[2] Sohail Rana was born in Agra, British India, in the home of Urdu poets Mr.& Mrs.Rana Akbarabadi.
[2] Some other popular songs of his are Ko Ko Korina, Bay taab ho udhar tum, Jab pyar mein do dil miltay hain, Oont pay baitha mera munna, which were recorded by Ahmed Rushdi.
[2] Sohail Rana composed the hit songs for the golden jubilee film, Heera Aur Pathar, released on 11 December 1964.
The evergreen song Akele na jaana (singer: Mala), with sixty five musicians back then, the biggest orchestra ever gathered until then in Pakistani cinema.
Similarly, Tujhay apnay dil say mein kaisay bhula doon (singer Ahmed Rushdi) is one of the greatest hits from the film Shehnai.
[5] From 1974 to 1976, Sohail Rana was appointed as the general manager National Orchestra, for Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV), based at Karachi center.
His musical masterpieces are Sohni Dharti (singers: Shehnaz Begum, Mehdi Hassan, lyricist: Masroor Anwar) have become part and parcel of Pakistani culture.
The Farida Khanum version has been used in an Indian film Monsoon Wedding (though without Sohail Rana's permission).
He also served as Resident composer in PIA Arts Academy sponsored by Pakistan International Airlines from 1972 to 1974, where he conducted Ballet Heer Ranjha, composed and re-arranged music for folk dances and under the directorship of Zia Mohyeddin and with a team of eighty-eight dancers, musicians, singers, he toured the whole world performing in prestigious auditoriums and earned the appreciation of international audience.
Muhammad Ali Shahki, Amjad Hussain, Alamgir, Mona sisters, Benjamin Sisters, Afshan Ahmed, Adnan Sami, Wasim Baig, Nazia Hasan, Zohaib Hassan, Nazneen, Fatima Jaffrey, Anwar Ibrahim and Mehnaz.
Sohail moved to Mississauga, Ontario in Canada in the early 1990s where he has opened a school for singers and musicians.
As of 2005, he was starting to perform live with interactive multi-media and gave series of concerts in Toronto, Canada involving artists from Pakistan and India.
[1] He made an appearance on Geo TV special in 2009 Aaj Jaane Ki Zid Na Karo (THE TRIBUTE).