44 Facts About Shamshad Begum

Shamshad Begum was an Indian singer who was one of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry.

Shamshad Begum worked with renowned composers of the time, such as Ghulam Haider who first discovered her.

Shamshad Begum worked with Naushad Ali and O P Nayyar, for whom she was one of their favorites.

Shamshad Begum was born in Lahore, British India on 14 April 1919 the day after the Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place in nearby Amritsar.

Shamshad Begum was one of eight children, five sons and three daughters, born to a conservative Punjabi Muslim family of limited means.

Shamshad Begum's father, Mian Hussain Baksh, worked as a mechanic and her mother, Ghulam Fatima, was a pious lady of conservative disposition, a devoted wife and mother who raised her children with traditional family values.

Shamshad Begum started singing at weddings and social events at age 12 despite family objections where her father insisted that she wear a 'burka' during her initial recordings and not be photographed.

In 1932, the teenage Shamshad came in contact with Ganpat Lal Batto, a Hindu law student who lived in the same neighbourhood and who was several years older than her.

In those days, marriages were performed while the bride and groom were very young, and Shamshad Begum's parents were already looking out for a suitable partner for her.

In 1934, despite strenuous opposition from both their families due to religious differences, 15-year-old Shamshad Begum married Ganpat Lal Batto.

Shamshad Begum's death left Shamshad very distraught, because her husband had been the focus of her life and they had both been extremely devoted to each other.

Shamshad Begum had handled many aspects of her career and contracts and had been a major positive energy behind her career progression.

Indeed, while Shamshad Begum was both an outstanding singer and a successful famous one, she was at some deeper level always a wife and mother first, someone who instinctively prioritised her family over her career.

Shamshad Begum gradually became a recluse and devoted herself entirely to her grandchildren, to the point that the general public was unaware of whether she was alive or dead.

In 2004, a controversy erupted in the media, when several publications wrongly reported that Shamshad Begum had died a few years previously.

Shamshad Begum's family clarified in a press release that this was not so.

Shamshad Begum's self-imposed seclusion is remarkable, because during all those decades away from the public eye, her old songs remained popular with the public and were often played on Vividh Bharati and All India Radio.

Shamshad Begum's talent was first spotted by her principal when she was in primary school in 1924.

Shamshad Begum's singing ambitions, which she held from 1929, met with opposition from her family.

Shamshad Begum earned 15 rupees per song and was awarded 5,000 on the completion of the contract on Xenophone.

Shamshad Begum readily agreed, gave a screen test and was selected.

Shamshad Begum's father became angry, when he found out and warned her that she would not be allowed to sing if she continued to harbour a desire to act.

Shamshad Begum promised her father that she would never appear before the camera.

Shamshad Begum never posed for photographs, and few people saw her pictures between 1933 and the 1970s.

Shamshad Begum recorded naats and other devotional music for a couple of gramophone recording companies.

Shamshad Begum's father was not convinced at first but later gave in as Shamshad wanted to come to Mumbai.

Haider continued to compose hit songs which Shamshad Begum sang for films including Zamindar, Poonji and Shama.

Shamshad Begum was singing for other composers including Rafiq Ghaznavi, Ameer Ali, Pt.

When Haider moved to Bombay in 1944, Shamshad Begum went with him as a member of his team, leaving behind her family and staying with her Chacha Aamir Khan who used to encourage her in her singing career.

Shamshad Begum became a national star between the early 1940s and the early 1960s, having a voice different from her peers such as Noorjehan, Mubarak Shamshad Begum, Suraiya, Sudha Malhotra, Geeta Dutt and Amirbai Karnataki.

Naushad acknowledged in an interview that he was indebted to Shamshad Begum in reaching the top, as she was famous before he became known in the late 1940s; after his tracks sung by her became highly popular, his talent was recognised.

Naushad chose his favourite singer Shamshad Begum to sing four out of the twelve songs in Mother India.

Shamshad Begum kept getting more offers to sing songs and was the highest paid female singer from 1940 to 1955 and again post Mother India in 1957 to 1964.

Burman was not well established as a music director in Hindi films until 1946; he then asked Shamshad Begum to sing in his debut Hindi film as music director, Shikari, with the song, "Kuch Rang Badal Rahi".

Shabnam was Burman's biggest hit to that date with Filmistan, and was especially noticeable for its multilingual song "Yeh Duniya Roop ki Chor", sung by Shamshad Begum and acted by Kamini Kaushal, which became another hit.

Shamshad Begum had met Nayyar during her radio stint in Lahore, when he worked as an office boy delivering cakes for the lead singers.

Shamshad Begum promised at this time that she would sing songs composed by Mohan once he started his career as a music director and would accept a lower fee.

Shamshad Begum later recorded duets with Kumar, including "Gori ke Nainon Mein Nindiya Bhari" from Angarey and "Meri Neendon Me Tum" from Naya Andaz.

Shamshad Begum 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 to 1955.

Shamshad Begum made a successful comeback, and subsequently recorded many notable songs for films such as Howrah Bridge, Jaali Note, Love in Simla, Bewaqoof, Mughal-e-Azam, Bluff Master, Gharana and Rustom-E-Hind.

The well-known later playback singer, Lata Mangeshkar, started singing when Shamshad Begum was at the peak of her career, with Shamshad Begum's break after her husband's death boosting Mangeshkar's career and helping her get offers for high-quality songs.

Shamshad Begum sang songs together with Mangeshkar and Bhosle, including "Mubarak Ho Woh Dil Jisko" from Benazir.

Until then, Geeta Dutt and Begum were the most preferred singers, but Shamshad Begum continued to be at the top from 1940 until 1963.

Shamshad Begum died at her Mumbai residence on the night of 23 April 2013 after a prolonged illness.