On Shamshad Begum's birth anniversary, remembering India's first playback singer and a legacy lost in obscurity

Born on 14 April 1919 in Amritsar, (present-day Lahore), just a day after the atrocious Jallianwala Bagh massacre, Shamshad Begum was one of the first playback singers of Bollywood and a pioneer of the Hindi Music Fraternity in her own right. At the mere age of 12, her paternal uncle took her for an audition with Ghulam Haider, who was left impressed and immediately signed a contract with her for 12 songs. In an interview, she said, “I sang Bahadur Shah Zafar's (the poet-ruler) ghazal 'Mera yaar mujhe mile agar'” and the rest has been history. 

At a time, when singers are pop culture icons, and stalwarts, Shamshad Begum’s life in the margins of popular culture, is unfortunate and astounding in equal parts. However, it’s not time that has pushed Shamshad Begum into the fringes of people’s consciousness, it is her own reclusiveness. Coming from a conservative family, Begum was wary of the camera and stayed away from the limelight. While people from every age, and era, are acquainted with the likes of Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi, and Kishore Kumar, not many from the past and present are aware about the legacy of Shamshad Begum, a woman and singer of as much calibre, if not more.

It is often believed, that it was Lata Mangeshkar who sabotaged Begum’s career, or in kinder words, pushed her into oblivion with her own fame. Their voices though were diametrically in contrast with each other, because while Mangeshkar had a thin voice, Shamshad Begum’s deep and husky voice was a star in itself. In fact, the great OP Nayyar, was one of those few people who held onto Shamshad Begum, because he wasn’t fond of Lata Mangeshkar’s shrill voice. However, what remains lesser-known is that the emergence of Lata Mangeshkar happened when a distraught Shamshad Begum was on a self-imposed retirement post her husband’s death.

Her songs, like 'Kahin Pe Nigahen Kahin Pe Nishana', and 'Kajra Mohabbat Wala' are household names even with the Gen-Z and the Millenials, but she remains unrecognised for most, unlike Lata Mangeshkar who was as much a star, as her song, 'Lag Ja Gale' was amongst the reel-loving youth. Remixes of 'Kajra Mohabbat Wala' have trended on Instagram Reels, and yet very few would know that the song they are grooving to is sung by Shamshad Begum.

In an interview, when asked about her reactions to remixes, she said that she was happy that the younger generations were keeping her music alive. In an age, where popular faces are plastered all over your sight, names are brands, and people are commodities, Shamshad Begum is known entirely by her unadulterated craft, her voice. You may not know her name, but you have most definitely heard her, after all, it was her art that spoke. While receiving the Padma Bhushan, she said, 'Mujhe duaon mein yaad rakhna, mein aap logon ke dil mein rehna chahti hoon’ and while her reclusiveness may have kept her name away from popular consciousness, her voice fills our hearts, just like she would have wished.

Her daughter Usha once said, ‘Mummy always maintained that artistes never die. It is easy for an artiste to make a fortune in Bollywood but it is difficult to earn the respect of an entire industry and people at large." That was Shamshad Begum for you, a songbird that resides in the hearts and prayers, of all who hear and understand her.

Shamshad Begum is an icon, and a legend lost in obscurity, but those who love music know the kind of legacy she lives behind. From the playfulness in 'Kabhi Aar Kabhi Paar', to the poignant 'Chhod Babul Ka Ghar', Shamshad Begum’s talent knew no limit. It’s hard to imagine 'Leke Pehla Pehla Pyar' being sung by anyone else. In her quintessential style, she made every song her own. She wasn’t one to be overshadowed. If other singers were popular, she was iconic, if others made a place for themselves in every nook and cranny, then she was the divinity only some found.

Shamshad Begum’s legacy doesn’t have to be discovered, for it is right before one’s eyes, in the shape of 'Holi Aayi Re Kanhai', or 'Saiyan Dil Mein Aana Re'. Her mighty body of work is a testament to the kind of luminary she is to date. She shied away from the camera, her name remains lesser-known as compared to her contemporaries, but her formidable voice and art transcend all of that and shine bright for the sheer magic that provides to its listeners decades later.

On the singer’s 103rd birth anniversary, we remember her for the icon that she is, known to some, unknown to others, but heard by all, she was Shamshad Begum, a woman of great talent, and even more strength.

Takshi Mehta is a freelance journalist and writer. She firmly believes that we are what we stand up for, and thus you'll always find her wielding a pen.

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