Biography
Who is Runa Laila?
Early life and training
Runa Laila was born in Sylhet on November 17, 1952. Her father worked as a government servant in locations including Karachi. Her mother was a musical artist with family roots in Assam. Runa trained in classical dance styles including Kathak and Bharatanatyam during her youth. She studied music under Ustad Abdul Kader Peyarang and Ustad Habibuddin Ahmed. She also considered the singer Ahmed Rushdi a significant mentor. She attempted to emulate his vocal style and stage presence. Runa attended the Saint Lawrence Convent. While a student there, she won a singing competition in Karachi. Her early training helped her begin performing as a child playback singer in the Urdu film Jugnu.
Career breakthroughs
In 1966, she achieved a major career breakthrough in the Pakistani film industry with the song Unki Nazron Sey Mohabbat Ka Jo Paigham Mila for the movie Hum Dono. She frequently appeared on television through the show Bazm E Laila. Later, she appeared on the Zia Mohyuddin Show between 1972 and 1974. She moved back to Bangladesh in 1974 with her family. Her initial Bengali song was O Amar Jibon Shathi, written for the movie Jibon Shathi in 1976.
She began working in Bollywood after meeting director Jaidev in Delhi. She sang the title track for Ek Se Badhkar Ek in 1976. Her popularity in India grew through songs like O Mera Babu Chail Chabila and the classic Dama Dam Mast Qalandar. She is recognized for singing in seventeen languages, such as Hindi, Punjabi, Arabic, Persian, and Italian.
Music achievements and awards
Runa Laila holds a spot in the Guinness World Records for a feat of recording thirty songs in only three days. She earned the Golden Disk Award in 1982 for her album Superuna, which sold over one lakh copies on its release day. She is a highly decorated artist in her home country. She won the Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer seven times for movies like The Rain, Jadur Banshi, Accident, and Ontore Ontore. She also won the award for Best Music Composer for the film Ekti Cinemar Golpo in 2018.
The government of Bangladesh honored her with the Independence Award in 1977. This is the highest civilian honor in the nation. Other honors include the Nigar Awards from Pakistan, the Saigal Award in India, and the Firoza Begum Memorial Gold Medal.
Family and charity work
She has been married three times, including to the actor Alamgir. She has a daughter named Tani Kaiser from her marriage to Khawaja Javed Kaiser. Her family has a musical history, as her cousin Anjumara Begum was a known singer. Runa dedicated significant effort to charity after the death of her sister, Dina, in 1976. She organized concerts in Dhaka to raise funds for building a cancer hospital.
She also holds the distinction of being the first Bangladeshi individual to serve as a SAARC Goodwill Ambassador for HIV/AIDS. In this role, she visited New Delhi in 2013 to meet with government officials regarding health initiatives.
Birthday and age
Runa Laila was born on November 17, 1952, which makes Runa 73 years old today. That birthday falls under the Scorpio sign. Runa shares the date with 27 other famous people.
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