Nazia Hassan
1965-2000

BIOGRAPHY,BIBLIOGRAPHY

nazia and zohaib hassan

Nazia Hassan, Born in London (UK),alongwith her brother Zohaib Hassan later on went to produce numerous pop tunes that made them household names in Pakistan, India and everywhere urdu is spoken.

The siblings have brought joy to many people and were prominent from their "Disco Deewane" (1980) album until "Camera" (1992). Be it the classic disco anthem of "Disco Deewane" or the Punjabi folk influenced tune "Taali de Thullay", Nazia had a great distintive voice and made many memorable tunes composed by her brother and Biddu.

Nazia Hassan and Zoheb Hassan took a break after their successful Camera (1992) album. Nazia got married in 1995 and was later on unfortunately diagnosed with lung cancer. There were several rumours of a comeback album as Nazia's health oscillated. After a terrible ordeal and suffering, she died on Sunday 13th August 2000 as she lost her fight against cancer (May God rest her soul in peace). The news was a shock to millions of fans and friends as Nazia Hassan left this world at the very young age of 35 leaving a son behind her.

In Memory of the Legend
By Sheharyar Malhi

It is indeed very painful that in the month of April this year, Nazia was not amidst us to celebrate her birthday. It was 3rd April, a Tuesday morning and like always, I was on my table at 9. Obviously not with my own will but again! My will was hardly important. Yawning and half-sleeping, I got hold of my stereo remote unit and switched it on. ‘With or without you’ was the first track that I heard and I was sure there was going to be a better song following so I threw away the remote unit on the bed and stretched on my chair to test my patience as to how far I could tolerate this ‘heavy metal’ early in the morning. Live forever was the song that proceeded and I could feel my blood boiling for I knew it was courtesy my sister that I had to listen to this so called "master pieces." Now who would bother getting up and get the remote unit again or for that matter change the CD? Not me at least! My lethargy was indeed an addition to irritation that I was feeling. To my luck, after the four ‘torturous’ songs, there was a beautiful music that got to my ears. It was in fact very soothing. As the music went by my anxiety as to who would have his/her voice attached to this pleasing music increased. I didn’t have to wait much for this anxiety to end. The voice that accompanied this music to my ears was a beautiful, soft, elegant and touchy voice and it belonged to none other then our incomparable, unparalleled and unbeatable Late Nazia Hassan. " Taali day thallay bay kay, Aa kariyay piyaar diyaan gallan" what these words did to me and what this voice made me go through is something that I can not express in mere words. The feeling was hardly different from that of a person who stands bare feet right in the middle of a sizzling desert in peek summers feeling thirsty and suddenly a drum of cold water is splashed on him. It was a feeling of inexpressible joy attached with a deep sorrow of her absence from the world. For those three minutes that her first song went on, I was dazed. After all the song was a creation of someone "out of this world!"

Nazia was not seen on the screen very often in the past few years but her presence somewhere was quiet comforting. But today, It was different…she was away since nearly eight months now. Though she didn’t have many pleasant moments at later stage of her life but the adulation, love and respect people had for her was just too impressive. Though Nazia performed in various parts of the world but she always emphasized on the fact that she was a Pakistani and that was the basis of her success.

Nazia Hassan’s voice was one of her own kinds. There was something really catchy about it that made it distinct. Its something that can not be explained but undoubtedly felt. It was this distinct feature that not even a single upcoming singer could come close to her voice. Her songs like "sub say mehengi hai, chalti rehti hai, teri meri dostee" were not just songs rather a combination of a deep message with a melodious voice hitting much deeper into the heart than only lyrics itself. Every song that she sang was different from the other with a unique presentation every time. Millions of people come in this world and go but there are a very few who leave impacts that are ever lasting and Nazia was one of them. Her presence was a blessing and absence, a misery. Her demise truly was a great loss to not just the music industry, but to the entire Pakistani nation much more than my words can portray.

I was lucky enough that all the songs that followed this song in that CD were Naiza’s and I didn’t want to open my eyes at all for I was in a fantastic world of comfort and joy. Alas! The CD had its last song on and this song was " aankhain churanay walay, mujh ko bhulana nahi" another beautiful song that did not have message for one rather entire nation. Nazia is past but everything attached to her and her every song is still present; a present indeed! She will love for all the years to come or at least till times, we are living. May God bless her!

nazia hassan... a legend!

 Nazia Hassan's Last TV Interview
This interview was taken literally a few days after Nazia was released from hospital in 1999 after she temporarily recovered from cancer illness. She was interviwed by Anita from ZeeTV UK June 1999 in London. It was sadly to be Nazia Hassan's last TV Interview.

