FLASHBACK: RISE OF THE LEGENDS.

There was a time when any kid's birthday party was incomplete without Jungle mein mangal tere hi dum se, and same was the case with Main ne tumhari gagar se at weddings.

Karta rahoon ga yaad tujhay main was the perfect song that described the feelings of all lovestruck Romeos while Main tu jala aisa jeevan bhar perfectly defined heartbreak. Moreover, a lone rider had Albela rahi to keep him company while drivers always preferred to sing or listen to Hum chalay tau hamaray to help them eat up the miles briskly.

These hugely popular songs were immortalised by Alamgir and A. Nayyar in a pre-Zia Pakistan. Both these singers flourished despite the imposition of Gen Zia's martial law and ruled the airwaves for years. However, their meteoric rise was possible not only with lady luck but also Ahmed Rushdi on their side.

No one stays around forever and usually better and younger people take their place. Ahmed Rushdi, the country's premier playback singer, ruled the roost for well over a decade and was eventually replaced by Alamgir and A. Nayyar in the mid-'70s.

Both Alamgir's and A. Nayyar's meteoric rise was intertwined, inadvertently, with the career of Ahmed Rushdi, who they acknowledged as their guru

For upcoming producers and fresh music directors, Rushdi was known for his large heartedness, and many-a-time he had even skipped his fee if he found the producer unable to pay him.

Music was going through a change in the 1970s. Films were being made in colour, although TV transmission was still relayed in black-and-white. Ahmed Rushdi was performing in Bazm-i-Rushdi but watching a 40-year-old twist and turn was unacceptable for a generation that grew up listening to the Beatles, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra. A young singer was needed whom the youth could easily relate to.

Alamgir, who used to play the guitar in the background of TV shows, rose to the occasion. During an evening with Ahmed Rushdi and Shahnaz Begum at the Karachi Gymkhana, the stars were taking a short break backstage. During the break, Alamgir stepped up and rendered some non-Urdu songs to fill the gap in performance.

The audience swooned on listening to their favourite numbers, and began demanding more from him. Rushdi handed Alamgir the mic and quietly left the event. Alamgir had arrived, but now needed some good songs to survive.

In the year 1974, director Nazrul Islam, music director Robin Ghosh, music composer Karim Shahabuddin, and actors Rehman and Shabnam all preferred to...