cher

Cher (pronounced)born Cherilyn Sarkisian on May 20, 1946)is an American pop singer-songwriter, actor, director and record producer. She has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards and a People's Choice Award for her work in film, music and television.
Cher began her career at the age of seventeen and came to prominence as one half of the pop rock duo Sonny & Cher when their song "I Got You Babe" became an overnight hit in 1965. She subsequently established herself as a solo recording artist, and became a television star in the 1970s with the variety show The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, for which she won a Golden Globe Award. A well received performance in the film Silkwood earned her a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1984. In the following years, Cher starred in a string of hit films including Mask, The Witches of Eastwick, and Moonstruck, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress in 1988.
Cher is the only female solo artist to reach the Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in each of the previous four decades. Her hit dance single "Believe" is her biggest-selling recording and was the best-selling single of 1999,[ having sold over 10 million copies worldwide.She holds the Hot 100 record for the longest hit-making career span, with 33 years between the release of her first and most recent #1 singles, in 1965 and 1998. Cher ended her 3-year-long "Farewell Tour" in 2005 as the most successful tour by a female solo artist to that time.
With a career lasting over 40 years, Cher is an enduring pop culture icon and one of the most popular and biggest-selling artists in the history of contemporary music, having sold over 100 million records worldwide After a three-year hiatus and retirement from touring city to city, Cher returned to the stage in 2008 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas where she is currently performing her show Cher at the Colosseum.

amber

Marie-Claire "Amber" Cremers (born May 9, 1970) is a Dutch-German Singer, songwriter, label owner and executive producer. Her biggest hits include "This Is Your Night," "One More Night," "If You Could Read My Mind," "Sexual (Li Da Di)," "Yes!, "You Move Me," and "No More Tears
Amber's music career took off when one of her demos, "This Is Your Night" gained interest by Tommy Boy Records. Soon after its release as a single, it became one of the most successful popular songs of 1996 and 1997. A full length album soon followed. It included further hit songs such as "Colour Of Love" and "One More Night." Amber's self titled sophomore album garnered the most mainstream attention thus far. Her next set of singles such as "Love One Another", "Sexual (Di Da Di)" and "Above The Clouds" were very well received which followed with the self entitled album 'Amber'. In 2000, Amber released the album 'Remixed', which contained remixes of all her previous singles, including "If You Could Read My Mind." It also included a popular non-album track called "Taste The Tears," which had previously appeared on the TV soundtrack for "Sex and The City", amongst such as 'Object of your desire and 'Above the clouds'. In 2001, she received a Grammy nomination as the writer of 'Love one another' for Cher's cover version and also co wrote for Bette Midler. Amber's third album "Naked" was released in early 2002. It was her first album

tahira seyd

Tahira Syed (Urdu: طاہرہ سيد) is a Ghazal singer in Pakistan. She is the daughter of vocalist Begum Malika Pukhraj, and was the wife of Naeem Bokhari

Syed received her initial training in music from Ustad Akhtar Hussain. She first appeared on air in 1968–69 on Radio Pakistan, and her popularity increased in the 1970s and 1980's. "Chanjar Phabdi na" and "Abhi to Main Jawan Houn" are some of her most popular songs. She has been the recipient of various musical awards in recognition of her achievements as a singer. In 1985, she appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine Being the youngest, Tahira was made to learn singing since the tender age of 12. After two years of rigorous classical music training by a teacher, Tahira was then personally taught music by her mother.

whitney houston

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born August 9, 1963) is an American recording artist, actress, and former fashion model. A relative to several prominent soul singers, including her mother Cissy Houston, cousins Dee Dee and Dionne Warwick, and godmother Aretha Franklin, Houston began singing at her New Jersey church as a member of a junior gospel choir at age eleven. After she began performing alongside her mother at night clubs in the New York City area, she was discovered by Arista Records label head Clive Davis.
Houston released her debut album Whitney Houston in 1985, which became the best-selling debut album by a female artist. Her second studio album Whitney (1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart.Houston's crossover appeal on the popular music charts as well as her prominence on MTV enabled several African-American women to follow in her success.
Following her marriage to fellow singer Bobby Brown, Houston appeared in her first starring role in the feature film The Bodyguard in 1992. The film's original soundtrack won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year, and became the world's best-selling soundtrack. Its lead single, "I Will Always Love You", became one of the best-selling singles in music history

britney spears

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer and entertainer. Born in Mississippi and raised in Louisiana, Spears first appeared on national television in 1992 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The New Mickey Mouse Club from 1993 to 1994. In 1997, Spears signed a recording contract with Jive, releasing her debut album ...Baby One More Time in 1999. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, and established her as a pop icon and "bona fide pop phenomenon", credited for influencing the revival of teen pop in the late 1990s.
In the years following her ascent to pop superstar, Spears's personal life has been a frequent subject of celebrity and tabloid journalism. Spears has been married twice, most notably to Kevin Federline, has two children, and was the subject of a reality TV show with Federline in Britney & Kevin: Chaotic.
According to Zomba Label Group and Sony Music, Spears has sold over 83 million albums worldwide. She is ranked as the eighth best-selling female recording artist in the U.S. with 35 million copies of her albums certified by the RIAA, and is currently the fifth best-selling artist act of the decade in the country, as well as the top-selling female artist Spears is also ranked by Forbes 2009 issue as the 13th most powerful celebrity, and with earnings of over $35 million dollars in 2009, the 2nd-highest earning young musician of the year.

tina charles

Tina Charles (born Tina Hoskins, 10 March 1954, Whitechapel, London is an English singer, who achieved success as a disco artist in the mid to late 1970s. Her chosen stage name of Charles was a tribute to her father, Charles Hoskins.



