Back to Legends – Lata Mangeshkar

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Lata Mangeshkar with Rekha, Usha Mangeshkar and others on her Birthday party on 9th October 2010

How do you define the journey?
I feel God has sent me to earth to sing. I started singing when I was five, but I don’t think I’ve worked as hard as many other people.

Why do you say that?
After 1947 when I started playback singing, the work never stopped. Before that it wasn’t easy. I used to travel by train from Grant Road to Malad and then save money by walking instead of taking a tonga to the recording studios. I thereby saved 50 paise to Re 1 which I used to buy vegetables for my family. I was the sole bread-earner after our father passed away.

That must have been really tough on an adolescent girl.
I missed out on my childhood. I had to work hard, but I was immediately given a place in playback. One of the earliest composers to support me was Master Ghulam Haider. When he was told that my voice wouldn’t suit the heroine in a Dilip Kumar saab starrer Shaheed, he gave me songs in Majboor. Then other composers like Anil Biswasji, Khemchand Prakashji and Naushad saab came forward to sign me. From 1947 onwards there was no looking back.

There has never been a rough patch in your 65-year-long career?
I’m blessed. Nowadays I’ve almost stopped singing film songs but I enjoy singing and I continue to do the work I’m comfortable with like the recent Hamuman Chalisa and my forthcoming project with my brother. When I look back I see nothing I’d like to change.

What about your infamous rift with Mohd Rafi?
I’ll tell you what happened. We had a Musicians’ Association in the 1960s . Mukesh bhaiyya, Talaj Mehmood saab had started a campaign for artistes to get royalty so that they would have a comfortable old age. Main to leti thi royalty but I also wanted other artistes to get it. Rafi saab was instigated into opposing my campaign. In a meeting among musicians he said, ‘We get money for what we sing from producers and that’s the end of what we get.’ When he was asked his opinion Rafi saab turned to Mukesh bhaiyya and said, ‘I guess this Maharani here will say whatever has to be said.’

He meant you?
Yes. I said, ‘Of course I am a Maharani. But why are you calling me that?’ He said in front of everyone at the meeting that he won’t sing with me. I turned around and said, ‘Yeh kasht aap kyon kar rahe hain? Main hi nahin gaaongi aapke saath.’ I stormed out of the meeting and called up every music director to inform them that I would thereafter not sing with Rafi saab. We didn’t sing together for almost three years.

What about the alleged differences between you and your sister Asha Bhosle?
We’re sisters. The fights were because of her husband who was against me.

Composers gave all the heroines’ songs to you and all the supporting actresses’ songs to Ashaji …
Not always. What about so many films where only Asha sang all the songs? In fact OP Nayyarji worked only with her. Even some of Burman dada’s scores had only Asha’s vocals.

That’s because you and SD Burman had a fight.
I didn’t sing for him for sometime. Someone had caused mischief. Burman dada said, “I won’t have Lata sing my songs.’ I said, ‘I won’t sing for you.’ Asha sang all the songs for Burman dada during that period, even for Waheeda Rehman who insisted on me singing for her. Then one day out of the blue, Burman dada phoned me and said he wanted me to sing Mora gora rang lai le and Jogi jab se aaya tu aaya mere dware in Bandini. It was his son RD who brought us together. I remember Burman dada specifically told me that Mora gora rang was written by a promising new poet, Gulzar.

Who was your favourite composer?
I liked singing for Salilda (Salil Chowdhury) because his compositions were very challenging. I also loved singing for Sajjad Husain saab, then definitely SD Burman dada and RD. But in my opinion the biggest achievement was by Shankar-Jaikishan. With Raj Kapoor’s Barsaat they changed the way we looked at playback singing.

At one time you were accused of indulging in a melodious monopoly?
Once I was even asked if I tampered with the equipment during other singers’ recordings. Bataiye main kyon aisa karun? I never bothered with what other singers were doing. When Runa Laila came to India for the first time, I went to her first recording and everybody said I was just indulging in dikhawa, that in fact I had gone to see how she sang. Runa Laila met me with lots of affection. Later she too was poisoned against me. Even some male singers accused me of trying to stop them from singing.

Which heroines did you enjoy singing for?
Nargis, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, Nutan. I’d modulate my voice according to their personality.

Among today’s actresses for whom do you enjoy singing for?
I like Rani Mukerji and Kajol but I miss the camaraderie that I shared with the earlier heroines. I really miss Kishore Kumar, also Rafi saab, Mukesh bhaiyya, Shankar-Jaikishan and Madan bhaiyya who fought with me when I couldn’t be with him for raksha bandhan. That sense of apnapan is gone.

