SURAIYA ,LEGEND HINDI ACTRESS AND SINGER BORN 1929 JUNE 15 -2004 JANUARY 31

SURAIYA ,LEGEND HINDI ACTRESS AND SINGER BORN 1929 JUNE 15 -2004 JANUARY 31

Suraiya was the last illustrious singer actor to play that dual role in cinema before it was seized by the playback singers in the late 1940s. Starting as a child artiste, Suraiya’s career reached its peak by 1950. Her sweet soul stirring songs continue to haunt music lovers even more than half a century later. In her heyday, she turned a legend and the highest paid artiste of her time. She had the unique honour to co-star with K L Saigal, the legendary singer and superstar of those days in three successive films viz. “Tadbir”, “Omar Khayam” annd “Parwana”. It is said that Suraiya got a break as a heroine for the film “Tadbir” (1945) at the recommendation of K L Saigal who was impressed by her voice during a rehearsal..

Born at Lahore on 15th June 1929, Suraiya Jamal Sheikh came to Mumbai as a child to live with her uncle Zahoor of Bhati gate group who was working there with Kardar Films. She began her career as a child artiste taking part in the children’s programme of All India Radio. Her first film role was in “Taj Mahal” (1941) as a child actor but it was Naushad, the upcoming music director of those days, who discovered her singing talent and made her sing the ever popular melody ‘Panchhi Jaa, peechhe raha hai bachpan mera’ in the film “Sharda”, as playback for Mehtab, the famous star of those days. She was then only 12 and had to stand on a stool to reach the mike. By the time she was 15, she had made her mark with her performance in the Bombay Talkies’ “Hamari Baat” in 1943.

During the mid-forties the two faces which dominated the film world with their music were Suraiya and Noor Jehan. Khurshid who was the leading singing star earlier lost her position to them. In fact, Suraiya ranked after Noor Jehan and both of them appeared together in that celebrated Mehboob’s musical Anmol Ghadi. Though overshadowed by Noor Jehan, it goes to her credit that Suraiya, even in a supporting role, was able to hold her own and make her presence felt with her evergreen melodies like “Socha tha kya, kya ho gaya” and “Man leta hai angrahi”.

Suraiya was the only singing star who after Partition decided to stay back in India while Noor Jehan and Khushid left for Pakistan. That is how her rise to fame between 1947-50 was indeed meteoric. Though playback system had entered the scene, Suraiya with her distinct individual style, her sweet seasoned voice and direct simple diction succeeded in captivating the listeners and her popularity knew no bounds.
Her biggest box-office hits in quick succession were “Pyar ki Jeet” (1948), “Badi Behan” (1949) and “Dillagi” (1949). The music for the first two was scored by Husanlal Bhagatram and for “Dillagi”, it was Naushad, her first mentor. We can still hear old music fans humming those eternal melodies from these films like “Oh door janewale”, “Wo pas rahe ya door rahein”, “Tere nainon ne chori kiya”, and “Tu mera chand main teri chandani”. It was this hat trick success during 1948-49 that launched Suraiya to the top ladder in the film world. Professionally, there was dignity and grace in her performance and she sang with her heart and soul enriched with the depth of feeling and warmth. She had no challenge from any playback singer of her time.

Suraiya continued acting and singing during the 1950s but most of the films did not do well. She did make a short-lived comeback in “Mirza Ghalib” produced by Sohrab Modi in 1954. Its stunning success brought fresh laurels to Suraiya especially since she had bagged this role when other top beautiful stars of those days like Madhubala and Nargis could not make it. It was not only her superb acting in the role of a professional singing girl as Ghalib’s lover but her lively and enchanting rendering of the poet’s famous verses that won her enormous fame and also praise from no less a personality than Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru.

It was the first feature film to be awarded the President’s medal and the then Prime Minister had graced the function with his presence and is said to have told Suraiya that ‘Tumne Mirza Ghalib ki rooh ko zinda kar diya’ (you have brought Mirza Ghalib to life). No doubt, Suraiya displayed her mastery over marrying music to poetry and immortalised Ghalib’s ghazals viz. “Ye na thi hamari kismet”, “Aah ko chahiye” and “Dil-e-nadan tujhe hua kya hai”. When her later films did not make any mark Suraiya decided to quit while still 

njoying popularity with the viewers.

Swansong

She sang her swan song “Ye kaisi ajab dastan ho gayi hai” in her last film “Rustam Sohrab” (1963) where she co-starred with the veteran Prithviraj Kapoor.

The film sank at the box-office but this song captivated her fans and it figures among her all-time greatest hits. When still in her prime she totally retired from the film world. Unlike Noor Jehan who turned a play-back singer in Pakistan around the same time, Suraiya gave up singing altogether ignoring many tempting offers. So much so that she declined to sing even at private functions.

Romancing Dev Anand

The most striking and much-publicised episode of Suraiya’s life was her romance with the upcoming young actor Dev Anand in the early 1950s. It was then the ‘talk of the town’, the very stuff legends are made of. She was Dev Anand’s heroine in seven films which had moderate success . During the shooting of a film, a boat capsized and Dev Anand saved Suraiya from drowning. This incident was the beginning of their romance. Suraiya fell in love with him and both of them planned to get married but Suraiya’s grandmother opposed the relationship and persuaded her to turn down Dev’s marriage proposal. She chose to remain unmarried throughout her life and died a lonely woman on 31st January 2004.

Suraiya’s career spanned 20 years and she played the leading role with almost every famous star of her time and also sang with the leading playback singers like Mohammad Rafi, Talat Mehmood and Mukesh. This June, she would have turned 88. The unforgettable singing legend’s voice and her vast repertoire of songs will continue to delight millions of her fans everywhere.

Suraiya Jamaal Sheikh (15 June 1929 – 31 January 2004), popularly known as Suraiya, was a popular Indian Hindi/Hindustani film actress and playback singer in Bollywood. She was active from 1936 to 1963. [1]

She was known for her North Indian Muslim feudal style acting or adakari in many of her films[2][page needed] A Muslim, her romance with the Hindu actor Dev Anand attracted much attention.

She won many awards including the Sahitya Academy Award, Dadasahab Phalke Academy Award and Bimal Roy Memorial Trophy.