Charles began her career as a backing singer and session musician, and recorded her first solo single in 1969 with a then unknown Elton John singing backing vocals. During the early 1970s she supplied vocals for the Top of the Pops album series. In 1971 she recorded a record called "Joe" (about a little puppy); the same year she made appearances in the first series of The Two Ronnies, the famous BBC One sketch show starring Ronnie Barker and Ronnie Corbett.
In 1975 Charles and her friend Linda Lewis were backing vocalists on the Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel chart topping song, "Make Me Smile (Come Up and See Me)".
She provided the lead vocals for 5000 Volts' 1975 disco hit single "I'm On Fire". Although not publicly acknowledged as a group member at the time, Charles was considered to have a stronger voice than the group's official lead singer. The song reached number 4 in the UK Singles Chart, and 26 in the Billboard Hot 100.
Charles' big break came in 1975

alanis morissette

Alanis Nadine Morissette (born June 1, 1974) is a Canadian-American singer-songwriter, record producer and occasional actress. She has won 12 Juno Awards and seven Grammy Awards. Morissette began her career in Canada, and as a teenager recorded two dance-pop albums, Alanis and Now Is the Time, under MCA Records. Her debut album was the rock-influenced Jagged Little Pill, which remains the best-selling debut album by a female artist in the U.S., and the highest selling debut album worldwide, selling 30 million units worldwide. Her following album, Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie, was released in 1998 and was a success as well. Morissette took up producing duties for her subsequent albums, which include Under Rug Swept, So-Called Chaos and Flavors of Entanglement. Morissette has sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. In February 2005, Morissette became a naturalized citizen of the United States while maintaining her Canadian citizenship.

celine dion

born March 30, 1968) is a Canadian singer, occasional songwriter, actress, and entrepreneur. Born to a large, impoverished family in Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record. In 1990, she released the anglophone album Unison, establishing herself as a viable pop artist in North America and other English-speaking areas of the world.
Dion had first gained international recognition in the 1980s by winning both the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival and the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest.Following a series of French albums in the early 1980s, she signed on to CBS Records Canada in 1986. During the 1990s, with the help of Angélil, she achieved worldwide fame after signing with Epic Records and releasing several English albums along with additional French albums, becoming one of the most successful artists in pop music history. However, in 1999 at the height of her success, Dion announced a temporary retirement from entertainment in order to start a family and spend time with her husband, who had been diagnosed with cancer. She returned to the top of pop music in 2002 and signed a three-year (later extended to almost five years) contract to perform nightly in a five-star theatrical show at the Colosseum at Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.
Dion's music has been influenced by genres ranging from rock and R&B to gospel and classical. While her releases have often received mixed critical reception, she is renowned for her technically skilled and powerful vocals. Dion is the best selling Canadian artist of all time;and her album, D'eux is the best selling French-language album of all time. In 2004, after surpassing 175 million in album sales worldwide, she was presented with the Chopard Diamond Award at the World Music Awards for becoming the best selling female artist of all time.In April 2007 Sony BMG announced that Celine Dion had sold over 200 million albums worldwide.

firoza begum

Firoza Begum is a renowned Bangladeshi singer who started her career in 1960s. She is one of the pioneer Nazrul Sangeet singers in Bangladesh who popularized the genre in the whole South Asia. Millions of people adhere her name with great honor.
She was married to Kamal Das Gupta who was a renowned singer, composer and lyricist in Bangladesh as well as South Asia. Her son Hamin Ahmed and Shafin Ahmed are also famous singers of the country as well as founder members of a leading musical group named Miles in Bangladesh

roshan ara begum

Born in Calcutta in or around 1917, Roshan Ara Begum visited Lahore during her teens to participate in musical soirées held at the residences of affluent citizens of Chun Peer in Mohalla Peer Gillaanian at Mochi Gate.
During her occasional visits to the city she also broadcast songs from the then All India Radio station, and her name was announced as Bombaywali Roshan Ara Begum. She had acquired this popular nomenclature because she shifted to Bombay in the late 1930s to live near Ustad Abdul Karim Khan, from whom she took lessons in Hindustani classical music for fifteen years.
Her performance in Chun Peer's abode in early 1941 pleasantly surprised local heavyweights and connoisseurs with her expertise in rendering classical compositions. In Bombay, she lived in a sprawling bungalow with her husband Chaudhry Mohammed Hussain, a police officer.


Possessing a rich, mature and mellifluous voice that could easily lend itself to a wide range of intricate classical music pieces, Roshan Ara employed her natural talent in the promotion of the art, which requires a high degree of cultivation and training. Her singing features a full-throated voice, short and delicate passages of sur, lyricism, romantic appeal and swift taans. All these flourishes were combined in her unique style that reached its peak from 1945 to 1982. Her vigorous style of singing which was interspersed with bold strokes and perfect layakari, left no doubt that she was the greatest exponent of the Kirana Gharana style of khayal singing after the demise of both her mentor Ustad Abdul Karim Khan and his equally talented cousin Ustad Abdul Wahid Khan
Before her migration to Pakistan, Roshan Ara had already become acclaimed as the greatest exponent of Kirana Gharana style of khayal singing in undivided India. She embodied in her art all the exquisite tonal qualities and attributes of her mentor's delicate style of classical vocalization. She proved equally good at alap while delineating raags and also in taking breezy taans in the strand of her Ustad. She was very conscious of her dignity and status and never allowed herself to be emotionally swayed. But when the recording of her Ustad's music was played, her eyes filled with tears.

Migrating to Pakistan in 1948, Roshan Ara Begum settled in Lalamusa, a small town from which her husband hailed. Although far away from Lahore, the cultural centre of Pakistan, she would travel back and forth to participate in music and radio programmes. Visual and audio recording-devices have preserved the richness of Roshan Ara's music — which often overflowed with tonal modulations — its sweetness and delicacy of gamaks and her slow progression of raags. Roshan Ara Begum also sang some film songs, mostly under music composers like Anil Biswas, Feroze Nizami and Tassaduq Hussain. She sang for well-known films such as Pahali Nazar (1945), (Jugnu (1947), Qismat (1956), Roopmati Baazbahadur (1960) and Neela Parbat (1969).
She died in Pakistan in 1982 at the approximate age of sixty-five.

madonna

Madonna (born Madonna Louise Ciccone; August 16, 1958) is an American recording artist, occasional actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan and raised in Rochester Hills, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977, for a career in modern dance. After performing as a member of the pop musical groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her self-titled debut album, Madonna in 1983 by Sire Records.
A series of hit singles from her studio albums Like a Virgin (1984) and True Blue (1986) gained her global recognition, establishing her as a pop icon for pushing the boundaries of lyrical content in mainstream popular music and imagery in her music videos, which became a fixture on MTV. Her recognition was augmented by the film Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) which widely became seen as a Madonna vehicle, despite her not playing the lead. Expanding on the use of religious imagery with Like a Prayer (1989), Madonna received positive critical reception for her diverse musical productions, while at the same time receiving criticism from religious conservatives and the Vatican. In 1992, Madonna founded the Maverick corporation, a joint venture between herself and Time Warner. The same year, she expanded the use of sexually explicit material in her work, beginning the release of the studio album Erotica, followed by the publishing of the coffee table book Sex, and starring in the erotic thriller Body of Evidence, all of which received negative responses from conservatives and liberals alike.
In 1996, Madonna played the starring role in the film, Evita, for which she won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy. Madonna's seventh studio album Ray of Light (1998) became one of her most critically acclaimed, recognized for its lyrical depth. In 2005, Madonna released Confessions on a Dance Floor, which earned the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album. Her eleventh studio album Hard Candy (2008), became her seventh to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart. Departing from Warner Bros. Records, Madonna signed an unprecedented $120 million dollar contract with Live Nation the same year.
Madonna is ranked by the Recording Industry Association of America as the best-selling female rock artist of the twentieth century and the second top-selling female artist in the United States with sixty-three million certified albums; she has sold over two-hundred million albums worldwide. In 2007, Guinness World Records listed her as the world's most successful female recording artist of all time and she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the following year. Considered to be one of the most influential women in contemporary music, Madonna has been known for continually reinventing her music and image and for retaining a standard of anonymity within the recording industry; she is recognized as an influence among numerous music artists