Any unfulfilled dreams?
I wish I had given more time to learning classical singing. Lekin jo hua woh bahut hi achcha hua. What I want is that future generations of Mangeshkars keep my father’s legacy alive. My niece Radha and nephew Baijanth are singing well. I wish they make a name for themselves.

Do you miss having your own children
Not at all. My siblings’ children are mine.

(This interview was conducted in 2009)

Mina Hasan

The resemblance to her late mother, Madam Noor Jehan, is striking just as Mina’s witty conversation reflects the singer’s style. As she talks about her mother her sense of loss is obvious, her face clouds over, her eyes become misty and voice choked with emotion even after 10 years of Madam having passed away.

But she quickly composes herself.

There is an inborn elegance and regality in the way Mina Hasan talks. It is also obvious that she led a pampered life. She is also a designer par excellence.

Being the daughter of Noor Jehan and wife of the Hockey legend Hasan Sardar, one would think that she has lived in their shadows all her life.

“Being part of her has given me so much confidence and has opened doors for me in the clothing business. When my partner in India introduces me as Noor Jehan’s daughter, doors start opening everywhere. In India Javaid Akhtar and Kiron Kher take very good care of me because of this privilege, just as the army circle here does because of my mother’s patriotic contribution during the ’65 and ’71 wars. My husband Hasan, who has a name for himself, takes a backseat when people find out who my mother is.”

Life with her mother was heaven. “An amazing parent,” she would cook for them, take them on vacations. She was always a mother first and Mallika-i-Tarannum later, with a huge sense of humour, and loved them fiercely.

Reminiscing ruefully, Mina says Noor Jehan was extremely intelligent and had an intimidating personality. She loved art and the fine things in life and instilled this in her children along with oodles of confidence. Ghalib being her favourite poet, she would quote him often and wrote poetry herself.

“She refined us.” She also knew what to say at the right moment. “When the former Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi visited Pakistan, he asked my mother to sing at a dinner. She readily agreed saying that as he was a guest she could not decline as she did his mother, Indira Gandhi, in India when she was their guest.”

Mina’s relationships with her extended family is inspiring. “My mother went through tough times during her career and acquired a big view of life in the process. All her daughters are headstrong because she pampered and smothered them with love.”

Her step-sister Zille Huma and brothers from Shaukat Husain Rizvi were very close to each other just as their children are. Both her brothers have died. “My father, Eijaz, remarried and we are close to my stepmother and three step-sisters. We all get on well and can’t think otherwise.”

Mina Hasan began designing for herself, family and friends as a pastime. “I’ve seen so much glitz and glamour in my life that it seems I have inherited it. I got into couture after my mother passed away. I had nothing to do when she died as my focus in life was just to take care of her during her illness. There was so much emptiness around me when she was gone that I would continuously cry. Distressed at my condition, it was my father who suggested I get into designing clothes commercially.”

With a diploma from London, children all grown up, Mina started making clothes for select clients and gradually expanded the business. “It can be tedious, the minute work, but even then I love it.” Her husband Hasan Sardar has been very helpful and has supported her throughout. She now supplies clothes to a few outlets. “I have opened a shop now, so let’s see how it all works out.”

The glamour through her mother and Hasan, the money and recognition through her work, have come in a package. “I strongly believe women should be independent and be able to make a living for themselves, that is why my daughter and nieces are all educated and working.”

Having always been into bridals and party wear, one year back she stepped into prêt and started sending her clothes abroad. “I design differently according to the taste of the country. India is into heavy stuff and bright colours and in America it’s semi-formal dark colours, black, peacock, etc.”

She admits her clothes are on the expensive side but women in Dubai, Delhi and Karachi, she says, know how to dress and go for quality. “Globally, people are becoming more aware of fashion and we, too, have fantastic designers here in the country.”

She went into prêt because it is casual and chic and in demand 12 months round, needing new designs constantly, whereas bridals are limited to seasons. “Designing is actually your imagination and creativeness and good cloth at work, it just comes out when you combine them. The degree helps but you have to have the talent in you. Like actor Mohammad Ali used to say when he would hear my mother sing, that you have to have a voice to sing.”

Noor Jehan loved to wear flashy clothes and dazzling jewellery and had a dress sense which her daughters were exposed to from a young age. “She was immaculately dressed all the time with her hair done up in an elaborate bouffant with a big flower. How you carry yourself is important, you might be wearing very expensive clothes but you look bad if you don’t have proper grooming. She was good at everything. I idolise her and have inherited the dress sense from her and decided to go for a diploma in clothes designing abroad because of the way she looked.”

