When young Pakistani girls in the 1980s closed their eyes and clutched a pretend mic in their hands, swaying and singing, a major inspiration was Nazia Hassan. Hassan, sometimes referred to as the “Princess of Pop”, was a sensation the likes of which hadn’t been seen in the region in years. Young and graceful, with long flowing hair, she charmed the country by belting out favorite songs “Disco Deewane” and “Boom Boom” alongside her brother Zohaib.
Born on April 3, 1965 in Karachi, she met London producer Kumar at the age of 15 and recorded a Bollywood hit, “Aap jaisa koi” for the blockbuster “Qurbani.” The song catapulted her into the stardom and won her a Filmfare award. From there, Hassan and her brother released a number of albums, including “Boom Boom” in 1982 and “Young Tarang” in 1984. She was the first Pakistani singer to reach the British charts with her English version of “Disco Deewane”, called “Dreamer Deewane.”
Hassan was not only a talented singer, but also a devoted scholar and humanitarian. Using her law degree, she worked at the U.N. as well as for UNICEF. She was passionate about the rights of young people, and often took the time to visit impoverished schools in Pakistan. Her life was tragically cut short by lung cancer at the age of 35.
Our Doodle today imagines her performing with her famous flowing hair and dupatta (traditional Pakistani scarf), and the disco balls of the 80s glinting behind her.
Happy 53rd birthday, Nazia Hassan!
Early concepts and drafts of the Doodle below
KARACHI: Nazia Hassan, Pakistan’s ‘pop queen’ sweetheart, would have been 53 today but, as they say the good die young, she passed away on this day 18 years ago after battling cancer.
Even the local Google Doodle has been revamped to commemorate her, writing that "when young Pakistani girls in the 1980s closed their eyes and clutched a pretend mic in their hands, swaying and singing, a major inspiration was Nazia Hassan".
Born on April 3, 1965, Hassan came into the spotlight through Pakistan Television's (PTV) programme Sung Sung and rose to popularity to become one of Pakistan's most famous celebrities in the 70s and 80s.
“Aap Jaisa Koi” — an award-winning single that the Pakistani musical sweetheart sang for Indian movie Qurbaani — made Hassan a beloved pop icon at home as well as in of South Asia.
But back then, it was merely the beginning for her.
Along with her brother Zohaib, Nazia Hassan went on to sell over 60 million records worldwide. She bagged a Filmfare Award, becoming the first Pakistani to win the prestigious accolade.
The siblings' duo released Disco Deewane in 1981.
Nobody could have guessed that a girl who had started her music career at the age of 10 would go on to become one of the most conspicuous female singers of the Indian subcontinent. But she did, shattering predictions as well as glass ceilings.
"She was the first Pakistani singer to reach the British charts with her English version of 'Disco Deewane', called 'Dreamer Deewane'," notes the Google Doodle information page.
Pakistan’s contemporary music scene owes a huge debt to the legendary singer, who redefined the country's pop music. The 80s kids remember her songs — such as "Dum Dum Dede" and "Akhein Milane Wale" quite well.
Unfortunately, the game-changing star died on August 13, 2000, at the young age of 35, in London following a prolonged battle with lung cancer.
Hassan was not only blessed with an angelic voice to serenade audiences but with an empathetic heart as well. Her philanthropic work also won her win several accolades.
In 1991, she joined the United Nations — making use of her law degree — and also worked for United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Google also paid tribute to Nusrat Fateh Ali khan, Abdul Sattar Edhi, Noor Jehan
Google is paying tribute to legendary singer Nazia Hassan with its doodle feature on her 53rd birthday. Google honours prominent personalities and occasions with special logos that it calls ‘doodles’.
In the past Google had also paid tribute to Nusrat Fateh Ali khan, Abdul Sattar Edhi, Noor Jehan and many others.
In a statement Google wrote, “When young Pakistani girls in the 1980s closed their eyes and clutched a pretend mic in their hands, swaying and singing, a major inspiration was Nazia Hassan. Hassan, sometimes referred to as the “Princess of Pop”, was a sensation the likes of which hadn’t been seen in the region in years. Young and graceful, with long flowing hair, she charmed the country by belting out favourite songs Disco Deewane and Boom Boom alongside her brother Zohaib.”
