Guest Post by Altamash Mir
Sohail Rana is the son of renowned poet Rana Akbar Abadi. Young Sohail started showing interested in the arts at a very early age, first in painting and then in music, which he took up as his love and profession.
His first break came in 1962, when he was appointed as a composer in Radio Pakistan and also began composing in EMI. After that he did his first musical score and song for the movie Jab Say Dekha Hai Tumhain. The songs from this movie instantly topped the charts and proved to be a stepping stone in Sohail Rana’s brilliant career. Great film productions like Arman gave Sohail the opportunity to maximize his musical talents by embedding his fresh style of music and turning and twisting the mood of the entire movie.
Sohail Rana understood the power of music and the effect it has on people. During the 60’s he observed that Western music was taking Pakistan by storm and people were beginning to forget the native folk music of the land.
During this period, in addition to doing music for films, he flexed his muscles as a composer and started working on private records such as Folk tunes of Pakistan, Shahbaz Qalandar and Khyber Mail. Many songs from these albums are still admired and re-performed by modern bands.
Listen to some wonderful instrumental tunes from ‘Khyber Mail’, here:
Harvest Time:
Cobra Away:
Saat Maatray:
To accomplish his goal of fusing together the modern music with folk melodies, he started a show on PTV in 1968 called Kaliyon ki Mala. He would take this opportunity to not only introduce traditional music to Pakistani kids but to also teach them about music. Kaliyon ki Mala stayed alive up until mid 80s under different names such as Sung Sung Chalein. In all these years of teaching youngsters to sing and understand music, Sohail Rana produced some of the most popular artists not only for Pakistan, but all of South Asia. He composed over 2000 songs for the childrens musical show.
Mr. Rana has received the prestigious Presidential Award the Pride of Performance, The Nigar Award for film Arman, Gold Discs from EMI for the vinyl album, Khyber Mail and the United Nations Peace Messenger Award, conferred on him, at the United Nations in New York in 1987.
Sohail Rana’s achievements in music are uncomparable to his triumph in causing rippling changes in the Pakistani society, where musicians and music were looked down upon and impermissible in the middle class. Overall, Mr. Rana has achieved what most people dare not dream in their entire lives. Sohail Rana now resides in Canada, runs a music school and is busy composing symphonies. His passion for music lives on and perhaps the best is yet to come, Inshallah!!!
Some of his best film work:
Ye khushi ajab khushi hai
Jab say deikha hai tumhain, dil ka ajab Aalam hai
Ko-Ko-Korina
Saye ki talab karney walo
Akele na jana,
Bay taab ho udhar tum
Jab pyar mein do dil miltay hain
Meri Qismet bata, hai meri kya kheta
Mujhay tum say mohabbat hai
Ik naye maur pay
Aye mere zindigi aye meray hum safar
Do akhian, ye do sakhian
Wada karo milo gey
Raatain theen chandni
Aashiyaan jal gaya
Hai bay qarar tamanna
Tujh jaisa dagha baaz
Bansiri bajanay walay
Aaj janay ki zid na karo
Dheeray, dheeray paoon rakh gori
Some of his other great songs:
Sohni dharti
Sung sung chaltay rehna
Dosti aisa nata
Shawa bhy shawa
Jeeway Pakistan
Mein bhee Pakistan hoon
Allah Akbar
Some of the Artists that he introduced:
Mohammad Ali Shehki; Habib Wali Mohammad; Amjad Hussain; Alamgir; Mona Sisters; Benjamin sisters; Nazia Hasan/Zohaib Hasan; Afshan Ahmed; Anwar Ibrahim; Fatima Jaffery; Adnan Sami Khan; Hadiqa Kiyani
Acknowledgement: The wonderfully informative essay of Sohail Rana by Anis Ahmad Shakur (here); also see updates where he is now and what he is doing here and here.
Altamash Mir is a Chicago-based Pakistani, has been a reader and frequent commentator to this blog from its inception. He is very active in AOPP.
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Nice to read all the comments about the great Sohail Rana Sahib. He was amazing and very patriotic. I would love to learn music from him, if some one can give his contact or school address.
me sohail rana sahb ka fan us waqt se hun jb me ne ye dakha aur jana k tv aek aesi machine hoti he js me program aate hen,,may b i since i was 6 years old. hm un k bachon k programe dakh kr bre hue and now im 40.sohail sahb un chand logon me se hen jnhon ne pakistan ki bht khidmt ki he allah un ko shat mnd rakhe aur lmbi umr ata frmae.aek request he agr muj sohail sahb ka koi email address mil jae to mari dil ki ghraion se khwahish he k me un se contact me rhun.thanx
Please let me know, if you have any contact No. or email address Mr. Sohail Rana or his acadmey’s address, please i will be oblige
It is really a national tragedy that we don’t hear any new songs from Sohail Rana. I don’t know, we all have immeasurable love and appreciation for this outstanding person, why he opted to leave Pakistan physically but also deprived the whole nation of his gifted talents and charismatic personality. He and Imran Khan are exceptions among the whole populace.