Mina’s design orientation is Karachi-based, and she makes modern eastern clothes. Her environment was the Murree convent whereas her mother was Lahore-based and had to be glitzy due to her showbiz environment. “But then she could carry her jewellery and saris.”

Plans to present her clothes on the ramp are under way. She will do both prêt and bridal in a fashion show early next year, and is waiting for the right place and the right time.

Auctioning of personal items of famous stars is a known concept abroad. Noor Jehan being a legend, many people would be interested in owning her beautiful clothes. Such a thought has not crossed her children’s mind. “The concept of auction is unknown here. We haven’t thought about it and have distributed her clothes among ourselves. I would have auctioned her clothes for a good cause here if it was demanded.”

Having inherited the genes for singing from her mother, Mina loves to sing for her friends but has never gone public as Noor Jehan never encouraged her children to sing. She had an ustad for six months only. “Singing is more like a therapy for me as I get immense pleasure from it and my husband loves to hear me sing, but I will never perform on the stage.”

Having quite a few qualities herself does her daughter idolise her the way she idolised Noor Jehan? “I would hope so,” Mina says. The mother and daughter bond is quite strong and Alisha, her daughter, trusts her completely in everything. She left a job after getting straight As in America, coming back to Pakistan at her mother’s request, not questioning her once. “We have never been strict with our children but we have given them guidelines as well as their space, just as our parents did with us.” – Khursheed Hyder

Tina Sani

Talking into Tina Sani’s beautifully decorated residence, her musical instruments which are propped up in one corner, give an indication that one is in a singer’s home rather than an interior designer’s. Halfway through the interview, she turns out to be the typical caring and attentive mother, cleaning up after her feverish son who has been throwing up. One and also discover that she has none of the nonsensical airs that you would expect of a highly sought-after artist.

Tina Sani entered the professional world of singing in 1980, when producer Ishrat Ansari introduced her on TV in a youth programme hosted by Alamgir.

“It was the first programme of its kind, with live recording. I had taken up singing only six months prior to that, more for kicks than anything else, and my appearing on television was a culmination of that short period of practice. Considering that I had never been in the public eye, it was a luxury to have such a captive audience before me. I got a huge bounce from this programme, which marked the beginning of an unknown journey for me.”

However, while Tina began to make appearances on television, she also made sure that they were not too frequent in number. She confesses, “I knew I had to work hard and didn’t want to burn myself out right at the beginning of my career. I had to go through a process of learning and wanted to mature as a singer before allowing people to make up their minds about me. So I pretty much kept to myself and performed for just a few good producers.” Meanwhile, Tina Sani kept herself occupied with a number of other things including teaching at the American School. Then came an offer that was just up her sleeve — she was asked to do Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s ghazal, Aai meray dil meray musafir.

“That opened avenues for me. I received a lot of support from my listeners, family and everyone around me, but the pressure was to do good work rather than a lot of it. My father always wanted me to go into classical singing and once I understood its methodology I began to enjoy it too.”

For Sani, as with most singers, the ultimate pleasure is to perform live. But she concedes that in the initial years she used to be very apprehensive about performing publicly.

“Maybe because of the lack of experience, confidence and practice. I could never dream of sitting on the same platform as Farida Khanum or Mehdi Hassan and sing alongside them.”

In fact, even to this date she takes her music very seriously and says, “You can’t play around with an audience that has been used to hearing Farida Khanum, simply because you’ve now become a known name and your tickets sell.”

Sani is one of those rare breed of people readily accepting that she has been blessed. She is also willing to accept all the “good and bad things” in life and puts it down to experience. “I strongly believe that no one can force you to do anything against your wishes and in the final analysis, I feel you are the better judge of making and then learning from your mistakes.”

Over the years Tina Sani has maintained a relatively low profile. She claims that her family life and the need to be ‘isolated’ keep her from taking too many programmes.

“If I ever have to do three concerts in a month, which I have occasionally done, I feel the verve disappears. I need time to myself, to think in isolation and to do my ‘riaz’.” She likes to appear before an audience only when she has something special to offer. Her repertoire is always prepared well in advance and is never haphazard.

