A Great Singer of the Yesteryears: Runa’s Reign of Fame

By Anis Ahmed Shakur

A look back at the early sixties offers a glimpse of the golden age of the Pakistan film music.

One of the most prodigious and eminent discovery of those days which the Pakistanis had yet seen was the charming Runa Laila.

I do concur with the popular notion of those music experts, who had predicted in the initial stage of her career that here is a girl (Runa was in her early teens then) who has obviously absorbed something of the fervor radiating from the greatest music directors of the past.

Each and every wish of the highly cherished composers came true.

Moreover, since she was the best bet in the country.

For more than a decade, Runa ruled the music world like a princess. She received the fair share of both songs and ghazals, which eventually paid enormous dividends, primarily, because she did her utmost to meet or exceed the higher standards of her times.

Her dramatic rise was nothing less than a thunder in the domain of playback singing. The richness of her attractive voice and her mastery of the words left the public spell-bound. Partly because of her superb intonation, her songs were recorded for almost all leading actresses of her days, including Zeba, Shabnam, Rani and Sangeeta.  One of her earliest and major breakthrough came in 1965, when she sang a duet "Masoom sa chehra hai" (Runa, Rushdi: Rishta hai pyar ka) this was an instant success which established her as a foremost singer of very high repute. Sky was the limit for her. One great movie was followed by another and one super hit song was followed by another. One of the most potential reason among many for the distinct status of Runa has to do with the splendid compositions of our brilliant composer, Nisar Bazmi. Each and every song which was composed by Nisar Bazmi and sung by Runa added accolades to her already great name. Some of them are:  Aap dil ki anjuman mein (Anjuman) Dil dharkay mein tum say (Anjuman) Kaatay na katay (Umrao jan ada) Maanay na bairi balma (Umrao jan ada) Haataun mein kankna (Umrao jan ada) Mili gul ko khushboo (Naseeb apna apna)

In the mid sixties, "Zia Mohydin Show" happened to be a total triumph for Runa, whose ‘Shakira ki maan ye boli’ still reverberates on ones ear before it evaporates in the thin air.

Runa’s enchanting voice was immaculate for ghazal singing, which, on the one hand, promised further fame for her, and on the other, immortalized those gorgeous ghazals. A case in point is Ubaidullah Aleem’s magnificent "Aziz itna he rakho"

Two of the other noteworthy ghazals are:

Ishq say tabiyat nay.

Bhari duniya ko veeraan.

Likewise, these four accomplishments are more than enough to keep her legacy alive:

Ghar kay chiragh roshan hain aaj.

Naghma o sheir say hai pyar mujhe.

Unki nazroan say mohabbat ka jo .

Piya taras gaye.

A song of a very different nature has always fascinated people and I often wonder that if its lyrics had not found the eloquent voice of Runa, than, perhaps, their would have been nothing. Yes, I am referring to "Mein tau chali sakhio"

Her dazzling disco cassette was released in the mid seventies, two of its celebrated songs were:

Pukaro, tum kahan ho pukaro.

Disco express.

Her adorers have always been, are and hopefully will be ,all praise for her in mirth and misery, in rhythm and rhapsody, for those of us who have seen those good old times have vivid memories of the "Runa –craze" when her dress, her hair-style, her demeanor, her every move were quickly copied by her female fans.

On behalf of all her well-wishers the world over, I must add that we wish her success in every walk of life.

Long live Runa !