In the 30s songs lacked a sweet voice, versatility. and The ragas were the only major constituent of Bollywood music. The actors or actresses were selected on the basis of their singing capabilities. Rajkumari was such name, she joined the Hindi cinema at age 11, as a child actor in Radhe Shyam aur Zulmi Hans (1932), thereafter she worked in theatre for few years, before returning to films, joining Prakash Pictures as actor and singer. Nayi Duniya(1934) was her first film as a singer.
She was able to also establish herself as a classical singer and excelled in singing and voice production within the framework of classical forms of thumri and dadra. Among her peers were Shamshad Begum, Zohrabai Ambalewali, Juthika Roy, Zeenat Begum, etc. She also became the first female playback singer.
Shanta Apte-
She started her acting career when she was discovered at the age of nine years by Baburao Pendharkar and then cast in the Bhalji Pendharkar-directed film Shyamsunder(1932).In 1934, she was cast as the hero's sister in Amrit Manthan, directed by V. Shantaram for Prabhat Films. Apte rendered four solo songs under the music direction of Keshavrao Bhole, including the first recorded filmi ghazal, "Kamsini Mein Dil Pe Gham Ka".( Amritmanthan 1934).936 saw Apte acting in the V. Shantaram-directed Amar Jyoti. It co-starred Durga Khote, Vasanti and Chandra Mohan. She had a very popular song in this film 'Suno Suno,Ban Ke Prani'.
She was another prominent female voice of Bollywood. In the 30s and 40s, the actors used to sing in their own voice. She joined Hindi films with Vidyapati in 1937. She worked with the biggest names in Indian cinema with K. L. Saigal, Pankaj Mullick, Pramathesh Barua, Pahari Sanyal, Chabi Biswas and Ashok Kumar.One of her super hit song 'Duniya Yeh Duniya, Hai Toofan Mail'.was her benchmark song. Shamshad Begum-
The 1940s saw playback singing gaining popularity. The 1941 film Khajanchi gave a leading female voice of the 40s. The song 'Sawan Ke Najare Hai' became super hit and the other song from Khandan(1942) 'Pee Le Pee Le More Raja' established her a playback singer. This voice was of Shamshad Begum, who had a distinctive voice and was a versatile artist, singing over 6,000 songs in Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil and Punjabi languages and of them 1287 songs were Hindi film songs.
Shamshad was at the peak of her career right from 1941 to 1955 and was the most in-demand female singer and highest-paid female playback singer from 1940–1955. She was the lead singer for many films like Taqdeer, Humayun, Shahjehan, Anokhi Ada, Aag, Mela, Patanga, Babul, Bahar, Jadoo, Aan and more.
Noorjehan-
With Khandan(1942), emerged a sensational female voice of Noorjehan. She played the main lead opposite Pran in this film. The success of Khandaan saw her shifting to Bombay from Pakistan. 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. From 1945 to 1947 and her subsequent move to Pakistan, Noor Jehan was one of the biggest singing actresses of the Indian Film Industry. She was the topmost female singer up to 1947, her important films include Badi Maa (1945), Zeenat (1945 film), Gaon Ki Gori (1945), Anmol Ghadi (1946), and Jugnu (1947 film). She inspired a generation of singers including Lata Mangeshkar
Zohrabai Ambalewali-
She was another female voice of 40s, though she made her debut as a playback singer with film Daku Ki Ladki (1933) with music by Pransukh Nayak but her musical success came with film Rattan (1944) under music director Naushad Ali, and such hit songs as "Aai Diwali Aai Diwali" and "Akhiyan Mila Ke, Jiya Bharma Ke". She sang for music director Naushad, again in hit films like Anmol Ghadi (1946), Mela (1948), and Jadoo (1951).[4] She also sang a qawwali with Noor Jehan and Kalyani "Aahen Na Bhareen Shikway Na Kiye" in Zeenat (1945), which was the first-ever Qawwali recorded in female voices in South Asian films and became very popular among the public.
