Suraiya, film actress
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A brief biography
#GoldenFrames/ India Times- The Times of India
Suraiya was one of the most successful leading ladies of the 1940s. She starred in popular movies such as 'Tadbir' (1945), '1857' (1946), 'Anmol Ghadi' (1946), Parwana (1946), 'Omar Khaiyyam' (1946), 'Vidya' (1947), 'Pyar ki Jeet' (1948), 'Badi Behan' (1949), 'Dillagi' (1949) and many more. Suraiya's voice was so magical that even fruit sellers used her name to define the sweetness of the fruits to her voice. Suraiya was on the cover of the inaugural issue of the film news-weekly Screen. Suraiya’s career spanned twenty years. The actress played the leading role with almost every famous star of her time and sang with the leading playback singers like Mohammad Rafi, Talat Mehmood and Mukesh. Suraiya was awarded the Screen Lifetime Achievement Award in 1996.Suraiya Jamal Sheikh, popularly known by the mononym Suraiya, was born on June 15, 1929, in Lahore, Pakistan, to Aziz Jamal Sheikh and Mumtaz Sheikh. When she was a year old, her parents and maternal uncle M. Zahoor moved to Mumbai. She attended J.B. Petit High School for Girls, Mumbai.
Suraiya's childhood friends included Raj Kapoor and Madan Mohan, with whom she used to sing in children's radio programmes at All India Radio.
Suraiya's uncle became a well-known villain in Hindi cinema in the 1930s. Suraiya accompanied her uncle to a film set, where she got a break as Mumtaz Mahal in Taj Mahal (1941) by accident.
It was the upcoming music director of those days, Naushad, who discovered her singing talent. He made her sing 'Panchhi Jaa, peechhe raha hai bachpan mera' from the movie 'Sharda' (1942), as playback for famous star Mehtab. She was then only twelve and had to stand on a stool to reach the mike.
By the time she was fifteen, Suraiya had made her mark with her performance in 'Hamari Baat' (1943). Suraiya's career witnessed a breakthrough when legendary singer and actor KL Saigal saw Suraiya was rehearsing a song on the sets of the movie 'Samrat Chandragupta' (1945). Saigal asked the director Jayant Desai to cast Suraiya opposite him in 'Tadbir' (1945). The song 'Milne Ke Din' sung by KL Saigal starring Suraiya in the movie 'Tadbir' still holds a special place for many. (In this picture, Suraiya with KL Saigal).
Suraiya and Noor Jehan appeared together in 'Anmol Ghadi' (1946). The movie celebrated the 'Silver Jubilee' in Mumbai and other cities of India. Noor was a bigger star than Suraiya, but Suraiya won her audience with songs like, 'Socha tha kya, kya ho gaya' and 'Man leta hai angrahi' in the movie. After Partition, Suraiya was the only singing star who decided to stay back in India while Noor Jehan and Khurshid left for Pakistan. Suraiya, with her distinct individual style, her sweet seasoned voice and direct, simple diction, rose to fame in no time.
Reportedly, Dilip Kumar convinced director K. Asif to make a movie with him and Suraiya in the main lead. Dilip Kumar had already worked with K. Asif in a few movies previously, so they were on good terms. K. Asif announced his next movie, 'Janewar' with Dilip Kumar and Suraiya. During one scene, Suraiya was bitten by a snake on her leg, and Dilip Kumar had to suck the poison out to save her life. The scene was continuously shot for four days. Even though the scene was shot perfectly on the first day itself. Suraiya realised something was not right, so she informed her mother, and her mother told Suraiya's uncle M. Zahoor. Suraiya went to shoot, assuming the snake scene is over for good, but only to realise that the same is repeated where Dilip Kumar has to suck out the poison from her leg. Suraiya was very angry, and she decided to quit and signed a cheque to cover the loss. Meanwhile, Suraiya's uncle tried to attack Dilip Kumar, but K. Asif intervened and settled.
In 'Mirza Ghalib' (1954), Suraiya played the role of Ghalib's lover. She sang some remarkable songs from the movie 'Ye na thi hamari kismat', 'Aah ko chahiye' and 'Dil-e-nadan tujhe hua kya hai'.
The movie 'Mirza Ghalib' was awarded the President's gold medal for the 'Best Feature Film of 1954' during the 2nd National Film Awards. During the ceremony, the Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, remarked that Suraiya had brought Mirza Ghalib to life. Suraiya thought his praise was more worthy than an Oscar.
