Lost Artists

Any one remembers UMA DEVI

Tun Tun had very good songs in three films which I remember Dard(1947): few more apart from 'afsana likh rahi hoon' including a nice duet with Suraiya; Anokhi Ada(1948) and Chandralekha(1948). 'Chandralekha' didn't have Naushad but songs were nice including 'manbhawan sawan aaya' and 'saanjh ki bela' by Uma Devi

Pl add if u know any more

Also another lost singer ( I only this of hers)

Singer : Jagjit Kaur : Film : Shagun : Tum Apna Ranjo gam, apni parasaani mujhe de do

Another lost artist

BULO C. RANI

A music director, however popular, is often forgotten with the passage of time when the trend of music changes.

Bulo C Rani was one such composer whose best is buried under the debris of time. When the slow paced melodious music was replaced by the fast paced rhythmic melodies Bulo suddenly lost his relevance as a composer. He lived in a state of hybernation for so long that his death - a suicide - on 24th May 1993 at 73 was reported as if it was a matter of no big consequence. The eventful career of Bulo C Rani in the 40's and the early 50's was forgotten.

Mukesh, after his initial failure as a singer, drew attention only when he sang for Bulo in 'Moorty' ( 'Badariya baras gai us paar'/with Hamida and khursheed/1945 )

The film 'Jogan' (1950) was a land -mark in Bulo's career. His composing skill enabled him to enhance the inherent charm of Meerabai's traditional bhajans such as 'ghoonghat Ke Pat Khol re', 'Main to giridhar Ke ghar jaaoon', 'Damag damag dole naiya' and ' Jogi mat ja, mat ja'. Even the Holi song ('Rang daaro ri') and the sentimental one in the voice of Talat ('Sundarta Ke Sabhi Shikari') were no less appealing. More than Dilip Kumar and Nargis in the film it was Bulo's music which turned out to be the real star.

Before 'Jogan' came his way Bulo had already earned recognition through the films such as 'Rajputani' ('Ja parwane ja kahin shama jal rahi hai/Mukesh, hamida and 'Anjuman ('Kaise bataoon tum se is dil ko pyar kyun hai'/Shamshed, Mukesh) and the immense popularity of the song 'Armaan bhara dil toot gaya' ('Wafa/Lata, Mukesh)

Bulo C Rani had a special fascination for heavy voices which were capable of more expressive power. For the same reason he was able to create a great impact on listeners with the voices of Amirbai ('Sooni padi hai payar ki duniya tere baghair'/ 'Carvan').
Zohra ('Ankhon mein intezaar Ki duniya liye huve'/'Carvan') and geeta Roy (Dutt) in the songs of 'Jogan'. Bulo did not hesitate to create an enchanting melody in the song 'Badi bhool hui tujhe pyar kiya' in 'Maghroor'.

'Bilwamangal' (1954) was the last significant film of Bulo c Rani. Suraiya sang one of her most memorable song 'Parwanon se preet seekhli, shama se seekha jal jaana' and so did C.H. Atma in 'Panghat pe more shyam bajaaye muraliya'.

Despite the popularity of a stray song such as 'Hamen to loot liya milke husn Walon ne' (Ismail Azad/'Al Hilal'/1958). Bulo C Rani just continued to drift because his music had not remained a viable commercial proposition.

After 'Sunhare Qadam' (1966). Bulo's career came to an end. Having once enjoyed the position of prominence the lack of assignment made him restless.

It was an irony of fate that the song he composed in the voice of Lata in his last film 'Sunhare Qadam' was 'Maangne se jo maut mil jaati, Kaun jeeta zamane men'.

Irony was that in life he asked for death and he got it.

Mubarak Begum ...can she ever fade?

Birth Place: Ahmedabad (old) , Rajasthan
Profession: Playback Singer, Bollywood.

Mubarak Begum Hails from , Sabrangpur Darwaza, (Ahmedabad) , Rajasthan before settling in Mumbai. The aspiring singer would imitate her idol Suraiya by singing her songs till she had perfected them. Riyazuddin Khan, nephew of the great Indian Classical vocalist Abdul Karim Khan was her Ustad (teacher). She however learnt only enough classical music to enable her to do riyaaz (practice) so as to not let it hamper her light classical music aspirations.