Khurshid
She was another singer-actress. Some of her films in the 1940s were Musafir (1940), Holi (1940) ("Bhigoi Moree Saree Ray"), Shadi (1941) ("Hari ke Goon Prabhu ke Goon gavun mein" and "Ghir Ghir Aaye Baderia"), Pardesi (1941) ("Pahley Jo Mohabbat Sey Inkaar Kia Hota" and "Mori Ateria Hai Sooni"). In Bhakta Surdas (1942), "Panchee Bawra", whose composer was Gyan Dutt became a very famous song of the 1940s. The other popular songs from the same film are "Madhur Madhur Ga Ray Manwa", "Jholee Bhar Taray Laday Ray', and a duet "Chandni Raat Aur Taray Khilay Haun" with K. L. Saigal. She achieved immense popularity when she acted opposite the famous singer-actor K. L. Saigal in the Chaturbhuj Doshi directed, Bhukt Surdas (1942), followed by Tansen (1943) and was referred to as the "first of the singing stars". She migrated to Pakistan after partition. She migrated, in 1948, Her last film in India was Papeeha Re (1948), which was a great hit.
Suraiya-
She was one of the greatest actresses of the Hindi Cinema and a leading lady in Hindi language films in the 1940s and 1950s. She was also a renowned playback singer, who mostly sang for herself, starting from a song in Nai Duniya (1942) when she was only 12 years old. This song was composed by Naushad. Impressed by her singing, the top heroine of that time Mehtab decided to keep Suraiya as playback for her. Suraiya debuted with Manna Dey in his first Hindi film song, and their only duet 'Jago ayee usha' in Tamanna in 1942. The song "Bistar Bicha Liya Hai Tere Dar Ke Samne Ghar Hum Ne Le Liya hai Tere Ghar ke Samne", which Suraiya sang in duet with Arun Kumar for the film Hamari Baat (1943) was a major success A few years later, the singer-actor, K.L. Saigal was so impressed by the singing of the 16-year-old Suraiya, that he agreed to have her opposite him in the film Tadbir as a heroine and a singer in 1945. In this film she sang a duet with Saigal "Rani khol de dawar milne ka din aa gaya" is a memorable song from the film, she sang it with Saigal. Saigal again opted for Suraiya as his heroine and a singer in the films Omar Khayyam (1946) (with music director Lal Mohammad) and Parwana (1947) (with music director Khurshid Anwar). Parwana was Saigal's last film and was released after his death.
In 1946, she appeared with actress Noor Jehan in Anmol Ghadi as a co-star, with Naushad as the music director. She sang three songs in the film which became popular, of which 'Man leta hai angdai' went viral throughout the country. The musical film Dillagi (1949), under Kardar's direction, with Naushad's music, became a silver jubilee hit, with Suraiya becoming a national rage with her songs and acting.[30] In a span of 22 years, she gave a number of hits. She sang about 51 songs for Naushad. In a career spanning from 1936 to 1963, Suraiya acted in 67 films and sang 338 songs.
Juthika Roy,
She had sung more than 200 Hindi songs and more than 100 Bengali film. She was the Lata Mangeshkar of devotional songs of Hindi films and became very famous during her time as Gandhi and Nehru both were known to be great fans of her melodious voice.
Zeenat Begum-
Her first success as a playback singer came in 1942 when she sang for Govind Ram's Punjabi film Mangti (1942). Her first Hindi film was Nishani (1942). She sang for other notable films including Panchhi (1944), Shalimar (1946), Shehar se Door (1946) and Daasi (1944). She sang for several music directors in Bombay, including younger brothers of Pandit Amar Nath – Pandit Husnlal Bhagatram, Master Ghulam Haider, Pandit Gobind Ram etc.. She migrated to Pakistan after the partition.
Lata Mangeshkar-
One of the most significant changes in the late forties was in female vocal voice was the acceptance of thin voices with the emergence of Lata Mangeshkar. She made her debut in Hindi films from Aap Ki Seva Mein (1946) but got fame in 1949 with the release of Mahal and Barsaat.In the 1950s, Lata sang songs composed by various music directors of the period, including Anil Biswas (in films such as Tarana (1951) and Heer (1956)), Shankar Jaikishan, Naushad Ali, S. D. Burman, Amarnath, Husanlal, and Bhagatram, C. Ramchandra, Hemant Kumar, Salil Chowdhury, Datta Naik, Khayyam, Ravi, Sajjad Hussain, Roshan, Kalyanji-Anandji, Vasant Desai, Sudhir Phadke, Hansraj Behl, Madan Mohan, and Usha Khanna.