nayyara noor

Nayyara Noor was born in 1950 in Assam. Her family was a merchant class hailing from Amritsar who had settled in Guwahati in Assam State in the Eastern India. Her father was an active member of the Muslim League and in 1958, the family moved to Pakistan. As a child, Nayyara is said to have been inspired by the bhajans of Kanan Devi and Kamla as well as the ghazals and thumris of Begum Akhtar.
Although Nayyara had no formal musical background nor formal training, she was discovered by Professor Israr at the Islamia College in Lahore after hearing her sing for her friends and teachers at an annual dinner at the National College of Arts in Lahore in 1968. Soon thereafter she was asked to sing for the university's Radio Pakistan programs.
In 1971, Nayyara made her public singing debut in Pakistani television serials and then beginning with films like Gharana and Tansen. She has since sung ghazals composed by the likes of Ghalib and Faiz Ahmed Faiz and has performed with Mehdi Hassan. She has won three gold medals in the All Pakistan Music Conference and a Nigar Award for best female singer. She has since performed at countless mehfils and mushairas having cemented a following among ghazal lovers in Pakistan and India

rabi peerzada

Rabi Peerzada (also spelled as Rabi Pirzada), is a Pakistani pop singer. She was born in Quetta on February 3, but natively belongs to Muzaffarabad, Azad Kashmir. She is a daughter of Ex Pak army officer Major Humayoon Peerzada. Intrusting fact about her that she is only female Karate Black-belt holder from Punjab province.
Rabi Peerzada was a drummer and an occasional singer in her college life. But she was started her career as a Host for weekly television show Sunday Ke Sunday, she also hosted a musical show Sur Sangeet. Rabi was also worked in television play Koi To Aaye Ga as an actress.
Her first song was Dadi Kuree released in 2004, Dadi Kuree, brought Rabi a lot of popularity. Her first music album Jadoo was released in 2005. In 2006, she was released her second album Mujhe Ishq Hai.
In December 23, 2006 she was married to Ali

annie noor ul ain

Noor–ul–Ain popularly known as Annie, (Punjabi, Urdu: عینی) is a Pakistani pop singer. Annie was born in 1984 in Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan. In 1985, her parents moved to London where she grew up.
Annie started her singing career at the age of fifteen. In 2000, during a summer vacation she came to Pakistan, and performed first time in live concert for Abrarul Haq's charity in Sargodha where her voice and talents were discovered.

humaira arsdah

Humera (Humaira) Arshad (Urdu: حمیرا ارشد) is a Pakistani pop singer. She is a renowned Pakistani folk, pop, culture and ghazal singer who has been classically trained. Her albums are Chori Kach Di and Gal Sun Dholna. Humaira says she used to accompany her mother to majalis for sooz khwani from an early age, where her vocal talent was noticed by many. The appreciation made her keen on pursuing music at a professional level. She was also lucky to have trained under the tutelage of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and has won numerous honors and awards for her musical achievements.

nazia hassan

Nazia Hassan (Urdu: نازیہ حسن) (April 3, 1965 – August 13, 2000[1]) was an iconic Pakistani pop singer. Her song "Aap Jaisa Koi" from the film Qurbani made her a legend and pop icon in Pakistan and all of South Asia in the 1980s where she is admired and loved even today, several years after her death.
She was best known with the titles of The Queen of Pop Singing and Sweetheart of Pakistan. She was the most influential and popular female singer and probably one of the few real pop singer of the 1980s and the 1990s in both India and Pakistan.
Contents[hide]

abida parveen

Abida Parveen (born 1954) (Sindhi: عابده پروين, Urdu: عابده پروین), is a Pakistani singer of Sufi music. Parveen sings in Urdu, Sindhi, Seraiki, Punjabi and Persian.


Early life and background
Abida Parveen, a Sindhi, was born in mohalla Ali Goharabad in Larkana (Sindh province, Pakistan).[1] She received her musical training initially from her father, Ustad Ghulam Haider, and subsequently from Ustad Salamat Ali Khan (of the Sham Chorasia gharana).


Abida Parveen embarked upon her professional career from Radio Pakistan, Hyderabad, in 1973. Her first hit was the Sindhi song “Tuhinje zulfan jay band kamand widha”.


President of Pakistan’s Award for Pride of Performance

shabnam majeed

Shabnam Majeed is Pakistani singer started his singing career from PTV get in to notice with a song “Supereme Ishq” produced by shoaib mansoor Bally Sagoo produced remix song “Dil cheez hai kya jana”smashed the Asian Music Channal chat

hadiqa kiyani

Hadiqa Kiyani (Urdu:Hindko حدیقہ کیانی) is a Pakistani Pop Singer. After working on a successful music project with Adnan Sami, Kiani released her successful debut album, Raaz. After a musical ban imposed on her from the government, Kiani successfully returned to the music scene with her second album, Roshni, which remains her best selling album to date and helped establish her icon as the country's leading female vocalist. Kiani followed up Roshni with a more mature album, Rung. In 2007, she became the first Pakistani mainstream artist to release a complete English album, Rough Cut. Kiani is also set to be a judge on a Pakistani version of The X Factor and American Idol, and has released her fifth album, Aasmaan in June 2009. One of the most successful musicians in Pakistan, she has been awarded the Tamgha-e-Imtiaz as well as countless musical awards throughtout her career.

