Birth name Kobra Genres Rock, Pop Name Zheela Zheela | Occupation(s) Singer, Actress Years active 1957-2001 | |
Born 15 July 1943
Kabul, Kingdom of Afghanistan ( 1943-07-15 ) Labels Afghan Radio Television Died June 28, 2009, California, United States | ||
Zheela Zhilo 2019
Zheela (also spelled as Zhila and Zhilla, Persian: ژیلا, July 15, 1943 – June 28, 2009) was an Afghan singer and actress. Along with her contemporaries Rukhshana, Qamar Gula and Afsana, she is often cited as one of the first female singers who entered the Afghan music scene professionally.
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Early life
Zheela (born Kobra, Persian: کبری) was born in Kabul, Afghanistan to Sardar Mohammed Kabir Khan, a banker. When she was five years old, her mother died. Zheela had three sisters, one of whom, Sara, married the Afghan singer Ustad Jalil Zaland. Zheela developed an interest in singing at a young age, and by her teen years, was singing at family events. She completed eighth grade at Zarghona Middle School at which point she was pressed to become a singer at the encouragement of her social circle who had attended her performances. Her father, a progressive who had an admiration for music and the arts, was also supportive and became the catalyst for the initiation of her singing career.
Career
Zheela entered the Afghan music industry at that age of 14. With the support of her brother-in-law Ustad Jalil Zaland and the encouragement of Afghan singer Parveen, who had noticed the teen perform in family events, Zheela started her career under the mentorship of Ustad Khyal who trained the singer for five years in various musical instruments. She also received some assistance from Ustad Shayda, the man who suggested she adopt the professional name Zheela after attending her first concert.
Although there were other female singers in Afghanistan before her, but it is agreed that Zheela became the first female celebrity through singing. During this time Zheela recorded mostly for the radio but her popularity increased with her television songs when the audience could finally put a face to the singer they had only known through the radio. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s, she was recognized as the most popular female singer and she garnered notability from music industries outside of Afghanistan.
In addition to her solo work, Zheela also had collaborations on her songs, often in the form of duets with such singers as Ahmad Zahir, Jalil Zaland, and Ustad Khyal. But her most notable collaboration came in 1964 when she sang a duet with Mohammed Rafi, India’s most prolific singer at the time. Their song became hugely popular on Kabul Radio as this was the first time that an Indian singer sang in Persian. This time coincided with a time when relations between Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar (India’s sole movie playback singers) had soured and Mohammed Rafi requested Zheela stay in India and replace Lata Mangeshkar as the lead female playback singer for Bollywood movies. It was a request that Zheela turned down as she wished to return to her family in Afghanistan.
In 1973, Zheela performed in the musical play “رفیقان بی وفا” that brought her some notability as an actress.
Later life
Due to the political situation, Zheela left Afghanistan in the early 1980s. She initially traveled with her family to Karachi, Pakistan, and after staying there 13 months, she immigrated to US state of California in 1982. After this time, her involvement in the Afghan music scene was limited but ongoing. From 1983 to 2001 Zheela’s professional career was marked by performances in concerts in the United States and Canada, often in collaboration with other Afghan singers. In 2001, she officially retired from singing.
Works
Zheela has 482 certified radio songs and 13 songs for the television. In 1996, Zheela’s music was copyrighted with the Library of Congress.