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'I liked her voice'

Lata Khubchandani

Nazia Hassan, who stormed the Indian music scene in the early 1980s, passed away in London on Sunday after a prolonged battle with leukaemia.

Film-maker Feroz Khan, the man responsible for giving Nazia a break with the chart-busting Aap jaisa koi mere zindagi mein aaye in Qurbani, recounts his association with the pretty singer: "My first meeting with Nazia was thanks to coincidence. I met her at a party in London, which she had attended with her parents.

"The Hassan family was keen that I hear her voice and give her a break. It so happened that I was in London to record Aap jaisa koi meri zindagi mein aaye with Biddu.

"She wasn't a trained singer, but I liked her voice. She had a nice nasal quality to her voice -- attractive and different, but slightly thin. Biddu and I thought she had potential among the singers we had shortlisted. She sang the song. The rest was history.

"I double-tracked her. That was the first time that a song was recorded for the Indian film industry on 24 four tracks. It was unheard of in those days. It was also the first time that a film had more than one composer. Kalyanji-Anandji also score the music for the film. And when the song was released, it was bang on. That little lisping together of voices was just fascinating. Nazia was just 17 years old then in 1979-1980.

"Soon after, Nazia and her brother Zohaib cut their own album, Disco Deewane, with Biddu. That was immensely popular, too.

But it was Aap jaisa koi that proved immortal. I remember Nazia kept telling me, "Ferozji yeh gaana aapka bada hit hoga. (This song will be a big hit.) I didn't think so. I thought Laila O Laila was a better song. As it happened, she was right.

"I knew she was fighting cancer. I often thought of getting in touch with her. Unfortunately, I didn't. God Bless her soul. May her parents bear this with fortitude."