This BLOG is about the Past of Hindi Films Specially Black and White Cinema We will refresh your memories by bringing out forgotten or unseen songs and clippings of film scenes We will try to give you as much information as we gather from our research.
This Blog was started as a one-man’s passion for film history but has now become an addiction for many music lovers who are equally passionate about Hindi films
Meena Kumari (1 August 1933– 31 March 1972) who is known as Tragedy Queen of Bollywood was not only an ace actress but also a singer and a poet. She started her career as a child artist.In an interview given in 1962, Meena Kumari explained that the fact she had been supporting her parents from the age of four gave her immense satisfaction. Director Vijay Bhatt cast her in the film Leatherface and on the first day she was paid Rs. 25. She appeared in many films as a child artist In 1941 Mehboob Khan took her in his film "Bahen" as a child artist and also got her sing for the first time in the films. As a heroine, she rendered her voice to songs from films like Duniya Ek Sarai (1946), Piya Ghar Aaja (1948), Bichchade Balam (1948)and Pinjre Ke Panchhi (1966). She also sung for Pakeezah (1972), however, the song was not used in the film and was later released in the album Pakeezah-Rang Ba Rang (1977). In this blog, I am posting the songs Meena Kumari sang for herself.
She had great looks, natural expressions and a sweet soothing voice. She was the heart-throb of the nation in the 40s and early 50s. In a career spanning over 20 years, Suraiya acted in about 65 films and sang close to 350 songs. Shelived like a star all her life. She had a natural talent for singing, acting and dancing from childhood. She received basic training in music, when her mother used to take her to Hindustani music teacher or 'masterji' for training.Her first song as a child-singer was "Boot karun main polish babu" (as a playback singer) in the film Nai Duniya (1942), composed by Naushad. Suraiya sang as a child playback singer for actress Mehtab in Sharda (1942), Kanoon (1943) and Sanjog (1943).She made her debut as a child artist in Madam Fashion in 1936 as Miss Suraiya, along with Nargis as Baby Rani. The film was directed by Jaddan Bai, mother of Nargis, with Jaddan Bai herself as heroine, As a child artist, she acted and also sang in Tamanna (1942), Station Master (1942), and Hamari Baat (1943). As an adult, Suraiya initially played as a heroine in K. Asif's Phool as Shama, with Prithviraj Kapoor as hero,and as a co-star in Mehboob Khan's Anmol Ghadi (1946), (which was written by Aghajani Kashmeri, also known as Kashmiri) and Dard (1947).
She played the leading role with almost every famous star of her time and also sang with the leading playback singers like Mohammad Rafi, Talat Mehmood and Mukesh.
The most striking and much-publicised episode of Suraiya’s life was her romance with the upcoming young actor Dev Anand in the early 1950s. It was then the ‘talk of the town’, the very stuff legends are made of. She was Dev Anand’s heroine in seven films which had moderate success .
The two did seven films together — Vidya (1948), Jeet (1949), Shair (1949), Afsar(1950), Nili (1950), Do Sitare (1951) and Sanam (1951). They never met after the last meeting and did not work together any more in spite of all of their films were hit.
She chose to remain unmarried throughout her life and died a lonely woman on 31st January 2004. Here are few songs from their films starring together
There was a time when traffic jams at Marine Drive (Mumbai) were caused not due to a long line of cars, but because of a young charismatic actress - Suraiya.. During the mid-forties the two faces which dominated the film world with their music were Suraiya and Noor Jehan. Noorjehan left India after Partition so she became the Top Leading Singing Star of Bollywood.Both of them appeared together in that celebrated Mehboob’s musical Anmol Ghadi. Though overshadowed by Noor Jehan, it goes to her credit that Suraiya, even in a supporting role, was able to hold her own and make her presence felt with her evergreen melodies like “Socha tha kya, kya ho gaya” and “Man leta hai angrahi”. Suraiya with her distinct individual style, her sweet seasoned voice and direct simple diction succeeded in captivating the listeners and her popularity knew no bounds.She had 3 box-office hits in quick succession were “Pyar ki Jeet” (1948), “Badi Behan” (1949) and “Dillagi” (1949).In her heyday she was known as 'Malika-e-Husn' (queen of beauty), 'Malika-e-Tarannum' (queen of melody) and 'Malika-e-Adakaari' (queen of acting), all rolled into one. She was born on 15 June 1929.She was the only child of her parents.She received basic training in music when her mother used to take her to a Hindustani music teacher or 'Master ji' for training. She first sang for a children's program for All India Radio in 1937. Later on Naushad gave her on the job 'training', while recording. She went on to become one of the most successful singing film stars of Bollywood.
