I haven’t posted songs from the Pakistani Choo Mantar for a while, though I did post a couple in the past. So now, here are more… I suspect the Indian version of this film is better known, but I actually learned about the Pakistani version first (a few years back) because of Noor Jehan. And the music here is, of course, wonderful. Now our friend Tom has posted every Noor Jehan song in the film, and that gave me the chance to include all the ones that I’d left out so far…
I love this Sing Off! Noor Jehan and Zubaida Khanum (whom I have liked a lot for a few years – but who I have always known could not be a match for Noor Jehan).
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I had this one on a “Noor Jehan Evergreen Hits” compilation, and I have listened to it a lot on buses and subways… But I actually didn’t know – or had forgotten – that it is from this film too. I like the comments at the end, by the way: “What singing!” “Excellent.” I couldn’t agree more…
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This is beautiful too:
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And this:
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All such great singing, and great music, too (by Rafiq Ali). And by the way, I think Noor looks gorgeous here too.
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P.S. OK, I’ve changed my mind about something: I have decided that I will post the ones that I’d posted before (only this time using Tom’s new uploads): The “Heya Ho” song and the drag song. Here:
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Dances on the Footpath 
Hi Richard. Just a small correction and that is there are 5 more songs in the film. I just uploaded the Noor Jehan ones because she’s so much better than Zubaida Khanum, as you noted. The male singer, Zarif, has some too. The ones I can’t get enough of are the boat song, Hasde Nachde Gande Thande Thande Panio, and her first song on stage, Neeli Chaat Waliya. Here you’ve been singing the praises of Noor Jehan for years and only now am I finally listening to her and agreeing. Silly me. :)
Hi, Tom. OK, thanks, I will rephrase that soon. And, I am so glad that you have seen the light regarding Noor Jehan! :) Regarding the Noor Jehan songs in Choo Mantar, it is difficult for me to say which are my favorites, because I like them all so much! The boat song is probably the first clip that caught my attention, and “Aeni Gal Gas Diyo” (her second song on stage?) became a listening standard apart from the film. But each time I’ve heard/seen a new one, I have pretty much liked it just as much.
Zubaida Khanum isn’t on the same level, but she”s done a lot of good playback singing, and she sang a surprisingly good number of songs for ’40s-era Hindi film actresses who moved to Pakistan after partition. I am writing this comment a few hours after I put up a new Zubaida Khanum favorites post. I hope people will like some of those songs also, as I do, very much.
I think Zubaida did really well in a kind of number that was far from the semi-classical Indian mode – i.e., those jazzy pop/cabaret songs with a Latin beat. There are a few of those in my next post…