SURAIYA REAL BIOGRAPHY
The little girl in this photograph is named Suraiya. She was only 13 years old and played her first “adult” role in Ishara released in theaters in 1943. The one that would trigger hysteria to the point of prohibiting her from going out in public a few years later had only made a few appearances. under the name of Baby Suraiya. She finally gives the reply to the great Prithviraj Kapoor, but the criticism of Filmindia is murdered [ 1 ] : “The disappointment comes from the over-publicized Suraiya, with her puffy face and bad row of teeth. You want to laugh every time Prithviraj describes her as very pretty and runs after her. A blind man would realize that she is ugly just by touching her. Suraiya's performance is far from satisfactory and her music - God help us. "
Fortunately, she probably didn't read this nastiness because her mother, Mumtaz Begum, and even more so her grandmother, the terrible Badshah Begum, had been brooding her with an iron fist for a long time already. Suraiya was born in 1929 into a Muslim family in Gujranwala, Punjab (now Pakistan) where her father, Aziz owned a small furniture store. Her parents moved to Lahore, then the little girl followed her mother, her grandmother and her uncle Mr. Zahur to Bombay in 1933. They lived on Marine Drive and rubbed shoulders with future film stars.
Thus, Suraiya is the neighbor of Nargis who was her age, and of Madan Mohan barely older than her. The future musical director takes him to All India Radio where they meet the young Raj Kapoor to sing in children's shows. But that does not mean that she intended to become an artist. She follows mundane studies in an interfaith school for girls, and at the same time, studies the Koran and Persian at home.
In 1941, his uncle M. Zahur, who was then a supporting actor employed by the studio Prakash Pictures, showed him to visit Mohan Studios where Taj Mahal was filmed . The director notices her and chooses her on the spot to play the young Mumtaz Mahal. The ten-day shoot takes place in New Delhi. The 12-year-old girl thus passes in front of the camera for the first time [ 2 ] . Her acting career is launched.
The same year, Naushad was impressed by his voice, which he heard on All India Radio. He hired her to sing two songs embodied by Methab in Sharda which was released in 1942. They were hits. Suraiya can therefore consider a career as a singer. But at this time, actors are still expected to perform their own songs themselves. This is how Suraiya would become an actress-singer, occasionally dubbing other actresses.
- Suraiya and Nur Jehan in Anmol Ghadi (1946)
His film debut was not very easy. The producers believe in her a lot, but they hesitate to make her a leading heroine. Suraiya therefore begins in secondary roles. But by the end of 1945, she was opposed to the legendary KL Saigal in Tadbir . Unfortunately, what is still called "the pride of India" is already ravaged by alcohol. He is no more than a shadow of himself and the couple they form on the screen is terribly lacking in realism. For the first time however, Suraiya wins membership as an actress. KL Saigal appreciates her voice and recommends her to accompany her in two other films: Omar Khaiyyam and Parwana. These will be the last two films of the great Bengali artist. The songs performed by Suraiya will instantly be huge hits.
In 1946, Mehboob Khan sets a trap for him which will prove to be a formidable gift. She is simply Noor Jehan's friend in Anmol Ghadi . Despite being only 19 years old, Noor Jehan was the biggest female star of the moment. She had even placed three films at the top of the box office in 1945. Only if Noor has a golden voice, she is not very pretty, does not know how to act and is unable to dance. She can actually only sing her songs where the director put it. The music of Naushad is the real star of the film, but Suraiya establishes herself as a complete actress with a disarming smile, prematurely aging the great Noor Jehan.
1947 was a pivotal year for India and its cinema. Like millions of people, artists must choose between India and the newly created Pakistan. Although most of her family is on the Pakistani side of the newly created border, Suraiya remains in Bombay with her mother and grandmother. On the other hand, Noor Jehan, like many others, chooses to join Pakistan. In January of that year, KL Saigal died of cirrhosis at just 42 years old. The two pillars of Indian sung cinema are no longer, leaving room for other actors including Suraiya.
