Nazia Hassan

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Nazia Hassan was born in 1965 in London to an affluent Pakistani family. Music was simply a hobby for her and she had never considered singing as a career choice. She didn’t arrive at the crossroads of her musical journey until she met Biddu, a British-Indian composer. He was really impressed by the intriguing nasally quality of her voice. After discussing his thoughts with Feroz Khan the director and star of Qurbani, Nazia was asked to sing what would become her history-making song, ‘Aap jaisa koi.’

Released in 1980, the title track from Disco Diwane was a number one hit not only in South Asia but also in a few countries in South America and the Middle East. Both the audio and video albums made record sales in India. However, Pakistani media took some time to accept this non-traditional style of singing and dancing. Pakistan Television (PTV) was reluctant to put these edgy and bold videos on air as the Pakistani television audience at the time was not used to disco/pop genre. It wasn’t long before they were able to see the Pakistani youth going crazy over the audio album and the success of the music videos in India. The videos were aired in 1981 and they were a blast. The “disco deewane mania” took over the country and Nazia and brother Zoheb Hassan became household names. Jinnah’s land was finally introduced to pop music.

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The duo released another album ‘Boom Boom’ the same year. The songs from this album were featured in another Bollywood movie, ‘Star’. The movie didn’t do very well but the songs made history yet again. Nazia and Zoheb Hassan became superstars in both countries. They were on TV talk shows, on the cover of magazines, on radio and on everyone’s lips. Historically India and Pakistan had a very unstable and dangerous relationship since their independence from the British rule. Both countries have had a really tough time in getting along with each other. Thus it was refreshing to see the youth in both countries singing the same tunes.

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The Hassans released two more albums, ‘Young Tarang’ and ‘Hotline’ in 1985 and 1987, respectively. Both were hit albums. The siblings loved what they were doing and the audience simply wanted more. It wasn’t just one particular thing about their songs or their style of music. It was a combination of factors. The lyrics were provocative, energizing, exciting, intriguing and listeners were able to relate to them. Nazia’s nasal voice, MTV style videos and disco/pop music all played into what felt like a cultural revolution.

Nazia Hassan, the South Asian queen of pop, was a woman of many talents. She had mentioned a number of times that music was simply her hobby. She was extremely active in social work and that’s what she liked doing best. She received her bachelors in Business Administration and Economics at the Richmond American University in London. In 1991 she became an intern in the Women’s International Leadership program at the United Nations. Later on she went on to work for United Nation’s office of Political and Security Council Affairs. Using her celebrity status in Pakistan, she created an organization called BAN (Battle against Narcotics) in Karachi to help fight the drugs war. She and her brother Zoheb dedicated their album ‘Camera Camera’ to BAN and hoped to create drug abuse awareness among the Pakistani youths.

Nazia also actively participated in organizations such as The Voice of Women, Business and Professional Women, Inner Wheel Club for Disabled Children in India and NYCP (National Youth Council of Pakistan). She created and participated in many child welfare programs in Pakistan and was involved in social issues ranging from women’s issues to illiteracy among the youth. She tried to use her music to stir up people’s emotions against the use of drugs. The song ‘Nasha na karna’ (Don’t do drugs) was an example of the message Nazia and Zoheb were sending out. Nazia Hassan also created a mobile clinic in Lyari, one of the poorest areas in Karachi.

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Nazia was married in 1995 and had a baby boy two years later. Unfortunately the queen of pop couldn’t capture the same level of success in her marriage she had in the musical realm. She continued to try to maintain a balance in her life between her social work and her life at home until another she was diagnosed with lung cancer. Her family started her treatment right away and she fought her battle against cancer as hard as she could.

On August 13th, 2000 Nazia Hassan died of lung cancer in a London hospital. South Asia stood still in disbelief. Millions mourned and cried for her. The person who had touched so many lives with her music lay lifeless on a hospital bed. Nazia’s family received millions of notes from fans all over the world. It was a sad ending to a remarkable story of a young woman who stumbled into an unknown adventure and reached the top while leaving her footsteps for others to follow.

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Nazia’s parents Basir and Muniza created the Nazia Hassan Foundation as a continuation of their daughter’s life long efforts to make this world a better place for everyone. The foundation’s main goal is to recognize and encourage efforts of those who put the lives of others before their own and try to help bring a positive change in this world. Special awards are also given to individuals who exhibit and achieve intellectual and social goals as well as a desire to further these causes. She was posthumously awarded the ‘Pride of Performance’ medal by the president of Pakistan General Parvez Musharraf.

Discography

Albums

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1. Boom Boom
2. Camera
3. Disco Deewanay
4. Hotline
5. Khoobsurat
6. Remix Album
7. Star
8. Young Tarang

See also

• Nazia and Zoheb