Nazia Hassan

Nazia Hassan (3 April 1965 – 13 August 2000) was a Pakistani singer-songwriter, lawyer and social activist.

Referred to as the Queen of South Asian Pop, she is considered one of the most influential singers in Pakistan and India as well.

Starting in the 1980s, as part of the duo Nazia and Zoheb, she and her brother Zoheb Hassan, have sold over 65 million records worldwide.

Hassan made her singing debut with the song "Aap Jaisa Koi", which appeared in the Indian film Qurbani in 1980.

She received praise for the single, and won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer at the age of 15 in 1981, becoming the first Pakistani to win and currently remains the youngest recipient of the award to date.

Her debut album, Disco Deewane, was released in 1981, and charted in fourteen countries worldwide and became the best-selling Asian pop record up at the time.

The album included the English-language single "Dreamer Deewane" which led her to be the first Pakistani singer to make it to the British charts.

In 1981, Hassan won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback for the song, becoming the youngest to win at age 15 as well as being the first Pakistani to win the award.

Hassan promptly collaborated with Biddu on numerous other projects; in 1981, she became the first playback singer to release an album.

Her first album was Disco Deewane.

The album broke sales records in Pakistan and India and even topped the charts in the West Indies, Latin America and Russia, becoming an international success.

The album became a mega-hit and Hassan became an established pop singer in Pakistan; the album also featured vocals by her brother Zohaib Hassan.

Nazia and Zoheb were signed by EMI Group and were the first South Asian singers to be signed by an international music company.

At the height of Disco Deewane fever, she frequently drew large crowds, such as 50,000 to 100,000 people greeting her at Calcutta Airport.

Hassan followed up with the albums Boom Boom in 1982, part of which was used as the soundtrack of the film Star (1982), Young Tarang in 1984, and Hotline in 1987.

After the release of Disco Deewane, Biddu offered Zoheb and her a chance to act in the movie Star in 1982, but they refused and instead chose to perform the soundtrack.

The soundtrack album, Star/Boom Boom, was released.

She was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer, although this time she did not win.

The album was successful and increased the popularity of Hassan and Zohaib in Pakistan and India.

Hassan's third album, Young Tarang, was released in 1984.

It was the first album in Pakistan to feature music videos, which were made in London by David Rose and Kathy Rose.

The album became one of the most popular in Asia.

"Ankhien Milane Wale" was a popular song from the album.

After the release of Young Tarang, she returned to singing for Bollywood movies as a playback singer.

In 1988 she appeared in Sung Sung with music maestro Sohail Rana.

They also hosted the first-ever pop-music stage show, Music '89, produced by Shoaib Mansoor.

Her success played a key role in shaping Pakistani pop music scene.

Throughout her singing career spanning over 15 years, Hassan became one of Pakistan's most popular celebrities.

She was a recipient of Pakistan's civilian award, Pride of Performance.

In addition to singing, she also engaged in philanthropic activities, and was appointed by UNICEF as its cultural ambassador in 1991.

Her last album, Camera Camera in 1992, was part of a campaign against drugs.

Along with her brother, she also appeared in several television programs.

On August 13, 2000, Hassan died of lung cancer in London at the age of 35.

Hassan was born in Karachi, Sindh, Pakistan, and brought up in Karachi and London.

She was the daughter of Basir Hassan, a businessman, and Muniza Basir, an active social worker.

She was the sister of singers Zoheb Hassan and Zara Hassan.

Hassan's professional music career started at the age of fifteen; she met film director Feroz Khan at a party in the United Kingdom, who later requested that she audition with Biddu, a London-based Indian music composer, for his film Qurbani.

Biddu then signed her up for "Aap Jaisa Koi", a song he composed for the film.

The song turned to be a huge success in India, and Hassan quickly gained recognition and acclaim.

The track "Dum Dum Dede" from Young Tarang was used in closing scene of the 2012 Indian film, Miss Lovely by Ashim Ahluwalia.