Runa Laila

Runa Laila
Laila performing in BCFC (Dec 2012)
Background information
Native name	রুনা লায়লা
Born	(1952-11-17) 17 November 1952 (age 64) Sylhet, East Bengal, Dominion of Pakistan
Genres	Ghazal, fusion music, Pop
Occupation(s)	Playback singer
Instruments	vocals
Years active	1969–1991 2008–2010

Runa Laila (born 17 November 1952) is a Bangladeshi singer, widely regarded as one of the popular singers in South Asia and started her career in Pakistan film industry in late 1960s. Her style of singing is inspired by Pakistani playback singer Ahmed Rushdi and she also made a pair with him after replacing another singer Mala. Her playback singing in films – "Jadur Banshi", "Accident", "Ontore Ontore", "Tumi Ashbe Bole", "Devdas" and "Priya Tumi Shukhi Hou" - earned her six Bangladesh National Film Awards for Best Female Playback Singer.

Laila was born in Sylhet to her parents Syed Mohammed Imdad Ali, a civil servant posted in Karachi, and Amina Laila. She started taking dance lessons of Kathak and Bharatanatyam genre. She then learned classical music with her elder sister Dina Laila (d. 1976). She and her sister went to school in Karachi. In those days, Ahmed Rushdi was leading film music as he introduced hip-hop, rock n roll, disco and other modern genres in South Asian music and has since then been adopted in Bangladesh, India and lately Nepal as a pioneering influence in their respective pop cultures. Following Rushdi's success, Christian bands specialising in jazz started performing at various night clubs and hotel lobbies in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mumbai, Dhaka and Lahore. She became a fan of singer Ahmed Rushdi whom she considered her guru (teacher), and tried to emulate not only his singing style but also the way he used to perform on the stage.