“I know exactly what I am going to sing at the concert, other than entertaining requests, and I never underestimate the audience. The best part is that my audience includes a lot of young people nowadays. My message to them is that if I can understand this kind of music, so can they. I grew up, away from Pakistan and had little practice in spoken Urdu and no formal training in music, but I made up my mind to do what I wanted to do 20 years ago. And that is exactly what I am doing right now. I feel it is my duty to bring to them works of people like Mukhtar Begum.”

Tina Sani has acquired almost a philosophical angle to her personality. She feels that what satisfies her the most about her current situation is the fact that with every ‘riaz’ her knowledge is constantly growing and she is learning more about herself. “I make it a point to take out time for ‘riaz’ — in fact I am very strict with myself about practice because I know I can’t get anywhere without it. You can be born with talent but that’s where it ends. Practice teaches you about life at a micro level. It’s like growing a seed — you have to germinate it in your mind before you can see results. I sit and listen to music of the maestros in an ‘alpha state’, which is when I am listening not with an intent to learn, but for the sheer pleasure of it. I know I’ll never get there myself, but it all plays back to me when I perform — not the techniques of what the great artists did, but how they did it.”

According to Sani, she gives her musicians full leverage to play as they please. “We work within a scale, and once the scale is determined, it is easy to do things in it and still remain within the scale. I tell them to just follow the raaga of the scale and communicate whatever they want to on their instrument. My problem has never been a desire to hog all the limelight. My only hang-up is that I cannot endure singing where Urdu is not understood. At least a basic knowledge should be there, for I love to communicate with my audience.”

The singer feels that ‘fusion’ is a loosely used term, which needs to be redefined. She opines that mixing of instruments, eastern with the western, is not fusion. Rather fusion is about working with completely different cultures — it is more about the players than the instruments they are using. She recalls an interesting experience some years ago in Greenwich Village, New York.

“There was a Spaniard singing a ballad which had been used by Raj Kapoor in one of his movies and I spontaneously started singing it in Urdu. He came up to me and started playing the chords for me and then I sang Meray Hamdam, Meray Dost and just by hearing the melody, he played it for me. Before we knew it, we had gathered an audience that was applauding us madly. That was true fusion.”

Other than music, Sani’s passion is reading. She claims to read four books at a time and finds that reading opens one’s mind. On the other hand, television bores her and she watches very few “great” movies. An eternal optimist, she feels that our people should have a more positive attitude towards things, for enough good things are happening in the country.

“We should stop this self-bashing. Criticism is healthy, but cynicism is detrimental and infectious. You have to have dreams — otherwise you simply stop dreaming.”

True, and one can’t help but feel that Tina Sani’s optimism is just as infectious.

Note:- This interview was conducted in 2001

Mubarak Begum

She has worked with most composers of her time, yet never had the chance to make it to her zenith. Today, she remains a distant memory Mubarak Begum didn’t get many opportunities to get her voice heard. Today, as she looks back at a career which didn’t quite take off in the real sense of the term, she says, “I’ve done only 25 per cent of the work I could have. My wings were cut before I even began to fly. And I’ve never been able to understand why – since I was a niche singer, there was no question of treading on anyone else’s toes. But just as I was getting popular, composers stopped calling me for work. Finally, I reached a stage when I had no work at all.”

Now, as she waits for some miracle to release her from what has become a life of drudgery, Mubarak Begum looks back fondly on her days of struggle – when life still held out that most tempting bait, hope.

FILMS WERE A PASSION

“As a child, I loved watching movies. Though originally from Rajasthan, we lived in Sahrangpur Darwaza (Ahmedabad). I remember, whenever I knew somebody was going to watch a film, I’d throw a tantrum – I wanted to go, too! So, my ‘taya’ (paternal uncle) would take me, even though once the lights went off and the film began, I’d promptly fall asleep! When my family moved to Mumbai, Suraiya was very popular. I’d see her films, imitate her voice and sing all her numbers to perfection.”

“Then I started learning music from Abdul Karim Khan’s (a well known classical singer of the time) nephew, Riyazuddin Khan. I learnt just enough of classical music to be able to do ‘riyaz’ – I was told that too much classical training made one’s voice unfit for light music.”

“Around this time, I started singing on All India Radio (AIR) and, apparently, had a large audience. Among them was Rafique Ghaznavi Khan saab, remembered as the man who said the famous words (that accompany the logo of Mehboob Khan Films) – ‘Muddayi lakh bura chahe to kya hota hai, wohi hota hai jo manzoore khuda hota hai’. He is the music composer of ‘Taqdeer’, Nargis’s debut film.”

MIKE FRIGHT STRIKES!

