zohrabai ambalewali (1919-1990)

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1) Jiski Vaani Mein Bijli_______Paayal Bole .mp3

Zohra Bai Ambalawali (1919?-1990) Playback Singer This article aims at paying a tribute to the contributions of Zohrabai Ambalewali, the tantalizing quality of her film songs of the decade of 1940s still creates a great deal of nostalgia for senior music buffs in the Sub- continent. Her contributions to the further refinement of film music of South Asia have been ungrudgingly acknowledged by all.Included in the first pool of playback singers, which emerged on the Sub-continental cinema, was Zohrabai, who made her debut as a singer at the age of 13. First, she lent her voice in 1932 for the recording of several songs that were marketed by the then well known gramophone company, His Master’s Voice (HMV) and later, she broke into Bombay-based Sub-continental movie industry with a bang and recorded several successive hit songs.Popularly known as Zohrabai Ambalewali, as she hailed from Ambala City in East Punjab, her voice was skillfully employed by inveterate composers of the era for the recording of their film songs. The film composers, who first used her voice, were Naushad Ali and Hafiz Ali Khan. However, a big break came her way, when several songs recorded in her voice by composer Naushad for the film Rattan (produced in the year 1944) starring Sawaranlata and Karan Diwan, created new records in popularity at the box office. The songs were so palatable to mainstream taste in India that they were enjoyed by the people throughout the length and breadth of India irrespective of the fact that a majority of them could not comprehend the meaning of the lyrics. An extremely successful love story, the film established the careers of both its director, M. Sadiq as well as composer, Naushad. The songs of the film, which reached the lips of millions in the Sub-continent, and were hummed and whistled by many more, were Akhiyan mila ke jiya bharma ke chale nahin jaana and Sawan ke baadlo unse ye ja kaho. The popularity of these songs also established Naushad’s credentials and reputation among the leading music directors of the time- R.C. Boral, Master Ghulam Haider, Anil Biswas, Feroze Nizami and Khurshid Anwar, from the decade of the 40s onwards, The first-ever female qawwali – Aahain naan bhareen shkiwe naa kiye kuchh bhi naan zuban se kaam liya, recorded for Shaukat Husain Riziv’s blockbuster Zeenat, which was composed by Hafiz Ali Khan, brimmed with Zohrabai’sshining voice. She recorded that memorable qawwali song in chorus with Amirbai Karnataki, Kalyani and Noor Jehan. Married to the well-known tabla player of his time Faqir Muhammad and born in a family in which music had been practiced for generations, Zohra’s bright vocals were skillfully exploited by frontline composers of the decade of the 1940s. These songs potentially contributed to the success of such films as Pehle Aap, Sharda, Shakuntla, Zeenat Mahal, Urran Khatola,Chandraleka and Rattan. It was the launching in Bombay of Shamshad Begum by Master Ghulam Haider, and the emergence of Lata Mangeshkar both as playback singers that gradually eclipsed the Zohrabai Ambalewali from the limelightas she slowly faded into oblivion. Zohrabai spent the last few years during the evening of her life in semi-retirement. However, she continued to lend her voice at the performances of her daughter Roshan, who was a well-known kathak dancer. Zohrabai died in the year 1990 at the age of 71, but not before contributing significantly to the refinement of film music of the Sub-continent.

source link 1

al Bole Re. Movie-Preet Ka Geet-1950.

Singer-Geeta, Zohrabai & Mukesh. MD-Shyam Babu Pathak. Lyrics-Premi. (audio _sandeep rai)

