The Quiver: Anil Biswas on Talat Mahmood
- the time of discovery
I have always kept an eye open for fresh talents and fresh voices, and it was during one of those try outs that a tall lanky man from Calcutta said he was desirous of acting in films and as he had already sung in Calcutta as Tapan Kumar, he could break through. I sized him up and asked him to sing a song, and as he started off, I was mesmerized. His voice didnt have any classical base, but his voice was such that you just felt like closing your eyes and listening. I asked him to come the next day saying I would give him a song- and he better forget his acting for the time. The next day, as he sang, I was bemused. That beautiful quiver in his voice which had attracted me was missing. I stopped him and when asked about it, Talat replied "Dada, everyone says my voice shivers - I was trying to correct it". I was furious and asked him to get out and get the voice I had chosen - the Talat Mahmood I had chosen. He immediately obliged - and at the end of the rehearsal, I told him, "Thats how you will sing from now" - and he did. From then on he never did look back - at least not as long as I was there.

That song was "Ae dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal" in "Arzoo" on Dilip Kumar. He became The voice of the Tragedy King and the pathos in Talat's voice so ideally suited the tragic image that Dilip Kumar developed for himself.

Naushad:
from Doordarshan's "Shraddhanjali" programme
"You can fathom how unique Talat sahab's voice is by the fact that there are a thousand copies of Mohd. Rafi, Kishore, Mukesh and others. But Talat sahab's is the only voice in our Film Industry that has never been copied or duplicated ever ! His is a voice that stands apart and is truely inimitable !"

Kishore Kumar:
Illustrated Weekly of India- Dec '87
Such was Talat Mahmood's aura, that Kishore Kumar on hearing Talat once at Anil Biswas's house had remarked, "I think I had better give up singing. How can I dare open my mouth so long as such a perennially romantic voice is around !"

Mehdi Hassan:
From The Hindu- 27th. Sept. '91
"It was through the vocals of Talat Saab that I discovered the goldmine in my throat. His songs like 'Ek main hoon ek meri bekasi ki shaam hai' and 'Husn walon ko na dil do ye mita dete hain' had left a lasting impression on me. It was whilst singing these two Talat numbers on stage in the early years of my singing career, that I held an audience of 10,000 in Pindi spellbound ! Believe it or not, the moment I completed singing these two Talat hits, the Pindi audience showered me with money and in a trice I had collected almost about Rs.14,000 ! All this, was of course, courtesy Talat Saab ! "

Pankaj Udhas:
Voice clip in "Legends - Talat Mahmood" released by HMV
"Whenever there is a discussion on ghazals only one name comes to your lips - that of Shahenshah e Ghazal Janab Talat Mahmood ! I am very much influenced by him and his music. His singing style, his soft velvety voice, his sweet, emotion filled, tuneful film songs, geets and ghazals..... a voice so sweet that you can listen to it for hours on end..... and you get that feeling of sweet nectar being poured into your ears ! "

Ameen Sayani:
Reliving The "GeetMala" lore in 'SCREEN' - Sept 22, 2000
"The Geetmala which was aired from 1952-53 didn’t rank the songs. It only played seven hit songs, without rating them. It was only in 1954 that Geetmala became a countdown show.
I remember vividly that in 1954, the topper of the first countdown show was
Talat Mahmood’s "Jayen to Jayen Kahan" from film 'Taxi Driver'."


Dilip Kumar:
"... There was a uniqueness in his voice which has never been seen in any other singer. His songs touched peoples hearts. When I would act to his playbacked songs I would put in that much more extra effort to match his singing prowess".

Whether it be songs like ai mere dil kahii.n aur chal, koi nahin mera iss dunya mein from Daag or shaam-e-Gam kii qasam, aaj Gamagii.n hai.n ham from Footpath or even Kis ko Khabar Thi from Devdas, the Legend with the Golden Voice proved his mettle time and again while singing for Dilip Kumar and other legends of the movie industry.



Bibliography
My Velvety Idol http://www.freehomepages.com/imsathya/talat.htm
A Golden Voice- Talat Mahmood http://www.talatmahmood.com
Devdas http://www.rediff.com/entertai/2002/jul/03dilip.htm
Songs of Talat Mehmood http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~navin/india/songs/...at_mehmood.html
Hamara Forums- Binaca Geet Mala - 1954 http://www.hamaraforums.com/index.php?showtopic=40

Good work Imran. A great effort putin to gather all this scattered information.