She started her musical career doing shows for the All India Radio. She got her first break when Rafiq Ghaznavi, who gave the immortal motto for Mehboob Khan Films, 'Muddayi Lakh Bura Chahe Kya Hota Hai, Wohi Hota Hai Jo Manzure Khuda Hota Hai', heard her voice and asked her to sing for his film. On the day of the rehearsal at Film Center, Tardeo, stage fright struck the yet raw and uninitiated singer and she faltered on her big day. This could have unhinged a newcomer, but Mubarak Begum was too young to understand the implications of her early failure.

'Mohe Aane Lagi Angrayi, Aja Aja Balam' was the first song that Mubarak Begum finally recorded for the film Aiyiye ,the composer being Shaukat Dehlvi. She also sang a duet with Lata Mangeshkar for the same film 'Aao Chalein, Chalein Sakhi Wahan'. The usual running around continued for her with umpteen rejections. Her next film was Phoolon Ke Haar with music by Hansraj Behl and lyrics by a team comprising of D. N. Madhok, Varma Malik and Indeevar. She continued doing the smaller films that came to her, which were not paying more than one hundred and fifty rupees per film.

Mubarak Begum's next big break was the Kamal Amrohi film Dairya, starring Meena Kumari and Nasir Khan, in which she sang seven songs composed by Harishchandra Rao who had personally selected her. 'Devta Tum Ho Mera Sahara, Thaamaa Hai Daaman Tumahara', was the title track with Mohammad Rafi. The film unfortunately was not a success, which diluted whatever recompense she could have hoped for her long – delayed career.

Big composers approached her,but she was not satisfied with the offers that did not demand full fledged songs (she was asked to sing only a few lines). The wheel finally came full circle when S. D. Burmanda called her to render 'Woh Na Aayenge Palatkar, Unhein Lakh Hum Bulaayein' for the Dev Anand film Devdas. This too had a few lines that had to be repeated. Lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi heard her sing and added an anta d93 ra and a asthayi to give a complete song to her, which pleased Burmanda to no end.

As was published on March 31 1987 in a news paper 'Singer Mubarak Begum, in her fifties, is still confident of her ability to sing well. Day after day she waits for her small dreams to come true. It is an endless wait in a small room where she lives with her family. Ruefully she watches the time passing by and when her own melody 'Kabhi tanhaiyon men hamari yaad ayegi' rings in. her ears she feels sad and neglected.'Success was yet to come for Mubarak.

Bimal Roy was one film – maker who gave her a chance in all his films. Even 'Hale Dil Sunayenge' from the hit Madhumati had just one stanza initially before Shailendra decided to write a full song for her. Only three musicians Pandit Ram Narayan on the Sarangi, a tabalchi and a harmonium player were involved in this song which was quite a success.

Her most popular number was 'Kabhi Tanhaiyon Mein Yoon, Hamari Yaad Aayegi' for a Kidar Sharma's Hamari Yaad Aayegi during whose recording he listened with his eyes closed and later gave her some money. Her hesitation prompted Snehal Bhatkar, the composer for the film to tell her the myth of luck favouring those who received money from Kidar Sharma. She still considers this number to be one of her most well – known.

She sang for her personal favourites Shankar – Jaikishan in Hamrahi, Rafi, 'Mujhko Apne Gale Lagalo Ai Mere Hamrahi'; Around The World (a duet with Sharda, 'Yeh Muh Aur Masoor Ki Dal') and a qawwali in Arzoo, 'Jab Ishk Kahin Ho Jaata Hai'. She also worked with Kalyanji-Anandji in Juari, giving the hit 'Neend Ud Jaye Teri Chainse Sone Wale' and in Yeh Dil Kisko Doon.Another of her hit number was the song 'Hume Dum Daike Souten Ghar Jaana', which was a duet with Asha Bhosle. Madan Mohan used her in Neend Humari Khwab Tumhare for 'Sakiya Ek Bhi To De'. In Saraswati Chandra for which Kalyanji – Anandji won the National Award for music, she sang 'Vada Humse Kiya Dil Kisiko Diya' and in Kajal - 'Agar Tum Na Miloge To Main Yeh Samjhoongi'. This was the most productive period of her career with work being no constraint and offers coming at regular intervals from people who mattered.