'Rustam Sohrab' (1963) was Suraiya's last movie with the veteran Prithviraj Kapoor. The movie sank at the box office, but the song 'Ye kaisi ajab dastan ho gayi hai' is among her all-time greatest hits. When Suraiya was still in her prime years, the actress retired from the film industry. Suraiya gave up singing altogether ignoring good offers. She even declined to sing at private functions.
Suraiya was sent as one of the delegates to the Soviet Union by the Government of India in November 1956—alongside Raj Kapoor, Nargis and Kamini Kaushal, where Suraiya's movies were screened. In December 1998, Suraiya was honoured by the then Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee, during the Mirza Ghalib bi-centenary celebrations in New Delhi. The actress was awarded a memento on the 134th birth anniversary of Dada Phalke by the Dadasaheb Phalke Academy and Screen World Publication during a special function on April 30, 2003. (In this picture, (l to r) Sohrab Modi, Kamini Kaushal, Suraiya, Raj Kapoor, Nargis, Mehtab)
To honour Suraiya on the occasion of the '100 Years of Indian Cinema', a postage stamp bearing Suraiya's picture in different roles was released by the India Post, owned by the Government of India, on May 3, 2013. Suraiya was voted as the 'Best On-Screen Beauty with the Most Ethnic Look' during the celebrations on completing 100 years of Indian cinema in 2013.
Reportedly, Suraiya was a big fan of Hollywood actor Gregory Peck. During the first International Film Festival of India in 1952, the actress gave her autographed photo to Hollywood director Frank Capra to give to Peck. While Peck visited Mumbai for a brief time, he visited Suraiya's residence to meet her. A newspaper back then reported the meeting between Suraiya and Gregory Peck. "There was a knock on the door at a little past eleven of Tuesday night, January 5, and there, when it opened, was Mr Peck himself asking Suraiya's very astonished mother with a bow: "Where is Suraiya, Madam?" Just like that. While she still hesitated, along came Suraiya from her bed, wide-eyed with wonder, to welcome her favourite star who stepped in and stayed chatting informally till well past midnight, when he left to catch the Colombo plane which had stopped here on account of an unexpected turn of the weather in Ceylon." Suraiya added, "We spoke for an hour. I didn't sleep at all that night. Nobody believed I'd met him. For two months, newspapers carried our love stories. I enjoyed it!"
Suraiya first met Dev Anand on a movie set in 1948. They were shooting a song called 'Kinare Kinare Chale Jayenge' when Suraiya slipped, and Anand saved her from drowning. Dev Anand mentioned his first love in one of the interviews, "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. 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." Suraiya and Dev Anand's love blossomed over the years. Their romance was the ‘talk of the town’. Dev Anand proposed to her in 1950.
But who knew their love was short-lived! Suraiya's grandmother opposed their union on the grounds of religion. Suraiya's grandmother was so furious that she reportedly threw the engagement ring in the sea. Even her maternal uncle M. Zahoor threatened to kill Dev Anand if Suraiya didn't stop seeing him. Eventually, the couple parted their ways.
Suraiya did very few movies after 1952. The actress retired at the early age of thirty-four in 1963. Suraiya never married and lived alone until she died in 2004. Suraiya passed away at the age of seventy-four on January 31st, 2004.
After the actress's death—neighbours, relatives, and well-wishers came forward to claim her properties and assets. Some believed that the actress was murdered. The properties were initially claimed by Suraiya's legal advisor Dhimant Thakar and his daughter Ami Shah, which aroused suspicion amongst Suraiya's neighbours at Krishna Mahal. Suraiya's neighbour Shabeer and her confidante for many years said, "A few months before her death, Suraiya was shifted out of Krishna Mahal, her Marine Drive residence, to her lawyer's house at Dariya Mahal. I was present when her body was brought back to Krishna Mahal for the final rites. I clearly remember blood oozing out of her mouth. Another neighbour, Saeeda, was constantly wiping it with a napkin. We also saw wounds on her leg." According to Suraiya's neighbours, the lawyer and his family searched the house after Suraiya's death and took away documents from the bedroom. The legal dispute continued for years until the entire property was handed over to Suraiya's cousin Mehfooz Ahmed, son of her maternal uncle M. Zahoor.
Dilip Kumar said on her death, "She was a caring girl, very affectionate, particularly with junior artistes... Suraiya will be sorely missed, even though she had been a recluse for decades." And Dev Anand said, "I did not go to her funeral because I would have been reminded of her past. I cried from a distance."