From the 1940s to the 1970s, Mangeshkar sang duets with Asha Bhosle, Suraiya, Shamshad Begum, Usha Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Hemant Kumar, and Mahendra Kapoor. In 1964, she sang "Chanda Se Hoga" with P. B. Sreenivas from Main Bhi Ladki Hoon.
In the 80s, she continued to sing with Shabbir Kumar, Shailendra Singh, Nitin Mukesh (Mukesh's son), Manhar Udhas, Amit Kumar (Kishore Kumar's son), Mohammed Aziz, Vinod Rathod, and S.P. Balasubrahmanyam
In the 1990s, Mangeshkar began singing duets with Pankaj Udhas, Mohammed Aziz, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Udit Narayan, Kumar Sanu, and Suresh Wadkar. Her most notable work of the 90s was Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge with songs such as "Mere Khwabon Mein Jo Aaye", "Ho Gaya Hai Tujhko To Pyaar Sajna", "Tujhe Dekha To Yeh Jana Sanam", and "Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna".
In the 2000s, Mangeshkar's duets were mainly with Udit Narayan and Sonu Nigam. 2005-06 were the years of her last well-known songs: "Kaise Piya Se" from Bewafa and "Shayad Yehi To Pyaar Hai" from Lucky: No Time for Love, with Adnan Sami and "Lukka Chhupi" in Rang De Basanti (2006 film) with A. R. Rahman. She sang "Ek Tu Hi Bharosa" from Pukar. Other notable songs of this decade were from Veer-Zaara, sung with Udit Narayan, Sonu Nigam, Jagjit Singh, Roop Kumar Rathod, and Gurdas Mann.
Geeta Dutt-
She got her first break with an opportunity to sing in the mythological film Bhakta Prahlad (1946). She was given two lines to sing for two songs. She was sixteen at that time. She became famous with the song 'Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya" (Do Bhai – 1947 ). Initially, she was known as Geeta Roy, later after marrying Guru Dutt she became Geeta Dutt.
Asha Bhonsle-
She made her Hindi film debut when she sang the song "Saawan Aaya" for Hansraj Behl's Chunariya (1948). Her first solo Hindi film song was for the movie Raat Ki Raani (1949). In the 50s she was singing in B grade or C grade films with lesser-known composers, most of these songs failed to do well. In 1952, she got reasonable recognition from the film Sangdil. Bimal Roy gave her a chance to sing in Parineeta (1953). Raj Kapoor signed her to sing "Nanhe Munne Bachche" with Mohammed Rafi in Boot Polish (1954), which gained popularity.
O. P. Nayyar gave Asha a break in C.I.D. (1956) and gave her a chance to sing for the heroine in Naya Daur(1957).It was the first time she sang all the songs for a film's leading actress. In 1957, S D Burman had some misunderstanding with Lata which lasted for 5 years, so S D Burman gave Asha chance to sing under his direction.During this period, S D Burman used Asha as his lead female voice. She and Burman gave many hit songs in movies such as Kaala Pani, Kaala Bazaar, Insaan Jaag Utha, Lajwanti, Sujata, and Bandini.
Suman Kalyanpur -
Her singing career started in 1954. Her first film was Mangu, Immediately after the film ‘'Mangu’', Suman sang 5 songs under the baton of composer Naushad for the film Darwaza (1954), In this film, she sang a duet with Talat Mahmood. She was a very popular singer in the 1960s and 1970s. She recorded songs for movies in several languages besides Hindi. Her voice was often mistaken to be that of Lata Mangeshkar
She is considered among the popular singers of her prime time and the golden era of Hindi film music, along with Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh, Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle, Hemant Kumar, Talat Mahmood, Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey, Mahendra Kapoor and Shamshad Begum. Some of her popular songs are "Na Na Karte Pyar" (Jab Jab Phool Khile), "Na Tum Hamen Jano" (Baat Ek Raat Ki), "Mere Mehboob Na Ja" (Noor Mahal), Dil ek mandir hai" (Dil ek mandir), and "Aajkal Tere Mere Pyaar Ke Charche" from Brahmachari,
Sharda-