Some Jems of Mubarak Begam..Pl add if u know more

AE JANE NAZAR MUBARAK BEGUM,MOHD. RAFI QAWWALI KI RAAT

BHARAT KE LOK GEET MUBARAK BEGUM,SULOCHANA KADAM FASHION ---
DEVTAA TUM HO MOHD. RAFI,MUBARAK BEGUM,CHORUS DAAYRA(1953)

DIL HUMSE WOH LAGAYE LATA MANGESHKAR,MUBARAK BEGUM,CHORUS BARADARI 6:02

HUM HAAL E DIL MUBARAK BEGUM MADHUMATI
ITNE KARIB AA KE BHI MUBARAK BEGUM,TALAT MAHMOOD SHAGOON


JAB ISHQ KAHIN HO JATA ASHA BHOSLE,MUBARAK BEGUM,CHORUS ARZOO(1965)
MEHFIL MEIN AAP AAYE SUMAN KALYANPUR,MUBARAK BEGUM MOHABBAT ISKO KAHTE HAI

MUJHKO APNE GALE MUBARAK BEGUM,MOHD. RAFI HAMRAHI ---

NEEND UD JAYE TERI KRISHNA BOSE,MUBARAK BEGUM,SUMAN KALYANPUR JUARI

SAKIA EK JAAM MUBARAK BEGUM NEEND HAMARI KHWAB TUMHARE

SUNO MORI NAINA MUBARAK BEGUM DAAYRA(1953)
WOH NA AAYENGE MUBARAK BEGUM DEVDAS

YEH MUNH AUR MASOOR SHARDA,MUBARAK BEGUM AROUND THE WORLD

"HAMARI YAAD AAYEGI" (title song)
"BEMURAWWAT BEWAFA BEGAANA-E-DIL AAP HAI" (I think it is from the film "SUSHILA") IF ANY ONE HAS IT PL LET ME KNOW

KL Saigal...adored by my Grand father and my father..got used to of him as that is all he used to play once he got the tape recorder. Still remeber just for that he bought that tape player/Recorder and used to record his songs ( The ones he could not buy) when they were broadcast in the radio and we had to maintain pin drop silence while he stood with mike on his hand near the radio 😃

From wikipedia

Saigal was born in Jammu, in the present-day Indian state of Jammu & Kashmir. His ancestors came from the city of Jalandhar in Punjab. As a child, he occasionally played Sita in the Jammu Ramlila, the play that tells the story of the Hindu god Rama. He received his initial musical training from a Sufi saint named Salman Yussuf; he would later use this musical training to master the art of singing the ghazal form of North Indian semi-classical music.

Saigal dropped out of school and worked as a railway timekeeper, and then as a typewriter salesman, before being hired by B.N. Sircar, head of the Calcutta-based film studio, New Theatres. At New Theatres, his singing style was influenced by the studio's top music directors, such as R.C. Boral, Pankaj Mullick, and Timir Baran. As an actor, his first film was Mohabbat Ke Aansoo (1932), but it wasn't until Chandidas in 1934 that he became a bonafide star in Hindi cinema. As a youngster, India's "melody queen" herself, Lata Mangeshkar, is alleged to have said that she wanted to marry K.L. Saigal after seeing his performance in Chandidas.

In 1935, Saigal played the role that would come to define his acting career: that of the drunken title character in Devdas, based on Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel of the same name, directed by P.C. Barua. His songs in the film, Balam Aaye Baso Mere Man Mein and Dukh Ke Ab Din Beetat Naahi, became feverishly popular throughout the country. Saigal's association with New Theatres continued to bear fruit in subsequent films that became all the rage, such as Didi (Bengali)/President (Hindi) in 1937, Saathi (Bengali)/Street Singer (Hindi) in 1938, and Zindagi in 1940. In Street Singer, Saigal rendered the song Babul Mora live in front of the camera, even though playback was becoming the preferred method of singing songs in movies.