Early life
Suraiya was born Suraiya Jamaal Sheikh on 15 June 1929. Some sources give her birthplace as Gujranwala, in Punjab Province, British India, but Suraiya herself said it was Lahore. Her father owned a furniture shop in Gujranwala and left the family soon after her birth. By the age of one, she was living with her orthodox Muslim mother and maternal grandmother in a newly-built rented apartment on Marine Drive in Bombay. Her maternal uncle, M. Zahoor, joined them there and became a well-known villain in films. She attended New High School, now known as J.B. Petit High School for Girls, in the Fort district of Bombay. Suraiya's childhood friends included Raj Kapoor and Madan Mohan, both of whom were around twice her age and with whom she used to sing in children's radio programmes.[citation needed]

Career
As an actress

Suraiya as a child artist in 1936.
Suraiya made her debut as a child actor in Madame Fashion in 1936 as Miss Suraiya, along with Nargis as Baby Rani. The film was directed by Jaddan Bai, mother of Nargis, with Jaddan Bai herself as heroine, and the music and songs were also written and sung by her.[3][page needed] Later, she got a prominent role with the help of her uncle, M. Zahoor. During a holiday from school in 1941, she accompanied him to Bombay's Mohan Studios to see the shooting of the film Taj Mahal, which was being directed by Nanubhai Vakil. Vakil noticed the charm and innocence of young Suraiya and selected her to play the role of Mumtaz Mahal. [1][page needed][4][clarification needed]

While she was singing for children's programs for All India Radio (AIR) in Bombay, as a six-year old, Raj Kapoor and Madan Mohan were her co-artists. In fact, they first introduced her to AIR. Both were associated with her later as an adult, as her hero and as her music director respectively in films. At AIR, Zulfiqar Ali Bukhari was at that time the station director at the Bombay radio station. As soon as music director Naushad Ali heard Suraiya's voice, he chose her to sing (at age 13) for Mehtab in Abdul Rashid Kardar's film Sharda (1942). He became Suraiya's mentor and she sang some of the best songs of her career under his baton. Later, he gave hit after hit when Suraiya became a full-fledged singing star in Anmol Ghadi (1946), Dard (1947), Dillagi (1949) and Dastaan (1950). Naushad Ali composed approximately 51 songs for Suraiya, coming in at second place after Husnlal Bhagatram for composing the highest number of songs for Suraiya (58 excluding 6 repeat songs for the film Kanchan (1955) from Amar Kahani (1949)).[citation needed]

As a child artist, she acted and also sang in Tamanna (1942), Station Master (1942), and Hamari Baat (1943). Devika Rani, who headed the Bombay Talkies production company, seeing her blooming brilliance as an actress and as a singer signed her on a five-year contract at Rs. 500 per month with her role in 'Hamari Baat' (1943). In the film she had a duet dance and her song with Arun Kumar, " Bistar bicha diya hai tere ghar ke samne' became very popular.[5]

This five-year contract was revoked by Devika Rani on Suraiya's request, when K. Asif offered Suraiya Rs. 40,000 for his film 'Phool'.[6] As an adult, Suraiya initially played as Prithviraj's sister in K. Asif's Phool as Shama, with Prithviraj Kapoor as hero.[7] Suraiya was catapulted to stardom overnight with J.K. Nanda's directed debut film 'Ishara' in 1943.[citation needed]

She acted as a heroine in the film Tadbir (1945) on the recommendation of K. L. Saigal, who liked her voice during a rehearsal of a song for Jayant Desai's film Samrat Chandragupt (1945) in which she was acting. He recommended her to Desai, opposite himself in Tadbir (1945).[8] She went on to co-star with K. L. Saigal in Omar Khayyam (1946) and Parwana. Although by then she had a few hit songs, the four solo songs which she sang in Parwana for music director Khwaja Khurshid Anwar made her a genuine singer-film star. She had high regards for Khwaja Khurshid Anwar, for whom she sang thirteen songs during the period 1943 to 1949.[citation needed]

She acted as a co-star in Mehboob Khan's Anmol Ghadi (1946) with Noor Jehan as the lead actress and in Dard (1947) with Munawwar Sultana as the lead actress.[citation needed] When Pyar Ki Jeet was released, it caused large crowds outside Suraiya's house that had to be controlled by posting an inspector and four constables. During the premiere of Bari Behen, there was a very large crowd outside the cinema hall and the police had to baton-charge when Suraiya was walking into the hall. People even pulled at her clothes, so that after that, Suraiya stopped going to the premieres of her films.[9]

In the late 1940s, she worked with Dev Anand. While shooting the film Vidya (1948), she became romantically involved with him. The two of them were paired in seven films together; Vidya (1948), Jeet (1949), Shair (1949), Afsar (1950), Nili (1950), Do Sitare (1951) and Sanam (1951), all of which were successful at the box office.[citation needed]

During the shooting of the film Afsar (1950), Dev Anand formally proposed to her and gave her a diamond ring worth rupees 3000, a huge sum in those days. Suraiya was glad to be proposed to, but soon her grandmother found out about her engagement and threw her ring into the sea. Her maternal grandmother opposed the relationship, mainly because they were Muslims and Dev Anand was a Hindu. Suraiya and Dev Anand were stopped from acting together after their last film in 1951 by her grandmother. Thereafter, Suraiya remained unmarried by her own choice for the rest of her life.[10][11]

From the late 1940s to the early 1950s, Suraiya was the highest-paid and most popular star of the Indian cinema.[12][dubious – discuss]

After Mirza Ghalib, she acted in movies such as Bilwamangal (1954), Waris (1954), Shama Parwana (1954), Kanchan (1955) (which was released in 1949 as Amar Kahani and re-released as Kanchan), Inam (1955), Mr. Lambu (1956), Trolly Driver (1958), Miss 1958 (1958), Maalik (1958) and Shama (1961). In the mid-fifties, Suraiya told Lata Mangeshkar once that she would soon be cutting down on her films. Lata told her not to do so. Mirza Ghalib was her last film. Suraiya in an interview said that during the shooting of the film, she suffered from low blood pressure, which was the reason for her giving up her acting career.[citation needed]

Her film Jaanwar in the early 1950s with Dilip Kumar as hero (and K. Asif as director), was left incomplete by her, as she refused to act in the film, because of rough behaviour by Dilip Kumar during the shooting of the film, when he tore her blouse and bruised her back so badly that it took a month to heal. Later, director-producer K. Asif wanted a kissing scene. Suraiya knew that censors would not pass it. When she asked Asif how he would get it through the censors, he could not satisfy her and she withdrew from the film. There was another story also, that Dilip Kumar and K.Asif were hand in glove to exploit and humiliate Suraiya, because Suraiya had earlier ignored Dilip Kumar's plea to act with her. So they did some torrid scene and kept on repeating it for four days. Fed up with this ghastly behaviour of the two, Suraiya refused to act for them and withdrew from the film.[13] In 1953, she refused the film Anarkali (1953 film) as heroine, a role which went to Bina Rai.[14]

As a singer
Suraiya's first song as a child-singer was "Boot karun main polish babu" (as a playback singer) in the film Nai Duniya (1942), composed by Naushad. She went on to sing playback for actress Mehtab for Sharda (1942), Kanoon (1943) and Sanjog (1942–43) for Naushad and A.R. Kardar (director-producer), when her principal, Miss P.F. Puttack, took a strong view of her truancy from school, and her 'adventure' came to an abrupt halt. When Mehtab first saw baby Suraiya, she was hesitant to have her as her playback singer, but on hearing her, she wanted Suraiya to sing all her songs in her films.