reshma

Reshma, SI, is a renowned folk singer of Pakistan, who is popular in India too.
She was born in Bikaner, Rajasthan to a Gypsy family in 1947. Her family moved to Pakistan during the partition of India.[1] She says she does not have any training in classical music. In 2004 her rendition of Ashkan Di Gali Vich Mukaam De Gaya was in the top ten of the Indian charts.
Her most famous song is "Lambi Judai", sung for a Bollywood film Hero. Based in Lahore, she is an advocate of good relations between India and Pakistan. She traveled in the first bus from Lahore to Amritsar. She was discovered by the director Subhash Ghai of Hindi Movie Hero when he heard her singing at a function in her village. Although she couldn't speak Hindi properly, the director helped her sing the song by singing in front of her and teaching her the words phonetically.
In October 2002 Reshma performed at the Brunei Gallery in London to a packed fall of Pakistani expatriates her daughter Khadija and Umayr also performed.
In January 2006 she was one of the passengers on the inaugural Lahore-Amritsar bus, the first such service linking both parts of the Punjab since 1947. The bus had 26 passengers in total of whom 15 were Pakistani officials, Reshma had booked seven seats for herself and her family.
Reshma is a vegetarian.

naseem begum

Naseem Begum (1936-1971) was a popular, and well known Pakistani playback singer. She rose to prominence towards the end of the fifties, and by 1964 had managed to win the prestigious Nigar award on five separate occasions. Despite originally being billed as a 'second Noor Jehan', Naseem quickly managed to carve out her own successful niche in the music industry.

[edit] Early life
Naseem Begum was born in the city of Amritsar, British India, in 1936. She acquired her musical training from the classical singer Mukhtar Begum, the elder sister of the renowned ghazal vocalist Farida Khanum. The composer Sheriyar was greatly impressed by her vocal range, and gave her the opportunity to perform in his film Begunah. Naseem immediately tasted success with her song 'Nainon Mein Jal Bhar Aayey', which became one of the most popular tracks of the fifties.

runa laila

Das was born in a Tamil Brahmin-Iyengar family from Bangalore. Her pet name is Lovely. She studied at All Girls Convent High School , Bangalore and Mount Carmel College graduated in Economics and Mathematics.
She began training in Hindustani Classical music since the age of six. She used to run away from home to avoid taking music lessons. In her college days, she was part of an all-girl band. She can play some Flamenco strums on her guitar.
She speaks Kannada,Tamil, Hindi, English,and some Telugu.




Das began acting with the Kamal Hasan film Hey Ram

999) and her playback singing career began when she worked with A. R. Rahman for the Tamil-language film Mudhalvan. She was considered for the role of heroine by Mani Ratnam in his movie 'Alaipayuthey' opposite R. Madhavan. She played heroine alongside the veteran actor Mohanlal in the Malayalam movie Ravanaprabhu and She also played the female lead role opposite Ajith in the Tamil movie Citizen.

vasundhara das

Das was born in a Tamil Brahmin-Iyengar family from Bangalore. Her pet name is Lovely. She studied at All Girls Convent High School , Bangalore and Mount Carmel College graduated in Economics and Mathematics.
She began training in Hindustani Classical music since the age of six. She used to run away from home to avoid taking music lessons. In her college days, she was part of an all-girl band. She can play some Flamenco strums on her guitar.
She speaks Kannada,Tamil, Hindi, English,and some Telugu.

Das began acting with the Kamal Hasan film Hey Ram (1999) and her playback singing career began when she worked with A. R. Rahman for the Tamil-language film Mudhalvan. She was considered for the role of heroine by Mani Ratnam in his movie 'Alaipayuthey' opposite R. Madhavan. She played heroine alongside the veteran actor Mohanlal in the Malayalam movie Ravanaprabhu and She also played the female lead role opposite Ajith in the Tamil movie

usha uthup

Usha Uthup (formerly Iyer) (Tamil:உஷா உதுப்) (born November 8, 1947) is a popular Indian pop singer. She was well known for popular hits in the late 1960s,1970s and 1980s.
She has sung in 15 Indian languages including Bengali, Hindi, English, Punjabi,Assamese, Oriya, Gujarati, Marathi, Konkani, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil and Telugu. She can also sing in several foreign languages including Dutch, French, German, Italian, Sinhalese, Swahili, Russian, Nepalese, Arabic, Creole, Zulu, and Spanish.

usha khanna

Usha Khanna (born 1942 in Gwalior) is an Indian music director. Regarded as the only established female music director in the Indian film industry, she remained active for more than 3 decades from 1960s to 1980s. She is still active making some music for some movies and television-serials, more than 40 years after her debut as music director in Dil Deke Dekho (1959). She received a Filmfare nomination for composing the songs for the huge hit film Souten (1983).

tulsi kumar

Tulsi Kumar is an Indian playback singer for Bollywood films.


She is the daughter of the late Gulshan Kumar and sister of music baron of India
Year

suraiya

Suraiya was born in Gujranwala, Punjab, (which is in Pakistan since 1947), and was the only child of her parents. She was a plain-looking girl and was not formally trained in music; yet she went on to become a successful singing actress.
She attended New Girls' High School in Bombay (Mumbai). She received religious teachings in Persian at home.
Suraiya made her debut as a child artist in Usne Kya Socha (1937). She got a prominent role as a child artist with the help of her uncle Zahoor, who was then a popular villain actor. During a holiday from school in 1941, she accompanied him to Mohan Studios to see the shooting of the film Taj Mahal which was being directed by Nanubhai Vakil. Vakil noticed Suraiya and not having in his mind at that time any particular young girl to play the role of young Mumtaz Mahal in Taj mahal, selected

suman kalyanpur

Suman Kalyanpur aka Suman Hemadey was born on January 28, 1937 in Dhaka, Bangladesh, (which was then a part of India under British Raj), her maiden name being Hemady. In 1943, her family moved to Mumbai (then Bombay), where she received her musical training[1]. She married Ramanand S. Kalyanpur.
Once Talat Mahmood heard Kalyanpur singing in a musical concert. Highly impressed, he recommended her to his music recording company, HMV. At age 17, she provided her first playback singing for the movie, Mangu (1954), singing the song Koi Pukāre Dheere Se Tujhe.
Kalyanpur provided playback singing for Miyān Bibi Rāzi (1960), Bāt Ek Rāt Ki (1962), Dil Ek Mandir (1963), Dil Hi To Hai (1963), Shagoon (1964), Jahān Āra (1964), Sānjh Aur Sawerā (1964), Noor Jahān (1967), Saathi (1968) and Pakeezāh (1971). She sang for composers Shankar Jaikishan, Roshan, Madan Mohan, S. D. Burman, Hemant Kumar, Chitragupta, Naushad, S. N. Tripathi, and Ghulam Mohammed, singing the most songs for the first two in the list. She has sung over 740 movie and non-movie songs.
Some of Kalyanpur's popular songs include Nā Tum Hamen Jāno (Bāt Ek Rāt Ki), Chhodo, Chhodo Mori Bāiyān (Miyā Biwi Rāzi), Dil Gham Se Jal Rahā (Shamā), Yun Hi Dil Ne Chāhā Thā