“Anyway, Khan saab liked my voice and asked me to sing for him. I was very raw then, and was made to rehearse at a recording studio at Tardeo (Mumbai). But when I stood before the mike, I just couldn’t sing! Agajani Kashmiri, the well known writer, was also present and kept saying, ‘Go for another take.’ The others asked him, ‘What take? She can’t sing!’ We (my father and I) returned home. But, at the time, I felt no regret. I was too naive to really understand the importance of it all.”

“My father was very keen that I enter the music world, and constantly did the rounds of producers’ offices. That’s how I met Shyamsunder – a popular composer in those days – who introduced me to Ram Daryani. He was making ‘Badi Bahen’ at the time and promised to give me two songs in the film. But history repeated itself – I was made to rehearse (this time in Shree Sound Studios); and I got so frightened, I couldn’t sing!”

OVERCOMING MY FEAR

“This struggle continued till I met Yakub, who was making ‘Aayiye’, the music of which was composed by Shaukat Dehlvi, who did the popular ‘Nagma’. I remember going to Eastern Studios at Worli (Mumbai), where Allaudin, Yakub’s brother, was the recordist. And there, for the first time, we recorded without a hitch! The song was a solo, ‘Mohe aane lagi angrayi… aaja aaja balam’. I also sang a duet (with Lata Mangeshkar) for the same film, ‘Aao chalein, chalein sakhi wahan’.”

“Meanwhile, I continued meeting composers, hoping to get work. But some of them refused to hear me. When I went to meet S. D. Burman, he said, ‘Polish your voice, polish your voice’ without listening to my voice.”

“My next film was ‘Phoolon Ke Haar’, for which I sang eight songs. Composed by Hasraj Behl to the lyrics of D. N. Madhok, Verma Malik and Indivar, the film had Geeta Bali and Nigar Sultana in the lead roles. A few small films followed, for which I got paid as little as Rs. 150.”

MY BIGGEST PROJECT

“Then, I landed my biggest project, ‘Daayra’, thanks to Harishchandra Rao, its composer. I’d just finished recording a song for Jamaal Sen, a relative of today’s composers Dilip and Sameer Sen. I believe Harishchandra Rao had tried to get other singers, but they’d stood him up. So, he took me to meet Kamal Amrohi.” “Busy recording with Meenu Katrak, Kamal saab sent along a representative to decide on my voice. That’s how I got to sing for ‘Daayra’. The theme song, ‘Devta tum ho mera sahara, maine thamma hai daaman tumhara’ was a duet between (Mohammad) Rafi and me. I sang other numbers too – ‘Jali jo shama, deep ke sang jaloon’, for example. I had about seven songs in the film, which had Meena Kumari and Nasir Khan in the lead. Unfortunately for me, ‘Daayra’ was an utter flop. I was extremely disappointed.”

SONGS WERE WRITTEN FOR ME!

“Around this time, I was called to sing for Naushad saabs film ‘Shabab’. When I got there, I found all I had to sing was a few lines in a child’s chorus. The song was Rafi’s ‘Mehelon mein rehne wale, hamein tere dar se’

“I was upset – it was such a big production and all I was getting to sing was a few lines! Then, they offered to give me a full song if I sang this one. I agreed.”

“After which, S. D. Burman ‘da’ suddenly called me over to visit him at Dev Anand’s office in Juhu (Mumbai). He was composing for the film ‘Devdas’ and wanted me to sing the number ‘Woh na aayenge palatkar, unhein lakh hum bulaayein…’. The song had just about two lines, which had to be repeated over and over again.”

“Sahir Ludhianvi, the lyricist, who was sitting there, heard me and said, ‘I’ll give you a full song.’ That’s how the song finally had an ‘antara’ and ‘asthayi’. Burman ‘da’ was very pleased and praised me. All I could remember at the time was how he’d refused to even listen to me when I’d approached him earlier.”

“I had the opportunity of singing in every film made by Bimal Roy. ‘Hale dil sunayenge…’ (‘Madhumati’) became very popular. Initially, even this song was just one stanza long, till Shailendra saab told me he’d write the full lyrics and the song grew in length.”

“That song was recorded with only three musicians – a sarangi player (Pt. Ram Narain), a ‘tabalchi’ and a harmonium player. Composer Salil Choudhry heard it, as he was entering the room, and was very thrilled!”

