Masood Rana

Masood Rana was a Pakistani playback singer and ghazal singer who became one of the top male singers in both Urdu and Punjabi films for more than three decades. He started his singing career in 1962 with the film Inqalab and remained a busy singer until his death in 1995. He sang in the highest number of films and was the first choice for music directors for film title and theme songs. He specialized in singing difficult songs in very high-pitched voice and was the most successful singer after Ahmed Rushdi. He sang and composed many hit songs, such as Chand Hanse Duniya Base, Aa Gaye Ghar Aa Gaye, O Jane Wale Re, Aa Bhi Ja Aa Bhi Ja, Aankh Se Aankh Mila Le, Sawan Ki Ghanghor Ghata, and Chun Chun Naachuni. He also sang two songs for the 1960 film Mughal-e-Azam, for which he received a very high remuneration. He performed in various countries, including India, UK, Canada, Norway, US and Germany, where he entertained the South Asian diaspora. He was awarded the Pride of Performance Award by the Government of Pakistan in 1962. He died of a heart attack in Lahore on 4 October 1995. He is regarded as one of the finest playback and ghazal singers of his generation.