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    Akhlaq Ahmed: The Voice for all Seasons

    Written by: Muhammad Suhayb
    Posted on: August 02, 2024 | | 中文

    Akhlaq Ahmed

    Most of the Pakistanis born in the 70s have heard, Sona na chandi na koi mehel at least once in their life, and their beloved song, Hum ko kis ke gham ne maara. It is the inner voice of someone deeply hurt in love, and hum rahi aisi raho ke, is about the aimless lives of youth, waiting for a messiah. Though composed by maestros and written by intellectual poets, these songs could not have achieved star status had they been rendered by anyone but the ever-melodious Akhlaq Ahmed. Akhlaq’s unique voice and emotive delivery transformed these compositions into timeless classics.

    Akhlaq Ahmed

    Pakistani films have been fortunate to have actor-singer combinations working in tandem during the golden era. In the late 60s/70s era, many singers were associated with leading men. With the mention of Muhammad Ali, Mehdi Hassan's Jab koi pyar se bulaaye ga started to play in the minds, Ahmed Rushdi was synonymous with Waheed Murad and Syed Kamal, while Akhlaq Ahmed, was mostly synchronizing with Nadeem. In the tradition of his predecessor Rushdi, Akhlaq lent his voices to actors much senior to him (Muhammad Ali, Talish, Sultan Rahi, Rehman), while he was at ease when lending his voice to much younger Faisal, Ismail Shah, Arbaaz Khan and Ahsan Khan.

    Born in 1946 in Delhi, Akhlaq Ahmed grew up in Karachi after Partition. As a teenager, he was part of a music group that performed at public events. He had a partner Nazir Baig, who would be singing Mukesh’s songs, while Akhlaq would try to imitate Rafi. When Nazir Baig turned Nadeem the actor, Akhlaq decided to try his luck as a singer in movies. Those were the early 70s and a fresh voice was needed. Feature films were made in technicolor, but the influx of Indian movies via VCR made it easier to watch better movies at home. Singers imitating Kishore Kumar were on the rise, and careers of Ahmed Rushdi and even the evergreen Muhammad Rafi were going through a crisis. It was the moment that Akhlaq clicked, ably supported by his former singing partner Nadeem.

    Although his first song was a funky O chacha mere for M Qavi Khan in Pazeb (1972), he was known as the voice of Nadeem throughout his career. A disciple of Rafi, Akhlaq had to create space for himself in a pool of Rafi soundalikes; Masood Rana, Muhammad Ibrahim and Saleem Shahzad. With Masood Rana opting for Punjabi films, and others deciding against moving to Lahore, Akhlaq’s career spurred on. It was evident that if Nadeem was playing the lead, Akhlaq, would be taking care of the vocals. Be it Bandish (1980), Aahat (1981), Meherbani (1982), Lazawal (1984), Zamin Asman (1985), Faisla (1986), Kundan (1987), Bulandi (1990), Shahzada (1992) or Phool (1994) . Some of the memorable songs of the pair include ho tere sang (Sharafat 1974), Ae dil apna dard (Pehchan 1975), Pyar karti hai (Aina 1977), yehi hai pyaray zindagi (Prince 1978), ke baaja bajnay wala hai, (Saima 1980), chaman chaman kali kali (Aahat), tu hai zindagi (Meherbani), Aap apni misaal hota hai (Lazawal), tu phir mujhay yaad (Zamin Asman), Chaaya nigaho pe jaadu (Faisla), and Bin tere kis tarah (Bulandi).

