Favorite Songs from Umrao Jaan Ada (1972)

Maybe to further the theme of Pakistani films made from stories that most of you know as the basis of Indian films… Or because I have been enjoying these songs and noticed that YouTube has a couple of uploaded versions of the entire film (easy to find – but unfortunately, not with subtitles)… I have decided to share some of my favorites from Umrao Jaan Ada, the Pakistani film that preceded the famous Indian versions…

Up first, and of course it would be first, is this fine one from Madam Noor Jehan, a very dramatic song and scene matched by the wonderful drama in Madam’s voice. I should add that the music director is also very good – that is Nisar Bazmi. And the actress-dancer is very good, too – that’s Rani. Oh, I do like to watch Rani dance! More so, in fact, than watching the Indian actresses who played Umrao Jaan… Well, I mean I prefer her dances to their dances, though I am not sure if I prefer to watch her in general. But she does have a very unique face that is nice to look at, with or without the heavy load of face jewelry.

I posted this next one before, not all that long ago. But I posted it alongside an Asha-Padmini song that had basically the same name, and everyone ignored this one. I can’t blame you, considering how great that other song clip was. But this deserves attention, too, so here I am putting it in the right context. This is a song that can definitely get stuck in your head. And Runa Laila is a very good singer also.

But maybe the next song is the one that’s the most fun… The three singers here are Runa Laila, Nazeer Begum, and Pakistani cinema’s greatest Christian vocalist, Irene Perveen. The dancers include Rani and “the other” Mumtaz (haven’t been able to identify the third one yet).

And speaking of “the other” Mumtaz, she does a nice dance to this song, with vocals here by Runa Laila as well. (But who is the little girl?)

But now back to Rani… She is very sweet in this next song. I like the setting a lot, too, with the giant musical instrument and the glowing moon. The guys’ dances are fun as well. And, of course, Runa Laila does very nicely here. It is great that this film had so much Runa Laila (even if I would have liked to hear a little more Madam Noor Jehan).

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