Personally I like Jalte Hein Jiske Liye from Sujatha, both interms of song and the picturization. A very simple and innovative way of portrating deepest feelings within one's heart for his sweethrt.

A few hit numbers by the Ghazal King that made a fan out of me.

Songs from Indian Melody- Talat Mahmood

And yes Pradeep, your personal favourite is also in there.
You can feel the nuance and intonation added in each line with the most subtle touch.

Attaching the lyrics for this amazing number penned by Majrooh Sultanpuri...

jalate hai.n jisake liye, terii aa.Nkho.n ke diye
Dhuu.NDh laayaa huu.N vahii, giit mai.n tere liye
jalate hai.n jisake liye

dard banake jo mere dil me.n rahaa Dhal naa sakaa
jaaduu banake terii aa.Nkho.n me.n rukaa chal naa sakaa
aaj laayaa huu.N vahii giit mai.n tere liye
jalate hai.n jisake liye

dil me.n rakh lenaa ise haatho.n se ye chhuuTe na kahii.n
giit naazuk hai meraa shiishe se bhii TuuTe na kahii.n
gunagunaauu.ngaa yahii giit mai.n tere liye
jalate hai.n jisake liye

jab talak naa ye tere ras ke bhare ho.nTho.n se mile
yuu.N hii aavaaraa phiregaa ye terii zulfo.n ke tale
gaaye jaauu.ngaa yahii giit mai.n tere liye
jalate hai.n jisake liye

Great work, extenok! Thanks for posting this.

I adore some of the songs Talat sahab has sung. Of course Jahan Ara tops the list. Then comes Chhaya, specially "aansoo samajh ke kyon mujhe" and then "zindagi denewale sun". Last but not least "main paagal mera manva paagal"... there's no voice like his. Gotta agree with Naushad on this one.

Thanks again.

Best wishes,
Chitralekha

Wow ...Kishore said this for a magazine which was out on stands after 2 months of his death !!! Thats news !!!

Yes yes...I understand....Kishore sitting at Anil Biswas's place and hearing Talat sahab !!! it must be in the Mid 50's...and it appears in IW after 30 years !!!

anyways ...does anyone has that copy or more details about this particular article, I mean who wrote it/addressed to whom/in what context ??

Speaking about Talat -AnilBiswas...I just love his duet with Lata from the film Taraana - Seene Mein Sulagte Hain Armaan !!! Kya gaana hai !!! Also the Anil Biswas music, film Do Raaha had a lovely Talat song - Mohabbat Tark Ki Maine....I remember those good old days of Radio when I was glued to it the whole day !!!!



KCP

Adding a Few More...

Naushad
-Talat lived in Lucknow and brought the culture of that place with him. He always smiled, never speaking loudly. I never heard him say anything bad about other. Talatsaab?s voice never suited loud song that demanded a high-pitched voice. Shouting or screaming didn?t suit him. So he avoided those kinds of songs. He was a decent man and his voice reflected that decency and sense of calm. When you listen to him. You easily get the feeling that he was a soft-hearted man.


Khalid Mahmood, Talat Mahmood?s son :

-Talat mahmood would listen a lot to Dean Martin and Elvis Presley.The reason was probably that they were also soft singers like him, more into romantic numbers. They shared the same style: their love for good poetry and music

-Shaamein gham ki kasam by Talat Mahmood for ?Footpath? required 54 takes!? in those days one had to give complete retakes, so you can well imagine the level of involvement and commitment he had in his work........

Pavan

a voice which can never be replicated/emulated
u will never get a talat clone? why?

juda meri manzil juda meri raahen
milengi na ab teri meri nigahen
mujhe teri duniya se hai door jana
woh guzara zamana
mujhe bhool jana

we will not forget him
one of the best

cinemaniac2

Hi Friends,

What can one say about Talats voice, u just listen and u get transported to a different world of moonlight and romance altogether,what a voice what a voice.I too wd like to share some of my fav talat numbers with all of u
Zindgi ki kasam ho chuke unke hum,Be reham aasman meri manzil kahan yeh bata,jeevan hai madhban,-solo
hai koyi dekh lega mere sang piya gabraye mora jiyare-with latha,Armaan bare dil ki lagi tere liye hai-with geetha dutt,kehta hai dil tum ho mere liye-with asha
yeh nayi nayi preeth hai and mausam yeh pukare masthi mein le chal mathwale dil ke caravan-with latha............... i can go on and on and on............