She made her debut as a child artist in Madam Fashion in 1936 as Miss Suraiya, along with Nargis as Baby Rani. The film was directed by Jaddan Bai, mother of Nargis, with Jaddan Bai herself as heroine, As a child artist, she acted and also sang in Tamanna (1942), Station Master (1942), and Hamari Baat (1943). As an adult, Suraiya initially played as a heroine in K. Asif's Phool as Shama, with Prithviraj Kapoor as hero,and as a co-star in Mehboob Khan's Anmol Ghadi (1946), (which was written by Aghajani Kashmeri, also known as Kashmiri) and Dard (1947). She acted as a heroine in the film Tadbir (1945) on the recommendation of K. L. Saigal, who liked her voice during a rehearsal of a song for Jayant Desai's film Samrat Chandragupt (1945) in which she was acting. He recommended her to Desai, opposite himself in Tadbir (1945). She went on to co-star with K. L. Saigal in Omar Khayyam (1946) and Parwana (1947 film).Suraiya appeared in scores of films, including at least 25 between 1946 and 1950, and at her peak was one of Bollywood’s highest-paid stars.She worked only a few films after 1952 and retired in 1963 at the age of 34. She played the leading role with almost every famous star of her time and also sang with the leading playback singers like Mohammad Rafi, Talat Mehmood and Mukesh
. The most striking and much-publicised episode of Suraiya’s life was her romance with the upcoming young actor Dev Anand in the early 1950s. It was then the ‘talk of the town’, the very stuff legends are made of. She was Dev Anand’s heroine in seven films which had moderate success . During the shooting of a film, a boat capsized and Dev Anand saved Suraiya from drowning. This incident was the beginning of their romance. Suraiya fell in love with him and both of them planned to get married but Suraiya’s grandmother opposed the relationship and persuaded her to turn down Dev’s marriage proposal. She chose to remain unmarried throughout her life and died a lonely woman on 31st January 2004. Suraiya's Great Songs The first recorded song of Manna De and Child Suraiya
Noor Jehan began to sing at the age of five and showed a keen interest in a range of styles, including traditional folk and popular theatre. Realising her potential for singing, her mother sent her to receive early training in classical singing under Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. He instructed her in the traditions of the Patiala Gharana of Hindustani classical music and the classical forms of thumri, dhrupad, and khayal. At the age of nine, Noor Jehan drew the attention of Punjabi musician Ghulam Ahmed Chishti, who would later introduce her to the stage in Lahore.She had a desire to act in films at that age.Theatre owner Diwan Sardari Lal took the small girl to Calcutta in early 1930s and the entire family moved to Calcutta.Here in Calcutta she got her new stage name Baby Noor Jehan.
Still from Heer-Sayyal
In 1935, K.D. Mehra directed the Punjabi movie Pind di Kuri in which Noor Jehan acted along with her sisters and sang the Punjabi song "Langh aja patan chanaan da o yaar", which became her earliest hit. She then acted in a film called Missar Ka Sitara (1936) by the same company and sang in it for music composer Damodar Sharma. Jehan also played the child role of Heer in the film Heer-Sayyal (1937). One of her popular songs from that period "Shala jawaniyan maney" is from Dalsukh Pancholi's Punjabi film Gul Bakawli (1939). All these Punjabi movies were made in Calcutta.
She returned to Lahore in 1938. In 1939, renowned music director Ghulam Haider composed songs for Jehan which led to her early popularity, and he thus became her early mentor.It was in 1942 she got a film Khandan as an adult heroine role,in this film Pran the legendary villain was her hero. The success of Khandaan saw her shifting to Bombay, with director Syed Shaukat Hussain Rizvi. She shared melodies with Shanta Apte in Duhai(1943). It was in this film that Jehan lent her voice for the second time, to another actress named Husn Bano. She married Rizvi later the same year. After taking the role of leading lady in Nadan (1943), she was presented with second lead in Naukar (1943) while Shobana Samarth (Indian film actress Nutan's mother) played the heroine opposite Chandramohan. Dost (1944), directedby Rizvi, had the extremely gifted Motilal as the leading man opposite Noor Jehan, with Rizvi (who was now her husband) playing her brother in the film. It was in this film that Noor Jehan lent her voice for the first time to another actress, Husn Bano. It was in Lal Haveli (1944) that Noor Jehan starred opposite singing star Surendra Nath for the first time (they later made the all time classic Anmol Ghadi (1946)). Lal Haveli (1944) was also notable for the fact that Meena Kumari, then a child star, acted as the young Noor Jehan.
