Zeenat Zafar pays a tribute to Shamshad Begum
THEY SAY time and tide wait for none, and this is true for legendry vocalist Shamshad Begum who passed away on Tuesday. She was the voice of iconic songs such as ‘ Mere piya gaye Rangoon’, ‘ Kajra mohabbat wala’, ‘ Kabhi aar kabhi paar’, ‘ Chhod babul ka ghar’, ‘ Leke pehla pehla pyar’, ‘ Kahin pe nigahen, kahin pe nishana’, ‘ Saiyan dilme aana re’ and ‘ Teri mehfil me kismat ajmaa kar hum bhi dekhenge’.
These songs were such hits that almost all of them have been covered and remixed by modern day artists. The singer was amongst the first women playback singers in the Hindi film industry, which today celebrates 100- years.
Shamshad Begum was born on April 14, 1919, in Amritsar, Punjab. She got her first break with Peshawar Radio, Lahore, in December 1947. Later, she became a hit due to the nasal touch in her voice and sang for top heroines of that olden golden era, leaving behind a rich legacy of her soulful tunes. She also sang in various other languages like Punjabi, Bengali etc and music directors like Naushad Ali and OP Nayyar always had her at the top of the list for playback singing.
Shamshad Begum had been ailing for the past few months. She lost her husband in 1955 and was living with her daughter Usha Ratra. She was not keeping well for a while now and was in ICU six months ago. Shamshad Begum left the Industry in 1970s, and her daughter tells that how one fine day she packed her bags and came to her house and announced her exit. She never looked back since.
“I told her, let me sing for myself satisfaction, but she said if you will learn to sing, you will directly enter the industry. So, she didn’t let me do so,” says Usha. “She felt earlier artists would come on merit basis, but later there were too much of politics in the industry,” she added.
Big B tweeted: “The golden voice of Shamshad Begum, playback singer of great eminence in some of the most historic film songs now silent RIP.”
Lata Mangeshkar who sung duets with her – ‘Darna mohabbat karle’ (‘Andaz’), ‘Panghat pe na jaiyo’ (‘Rajmukut’) and ‘Kisi ke dil mein’ (‘Babul’) – also tweeted: “This morning I came to know that Shamshad Begumji is no more and I was very sad after hearing the news of her demise. I had worked with her in several films. She was a very nice, cheerful and simple human being. I pay my tribute to her.” (INAV)
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