Archive for the ‘Playback Singers’ Category
Sudha Malhotra
Sudha Malhotra was born in New Delhi in 1936, and she was discovered as a child artiste by Master Ghulam Haider (a prominent music director of the 1940s, known for combining popular ragas with Punjabi rhythm in his songs). Her first break as a playback singer came with Mila gaye nain, composed by Anil Biswas, ...
Hamida Bano
Hamid Bano was moderately successful singer of the pre-partition era. Before migrating to Pakistan, her repertoire included memorable songs like Teri zaat pak hai ai Khuda (Neik Perveen,1946) and Champa kali hai udaas (Cheen le Azaadi, 1947). Her duets with Mukesh – Ja parwane ja kahin shama jal rahie hai (Rajputani,1946) and Badariya ...
Zohra Bai Ambala Wali (1918-90)
A noted classical singer, Zohra bai Ambale wali belonged to the first generation playback singers of Hindi cinema. Born into an orthodox Muslim family, Zohrabai’s introduction to music was through the gramophone records playing in her home in Ambala (now in the Punjab). Recognizing her musical talent, Zohrabai’s grandfather put her under the tutelage of Ghulam ...
Zeenat Begum
Zeenat Begum (not to be confused with actress Zeenat) was a kothewali (courtesan). Her first recorded songs mostly composed by Pandit Amarnath and mostly sung in Punjabi language for HMV and Jienophone appeared around 1937. Her first success as a playback singer came in 1942 when she sang for Pt. Govind Ram for Punjabi film Mangti. ...
Surinder Kaur
I don’t remember exactly when the first time, I heard that sweet, refined and rustic voice of Surinder Kaur. I feel it is the same with every one of my generation since her voice echoes in the airs of the land of five rivers — Punjab, India. But now the nightingale of Punjab is no ...
Suraiya (1929-2004)
The last of Hindi cinema’s illustrious singer-actresses, Suraiya set a tradition that remains unrivalled and that largely ended with her reign at the top. Her acting style was a charming blend of dialogues and gestures, and was strongly reminiscent of the Muslim feudal era. Born in Lahore (now in Pakistan), Suraiya Jamal Sheikh began her career ...
Sitara of Kanpur
Sitara of Kanpur (aka Sitara Bai Kanpurvaali or Sitara Kanpuri) was born around 1920s. Sitara was introduced as playback singer by director W.Z. Ahmed in his film Man Ki Jeet (1944), who heard her singing on radio and noticed her attractive voice. According to W.Z. Ahmed “She was called to our studio and after her ...
Sandhya Mukherjee
Sandhya started her musical training under the direction of Pandit Santosh Kumar Basu, Professor A Kannan and Professor Chinmay Lahiri. However, her guru was Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan under whom she mastered Indian classical music. Though classically trained, the bulk of her work consists of Bengali modern songs. She began her career in Mumbai singing ...
Rajkumari – Profile
Rajkumari began her career as a singer on All India Radio, way back in 1934. HMV contacted her for an album in Gujarati. Initially she started working as an actress in Hindi films. Her first major role was in Balwant Bhatt’s Nai Duniya (1934) produced under the banner of Prakash Pictures. She played important roles ...
Parul Ghosh
Sister of famous music director Anil Biswas and wife of well-known flutist Pannalal Ghosh, Parul Ghosh belonged to well known family of musicians. She is often credited as the first playback singer of Hindi films singing for Dhoop Chaon as early as 1935 for music director R.C. Boral. Most of her popular songs were composed by ...
Random Profiles
Shahpara : Shahpara with Mohammad Ali
Shahpara was renowned Iranian actress who was invited by
Aaliyah : Pakistani Actress Aaliyah in Sher Tey Daler During her heydays, Aaliyah was
Suad Husni (1943 – ) : Suad Husni
After she first appeared in Henri Barakat’s Hassan wa Na’eema (Hassan
Masroor Anwar : Masroor Anwar
So sincere, you could swear by him! Chubby, and baby-faced, Masroor
Random Reviews
Waqt (1965):
Waqt was a landmark in many ways: it is a multi-starrer with four main ...
Baiju Bawra (1952):
The greatest strength of this historical film about Baiju Bawra (Bharat Bhus...
Two Women (1998):
Two Women tells the story of two school friends, intelligent and beaut...
Taxi Driver (1954): Synopsis
Dev Anand's best-known 'proletarian' performance as a taxi driver ...