Even in later years, in 1946, Mehtab was so attached to Suraiya's singing, that she requested Suraiya to record disc versions of her songs in her film Shama (1946), produced by Sohrab Modi, when Suraiya had become a busy heroine and had left singing playback in films for Mehtab. Suraiya then sang for Mehtab, in her own disc versions which were recorded by Shamshad Begum in the film.[citation needed]

Suraiya debuted with Manna Dey in his first Hindi film song, and their only duet 'Jago ayee usha' in Tamanna in 1942, was directed by his uncle, the famous K. C. Dey. Again in 1942, Suraiya paired with Rajkumari in Station Master ( w. music director Naushad) for the song 'Sajan ghar aye'. Suraiya acted in both these films.[citation needed]

The song "Bistar bicha liya hai tere dar ke samne ghar hum ne le liya hai tere ghar ke samne", which Suraiya sang in duet with Arun Kumar for the film Hamari Baat (1943) was a major success.[15]

A few years later, the singer-actor, K.L. Saigal was so impressed by the singing of the 16-year-old Suraiya, that he agreed to have her opposite him in the film Tadbir as a heroine and a singer in 1945. The music was directed by Lal Mohammad in the film. 'Rani khol de dawar milne ka din aa gaya' is a memorable song from the film, she sang it with Saigal. Saigal again opted for Suraiya as his heroine and a singer in the films Omar Khayyam (1946) (w music director Lal Mohammad) and Parwana (1947) (w music director Khurshid Anwar). Parwana was Saigal's last film and was released after his death.[1][page needed]

Later, Suraiya continued to work with music director Naushad in a few films, and in 1946, she appeared with actress Noor Jehan in Anmol Ghadi as a co-star, with Naushad as the music director. She sang three songs in the film which became popular, of which 'Man leta hai angdai' went viral throughout the country. The musical film Dillagi (1949), under Kardar's direction, with Naushad's music, became a silver jubilee hit, with Suraiya becoming a national rage with her songs and acting.[16] In a span of 22 years, she gave a number of hits. In her honey-rich voice, songs like 'Woh paas rahein, ya door rahein', 'Tere naino ne chori kiya', 'Tu mera chaand, main teri chandni', "Yaad karun tori batiya" and the rare classical number 'Man mor hua matwala' created hysteria in the country.[citation needed]

Khurshid Anwar was the music director in three films of Suraiya, viz. Ishara (1943), Parwana (1947) and Singaar (1949). Suraiya sang 13 songs in these films.[citation needed]

With the music director duo, Husnlal Bhagatram, Suraiya sang in 10 films and recorded the most songs (58, excuding 6 repeat songs for the film Kanchan) for any music director from 1948 to 1958. The films were Pyar Ji Jeet (1948), Aaj Ki Raat (1948), Naach (1949), Balam (1949), Bari Behen(1949), Amar Kahani(1949), Sanam (1951), Shama Parwana(1954), Kanchan (1955) and Trolley Driver (1955).[17] Her song 'O, door janewale, wada na bhul jana' in Pyar Ki Jeet in 1948 became a hit all over India.[citation needed]

Suraiya did only three films with music composer Sachin Dev Burman, viz. Vidya(1948) (with Dev Anand), Afsar (1949) (with Dev Anand) and Lal Kunwar (1952)), as she was associated with other composers, and SD Burman came late into the scene in Bombay. Yet, most of their songs are memorable. 'Man mor hua Matwala'[citation needed] (in Afsar), 'Nain Deewane' 'Layi khushi ki dunia' (with Mukesh in 'Vidya') and 'Preet sataye teri yaad na' in Lal Kunwar being some of them.[18]

Personal life and love affair with Dev Anand

Suraiya with Gregory Peck at her home in 1954.
In the late 1940s, Dev Anand used to enact Gregory Peck's mannerisms to please Suraiya, as he knew she was a fan of Peck. Their love-affair continued for four years from 1948 to 1951. Dev Anand nicknamed Suraiya "Nosey", while to Suraiya, Dev Anand was "Steve", a name chosen from a book Dev Anand had given her.[19][20] Suraiya also called Anand "Devina" and he called her "Suraiyana", while faking an Italian accent. Suraiya was so much in love with Dev Anand that she let Lata sing some of the songs picturized on her in her films, in order to get more time to be with Dev Anand. Her love for Dev Anand was so intense that she was ready to forgo her singing star career for Dev, who was even more passionate about her. "All I could then think of was my love for Dev - Suraiya as a singing star and her career be damned!"(in 'A Journey Down Memory Lane' by Raju Bharatan).[21] During the shooting of director Rana Pratap's film Jeet (1949), both Dev Anand and Suraiya, with the help of the film cast and crew, namely Durga Khote (actress), Dwarka Divecha (cinematographer) and others, had made plans for marriage in a temple, and elopement, but at the last minute, an assistant director, jealous of their marriage, informed Suraiya's grandmother, who dragged her home from the scene.[22][23]


Suraiya and Dev Anand in 1950.

In the 'Star and Style' interview, Suraiya said that she gave in only when both her grandmother and her maternal uncle threatened to get Dev Anand killed. Suraiya told during this interview, that during the shooting of the film Neeli (1950), Dev Anand asked her final decision about their marriage, after their failed eloping incident. When Suraiya told Dev Anand that she did not want her to be the cause of his death, as both her grandmother and her maternal uncle opposed their marriage, he slapped her across the face and called her a "coward". She did not mind Dev Anand slapping her, because she knew how much he loved her. Dev Anand later kept on apologising for days about his behaviour.[24]

Dev Anand was not the one to be daunted easily. During the shooting of the film Afsar (1950), Dev Anand again formally proposed to her and gave her an engagement diamond ring worth rupees 3000. Suraiya was very happy and kept the ring with her. One day when she wore the ring, her grandmother questioned her and Suraiya could not hide the fact that Dev Anand had given it to her. Her grandmother was furious and threw her ring into the sea. Her maternal grandmother opposed the relationship, mainly because they were Muslims and Dev Anand was a Hindu. Suraiya and Dev Anand were stopped from acting together after their last film in 1951 by her grandmother. Thereafter, Suraiya remained unmarried by her own choice for the rest of her life.[10][11]

