Rahmatullah, Shahnaz
Rahmatullah, Shahnaz (1952-2019) a shining star of the music industry of Bangladesh. She was born on 2 January 1952 in a cultured family in Dhaka. Her mother’s name is Ayesha Haque and father’s name is Fazlul Haque. She started practicing music from a young age under the supervision of her mother. She received training from eminent artists such as Mehdi Hasan Khan known as ‘Shahenshah-e-Ghazal’, Ustad Ful Mohammad, Ustad Munir Hossain and Shaheed Altaf Mahmud. Following in the footsteps of her elder brother musician Anwar Parvez and popular singer and actor Zafar Iqbal, she started her musical career in the 1960s at the age of 10 by performing on the radio. At the age of 11, she made her debut as a playback singer in the movie ‘Natun Sur’. Later in 1964, she performed in her first music on television. Shahnaz Rahmatullah has sung many popular Bengali songs as well as several Urdu songs. ‘Sohni Dharti Allah Rakhe’ and ‘Jibe Jibe Pakistan’ became very popular as patriotic songs in Pakistan at that time. Among the many songs sung by her during our freedom struggle, the song ‘Jai Bangla Banglar Jai’ will remain etched in the minds of all Bengalis forever. Her famous song ‘Ek Nadi Rakta Periye’ was sung in 1973 in the noted director Khan Ataur Rahman’s movie ‘Abar Tora Manush Ha’. It is considered one of the best patriotic songs in the country’s music industry. Other notable songs of her include ‘Ekbar Jete Dena Amar Chotto Sonar Gaon’, ‘Je Chilo Drishtir Shimanay’, ‘Ek Tara Tui Desher Katha’, ‘Amar Desher Matir Gandhe’, ‘Sagarer Tir Theke’, etc. Shahnaz Rahmatullah was awarded ‘Ekushey Padak’ in 1992 for her outstanding contribution in the world of music.
Also, in 1990, she won the ‘National Film Award’ as a playback singer in the movie ‘Chutir Phande’. She was awarded Bangladesh Shilpakala Academy Medal and Bangladesh Film Journalists Association award. An album with her four songs was released. Her four patriotic songs have been ranked among the top 20 Bengali songs of all time by the BBC. The four songs are ‘Ek Nadi Rakta Periye’, ‘Joy Bangla, Banglar Joy’, ‘Ekbar Jete Dena Amar Chotto Sonar Gaon’, ‘Ektara Tui Desher Katha Balre Amay Bal’. Shahnaz Rahmatullah was married to Abul Bashar Rahmatullah in 1973. They have one daughter and one son. At the end of a long musical career, on 23 March 2019, this renowned artist breathed her last. [Shahnaz Nasreen Ila]