it put's u in a another world

main pagal mera manwa pagal
pagal meri preet re...

kahe yeh duniya main diwana
din ko dekhe sapne
diwani duniya kya jane
yeh sapne hai apne

great music/great lyrics/great singing

cinemaniac2

Talat's voice has the rare Quality of bringing back memories of good old days of listening to radio, binaca geeth mala,and makes u feel so nostalgic,and it is the case with all those great singers like rafi,hemant,mannadeyandlath asha etc;
I add some more songs of talatmainly duets with latha and they are so perfect together,
!,Dil yeh dil baharomein mil-ek phool char kaante
2,dil mein sama gaye sajan-sangdil
3,Tumhari yaad hi dil se bhuja jaye-yasmeen
4,gaya andhera huwa ujala-subah ka thara
some duets as beautiful together with asha,
1,Baharon ki duniya pukare tu aaja-Laila majnu
2,hame haale dil tumse kehena hai-24 ghante
3,do dil dadak rahe ke aur awaz ek hai-insaaf
4,teri nigahomein terehi bahomein-bahana
5,pyas kuch aur bhi badkhadi-lalarukh
one can go on.........

Wow , just saw a topic on GR8 talat sahab. I love his voice , love all his movie songs , ghazals , non-filmi songs

Please Please just like the main thread on Lata ji , Asha ji , Kishore ji , Mukesh Ji , I strongly request a whole topic forum for this great singer.

Oh my god , where do I start , I mean ek song se bhadkar dusra song, chahien solo ho ya duet, simply perfect.....but some of the songs when I listen to his , can never imagine anybody could have done justice to them..... Anssoo Samaj ke kyu mujhe ankh se gira diyaa....Sabkuch luta ke hosh mei aaye tau.....Aye mere Dil kahi aur chal....Aha rimzim ke pyare pyare geet liye aayi raat suhaani deep liye....

Sochta hu puri 200 songs ki list hi idhar as my fav paste kardu

In short I am a big fan of him and just love to listen him , dream hai ki kaash kisi din , I would have listened every single song listed on his son's website dedicate to gr8 Talat Sahab

Fans of Talat-sahab:

I obtained the CD of his live performances at Albert Hall announced in the site set up by his son.

Info about the CD is at:

http://www.talatmahmood.com/cd_offer.htm

Caution: It comes pricey!

extenok:

I'll have to listen to the whole CD again, from beginning to end, since the jacket-sleeve does not provide a listing, and the recording is one single uninterrupted track.

But, thine will be done, and posted

Cheers!

Unniji aap yahan bhi-great to know u luv Talat.

i was thinking unniji ne aaj talak Talat ke bare mein kuch kaha nahin aur nahi koi geet pesh kiya.

cinemaniac2

........Parvaana jaakey jab gira
Shola tho kaanp kaanp ootha.
.......Oospey na kooch asar hoova
Jispey hoovey nisaar hum......

U/L: "Honton se gulfizhan" (Talat Mahmood / Non-filmi )

A rare song of a rare artiste.

Just amazing. A simple thanks does not suffice.

Though I might be busy with Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan Sahab's qawwalis nowadays, but hearing something like this out of the blue, is unimaginable.

Love the ghazal. Simply beautiful.

U/L: "Aa gayeen phir se bahaaren" (Talat Mahmood / Non-film)

U/L: "Meri zindagi hai zaalim" (Talat Mahmood / Non-film)

Unni :

Thanks for above U/L.

I have uploaded Talat saab's interview :http://www.hamaraforums.com/index.php?showtopic=1668&st=30

You would be able to listen him speaking. I had a chance to attend his live concert and that was fantastic.

Shuklas

From 24Ghante-1958

Bipin Babul-Raja Mehndi Ali Khan

*Premnath,Shakila.

Hamen Haal E Dil Tumse Kehna Hai-Talat & Asha

Film-Aurat Teri Yehi Kahani-1954

Bulo C. Rani-C Q. Deepak

*Bharat Bhushan,Nirupa Roy

Tum Chand Se Haseen Ho-Talat Mahmood

Thanks Unniji for such your viewes on Talat Saheb. I had attended his concert back home in 1979. Mino Purshottam accompanied him for all his duet songs and also she sang some famous ghazals.