Speaking to journalist Sheila Vesuna, Suraiya said: "Eventually, my grandmother succeeded in separating us. Dev was deeply hurt and offended by my lack of courage. But I was afraid for him. In retrospect, I don't think anything would have happened if I'd been bold enough. But I was terrified of my grandmother. And was heartbroken. But time is the greatest healer."[25] Suraiya's grandmother, Badshah Begum, who controlled the family, was fiercely opposed to Suraiya marrying Dev Anand. She was also supported by Suraiya's maternal uncle Zahoor and some film persons, viz. composer Naushad, director-producer A.R. Kardar, lyricist Naqshab (Nadira's first husband) and director M. Sadiq. During the shooting of Dev Anand's own production Afsar (1950), under the banner of 'Navketan', Suraiya's grandmother started to oppose their romance openly and started interfering even in the shooting of their love scenes.[26]

Earlier, at the height of their romance in the late forties, Suraiya created a furore in film-world, when she and Dev Anand walked hand in hand at the dashing hero Shyam's marriage.[27]

Kamini Kaushal, who worked with Suraiya and Dev Anand in Shair (1949), said in an interview to Filmfare in January 2014, that Suraiya would pass on her letters to her to be delivered to Dev Anand, when her grandmother started keeping an eye on their love-affair. She said that Dev Anand was non-aggressive, not someone to put his foot down and say, "I'll marry her".[28] Actually, Kamini Kaushal said in 2007 to rediff.com that in the early days "Dev was very shy and introverted. We acted together in Ziddi, which was his second film and my fourth. He is still a shy person, but puts on an act of flambuoyance. And let me tell you, it's a perfect act. I know him very well." [29]

Dev Anand in a TV interview with Simi; "Rendezvous with Simi Garewal", after Suraiya's death in January 2004, revealed that Suraiya, who had gladly accepted his ring at first, never told him the reason for her later refusal of the marriage proposal, and that she was coerced to say "no" to him by her grandmother.

In an interview with 'Stardust', June 1972, Suraiya revealed that she lacked the courage to resist her family and that Dev Anand truly loved her. Dev Anand wanted her to be bold and get married to him in a civil court. But Suraiya refused. "When I refused to marry Dev Anand, he called me a coward. Maybe I was one. I admit I didn't have the courage to take a step I was not absolutely sure of. Perhaps, it was a folly, perhaps a mistake, or perhaps destiny".[30]

The principal reason for the opposition from her grandmother and her advisers was that Dev Anand was of a different religion, and the covert one was that Suraiya was the only earning member of the family. Naqshab even brought a copy of the Koran to make her swear that she would not marry Dev Anand (February 1987, 'Star and Style' interview of both Dev Anand and Suraiya by Sheila Vesuna). The film people had also their own professional and personal interests in opposing an early marriage of their popular singing star.[31][32][33] Also, director M. Sadiq, who was a married man, himself wanted to marry her. Suraiya's parents wanted her to marry Dev Anand, but being a mellow couple, their voice was ignored by the grandmother.

The painful experience with Dev Anand left her bruised emotionally, a phase from which many said she never recovered.[34] She deliberately cut down her assignments after 1952. A retreat from the public atmosphere was followed by a return in films such as Mirza Ghalib (1954), for which she received praise even from the Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru, but she never attained the dizzy public popularity she had attained earlier on. Suraiya refused to marry anyone in future, in spite of efforts by her family to persuade her to marry certain film directors and businessmen of their community. M. Sadiq, film director and actor Rehman were some of the film persons who were interested in marrying Suraiya.[35] Dev Anand, who was very depressed on her reluctant refusal to marry him, was counselled by his brother Chetan Anand to recover and stand up from the break up, and he went on to marry Kalpana Kartik four years later in 1954 in a hurried simple marriage, but as he said in his auto-biography, Suraiya was his first true love. Elsewhere, he has said to Shekhar Hattangadi that in spite of his marriage to Kalpana Kartik after his failed love affair that "Suraiya was the love and passion of his life and that I will always cherish her memory".[36] While Suraiya was alive in October 2003, Dev Anand accepted the fact that "Suraiya was my first and only real love. I wanted to marry her and she was willing. But her Muslim family objected to me, being a Hindu, and created a big row over the communal issue. Remember, she was already a big singing star when we first met, and I was a nobody. Fans mobbed her, her songs were on the air, and her star image added to the attraction."[37]

A limerick ('latka'), “chhayi bahar hai, jiya beqarar hai, aaja mere Dev Anand, Suraiya bemar hai” was often heard in the 1950s, to cajole Dev Anand to woo Suraiya once again.[38]

Later life and last days
Suraiya's maternal grandmother, Badshah Begum, who played a major part in her career and even her personal life, later went to Pakistan to live with her brother and his son, and she was left alone with her mother, Mumtaz Begum. The time with her mother were her happy years, when her mother took care of her daily needs and she would occasionally go to her film world friends. She had a few friends like old-timers Jairaj, Nimmi, Nirupa Roy and Tabassum, with whom she met occasionally.[39] She briefly came into the limelight again in 1979 following publication of an interview with her by Raju Bhartan in The Illustrated Weekly of India, which she said caused several of her former colleagues in Bollywood to get in contact with her.[40]

After her mother's death in 1987, Suraiya became lonely in the apartment she rented from Aswin Shah[41] in Krishna Mahal, Marine Drive in Mumbai, where she had lived from the early 1940s. She possessed several apartments in Worli, Mumbai and property in Lonavala, near Pune. She had lived alone for most of the time in her life. [42]

In December 1998, Suraiya then over 68 years old, while in New Delhi to receive the Sahitya Academy Award during Mirza Ghalib's bi-centenanry celebrations, talked in a low voice and declined to sing, saying she had left “mosiqui (music) years ago”. When a reporter mentioned Dev Anand, she avoided the comment, and chose to change the subject by saying that it was getting late and she had to go back.[43]

Tabassum, who worked with Suraiya in Bari Behen and Moti Mahal as he younger sister, met her often at her home, or rang Suraiya from home. During Suraiya's last few months, Tabassum said "It's sad that she had shut her doors to the world in her last days. Sometimes when I visited her, I’d find papers and milk collected at her door. She never opened the door. But she’d talk comfortably with me on the phone. I remember our last conversation. I asked her: "Aapa kaisi hain?" (Elder sister, how are you?") She replied in verse: "Kaisi guzar rahi hai sabhi poochte hai mujhse, kaise guzaarti hoon koi nahin poochta."( "Everbody asks me 'how are you', but nobody asks me how I spend my days and nights.") (As told to Farhana Farook in 2012).[44]

