Suraiya Death Anniversary

Suraiya, passed away on 31 January 2004, was a popular Indian Hindi/Hindustani film actress and playback singer in Bollywood. She was active from 1936 to 1963. No formal training in singing. No certified acting classes. Yet she ruled the silver screen for over two decades. One of the most sensational actresses during the golden eras, Suraiya is remembered for her drop-dead beautiful looks and melodious voice.

Singing Career

With the help of her maternal uncle, Zahoor (a popular villain of that epoch), Suraiya grabbed a role of a child artist in "Usne Kya Socha" in 1937. While accompanying her uncle to Mohan Studios one day in 1941 to watch the shooting of film "Taj Mahal" directed by Nanubhai Vakil, she was offered the role of young Mumtaz Mahal in the same movie. This proved to be another leap towards hitting the chartbusters. She used to sing for a children's program on All India Radio where she was once heard over by legendary music director Naushad. He instantly offered her to sing for Kardar's film "Sharda" in 1942, showcased on an elderly heroine, Mehtaab. Since she was barely in her teens, she had to stand on a stool to reach the mike and sing the song "Panchi ja". Suraiya was later launched in the 1943 "Hamari Baat" as a singing star. In the years following, she delivered some smash-away hits, but the four solo songs of "Parwana" film made her a star overnight. The composer of these songs Khawaja Khurshid Anwar was her favourite music director, but she went on to sing only 13 songs for him from 1943 through 1949.

Acting Career

After portraying a number of child artist roles, Suraiya was offered secondary roles as an adult. She starred in K. Asif's "Phool", Mehboob Khan's "Anmol Ghadi" (written by Aghajani Kashmeri), and "Dard". But it was "Tadbir" in 1945 that gave her a major break as the leading protagonist, at the recommendation of K.L. Saigal. Later, she starred in "Omar Khayyam" and "Parwana" with K.L. Saigal. But with the migration of ruling actresses Noor Jehan and Khursheed Bano to Pakistan post-independence, Suraiya got an opportunity to flaunt her talent and rule the silver screen. With three hits in hand, "Pyar Ki Jeet", "Badi Behen", and "Dillagi", Suraiya became the highest paid actress of that time. Further, she even had an edge over Kamini Kaushal and Nargis simply because she could sing her own songs. However, the success was short-lived as after a while, her movies starting bombing on the box office in the 1950s. With "Waaris" and "Mirza Ghalib", she made her comeback in 1954. The 1963 released "Rustom Sohrab" was Suraiya's last film as an actor.