MY MOST POPULAR NUMBER

“I’ve sung in practically all of Kidar Sharma’s films too. For one, whose production composer was Snehal Bhatkar, I sang ‘Kabhi tanhayiyon mein yoon, hamari yaad aayegi…’ At the recording, Kidar Sharma sat with his eyes closed till the song was done, and then got up and gave me some money. When I hesitated, Snehal Bhatkar told me, ‘Take it. Whoever he gives money to makes a name.’ The film was ‘Hamari Yaad Aayegi’, with Tanuja.”

“At the time, I was told the song was a background number (those days background numbers didn’t figure on records). But on a visit to Pakistan, I found people talking about this song. Then, I realized that Kidar saab had got a record made after all. This song has been one of my most popular numbers. It still is.”

MY REPERTOIRE GREW

“Composers Shankar-Jaikishen were becoming very popular around this time, and I’ve always been a very ardent fan of theirs. I’ve always respected them for their originality – they were like no one else. I sang for ‘Hamrahi’ with them – the song was a duet with Rafi saab, ‘Mujhko apne gale lagalo ai mere hamrahi…’ I worked with them in ‘Around The World’ (a duet with Sharda, ‘Yeh muh aur masoor ki dal…’) and again in ‘Arzoo’ (‘Jab ishk kahin ho jaata hai…’ – a ‘quwaali’). “I worked with Kalyanji-Anandji in ‘Juari’ (‘Neend ud jaye teri chainse sone wale…’) and in ‘Yeh Dil Kisko Doon’. A song that scaled the heights of popularity was ‘Hume dum daike souten ghar jaana…’, which I sang with Asha Bhosle. Madan Mohan had me sing in ‘Neend Humari Khwab Tumhare’ (‘Sakiya ek bhi to de…’). In ‘Saraswati Chandra’, I sang the number ‘Vada humse kiya dil kisiko diya…’ and in ‘Kajal’ – ‘Agar tum na miloge to main yeh samjoongi…’. I had begun getting more and more work.”

SUDDENLY THERE WAS NO WORK!

“Then my life did an about turn. For no reason, my songs would be recorded and then cut off from the film, like in the film ‘Jab Jab Phool Khile’, and again, in a number I recorded with Shobha Gurtu for Bappi Lahiri. Slowly, I realized that I was being edged out of the industry.”

By this time, Mubarak Begum had sung with almost every composer and singer – she’d had duets with Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Geeta Dutt, Rafi, Mukesh, Talat Mehmood, Manna Dey… She’d sung for regional language films like in Sindhi (“It was ever so difficult,” she laughs, today , “to get the pronunciation right AND concentrate on the singing! But watching my co-singer, Talat Mahmood, struggling too made me do my best”). Now, she sings for stage shows – “I have to survive,” she says.

TODAY…

But listeners will never forget what she has sung, even if her repertoire hasn’t been very large. She has some memorable numbers to her credit – Jan Nissar Akhtar’s number for ‘Susheela’ with Talat Mahmood, ‘Kuch ajnabi se aap hain, kuch ajnabi se hum…’ or the one from ‘Daakbabu’, ‘Ghir ghir aaye badarva kare, rang bhare ras bhare pyare pyare…’

This industry where awards are two a penny, Mubarak Begum has received no recognition whatsoever for her work… “Forget appreciating talent with an award, we’re not even invited for the functions any more. So completely have we been forgotten,” says she, sadly – As told to Lata Khubchandani few years ago

Profile – Interview – Gallery

Back to Legends – Shamshad Begum

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Shamshad Begum

Shamshad Begum, the undisputed melody queen of yesteryear, lives the life of a recluse today. This reclusiveness gives her an aura of mystery befitting her personality. She was, and remains, a reserved person. If she is known and loved today — six decades after she began singing — it is for her immortal voice and unforgettable songs like Piya ke ghar aaj pyari dulhaniya chali (Mother India), Kahin pe nigahen kahin pe nishaana (CID), Kahe koyal shor machaye re (Aag), O leke pehla pehla pyar (CID) and Ye duniya roop ki chor (Shabnam).

Born on April 19, 1919, Shamshad belonged to a large family of 12 children. She discovered her love for music early in life, but her conservative father didn’t encourage her to train in music. Fortunately, her uncle loved music and persuaded her father to send her for a music test which was being held by the popular music company Jenaphone. She was selected as the company’s artiste when she was just 13. Her first songs were non-film numbers which became so popular that she was invited to sing on the radio. For five years, Shamshad ruled the radio. When films did happen to her finally, she was already a known name.

“Most of what I sang in those days was non-film stuff because the talkies had just started in 1931 and not too many songs were incorporated in films in the first few years. I remember one song which became almost an anthem in those days — Ik baar phir kaho zara — but it didn’t belong to any film,” she smiles.