sulakshana pandit

Sulakshana comes from a musically-inclined family. Her brothers are Jatin Pandit and Lalit Pandit, better known as the composing duo Jatin Lalit. Her sister is actress and playback singer Vijeta Pandit who had starred in the teen hit film Love Story (1981 film). Sulakshana had a mid-level career as heroine in the 1970s and early 1980s, usually cast opposite Jeetendra in films, such as Apnapan (1977). Simultaneously, she also had a playback singing career, where she not only sang for some of her films that she starred in, but also for other heroines. She won the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award in 1975 for singing "Tu hi saagar hai tu hi kinara" in Sankalp (1975). She also received a Filmfare Nomination as Best Female Playback Award for rendering the classical "bandhi re kahe preet" in Sankoch (1976) but lost it to Hemlata. Besides Jeetendra and Sanjeev Kumar, she also worked with Shammi Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna, Rishi Kapoor, Raj Babbar and Rakesh Roshan.
She had recorded a song "Mujhe pyar mein khat" for the film Hera Pheri(1975)which was rejected by the music company and re-recorded by Asha Bhosle. Sulakshana who was rejected as a singer got selected as the leading lady for the same film which also starred Amitabh Bachchan and Vinod Khanna. Incidentally the song "Mujhe pyar mein" was picturised on Sulakshana on-screen.
Sulakshana was mostly confined to playing glamour doll roles in films and seldom got a chance to display her acting ability. She did play an author backed role in Anil Ganguly's version of Parineeta which was named Sankoch (1976) where she got the opportunity to portray Lolita which was earlier played by Meena Kumari in 1954 and later by Vidya Balan in 2005. Even in a film like "Apnapan" (1977) where Pandit played the leading lady, it was Reena Roy who walked away with the accolades and also the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for portraying a role with grey shades. Pandit was always confined to play a typical Indian heroine who could do no wrong and romance the hero according to his convenience.
Even though Pandit never got an award for acting she did manage to remain in the bracket of mid

sudhab malhotra

Sudha Malhotra was born on November 30, 1936 in New Delhi. Sudha spent her childhood days in Lahore, Bhopal and Firozpur. She completed her graduation in music from Agra University. Sudha Malhotra gained her grooming in Indian classical music, under the guidance of Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan and Pandit Laxman Prasad Jaipurwale. She began her musical career at a tender age of five. Her talent was discovered by the then famous and revolutionary music director Ghulam Haider, at a programme .

shweta pandit

Shweta Pandit is an Indian playback singer in Bollywood.
At the age of five, Shweta Pandit worked with Ilayaraja for Anjali. She has sung in various films even as a child-singer including Pardes, Raju Chacha, Saaz and many more.
Belonging to the MEWATI GHARANA of music, Shweta is blessed to be the 4th generation of vocalists in her family of great music maestros. Having started in the world of playback singing from the tender age of 4 with Mani Ratnam’s south Indian super successful film ‘ANJALI’ with the title song dubbed in Hindi.
She got her first big leading break with YASH RAJ FILMS with Aditya Chopra’s ‘MOHABBATEIN’ with 5 songs at the age of 12.
Her Debut Record Album Main Zindagi Hoon released when she was only 16 years old with Virgin

shreya ghoshal

Shreya Ghoshal (born March 12, 1984 in Rawatbhata, Rajasthan, India) is an Indian playback singer. She performed several songs in Bollywood, regional films and also for Indian soaps like Kasturi. Besides Hindi, she has also sung songs in Bengali, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil and Telugu.

sapna mukherjee

Sapna Mukherjee is a Bollywood playback singer who won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for the chartbuster hit "Tirchi topiwale" in Tridev (1989).
She has since sang for most of the leading ladies of the time including Sridevi, Sushmita Sen, Rekha and many others. She was introduced in Bollywood by Kalyanji Anandji in Feroz Khan's magnum opus Jaan baaz (1986) where she sang "Ek to kam zindagani..pyar do pyar lo" picturised on the ravishing Rekha.
Despite being well trained in classical singing and having the potential, she couldn't scale great heights like her contemporaries Alka Yagnik and Kavita Krishnamurthy. Yet she's still remembered for the naughtiness and spunk in her voice specially for the cult song "Oye Oye" from Tridev (1989)

ruma guha

She was born in 1934 as Ruma Ghosh. She hails from a Brahmo Bengali family. Her father was Satyen Ghosh (known as Montey Ghosh) and her mother was Sati Devi, a singer. Sati Devi's younger sister Bijoya married film director Satyajit Ray. Thakurta had her formal education in many places including Santiniketan for a brief period. She was educated first in Loretto and then in Gokhale School and thereafter Sacred Heart School, Lahore. She was also one of the earliest child students of Uday Shankar Cultural Centre in Almora in its formative years where her mother had been a music teacher. Kishore Kumar married Ruma Ghosh in May 1951 in Bombay, and their son Amit Kumar was born the following year. The couple divorced in 1958. She settled in Calcutta and married Arup Guha Thakurta and had two children by him, Ayan and Sromana. In 1958 she set up Calcutta Youth Choir with Salil Chowdhury and Satyajit Ray.

Singing career
As a solo singer Ruma Guha Thakurta recorded a few Rabindra sangeet like Maya Bono Biharini Harini with Kishore Kumar in Lookochuri, Sukher Majhe tomai dekhechi in Jodi Jantem and Potho Hara Tumi Pothika and a few nos of Rabindra Sangeet in 'Bakshaw Badal', 'Bajey Karun Surey' in monihar, 'Momochitte Nite Nritey' in Ponchoshor and others. HMV recorded Kotha Baire Dure, Khone Khone Mone Mone and few others. In Bangla Adunik (modern) songs Guhathakurta recorded a number of songs like Mon Je amar kemon kemon...' in Polatak, 'Ei To Hethai Kunja...' with Kishore Kumar in Lookochuri, 'Tomar Geeti with Hemant Kumar in Lookichuri, Jodi Akash Hote in Ashi te Ashio na (only used in film), Sukh Sari with Manna Dey in Antony Firengee, the most melodious song in the movie Baghini Sudhu Poth Chey thaka, baithaki songs in movie Benarasi. In the year 1969 HMV recorded Ek Khana Megh Bheshe elo akase and Bathan Bathan by her was super hit. Few duet songs like Sajea Dopati with Bhupen Hazarika are too good. In the year 1993 after Satyajit Ray died she recorded Puroskare Sommane as a tribute to him. Guha Thakurta is having a strong voice range so the songs which the listeners are userd to listen in her voice will never like in others voice. Once hearing those songs specially Bistirno Duparee, Tomar Amar Thikana, and many more. Her tribute to Mother Teresa after Mother passed away was really sung by her from the core point of her heart. She takes music classes where it is seen that both her students and herself is really devoted in music. Most of the songs sung by her is always related for awakening the society.