The year 1945 was a turning point for Noor Jehan. In Master Vinayak's Badi Maa (1945) she played lead with "Baby Lata Mangeshkar" and "Baby Asha Mangeshkar" in supporting roles. The year 1945 also brought Noor Jehan her first superhit in Bombay, Zeenat (1945). It was her inimitable rendition of "Bulbulo Mat Ro Yahan" that gained her the title Malka-e-Tarranum, Queen of Melody. In 1946 Noor Jehan acted in the enduring classic Anmol Ghadi (1946).The songs like 'Awaz De Kahan Hai', 'Jawan Hai Mohabbat', 'Mere Bachpan Ke Saathi', 'Aaja Meri Barbad Mohabbat' and 'Kya Mil Gaya Bhagwan' composed by Naushad to make her the undisputed queen of films.
Noorjehan in Jugnu
The year 1947 saw the release of Jugnu.She starred with Dilip Kumar in this film that time Dilip Kumar was an upcoming star.In this film Mohammad Rafi sang his first duet with Noorjehan "Yahan Badla Wafa Ka Bewafai Ke Siva Kya Hai".This song gave popularity to Mohammad Rafi. Unfotunately the year also saw the partition of the country,Noorjehan opted to leave the country. Noor Jehan's last film in India was Mirza Sahiban (1947) which starred Prithviraj Kapoor's brother Trilok Kapoor. Many of the songs were hits like 'Aaja Tujhe Afsana Judaai Ka Sunaye' and the duet with G M Durrani 'Haath Seene Pe Jo Rakh Do To Qarar Aaye'.
Along with Kanan Devi and Noor Jehan, Suraiya was one of the most prominent female singing stars of the Golden Era of Hindi films.She had great looks, natural expressions and a sweet soothing voice. She was the heart-throb of the nation in the 40s and early 50s. In a career spanning over 20 years, Suraiya acted in about 65 films and sang close to 350 songs. Shelived like a star all her life. She did not turn to playback singing past her prime agenor she switched to character roles. Her beauty coupled with melodious voice captivated the hearts of generations of movie and music lovers. Today I pay tribute to her on her 88th Birth Anniversary. Suraiya was born Suraiya Jamaal Shaikh on 15th of June 1929 in Gujranwala in the Punjab province of the undivided India (now in Pakistan). Later her parents shifted to Bombay well before partition.She had a natural talent for singing, acting and dancing from childhood. She received basic training in music, when her mother used to take her to Hindustani music teacher or 'masterji' for training.At the age of 9 she first sang for a children's program for All India Radio,in fact it was Madan Mohan who was her childhood friend insisted her to come with him to All India Radio Bombay for this children programme.Naushad sa’ab, who heard her voice on the radio, got in touch with her to sing for Kardar sa’ab’s film, ‘Sharda’. And she sang ‘Panchi ja peeche raha hain bachpan mera’, which was picturised on Mehtab. Her first song as a child-singer was "Boot karun main polish babu" (as a playback singer) in the film Nai Duniya (1942), composed by Naushad. Suraiya sang as a child playback singer for actress Mehtab in Sharda (1942), Kanoon (1943) and Sanjog (1943), with Naushad as the music director. Mehtab was a big name those days,Initially she was hesitant to have her as her playback singer, but on hearing her, she wanted Suraiya to sing all her songs in her films. Manna Dey, recorded his first song under the baton of his uncle K C Dey a duet“Jaago jaago aayi usha, panchhi bole jaago” with Suraiya in Tamanna 1942. By the year 1945, she was establishing herself as singer and also as an actor (though in smaller roles as she was not grown enough to be the lead actress). For “Main kya karoon” (1945) she sang two duets with Hamida Bano. “Suno more raja, nazariya milaaike” for composer Neenu Majmudar from this film. In the year 1945, Suraiya acted in K Asif’s multi-starrer magnum opus film Phool (1945). It had a stellar star cast of Wasti, Veena, Prithviraj Kapoor, Yakub, Sitara, Durga Khote and Suraiya. She sang as many as four songs for legendary composer Master Ghulam Haider for this film. K L Sehgal who was on top liked her singing and agreed to sing with her,Suraiya seemed to be holding herself pretty well in this song.The song “Rani khol de apne dwar, milne ka din aa gayaa” was a sweet melodious romantic number. The film Anmol Ghadi was a major milestone in Suraiya’s career as she got to work with another mega singing star Noor Jehan in this film.The film was musical hit and still remembered for its music by Naushad.She played the second lead and had three solos to her credit.All the three songs became popular,the two songs Main dil mein and Mann leta hain angdaai are happy songs and the third song"Sochaa thaa kya, kyaa ho gayaa" was a sad song. The year 1947 was also very important for not only India but also to Suraiya. Many Muslim artists migrated to Pakistan but Suraiya continued to stay in India.This year came Dard which had the music of Naushad the film was a musical