She died at Mumbai's Harkishandas Hospital on 31 January 2004 aged 75, after being admitted there a week previously suffering from various ailments, including hypoglycemia, ischaemia and insulinoma. She had not long since been discharged after a previous hospitalisation. Among her visitors were Sunil Dutt, Naushad and Pratap A. Rana.[45][46] Actor Dharmendra, who was an ardent fan, attended her funeral.[47] She was buried at Badakabarastan in Marine Lines, Mumbai.[48]

After her death, Suraiya's property at Worli and her house at Marine Drive went into legal dispute, as she did not leave behind an explicit will.[49][50][51] While the house at Marine Drive was claimed by Thakkar, her lawyer since 1975, and her Pakistani cousin, Mehfooz Ahmed (maternal uncle M. Zahoor's son) in Dubai, her property was claimed by the adopted family of her lawyer (based on his daughter being a nominee in Suraiya's papers and gift to her as 'hiba'), and her cousin.[52] No relatives from her father's side claimed anything from her property. In 2006, Mumbai High Court granted Mehfooz Ahmed the right to administer the estate. In 2008, her maternal cousin brother (Mehfooz Ahmed), who never met her for over 40 years before her death, got the right to the rented house at Krishna Mahal, valued at 7.5 crores rupees, as a tenant by the High Court judgement (according to Mumbai's old rent control laws) over her family lawyer. The house owner Ashwin Shah did not contest the case. The cousin had no objection to the house being sold.[53]

Honours and recognition
In 1946, Suraiya's film Anmol Ghadi with Noor Jehan and Surendra celebrated 'Silver Jubilee' (25 weeks continuous run in one or more cinema halls) in Bombay (now 'Mumbai') and other cities of India.[54]

In 1951, the inaugural issue of the film news-weekly Screen featured a photograph of Suraiya on its cover.[55]

In 1954, her film Mirza Ghalib was awarded the President's Gold Medal for the Best Feature Film of 1954 during the 2nd National Film Awards, with the then Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, remarking at the ceremony that she had brought the character to life. Suraiya thought his praise more worthy than an Oscar.[56]

In 1996, Suraiya was awarded the Screen Lifetime Achievement Award.[46]

In December 1998, she was specially honoured for perpetuating Mirza Ghalib's memory by her acting and songs by the then Prime Minister, Atal Behari Vajpayee during the Mirza Ghalib bi-centenary celebrations in New Delhi.[57]

On 3 May 2013, a postage stamp, bearing her image in various roles, was released by the India Post owned by the Government of India to honour her on the occasion of the '100 Years of Indian Cinema'.[58]

Tributes

O. P. Dutta, director-writer, the only living director (when she died) to have worked with her (in Pyar Ki Jeet) remembered her: "Suraiya, Bano to me, was a bundle of unforgettable qualities. A sublime voice, the ring in the voice, the perfect diction, the effortless rendering. But she always insisted that she was no singer... There were congratulations all around (on her success in his film). But Suraiya insisted she was no great shakes as an actress. The argument was over when she gave a sterling performance in Bari Behen. The success made Suraiya smile that unforgettable smile that could send a thousand hearts aflutter. She was right at the top and I was very happy for her."[59]

Dilip Kumar said on her death that "She was a caring girl, very affectionate, particularly with junior artistes... Suraiya will be sorely missed, even though she had been a recluse for decades."[60]

Dev Anand said "I did not go to her funeral because I would have been reminded of her past. I cried from a distance."[61]

Outlook (magazine) wrote after her death: "She evoked the kind of hysteria [in the late 1940s] that can be compared only with Rajesh Khanna in his heyday from 1969 to 1972. Ask any old-timer and they would confirm that people bunked offices, schools and colleges, even shops closed on the opening day of her films, to see her films first day, first show."[62]

The Hindu newspaper wrote about Suraiya: "What can you say about a lady, who was courted by Dev Anand, respected by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, but feared by Lata Mangeshkar! That she was beautiful, talented, adored by millions, but died a lonely single woman? Or, that she was the best ever superstar singer-actress of Indian films, yet walked away to a self-imposed exile at the height of her glory? Yes, Suraiya was all this, plus 'a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma' who resolutely shunned screen and media once she departed from the arc lights."[63]

Suraiya's songs, as a tribute to her, are played every year on her birth anniversary, 15 June and her death anniversary on 31 January by Radio Sri Lanka (formerly Radio Ceylon).

Filmography
Suraiya acted in the following films, along with singing her own songs in most of them.[citation needed] Three of Suraiya's films were left incomplete. Jaanwar with Dilip Kumar (early 50s) was abandoned by Suraiya, owing to misbehaviour with her by the lead actor, Dilip Kumar and producer director, K. Asif.[64][65] Pagalkhana (also, in early 50s), with Bharat Bhushan as lead actor, was abandoned by the producer director P.L. Santoshi after eight reels, because of financial constraints.[66] An English version of Wajid Ali Shah, starring Suraiya and Ashok Kumar in 1953, being filmed by British film director Herbert Marshall, was shelved after being made for some time.[67] A number of her films were announced with advertisements in film magazines, but were partially made or did not take off. These were Palken with Shekhar, to be produced and directed by Devendra Goel, for Goel Cine Corporation; Gumrah with Rehman (hero) by Globe Pictures, Bombay; Nigah with Naseer Khan (hero) by CB Films; Sanwri by Kundi Art Productions, produced and directed by Niranjan and Ching Chow with Ajit (hero) to be produced by Nigaristan (producers of Moti Mahal)[68]