Acting career
Her career started in Bollywood as a child artist. Thakurta acted in more than 100 movies in Bengali. Most of her Hindi movies were released in the 1950s. She joined Bollywood as a child artist at a remuneration of Rs. 500 (US$ 10.3) at the age of thirteen in the Prithvi Theatre. She acted in number Hindi movies like Rajani, Raagrang, Samar, Afsar, and Bairaag. In 1944 Devikarani gave her a break in Jwar Bhata after seeing her dance. Ritwik Ghatak wanted her to act in the lead role in his film Meghe Dhaka Tara, but she was busy in shooting Rajen Tarafdar’s Ganga so she could not accept the offer. She performed as a lead actress in films such as Khaneker Athithi, Benarasi, Ashi te Asio Na, Personal Asst, Ganga, Abhijan, Nirjan Soikote, Ponchosor, Arogya Niketon, and Ganashatru. She performed as a supporting actress in Cheley Kar, Gar Nasimpur, Bhaghini, Jodi Jantem, Hanghsa Mithun, Balika Badhu, Chakranto, Malabadal, Chowdury Paribar, Aakrosh, and Aagoon

rajkumariu

Rajkumari was born in 1924. She never really had the opportunity to learn to sing, but was always supported by her family. She was just 10 years old when she recorded her first song for HMV in 1934 and she started her career as a stage artiste. Vijay Bhatt and Shankar Bhatt of Prakash Pictures spotted her during one of her shows. They liked her voice and persuaded her to discontinue acting on stage as it would spoil her voice (In those days, there were no mikes and you had to shout to be heard). So she quit theatre, and became an employee of Prakash Pictures as an actress and singer.
Rajkumari's first film with them was a Hindi-Gujarati bilingual called Sansar Leela Nayi Duniya. She got important roles in films like Aankh Ka Tara and Turki Sher (1933). She was the heroine Bhakt Ke Bhagwan and Insaaf Ki Topi (1934). In those days she often acted opposite Zakaria Khan (late actor Amjad Khan's father, whose screen name was Jayant). She also used to sing for popular music director Lallubhai. She began getting fed up with having to watch on her figure and decided to stick to just singing as a career. After she quit Prakash Pictures, she began playback singing for actresses like Ratnamala, Shobhana Samarth, etc. and soon she became the First Female Playback Singer of Indian Cinema.
She sang many Gujarati and Punjabi songs. Even though she was not trained to sing, she was very good at picking up what her composers taught her. They thought she was a trained singer! She was able to also establish herself as a classical singer and excelled in singing and voice production

noor jehan

Noor Jehan (Punjabi, Urdu: نور جہاں) was the adopted stage name for Allah Wasai (September 21, 1926 – December 23, 2000) who was a singer and actress in British India and Pakistan. She is renowned as one of the greatest singers of her time in South Asia and was given the honorific title of Mallika-e-Tarranum (Urdu: ملکہ ترنم, English: the queen of melody).
Born in a family of musicians, Wasai was pushed by her parents to follow in their musical footsteps and become a singer but she was more interested in acting in films and graced the earliest Pakistani films with her performances. She holds an astounding record of 10,000 songs to her singing credits in various languages of Pakistan including Urdu, Punjabi and Sindhi languages, she is also considered to be the first female Pakistani film director.
In 1957, Jehan was awarded the President's Award for her acting and singing capabilities.

nihira joshi

Nihira Joshi was a Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Challenge 2005 finalist achieving 5th place with public votes. Joshi was a member of Ismail Darbar's "Yalgar Ho" Gharana.
Nihira Joshi is 22 years old Arts graduate from Mithibai College, Mumbai. Nihira's playback singing career include the songs 'Dhadak Dhadak', with Sunidhi Chauhan and Udit Narayan from the film Bunty Aur Babli, 'Sabse Alag' from the film Alag, 'Raat Kahegi Daastan' from the film 88 Antop Hill 'Mera Dil' and 'Babuji Dheere' from the film Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love and 'Tan Man' from Marigold. She has also sung the title song of the Ekta Kapoor Zee TV serial 'Kasamh Se' and the Radio City theme song with playback singer Shaan. Nihira is the only female singer in the entire album of Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute to Love who gets to sing two songs. Titled Mera Dil, it is a sugar coated love song sung by Nihira and Shaan with fantasy ingredients to it which makes it a feel-good number to croon around. The track has been composed to be picturized for Ayesha Takia and Akshaye Khanna in the film. Nihira also croons the re-arranged [not remixed] version of the classic 'Babuji Dheere Chalna' [Aar Paar] originally sung by Geeta Dutt.
Nihira was also a former winner on the Ghazal show, 'Aadab Arz Hai'. The show was anchored by Pankaj Udhas and Rakshanda Khan.

mubarak begum

Mubarak Begum (Devanagari: b. 19??, Sujangarh, Churu, Rajasthan) is an Indian Ghazal and playback singer.
She started her career with light music recitals with All India Radio, the Indian government radio. Her career as a playback singer with Hindi film industry started when she got a break in the movie Aaiye with the song "Mohe Aane Lagi Angrayi, Aja Aja Balam" for composer Shaukat Dehlvi. She also sang a duet with the then upcoming Lata Mangeshkar.
Most composers had preferring to provide her with only a few lines instead of complete songs; she had struggled to be considered for complete songs. Even later, when she happened to sing seven songs in the Kamaal Amrohi film Daayaraa, the film sank and with that her hopes of making it big in the Hindi film playback industry.
Her big moment, however, finally came when the legendary film maker Bimal Roy gave her the song "Haal-e-Dil Sunayenge" in the film Madhumati. The song was one among the many hits in the extremely successful movie. But somehow, luck continued to elude Mubarak Begum, with only an occasional hit over the subsequent years. With her soulful voice and melody, and the haunting effect her voice had over listeners, she could not quite reach the heights she ought to have. Another major hit in her career was the song "kabhi tanhaiyon mein" for composer Snhela Bhatkar in Kidar Sharma's film Hamaari Yaad Aayegi.

anuradha srirum

Anuradha Sriram Parasuram was born in Chennai on July 9 1970, to playback singer Renuka Devi and Meenakshi Sundaram Mohan in Chennai. She completed her Bachelors in Music from Queen Mary's College, Chennai and Masters Degree in Queen Mary's College Chennai. Learnt Carnatic Classical music from the musical giant Kalyanaraman and Hindustani Classical Music from Manik Bua Takurdas. She had her debut in movies through Sri A R Rahman in Minsara Kanavu. Anuradha is from a Tamil family and completed her Master's in Ethnomusicology from Wesleyan University, US prior to her foray into music. She is married to singer Sriram Parasuram [1].

