Zubaida Khanum(1935-2013)

Zubaida Khanum was a film song playback singer who recorded over 250 film songs and, fortunately for her, majority of them ended up becoming hit songs in Pakistan in the 1950s. Her family migrated to Pakistan from India in 1947 after independence of Pakistan. People around her, in her childhood, including her school teacher,had noticed that she had an inborn talent for singing.

She was given a head-start as a child when she was given an opportunity to sing at the Lahore station of Radio Pakistan. Renowned Pakistani actress Swaran Lata and her film producer husband Nazir took a liking to her singing on the radio station and signed her up for their upcoming film Shehri Babu (1953) in which she then sang many super-hit film songs. Zubaida Khanum had made her film debut earlier with the help of renowned music director Ghulam Ahmad Chishti in film Billo (1951) but she got her big breakthrough from film Shehri Babu (1953) in which she had many run-away super-hit film songs.

Her hit films include Patay Khan (1955),Pattan (1955),Dulla Bhatti (1956) Chan Mahi (1956),Heer (1955),Guddi Gudda (1956), Mahi Munda (1956),Yakke Wali (1957),Kartar Singh (1959) and Raat Ke Rahi (1960).