Year	Film	Director	Producer	Role	Cast	Music Director	Other notes (singing, others)
1936	Madam Fashion	Jaddan Bai	Sangam Films (Jaddan Bai)	--	Jaddan Bai (Heroine), Baby Suraiya, Baby Rani (later Nargis), Nazmi Begum, Ansari (Hero), Aashiq Hussain, P. Bose, Misra, Yusuf, M.P. Sinha	Jaddan Bai	Child Artist
1937	Usne Kya Socha	I. A. Hafesjee	Imperial Film	–	Ghaznavi, Jamshedji, Ratan Bai, W. M. Khan, Anant Kumar Marathe, Asuji, Mukhtar, Rustam Poonawala & Suraiya	–	Child artist
1941	Taj Mahal	Nanubhai Vakil	Mohan Pictures	Baby Mumtaz	Kumar, Sarojini, S. Nazir (Hero), Suraiya, Indurani, Khalil, Ram Marathe, Mubarak	Madhavlal Damodar	Major break as a child artist
1942	Boot Polish (only sang a solo song, no acting)	A.R.Kardar	Circo Production	no role (only playback singer)	Jairaj, Shobhana Samarth	Naushad	Suraiya's first song 'Boot karon mai polish, babu'
1942	Station Master	C.M. Luhar	Prakash	Usha	Pratima Devi, Jagdish Sethi, Prem Adib (Hero), Jeevan, Umakant, Kaushalya, Shakir, Amirbai, Suraiya, Gulab, Ratnamala	Naushad	Supporting role—2 duets with Rajkumari Dubey--- Silver Jubilee film
	Tamanna	Phani Majumdar	Laxmi Production		Jagdish Sethi, Shanta Kumari, Jairaj, Leela Desai, K. C. Dey, Karan Dewan, Suraiya, Rani	K.C. Dey	Supporting role—Suraiya's first duet with Manna Dey 'Jago, jago aye usha' (Also Manna Dey's first film song in Hindi).
1942	Sharda	A.R.Kardar	Kardar Productions	only as a playback singer for Mehtab	Amir Banu, Shyam Kumar Mehtab (Heroine)	Naushad	Only as a playback singer-2 solos, 1 duet with Nirmala Devi
1943	Kanoon	A. R. Kardar	Kardar Productions	only as a playback singer for Mehtab	Shahu Modak, Mehtab (Heroine), Gajanan Jagirdar, Nirmala Devi, Ulhas and Badri Prasad, A. Shah, Jetha, Amirali, Amir Bano, Padma.	Naushad	Only as a playback singer—2 solos, 3 duets with Shyam Kumar
1943	Sanjog	A.R. Kardar	Kardar Productions	only as a playback singer for Mehtab	Noor Mohammad 'Charlie', Mehtab (Heroine), Anwar Hussain, Ulhas, Wasti, Raj Kumari, Shukal Chanda Bai	Ghulam Mohammad, Naushad	Only as singer—3 solos, 2 duets with Noor Mohammad Charlie
1943	Ishara	J. K. Nanda	D. R. D. Production		Suraiya, Jagdish Sethi, Pratima Devi, K. N. Singh, Prithviraj Kapoor (Hero), Swarnalata, Suraiya (Heroine), Satish, Vatsala Kumtekar, Masood	Khurshid Anwar	Heroine---2 solos
	Humari Baat	M. I. Dharamsey	Bombay Talkies		Arun Kumar, Kamta Prasad, Dulari, Suraiya, Devika Rani (Heroine), David Abraham, Shah Nawaz, Raj Kapoor, Prabha, Mumtaz Ali, Jairaj (Hero)	Anil Biswas	Supporting role—4 duets with Arun Kumar Mukherjee
1945	Yateem	Zia Sarhady	Gautam Chitra		E. Billimoria, Chandraprabha (Heroine), Yakub, Suraiya, Uday Kumar (Hero), Bhudo Advani, David Abraham, Lalita Pawar, Charlie	Khurshid Anwar	Supporting role
	Tadbir	Jayant Desai	Jayant Desai Production	Sugana	Rehana, Jilloo Maa, K. L. Saigal (Hero), Mubarak, Suraiya (Heroine), Salvi, Rewa Shankar, Shashi Chand Kapoor (Sr.), Shalini	Lal Mohammed	Heroine—3 solos, 2 duets with K.L. Saigal
	Samrat Chandragupta	Jayant Desai	Jayant Desai Production		Ishwarlal (Hero), Mubarak, Nayampally, Renuka Devi (Heroine), Suraiya, Sulochana Chatterji	C. Ramchandra	Supporting role---3 solos
	Phool	K. Asif	Famous Pictures	Shama	Wasti, Veena (Heroine), Suraiya (Prithviraj's sister), Prithviraj (Hero), Yakub, Dixit, Ashraf Khan, Agha, Mazhar Khan, M. Esmail, Jilloo Maa, Sitara Devi, Durga Khote	Ghulam Haider	supporting role—3 solos
1945	Main Kya Karoon	Sudhir Sen	Flora Pictures		Shah Nawaz, Suraiya, Pahari Sanyal, Hansa Wadkar, Bikram Kapoor, E. Billimoria	Ninu Majumdar	co-star---3 solos and 2 duets with Hamida Banu
1946	Shama (only recorded disc versions for actress Mehtab at her request. Did not act in the film)	Sibtain Fazli	Minerva Movietone (Producer: Sohrab Modi)		Mehtab, Ulhas, Wasti, Anwari, Prakash, Jafri Begum, Amir Bano, Sadat Ali, Chanda	Ghulam Haider	3 solos (record versions for Mehtab)
1946	Jag Biti	M. Sadiq	Din Pictures		Suraiya, Shakir, Sulochana Chatterji (Heroine), Abbas, Himalayawala, Bibi, Sadiq Ali	Ghulam Haider	co-star—3 solos
	1857	Mohan Sinha	Muarai Pictures		Wasti, Surendra (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Nigar, Madan Puri, Leela, Menaka, Ganju, Munshi Khanjar, Laxmi, Suraiya, Shakir, Sulochana Chatterji, Abbas, Himalayawala, Bibi, Sadiq Ali	Sajjad Hussain	Heroine—4 solos and 1 duet with Surendra
	Anmol Ghadi	Mehboob Khan	Mehboob Production	Basanti	Surendra (Hero), Noorjahan (Heroine), Suraiya (Co-Heroine), Zahur Raja, Leela Mishra, Anwari, Bhudo Advani, Murad, Amir Banu	Naushad	co-star with Noor Jehan--- 3 solos ---Diamond Jubilee film
	Omar Khaiyyam	Mohan Sinha	Muarai Pictures		Suraiya (Heroine), K.L. Saigal (Hero), Wasti, Benjamin, Shakir, Leela, Madan Puri, Muzammil	Lal Mohammed	Heroine---4 solos
1947	Parwana	J.K. Nanda	Jeet Productions	Gopi	K. N. Singh, K. L. Saigal (Hero), Suraiya (heroine), S. Nazir, Azurie, Najam	Khurshid Anwar	Heroine---4 solos
	Natak	S.U. Sunny	Kardar Productions		Pratima Devi, Amar (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Sofia, Kanwar, Shyam Kumar, Amir Ali, Nazir Vedi, Nawab, Suleman	Naushad	Heroine---5 solos, one duet with Amar Silver Jubliee hit