    Aina, featuring Nadeem, had songs by Akhlaq Ahmed

    He was the voice behind the iconic song Main Hoon Raastay ka Pathar, which became synonymous with Sultan Rahi. The song, with its poignant portrayal of a victimized soul, is one of the few that Sultan Rahi’s lip-synced on screen. Though a darling for all music directors, Akhlaq became a personal favorite of music director Robin Ghosh, who used his voice on producer/actor Rehman with perfection. Saawan aaye saawan jaye (Chahat 1974) and Dekho yeh Kaun aaya (Do Saathi 1975), are still hummed by love struck youth. Even as the voices of 15-year-old Faisal (Samaa who khwaab sa Samaa and Woh bhi chup thi in Nahin Abhi Nahi 1980) and as the voice of television actor Ahsan Khan for, Yeh Dil from Nikaah 1998, indicates how much Robin Ghosh relied on Akhlaq’s vocals. Some of the non-Robin Ghosh songs by Akhlaq Ahmed are: Do nain milay (Sangam 1977), Taqdeer ke haatho (Aadmi 1978), Yaaro ke yaar bano(Ghairao 1981), Loota Qarar mere man ka (Nadaani 1983) and Pyar karna meri jaan (Zamin Asman 1985).

    Akhlaq with Mujeeb Alam

    Some of the songs rendered by him were blatantly copied across the border. Sona na Chandi from Bandish (1980) became Choti si Dunya for Salman Khan’s Ek larka ek larki (1992), Kabhi Khwahishon ne loota from Meherbani (1983), was plagiarized by RD Burman for Rajesh Khanna’s Alag Alag (1985), Doorian’s Bas ek tere siva was the basis of Nadeem Sharawan’s Jaane Jigar Jaane Man from Aashiqi (1990) while Faisla’s Zindagi Geet Hai was rendered the same way by Asha Bhosle, Shabbir Kumar and Shailendra Singh, courtesy music director Bappi Lahiri.

    Akhlaq with Naheed

    Akhlaq Ahmed was a recipient of seven Nigar Awards in his career. The last ten years of his career were quite difficult for him, as he was diagnosed with Blood Cancer. He was being treated in London, where he eventually lost his battle to the disease on 4 August, 1999. It would be 25 years since he died, but the songs he rendered not only became the voice of a generation, but were successful in capturing the spirit the times.


    As the new year begins, let us also start anew. I’m delighted to extend, on behalf of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and in my own name, new year’s greeting and sincere wishes to YOULIN magazine’s staff and readers.

    Only in hard times can courage and perseverance be manifested. Only with courage can we live to the fullest. 2020 was an extraordinary year. Confronted by the COVID-19 pandemic, China and Pakistan supported each other and took on the challenge in solidarity. The ironclad China-Pakistan friendship grew stronger as time went by. The China Pakistan Economic Corridor projects advanced steadily in difficult times, become a standard-bearer project of the Belt and Road Initiative in balancing pandemic prevention and project achievement. The handling capacity of the Gwadar Port has continued to rise and Afghanistan transit trade through the port has officially been launched. The Karakoram Highway Phase II upgrade project is fully open to traffic. The Lahore Orange Line project has been put into operation. The construction of Matiari-Lahore HVDC project was fully completed. A batch of green and clean energy projects, such as the Kohala and Azad Pattan hydropower plants have been substantially promoted. Development agreement for the Rashakai SEZ has been signed. The China-Pakistan Community of Shared Future has become closer and closer.

    Reviewing the past and looking to the future, we are confident to write a brilliant new chapter. The year 2021 is the 100th birthday of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and Pakistan. The 100-year journey of CPC surges forward with great momentum and China-Pakistan relationship has flourished in the past 70 years. Standing at a new historic point, China is willing to work together with Pakistan to further implement the consensus reached by the leaders of the two countries, connect the CPEC cooperation with the vision of the “Naya Pakistan”, promote the long-term development of the China-Pakistan All-weather Strategic Cooperative Partnership with love, dedication and commitment. Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the founding father of Pakistan said, “We are going through fire. The sunshine has yet to come.” Yes, Pakistan’s best days are ahead, China will stand with Pakistan firmly all the way.

    YOULIN magazine is dedicated to promoting cultural exchanges between China and Pakistan and is a window for Pakistani friends to learn about China, especially the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. It is hoped that with the joint efforts of China and Pakistan, YOULIN can listen more to the voices of readers in China and Pakistan, better play its role as a bridge to promote more effectively people-to-people bond.

    Last but not least, I would like to wish all the staff and readers of YOULIN a warm and prosper year in 2021.

    Nong Rong Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of
    The People’s Republic of China to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan
    January 2021