Lahore was then the hub of the film industry and Dalsukh Pancholi of Dalsukh Arts the biggest film-maker of the time. Playback singing had started in Bombay, but hadn’t yet reached Lahore. When it did, Shamshad Begum had the honour of becoming the very first playback artiste for Pancholi Arts. It opened the gates for a stream of successful films — Khazanchi, Khandaan, Pagli, Shukriya, Yamaljat. At times, even indifferent films did great business, partly because films were such a novelty and partly because of the music. And Shamshad was right at the top of the bracket. Even Lata Mangeshkar once told her, “No one has seen the kind of stardom and respect that you did!”

Her voice was unmistakable. Saawan ke nazare hain (Khazanchi) drove audiences crazy across the country. It was at this time that Shamshad was invited to Bombay. She refused to leave her beloved Lahore till Mehboob Khan personally requested her to. This was in 1942 for the film Taqdeer, which marked the Nargis’s debut. Shamshad came to Bombay, she sang and she conquered. Mehboob Khan signed her on to sing for most of his films.

But the times were difficult. The second World War was on and bureaucratic control overshadowed everything else. Shamshad had to return to Lahore, but not before Navyug Chitrapat, a Pune-based company booked her to sing. The film was Panna, another big hit.

While she was with Pancholi Arts in Lahore, its composer was Master Ghulam Haider. If anyone could claim to have taught Shamshad anything, it was Haider. He is the one who gave a professional touch to her singing. Haider had come to Bombay by this time. Shamshad too, finally decided to settle down here because most of the work was then concentrated in Bombay.

In 1943, K Asif made Phool and Shamshad was the lead playback singer in the film. Yet again, this film went on to become a big hit and reaffirmed Shamshad’s status as the reigning superstar.

Subsequently, she was considered to be the lucky mascot for every budding composer. Her spontaneous, open-throated style of singing brought alive each and every word of a song. All the composers approached her to lend her voice to their songs. She obliged, and often, for less than her usual fee because newcomers could not afford her.

Looking back, Shamshad says, “I really don’t know how I got into films. I had no training or encouragement at home. But I had been singing as far back as I can remember. When I joined school in Lahore, we used to sing a prayer before our classes started. All of us sang in chorus. One day the principal announced that there was one voice that stood out among the rest. It was me. I was made to stand on a school bench and lead the school prayer after that. It was my first public exposure.”

There was not a single big name she didn’t work for in Bombay. Leading music composers like Naushad Ali, Anil Biswas, Sajjad Hussain, C Ramchandra, Chitragupta, Shankar-Jaikishen snapped her up. She sang for practically most of Mehboob Khan’s films. Naushad got her to sing for as many as 19 super hit films. Who can forget the beautiful songs from Aan, Jadoo, Shahjehan, Anokhi Ada and so on? Chhod babul ka ghar (from Babul) remains the favourite bidaai song till today.

Shamshad sang for S D Burman’s hit Filmistan movie Shabnam. The song, Ek baar tou ban ja mera o pardesi catapulated him to the top rung of composers. He made Shamshad sing this song in 12 different ways symbolising the 12 months.

She had already sung in over 50 films before she came to Bombay, so she was always treated with awe. Says her daughter Usha, “Mummy was always very mature in dealing with people. There was nothing flighty or silly about her. She was also very principled. She never compromised on her work, never cancelled dates, never acted starry even at the peak of her career. She spoke formally to people, discussed her work and returned home. Throughout her career she remained an artiste, never did she become a businesswoman cultivating people in order to get work.”

The legendary singer talks about how music was made in those days. “Our songs were played and our producers earned money. Today, you have to pay to get your songs played. I’ll narrate an incident. When my songs became popular, Ghulam Haider got a hike in his payment. I hesitantly asked him to give me a hike as well. He told me to approach Pancholi. So I went to Pancholi. He greeted me politely and asked me to sit. When I told him what I had come for he immediately asked how much I wanted. I used to get Rs 100 for a song, so I asked for Rs 700. He agreed. I was thrilled. Then he said, ‘Even if you’d asked me for Rs 2000 even, I’d have agreed!’ I told him to give it to me, but he replied,

‘I’m a businessman first. I’ll pay you what you asked for.’ So that was that,” she recalls.

Shamshad became a legend very early in life and her generosity was even more legendary. Her magnanimity, non-assertive nature and professional approach earned her the fond nickname ‘appa’ in the film industry.

