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's

shining voice. She recorded that memorable qawwali song in chorus with

Amirbai Karnataki, Kalyani and Nur 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 limelight

as 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 72, but not

before contributing significantly to the refinement of film music of the

Sub-continent.

Imbued with music since her early childhood, Zohrbai Ambalewali began

climbing the chart of popularity, transcending the age, ethnic and language

barriers as her songs tickled the musical sensibilities of cinema buffs and

had special appeal for a mass cross section of the population. The emergence

of singers like Zohrabai on the musical scene in Bombay heralded a new era

of film music in the second half of the 20th century, which was enriched

much by vocalists of her calibre in the succeeding decades.

A certain kind of vivacity and aura characterized Zohrabai's ever-fresh

voice, adding a special glow its sonic qualities making her the envy of her

contemporaries. 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 has subsequently been praised and commended by film

critics and connoisseurs as one of the top female playback singers, which

have contributed so much to film music of the Sub-continent. In addition to

rendering film songs, Zohrabai demonstrated full commanded over her voice

while singing the esoteric Lucknow and Banaras ang thumris and 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 scores 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 paid spoken lovingly

about Zohrabai's affable manners, winning personality and musical

intelligence, which distinguished her from others showbiz celebrities. .

Zohrabai did not record a large number of songs for the films if compared

with her contemporaries. However, those for which her vocals were skillfully

employed by seasoned composers of that era, succeeded in providing 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 impact of her properly

groomed voice on the listeners.

The popularity of a film song, it may be mentioned, is ascribed to several

inputs, including good lyrics and good composition, but the voice in which

it is recorded is the major factor in creating an enduring impact on the

listeners. A good voice like that of Zohrbai could do wonder to a film

composition.