Google remembers Mirza Ghalib with doodle on 220th birthday
Nazia Hassan was a Pakistani pop singer, lawyer and social activist. She graduated from well reputed Richmond, The American International University and University of London.
She started singing at the age of 10 and became one of the most prominent singers in Pakistan and India.
She earned the title of “Queen of Pop” in South Asia. She along with her brother Zoheb Hassan sold over 65 million records worldwide and her English language single Dreamer Deewane made her the first Pakistani singer to make it to the British charts.
Nazia was Born on April 3rd , 1965 came into the limelight through Pakistan Television’s programme “Sung Sung” and became Pakistan’s most famous celebrities of 70s and 80s.
Google honours Noor Jehan with doodle on 91st birthday
Nazia was not only a singer but she had also worked for the UN as well as for UNICEF.
She also remained a dedicated scholar and philanthropist who worked for the rights of young people.
She died of lung cancer at a very young age of 35, in London leaving her fans in a state of dismay.
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LAHORE: Legendary pop diva Nazia Hassan who together with her brother Zoheb Hassan ruled the 80s and 90s is being remembered by fans across the world on what would have been her 53rd birthday.
The undisputed queen of pop in India and Pakistan is credited with bringing the disco and indie-pop music to the subcontinent. The duo was regarded as youth icons and were adored by masses for their unique brother-sister act comprising music composition, singing and performing.
Nazia Hassan was born on April 3rd 1965 and had her first TV appearance as a child artist on Shoaib Mansoor’s show singing Dosti Aisa Naata. As the age of 15, Nazia made her singing debut with Aap Jaisa Koi song in Feroz Khan’s hit film Qurbani and went on to break all records. The song was a massive hit and this acclaim and popularity led her to team up with her brother Zoheb Hassan who was into writing and composing songs and celebrated music director based in London Biddu and came up with their very first album Disco Deewane.
The song Disco Deewane as well as the other songs in the album became mad hit and youth anthems. Her songs topped all charts home, in India and South Asian music charts abroad. It is mainly for this song that Nazia is credited with bringing disco music to the subcontinent.
It’s the very same song which Indian film producer Karan Johar brought back to life by including it in his 2012’s hit Student of the Year movie and kept Nazia’s main vocals.
After the sky-rocketing fame and beginning to rule millions of hearts, Nazia and Zoheb went on to release four more albums titled Star, Young Tarang, Hotline and Camera Camera.
Nazia earned critical acclaim and went on to receive many awards which are a first for Pakistani artists. Some of the prestigious awards she received include the Filmfare, Golden Disk and posthumously awarded Pride of Performance which is the highest civil award.
Another fact that many people of the new generation probably don’t know about her is that she wasn’t just an excellent artist but also a great human being who believed in doing something for the masses. This is evident from her dedicating one of her albums to the social cause Ban against Narcotics (BAN) discouraging the growing drug use among the youths at the time.
Nazia’s spirit of humanism led her to stop accepting offers of music albums and actively pursue philanthropy. She went back to school and earned an LL.B degree from University of Lancaster – another fact that many don’t know is that she became an excellent advocate of human rights and went on to work as Political Analyst at the United Nations (UN) headquarters. There on her work and research focused on disputed territories including Kashmir and Palestine.
In late 90s, she was diagnosed with cancer and went through several chemotherapy sessions. The news of her illness devastated her fans. Nazia was a fighter and she continued smiling and giving everyone a message of hope in her TV appearance when she was in remission.
Just as thing stated looking up, she relapsed and with a returned and stronger cancer, she was admitted to the hospital where she went through another round of treatment which was even stronger. She breathed her last on August 13, 2000 at only 35 and left everyone in utter shock and devastation.
The beautiful soul that she was had a turbulent married life. This is something she didn’t want to discuss in public and I would like to honour her wishes. She made it a point to finalise her divorce while she was in the hospital for the second round of treatment.
Her bereaved family includes her son Arez Hassan who was only 3 at the time of her passing.
It’s been nearly 18 years since Nazia Hassan passed away but she continues to rule the hearts of millions of fans who still remember her and continue listening to her music. This includes the new generation of fans who were born after Nazia’s passing.
The writer is the Digital Editor, Daily Times and can be reached at me@farhanjanjua.com. He tweets and instagrams @FarhanJanjua
A version of this article appears in Daily Times, April 3rd, 2018