The move to Mumbai and death

In the 1940s, Saigal moved to Mumbai to work with Ranjit Movietone. Bhakt Surdas (1942) and Tansen (1943) were big hits during this period. The latter film is still remembered for Saigal's amazing performance of the song Diya Jalao in Raga Deepak. In 1944, he returned to New Theatres to do Meri Bahen. This film contained such Saigal gems as Do Naina Matware and Ae Qatib-e-Taqdeer Mujhe Itna Bata De.

By this time, alcohol had become a predominant factor in Saigal's life. It was said that he could only sing after having drunk first. His alcoholism was too advanced for even a single attempt at abstinence, and Saigal died in his ancestral city of Jalandhar in 1947, at the age of 42. However, before his death, he was able to churn out three more hits under the baton of Naushad from the movie Shahjahan (1946): Mere Sapnon Ki Rani, Ae Dil-e-Beqaraar Jhoom, and Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya.

Saigal's distinctive singing voice was so melodious and popular that he was idolized by the first generation of post-independence Bollywood playback singers, including Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, and Kishore Kumar. Even today, the name K.L. Saigal conjures up images of the great Indian singing film star of the 1930s and 1940s with the unmatched golden voice

Swar Raj ji... many thanks for another nice thread... I would agree with Uma Devi and Mubarak Begum but Saigal saaheb (IMHO) does not deserve to be in the same thread... 😊

Awesome post. Thanks for all the info.

Yes Juggy Ji... I just wanted to include him as he is also one of the artist who is lost in the crowd now. Also i believe there was already a thread for him. So was point less to start new one. I am putting some great artist/composer/singers info together. Hope u will like these too.

RC BORAL

Rai Chand Boral who is commonly known as R. C. Boral (1903 - 1981) was a famous composer and is referred to by connoisseurs as the father of Indian Film music.


Life and Career
R.C. Boral was born as Rai Chand Boral in Calcutta in 1903. His father Lal Chand Boral was a classical musician (expert of Dhruphad). He had three sons, and Rai Chand was the youngest. Musicians from Rampur and Gwalior were invited for lessons. These include Ustad Mushtaq Hussain Khan, Masit Khan (tabla player), and Ustad Hafeez Ali Khan (sarod player). Rai Chand learnt "Sath Sangat" on the tabla and attended music conferences in Lucknow, Allahabad, and Banares. Rai Chand joined the Indian Broadcasting Copmany in the year of its inception which was 1927. In 1931, he shifted to the New Theatres Ltd. in the silent era for supporting the stage with live music. He dissolved teh Ghazal style of singing from Northern India into the 19th Century Bengali tunes with string instrument medium. In 1935, he introduced playback singing forthe first time in the Hindi feature film Dhoop Chhaon (1935). The song "Main Khush Hona Chahun" had an all women chorus led by Parul Ghosh with Suprova Sarkar and Harimati picturised a dance sequence. He came to Bombay in 1950s. After coming to Bombay, in 1953, he composed music for Dard-e-Dil (1953) with Lata's songs. Music for some basic records were composed by him. Anjangarh (1948) was his last famous film with New Theatres. He is correctly complemented by late Anil Biswas as the Father of Indian Cinema Music. He had directed music of 150 films including Hindi and Bengali films. He received the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 1978 at the age of 75. He passed away in 1981 at the age of 78.


Hindi Filmography
Mohabbat Ke Aansoo 1932
Zinda Laash 1932
Subah Ka Sitaara, Pooran Bhagat 1933
Rajrani Meera 1933
Chandidas 1934
Dakoo Mansoor 1934
Rooplekha 1934
After the Earthquake 1935
Karwan-e-Hayaat 1935 with Mihirkiron Bhattacharya
Dhoop Chhaon 1935 (with Pankaj Mullick)
Manzil 1936 (with Pankaj Mullick)
Millionaire (Krorepati) 1936 (with Pankaj Mullick)
Maya 1936
Anath Aashram 1937
Vidyapati 1937
President 1937 (with Pankaj Mullick)
Abhagin 1938
Street Singer 1938
Jawani Ki Reet 1939
Sapera 1939
Haar Jeet 1940
Lagan 1941
Sugand 1942
Waapas 1943
Humrahi 1945
Wasiatnaama 1945
Anjangarh 1948
Pahela Admi 1950
Dard-e-Dil 1953
Shree Chaitanya Mahaprabhu 1953
Swami Vivekanand 1955
Amar Saigal 1955 (with Pankaj Mullick and Timir Baran)