She got her first big break in Bollywood with the song "Titli Udi" in Suraj (1966). She was promoted by Shankar of the Shankar Jaikishan duo. In a short span, Sharda won two Filmfare awards, when the Mangeshkar Sisters were dominating. Thereafter she continued singing for Shankar in nearly all of his films until his death. Her voice was last heard in Kaanch Ki Deewar (1986). Some of her popular songs are "Titli udi" and "Dekho mera dil machal gaya" (Suraj), Baat Zara Hai Aapas Ki" (Jahan Pyar Miley, 1970), "Jaan e Chaman Shola badan" (Gumnaam) – with Mohd Rafi, "Leja Leja Leja mera dil" (An Evening in Paris), Woh Pari kahan se laun" (Pehchan) – with Mukesh and "Jab bhi yeh dil udaas hota hai" (Seema) – with Mohd Rafi
Vani Jairam -
She is best known as a playback singer in South Indian cinema. Vani's career started in 1971 and has spanned over four decades. She has done playback for over a thousand Indian movies recording over 20,000 songs. She made her debut in Bollywood with the film Guddi (1971). The song "Bole Re Papihara", became a talk-of-the-town song and gave her instant recognition. Her other song Humko Mann Ki Shakti Dena became a school prayer since the release of the song in 1971 and continues to be even now. She went on to sing a few selected songs with many composers, 'More Saajan Souten Ghar' from Pakeezah (1972) and Dulhan Badi Jadugarni, a duet with Asha Bhosle in Aaina (1977)), , Madan Mohan composition Pyar Kabhi Kam Na Karna Sanam, a duet with Kishore Kumar in the film Ek Mutthi Aasmaan (1973)). The song "Mere To Giridhar Gopal" in Meera (1979), composed by Pandit Ravi Shankar, won her first Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer.
Hemlata-
She is best known for her songs in the late 1970s. Her first released song was "Dus Paise Mein Raam Le Lo" from the movie Ek Phool Ek Bhool (1968). Ravindra Jain used her voice for his debut movie "Kanch Aur Heera (1972)" then for "Rakh Aur Chingari (1974)", "Geet Gata Chal (1975)", "Salaakhen (1975)" and for "Tapasya (1975)", which not have blazed the charts. However, Hemlata gained recognition when Ravindra Jain gave her a break for movie Fakira (1976) for song "Sun Ke Teri Pukar". She was nominated for Filmfare Best Female Playback Award five times in the period of 1977–81 and won once for Chitchor in 1977 for her classical rendition of "Tu Jo Mere Sur Mein" which was duet with K.J. Yesudas,
Sushma Shrestha-
She started her career as a child singer in Ramesh Sippy's Andaz (1971) under legendary music director duo Shankar Jaikishan for the hit song "Hai Na Bolo Bolo" alongside Mohammed Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur. R.D. Burman gave her popular numbers, "Tera Mujhse Hai Pehle" from Aa Gale Lag Jaa (1973) and "Kya Hua Tera Vada" from Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977); both earned her nominations for the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award becoming the youngest nominee in the category at the age of 11.She made a comeback as an adult singer as Poornima when music director duo Anand-Milind collaborated with her for the superhit song "Tu Tu Tu Tu Tu Tara" in Bol Radha Bol (1992). Her few popular numbers are "Channe Ke Khet Main" from Anjaam, "Batti Na Bujha" from Gopi Kishan(both 1994), "Shaam Hain Dhuan Dhuan" from Diljale (1996), "Mr Lova Lova" from Ishq (1999) and in a series of David Dhawan films like such as Coolie No. 1 (1995), Judwaa (1997), Hero No. 1 (1997) and Biwi No.1 (1999) amongst others.
Usha Uthup-
She started her Bollywood career with Ivory-Merchant's Bombay Talkies (1970) in which she sang an English number under Shanker-Jaikishan and then Hare Rama Hare Krishna. She sang several songs in the 1970s and 1980s for music directors R. D. Burman and Bappi Lahiri. Some of her hit songs are "Ek Do Cha Cha Cha" Shalimar(1978),"Hari Om Hari" from Pyara Dushman(1980), "Doston Se Pyar Kiya" from Shaan (1980), "Ramba Ho" from Armaan(1981),"Koi Yahan Aha Nache Nache" from Disco Dancer (1982), and "Darling", "Doosri Darling" from 7 Khoon Maaf 2011
Alka Yagnik- .
