Zeenat Begum | |
|---|---|
| زینت بيگم | |
 | |
| Born | Shamim Akhtar[1] 11 November 1931 |
| Died | 11 December 2007 (aged 76) |
| Other names | Queen of Yesteryear[2] |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1942 – 2007 |
| Spouses | Abdul Jabbar
(m. 1949; div. 1955)
|
| Children | 1 |
Zeenat Begum (born Shamim Akhtar; 11 November 1931 – 11 December 2007), sometimes known as Zeenat, was a Pakistani singer.[1] She was known as The Queen of Yesteryear for singing songs in films and on radio.[2]
Zeenat Begum was born Shamim Akhtar in 1931 on November 11 at Malerkotla, Punjab, British India.[3]
Zeenat Begum was a tawaif and a renowned classical singer.[2][1] She was discovered by Pandit Amar Nath around 1937.[1][4] Her first success as a playback singer came in 1942 when she sang for Govind Ram's Punjabi film Mangti (1942) and she also made her debut as an actress in the film.[2] The film was marked as the first Golden jubilee film produced in Lahore.[1][5]
Her first Hindi film was Nishani (1942).[6] She sang for other notable films including Panchhi (1944), Shalimar (1946), Shehar se Door (1946) and Daasi (1944).[7][8]
Zeenat Begum migrated from Lahore to Bombay in 1944.[1] She sang for several music directors in Bombay, including younger brothers of Pandit Amar Nath – Pandit Husnlal Bhagatram, Master Ghulam Haider, Pandit Gobind Ram etc.[1] The last film she sang for in India was Mukhda (1951).[1] She migrated to Pakistan and joined Lahore Radio station and worked there until the late 1950s.[1] After the independence of Pakistan in 1947, many new playback singers arrived in Pakistan which affected the playback singing career of Zeenat Begum.[1] Though she remained a prominent singer of Radio Lahore in 1950s and 1960s.[1][9]
Zeenat married Abdul Jabbar, they later divorced in 1955. Later she married Saqlain Rizvi and they had one child together.
| Year | Film | Language |
|---|---|---|
| 1942 | Nishani | Hindi |
| 1942 | Mangti | Punjabi[11] |
| 1943 | Sahara | Hindi[12] |
| 1944 | Daasi | Hindi |
| 1944 | Chand | Hindi |
| 1944 | Panchhi | Hindi |
| 1944 | Gul Baloch | Punjabi[13][14] |
| 1945 | Champa | Hindi |
| 1946 | Kahan Gaye | Hindi |
| 1946 | Shehar se Door | Hindi |
| 1946 | Rehana | Urdu |
| 1946 | Shalimar | Hindi |
| 1946 | Khush Naseeb | Hindi |
| 1948 | Teri Yaad | Urdu |
| 1949 | Ek Thi Larki | Hindi |
| 1949 | Kaneez | Hindi[15] |
| 1949 | Pheray | Urdu[16] |
| 1950 | Jahad | Urdu |
| 1950 | Hamari Basti | Urdu |
| 1950 | 2 Aansoo | Urdu |
| 1950 | Shammi | Punjabi |
| 1951 | Mukhda | Hindi |
| 1951 | Eid | Urdu |
| 1951 | Ghairat | Urdu |
| 1951 | Billo | Punjabi |
| 1952 | Shola | Urdu |
| 1952 | Nath | Punjabi |
| 1953 | Sailab | Urdu |
| 1953 | Ilzam | Urdu |
| 1963 | Ik Tera Sahara | Urdu |
| 1970 | Naya Savera | Urdu |
| 1975 | Mohabbat Zindagi Hai | Urdu |