	Do Dil	Jagdish Sethi	Jamana Production		Badri Prasad, Motilal, Suraiya (Heroine), Karan Dewan (Hero), Gulab	Gobind Ram	Heroine---4 solos, 2 duets with Mukesh
	Dard	A.R. Kardar	Kardar Productions		Pratima Devi, Badri Prasad, Husn Banu, Munawwar Sultana (Heroine), Nusrat (Hero), Suraiya (Co-Heroine), Shyam Kumar (Villain)	Naushad	Co-star with Munnawar Sultana---4 solos, one duet with Uma Devi---Silver Jubilee film
	Dak Bangla	M. Sadiq	Indian National		M. Esmail, Suraiya (Heroine), Gope, Kamal Kapoor (Hero), Wasti	Naresh Bhattacharya	Heroine---4 solos, 1 duet with Mukesh, 1 duet with Indrabadan Bhatt
1948	Aaj ki Raat	D.D Kashyap	Famous Pictures		Motilal (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Yakub, Leela Misra, Raj Mehra, Anita Sharma, Sangeeta, Shah Nawaz	Husnlal Bhagatram	Heroine---5 solos, 2 duets with G M Durrani
	Vidya	G. Tripathi	Jeet Pictures	Vidya	Suraiya (Heroine), Maya Banerji, Gulam Mohamed, Madan Puri, Amibai Karnataki, Cuckoo, Munshi Khanjar, Dev Anand (Hero)	S.D. Burman	Heroine---4 solos, 1 duet with Mukesh
	Shakti	S.I. Hasan	Greater Bombay Pictures		Kailash, Karan Dewan (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Sofia, Maya Devi, Seeta Bose, Cuckoo, Mumtaz Ali, Murad	Ram Prasad	Heroine---4 solos
	Rang Mahal	Pandit Anand Kumar	Eastern Pictures		Suresh (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Anant Marathe, Lalita Pawar, Shah Nawaz	K. Datta	Heroine---2 solos, 1 duet with Suresh
	Pyar Ki Jeet	O.P. Dutta	Famous Pictures		Gyani, Rehman (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Gope, Raj Mehra, Manorama, Leela Misra, Yashodhara Katju, Niranjan Sharma	Husnlal Bhagatram	Heroine---3 solos, 2 duets with Meena Kapoor and Surinder Kaur---Hit film
	Kajal	M.Sadiq	Ratan Pictures (Malika Pukhraj)		Suraiya (Heroine), Jayant (Hero), Gope, Sharda, Ram Kamlani, Cuckoo, Wasti, Amir Banu	Ghulam Mohammed	4 solos, 1 duet with Rafi
	Gajre	R.D.Mathur	Ailled Art Production		Motilal (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), AghaMP, Nihal, Sangeeta, Geeta Nizami, Sankatha Prasad, Murad	Anil Biswas	Heroine---4 solos
1949	Singaar	J.K. Nanda	Haldia Nanda Production		Jairaj (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Madhubala, Madan Puri, Randhir, K. N. Singh, Durga Khote	Khurshid Anwar	Heroine---4 solos, 1 duet with Surinder Kaur
	Shair	Chawla	Jagat Pictures	Vidya	Cuckoo, Dev Anand (Hero), Kamini Kaushal, Murad, Suraiya (Heroine), Agha, Sulochana, Shyama, Dulari	Ghulam Mohammed	Heroine—5 solos
	Naach	Ravindra Dave	Kuldip Pictures		Shyam (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Kuldip, Raj Mehra, Gulab, Yashodhara Katju, Sofia, Shyama, Wasti, Om Prakash	Husnlal Bhagatram	5 solos, 1 duet with Rafi
	Lekh	G. Rakesh	Liberty Art Production		Anand Pal, Cuckoo, Motilal (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Ishu, Jagirdar, Sitara Devi	Krishan Dayal	4 solos, 1 duet with Mukesh
	Jeet	Mohan Sinha	Raj Kriti Chitra	Jeet	Shree Bhagwan, Durga Khote, Dev Anand (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Kanhaiyalal, Madan Puri, Suraiya Choudhary, Habib	Anil Biswas	5 solos, 1 duet with Shankar Dasgupta, 1 duet with Geeta Dutt, Vinod
	Duniya	S.F Hussain	Fazli Bros		Anwari, Karan Dewan (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Yakub, Bhudo Advani, Shakila, Zubeida, Jankidas	C. Ramchandra	7 solos, 1 duet with Rafi
	Dillagi	A.R. Kardar	Kardar Production		Chandabai, Amir Banu, Shyam (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Sharda, Amar	Naushad	6 solos, 1 duet with Shyam Kumar (singer, co- actor, not hero Shyam (this film)---Silver Jubilee film
	Char Din	M. Sadiq	Ratan Pictures		Badri Prasad, Om Prakash, Shyam(Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Jayant, Randhir, Mohana, Shyama, Cuckoo	Shyam Sunder	5 solos
	Balam	Homi Wadia	Wadia Movietone		Wasti (Hero), Nigar Sultana, Suraiya (Heroine), Masood, Jayant, Agha	Husnlal Bhagatram	4 solos, 1 duet with Lata, 1 duet with Rafi
	Badi Behen	D.D. Kashyap	Famous Pictures		Suraiya (Heroine), Ulhas, Gulab, Roop Kamal, Tabassum, Shanti Madhok, Niranjan Sharma, Ram Avtaar, Geeta Bali, Pappu, Rehman (Hero), Pran	Husnlal Bhagatram	4 solos---Hit film
	Amar Kahani	Baij Sharma	Kamal Kunj Chitra		Jairaj (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Mehta, Ranjana	Husnlal Bhagatram	6 solos
1950	Shaan	Jayant Desai	Kuldip Pictures		Pratima Devi, Cuckoo, Suraiya (Heroine), Sapru, Manorama, David Abraham, Rehman (Hero)	Hansraj Behl	4 solos, 2 duets with Rafi
	Nilli	Ratibhai Punatkar	Ranjit Film Company	Vidya	Suraiya (Heroine), Agha, Shyama, Dulari, Cuckoo, Dev Anand (Hero)	S. Mohinder	6 solos, 1 duet with G.M. Durrani
	Khiladi	Talwar	Talwar Films		Ashok Kumar (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Kumar, Indu, E. Tarapore, Anoop Kumar, Narbada Shanker, Sunder, Cuckoo	Hansraj Behl	4 solos, 2 duets with Rafi
	Kamal Ke Phool	D.D. Kashyap	Famous Pictures		Badri Prasad, Suraiya (Heroine), Jeevan, Raj Mehra, Leela Misra, Niranjan Sharma, Shakuntala, Amarnath (Hero)	Shyam Sunder	5 solos
	Dastan	A.R. Kardar	Musical Pictures		Pratima Devi, Raj Kapoor (Hero), Al Nasir, Murad, Suraiya (Heroine), Veena, Suresh, Shakila	Naushad	6 solos, 3 duets with Rafi—Silver Jubilee film
