Ahmed Rushdi (; 24 April 1934 – 11 April 1983) was a versatile Pakistani playback singer and was "an important contributor to the golden age of Pakistani film music." Regarded as one of the greatest singers in South Asia who could sing high tenor notes with ease, he is best known for his versatility and distinctive voice, with complex and dark emotional expressions. Considered as the first pop singer of South Asia, he sang South Asia's first pop song, "Ko Ko Korina", in the 1966 film Armaan.
Born in Hyderabad Deccan, he migrated to Pakistan following partition. In 1954, he recorded the official National anthem of Pakistan with several other singers. Rushdi has recorded the highest number of film songs in the history of Pakistani cinema in Urdu, English, Punjabi, Bengali, Sindhi and Gujarati and found unprecedented success as a playback artist from the mid-1950s to early 1980s. He was also known for his stage performance. He suffered from poor health during the latter part of his life and died of a heart attack at the age of 48, after recording approximately five thousand film songs for 583 released films. Besides popular music, Rushdi also helped popularize the ghazals of Naseer Turabi. He was awarded five Nigar Awards, the "Best Singer Of The Millennium" title, "Life Time Achievement Award", "Legend Award" and Lux Style Award.
In 2003, 20 years after his death, Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf awarded him the Sitara-e-Imtiaz, the "star of excellence," for distinguished merit in the field of arts. According to the 2016 survey of Asian Woman Magazine, Rushdi is declared as a darling singer of all time. In 2022, his song Ko Ko Korina featured in the opening scene of American series Ms. Marvel (miniseries) and won top ratings.
Early life
Ahmed Rushdi was born to a religious, conservative family of Hyderabad Deccan in 1934. His father, Syed Manzoor Mohammad, taught Arabic, Islamic History and Persian at Aurangabad College, Hyderabad, Deccan. He died when Rushdi was only six years old. From a young age, Rushdi was fond of listening to the musical programs, including songs, which were broadcast from the radio. He neither inherited music from anyone, nor anybody in his family was ever affiliated to music. Ahmed Rushdi's singing talents impressed a very close friend of his father, whom he called uncle and who loved him dearly. He enrolled in a local music academy in Hyderabad Deccan. Moreover, two popular composers of the time, M.A. Rauf and Iqbal Qureshi, also taught music in the same school. Thus, Ahmed Rushdi learned the basics of music from the afore-mentioned teachers. Later, he got some training in classical music from Ustad Nathu Khan.
Ahmed Rushdi did not get any sort of formal training of classical music either before or after becoming a successful playback singer but he had effective command over high and low notes. He sang his first song in the Indian film Ibrat in 1951 and got recognition. His family moved to Pakistan and settled in Karachi in 1954, where he began participating in variety shows, music programs, and children's programs on radio. In 1954, he recorded his first non-film song, "Bunder Road se Keemari", written by Mehdi Zaheer for the popular Radio Pakistan show Bachchon Ki Duniya; the song was a hit and became the steppingstone for Rushdi's future.
Singing career
1950s and 1960s
After the success of "Bunder Road se Keemari", Rushdi was offered songs as a playback singer for films and quickly gained popularity. He lent his voice to many hit films like Bara Admi (1956), Wah Rey Zamaney (1957), Raat Ke Rahi (1957), Yeh Dunya (1958) and many more. Rushdi got well recognition for singing "Mari lela ne aisi" in Anokhi (1956), "Chalak Rahi Hain Mastiyan" and "Chal Na Sakey Gi 420" in Raaz (1959). In 1961, he sang the popular song "Chand Sa Mukhra Gora Badan" in the film Saperan, for which he received his first Nigar Award as Best Male Playback Singer. He further strengthened his status as one of the top male playback singers in Mehtaab (1962), in which he sang "Gol Gappay Wala Aaya" for actor Alauddin; they would again be teamed in Susral. In 1966, he sang "Ko Ko Korina", considered the first modern Pakistani pop song.