[edit] Career
Anuradha specializes in Carnatic music and has sung in over 1000 concerts worldwide. She is keenly interested in folk music. She has featured in a number of 'jugalbandhi' or fusion concerts along with her husband, Vidwan Sriram Parasuram ni maestro. She sung more than 3000 songs in all the languages.

kavita subramaniam

Kavita Subramaniam née Kavita Krishnamurthy (born Sharada Krishnamurthy) is a notable Indian film playback singer. Although she is best known as a Bollywood playback singer, she has a much wider repertoire. She has done playback singing for every other Bollywood movie and sold many records. Mrs. Kavita is considered as one of India's most technically gifted singer--her range of songs includes film music, pop, ghazals, bhajans, traditional Indian Classical music, qawwalis, Rabindra Sangeets and fusion work. She has sung in over 14 languages including Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Punjabi, Bengali, English, Oriya, Assamese, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Jharkhandi, Rajasthani and Konkani. Due to her image as a prominent playback singer, she has lent her timeless voice for several Nepali and Bangladeshi films. In her career, she has had the opportunity to work with different music composers of different times.

geeta dutt

Geeta Dutt was born in 1930 into a rich zamindār's family as Geeta Ghosh Roy Chowdhuri in Faridpur, (then in Bengal, India; now in Banglādesh). In 1942, her parents shifted to an apartment in Dādar, Bombay (now Mumbai) when she was twelve. There, composer/music director Hanumān Prasād once overheard her singing casually, and, feeling impressed, he offered to impart her training in singing. He launched her in a chorus song in Bhakta Prahlād (1946), where she sang only two lines. But her rendering of those two lines stood out. The following year, she got a major assignment as a playback singer for Do Bhāi, and her renderings in that movie brought Geeta to the forefront as a top playback singer.

Career
Initially, Geeta was a singer known for singing bhajans and sad songs, but her renderings of composer S. D. Burman's jazzy musical scores in Bāzi in 1951 demonstrated a new facet of Geeta's singing The sexiness in her voice and her easy adaptation to "western" tunes. From then on in the 1950s, Geeta was people's first choice for singing seductive songs and providing song accompaniments in dance clubs.
S.D. Burman recognized the magic in Geeta's voice through her songs in "Do Bhāi". He effectively used the Bengali lilt in her voice in movies like Devdās (1955) and Pyāsā (1957). The song "Aaj Saajan Mohe Ang Lagaa Lo" in "Pyasa" is a prime example of a Bengali keertan being presented in its Hindi version.
Under composer O.P. Nayyar's direction, Geeta further developed into a singer who could sing almost any kind of song, be it soft, snappy, teasing, or sad She, Shamshad Begum and Lata Mangeshkar were the premier female playback singers in the 1950s.

gayatri lyer

Gayatri Iyer (now Ganjawala) is an Indian playback singer, primarily in Bollywood. She recently landed the part of Princess Anjuli in the West End of London musical production of M. M. Kaye's The Far Pavilions, scheduled to open in the summer of 2007.
Gayatri married Kunal Ganjawala, another successful Indian playback singer. She graduated from the prestigious Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow a few years back. Not opting for a corporate career, she has established eading playback in Bollywood

amirbai karnataki

Amirbai Karnataki was born in Bilgi village, District of Bijapur in Karnataka into a middle class family. Of all of her five sisters, Amirbai and her elder sister, Gauharbai, earned fame and fortune. Amirbai completed her matriculation and went to Bombay at the age of fifteen.In an interview with All India Radio, she acknowledged that she had brother named Raj Mohamed Kuntoji who was a police officer in Belgaum District but she had not seen him for many years because he did not approve of her singing and acting in movies. She said that they are descendents of Kalawant tradition of musicians from Rajasthan.

] Career
A representative from HMV was so impressed by her singing talent that he made her sing a Qawwali, which became very popular. Her elder sister, Gauherbai, was an actress and helped Amirbai get a role in the film Vishnu Bhakti in 1934.
Initially, Amirbai sang songs in films, but they failed to attain the success she desired. In 1943, with the release of Bombay Talkies' Kismet (1943 film) (1943), she achieved popularity: the songs of Kismet became a rage and Amirbai became famous. The man behind the success was the composer Anil Biswas. She was initially known as a singing star, but at the decline of her career she became a playback singer. She reached her peak by 1947.
At this time Lata Mangeshkar became a rising star, so once again Amirbai switched over to acting. In her later years she mostly played character roles. Amirbai also composed music for Wahab Pictures' Shehnaaz (1948). In the same year she almost left Hindi Cinema for Gujarati and Marwari

alishah chinoy

Alisha Chinai is a leading pop singer, who can be given the credit for bringing the trend of pop music in India. Born on the 18th of March in 1972, she has brought a revolution in the Indian music industry. It is said that her real name is Sujata. More often, she is known as the Indian Madonna. Well, in this article, we will present you with the biography of Alisha Chinai. Singing CareerThe singing talent of Alisha Chinai was explored by the famous music composer cum director Bappi Lahiri. Bappi Lahiri and Alisha worked together in quite a number of disco songs that have been super hits and enjoyed by people all over. Some of the popular disco hits are Guru, Commando, Dance Dance, Love Love Love and more. Alisha has sung songs for almost all the popular actresses like Sridevi, Smita Patil, Madhuri Dixit, Mandakini, Juhi Chawla etc. To know the complete life history of Aleesha Chinai, read on.During 1990s, she went a step ahead and worked with other music directors like Anu Malik and Nadeem-Shravan. Apart from playback singing, she also came out with her own private albums like 'Made in India' and 'Lover girl', which gained a lot of popularity and became the talk of town. Her pop albums brought her stardom overnight. Her initial albums were very popular, but the latter ones could not gain a positive response from the audience. So, she decided to return back to the filmi music. One of her biggest filmi hits is the song Kajra Re, which made the entire country go crazy. She even received the Filmfare Best Female Playback Award for this song. Awards