hit,All of Suraiya’s five songs from this film became very popular.Her duet “Betaab hain dil” with Uma Devi/Tuntun also became a big hit.Another song Dil dhadke aankh mori phadke became immense popular. The year 1947 saw release of as many as five of her films, a couple of them major musical hits.This year she sang six songs for a newcomer composer Naresh Bhattacharya for the film Daak Bangla. She sang four solos and two duets for this film. Her duet with Mukesh “Jab badal ghir ghir aayenge, kaho jee kit jaayenge”was liked by the music lovers.This year her film with K L Sehgal "Parwana"released,she starred with Saigal but did not have any duet with him. The film was again a musical hit.Her three solo songs “Paapi papihaa re, pee pee na bol”, “Mere mundere na bol, kaaga jaa, jaa kaaga” and “Jab tum hi nahin apne, duniya hi begaani hain” became major hits. She looked innocent and pretty with Saigal in his song “Us mast nazar pe padi.. kahin ulajh na jaana”. The year 1948 proved to be her best with Vidya (her first film with Dev Anand), Gajre (MD Anil Biswas), Kaajal (MD Ghulam Mohd), Rang Mahal (MD K Dutta), Shakti (MD Ram Prasad) releasing the same year.For the film Vidya, Suraiya sang for the first time for Sachin Dev Burman.All the five songs from this film showcase the talent and versatility of S D Burman and Suraiya.Her breezy romantic duet with Mukesh (Laai khushi ki duniyaa) and solos “Kinaare kinaare chale jaayenge” and “Jhoom rahi jhoom rahi khushiyonki naav” have become favorites of music lovers. This film brought two young hearts closer and then they went on to become romantically involved in real life. This year she also associated with another great Music director duo Husnlal-Bhagatram. She sang for the film Aaj Ki Raat and Pyaar Ki Jeet released that year for them. Pyaar Ki Jee was a musical blockbuster with superhit songs like “Tere nainon ne chori kiya” and “O door jaane waale, waada na bhool na jaana”. Their rhythmic music, Qamar Jalalabadi’s imaginative lyrics and her soulful singing captured hearts of the nation. Till date, whenever one thinks of Suraiya one remembers these songs. This team repeated their success the very next year with the film Badi Behen. Major hit of 1949 was Dillagi with handsome Shyam, once again becoming a musical blockbuster. Naushad had a junior artist (nick named Shyam) give male voice to actor Shyam with Suraiya in the superhit song “Tu mera chand mein teri chandni”. Her solo “Murli wale murli baja” also became very popular. In 1950 she starred with Raj Kapoor in Dastan (MD Naushad) and with Dev Anand in Afsar (MD S D Burman) and Nili (MD S. Mohinder).By this time Nargis , Madhubala and Meena Kumari were also successful as heroines,she had to face a tough competition with them.Though they were not singing actresses but by this time Playback singing was also on rise,Some of her films like Laal Kanwar, Moti Mahal, Goonj, Mashooka (with Mukesh), Bilwa Mangal were not accepted in box office.Her popularity was in wane.Her reign at the top was from 1947 to 1952.Her contract with A. R. Kardar ended with Deewana, after which she reduced her assignments in films. She made national news with Sohrab Modi's film Mirza Ghalib (1954), which won a national award, the President's Gold medal for the Best Feature Film. In the film, she made vivid, the role of the married Ghalib's lover. She also acted with famous singer and aspiring actor Talat Mehmood in Waaris (Raahi matwaale) and Shammi Kapoor in Shamma Parwana (Meri dildar na milaya) but none of these films received the success like her late forties films. In the subsequent years she starred in smaller budget films like Mr Lambu, Trolly Driver, etc. Her swan song is supposed to be “Yeh kaisi ajab dastaan ho gayi hai” composed by Sajjad Husain for the film Rustom Sohrab (1963). Rustom Sohrab (1963) was her last film. The song, 'Yeh kaisi ajab daastan ho gayi hai'[33] from the film, which was one of her finest songs, was also her last, as with this song Suraiya also said 'adieu' to her singing career, along with her film career. Naushad experimented withher in a few western tunes for the film Dastan. Her songs like “Aaya mere dil mein tu” and “Ta ra ri ta ra ri” (with Mohd Rafi) became very popular. She had become the highest paid actress and continued with the success in the films like Shokhiyaan (Raaton ke neend chheen lee), Sanam (Ke sska kiya matlab hai), Rajput (Raste pe hum khade hain), Do Sitare (Mujhe tumsai mohabbat hai). After her mother's death in 1987, Suraiya started feeling lonely in her rented apartment (owned by Aswin Shah) in Krishna Mahal, Marine Drive in Mumbai, where she lived from the early 1940s until her death in 2004 at the age of 74. She possessed several apartments in Worli and a house and orchard in Lonavala.
Song from Tamanna 1942. Duet with Manna Dey ,his first song