The years 1948-1949 are glorious. Suraiya has three milestone successes: Pyar Ki Jeet and Badi Bahen with Rehman, then Dillagi with Shyam. Her grandmother, who fosters her career with unwavering determination, gets her to become the highest paid artist in Bombay. It is reported that she was paid 65,000 rupees [ 3 ] for Duniya , the highest salary an actor received for a film during this period, male and female alike. She shoots a lot, up to six films at the same time. Not to spoil anything, his songs are raging. Woh Paas Rahe Ya Door Rahe, O Door Jaanewale , Murliwale Murli Baja orManmor Hua Matwala are so many pieces that pass to posterity.
And then comes Vidya which will be released at the end of 1948. This is the first of seven films in which she will be opposed to Dev Anand. During the filming of Kinare Kinare Chale Jayenge , the boat capsizes and Suraiya falls into the water. She can't swim. Dev saves her. They fall in love. But Suraiya's mother and especially Suraiya's grandmother do not hear it that way. There is no question of a Hindu dating a Muslim. Their friends, like the film technicians, do everything to keep the two women away and give the young couple a little freedom. Kamini Kaushal and Durga Khote even secretly pass the little words they exchange. Dev offers Suraiya an engagement ring and they plan to run away to get married.
The grandmother gets wind of the case and threatens to send Dev to prison because Suraiya is still underage at the time. Finally, tired of war, she announces that she will kill herself if Dev marries his granddaughter. Suraiya gives up. The two lovers separate heartbroken in 1951. Dev Anand will marry Kalpana Kartik in 1954 but Suraiya will remain celibate forever.
- Suraiya, Her Mother and Grandmother Surrounding Frank Capra (1952)
The 1950s marked the beginning of the decline. The tremendous success of a new generation of playback singers such as Lata Mangeshkar and Mohammed Rafi allows filmmakers to use artists whose acting is the primary talent. It is time for the singer-actors to gradually leave the screen. Suraiya films no longer draw crowds like they used to. However, she tries to adapt and can count on the support of the greatest musical directors of the time. This is how she tries herself for example at a "towel song [ 4 ] " with Mora Nazuk Badan offered by Naushad in Deewana in 1952.
She returned to the top with Mirza Galib of Sohrab Modi in 1954. Her incarnation of a courtesan, wife of the poet Ghalib marked the spirits to the point of earning her the congratulations of Nehru, the prime minister at the time, who attended a performance of the movie. She also dances convincingly and performs among others the immortal Yeh Na Thi Hamari Kismet to music by Ghulam Mohammed.
Suraiya turns less and less in the years that follow. She returns to the screen one last time in Rustom Sohrab where she gives the answer to Prithviraj with whom she had debuted 20 years earlier. His vibrant interpretation of Yeh Kaisi Ajab Dastaan Ho Gayee Hai has been remembered to this day.
Suraiya retired from the scene in 1963; tired of fame, permanent representation and striving to stay slim. She is only 34 years old but will only make a few very rare public appearances. And if she still goes to the cinema from time to time, it is hidden under a burqa so that we do not recognize her.
Her mother died in 1987, leaving her alone in the apartment on Marine Drive where she had always lived. Suraiya died in 2004 and with her, the last actress-singer of a bygone era.
[ 1 ] Review published in July 1943 in the monthly magazine Filmindia. For some reason, Filmindia will be very hard on Suraiya throughout her career, regularly calling her the ugly dunkling (the ugly duckling).
[ 2 ] Some cite Usne Kya Socha, released in 1937, as her first role. However, it seems unlikely that she participated in this film, one of the last of Imperial Films Co. Others also cite Bilji or Farzand-e-Vatan released in 1939 as films in which she would have participated. But they are now lost or inaccessible which prohibits any verification. Several actresses were named Suraiya at the time, which could explain the confusion.
[ 3 ] That's roughly 10 years of a film technician's salary. Filmindia magazine cost 2 rupees that year.
[ 4 ] Many years later, Kajol would make a close number on Mere Khwabon Mein in Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge .
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