In an interview with BBC, Naushad, who used to credit her for his own success, described her as a very soft-spoken and sentimental woman who had no desire for publicity. Eventually, she shifted to Bombay and recorded songs for movies like Babul, Mother India, C.I.D, Shahenshah, Love in Shimla, Shikari, Baiju Bawra, Andaz, Naya Daur and many others. Shamshad Begum, who sang all the nine songs in the movie, soon became a household name. Pancholi’s Khazanchi, which turned out to be one of the greatest musical hits of its time. Her first big break in Hindi cinema came in 1941 with D.M. But under the mentorship of music composer Ghulam Haider and sarangi maestro Ustad Hussain Baksh, her career began in the late 1930s when she started singing for All India Radio in Peshawar and Lahore.Īlso read: Iqbal Bano, whose voice made Faiz’s poem ‘Hum Dekhenge’ a protest anthem for all time Though she displayed talent as a child, she didn’t receive any formal training.

She often sang duets with Mangeshkar and her sister, Asha Bhosle.īorn on 14 April 1919, she battled a conservative family in order to pursue her singing career and to marry outside of her religion at the age of 15. With tens of hundreds of songs under her belt, she was not only versatile but also multilingual, with recordings in Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, Tamil and Bengali. With her sensuous, lilting voice, Shamshad Begum, one of the first women to sing playback for Hindi movies and senior to both Lata Mangeshkar and Noor Jahan, was much sought after by ace music composers like O.P. A prime Bollywood playback singer in the 1940s, Shamshad Begum is the voice behind hits like Kajra Mohabbat Wala, Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon, Leke Pehla Pehla Pyaar, Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar - songs that continue to be lazy Sunday favourites, while many from younger generations would have heard some of them as remixes, too.

You can Download all Shamshad Begum Songs, Shamshad Begum Albums as mp3 Legends - Kishore Kumar - The Versatile - Vol 1 (in as Singer) Sitare Zameen Par - Sunil Dutt - 'Jalte Hain Jiske Liye' (in as Singer) Sitare Zameen Par - Meena Kumari - 'Inhin Logon Ne' (in as Singer) Sitare Zameen Par - Rajendra Kumar - 'Yeh Mera Prem Patra' (in as Singer) Mughal-E-Azam (in as Singer) Centenary Of Indian Cinema - Safar Sau Saal Ka (in as Singer) Timeless Beauty Waheeda Rehman (in as Singer) A Tribute To Shamshad Begum (in as Singer) Sitare Zameen Par - Nargis 'Pyar Hua Iqrar Hua' Vol.You’ve heard the songs even if you don’t know her name.

Top shamshad begum songs