Naushad’s “The Singing Girl Next Door”: Suraiya

A tribute on her 86^th birth anniversary (15 June 1929 – 31 January 2004)

Our last singing star, Suraiya, attained incredible heights of popularity bordering on mass hysteria. She started her singing career, as a child artiste, with Naushad; subsequently, she sang playback for Mehtab in a few films; she graduated as an actor-singer and reached superstardom on the strength of the songs he composed for her. Out of her 300 odd songs, Naushad accounts for about 50. Husnlal Bhagatram might have done a few songs more; he, too, occupies a very important place in her career. But considering Naushad’s association from her debut to her grooming to her maturity, he is the single most important factor in creating the Suraiya legend. For all the superb Suraiya melodies we love, she was an untrained singer, with a limited range. The skilful master, Naushad, kept her in her basic range, and created a feeling in the minds of the viewer that The Girl Next Door was singing.

She was born Suraiya Jamal Shaikh on 15 June 1929 in what is now Pakistan. When she was a small child, her family shifted to Bombay. She was schooled in a local English medium school. When she was 11, her uncle Zahoor Raja, a popular villain in films, once took her to Mohan Studios where the film Taj Mahal was being shot. Its director, Nanubhai Vakil, offered her the role of Mumtaz as a child. Her singing career, too, happened as a similar chance event, when this uncle took her to Kardar Studios to watch shooting. It was here that Naushad suggested that her voice would suit films well, and thus ‘Baby’ Suraiya sang her first song Boot karun main polish babu (this was apparently as a playback artiste) in the film Nai Duniya (1942), composed by him. She went on to sing playback for Mehtab for Sharda, Kanoon and Sanjog (1942-43) under him, when her principal, Miss P.F. Puttack, took a strong view of her truancy from school, and her ‘adventure’ came to an abrupt halt.

After an interregnum of three years, she got the second lead against the mighty Noorjehan in Mehboob Khan’s landmark film, Anmol Ghadi. Naushad gave her three solos – Man leta hai angadaai jeevan pe jawani chhayi, Socha tha kya lya ho gaya and Main dil mein dard basa laayi – in the film, which also got noticed in the face of some immortal songs of Noorjehan. Noorjehan is supposed to have given a lot of trouble to her co-star, but Naushad tactfully found out ways to support Suraiya, without antagonizing Noorjehan. Suraiya then realised that Naushad was grooming her as a major singing star.

Then came her string of films as a singing star – Natak, Dard (1947), Dillagi (1949), Daastan (1950), ending with Deewana (1952) as their final pairing, each of them a silver jubilee hit. Her eleven films – she also sang in Station Master (1942) for him, besides the ten I have already mentioned – in ten years are the maximum number for any composer. I am a great fan of her songs, and Naushad is my top favourite. It is difficult to choose ten best from fifty, as Naushad had a very high hit rate. Continuing my series in the Year of Naushad, let me pay my tribute to Suraiya with some of her most melodious songs by him.

1.  Aa more sanwre sainya mora jiya lahraye from Sanjog (1943), lyrics DN Madhok

I start with one of her early songs she sang playback for Mehtab. As the leading lady sings this love song on the piano, you see Charlie, a top comedian of the era, with involuntary comic mannerisms, as he is thrilled no end by the attention of the lovely lady. He has landed up in a situation of mistaken identity, but is inexorably drawn to her. For a 1943 film, this is a very well-scripted and a sophisticated comedy. Fortunately, a good quality print is available on YT, and I would strongly recommend the readers to watch it.

2.  Jab se chale gaye hain wo zindagi zindagi nahi from Natak (1947), lyrics Khumar Barabanqvi

Naushad exploits the sweet, melodious voice of Suraiya to create this sad song. He was quite liberal about auto-inspiration.  But probably he did better in Aye bhi wo gaye bhi wo, sung by Parul Ghosh in Namste (1943).

