Asif Mehdi

Last updated

Asif Mehdi
Born1966 (1966)
Pakistan
Died2 August 2021
(aged 55)
Karachi, Pakistan
Genres Ghazal, playback singing
OccupationSinger
Years active1983- 2021

Asif Mehdi (1966-2021) was a Pakistani ghazal singer and a playback singer in Lollywood, Pakistan. He was known much for reviving classical singing in his country as well as for being the son of Mehdi Hassan [1]

Contents

Early life

Born in Pakistan to Mehdi Hassan. He started his training at age 13 from his father and his uncle Ghulam Qadir. His family migrated from Mandawa in Rajasthan, to Pakistan at the time of partition of India in 1947.

Performing career

Asif Mehdi performed with his father in Los Angeles in 1983 for the first time at age 17. When he sang, his father Mehdi Hasan was so annoyed that he rebuked him for singing in an effeminate voice. He has toured India, along with ghazal singer Jagjit Singh, in 2009 on the concert tour called Music for Peace which seeks to establish peaceful relations between India and Pakistan which share a common culture and language. [1] [2]

He, like his father, is fond of singing nazms by famous lyricists like Mir Taqi Mir, Ahmed Faraz, Qateel Shifai, Hafeez Jalandhari and Mirza Ghalib. [3]

He signed a contract with Sony Entertainment last year and the album will be released across the globe in January 2010. [2]

Films

He has done 60 movies in the Pakistani film industry.

Awards

Asif Mehdi won the Nigar Award in 1999 for his playback singing.

Personal life

Asif Mehdi lived with his family in Karachi, Pakistan, where he breathed his last on 2 August 2021.

Related Research Articles

<i>Ghazal</i> Form of poetry of many languages originating in Arabic

The ghazal is a form of amatory poem or ode, originating in Arabic poetry. Ghazals often deal with topics of spiritual and romantic love and may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation from the beloved and the beauty of love in spite of that pain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jagjit Singh</span> Indian Ghazal singer (1941-2011)

Jagjit Singh was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in numerous languages and is credited for the revival and popularity of ghazal, an Indian classical art form, by choosing poetry that was relevant to the masses and composing them in a way that laid more emphasis on the meaning of words and melody evoked by them. In terms of Indian classical music, his style of composing and gayaki (singing) is considered as Bol-pradhan, one that lays emphasis on words. He highlighted this in his music for films such as Prem Geet (1981), Arth (1982), and Saath Saath (1982), and TV serials Mirza Ghalib (1988) and Kahkashan (1991). Singh is considered to be among the most successful ghazal singers and composers of all time in terms of critical acclaim and commercial success. With a career spanning five decades and many albums, the range and breadth of his work has been regarded as genre-defining.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mehdi Hassan</span> Pakistani ghazal singer

Mehdi Hassan Khan, known as Mehdi Hassan, was a Pakistani ghazal singer and playback singer of great renown. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential figures in the history of ghazal singing, Hassan is referred to as the Shahenshah-e-Ghazal. Known for his "haunting" baritone voice, Hassan is credited with bringing ghazal singing to a worldwide audience. He is unique for his melodic patterns and maintaining integrity of the ragas in an innovative way.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghulam Ali (singer)</span> Pakistani singer

Ustad Ghulam Ali is a Pakistani ghazal singer of the Patiala Gharana. Ghulam Ali is considered one of the greatest ghazal singers of his era. He has also been a prominent playback singer in Bollywood. He is a disciple of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Ali was also trained by Bade Ghulam Ali's younger brothers – Barkat Ali Khan and Mubarak Ali Khan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bade Ghulam Ali Khan</span> Musical artist

Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan was an Indian vocalist, from the Kasur Patiala Gharana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bade Fateh Ali Khan</span> Pakistani classical vocalist

Ustad Bade Fateh Ali Khan (Urdu: بڑے فتح علی خان; was among the foremost Khyal vocalists in Pakistan, and a leading exponent of the Patiala Gharana tradition of music. He was the younger of the legendary singing duo Amanat Ali and Fateh Ali, who enjoyed immense prestige and success across the subcontinent and beyond until the sudden and unexpected death of Ustad Amanat Ali Khan in 1974. For his contributions to classical music, Fateh Ali was honoured with the highest national literary award of Pakistan — the Pride of Performance — by the President of Pakistan in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ahmed Rushdi</span> Pakistani playback singer

