Suraiya
Suraiya was trained in music, but her career flourished in acting as well.
In 1937, she made her debut as a child artist with Usne Kya Socha. A trip with her uncle Zahoor, then a famous villain, bagged Suraiya the role of Mumtaz Mahal in Taj Mahal. She was barely 12 at the time.
At the start of her career, she acted in supporting roles in movies like Phool, Anmol Ghadi and Dard but with Noor Jehan and Khursheed shifting their base to Pakistan, she started getting better roles than contemporaries Nargis and Kamini Kaushal. The reason: her ability to sing her own songs.
Suraiya became the highest-paid actress of her time, after hits like Pyaar Ki Jeet, Badi Bahen and Dillagi.
Dharmendra once said in an interview that he had watched Dillagi 40 times just for her -- this, during a period before videos.
However, Suraiya's career was short-lived. In the 1950s, her films started flopping. She was in love with Dev Anand (they were paired together in six films). But she remained single all her life, after her strict grandmother did not allow her to marry Dev Anand.
Suraiya had a fan following comparable to that of Hrithik Roshan today. It is said that shopkeepers used to shut their shops to see her movie -- obviously first day, first show. A huge crowd would gather outside her house at Marine Drive, just for a glimpse.
She made a comeback of sorts with Waaris and Mirza Ghalib. She put her soul in the role as a courtesan in the latter. Suraiya's songs in the film were so heart-rending that then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru complimented her by saying, 'Tumne Mirza Ghalib ki rooh ko zinda kar diya.' (You have brought alive the soul of Mirza Ghalib)
Advertisement