JASPINDER NARULA

Jaspinder Narula is a famous singer. The powerful-voiced singer shot to fame after a duet ‘Pyar to hona hi tha’ with Remo Fernandes.
Jaspinder’s tryst with singing began early. Her father K.S. Narula was a music composer of 1950s. Initially Jaspindar Narula kept away from film singing and specialized in singing bhajans and Sufiana compositions. She finally moved to Mumbai a few years later. She got a few assignments to sing for films, but she largely went unnoticed.
A fairly good break came in 1997, when music director Anu Malik offered her an assignment in ‘Viraasat’ for which she recorded a duet with Kumar Sanu. From then on, there was no stopping to Jaspinder who went on to reocord for the industry’s top-notch music directors.
She sang for films like ‘Dulhe Raja’, ‘Mission Kashmir’, ‘Mohabbatein’ and ‘Pyaar To Hona Hi Tha’. She is at ease with all kinds of musical, be it devotional films songs, pop, western of classical.

hema sardesai

Hema Sardesai also known as simply Hema, is an Indian playback singer, best known for her Hindi songs.
During her career, Sardesai has sung playback songs for over 60 Bollywood films, has released several successful Indipop albums, and has performed numerous live stage shows in almost all the states of India and world tours in different countries around the globe.[1]
Sardesai is the only Indian Singer to win the Grand Prix at the 16th International Pop Song Festival in Germany, and the only female singer other than Lata Mangeshkar to perform at the celebrations for the 50th year of India's Independence day.[1]

falguni pathak

Falguni Pathak (Gujarati: ફાલ્ગુની પાઠક, Hindi: फाल्गुनी पाठक), born March 12,1964, is a singer and performing artist from India, based in Mumbai. Her music is based on traditional musical forms from the Indian state of Gujarat. Since her professional and private debut in 1998, she has developed into an artist with a large fan following across India. [1]
Her debut album was released in 1998, and was the first of at least a dozen bearing her name. She has also recorded numerous songs that have been featured in Bollywood movies. Most of the themes in her songs are about love. She has performed in many shows, many of which have run all night, in India and in other countries. Her powerful voice and energetic performances are backed by a band (called Ta Thaiyaa) that can go up to eighteen members.
She gained popularity in India as an entertainer for the Navratri (nine nights) celebration. Her Navratri performances are at an annual event called Sankalp, at Goregaon in suburban Mumbai. After the festival, she usually tours other countries, including the USA and UAE, entertaining mainly the Indian diaspora or NRIs.

anoradha poudval

Anuradha Paudwal is a popular playback singer in Bollywood in India. She has been one of the leading playback singers since Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle. She was the first singer to challenge the monopoly of the Mangeshkar singers, with a spate of successes in the Hindi Playback industry, achieving the number one position

shamshad begum

Shamshad Begum

Shamshad Begum: Indian playback singer, vocalist
Date of Birth: 18 April, 1919
Birthplace: Amritsar, Punjab
Years active: 1934-1975
Residence: Hiranandani Gardens, Powai, Mumbai

Shamshad Begum is one of the first singers of Indian Film Industry. She was born on 14th April, 1919 in Amritsar, Punjab. Her voice was crystal clear like temple bell according to music director O.P. Nayyar. She was a premier singer in 50s and 60s. Her songs from 50's and 60s are still enthralling her fans. Shamshad was one of the two female singers who were survived strongly after the entry of the veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar. Geeta Dutt was the another.

Shamshad started her singing career by singing for Peshawar Radio. Later she also started working for Lahore Radio in 1937. She was part of a musical group 'The Crown Imperial Theatrical Company of Performing Arts', which was formed in Delhi. Along with this group she performed in stage shows and also for All India Radio (AIR). Her radio work helped her to enter into the film industry. AIR Lahore used to broadcast her songs repeatedly, which caught music directors attention and forced them to use her voice in films.

She also had recorded devotional songs and naats for some gramophone companies. The Sarangi master Ustad Hussain Bakshwale Saheb get very much impressed by her voice and made her his disciple. In her early career, music composer Ghulam Haider used her voice in films like Khazanchi (1941) and Khandaan (1942).

In 1944, she moved to Mumbai along with composer Ghulam Haider as a part of his team. Shamshad lent her voice for Ghulam Haider in director Mehboob Khan's historical venture Humayun in 1944. At that time another singer Amirbai Karnatki was the topmost female singer in Industry. But with the entry of Shamshad Begum the scene changed. Many music directors were rushing to sign her for their films. She was the lead singer for music directors like O.P.Nayyar, C. Ramchandra and S. D. Burman. She ruled the Indian Film Industry in 1940s to 50s. She was amongst the one who recorded the first Westernized songs for industry like 'Meri Jaan...Sunday Ke Sunday', which was composed by C. Ramchandra.

Shamshad was most favorite amongst composers like O.P. Nayyar and Naushad Ali. Along with Naushad and Nayyar she had also lent her voice for music directors like Ram Ganguly and Khemchand Prakash. Her hits along with Naushad Ali includes 'Teri Mehfil Main Kismat Azma kar Hum Bhi Dekhange' from Mughal-E-Azam, 'Holi Aayi Re Kanhai' from Mother India, 'O Lagi Lagi' from Aaan, 'Chhau Main Rakha Virana' from Deedar, 'Dhadkar Mera Dil' from Babul and many more.

While her super hit songs along with music director O. P. Nayyar includes 'Poochh Mera Kya Naam Re Nadi Kinare Gaon Re' from Dev Anand starrer CID, and 'Kabhi Aar, Kabhi Paar' from film Aar Paar. Now her songs are being used by young composers to make remix albums. Her other hits also includes 'Kaahe Koyal Shor Machaye' from film Aaag along with composer Ram Ganguly, 'Saiyan Dil main Aana Re' from Bahaar along with composer S D Burman and 'Ai Dil Na Mujhe Yaad Dila' from film Saawan Aaya Re along with composer Khemchand.

Shamshad Begum was graciously beautiful woman in her youth. Her crystal toned, nasal voice created history from 40s to mid 60s. In 1998 there came a rumor that India's one time's famous singer Shamshad Begum had died. But the singer is still alive today living at Hiranandani Gardens, Powai in Mumbai.