The vibrant voice of the Hindi film industry and the pioneer of the ‘item song’

New Delhi, April 14 (SocialNews.XYZ) Even after her name fades from public memory, her influence remains in Bollywood, with remixes of her hilarious 1950s hits still It continues to circulate.

Another lesser-known achievement of Shamshad Begum was her forerunner of what would become ‘Item Numbers’, but her contribution was brash rather than provocative, brash rather than vulgar. , it was racy without being vulgar.

And they were delivered with a powerful voice, whose clarity was likened to a temple bell by composer OP Nayyar, and with an authentic sense of enjoyment and abandon.

“Udan khatole pe udh jaaun” (“Anmol Ghadi”, 1946), “Mere piya gaye Rangoon” (“Patanga”, 1949), “Kabhi aar kabhi paar” (“Aar Paar”, 1954), “Bisvi sadi hai ye” “bisvii sadi” (“Chaalis Baabaa Ek Chor”, 1954), “Leke pehla pehla pyar”, “Kahin pe nigahen kahin pe nishana”, “Boojh mera kya naam re” (“CID”, 1956) ) are typical examples.

And Shamshad, who was born on this day (April 14) in 1919, nearly 40 years before Madhuri Dixit in Tezaab (1988), died a few days after his 94th birthday in 2013. – Begum had already made a name for herself among the people. “Ek do teen…”, Raj Kapoor’s “Awara” (1951).

But she is not only the singer of these foot-tapping and fringe songs, but also songs like ‘Mohan ki Muraliya baaje’ (‘Mela’, 1948), ‘Milte hi aankhen dil hua deewana kisi’, etc. He also provided the voices of many heroines. ka’ (‘Babul’, 1950), ‘Saiyan dil mein aana re’ (‘Bahar’, 1951) and ‘Door koi gaye dhun ye sunaye’ (‘Baiju Bawra’, 1952).

Shamshad Begum, the first female playback superstar of Hindi cinema, competed against established classically trained singers like Amerbhai Karnataki and Zohrabhai Ambarewali and singing actresses like Noor Jehan and Suraiya. I stood my ground. In fact, her then up-and-comers Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle were advised to sing in her style.

Shamshad Begum’s musical talent was recognized at the school, where the principal led the five-year-old in prayer. Although she sang at religious ceremonies and at her family’s events, her conservative family was not very keen given the prevailing norms, but her daughter Usha Ratra sang soon after her mother’s death. he told IANS.

But her father’s younger brother, who loved music, paved the way for her and took her at the age of 11 to an audition with Lahore-based composer Ghulam Haider, who was so impressed that he signed her to Gramophone Records. That’s what it means. More importantly, her uncle also persuaded her father to let her go first.

However, her father imposed two conditions, which Shamshad Begum duly respected: to remain veiled during the recording and never to be photographed, but for decades afterward, she There wasn’t even a single photo of it.

She came to prominence in 1937 when she was chosen to sing on All India Radio in Peshawar and Lahore. Legendary filmmaker Mehboob Khan was instrumental in starting her film career and convinced her family, especially her father, to allow her to migrate to Bombay and provided her family with all the facilities. offered to provide it.

Her first film, the murder mystery Kazanchi (1941), and Nargis’ debut film Takdia (1943) were huge hits. She was eagerly sought after and several composers, including Naushad, Nayyar and SD Burman, owed their rise to her willingness to sing at a time when they were trying to gain a foothold.

Shamshad Begum, who had no classical training, had no restrictions on singing with all her might, but she never neglected rhythm and diction. For example, in his famous ‘Kabhi Aar Kabhi Par’, the antara increases the tempo and slows down the shades to emphasize the song. Punch lines: “…ruta chain kalal”, “…hoson par thakral”, and finally “…ab to ho gaya pyaar”.

Then there’s “Aana meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday” (“Shehnai”, 1947), in which she lends her earthy voice to English versions of C. Ramchandra and Meena Kapoor.

She maintained her position despite the rise of Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, but her husband Ganpat Lal Bhatt, whom she married in 1934 despite her family’s opposition to interfaith marriage, died in an accident in 1955. As a result, she lost her position. To withdraw from singing.

Naushad and Nayyar have worked together on films such as ‘Holi Ai Re Kanhaay’ (‘Mother India’, 1956), ‘Reshmi Sarwar Kurta’ (‘Naya Daur’, 1957) and ‘Teri Mehfil Mein’. He succeeded in convincing her with songs such as “Kismat” (“Mughal Empire”). -e-Azam”, 1960), but then she quit for good. She only made a brief return to perform the duet song “Kajra mohabbatwala” (“Kismat”, 1968), proving that her voice had not lost her vigor.

She spent the rest of her life with her daughter and came back into the spotlight in 2004 when it was reported that her daughter had passed away.

In 2009, she was belatedly awarded the Padma Bhushan Award, and in 2016, she was featured as one of only two women, along with Geeta Dutt, on India Post’s special series of stamps featuring 10 popular singers. was selected.

(Vikas Datta can be contacted at vikas.d@ians.in)

Source: IANS