Picture courtesy : doordarshan 😀

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Found interesting Article on  Zoharbai Enchanting songs of Zohrabai Ambalewali SAEED MALIK WEEKEND MAGAZINE (April 08 2006): This short piece of writing is aimed at paying tributes to playback singer Zohrabai Ambalewali, the sparkling quality of whose voice created a unique aura to her film songs recorded mostly during the decade of 1940s. Still retaining their enduring freshness, these songs revive much nostalgic fondness among senior music buffs, who had the good fortune of getting exposed to those super hit songs over half a century ago. One has only to listen to her mellifluous songs, which convey different moods and emotion, to assess and enjoy their sonic enchantment. The quantum of her contributions to the refinement of film music of South Asia is legion and has been ungrudgingly acknowledged by her contemporary vocalists, composers and critics. Included in the first batch of playback singers in the decade of the 1940s, Zohrabai quickly rose to fame primarily as a result of several popular compositions of Naushad Ali. Earlier, she had made her debut at the age of 13. First, she lent her voice in 1932 for the recording of several songs that were commercialised by the frontline gramophone recording company, His Master’s Voice (HMV) and later, she broke into Bombay-based movie industry with a bang and recorded several successive hit songs. Popularly known as Zohrabai Ambalewali, as she hailed from Ambala City in East Punjab, her vocal resources were skilfully exploited by inveterate composers of the era for the recording of their film songs. Film composers, who first used her voice, were Naushad Ali and Hafiz Ali Khan. However, a big break came her way, when several songs recorded in her voice by composer Naushad for the film Rattan (produced in the year 1944) starring Sawaranlata and Karan Diwan, created new records in popularity at the box office. The songs had so strong appealed to the mainstream taste in India that they were enjoyed by the people throughout the length and breadth of the Sub-continent regardless of the fact that a majority of them could not comprehend the true meaning of their lyrics. An extremely successful love story, the film established the credentials and careers of its director M. Sadiq and composer Naushad. The songs of the film, which reached the lips of millions in the Sub-continent, and were hummed and whistled by many more, were Akhiyan mila ke jiya bharma ke chale nahin jaana and Sawan ke baadlo unse ye ja kaho. The popularity of these songs also added tremendously to the competence and reputation of composer Naushad among the leading film makers and music directors of that time: R.C. Boral, Master Ghulam Haider, Anil Biswas, Feroze Nizami and Khurshid Anwar. From that point onward, Naushad’s popularity as a composer of popular songs simply skyrocketed. The first-ever qawwali, rendered by female vocalists – Aahain naan bhareen shkiwe naa kiye kuchh bhi naan zuban se kaam liya, recorded for Shaukat Husain Riziv’s blockbuster Zeenat, which was composed by Hafiz Ali Khan, brimmed with Zohrabai’s shining voice. Others, who lent their voices for the recording of that memorable qawwali, were Amirbai Karnataki, Kalyani and Noor Jehan. Married to the well-known tabla-player of the 1940s, Faqir Muhammad, and born in a family, in which music had been practised for generations, Zohra lent her bright vocals for the recording of many popular songs of the decade of the 1940s. These songs significantly contributed to the success of such films as Pehle Aap, Sharda, Shakuntla, Zeenat Mahal, Urran Khatola, Chandraleka and Rattan. It was the introduction in Bombay film industry of Shamshad Begum by Master Ghulam Haider, and the emergence of Lata Mangeshkar, as playback singers that caused a gradual eclipse of Zohrabai Ambalewali from the limelight, forcing her to slowly fade into oblivion. Zohrabai spent the last few years during the evening of her life in a state of semi-retirement. However, she continued to lend her voice at the performances of her daughter Roshan, who, in her own right, was an accomplished kathak dancer. Zohrabai died in the year 1990 at the age of 72, but not before contributing much to the further refinement of film music of the Sub-continent. Imbued with acute melodic sensibilities from her early childhood, Zohrbai Ambalewali climbed up the chart of popularity, transcending the age, ethnic and language barriers as her songs had much appeal to the general run of cinema buffs. Her popular songs also provided wholesome entertainment to a larger and variegated segment of population. The emergence of singers like Zohrabai on the melodic firmament of Bombay heralded a new era of film music during the second half of the 20th century, to which several vocalists of her calibre also contributed according to their skill and talent. An unusual kind of vivacity and aura characterised Zohrabai’s ever-sparkling voice, which added a distinctive glow to its sonic qualities and made her the envy of many a contemporary. It were these uncommon features of her vocals, which enabled her to rule the roost in the fast-growing art of female playback singing for well over a decade. She was subsequently praised and commended by film critics and connoisseurs as one of the top female playback singers, who contributed so much to film music. In addition to rendering film songs, Zohrabai demonstrated complete command over her voice while singing the esoteric Lucknow and Banaras style thumris and practising other light classical genres, which were recorded and marketed by gramophone companies, especially HMV, before she had made her presence felt in the Bombay film industry. Zohrabai Ambalewali was admired by music buffs all over the Sub-continent for the enchanting depth of her voice in which she rendered dozens of tumultuously popular film songs. Reputed playback singers and her contemporaries, Amirbai Karnatki and Shamshad Begum, had deep admiration for her. Lata Mangeshkar, in her Shardangli numbers, has spoken lovingly about Zohrabai’s affable manners, winning personality and musical intelligence, which distinguished her from other showbiz celebrities. Zohrabai did not record a large number of songs for the films if one were to reckon with the output of her contemporaries. However, those for which her vocals were skilfully and creatively employed by seasoned composers of that era, succeeded in bringing much cheers into the lives of countless cine-goers, and provided much solace and sonic relief to millions of music buffs as they penetrated into the deep recesses of their hearts. There was a time when the use of her voice for the recording of songs in a film was considered a guarantee for its success at the box office. Such was the magical appeal of her well-groomed, cultured voice. source link:2

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ज़ोहराबाई ‘खुले गले’ की गायिका ,जिनकी आवाज़ जैसे उमड़ते बादलों सी सुनाई देती हो ,कशिश और एक खनक लिए .फिलहाल बेला फिल्म से ये गीत (नजाने उपलोडर ने आधा अधूरा गीत क्यों सुनाने का मन बनाया बहरहाल गाना तो बस उफ़ उफ़ करने को मजबूर करता है 😉 BELA -1947′ Sung By Zohrabai & Chorus, Penned By D.N.Madhok & Composed By Bulo C.Rani. – ”Mohe Baanka Baalam Lage Pyaara”.इसी गीत को सुने यहाँ पूरा दिल खोल के (साथ में इस गीत को उपलब्ध कराने वाले संदीप जी का शुक्रिया )

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