 Mubarak Begum was a legendary Indian playback singer and vocalist, who lent her voice to scores of Hindi film songs and ghazals, in Hindi and Urdu languages. She was a popular playback singer in Bollywood films during the 1950s and 1960s, and had also recorded and given public performances in a number of other genres, including Ghazal and Na'at. In her illustrious career, Mubarak Begum has voiced a total of 174 songs for films (2 in Bhojpuri) and 13 non-film songs. The eminent vocalist passed away on July 18, 2016, after a prolonged illness, aged 80.
Career of Mubarak Begum Mubarak Begum started her career performing light music recitals for All India Radio, the Indian government radio. She started out as a playback singer in the year 1949, with the Indian Hindi-language film ‘Aaiye’. It was the Indo-Pakistani music composer Nashad who gave Begum her first break. The first song which she recorded for films was "Mohe Aane Lagi Angrayi, Aaja Aaja Balam", for ‘Aaiye’. She also sang a duet with Lata Mangeshkar, "Aao Chale Sakhi Wahan" for the same film. She delivered a major hit of her career with the song "Kabhi Tanhaiyon Mein Yun, Hamari Yaad Aayegi", the title track of the 1961 Hindi romantic drama ‘Hamari Yaad Aayegi’ composed by Snehal Bhatkar. The song is till date, regarded a classic rendition. Through the 1950s and 1960s, Begum worked with the best music directors in the film industry, the likes of S. D. Burman, Shankar Jaikishan and Khayyam, on movies that starred screen legends like Sunil Dutt, Nargis and Rajendra Kumar. She sang "Woh Na Aayenge Palat Kar" in Bimal Roy’s ‘Devdas’ (1951) with music by Burman. Roy used her voice once again in ‘Madhumati’ (1958), where she sang "Hum Haal-e-Dil Sunaenge" for music director Salil Choudhury. Songs recorded by Mubarak Begum Mubarak Begum has sung in her lifetime, a numerous range of over 170 songs for Hindi films, 2 Bhojpuri songs and 13 non-film songs. The total number of films where her songs have featured is 115. "Kabhi Tanhaiyon Mein Yun, Hamari Yaad Aayegi", the title song of Tanuja-starrer ‘Hamari Yaad Aayegi’, remains one of Begum’s most remembered tracks. "Neend Ud Jaaye Teri", "Mujhko Apne Gale Lagalo" and "Humein Dum Daike" along with Asha Bhosle are among her other known songs. "Saanwariya Teri Yaad Mein" from the 1980 comedy film ‘Ramu Toh Deewana Hai’ was one of her last tracks. Following hereunder is a short list of her select most popular songs, highlighted alongside their films with their respective years of release in brackets: Personal Life and Family of Mubarak Begum Mubarak Begum was born into a Muslim family at Sujangarh, in the Churu district of Rajasthan. She was married to a man of her own community and was the mother of two children, a son and a daughter. Her husband and daughter had both passed away and she continued living with her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Although she was a well-known singer, Mubarak Begum was not able to capitalize on her talent, not having the necessary savvy "networking" skills that are considered important in careers in the entertainment industry. A competent singer but not a savvy businessperson, Mubarak Begum’s career remained stilted as a result. She was more interested in the music and less in the money. Her day-to-day expenses and generosity did not allow her to accumulate much savings. Health Deterioration and Death of Mubarak Begum Mubarak Begum had been suffering from a prolonged illness. In 2011, the Maharashtra government had sanctioned financial aid of Rs.1 Lakh for treatment of the singer. Her daughter, who had been suffering from Parkinson's disease, died in October 2015, after which Begum's own health took a severe downturn. In May 2016, the press reported that Mubarak Begum was in hospital and that her family were unable to pay her medical bills. She lived in a one-bedroom apartment in Behram Baug, in the Mumbai suburb Jogeshwari, with her son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter. Her only income, as reported, was a pension which she received from her late husband's employer. The pension was reported by NDTV news channel to be Rs.800 per month and by Indian newspaper DNA as Rs.3000 per month, both of which figures are extremely paltry by Indian standards and utterly inadequate for a person's sustenance. Begum was dependent on her son, Hussain Shaikh, who earns an uncertain income by freelancing as a chauffeur, and is cared for by her daughter-in-law. Begum’s daughter-in-law, Zarina Hussain Shaikh, had told the press that actor Salman Khan was virtually the only person from the Hindi film industry who had been helping the family financially on a sustained, long-term basis, also paying the full costs of all the medicines required by the elderly singer. Lata Mangeshkar had visited Mubarak Begum in hospital after the death of her daughter and condoled with her, also extending financial support to the family that still required money for Begum's treatment and special needs. In June 2016, Vinod Tawde, a Bharatiya Janata Party minister in the Government of Maharashtra, resorted to help the family. Finding that there were no government schemes under which he could release money to Begum, he asked a charitable trust run by people close to him to help her, and they provided her with some money. Mubarak Begum breathed her last on July 18, 2016, at her residence in Jogeshwari. Related Articles: Indian Playback Singers Hindi Films Ghazal Bollywood Playback Singers Indian Ghazal Singers Indian Music Directors Lata Mangeshkar Hindi Film Industry Female Playback Singers |
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