Much before the Indian film industry moved to modern-day playback singers, Suraiya was one of the last actors who was a star both on and off screen. In the early fifties, her singing made a significant mark in people’s lives, so much so that fruit sellers sold watermelons in her name, “Le lo babuji bade meethein hai, Suraiya ke khet ke hai.” (These watermelons are as sweet as Suraiya’s voice).
On her 91st birth anniversary, here is a look at the life of the multitalented Suraiya.
The accidental Mumtaz Mahal
Suraiya Jamal Sheikh was born in Lahore on 15 June 1929. Soon, she moved to Mumbai and lived with her uncle who was working with Kardar Films. Suraiya stumbled into the world of acting by accident. She accompanied her uncle to a film set and got a break as Mumtaz Mahal in Taj Mahal (1941). Suraiya also featured as a child artiste in a programme by All India Radio.
However, the credit for discovering her talent as a singer goes to music director Naushad. He gave Suraiya her first melody, Panchhi Jaa. Despite just being 12 and struggling to reach the mic, this song from the film Sharda made her a household name.
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The rise of the singing star
The Indian film industry in the mid-forties was ruled by Suraiya and Noor Jehan. Both of them won hearts when they made a joint appearance in Mehboob Khan’s Anmol Ghadi.
But after Partition in 1947, Noor Jehan moved to Pakistan, leaving Suraiya as the sole claimant to the title of the queen of melody and acting. Between 1946 to 1950, Suraiya appeared in at least 25 films.
Her career witnessed a breakthrough when legendary singer and actor KL Saigal visited the sets of director Jayant Desai’s Chandragupta when Suraiya was rehearsing a song. Saigal asked Desai to cast Suraiya opposite him in Tadbir in 1945. The film’s song Milne Ke Din sung by KL Saigal starring Suraiya is still a favourite of many.
The audience loved the chemistry of Suraiya and Saigal on screen, and the two signed Omar Khayyam and Parwana in quick succession.
Suraiya went on to do movies such as Phool, Vidya, Jeet, Dastan, Sanam and Afsar. Films like Pyaar Ki Jeet in 1948, Badi Behan in 1949 and Dillagi in 1949 proved to be consecutive box office hits. Mirza Ghalib (1954), directed by Sohrab Modi, won two National Film Awards, and Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru told Suraiya that she had made the poet’s soul come alive with her singing. Her talent for playback singing was unmatched by other actors and she was routinely mobbed by fans.
Through the course of her career, Suraiya’s ‘Midas touch’ delivered many super hit films. However, her presence in public remained as elusive as ever. She rarely ever attended parties, kept suitors at arm’s length and chose to reside in a lone ivory tower.
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Suraiya and Dev Anand
Suraiya first met Dev Anand on a film set in 1948. They were shooting a song called Kinare Kinare Chale Jayenge when Suraiya slipped and Anand saved her from drowning.
Years later, Anand recalled the incident: “During the shooting of a song sequence in a lake, we were sitting on a boat, and she slipped. I jumped into the water to save her from drowning.” He added, “I fell in love for the first time. We all know what first love does to a human being. Then the agony of not getting it. Suddenly hope was aroused after being encouraged, but again disillusionment crept in when nothing happened.”
Their love story blossomed over the years and made it to the headlines after they were seen holding hands at a party. But it was Suraiya’s grandmother who staunchly opposed the relationship, on grounds of religion. Despite these turbulences, their relationship grew stronger and Anand proposed to her in 1950.
The news of an engagement made Suraiya’s grandmother furious. She took extreme steps to break off the engagement, including reportedly throwing the engagement ring in the sea. Her maternal uncle also threatened to kill Dev Anand if Suraiya didn’t stop seeing him. A scared Suraiya gave up a piece of her heart, and her life was never the same again. She did very few films post 1952 and chose to retire at the early age of 34 in 1963. She remained unmarried and lived alone for most of the rest of her life, until she died in 2004.
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