Bengali Filmography
Dena Prona 1931
Punarjanma 1932
Chirakumar Sabha 1932
Palli Samaj 1932
Chandidas 1932
Mastuto Bhai 1933
Kapalkundala 1933
Meerabai 1933
Ruplekha 1934
Excuse Me Sir 1934
Debdas 1935 (with Pankaj Mullick)
Bhagyachakra 1935
Grihadaha 1936 (with Pankaj Mullick)
Maya 1936 (with Pankaj Mullick)
Didi 1937 (with Pankaj Mullick)
Bidypati 1938
Abhijnan 1938
Sathi 1938
Sapudey 1939
Rajat Jayani 1939
Parajay 1940
Abhinetri 1940
Parichay 1941
Prastisruti 1941
Udayer Pathey 1944
Biraj Bou 1946
Anjangarh 1948
Mantramugda 1949
Vishnupriya 1949
Paritran 1951
Sparshamani 1951

Kanan Devi

(1916 - 1992)

was among the early singing stars and her singing style usually in rapid tempo was instrumental in some of the biggest hits of New Theatres.

An untrained singer when she entered films, she studied briefly with Ustad Allah Rakha in Lucknow. She was employed as a singer at Megaphone Gramaphone Company receiving further training from Bhishmadev Chatterjee. She later learnt Rabindra Sangeet with Anadi Dastidar.

Born Kananbala in 1916, she made her debut as a child actress with Joydev (1926). She later worked with Radha Films in films mainly by Jyotish Banerjee. P.C. Barua was unable to secure her services for the role of Paro in Devdas (1935) but she played the lead in his Mukti (1937).

Mukti made her a star and led to a fruitful association with New Theatres. The success of Bidyapati (Bengali)/ Vidyapati /(Hindi) (1937) in which she gave perhaps her finest performance, made her the studio's top star. To quote critic Krishna Chaitanya,

"Kanan Devi has the marvellous gift of smoothly carrying over to the melodic elaboration, the intimate expressiveness of speech - occasional aspiration of vowels, accented speech rhythms, sensitive manipulation of volume."

Kanan Devi remained the top star of New Theatres till she resigned in 1941 and began to freelance in Hindi and Bengali films. Jawab the following year saw perhaps her biggest ever hit song Toofan Mail.

But even though she was a singing sensation as she recalled music and song were secondary to the primary business of telling a story. In fact powerful narrative appeal made up for most of the technical and other deficiencies Bengal cinema may have suffered from at the time and was a key to the success of the New Theatres Films.


Kanan Devi turned producer with Shrimati Pics in 1949 and later launched the Sabhyasachi collective with the film Ananya (1949). Her own productions were mainly based on Sarat Chandra stories and were directed by her husband Haridas Bhattacharya.

Kanan Devi's last film was Indranath Srikanta-o-Annadadidi (1959). She wrote an autobiography Sabare Ami Nomi (1973) and in 1977, Kanan Devi, the first lady of the Bengal screen was awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke award for her contribution to Indian Cinema. She also worked as President of the Mahila Shilpi Mahal, an organization that helps aged and needy female artistes of yesteryear.

Manmoyee's Girlschool
(1935)

Mukti (Bengali)/
Mukti (Hindi)
(1937)

Bidyapati(Bengali)/
Vidyapati(Hindi)
(1937)

Street Singer(Hindi)/
Saathi (Bengali)
(1938)

Jawaani ki Reet(Hindi)/
Parajay (Bengali)
(1939)

Lagan(Hindi)/
Parichay(Bengali)
(1941)

Shesh Uttar (Bengali)/ Jawab (Hindi)
(1942)

Jogajog (Bengali)/
Hospital (Hindi)
(1943)

Chandrasekhar
(1947)

Ananya
(1949)

Mejdidi
(1950