Musarrat Nazir

{{Infobox person

| name = Musarrat Nazir

| image =

| caption = Musarrat Nazir

| image_size =

| alias = The Silver Screen's Sparkling Star
Chandni

| birth_name = Musarrat Nazir Khawaja

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1940|10|13}}

| birth_place = Lahore, Punjab, British India

| known_for = {{Hlist | Film actress | Punjabi folk music}}

| education = Kinnaird College

| occupation = {{Hlist | Singer | film director | film actress}}

| years_active = 1951 – 1993

| spouse = {{marriage|Arshad Majeed|1963}}

| children = 3, including Omar Majeed

| relatives = Ahmad Bashir (cousin)
Bushra Ansari (niece){{cite web|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/2364944/bushra-ansari-behroze-sabwari-talk-friendship-early-careers-and-life-of-art-in-digital-age|title=Bushra Ansari, Behroze Sabwari talk friendship, early careers and life of art in digital age|website=The Express Tribune|date=July 6, 2022}}
Sumbul Shahid (niece)
Asma Abbas (niece)
Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gillani (brother-in-law)
Ameer Gilani (grand-nephew)
Zara Noor Abbas (grand-niece)

| awards = Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 1989

}}

Musarrat Nazir Khawaja ({{langx|ur|{{Nastaliq|مسرت نذیر}}}}; born 13 October 1940) is a Pakistani singer and film actress, who acted in many Urdu and Punjabi films.{{cite web|url=https://dunya.com.pk/index.php/special-feature/2016-03-05/15007|title=مسرت نذیر|website=Dunya News|date=March 5, 2016}} She is also known as The Silver Screen's Sparkling Star and is recognized for her role in Cinema of Pakistan during the 1950s and 1960s. Many years later, she also sang solo, mostly wedding and folk songs.

Early life

Her parents were a middle-class family of Kashmiri origin from Lahore.{{cite web |url=https://apnaorg.com/articles/khalid-hassan/khalid-hassan-12/ |title=Looking for Musarrat Nazir (her Profile) |author=Khalid Hasan |publisher=Academy of the Punjab in North America (APNA) via The Friday Times newspaper |date=18 March 2005 |access-date=27 August 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220228155926/https://apnaorg.com/articles/khalid-hassan/khalid-hassan-12/|archive-date=28 February 2022|url-status=dead}} Her father Khwaja Nazir Ahmed, worked as a registered contractor in Lahore Municipal Corporation. Early in her life, her parents wanted her to be a doctor, and provided her with the best possible education they could afford. Musarrat passed the matriculation examination (10th grade) with distinction and passed the intermediate examination (12th grade) from Kinnaird College in Lahore.

Career

She had keen interest in music and began singing for Radio Pakistan in the early 1950s. However, insufficient money from the radio took her to the film director Anwar Kamal Pasha in 1955. She explained to Pasha her strong desire to sing for his movies. Instead, Pasha suggested that she should become an actress. Musarrat needed her parents' approval. Pasha himself met Musarrat's father and convinced him to allow his daughter to work in the movie industry as a singer and actress.{{cite news|url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/456397/mussarat-nazir-the-iconic-heroine-part-i/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227070836/https://dailytimes.com.pk/456397/mussarat-nazir-the-iconic-heroine-part-i/|date=29 August 2019|author=Amjad Parvez|url-status=dead|archive-date=27 February 2023|access-date=28 August 2024|newspaper=Daily Times newspaper|title=Musarrat Nazir: the iconic heroine - Part I}}

Pasha changed Musarrat's name to her professional name Chandani and signed her up for a side role in his movie.{{cite web|url=https://www.youlinmagazine.com/article/mussarat-nazir-the-silver-screen-sparkling-star/MTc4Ng==|title=Mussarat Nazir: The Silver Screen's Sparkling Star|website=Youlin Magazine|date=July 1, 2020}} Hence, Chandani made her debut with Sabiha Khanum and Nayyar Sultana in Pasha's film Qatil in 1955. Her role was secondary but effective.

Sheikh Lateef of Capital Films, Lahore planned to make a Punjabi film, 'Pattan (1955)'. Lateef's friend, poet and script writer, Baba Aalam Siah Posh, advised him to cast Chandani (Musarrat Nazir) in the film. Lateef agreed. This was the debut of Musarrat Nazir, aka Chandani, in Punjabi films. Then she appeared in the hit Punjabi film, Pattan (1955), under her real name, Musarrat Nazir, and played the lead role opposite Santosh Kumar in Pattan. The producer was Sheikh Lateef and the film was directed by Luqman. The film Pattan opened the doors for Musarrat in the Punjabi film industry, which led her to the hit film Patay Khan (1955). She was the supporting actress. The film was produced by film actress Shammi and Musarrat Nazir acted in a supporting role along with Noor Jehan and Aslam Pervaiz. Her main competitor actresses, in those days, were Sabiha Khanum, Asha Posley, Bahar Begum, Nayyar Sultana, Jamila Razzaq, Yasmin, Neelo and Noor Jehan.{{cite web|url=http://cineplot.com/mussarat-nazir|date=27 September 2009|author=Zurain Imam|archive-date=10 November 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111110151233/http://cineplot.com/mussarat-nazir|title=Profile of Musarrat Nazir|website=Cineplot.com website|access-date=27 August 2024}}

Musarrat also gave performances in Pakistan cinema's greatest melodramas like the films Mahi Munda (1956) and Yakke Wali (1957).