	Afsar	Chetan Anand	Nav Ketan		Rashid Khan, Suraiya (Heroine), Manmohan Krishna, Kanhaiyalal, Krishna Dhawan, Zohra Sehgal, Anand Pal, Dev Anand (Hero)	S.D. Burman	5 solos, 1 duet with Geeta Dutt
1951	Shokiyan	Kidar Sharma	Ambitious Pictures		Nazira, Shanta Kanwar, Premnath (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Jeevan, Kamlesh, Achla Sachdev, Rajendra Vyas, Ramesh Sinha	Jamal Sen	3 solos, 1 duet with Lata
	Sanam	Nandlal Jaswantlal	United Technicians	Vidya	Jilloo Maa, Pratima Devi, Suraiya (Heroine), Gope, Meena Kumari, Dev Anand (Hero), K. N. Singh	Husnlal Bhagatram	4 solos, 2 duets with Rafi, 1 duet with SD Batish, 1 trio with Shamshad and SD Batish, 1 duet with Lata
	Rajput	Lekhraj Bhakri	Jubilee Pictures		Shakuntala, Jairaj (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Sapru, Kuldip Kaur, Mumtaz, Maruti, Randhir	Hansraj Behl	4 solos
	Do Sitare	D.D. Kashyap	Famous Pictures		Suraiya (Heroine), Kuldip Kaur, Mumtaz, Baij Sharma, Prem Nath, Dev Anand (Hero), Shakuntala	Anil Biswas	4 solos
1952	Resham	Lekhraj Bhakri	Jubilee Pictures		Sunder, Jairaj (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Sapru, Naaz, Achla Sachdev, Khurshid, Ramesh Thakur, Jagdish	Hansraj Behl	4 solos
	Moti Mahal	Ravindra Dave	Nigaristan Films	Vidya	Ajit (Hero), Veera, Suraiya (Heroine), Jeevan, Tabassum, Satish	Hansraj Behl	3 solos, 1 duet with Shamshad begum
	Lal Kunwar	Ravindra Dave	Nigaristan Films		Nasir Khan (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Jairaj, Usha Kiran, Agha, Durga Khote	S.D. Burman	4 solos
	Khubsoorat	S.F. Hussain	Fazli Bros.		Nasir Khan (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Yakub, Bhudo Advani, Zubeida, Jankidas	Madan Mohan	4 solos
	Goonj	Phani Majumdar	Kwarta Art Production		Bhagwan, Suresh (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Sapru, Majnu, Madan Puri, Randhir, Ravikant	Sardul Sharma	5 solos, 1 duet with Rafi
	Diwana	A.R. Kardar	Kardar Production		Suresh (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Sumitra Devi, Shyam Kumar, Ramesh, Madan Puri, Banerjee, Amirbai Karnataki, Amir Ali	Naushad	4 solos, 1 duet with Lata—Silver Jubilee film
1953	Mashuqa	Shanti Kumar	Chitrakar		Suraiya (Heroine), Agha, Kuldip Kaur, Durga Khote, Amirbai Karnataki, Mukesh (Hero)	Roshan	4 solos, 2 duets with Lata
1954	Mirza Ghalib	Sohrab Modi	Minerva Movietone		Bharat Bhushan (Hero), Murad, Durga Khote, Jagdish Sethi, Suraiya (Heroine), Nigar Sultana, Mukri, Baij Sharma, Kumkum, Sadat Ali, Iftekhar, Roshan	Ghulam Mohammed	5 solos, 1 duet with Talat
	Bilwamangal	D.N. Madhok	Minar Movies	Vidya	C.H. Atma (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Nirupa Roy, Ulhas, Asha Mathur	Bulo C Rani	5 solos, 2 duets with C.H.Atma
	Waris	Nitin Bose	Minerva Movietone	Shobha	Jagdish Sethi, Suraiya (Heroine), Talat Mehmood (Hero), Nadira, Sadat Ali, Meheli Modi, Yakub, Achla Sachdev, Roopmala	Anil Biswas	3 solos, 4 duets with Talat
	Shama Parwana	D.D. Kashyap	Kashyap Production		Shammi Kapoor (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Roop Mala, Ulhas, Sunder, Mubarak	Husnlal Bhagatram	4 solos, 3 duets with Rafi, 1 duet with Asha
1955	Kanchan	Baij Sharma	Kamal Kunj Chitra		Jairaj (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Mehta, Ranjana	Husnlal Bhagatram	6 solos
	Inam	M.I. Dharamsey	Zodiac Pictures		Pratima Devi, Nasir Khan (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Yakub, Bimla Kumari, Mukri	S. N. Tripathi	3 solos, 1 duet with Mohantara Ajinkya
1956	Mr. Lambu	N.A.Ansari	Sheikh Mukhtar		Bhagwan, Helen, Sheikh Mukhtar (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Kamaljeet, Vijayalaxmi, N. A. Ansari, Minoo Mumtaz	O.P.Nayyar	2 solos, 1 duet with Rafi
1958	Trolly Driver	Gajanan Jagirdar	Divya Jyot Production		Rehman (Hero), Cuckoo, Pratima Devi, Bhagwan, Suraiya (Heroine), Jagirdar, Usha Kiran, Madan Puri	Husnlal Bhagatram	2 solos, 1 duet with Rafi, 3 unavailable
	Miss 1958	Kuldip Kahar	A.K. Movies		Om Prakash, Suraiya (Heroine), Karan Dewan (Hero), Madan Puri, Naaz, Krishna Kumari	N. Dutta	1 solo
	Malik	S.M. Yusuf	Sunny Art Productions		Jagdeep, Lalita Pawar, Roopmala, Suraiya (Heroine), Talat Mehmood (Hero), Jeevan, Mukri, Radhakrishen, Kumar	Ghulam Mohammed	1 solo, 2 duets with Talat
1958	Taqdeer (not her film)-- 2 songs sung by her for her earlier incomplete film. These were used by the music director and picturised on Shyama.	A S Arora	Neela Productions		Karan Dewan (Hero), Shyama (Heroine), Asha Mathur, Madan Puri, Helen, S.K. Prem	Dhani Ram (Lyrics by Verma Malik)	2 songs; Hawa uda kar layi; and Bewafa kar ke jafa, sung by her for an incomplete film- used by MD in Taqdeer
1961	Shama	Lekhraj Bhakri	Tasveeristan		Kumud Tripathi, Nimmi, Vijay Dutt (Hero)(Guru Dutt's brother), Suraiya (Heroine), Kumar, Kammo, Tarun Bose, Mumtaz Begum, Tuntun, Leela Misra, Renu Maker	Ghulam Mohammed	3 solos
1963	Rustam Sohrab[69]	Vishram Bedekar	Ramsay Productions		Murad, Prithviraj Kapoor (Hero), Suraiya (Heroine), Premnath (Co-Hero), Mumtaz, Azad, Merlyn, Hiralal, P. Kailash, Sajjan	Sajjad Hussain	1 solo, her last song ('Yeh kaisee ajab dastan ho gayi hai')