Noel Dias (4 March 1932 – 25 November 1983), better known as Saleem Raza (Urdu: سلِیم رضا), was a Pakistani playback singer. He belonged to a Pakistani Christian family and remained Christian but adopted the Islamic name so he could sing in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Thus, he started his singing career from Lahore, Pakistan, quickly gaining popularity. Raza was a classically- trained singer and was more famous for singing sad songs. Raza's career suffered due to the rise of singer Ahmed Rushdi in the late 1950s. He left playback singing in 1966 as he lost his popularity with the film composers and moved to Canada where he died in 1983.^[1][2]

Saleem Raza was born Noel Dias in a Christian family in Amritsar. After the partition of India in 1947, he migrated to Pakistan and settled in Lahore. He first sang for Lahore Radio Station. Raza also made friends with an artist of the time, Mohni Hameed. Raza and Hameed were often seen attending events together.

Additionally, Raza learned music from the music composers of the day including Master Sadiq Ali, and Ustaad Aashiq Husain. He was introduced to the Pakistani film industry by veteran film music director Ghulam Ahmed Chishti.^[1] Raza's first lucky break came in director Syed Ata Ullah Hashmi's 1955 film Naukar. He lent his voice to the 'sad' musical composition, Taqdeer kay malik deikh zara kya zulm hai (Duet, Saleem Raza – Kausar Perveen). He also sang as a playback singer in film producer Anwar Kamal Pasha's Qatil in 1955. Although his big breakthrough came with the song Yaaro mujhe muaaf rakho, main nashey mein hoon, in Saifuddin Saif's film Saat Lakh (1957). He went on to sing many other songs in films like Aas Paas (1957), Do Rastey, Hamsafar (1960), Seema (1963 film) and many more. His last film was Payal Ki Jhankar (1966).^[1]

Raza remained a dominating singer in the late 1950s due to his popularity in singing tragic songs. In 1961, the music director, Khalil Ahmed, recorded a sad song, Kisi chaman main raho tum bahaar bun kay raho, in Raza's voice for film Aanchal (1962) but he was not satisfied with his singing style. Initially, he decided to re-record the same song in Mehdi Hassan's voice but changed his mind because Hassan was facing difficulty with high notes as the composition had a wide range and variations. Khalil Ahmed finally invited the famous singer Ahmed Rushdi to sing the same song; Rushdi not only satisfied Khalil but the song was also a hit. Apart from Ahmed Rushdi, Raza was in direct competition with highly talented singers like Munir Hussain, Mehdi Hassan, Masood Rana, Mujeeb Aalam and Bashir Ahmad. Moreover, his voice was best suited for Syed Musa Raza (Santosh Kumar) and his brother Darpan.^{[citation needed]} The two actors also lost their popularity in the mid-1960s. These were the basic factors which affected his popularity. Later, with the change in the recording devices, Raza found it difficult to adjust to the new equipment, resulting in a setback to his career.

Raza migrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in 1975, and established a music school there. For eight years, from 1975 to 1983, Raza taught music to numerous music students. He also started performing in local South Asian musical concerts. Raza suffered from kidney failure, which took his life on 25 November 1983. He was fifty-one years of age.^[2]

Some notable Urdu and Punjabi films for which Raza sang songs include:

Saat Lakh (1957), Ishq-e-Laila (1957), Bedari (1957), Daata (1957), Saheli (1960), Rahguzar (1960), Salma (1960), Gulfam (1961), Saperan (1961), Azra (1962), Mousiqaar (1962), Aanchal (1962), Qaidi (1962), Seema (1963), Ik Tera Sahara (1963), Tauba (1964), Chingari (1964), Payal Ki Jhankar (1966), Noor-e-Islam (1957), Chann Mahi (1956), Kartar Singh (1959), Mouj Mela (1963).^[1][2]

1. Bedard zamanay walon nay kab dard kisi ka jaana hai, film Aas Paas (1957), music by Akhtar Hussain Akhhian

2. Shah-e-Madina (saw), Yasrib kay wali, film Noor-e-Islam (1957), lyrics by Naeem Hashmi, music by Hassan Latif

3. Ae nazneen tujh sa koi haseen ham nay kabhi dekha nahin, film Shama (1959)

4. Zindgi mein ek pal bhi chain aye na, iss jahan main kash koi dil lagaey na, poet Tanvir Naqvi, music director Muslehuddin, film Hamsafar (1960)^[1]

5. Bana kay mera nasheman, film Do Rastay (1961)

6. Tujh ko maalum nahin, tujh ko bhala kya maalum, film Aanchal (1962)

7. Jan-e-baharan, rashke-e-chaman, ghuncha dahan, shireen badan, film Azra (1962), music by Master Inayat Hussain^[3][1]

8. Tum jug jug geo maharaj ray, hum teri nagarya main aaey, music by Rashid Attre, film Mousiqar (1962)

9. Ae dil kisi ki yaad mein hota hay beqarar kyun, jiss nay bhula dia tujhay us ka hai intezar kyun, film Ik Tera Sahara (1963), lyrics by Qateel Shifai, music by Master Inayat Hussain^[1]

10. Na milta gar yeh tauba ka sahara hum kahan jatay, film Tauba (1964) – A Qawwali song, lyrics by Fayyaz Hashmi, music by A. Hameed

11. Jo kisi kay qareeb hotay hain, woh baray khush naseeb hotay hain, film Shabnam (1965), music by A. Hameed

12. Ek hamein awara kehna, koi bara ilzam nahin, film Insaan (1966)

13. Husn ko chand jawani ko kanwal kehtay hain, tairee surat nazar aaey to ghazal kehtay hain, music by Rashid Attre, film Payal Ki Jhankar (1966)

14. Yaro mujhay muaf rakho main nashay main hoon, ab jaam do to khali do main nashay main hoon, film Saat Lakh (1957), music by Rasheed Attre

15. Meray dil ki anjuman main teray ghum say roshni hai, na bhula sakoon ga tujh ko tera pyar zindagi hai, film Qaidi (1962), music by Rasheed Attre

• Nigar Award Best Singer for film Hamsafar (1960)^[4]
• Nigar Award Best Singer for film Seema (1963)
• Gold Medal Award in 1966 by the Pakistan Arts Council, Lahore^[1]

• Saleem Raza at IMDb