Saleem Shehzad
Saleem Shehzad is a Pakistani film, television, and radio singer. He is known for his song, Piyar Ki Yaad Nigahon Mein Sajaye Rakhna, playback vocalized for the Urdu movie Talaash in 1976.
Early life
Shehzad was born in March 1945, in Ajmer, British India, near the shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti. His family migrated to Karachi, Pakistan after the partition in 1947. His father Azim Prem "Ragi" was a Sufi poet and singer specializing in ghazal and qawwali who wanted his son to be a singer as well. His mother stitched clothes for Noor Jehan. Shehzad got his early music training from Ustad Bade [Ghulam Ali Khan] who was residing in Lahore and was a friend of his father. Saleem began playing the harmonium in childhood and was largely self-taught through observation and practice. He later learned the piano, sitar, and tabla, and completed a graduate degree at Karachi University.Career
Early years: radio
Shehzad's career as a playback singer started with a song sung for the film, Savera, released in 1959. In 1962, he won a film competition that was held to select singers for a movie, Hum Ek Hein in Lahore. His first song, Onchay Onchay Mehalon Mein Dekho, was penned by Fayyaz Hashmi and composed by M. Ali Sharif. In 1964, he was offered a job at Radio Pakistan, Lahore, where he served for the next eighteen years and recorded over two thousand songs, ghazals, and na'ats. During that time, he continued his training under Ustad Khursheed Ahmed Bode, who had also trained Mohammed Rafi.Peak years: cinema
In 1964, the composer Sohail Rana picked Shehzad as a playback vocalist for his film, Heera Aur Pathar. In the film, Shehzad sang a duet, along with Talat Siddiqui, Mujhay Ik Larky Se Piyar Ho Gaya, that became a hit of the time. His other hit song, Mohabbat Ke Diye Jala Lo, came from the movie, Aslam o Alaikum in 1969. In 1976, he recorded a song, Piyar Ki Yaad Nigahon Mein Sajaye Rakhna, for the film Talash, that later became his identity. The melody was later reused in the 1978 Hindi film Kasme Vaade, composed by R. D. Burman, with revised lyrics beginning Pyar ''Ke Rang Se Tu Dil Ko Sajaye Rakhna. His last movie as a playback singer was Moeen Akhtar's Mr. K2'', which was released in 1995. In total, he sung for some 60 films in Pakistan.Later years: television and brief career in India
Saleem performed vocals for several patriotic and religious television dramas, including Labbaik, Muhammad Bin Qasim, Tipu Sultan, and Sir Syed Ahmad Khan, all produced by Qasim Jalali. From the 1980s onward, he also made frequent visits to India at the invitation of admirers. In 1982, he recorded the song Peda ''Kar Ke Bhool Gaya Kyun for the Hindi film Jeevan Dhara'', with music composed by Laxmikant–Pyarelal.He later released approximately ten music albums with an Indian music label, but did not receive royalties for these recordings.