1983 is remembered as a year when we lost two super stars of Pakistan, one was the face of the nation and the other was the voice of nation. We lost the charismatic Waheed Murad and melodious Ahmad Rushdi in the space of 8 months. On 11 April 1983 Ahmad Rushdi the most recognized voice of that era went silent, but the songs that he lent in the airwaves can never be silenced as they were the pulse of his time and will live forever. Although on his demise the evergreen Waheed Murad had to say that 'I have lost my voice today'.
Ahmad Rushdi was a complete singer, one who was comfortable in all styles and genres. What he offered to the audience was something not matched by other big names of his time, he gave them a sensibility and a passion through his voice which was very close to their hearts and their feelings. I must admit he was not a perfectionist, as he never underwent a proper learning and training in music, this little thing made all the difference, as he was genuine and his art and creativity was all of his own. He did not belonged to any music family nor any music tradition, but he left behind a legacy of his own, an unmatched one.
He came into prominence from Radio Pakistan:
بندر روڈ سے کیماڑی میری چلی رے گھوڑا گاڑی but when his voice first dawned on Pakistan cinema:
چاند سا مکھڑا گورا بدن he and his music just evolved tremendously and he became a must for every film.
The range of his music is fantastic, no one can match the emotional vitality with which he used to sing love songs:
اکیلے نہ جانا ہمیں چھوڑ کر تم He is simply incomparable when it comes to pop music:
اک اڑن کھٹولا آئے گا کسی لال پری کو لائے گا not only of his time but also beyond his time. When he laid his hand on slow and sad songs:
اچھا کیا دل نہ دیا ھم جیسے دیوانوں کو the sentiments conveyed through them were so touchy that a lobby worked against him in propagating that his voice was not suited to this genre and although they were successful partly in spreading this notion as the numbers of sad songs sung by him are far less in his career although our films used to have more sad songs in those days.
A qawwali sung by him in an East Pakistani film Bhaiya is rendered with class and reverence:
.مدینے والے سے میرا سلام کہہ دینا
Ahmad Rushdi was a humble person and a gentleman to the core who lived a simple life and that all reflected in his fabulous art that was energetic, pure and profound.
