Echoes of Nazia Hasan: From Ads to Film OSTs, Her Legacy Lives On

Some voices don’t just belong to their era, they end up living in every generation that follows. Nazia Hasan is one of them.

Even today, decades after her passing, you’ll find her music spilling out of car radios in Karachi traffic jams, soundtracking Bollywood remixes, or suddenly popping up in ads that make you hum along before you even realize it.

The Sound That Changed the Game

When Nazia Hasan first burst onto the scene in the early ’80s with Aap Jaisa Koi (yes, the track that made Qurbani unforgettable), it wasn’t just a song, it was a cultural reset. She was barely a teenager, yet her voice fused disco with desi in a way South Asia hadn’t heard before. Nazia went ahead to win the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer in 1981, becoming the youngest-ever recipient and the first Pakistani to do so

Alongside her brother Zoheb, Nazia went on to pioneer South Asian pop with albums like Disco Deewane 1981, selling millions of copies and breaking records across India and Pakistan.

She gave young South Asians, especially women, permission to dance, to dream, to imagine a sound that was modern but still theirs. Think of her as the original blueprint for the “cool elder sister” of pop.

From Boom Boom to Billboards

Fast forward to today, and Nazia’s songs haven’t faded into memory. They’ve been remixed and repurposed everywhere. For example, Her track Aap Jaisa Koi was reworked (and butchered) for Ayushmann Khurrana’s An Action Hero (2022). However, fans on Twitter quickly labeled it an “atrocity,” proof that some classics are untouchable.

On the other hand, a smashing tribute to our pop queen was delivered in 2020 by Meesha Shafi. In her fiery version of Boom Boom on Velo Sound Station, she reminded an entirely new audience why Nazia’s catalogue still hits as hard as ever.

From Bollywood films to Pakistani music platforms, her voice has become a pop-culture shortcut. Do you want nostalgia, glamour, or something instantly recognizable across South Asia? Cue Nazia.

A Legacy That Refuses to Fade

Every few years, someone tries to repackage her legacy. Sometimes it works, sometimes it backfires spectacularly (Hassan Raheem, we’re looking your way). But either way, it keeps her alive in the cultural conversation.

And no matter how many rip-off songs derive from the sounds of the original queen of South Asian pop, she will forever be an icon nestled in the hearts of many. With a voice like Nazia, you don’t just exist in history, you echo into the future.