But unfortunately, Shamshad’s life became a series of generous gestures,to the extent that sometimes composers used her to get a platform before moving on to other singers. Madan Mohan, who had beseeched her to sing for his debut film Aankhen, turned to Lata Mangeshkar, O.P. Nayyar, who just couldn’t compose without her at one time (Aasman, CID, Aar Paar) focussed his attention on Asha Bhosle.

During this time, Shamshad’s faith in God stood her in good stead. It never occurred to her to cultivate composers or appoint agents to do her work. She maintained her dignity and her professionalism throughout her career, preferring to go into oblivion if destiny willed it for her. Today, she speaks with the dignity of one who has emerged stronger.

Encouragement was something she never had. Shamshad, herself a Muslim, married G L Batto, a Punjabi lawyer. “When I got married, my husband was just not the sort of man who would want his wife to sing but I made it a condition that I wouldn’t quit. Thereafter, he didn’t stop me, but when our daughter was born he was very strict with her. Though she too had a good voice, she was not allowed to train,” rues the mother.

Shamshad Begum has fond memories of her contemporaries — Zohrabai Ambalewali, Amirbai Karnataki, Begum Akhtar, Noor Jehan, Juthika Roy, Rajkumari. “When we were together, we were great friends,” she claims. “We had a pleasant relationship,  though we didn’t socialize with each other after work. At least, I didn’t. But our professional association was good. We were all fans of K L Saigal. No one thought of harming the other, nor did we try to snatch work away from anyone.”

She also explains why singing was harder those days. “Each song had to be recorded twice — once for the film and once for the recording company. So even if you were working full time you could do only about four songs a day. Recordings took place in the evenings and shootings during the day. We worked in an atmosphere where composers put their soul into the compositions and the results are there to see — even today — isn’t it?” asks Shamshad.

During her heydays, Shamshad Begum was paid Rs 12.50 for a song by the recording company and Rs 100 by the producer for singing in the film, “but in those days, it was a lot of money,” she adds.

Does she have any regrets? “Yes,” says Shamshad, “My greatest regret is that I never got to sing with K L Saigal, though we did sing for the same film, Shahjehan. I was really shy of getting photographed. Once the two of us ran into each other at the recording company, but he didn’t know me because no one had seen my pictures. It was funny because we were then introduced and he said, ‘arre kudiye … tera bhala ho… tu kitna sona gaati hai… (God bless you, girl, you sing so well).’ Her eyes glint as she narrates this incident, recalling every nuance in the voice of her favorite singer. It also makes one realize the kind of talent these singers had and the respect they commanded from each other.

Ironically, each time Shamshad gave a hit song, she had to start all over again. All those composers who had once begged her to sing for them started giving her a raw deal. For instance, she recorded the song O leke pehla pehla pyar for CID which was, and remains, a popular song. After the recording, the sadder version was given to Asha Bhosle to sing, and this was publicized with great gusto. Despite that, it is Shamshad’s version that remains in the memory of listeners. But she read the sign loud and clear, and preferred to opt out of the messy situation, rather than stoop to stay in competition.

And in spite of life’s vagaries, she made everything that came to her a big success. Her songs gave the careers of several music directors a boost — Shaukat Dehalvi Naashad (Nagma), O.P. Nayyar (Aar Paar), Chitragupta (Sindbad Jahazi). Her number with Kishore Kumar, Mere neendo mein tum mere khwabon mein tum will perhaps
survive another century.

Shamshad still remembers her first impression of the young Kishore Kumar. Says  she, “He was a fine boy, always full of life, but professionally low because he wasn’t reaching where his brother had. I remember telling him, ‘destiny is a great thing tomorrow you may become more popular than anybody else.’ And he actually did.”

Such was the demand for Shamshad Begum that film-makers waited for her to be free to sing for them. Tarachand Barjatya wanted her to come to Madras to sing for his film. But she couldn’t spare the time, so he came to Bombay. In his film Bahar, she sang Dil ka qarar leke aaja re aaja pardesiya and Duniya ko laat maro. Guru Dutt had a superb singer at home in Geeta Dutt, but if he decided that Shamshad had to sing a particular number, then he awaited her pleasure and
convenience.

That speaks for the talent and virtuosity of this singer, particularly when one sees how replaceable some others have been.

It was when people started playing games that Shamshad went into self-imposed oblivion. Today, she leads a retired life with memories of another day to keep her company. But she retains that regality which made her rule musicdom once – Lata Khubchandani

Interview has been edited for accuracy – Ummer Siddique