Musarrat Nazir

Many years later, she returned to the industry, focusing on singing, particularly wedding and folk songs. Her accolades include three Nigar Awards and a Pride of Performance. Nazir made her acting debut with Anwar Kamal Pasha's Qaatil (1955) in a supporting role. Her portrayals in the commercially successful Punjabi romance-dramas Pattan (1955), Mahi Munda (1956), Yakke Wali (1957), and the partition-themed Kartar Singh (1959) cemented her career as a leading actress. For her performances in Zehr-e-Ishq (1958), Jhoomer (1959), and Shaheed (1962), she won three Nigar Awards for Best Actress. Nazir then took retirement from acting and shifted to Canada with her husband, returning to Pakistan in the 1970s. During that period, she pursued a career in singing, focusing on folk wedding songs and ghazals, among other genres.

• Name — Musarrat Nazir • Other Names — The Silver Screen's Sparkling Star Chandni • Birth Name — Musarrat Nazir Khawaja • Born — 13 October 1940 • Birthplace — Lahore, Punjab, British India • Known for — * Film actress • Punjabi folk music • Education — Kinnaird College • Occupation — * Singer • film director • film actress • Years Active — 1951 – 1993 • Children — 3, including Omar Majeed • Relatives — Ahmad Bashir (cousin) Parveen Atif (cousin) Bushra Ansari (niece) Sumbul Shahid (niece) Neelam Bashir (niece) Asma Abbas (niece) Syed Iftikhar Hussain Gillani (brother-in-law) Ameer Gilani (grand-nephew) Zara Noor Abbas (grand-niece) • Awards — Pride of Performance Award by the President of Pakistan in 1989

Nazir was born on October 13, 1940. Hailing from a middle-class Kashmiri Punjabi family in Lahore, her father, Khwaja Nazir Ahmed, worked as a registered contractor in the Lahore Municipal Corporation. Early in her life, her parents wanted her to be a doctor, and provided her with the best possible education they could afford. Nazir passed the matriculation examination with distinction and passed the intermediate examination from Kinnaird College in Lahore.

She had keen interest in music and began singing for Radio Pakistan in the early 1950s. However, insufficient money from the radio took her to the film director Anwar Kamal Pasha in 1955. She explained to Pasha her strong desire to sing for his movies. Instead, Pasha suggested that she should become an actress. Musarrat needed her parents' approval. Pasha himself met Musarrat's father and convinced him to allow his daughter to work in the movie industry as a singer and actress. Pasha changed Musarrat's name to her professional name Chandani and signed her up for a side role in his movie. Hence, Chandani made her debut with Sabiha Khanum and Nayyar Sultana in Pasha's film Qatil in 1955. Her role was secondary but effective. On the advice of his friend, poet and script writer, Baba Aalam Siah Posh, Sheikh Lateef of Capital Films, Lahore cast Chandani (Musarrat Nazir) in the Punjabi Pattan (1955). This was her debut in Punjabi films under her real name, Musarrat Nazir, as she played the lead role opposite Santosh Kumar. The producer was Sheikh Lateef and the film was directed by Luqman. The film Pattan opened the doors for Musarrat in the Punjabi film industry, which led her to the hit film Patay Khan (1955). She was the supporting actress. The film was produced by film actress Shammi and Musarrat Nazir acted in a supporting role along with Noor Jehan and Aslam Pervaiz. Her main competitor actresses, in those days, were Sabiha Khanum, Asha Posley, Bahar Begum, Nayyar Sultana, Jamila Razzaq, Yasmin, Neelo and Noor Jehan. Musarrat also gave performances in Pakistan cinema's greatest melodramas like the films Mahi Munda (1956) and Yakke Wali (1957). The film song Us bay wafa ka sheher hai in the film Shaheed (1962), is considered to be one of the popular songs in 2022. Even after she retired from her film career in 1988, she had continued to sing for Pakistan Television until recently.

Nazir married physician Arshad Majeed and relocated to Canada in 1965. The couple has three children, including son Omar Majeed, a film director. Nazir chose to abandon her thriving film career to accompany her husband, prioritizing her personal life. In late 1970s, the couple planned to return to Pakistan and settle in Lahore. Majeed intended to set up a hospital in Lahore and they purchased a home for this purpose. However, after investing significant time and resources, the project was abandoned.

• Year — Title — Role — Network • 1983 — Tariq Aziz Show — Herself — PTV • 1984 — 20 Golden Years Of PTV — Herself — PTV • 1986 — Mehmil — Herself — PTV

• Bushra Ansari parodied her singing style and songs several times. • In 2021, Atif Aslam paid tribute to her recreating her song "Chale To Kat Hi Jayega Safar". • In 2022, Syra Yousuf recreates Nazir's look from her famous song "Mera Long Gawacha" for a brand campaign.