The film song Us bay wafa ka sheher hai in the mega-hit film Shaheed (1962), is considered to be one of the popular songs in 2022. Even after she retired from her film career in 1988, she had continued to sing for Pakistan Television until recently.

Personal life

She was born on 13 October 1940. She is married to a physician, Arshad Majeed, and has lived in Canada since 1965. They have three grown-up children in 2005 and her son Omar Majeed is a film director. Musarrat Nazir gave up her film career that was then at its peak for her would-be husband and agreed to move to Canada with him.

Musarrat Nazir and Arshad Majeed wanted to return to Pakistan and settle in Lahore in the late 1970s. Arshad Majeed wanted to set up a hospital in Lahore and they had gone ahead and bought a home there for this purpose which they still own and maintain in 2005. After spending a lot of money, months of struggle and running around, Arshad Majeed gave up.

Filmography

=Television=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"

style="text-align:center;"

! scope="col"|Year

! scope="col"|Title

! scope="col"|Role

! scope="col"|Network

1983

| Tariq Aziz Show

| Herself

| PTV

1984

| 20 Golden Years Of PTV

| Herself

| PTV

1986

| Mehmil

| Herself

| PTV{{cite web|url=https://www.youlinmagazine.com/article/khawaja-najamul-hassan-encounters-with-iqbal-bano-and-musarrat-nazir-part-vi/MjIyOQ==|title=Khawaja Najamul Hassan's Encounters with Iqbal Bano and Musarrat Nazir: Part VI|website=Youlin Magazine|date=April 4, 2022}}

=Film=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" \| Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" \| Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" \| Language
rowspan="3"\|1955	Qatil	Urdu
Pattan	rowspan="3"\|Punjabi{{cite web\|url=https://www.citwf.com/person315250.htm \|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190204071430/https://www.citwf.com/person315250.htm\|title= Filmography of Musarrat Nazir\|archive-date=4 February 2019\|url-status=dead\|website=Complete Index To World Film (CITWF) website\|access-date=27 August 2024}}
Paatay Khan
rowspan="6"\|1956	Mahi Munda
Kismet	Urdu
Peengaan	Punjabi
Mirza Sahiban	rowspan="2"\|Urdu
Baghi
Guddi Gudda	Punjabi
rowspan="7"\|1957	Seestan	Urdu
Yakke Wali	rowspan="2"\|Punjabi
Palkaan
Thandi Sarak	rowspan="2"\|Urdu
Aankh Ka Nasha
Sethi	Punjabi
Baap Ka Gunah	rowspan="4"\|Urdu
rowspan="5"\|1958	Naya Zamana
Jaan-E-Bahar
Zehr-e-Ishq
Jatti	Punjabi
Rukhsana	rowspan="4"\|Urdu
rowspan="9"\|1959	Society
Sahara
16 Aanay
Yaar Beli	rowspan="2"\|Punjabi
Kartar Singh
Raaz	Urdu
Lukkan Meeti	rowspan="2"\|Punjabi
Jaidad
Jhoomer	rowspan="11"\|Urdu
rowspan="7"\|1960	Clerk
Street 77
Gul Badan
Noukari
Watan
Dil-e-Nadan
Daku Ki Larki
rowspan="5"\|1961	Chotay Sarkaar
Sunehray Sapnay
Mangol
Muftbar	Punjabi
Gulfam	rowspan="5"\|Urdu
rowspan="2"\|1962	Shaheed
Ek Manzil 2 Rahen
1963	Ishq Par Zor Nahin
1967	Bahadur
1970	Shanakhat Parade	Punjabi
1988	Da Bhabhi Bangri	Pashto

Discography

Musarrat Nazir made an appearance on Pakistani television's Tariq Aziz Show in 1983. Songs from that show became highly popular in Pakistan.

Her popular songs are listed below:

Gulshan Ki Baharon Mein
Mera Laung Gawacha (1983), song lyrics by Khawaja Pervez was a runaway hit song
Chalay To Kat Hi Jaaye Ga Safar Aahistah, Aahistah
Apnay Haathoan Ki Lakiroan Mein
Lathe Di Chader Uttay Saleti Rung Mahiya, a traditional folk song of Punjab
Chitta Kukkar Banairey Tay
Mehndi Ni Mehndi
Jogi Uttar Paharon Aaya (1985)
Mein Kamli Da Dhola

Awards and recognition

Year	Award	Category	Result	Title	Ref.
class="wikitable"
1958	rowspan="3"\|Nigar Awards	rowspan="3"\|Best Actress	{{Won}}	Zehr-e-Ishq	{{cite news\|url=https://dailytimes.com.pk/457106/mussarat-nazir-the-iconic-heroine-part-ii/ \|title= Musarrat Nazir: the iconic heroine – Part II\|newspaper=Daily Times newspaper\|date=31 August 2019\|author=Amjad Parvez\|access-date=27 August 2024\|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230227070838/https://dailytimes.com.pk/457106/mussarat-nazir-the-iconic-heroine-part-ii/\|archive-date=27 February 2023\|url-status=dead}}
1959	{{Won}}	Jhoomer
1962	{{Won}}	Shaheed
1989	Pride of Performance	Award by the Government of Pakistan	{{Won}}	Contribution to Cinema Industry''