Popular Pakistani female singer Mala’s birth name was Naseem Nazli. She changed her name to Mala after her first big hit since she was advised by many to choose a simpler yet different name so to be remembered by all the people. She was also blessed to be the sister of a very famous composer of her time, Shameem Nazli.
Mala was born in Faisalabad which issituated in the province Punjab of Pakistan on 9th November, 1939. She was from an upper middle class family who not only encouraged their children to flourish but also tried to get them training for what they wanted to do in life.
Fortunately for Mala, during those years having an Ustaad to learn singing was common. She also was fortunate to have her elder sister, the very talented Shameem to teach her the basics of singing. Shameem also tried very hard to get her sister Naseem a breakthrough in the musical career.
Naseem got her first chance and recorded two Punjabi songs for the movie Aabroo with the great composer Ghulam Ahmed Chishti. Unfortunately for her the film flopped and her songs too went by unnoticed. Later, Mala recorded much simpler songs in Urdu by the persuasion of Anwar Kamal who strongly urged Naseem to give another shot to the singing career in the film industry.
Not until the year 1962 did Mala come into the limelight. She sang with numerous singers and became very famous with her sensual voice especially in songs regarding heartbreak. Her song Akaile Na Jana is famous even till now and many singers have covered it in their own way.
Mala was replaced by Runa Laila and on 6th March, 1990 she died in financial crisis after living in harsh realities of world. She was awarded with Nigar Award for Best Singer in 1962 and 1965.
