“WOH GHAM HASEEN HAI JIS GHAM KE ZIMMEDAAR HOTUM"
……………………………………………………..
SURAIYA JAMAL SHEIKH OR SURAIYA ( 1929-2004)
She was a Punjabi Muslim girl from Lahore who in 1947, chose to stay back in India after the partition of the country even when her friends and co-singers like Noorjahaan and Khursheed decided to move to Pakistan. Like Manto , she was in love with Mumbai (Bombay) and its openness. From singing , she moved to acting in Hindi films .
Born on 15th June, 1929 , she had all the traits of a typical Gemini , her zodiac sign. She was fiercely loyal friend, true ally and a sensitive lover . She was affectionate, highly talented and artistic . She had prominently expressive and beautiful eyes. And like a true Gemini , she happened to be a little indecisive as well. It is said that if a Gemini woman does not get the right life partner / companion , she prefers to spend her time alone unwilling to disturb others. And Suraiya proved it true.
In films she worked with stalwarts like K L Saigal and also with the flamboyant Devanand . She did seven films with Devanand . And they became closer in real life during this period. Add to that, Dev saved her from drowning while they were shooting for a movie and the boat capsized. That built an ineffaceable trust in the man she was romancing with .
None of Suraiya's interviews were complete without a reference to her love story with Dev Anand. In one such interview she said this:-
“Dev was the first young, handsome hero I worked with. He was very charming. It is very difficult for me to say what exactly it was that I really liked about him. I think it was his overall personality. I remember the first time I met Dev, it was on the sets of ‘Vidya’. I was already an established star and he was a new comer. He was very nervous, specially in the romantic scenes.. Soon after, we were shooting in a boat and it capsized but Dev saved me from drowning. I told him, ‘if you hadn’t saved my life today, it would have ended.’ He just said quietly, ‘if your life had ended so would have mine.’ I think that’s when we fell deeply in love."
This romance did not translate into a permanent union or marriage primarily due to tough opposition from Suraiya's grandmother . Suraiya dropped the idea of marriage once for all . Talking about the painful incident, Suraiya has said this:-
"Eventually, my grandmother succeeded in separating us. Dev was deeply hurt and offended by my lack of courage. But I was afraid for him. In retrospect, I don't think anything would have happened if I'd been bold enough. But I was terrified of my grandmother. And was heartbroken."
A deep crush on Gregory Peck resulted in an unusual meeting with this Hollywood star in 1954.Peck rang the doorbell of her Marine Drive house with a bouquet of flowers one day. He was In Mumbai that time . He had also seen some Hindi films wherein Suraiya was in the lead role . Amazed at this unusual meeting , Suraiya chatted for two hours with Gregory Peck that day. A dream come true and life moved forward .
A feature film “ Mirza Ghalib “ brought her to the notice of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru. For this movie, Sohrab Modi got Sadat Hassan Manto’s original story / screen play polished from J K Nanda and used services of Rajinder Singh Bedi as dialogue writer. Manto had written the story for a film project that was shelved due to partition and some other issues . Suraiya acted as Ghalib’s courtesan beloved Moti Begum and also sang some soulful Ghazals of Mirza Ghalib for this movie . It won many awards and also the coveted President’s Medal. After watching the screening of this film inside Rashtrpati Bhawan , Nehru said this:-
“ Rarely we see such feature films .I must give due credit to Mr Sohrab Mody for this project. I am equally delighted to know the contribution of Suraiya Ji for this Film. She has really brought back Ghalib to life."
Every Gazal that she sang for Mirza Ghalib broke all previous records of popularity .Some songs that Suraiya sang are still my favourite . I quote a few
(1) Dhadaktay dil ki tamnaaaon
mera pyaar ho tum
(2) Yeh kaisi ajab dastaan ho gayi hai
(3) Chup Chup khade zaroor koyee baat hai
(4) Tum mujh ko bhool jaao
(5) Mun dheere dheere gaaye re maloom nahin kyon
(6) Chali pee ke nagar ab kaahe ka dar morey baanke balam Kotwaal
(7) Tu mera chaand me teri chandini
(8) Voh pass rahein ya door rahein
(9) Phir duniya ko yaad rahega.
From 1936 to 1963, she acted in about 72 films.Films like Tadbir (1943), Phool (1945), Anmol Ghadi (1946), Dard (1947), Dak Bangla ( 1947) Parwana(1947) ,Dillagi (1949), Duniya (1950), Mirza Ghalib (1953) ,Rustam Sohrab (1963) are some of her hit films . She sang for these films as well and the songs touched newer heights of popularity. She appeared in seven films along with Dev Anand Vidya (1948), Jeet (1949), Shair (1949), Afsar (1950), Nili (1950), Do Sitare (1951), and Sanam (1951).
Many elderly relations and my father in particular would always talk about Badi Behan , Anmol -Ghadi and Dil Lagi as their faourite Suraiya films .
Suraiya had a lonely end in a spacious Marine Drive flat after being admitted to a private hospital for about three weeks . She owned a building in Worli that had several flats . She also owned an orchard in Lonawala.She died without leaving a will for her property .
For quite sometime before her death, she had distanced herself from the world of glitter and glamour .
I conclude this post with a couplet of Faiz Ahmed Faiz...
"Yeh sukhan jo hum ne raqam kiye
Yeh hain sab varaq teri yaad ke ,
Koyee lamhaa subh e Visaal ka
Kayee Shaam e Hijr Ki Muddatein…."
So Long so much on this great artist
( Avtar Mota )
CHINAR SHADE by Autarmota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License.Based on a work at http:\\autarmota.blogspot.com\.
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