Fans are set to honor the 29th death anniversary of the legendary singer Masood Rana today. Rana, who began his illustrious singing career in 1962 with the film Inqalab, dominated the Urdu and Punjabi music scenes for over three decades until his untimely death in a road accident on October 4, 1995.
Born in Mirpur Khas, Sindh, into a Rajpoot landowning family that had migrated from Jalandhar, Rana started his career at Radio Pakistan, Hyderabad, in 1955. He formed a musical group in Karachi in the early 1960s alongside notable figures in the industry, including Nadeem Baig and Akhlaq Ahmed.
Rana’s big break came when actor Saqi introduced him to producer and director Iqbal Shehzad and musician Deebo. His debut film song in Inqalab marked the beginning of his successful career, but he truly gained fame with his second film, Banjaran, released in the same year.
Often hailed as the “Pakistani Rafi,” Rana lived up to this title throughout his career. He lent his voice to over 550 films and was regarded as one of the most successful singers, second only to Ahmed Rushdi. Notable songs from his repertoire include “Ae Watan Hum Hain Teri Shama Kay Parwanon Main” from the film Aag Ka Darya and “Sathio, Mujahido, Jaag Utha Hay Sara Watan,” performed alongside Shaukat Ali for Mujahid (1965). During the 1965 war, he sang “Yaad Karta Hai Zamana” for the film Hamrahi.