3.  Chale dil ki duniya jo barbaad karke from Dard (1947), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

Suraiya has deeply fallen in love with the doctor who had come to the village where plague had broken out. The doctor himself contracts the plague, and he has been taken back to the city. A forlorn Suraiya sings this deeply poignant song of separation. Shakeel Badayuni debuts with this film, which would be the beginning of a long and very close partnership with Naushad. They create a unique style of Suraiya reciting a line in slow tempo in antara, followed by singing it in tune. This would become a hallmark of Suraiya style, followed by Husnlal Bhagatram later. Shakeel finally emerged as the most preferred lyricist of Naushad, writing over 300 songs for him in 30 films. The closeness of their partnership can be seen by the fact that the next highest is DN Madhok with 89 songs from 11 films, followed by Majrooh Sultanpuri with 64 songs in 10 films.

4.  Beech bhanwar mein aan phansa hai dil ka safeena from Dard (1947), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

In this love triangle, Munawwar Sultana suffers severe breakdown as she realises that the man she loves has fallen deeply in love with Suraiya. Suraiya feels terrible dilemma, so beautifully expressed in this song, that she has become indirectly the cause of Munawwar’s illness, and only her marriage with her lover will cure her. Shakeel displays perfect tuning with Naushad, ever willing to modify his lyrics to his demands. Naushad now stretches Suraiya to her vocal limits to create this absolutely beautiful song.

5.  Muraliwale murli baja sun sun murli ko nache jiya from Dillagi (1949), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

Naushad-Suraiya-Shakeel Badayuni are now on roll in this high point of her career as a singing star. The man who played the flute, was passing by Suraiya’s village, and is taken in by her father as his farm-hand. In this idyll, love blooms as Shyam plays the flute, just as Krishna had played to Radha, and Suraiya can’t help herself dancing to the tune.

6.  Tera khayal dil se bhulaya na jayega from Dillagi (1949), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

As Suraiya’s relatives come to know of their dalliance, the man with the flute is forced to leave the village. But they can’t take him out of her heart.

7.  Ye mausam aur ye tanhaai from Daastan (1950), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

What would a lady in love do as she is by herself with the piano in front of her? As she sings this lovely song beckoning her lover, Raj Kapoor, in soiled clothes (after a paint job?) comes in on tip toe.  This song, too, has a part of antaras in recital style.

8.  Ae shama tu bata tera parwana kaun hai from Daastan (1950), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

Suraiya has now three suitors for her love: Raj Kapoor, his elder brother Al Nasir, and his friend, Suresh who has come from abroad. Spoilt for choice, she sings this piano song in party scene, in a teasingly delightful mood.  Recital of a part of antara, and repeating it to tune never sounded more delightful.

9.  Dil mein aa gaya koi from Deewana (1952), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

With this film Naushad breaks finally with AR Kardar. Though he composed one of the greatest Rafi solos, Tasweer banata hun teri khoone-jigar se are, in the film, his commitment to the project was probably slackening as he knew that Kardar was taking his assistant Ghulam Mohmmad to compose music for his next project Dil-e-Nadan (1953). But Naushad could compose this chorus-backed song even in his sleep.

10.  Mora najuk badan chhue chanchal pawan from Deewana (1952), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

In his last film with Kardar, and Suraiya, Naushad stretches the envelope, to compose probably her most seductive song.

Notes and acknowledgement:
1.  My primary source for this article is Raju Bharatan’s Naushadnama.
2.  Anil Bhargav’s Swaron Ki Yatra is a useful source for a broad profile of singers, and some approximate data about their career.
3.  Atul Song A Day is now the most comprehensive source of Suraiya’s songs at one place.    Here is a very good analysis of her songs music director-wise.  He has also done year-wise and lyricist-wise analysis.  Impressive work.
4.  In spite of one’s best efforts, it is impossible to guarantee absolute accuracy with regard to the early history of our music.  For a long time, Suraiya’s debut song was thought to be Panchhi ja, peeche raha zamana from Sharada (1942).  Cineplot mentions this as her debut song based on Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema.  This article, too, containing Suraiya’s interview in quotes, suggests this as her debut song. In this “interview”, Suraiya gives an altogether different story of her debut as singer.  Raj Kapoor and Madan Mohan once dragged her to a children’s programme on the All India Radio.  Naushad, who heard her voice on the radio, got in touch with her to sing for Kardar’s Sharda, and thus she got to sing Panchhi ja picturised on Mehtab.  Suraiya was 11 then. Now most sources, including Raju Bharatan’s “interview” of Suraiya put Boot karun main polish from Nai Duniya (1942) as her first song.  Therefore, either at different interviews she remembered her debut differently, or someone was writing fiction.