Her first song was for the film Payal Ki Jhankaar in (1980). This was followed by Laawaris (1981) with the song "Mere Angane Mein", followed by the film Hamari Bahu Alka (1982). She got her big break with the song "Ek Do Teen" from the film Tezaab (1988). The song won her the first out of seven Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer. She became the top singer after the release of Qyamat Se Qyamat Tak in 1988. She is one of the prolific female playback singers who has sung the maximum number of female solos in her Bollywood career.
Kavita Krishnamurthy -
She recorded her first song under Vilayat Khan's composition in Kadambari (1976). The song was entitled 'Aayega Aanewala' (a remake of Mahal's (1949) Laxmikant gave her an opportunity to work as a dubbing artist. In 1985, her career took off with her first major hit, "Tumse Milkar Na Jaane Kyon" from the Hindi film Pyaar Jhukta Nahin (1985) "Hawa Hawaii" and "Karte Hain Hum Pyaar Mr India Se", two popular songs from the equally popular movie Mr. India (1986)e, proved to be a turning point in her career. Her performance as a singer in the film 1942: A Love Story, composed by R.D. Burman, won her much popular acclaim. Later the songs from Yaraana, Agni Sakshi, Bhairavi, and Khamoshi, established herself as one of the leading female playback singers alongside Alka Yagnik.
Sunidhi Chauhan-
She made her career debut at the age of 12, with the film Shastra (1996). During the year, she won the first singing reality show titled Meri Awaz Suno and rose to prominence after recording "Ruki Ruki Si Zindagi" from Mast (1999). It won her Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent and was nominated for the Best Female Playback Singer.
Her second breakthrough was in 2000, with the song "Mehboob Mere" from Fiza, for which she received another Filmfare nomination. She received her third Filmfare nomination with the song "Dhoom Machale" from Dhoom (2004) followed by two more nominations during the next year for "Kaisi Paheli" and "Deedar De" from Parineeta and Dus (2005). In 2006, she was bestowed with her first Filmfare award for her rendition of the song "Beedi Jala Le" from Omkara Some of her hit songs are "Kaisi Paheli" – Parineeta (2005), "Aaja Nachle" – Aaja Nachle (2007), "Dance Pe Chance" – Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008), "Sheila Ki Jawani" – Tees Maar Khan (2010), and "Kamli" – Dhoom 3 (2013)
Shreya Ghoshal-
She made her Bollywood playback singing debut with Bhansali's romantic drama Devdas (2002) for which she received a National Film Award, a Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer and a Filmfare RD Burman Award for New Music Talent. She was sixteen when she recorded the first song for the film, "Bairi Piya" with Udit Narayan. Ghoshal was bestowed with her second National Film Award for her rendition of "Dheere phone" in Paheli
With the film Parineeta, she made her first collaboration with Shantanu Moitra. She performed four tracks from the film alongside Sonu Nigam, which includes "Piyu Bole", "Kasto Mazza" and "Soona Man Ka Aangan" Along with "Piyu Bole", Ghoshal received another Filmfare nomination for her rendition of the song "Agar Tum Mil Jao" from Zeher.
2006 marks Ghoshal's first collaboration with Ravindra Jain in film Vivah, where she performed three duets with Narayan titled "Mujhe Haq Hai", "Do Anjaane Ajnabi" and "Milan Abhi Aadha Adhura Hai" Some of her popular songs are "Barso Re" for Mani Ratnam's Guru, "Yeh Ishq Haaye" from Jab We Met, "Mere Dholna" for Bhool Bhulaiyaa (2007), "Main Agar Kahoon" and the dance song "Dhoom Taana" from film Om Shanti Om, "Teri Ore" from Singh Is King, "Teri Meri" in film Bodyguard with Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, "Ooh La La" from film The Dirty Picture, and "Chikni Chameli" from film Agneepath.
Neha Kakkar -
She made her Bollywood debut as a chorus singer in the film Meerabai Not Out. She rose to prominence upon the release of the dance track "Second Hand Jawani" from Cocktail which was followed by several other popular party songs including "Sunny Sunny" from Yaariyan and "London Thumakda" from Queen.
She proved her versatility in musical range with the release of "Mile Ho Tum" from Fever Some of her other popular songs are "Aao Raja" from Gabbar Is Back, "Tu Isaq Mera" from Hate Story 3, "Humne Pee Rakhi Hai" from Sanam Re and "Kar Gayi Chull" from Kapoor & Sons. In December 2020, she appeared in the list of Asia's 100 Digital Stars by Forbes
