Talat Mehmood, a name that is synonymous with smooth and silken voice hailed from the city that is famous for urdu adab and tehzeeb – Lucknow.
Born in 1924 into a family of six children,
Talat showed early signs of prodigious talent in singing. For some inexplicable reason, he developed a passion for singing when other children of his age were up to no good. He would slip away silently from his other friends who would be too busy in their usual mischief making and look for musical soirees to sit through all night.
He began his singing career as a ghazal singer from All India Radio, Lucknow. He would render most of the ghazals of Ghalib, Zouq, Momin, Iqbal, Jigar, Mir, Daag, etc.
Though, he made a name for himself in Lucknow, it was in Bollywood in the city of Mumbai that he became a legend.A man endowed with excellent physical attributes, Talat became a hero first and acted in as many as 13 films. Despite his histrionics in acting, Talat had to sacrifice his acting skills at the altar of singing. In a short span, he had become such a rage as a singer that he was forced to bid adieu to acting to take up singing as a full fledged career.
Bollywood was willing to lose a great romantic hero in bargain for a great romantic singer.Talat’s rendering of the songs was so unique that no other singer was able to effectively capture his style Today, there are many clones of Rafi, Mukesh, and Kishore Kumar; but hardly anyone who can be regarded as even a poor copy of the Talat Mehmood. Surprisingly, it was Talat who tried to change his own style on the advice of some people in the music field. It turned out to be a disaster and luckily better sense prevailed.
Talat’s voice had a unique tremble or quiver which suited perfectly for rendering ghazals, especially with a tragic note. The tremble in the voice wasn’t a flaw, but a rare gift of God to a rare singer. His voice had the pain of love, anguish in waiting, the torture of jealousy, sadness of separation and misery of infidelity that would take the listener to a world where only he and contemplation exist.
Give me a CD of Talat, any day, and Headphones to put on and I’ll be lost forever in the unexplored labyrinths of love and romance and the agony that accompanies it. Of course, there is no love without pain and no pain without love, and if you have understood that then you will understand Talat Mehmood.
“Talat Mahmood was the quintessential romantic. His gentle good looks, his chivalrous manners and his quiet reclusivity had all the elements of high romance.” -- Satya Saran Editor, Femina.
Since, almost every song of Talat is a hit song; it is difficult to choose only a few keeping in mind the constraints of writing reviews on MouthShut. I have tried to do justice by choosing those that have touched my heart and continue to do so.
I have tried to avoid the pitfalls of translating urdu, word for word in English, because that would only confuse the reader more than it would clarify. Ultimately, it is the essence of a particular situation or context that needs to be brought out.
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Bachpan se sunte rahen hain ek purkashish awaaz,
Saikadon ki qwaish rahi hai ki apnayen woh andaaz;
Ruh ko choohthi hui awaaz chodkar hum per toh ki innayat
Shahenshah e ghazal ka taj tuhkrakar, kahan kho gaye ho Talat
Kohinoor toh ek hi hai, par Jawaherat ki koi kami nahin
ghazliyaat phirbi sunte hain farookh, lekin ab woh maza nahin.-- MB Farookh.
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This gem from the film ‘Sujata’ For the first time a lover far away from his beloved uses the telephone to convey his thoughts and reassure her of his eternal love. The thoughts are simple enough, but the singing is extraordinary.
Jalte hain jiske liye teri aankhon ke diye,
dhoond laayan hoon wahi geet main tere liye…The songs for which your eyes light up like lamps,
I have unearthed them and brought only for you;
Dil mein rakhlena isey haaton se ye choote na kahin,
geet naazuk hai mera shishey se bhi tootey na kahin
Goongoonaonga yehi geet mein tere liye…,Keep them safely in your heart lest they slip and fall from your hands
My songs are more fragile than glass and so will break on account of this.
I shall be humming only these special songs for you.
Jab talak na ye tere ras ke bhare hoton se mile
yunhi awara phirega ye teri zulfon ke taleh
gaaye jaoonga yehi geet main tere liye…as long as my own do not meet your luscious lips
like a wandering soul, I shall play around your tresses…
I wish to sing only such songs to you…
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This is a song from ‘Aarzoo’. One can feel the frustration of a failed love. The dejected lover feels like getting away from the usual ‘bheed’. He is so upset that he doesn’t want to be seen and perhaps lead a life of anonymity.
Aye dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal jahan koi na ho
apna paraya merbana mehrbaan koi na ho…O’ my heart take me to such a place where no one exists
known people, strangers, sympathizers or well wishers, none exist
Jaakar kahin khoh jaoon mein, neend aaye aur so jaoon mein
Duniya mujhe dhoonde magar mera nishaan koi na ho…To go somewhere and get lost, let sleep overtake me so I can rest
The world shall search for me but my whereabouts must remain unknown
Ulfat ka badla milgaya, woh gham loota woh dil gaya
Chalna hai sabse door door ab kaarwan koi na ho…Love has wreaked its vengeance, sorrow overflows, the heart’s gone
Have to go away far, very far, where no caravans (humans) can ever reach
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This one is from ‘Patita’. A tragic song but at a fair clip. The music is racy and the lyrics are simply superb. It’s a wonder that such a tragic song could be sung on a foot tapping note…one of my favourites.
Andhe jahaan ke andhe raaste, jaaye to jaaye kahan
Duniya toh duniya tuh bhi paraya hum yahaan na wahaanBlind paths of a blind world, where can I hope to go
this world is capricious, but you too have forsaken me, I am neither here nor there
Jeene ki chaahat nahin, marke bhi rahat nahin…
Is paar ansoo, us paar aahen dil mera bezubaanI have no inclination to live, but will I get relief after death
There are tears on this side, anguish on that side, I remain speechless
Hum ko na koi bulaye na koi palkein bichaye
Aye gham ke maro manzil wahin hain gham yeh tooteh jahaan.Nobody should desire my presence; no eyes should yearn for me
All ye grief-stricken lovers, your destination is where all hearts burst with sorrow.
Agaaz ke din tera anjaam taeh ho chukka,
jalte rahen hain jalte rahenge yeh zameen asmaan…On the beginning day itself your outcome has been decided
Have been burning and will burn forever this earth and the sky
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Due to space constraints I, I conclude my tribute to the legendary Talat Mahmood here, but before I do that I wish to mention that I shall be posting the Part II of this revu separately under other categories of Talat Mahmood. I could have continued in the comments section, but I thought Talat’s great songs deserved to be showcased in the main section of the review rather than in the comments section. So, please do read the second part of my review also. Thanks!
MB Farookh.