Ahmed Rushdi was a versatile Pakistani playback singer and was "an important contributor to the golden age of Pakistani film music." Regarded as one of the greatest singers in South Asia who could sing high tenor notes with ease, he is best known for his versatility and distinctive voice, with complex and dark emotional expressions. Considered the first pop singer of South Asia, he sang South Asia's first pop song, "Ko Ko Korina", in the 1966 film Armaan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amanat Ali Khan</span> Pakistani classical vocalist

Ustad Amanat Ali Khan was a Pakistani classical vocalist from the Patiala gharana tradition of music and is widely regarded as one of the finest classical and ghazal singers of all time. Together with his younger brother, Ustad Bade Fateh Ali Khan, he formed a famed singing duo that garnered widespread popularity across the Indian subcontinent. For his contributions to classical music, Amanat Ali was honoured with the highest national literary award of Pakistan – the Pride of Performance – by the President of Pakistan in 1969. Khan was especially noted for khayal, thumri, and ghazal styles of singing and has been described as "the maestro of the Patiala gharana." He stands with singing icons like Mehdi Hassan and Ahmed Rushdi, having left behind a legacy of hundreds of classical and semi-classical songs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khyal Muhammad</span> Pashtun singer

Ustad Khyal Muhammad is a Pashtun singer from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. He has appeared regularly on television, usually singing ghazals and in movies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">A. Nayyar</span> Film playback singer (1950-2016)

Arthur Nayyar, commonly known as A. Nayyar, was a Pakistani film playback singer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Asif Noorani</span> Newspaper journalist

Asif Noorani is a Pakistani newspaper and television journalist and writer.

Asad Amanat Ali Khan was a Pakistani classical vocalist and ghazal singer belonging to the Patiala Gharana tradition of music. In a career spanning 32 years, Khan sang over 1,000 songs for Pakistan Television and movie soundtracks, in addition to performing traditional classical music across the world. He was particularly noted for his command over the ghazal style of singing. Khan was the son of the prominent classical vocalist Ustad Amanat Ali Khan. He was awarded the highest national literary award of Pakistan, the Presidential Pride of Performance, on 23 March 2007 for his significant contributions to classical music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nayyara Noor</span> Pakistani playback singer (1950–2022)

Nayyara Noor was a Pakistani playback singer, considered one of Pakistan's most popular singers. She was known for performing in live ghazal singing concerts in Pakistani TV shows and in concert halls around the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mehnaz Begum</span> Pakistani singer

Mehnaz Begum was a Pakistani TV, radio, and film singer. She was well known as a film playback singer in the 1970s and 1980s. She was the recipient of several Nigar Awards.

Tina Sani is a Pakistani female singer famous for her classical and semi-classical Urdu Ghazals.

Noel Dias, better known as Saleem Raza, was a Pakistani playback singer. He converted to Islam and started his singing career from Lahore, Pakistan, quickly gaining popularity. Raza was a classically- trained singer and was more famous for singing sad songs. Raza's career suffered due to the rise of singer Ahmed Rushdi in the late 1950s. He left playback singing in 1966 as he lost his popularity with the film composers and moved to Canada where he died in 1983.

Tasawar Khanum is a Pakistani Ghazal and playback film singer. She is mostly known for singing in Urdu and Punjabi in Pakistani films and television during the 1970s and 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tari Khan</span> Pakistani tabla player

Abdul Sattar Khan, popularly known as Ustad Tari Khan, is a Pakistani tabla player and vocalist.

Ustad Barkat Ali Khan was a Pakistani classical singer, younger brother of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan and elder brother of Mubarak Ali Khan, and belonged to the Patiala gharana of music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ghulam Abbas (singer)</span> Pakistani film and television singer

Ghulam Abbas is a Pakistani radio, television, and film singer. He is known for his ghazals, geets, and playback singing for Urdu and Punjabi movies. Besides winning 4 Nigar Awards as a playback singer, he was also honored with the Tamgha-i-Imtiaz in 2011 and the Pride of Performance Award in 2020 by the President of Pakistan.

References

  1. 1 2 http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/article63176.ece, Profile of Asif Mehdi on The Hindu newspaper, Published 10 Dec 2009, Retrieved 15 Dec 2016 Archived 24 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  2. 1 2 http://www.deccanherald.com/content/40519/media-has-failed-promote-ghazals.html, Asif Mehdi's interview to the Deccan Herald newspaper, Published 10 Dec 2009, Retrieved 15 Dec 2016
  3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/records/n2vnpd, Soundtrack of Asif Mehdi on BBC Music website, Retrieved 15 Dec 2016