The true queen of her era, Suraiya, is perhaps the last embodiment of a rare breed of actress—a singing star. In the early days of transitioning from silent films to “talkies,” where singing happened live on sets with musicians discreetly tucked away, the advent of playback singing marked a significant shift. Actors and actresses with melodious voices became scarce.
In the realm of Hindi cinema, the final enchantress to reign supreme as a singer and actress was Suraiyya. Her departure marked not just the end of an era but the closing chapter of a unique artistic lineage where performers seamlessly blended acting and singing, leaving an everlasting legacy in the hearts of her audience.
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Willum Skeener
Suraiya was born on June 15, 1929, in Lahore. She started working in films as a child, debuting in the 1936 film Madame Fashion, and soon graduated to being a leading lady. When Suraiya was 12 years old, she visited M. Zahoor on the set of his new film, Taj Mahal. From the moment she walked in, the director could sense the little girl on the sidelines had that “something” and gave her the massive role of Mumtaz Mahal.
She was singing for children’s programmes for All India Radio (AIR) in Bombay, and since she was 6 years old, Raj Kapoor and Madan Mohan were her co-artists in that ram. She sang her first song in Nai Duniya (1942) when she was only 12 years old. When legendary music director Naushad Ali heard Suraiya’s voice, he chose her to sing (at age 13) for Mehtab in Abdul Rashid Kardar’s film Sharda (1942). He became Suraiya’s mentor, and she sang some of the best songs of her career under his baton, including Anmol Ghadi (1946), Dard (1947), Dillagi (1949), and Dastaan (1950).
By the mid-1940s, the still-teenaged Suraiya was one of the most beloved actresses and singers in the country; she was known as Malika-e-Husn (queen of beauty), Malika-e-Tarannum (queen of melody), and Malika-e-Adakari (queen of acting). Suraiya’s iron-fisted grandmother, Badshah Begum, controlled everyone in the family, including Suraiya; she was her manager and bodyguard.
The year Suraiya turned 20, she released “Badi Behen (1949),” to adoration from her fans. But when she attended the premiere, the frenzied crowd managed to corner Suraiya. Shaken, Suraiya refused to attend any of her film premiers ever again. Suraiya went on to establish herself as one of the leading actresses in Hindi cinema with films such as Ishaara (1943), Tadbir (1943), Phool (1945), Omar Khaiyyam (1946), Parwana (1947), Dard (1947), and many more.
Dev and Suraiyya
In 1948, Suraiya began work on the family drama film “Vidya,” with Dev Anand starring opposite her. During a shooting of the song “Kinare Kinare Chale Jayen Ge” in Vidya, Suraiya and Dev Anand were shooting in a boat, and Dev Anand saved her from drowning. It was the start of their friendship, which grew into love in no time. But Suraiya’s grandmother was always against the match; initially, Suraiya resisted her but eventually gave in.
In an interview with Stardust in June 1972, Suraiya revealed that she lacked the courage to resist her family and that Anand truly loved her. The two had worked together in quite a few films, like Jeet (1949), Shair (1949), Afsar (1950), Nili (1950), Do Sitare (1951), and Sanam (1951).
Deb Anand later said in an interview, “I fell in love for the first time. We all know what first love does to a human being. Then there was the agony of not getting it. Suddenly hope was aroused after being encouraged, but again disillusionment crept in when nothing happened.”
“It was destined that way. Had I gone to her, my life would have been different. Had I married her, life at her end would have taken me down a different course. Then may be I would not have been the Dev Anand I am today.”
She also acted in successful films like Dillagi (1949), Dastan (1950), Diwana (1952), Mirza Ghalib (1954), Bilwamangal (1954), and Mr. Lambu (1956). In Mirza Ghalib (1954), which won the 1954 National Award for Best Feature Film in India, Suraiya shone both as an actress and as a singer for her rendition of Ghalib’s lover, ‘Chaudvin’. Jawaharlal Nehru commented on seeing the film, “Tumne Mirza Ghalib kii ruuh ko zindaa kar diyaa” (“You have brought the soul of Mirza Ghalib back to life”). Suraiya’s final film release was Rustam Sohrab (1963).
Some of her most famous songs include “Man Leta Hai Angdai,” in Anmol Ghadi, “Tum Man Ki Peeda Kya Samjho” in Jeet, “Betaab Hai Dil,” “Beech Bhanwar Mein,” in Dard, Betaab Hai Dil”Woh Paas Rahen Ya Door Rahen” in Badi Bahan, “O Door Jaanewale,” in Pyar ki Jeet, “Anjaam-E-Mohabbat Kuch Bhi Nahin” in Char Din,” “Chaar Din Ki Chandni Thi Phir Andheri Raat Hai,” and “Tu Mera Chaand Main Teri Chandni” In Dillagi, “Ae Ishq Hamen Barbaad Na Kar” in Naach, “Dil-E-Naadaan Tujhe Hua Kya Hai,” “Nuktacheen Hai Gham-E-Dil,” and “Yeh Na Thi Hamari Kismat,” in Mirza Ghalib, “Yeh Kaisi Ajab Daastan Ho Gayi Hai” in Rustam Sohrab, and many more.
In 1963, Suraiya retired from acting, supposedly due to her father Aziz Jamal Sheikh’s death and her own health problems. Suraiya lived with her mother, Mumtaz Begum, at Krishna Mahal, Marine Drive. Her friends in the industry were P. Jairaj, Nimmi, Nirupa Roy, and Tabassum, with whom she met occasionally.
After her mother’s death in 1987, Suraiya became lonely. Tabassum, who worked with Suraiya as a child artist and was very close with her, said, “It’s sad that she had shut her doors to the world in her last days. But she’d talk comfortably with me on the phone. I remember our last conversation. I asked her, “Aapa kaisi hain?” She replied in verse: “Kaisi guzar rahi hai sabhi poochte hai mujhse, kaise guzaarti hoon koi nahin poochta.”
Suraiya died at Mumbai’s Harkishandas Hospital on January 31, 2004, aged 75. Among her few visitors in her later years were Sunil Dutt, Naushad Saab, and Pratap A. Rana. Dharmendra, who was her ardent fan, attended her funeral. She was buried at Badakabarastan in Marine Lines, Mumbai.
