Noted singer Shahnaz Rahmatuallah passes away
Prominent singer Shahnaz Rahmatuallah passed away at her Baridhaara residence in the capital early Sunday. She was 67.
She breathed her last around 1am after suffering a cardiac arrest, family sources said.
Her namaz-e-janaza will be held at Baridhara Park Mosque after Zuhr prayer.
Later, she will be buried in Banani military graveyard.
Born on January 2, 1952, in Dhaka, the Ekushey Padak and the National Film Award-winning singer was married to retired major Abul Bashar Rahmatullah who now runs a business. Their daughter Nahid Rahmatullah has settled in the United Kingdom and son AKM Sayef Rahmatullah lives in Canada.
bdnews24.com adds: Shahnaz's brother late Anwar Parvez was a renowned music composer. Her other brother was the celebrated actor and singer Zafar Iqbal.
She performed as a playback singer in the film "Natun Sur" at the tender age of 11 in 1963. She went on to lend her voice to countless tunes since then. Shahnaz started singing on television from 1964. She sang a number of Urdu songs and Ghazals in the 1970s.
The revered vocalist was trained in advanced music by Ustad Phul Mohammed. She was also received musical training from Ustad Munir Hossain, Ghazal maestro Mehdi Hasan and Shahid Altaf Mahmud.
In 2006, the BBC ranked four of Shahnaz's songs on its list of the top 20 greatest Bengali songs of all time. Two of these were compositions of Anwar Parvez while the others were composed by Khan Ataur Rahman and Abdul Latif, respectively.
Shahnaz released four albums during her illustrious career which spanned nearly 50 years. Apart from the Ekushey Padak and the National Film Award, she won numerous awards, including the Shilpakala Academy Award and the BACHSAS Award for her contributions to music in Bangladesh.
Shahnaz Rahmatullah has also sung a number of patriotic songs. Her songs including "Je Chhilo Drishtir Shimanae", "Khola Janala", "Pari Na Bhule Jete" still linger in the hearts of her fans.
The eminent singer had taken a brief hiatus from music to devote herself to her religion.
In a 2017 interview with bdnews24.com, Shahnaz said, "I didn't feel like singing after returning from Umrah. I started praying then and my time is now spent in prayers."
