Ahmed Rushdi achieved the height of fame in the 1960s and 70s in Pakistan and was among the most sought after singers in the entire country. He is most often remembered as the playback singing voice of Waheed Murad and shared almost equally in his success.
Readers will of course know of the iconic Armaan soundtrack which featured “Ko Ko Ko Reena” and “Akele Na Jaana” and “Jab Pyaar Mein Do Dil Miltay Hain”, and the incredible “Bandar Road Se Keemari” which is Karachi’s unofficial anthem. These are just the most famous in a mountain of hits that he gave in his illustrious career.
On the anniversary of his birth, here are 16 underrated song of Ahmed Rushdi that I absolutely adore.
1.Nadiya Behti Jaaye
Film: Tum Mere Ho (1968)
Musician: Robin Ghosh
Lyricist: Suroor Barabankvi
Actor(s): Nadeem and Shabnam (off screen)
Kicking off the list is Nadiya Behti Jaaye, a beautiful duet Ahmed Rushdi sang with Irene Perveen. It’s about a river connecting two people on opposite sides in space, time, and perhaps even reality. The poetry is by the underrated, but great poet Suroor Barabankvi.
The great Robin Ghosh, who would eventually marry Shabnam, composed this melody to mimic a journey down the river. As Ahmed Rushdi and Irene Perveen’s voices echo across the valley, this one weaves a beautiful story.
2.Duniya Ke Ghamon Ko Thukra Do
Film: Doosri Maa
Musician: Laal Mohammad Iqbal
Lyricist: Masroor Anwar
Actor(s): Syed Kamal Irani
Lal Mohammad and Iqbal were a music director duo that Ahmed Rushdi helped launch in to the film industry. They paid this favour back with several hits including “Socha tha Pyaar Na Kareinge”, “Patta Jo Kharka”, and “Hai Kahaan Woh Kali”. They also scored the hit “Aye Abre Karam” for which Ahmed Rushdi won a Nigar Award. Lal Mohammad Iqbal even scored the hit song “Jahaan Barf Girti Hai” for the eponymous film, starring the first Pashto film superstar Badar Munir.
Duniya Ke Ghamon Ko Thukra Do however, is not a hit song. However, it may be the best that Lal Mohammad Iqbal ever made. The poetry by Masroor Anwar “Phoolon ki Talab Karne Waalon, Kaanton pe Zara Chalna Seekho” is simple, but effective.
However, it’s the lullaby-like effect that this one creates that is its strength. It rocks back and forth like a cot slowly putting a child to sleep.
3.Allah Bakhshey Waalidein Ko
Film: Tere Sheher Mein (1965)
Musician: Hasan Lateef
Lyrics: Habib Jalib
Actor(s): Alauddin
While the film itself wasn’t a hit, the soundtrack is remembered for its beautitful melodies, particularly “Kaisay Kaisay Log”, sung by Mehdi Hassan. However, Ahmed Rushdi sang an underappreciated gem for Alauddin in this one.
Alauddin plays a Muhajir who is finding it hard to get by after the partition. Allah Bakhshey Waalidein Ko is his lament, as well as his compromise. Habib Jalib’s poetry recounts a previous life of luxury, how the world has changed, and that everything one’s parents lived by is now old fashioned.
Hasan Lateef’s incredible use of the accordion in this track makes it immediately infectious. The decidedly peppy tone, almost at odds with its poetry, perfectly complements it.
4.Tum Ko Mubaarak Ho Yeh Sama
Film: Quli (1968)
Musician: Ali Hussain
Lyricist: Suroor Barabankvi
Actor(s): Azeem, Nadeem, Shabana
One of the more gentle songs that Ahmed Rushdi sang in his lifetime, and of course it’s in a film from the former East Pakistan. Music Director Ali Hussain, along with other musicians from the eastern wing always gave Ahmed Rushdi, gentler, more soulful melodies that showcased his vast range.
It’s a song about wishing a loved one all the luck in the world. It’s perfect for nearly any happy occasion, whether it’s a marriage, a birthday, an anniversary, or even bidding someone you love goodbye.
