Mala (Pakistani singer)


Naseem Nazli, known professionally as Mala, was a Pakistani playback singer of Urdu and Punjabi films. In the 1960s, Mala was a 'hit pair for singing duet film songs' with famous playback singer Ahmed Rushdi and they gave numerous hits to Pakistan film industry. She sang many popular film songs in almost two decades of her singing career in the 1960s and 1970s.
Mala's career suffered with the arrival of Runa Laila in the Pakistani film industry.

Early life and career

Mala's given name was Naseem Nazli. She was born on 9 November 1939 in Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan. She was the younger sister of music composer Shamim Nazli. Mala was interested in singing and music from a young age. Her elder sister happened to be her first music teacher and Naseem learned the basics of music from her sister. On Shamim Nazli's request, music composer, Baba Ghulam Ahmed Chishti recorded two songs for the Punjabi film Aabroo in Mala's voice. However, the film flopped. Despite the fact that her elder sister got her a break in films, it was the film producer Anwar Kamal Pasha who persuaded Naseem to try her luck and not give up on the Pakistani film industry. Her first hit in films came in 1962. She changed her name to Mala and sang a simple Urdu composition, Aaya re dekho for the film Sooraj Mukhi. The music was composed by Master Abdullah. In 1962, Mala rendered her voice to a tragic Urdu composition, Dil daeta hai ro ro duhai, kisi sey koi pyaar na karey for the film Ishq Par Zor Nahin. The music was composed by Master Inayat Hussain and the song was picturised on actress Yasmin and this film song ended up being a popular song of 1962. Film song lyrics were written by Qateel Shifai.
Additionally, Mala's greatest accomplishment was the film song 'Akele Na Jaana' in film Armaan. Mala teamed up with music director Sohail Rana and film songs writer Masroor Anwar.

Awards and recognition

The last days of Mala were fraught with loneliness and misery. She could not come to grips with the harsh realities of life. Above all, she found herself in the midst of deep financial crisis.
Mala died on 6 March 1990. Besides Urdu language film songs, she also sang many memorable popular film songs for films in the Punjabi language.

Mala's popular film songs