brought Noor Jehan two superhits. The first was a Punjabi film, Choomantar (1958), with Aslam Pervez as the leading man, that had excellent songs soulfully rendered by Noor Jehan under the direction of Rafiq Ali - 'Aini Gul Dus De O Nike Nike Tario', 'Tu Ki Jaane Bekadra'. The next release was Anwar Pasha's Anarkali (1958) in which Noor Jehan played the title role opposite Sudhir, who portrayed Prince Saleem. Despite the miscasting for both the central roles, the film went on to be a jubilee hit solely on the popularity of Noor Jehan's songs composed by two music directors. Master Inayat, the original composer for Anarkali (1958), opted out of the film as the result of a disagreement with the director after recording just three songs. The task of composing the rest of the film's music was handed to Rashid Attre. Which one of the two composers triumphed over the other is a debatable point. What is beyond doubt is that Noor Jehan out her heart and soul into each one of their compositions and made them unforgettable for times to come.