5.Ham Taangay Waalay O Bhaiyya
Film: Dil Ke Tukray (1965)
Musician: Safdar Hussain
Lyricist: Fayyaz Hashmi
Actor(s): Mohammad Ali
This song lasts the length of a horse cart ride as the driver transports some suspicious characters across the city. Fayyaz Hashmi’s poetry paints a picture of society and the world at large that deceptively invites everyone in.
The chorus line “Iss Duniya Ki Rangeeni Mein Dard Bhara Hai Pyaaray” always reminds me of “And the People Bowed and Prayed to the Neon god they made” from Simon and Garfunkel’s Sound of Silence. Some songs never age, even if they’re sung on a horse cart.
6.Toot Gaya Qaanoon Ka Dhaaga
Film: Qaanoon (1963)
Musician: Khalil Ahmad
Lyricist: Tanveer Naqvi
Actor(s): Alauddin
Songs like this were a dime a dozen for Ahmed Rushdi. If a music director needed a peppy voice with a hint of mischief and a lot of range, they knew to call Ahmed Rushdi.
This one is just a silly number about a police officer blowing his whistle, chasing a criminal. Every verse describes how the criminal uses different techniques to scam people out of their money. The tragedy is that very little has changed.
7.Aaj Khushi Se Jhoom Raha Hai
Film: Baghi Sardar (1966)
Musician: Muslehuddin
Lyricist: Professor Najmi
Actor(s): Mohammad Ali, Ghazala & Others
Among the songs meant to serenade your beloved, this one always skips a mention in Rushdi’s list of exploits. Mohammad Ali serenades Ghazala in this track which is set in the medieval era. Holding a mandolin, he walks around the court waxing lyrical about how, today, a traveler is overjoyed and that the world seems to share that joy.
Muslehuddin was one of the more underrated musicians in Pakistan’s film history and here he proves his mettle by giving Rushdi a tempered, restrained, but challenging composition.
8.Bekal Raat Beetai
Film: Eendhan (1966)
Musician: Subul Das
Lyricist: Akhtar Yousuf
Actor(s): Rehman
For those who know it, it is one of the most moving and soulful songs that Ahmed Rushdi ever sang, Bekal Raat Beetai is about the eternal wait for the beloved. Of course, it’s from the former East Pakistan. The song features Rehman who was always a promoter of sensitive, alternative cinema in Pakistan.
Musician Subul Das “broke his pen” with this one, as they say. Words can’t do justice to it. You’ll just have to take a listen.
9.Jeet Gaya Hai Pyaar Ki Baazi
Film: Ab Kya Hoga (1978)
Musician: Nazir Ali
Lyricist: Qateel Shifai
Actor(s): Waheed Murad
This is a much rarer track than the rest on this list because it’s from an unreleased film. It’s a shame audiences never got to see it on the big screen because the composition is electric. It harkens back to Ahmed Rushdi’s initial days when he used to sing numbers like “Chal Na Sakay Gi 420”, “O Lampak Jhampak Shampak Shoo!”, “Kaahay Ko Jhagar Ke”, “Ajnabi Zara Soch Lo”, and many more.
The use of several instruments including the guitar, accordion, the trumpet, and the harmonica give this melody an effervescence usually absent in tracks of the time. Ahmed Rushdi’s voice fits this one like a glove. It was probably like riding a bike for him. Effortless.
10.Footpath Se Uchhal Ke
Film: Naam Ke Nawaab (1973)
Musician: Azam Sheikh
Actor(s): Syed Kamal Irani and Others
This is goofy, silly, joyous Ahmed Rushdi at his best. You can’t find this film online, or anywhere else. Who knows if a print even exists. However, the song luckily exists online. I only know about it because I’d heard it in childhood.
Utilizing a spy themed motif, the song narrates how a common man literally jumped off the footpath into a car. The song uses this as a metaphor for the changing world in the 1970s:
“San Saath se Phudak ke Bahattar (‘72) Mein Aagaya,
Footpath Se Uchhal ke Main Motor Mein Aagaya”.
