MAN MOR HUA MATWALA KIS NE JADOO DALA - Page 5

And a Hollywood blue-eyed boy Gregory Peck who knocked the door of her Marine Drive flat one fine evening, knowing she was a fan of his. This brief romance is the stuff of folklore in Mumbai filmdom.

And a near fairytale that Suraiya relived yesterday, learning of her superstar Peck's death.

"I can't believe he is dead. I admired and adored him so much," murmured the elusive beauty from her same old Marine Drive ivory tower.

The story behind Peck walking up to Suraiya's doorstep goes thus: "I met Frank Capra when he had come to India in the mid-50s. During the course of our conversation, I revealed my great admiration and adoration for Gregory. I asked Capra to convey my adoration to him and pass on my autographed photographs."

Capra assured Suraiya that he would personally hand over her photos to Peck. The image of Peck, meanwhile, remained intact in her mind - an image she saw in Dev Anand, with whom she had starred in Jeet and Shair.

Her message reached Peck through Capra. This she came to know when the Hollywood icon visited Mumbai, and at a party hosted in his honour, Al Nasser, the actor from Lahore and uncle of Suraiya, told Peck how much his niece loved him.

She showed him an album containing stills from a number of her films. "I can't forget those moments.

"The fact that he came to my house after Mr Capra had given my autographed photos and message that I am his fan showed his greatness. No other star can match that quality."

Decades later, that child-like quality and demeanour shines through Suraiya as she relives her soft brush with Peck. Of course, aghast that her star is no more.

http://web.mid-day.com/1news/city/2003/june/55892.htm

Originally posted by: charades

Thanks Qwest Ji... 👏 👏 👏

Music profile: Suraiya

Tribute to the singer – actor Suraiya

"She retired too early"

This superstar singer/actress passed away on the 31^st of January after a brief stint at Mumbai's Harkison das Hospital. But before that since the 60's when she gave up acting she became a recluse for no better reason than "I'm too fat, I want people to remember me as I used to be."

As one looks back at the career of this reclusive spirit one hears numbers like 'nain diwane', 'man mor huwa matwala' the outstanding 'woh paas rahe ya door rahe nazaron mein samaye rehte hain'; frothy numbers like ' tarari tarari', romantic ones like 'tu mera chand', sad numbers like 'kise maloom tha', 'aiso se jee na lagaye koi'. She held her own amongst stalwarts like Nurjehan, Zohrabai Ambalewali, Amirbai, and even begum Akhtar. Her career spanned only 20 years but one is astounded at the body of work she has left.

Naushad Ali recalls how she entered the film industry at the very tender age of 9; literally accompanied by her grandmother who remained a strict and powerful influence and chaperone throughout her career. "We were" he recalls, "making a film for Prakash pictures and needed a young girl to play the heroine's younger sister, someone who could also sing. G.M. Durrani a singer suggested Suraiya and one day a young girl wearing a frock and holding her grandmother's hand walked into the office. I gave her an audition. She had no training in music but she was intelligent. She sang 2 songs for the film Station Master-one was a chorus 'yeh rail hamar ghar ki chuk chuk chuk and 'saajan ghar aye ayeri aali', which was a solo number. This was her debut both as an actress and a singer. Subsequently she gave playback for the heroine Mehtab in the film Sharda. From here she became the voice of Mehtaab so successfully that people thought it was Mehtab herself singing."

"For me she sang in films like Dillagi, Dastaan, Nadaan, Dard, Deewana, Anmol ghadi. Her unsophisticated voice was her specialty," he analyses. "Her natural tonal quality was very good. She was gifted with a naturally melodious voice. Hers could be called non-professional singing but her pick up was very good and she learnt things quickly. She retired too early, she could've sung a lot more."

But any reference to Suraiya would be incomplete without a mention of their fabled romance. Dev Anand however prefers to keep those beautiful moments in his personal file. "When I entered the industry," he reveals, "she was already a big star, she was a lovely person, a good singer, very friendly, her singing was effortless. I'm out of touch with her now but I remember meeting her some time back. She starred in Navketan's first film Afsar. She was very nice but she was always surrounded by this retinue of people." this last is said without any rancor.

"I particularly recall her singing the songs of Anil Biswas one of the very fine music composers of that time. And I'd sit and listen. I don't know what to say-what can one say when anyone dies-one feels sorrow.

"I remember I had cried when our relationship broke up. We had lost touch and gone our separate ways and this was a closed chapter in my life."

Originally posted by: chukkna

Awsome post Qwest ji. Will read completely first and then post later.