Uma Devi aka Tuntun
Tuntun lost her parents at an early age, and was brought up by her uncle. At the age of 13, she left Uttar Pradesh -- where she often imitated famous singers -- and came to Bombay to pursue her own career.
She got her first assignment as a singer in Wamag Azra. But she wanted to sing for Naushad only. She insisted Naushad listen to her, and sang a few of Noor Jehan's songs. Soon, she was on board with Kardar Studios, signing a contract with A R Kardar -- with whom Naushad too worked.
Her song Afsana likh rahi hoon from Dard became a runaway hit. After Dard, Naushad ensured that he set aside at least a couple of songs for her in every film. Critics slammed her for not being a formally trained singer. In 1948, her songs like Kahin jiya dole and Dil ko lagake kuch bhi na paya from Anokhi Ada made critics eat their words.
By singing for SS Vasan's Chandralekha, she breached the contract with Kardar Studios. This came as a heavy blow as she was jobless -- and with Lata Mangeshkar's then domination of the film industry, she had nowhere to go.
Once again, Naushad came to her rescue and asked her to act. The filmmaker was confident she had a great sense of timing. Thus, she was bestowed with the title of Tuntun in her acting debut as a comedian in Babul, produced by Naushad.
She went on to act in over 180 movies, including Aar Paar, Pyaasa, Mr and Mrs 55 and Mom Ki Gudiya.
Advertisement
