Remembering TALAT MAHMOOD-The King of Ghazal on his 19th Death Anniversary

TALAT MAHMOOD WILL ALWAYS BE REMEMBERED AS ONE OF THE GREATEST SINGING STARS OF ALL TIMES.The mellowness, sweetness and pathos in his voice set him apart from all the other singers. Here was a voice that was fresh !  The style absolutely new !!  He was unanimously hailed as "The King Of Ghazals", a title  he consolidated over the period of years to become the greatest name in ghazals.
He was very handsome so he was offered the hero roles by many producersThe producer -director of the film  'Dil-e-Nadaan', A.R. Kardar, launched an 'All India Beauty Contest' to hunt for a beautiful girl who would play the heroine opposite the young and immensely talented superstar Talat Mahmood.Latter he worked in 13 films with top heroines of that time like Nutan, Mala Sinha, Suraiya, Shyama, Nadira and others.The first film he did as hero was Rajlakshmi in 1945 opposite Kananbala.In 1951 he did Araam with Dev Anand and Madhubala.The last time he apeared in Sone Ki Chidiya opposite Nutan in 1958.
His reputation as a ghazal singer was not limited to his hometown of Lucknow, but it reached the city that proved to shape his destiny – Calcutta. In 1944 came the hit Tasveer teri dil mera behela nah sake gi. Its popularity was so phenomenal and unrivaled that even today it remains one of the top selling non-film discs.
In 1949 Talat moved to Bombay, to sing for the Hindi film industry. His name and fame had already preceded him and soon he was flooded with offers. His big break came with the song Ae dil mujhe aisi jagha le chal jahan koi na ho composed by music director Anil Biswas for the soundtrack of the movie Arzoo.
In the 50s Talat Mahmood with Muhammad Rafi and Mukesh.were the leading Male Singers,all three of them gave many immortal songs in that Golden Era of Hindi film music.Talat exerted a profound influence upon the ghazal singing of his time with his immensely melodious voice and artistic craftsmanship, particularly suitable for typically semi-classical ghazal singing.

Here I am posting some of my favorite songs.

Aye Dil Mujhe Aisi Jaga Le Chal - Aarzoo (1949)

Milte Hi Aankhen Dil Hua Deewana - Baabul (1950)

Main dil hoon ek armaan bhara – Anhonee (1952)

Aye mere dil kahin aur chal – Daag (1952)

Sham-E-Gham ki qassam – Foothpath (1953)

Jayen to jayen kahan – Taxi Driver (1954)

Dil-E-Nadaan tujhe hua kya hai – Mirza Ghalib

Tasveer banata hoon – Baradari (1955)

ye nai nai preet hai from Pocket Maar 1956

Humse aaya na gaya – Dekh Kabira Roya (1957)

Pyar par bas to nahin hai from SONE KI CHIDIYA 1958

Jalte hain jiske liye – Sujata (1959)

Aha rim jhim ke ye pyare pyare geet liye – Usne kaha tha 1960

 Itna na mujhse tu pyar badha – Chhaya 1961

Sab Kuch Loota Ke Hosh Mein Aaye