Career
Runa's career as a singer came about by accident. It was her elder sister Dina who first got the break, but on the day of her performance, she developed a sore throat and Runa was asked to stand in. She was so little that she could not hold the 'Tanpura'. She held it horizontally and sang a 'kheyal'. She started appearing on the 'Zia Mohyuddin Show', a Karachi TV stage show (1972–74) and later did songs for numerous Pakistani films in the 70s. Umrao Jan Ada (1972) was one such super hit film in which all but one song were sung by Runa Laila.
Sister Dina (once married to Pakistani politician from Sindh, Makhdoom Amin Fahim) would have followed in her footsteps but had to give up singing when she married. She later died of cancer. In memory of her sister, Runa held six concerts in Bangladesh and donated the entire proceeds to a children's hospital in Dhaka to build a cancer ward which has been named after her sister.
Read more about this topic: Runa Laila
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