Biography

Mehdi Hassan was born on July 18, 1927 in Luna, Rajasthan, British India [now Luna, Rajasthan, India]. He was a composer and actor, known for Haider (2014), Waqt Ki Pukar (1967) and Soorat Aur Seerat (1975). He died on June 13, 2012 in Karachi, Pakistan.

Father of Asif Mehdi.

He learned to speak Urdu and sing ghazal, a form popular in Pakistan. Contemporary poets allowed him to set their verses to music. He began his career on Pakistani radio in 1952, and travelled throughout South Asia.

He was born into a family of professional musicians in Rajasthan. He learned the ancient dhrupad musical style from his father and uncle. The Muslim family left India for Pakistan in 1947, at the time of the Partition. As a young man, Hassan worked in a bicycle shop and repaired cars.

He was known as the "king of ghazals," a type of Urdu lyric verse. He also sang in Bengali, Punjabi, and Pashto. He was featured on the soundtrack of many Pakistani films, and was a star on Pakistani radio. He had a repertoire of more than 20,000 songs.