Anita: Tell us about your cancer illness

Nazia: Well I've been ill now for about a year so I've been having treatment for about a year. The thing is that it's the kind of illness that you have good days and some very bad days and I had some very scary moments in between but you know I'm out of hospital now and getting better...hopefully, better everyday. I'm still having quite a lot of treatment, but I think that's gonna be around for a while.

Anita: How's the chemotherapy ? It must be quite difficult.

Nazia: Chemotherapy is not an easy treatment to go through so it takes it's toll physically. You have days when you are very ill and you come over it...as with everything...you just carry on.

Anita: Has it changed your perceptions of life and does it make you think that some things important and some things just are not anymore?

Nazia: I think what it does is that it reaffirms that at the back of your mind everyone I think knows what is important...things like family things like spending time with people you care about..things like not getting involved in petty issues and all of those things...we all know that....but in our day to day lives we tend to sort of overlook them and forget about things like. When you are really ill what it does is that it does make you remember what is important

Anita: Do you look back fondly on those music days. Do you look back and think that, I'm glad I did it and I wish I were doing it again?

Nazia: Music for me has always been a hobby and i enjoy it very much. I enjoyed it when I was a child. I'd come home from school and at the weekends we'd be allowed to do music. I went on to college...of course I have enjoyed music, its been very nice...I was very lucky with the success. Zoheb and I, we were very lucky. We worked very hard with our music but at the same time the kind of reaction we got and the kind of appreciation we got...it's very rare. The knocks you get come from people in the industry, we were children, so we didnt know about contracts...we didnt know about royalty...we didnt know about copyright...we just didnt know.

Anita: ...so you got badly ripped off?

Nazia: Oh Yeah...by everyone! (laughingly) But those are the things you begin to understand and you learn and I gave up singing about 5 years ago because I finished college and I was moving to New York. I was starting a new job and I didnt really want to do music for a while so I wanted a siesta. It was nice and I've enjoyed not doing it but I didnt expect the publicity to be ongoing...I thought I would just leave it and Zoheb and I would just fade into the background for a while. But it hasnt been like that.

Anita: Has he dealt with the intrusion better than you have?

Nazia:I think both of us help each other. Because Zoheb and I are very very close and its amazing that this in itself has upset people a lot because we are so strong. I come from a very closely nit family and we are very close to one another. So we support each other and thats why I think now we have the ability to look back and laugh. When we see something in the paper.. we go....'just not read it' ..but it goes on and we support each other a lot.

Anita: Do you have pressure..even now from people who say just one more album...record one more album?

Nazia: Yeah....virtually everyday! (laughs) I think eventually we might do something but at the my main goal at the moment is to get better and I want to fight this battle first and then go doing other things.

Anita: You must have received a lot of calls...I know we did (at ZeeTV) we received a lot of calls asking 'how is Nazia Hassan?' What has been the response of the public when they heard you were ill?

Nazia: ....staggering (emotionally) ...I think....(pauses)..a lot of the times the doctors kept saying to me that things were very bad and I'm a firm believer in God. I really kept thinking this is not my time to die...all of us have to die one day. But I just felt it wasntt my time yet and I'm telling you...I know it sounds almost cliched to say but it is the prayers that help and the kind of wishes and just the outpouring of prayers that I've had. I think that's really what saved me.

In fact I was reading a 'Reader's Digest' article and it said there had 2 groups of cancer patients and they found a marked difference in those who had people who cared about them and people who believed in prayer, who believed in God and whose faith was very strong..and I think that's really something real. I cant thank people enough...The cards and letters and everything that I have received...I would really love to just thank each and every person who has done that for me.

Anita: How do you view the future? Do you look far ahead or do you say one day at a time? How is your perception of the future altered?

Nazia: I want to make as much of everyday as possible.I think you can get a little too worried about the future, you can worry too much about dying, worry too much about....what if the disease gets worse and all of that...but what's important to do is to be as positive as you can be. I cherish everyday...I just love spending time with my family. I have a little son ....a 2 year old monster

Anita: I spoke to him over the phone...(laughs)

Nazia: ...yeah..thats his latest thing! (laughs). I love him and it's wonderful. I've just started a new course and planning to go back to school. I'm doing my barro exams since I have qualified as a solicitor. I'm also toying with the idea of doing another album...so theres that. I have a value for life, and I think its very important to keep this feeling to enjoy everything

Anita: We talked about your future and i cant let you go without just once talking about the past again..of all the songs that you have recorded...the ones that everybody associates with you.....Which was your own favourite and why?

Nazia: Gosh....I think the first song that I did.I get very sentimental even now when i hear about it. Because it was the first so I like that very much....and i think of all the other songs we did...there is one which my brother wrote...which is called 'Taali De Thullay'. It's a Punjabi song...the first Punjabi song I ever done. But I just love it so i think that would be my favourite.

Anita: Lets hope we have many more in the future, Nazia Hassan thank you very much for joining us.

Nazia: Thanks Anita.