Google celebrated Shahenshah-e-Ghazal, Ustad Mehdi Hassan Khan’s 91st birthday with a doodle depicting how the world remembers him: in a dark waist coat over cream coloured shalwar kameez with his harmonium, surrounded by candles and his music.
Mehdi Hassan’s contribution to Pakistani film music was outstanding, having lent his voice to more than 300 films. It is believed that the maestro sang more than 5,000 songs.
He remained a leading singer of South Asian film industry and is most remembered for his rendition of Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s, Gullon Mein Rang Bhare.
He won eight Best Playback Singer Nigar Award trophies for his music, a number which even Madam Noor Jahan couldn’t match. His memorable solos include ‘Mujhe tum nazar se gira to rahe ho’, ‘Ik naye mod per le ayen hai halat mujhe’, ‘Yoon zindagi ki rah pe takra gaya koi’ and ‘Pyar bharay do sharmeelay nain’.
Hassan was also honoured with numerous awards including Nishan-e-Imtiaz, Tamgha-e-Imtiaz, Pride of Performance and Hilal-e-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan.
Mehdi Hassan passed away in June 2012 after a protracted illness in a hospital in Karachi.
Over time, Google has honoured many prominent personalities with a specially designed logos called ‘doodles’. Some the well-known personalities celebrated by Google from Pakistan include Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Abdul Sattar Edhi, Noor Jehan and Nazia Hassan.