11.Tu Ik Chaand Meri Raataan Mein Hai
Film: Achhay Mian (1978)
Musician: M. Ashraf
Lyricist: Masroor Anwar/Hazeen Quadri
Actor(s): Mohammad Ali and Shabnam
This one came out at a time when Rushdi’s popularity was waning. Mohammad Ali, the star of the film was also facing a decline in his fortunes, but Achhay Mian became a huge hit, running in cinemas for more than 50 weeks.
One of the chief attractions of the film became this track. It utilized Rushdi’s signature tactic of adapting his voice to the character. In this case, Mohammad Ali’s character hailed from Hyderabad, Deccan. In this particular track the ق sounds revert to a خ and vice versa. That’s just how people from that area speak! Despite this idiosyncrasy, the song was a chart buster and a golden addition to Ahmed Rushdi’s career.
12.Ae Maiyya Ae Maiyya
Film: Baalam (1968)
Musician: Khalil Ahmad
Lyricist: Himayat Ali Shair
Actor(s): Darpan and Zeba
Perhaps the most underrated song on this list, Ae Maiyya Ae Maiyya is a therapeutic love song. It’s about reassuring your beloved of your support. That the world may be dark, but you are each other’s lights.
“Dekh Le Ek Nazar, Kitna Zakhmi Hai Jigar, Saath Ho Tera Agar, Kat Hi Jaayega Safar”.
13.Himmat Se Har Qadam Uthaana
Film: Jab Se Dekha Hai Tumhein (1963)
Musician: Sohail Rana
Lyricist: Himayat Ali Shair
Actor(s): Darpan and Others
I always count this among the best national songs ever made, even though it’s not brought up in the major lists. Featuring Darpan teaching children about Pakistan and how it’s anything and everything to its citizens, the song delivers a simple, but powerful message: Pakistan gives to us and we give back to Pakistan.
Rushdi’s sonorous voice and Sohail Rana’s lively composition both evoke patriotic fervour and pure joy. And of course, one can’t forget Himayat Ali Shair’s simple, but effective poetry.
14.O Kabhi Muskura O Kabhi Jhoom Ja
Film: Susral (1962)
Musician: Hasan Lateef
Lyricist: Munir Niazi
Actor(s): Alauddin and Others
Susral was Riaz Shahid sahab’s directorial debut. It was adapted from one of his own short stories from the collection “Hazaar Daastaan”. The book was recently rediscovered and published. Susral focuses on the daily lives and struggles of labourers. The song itself focuses on the ups and downs of life and the skill it takes to live within the system, beautifully written by Munir Niazi.
Ahmed Rushdi sang a lot of songs about daily wage labourers and the common people in Pakistan, the most famous being “Gol Gappay Waala Aaya”. In my opinion, this one stands shoulder to shoulder with it.
15.Jee Na Sakoon Ga Lo Yeh Keh Diya
Film: Zindagi (1968)
Musician: Master Abdullah
Lyricist: Saleem Kashar
Actor(s): Talat Aziz
Talat Aziz is not someone who comes to mind when you think of Pakistan’s silver screen. However, he worked in his fair share of projects including Zindagi. Rushdi’s clear voice combined with Master Abdullah’s singular composing talent produced this distinct melody.
While Saleem Kashar’s poetry is simple and nothing you haven’t heard before, the melody and the “magician of voice” elevates it beyond the mundane.
16.Ek Saathi Mila
Film: Dil Deke Dekho (1969)
Musician: Sohail Rana
Lyricist: Fayyaz Hashmi
Actor(s): Syed Kamal Irani
Sohail Rana was perhaps the only musician in Pakistan who recognized Ahmed Rushdi’s full potential. He gave him every mood to perform from comic to tragic to passionate. So, of course he would be on the list. Ek Saathi Mila features Syed Kamal Irani walking along the train tracks after he’s missed the train, but found the one.
It just rolls off the tongue and is perfect in its composition. Ahmed Rushdi makes it seem effortless, of course, but then he’s Ahmed Rushdi. It’s one of those magical numbers that only Sohail Rana could create and Rushdi could perform.
