Virtually every movie and music lover has heard of the Pakistani Nightingale-SALMA AGHA who many actually believe is the daughter of "Mallika Tarannum-NOORJAHAN" but this was actually a myth that was propagated by the media and SALMA too was reluctant to clarify it as it suited both her singing career as well as her image in Pakistan, London & India.

So it isn't surprising that while people have seen the ravishing dew fresh beauty of SALMA AGHA and drowned in her satin voice as she belted out one popular track after another and drowned in her movies anc concerts very little is actually known about the face behind the name.

Like how many people actually know that SALMA AGHA is actually related to the Kapoor Khandaan in Mumbai what with her mother ZARINA AGHA actually being a cousin of RAJ KAPOOR a fact that came to light only at the London reception of the RISHI -NEETU wedding.

At one point of time the virtual trimurti of Raj Kapoor-Dev Anand & B.R.Chopra were keen to promote and launch SALMA AGHA in Bollywood. it was Dev Anand who had noticed SALMA AGHA in London and wanted to make her his discovery as he felt she would prove to be the next best thing to happen to his banner after ZEENAT AMAN & TINA MUNIM but when he learnt she was related to Raj Kapoor and he was zeroeing in her for Heena he decided to back off rather than face problems later.

Along the way RAJ KAPOOR had shortlisted SALMA AGHA for HEENA but then his eyes fell upon the dew fresh ZEBA BAKHTAIR and he settled for her instead.However when he learnt that B.R.Chopra was making a muslim social Talak Talak Talak he put her on to SALMA. But even before B.R.Chopra could contact her Salma jetted down from London and presented herself before the producer director who was fascinated by both her looks and dedication and what is more she was a professional singer and thus she was signed on and eventually launced in Bollywood with Nikaah which was the new name for 'Talak Talak Talak'.

Born in Lahore on April 3rd.1962 she is the elder of two daughters.Her sister Sabina Agha was also into professional singing and together they had even cut a remix album of ABBA in hindi titled ABBA AGHA which sold like hot cakes globally.

Not many people know that SALMA AGHA was first married to MAHMUD SIPRA a Hollywood producer and financer while she was still in London and he was keen to launch her in his Hollywood project Knight To King Pawn Three opposite Omar Sharif & SHASHI KAPOOR no less.

But then destiny has always had other plans for her right through her career as well as her personal life. Like her being related to RAJ KAPOOR, one assumed she would get a mega launch from him opposite RISHI KAPOOR and that was the prime reason why even DEV ANAND even backed off altough he was initially very keen to launch SALMA AGHA as his next big discovery and eventually she got a mega launch with B.R.CHOPRA.

Any other heroine in her boots would have gladly bent backwards for her mentor-eager to please to keep in his good books or else gone on a rampage to sign as many films as she could grab with both hands...But not so SALMA AGHA she had her first mega showdown with her mentor when she refused to travel globally to accept awards for the film and worse she demanded money to make public appearances especially at those 'Nikaah Nites' where she was expected to dress in the film costumes and perform live on stage in return for an award and nothing else.

After a period of time, it was rather humilating for B.R.CHOPRA to turn up for Nikaah events with RAJ BABBAR & DEEPAK PRASHER but in the case of SALMA AGHA it was virtually a no show unless she had been contacted directly and her demands met. Worse was in store when her godfather was keen to repeat her in Tawaif but she demanded a story sitting and a bound script. That was the last straw not that SALMA was bothered she had more important things on her mind like love and romance.

MAHMUD SIPRA was back into her life post Nikaah and he persuaded her to quit Mumbai and for that he was even willing to revive King To Pawn Three as well as sign her in the lead for Begum Sahiba and Bebasi. Alas her marriage to MAHMUD SIPRA lasted as briefly as her romance to him and thus when SALMA AGHA returned to Mumbai to pick up the threads of her career the first thing she did was to buy REENA Roy's apartment in Mumbai and got herself ANIL KAPOOR & MADHURI DIXIT's secretary to let the industry know she was here to stay.

At that time little did she know that while REENA ROY was selling her apartment to get married to MOHSIN KHAN and to live in Pakistan & London a few years down the line it would be REENA ROY who would play match maker for SALMA's second marriage to Actor JABED SHAIKH that would make her quit Mumbai a second time to settle in Pakistan and eventually do films there even though she had given a mega hit with her second release 'Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki' with MITHUN & SMITA and was neck deep into films in Mumbai.

As her sister SABINA was also married and settled in Karachi and running a high end exclusive boutique she too decided to float her own label boutique in Islamabad.During this period her marriage to JAVED also crumbled even though he was so besotted by SALMA AGHA that he divorced his wife of 15 years and left his daughters to settle in with his new Begum-SALMA AGHA!!

Eventually love once again knocked on her Bosom and she fell head over heels with International squash legend REHMAT KHAN who went on to be her third Miya with whom she now travels the globe and is back to her first love.Playback singing and in the yeards gone by she has cut several popular albums and done live concerts.

SALMA AGHA's tumultous career has several gems to her credit apart from Nikaah & Kasam Paida Karne Wale Ki like Oonche Log, Kanwarlal & Pati Patni Aur Tawaif but also some real rotten eggs landed in her basket like Jungle Ki Beti, Paanch Fauladi & Meet Mere Man Ke to mention a few.

However now that she is back to what she does best singing and travelling she is believed to be leading a relaxed and content life as her marriage with REHMAT KHAN gives her ample visibility even though acting is behind her!!!!

                                   SALMA AGHA QUOTE MARTIAL!!!

“ I had cut my first album ‘Jalwa-E-Ghazal’ which was composed by my mother and I had even written one of the songs. The compositions in those albums were quite challenging and in the classical ghazal style. I was just about 16 years old then!!!!”

“ I had come from London to Mumbai to record a song for a film called ‘Chanakya Chandragupt’, where Naushad-saab was the music director. Unfortunately that film got shelved. Actually I always wanted to be a singer and I was told that if I act in the film, then I would also get to sing my own songs! That way it happened as if a child is made to do a certain thing by promising to give her a favourite toy!!!!”

“When I was a new singer, many people thought that I was Madam Noor Jehan’s daughter! Both of us were classically trained and such voices are always more detailed and different in texture. Pitch and tonal quality of my voice quite naturally match hers and that’s why we sound so similar. It is natural and not deliberately done!!!”

“I also have an interesting offer to act in a Bollywood film, which will be a sort of a comeback for me. But the details are yet to be finalized. My daughter Zahra is also making a music album and she has also got a film- offer from Bollywood. After my grandmother (Begum Paro), my mother (Zarina Agha) and I myself, now Zahra will Insha-Allah be our family’s fourth generation into films!!!”

“I have been a rebel all my life and have always done what I wanted to do. I don’t have any regrets. Life is a continuous journey and you take the good with the bad. They say you learn from your mistakes- I don’t believe that! You don’t learn from the old mistakes but rather just go on to commit new mistakes!!!!

BY:THE LIP