Mohd.

Film-Aabroo-1956

Bulo C Rani-D N Madhok

*Kamraan & Kum Kum

Aye Dil Dekh Liya

Film-Aag Ka Darya-1953

Vinod-Hasrat Jaipuri

*Karan Diwan & Meena

Ek Din Hazaar Gham

Dear :

This was uploaded before..........pleeeeeeeeeeeeees check.

J

Film-Aaj Ki Baat-1955

Snehal Bhatkar-Hasrat

*Ajit & Chitra

Chod Na Apni Aas

U/L: "Dil pe jab teri" (Talat Mahmood / Non-film)

U/L: "Tum humsafar nahin to koi humsafar nahin " (Talat Mahmood/ Non-film)

U/L: "Tumne yeh kya sitam kiya" (Talat Mahmood/Non-film)

Friends:

Some years ago, when I first came I came across Mr. Khalid Mahmood's internet site about his father Talat Mahmood, I was so impressed that I sent an e-mail to Khalid-sahab. Very kindly he quoted an extract among the messages he had featured at the site.

What is special about the site is that it has been created by a son in honour of a famous father who is admired and loved by innumerable fans of all ages, spread all over the world.

The site has the distinct advantage of access to a vast collection of rare photographs and articles. At no other site dedicated to an artiste, Indian or Western, do we come across so many photographs of such high quality. Talat-sahab must have been photographed even by those who did not care for HFM but surely knew a handsome face!

Talat-sahab was not one of the artistes at the hugely-attended open-air concert I attended in Madras in the late 60's, which featured several of the top singers from Bombay. And perhaps fortunately so. IMHO, to imbibe the flavour of his songs, his singing style, one must be in the midst of a limited audience in the intimate atmosphere of a small auditorium. Fortunately, I later had the opportunity to listen to Talat-sahab in exactly that kind of setting.

On rare occasions, as demanded by our English-language lecturer, I had fulfilled compulsory-attendance requirements and suffered through some amateur performances of Shakespeare plays at the Museum Theatre. But this time it was different. Not only was I there willingly, but infact eagerly looking forward to the event!

Two distinct recollections remain from that evening, so many years ago:

I remember one moment when I felt a tinge of regret and sadness. Talat-sahab announced that he would sing a song from his latest film. His voice then picked up the opening lines, "Phir wohi shaam, wohi gham, wohi tanhaayi hai". To us, "JAHAN ARA" (1964) by then was already an old film! It was evident that in terms of opportunities for film-song recordings, this great artiste's best days were behind him.

After rendering several songs, Talat-sahab left the stage, and his small accompanying music crew played some instrumental pieces of the then current hits of other singers --- totally out of sync with the nostalic tunes that had preceded. The audience became restive. The murmur turned into a chorus of shouts demanding Talat-sahab. We were concerned that his performance was over. The curtain was lowered.

When the curtain lifted again, Talat-sahab was back on stage. And almost as if in answer to the audience was heard the melodious question, "Jaayen to jaayen kahaan?" -- and time stood still for us. An exquisite moment from an unforgettable evening.

Did somebody say, "They don't make singers like that any more"?

Finally, something that I had also been hoping to write about. I would have to agree here with Unni, indeed, Khalid Mahmood's website is a sincere effort and one that has to admired for exactly that. The design and style might not be special in the stylized and fashionable world of internet web designing, but in the sheer amount of information and paraphernalia that it brings to the viewers senses is amazingly overwhelming. I haven't seen any other website of legends giving out such detailed information and that too with such generosity. If Khalid Mahmood's efforts in trying to put as much information about the Velvet Voiced Legend are being appreciated, I will not for a second forget the magnanimous gestures of his in fulfilling song requests put up by every Talat Mahmood fan.

The Velvet Voice of Talat Mahmood is exquisite and like all other things exquisite, requires a certain taste, setting and mood. I might not have been fortunate enough to have seen Talat Sahab in concert. Yet, I know that it is frivolous to expect the same form of immense pleasure and intense delight at hearing the Velvet Voice in the setting of a huge gathering, as I get listening to him in solitude. It is simply impossible.

Unni's experiences make me envious and sometimes I wonder why I couldn't have been born a few decades earlier, to have experienced such endearing treats as he has been blessed with. I feel it is a great loss on my part.
Sir, I thank you from the depths of my heart for relating this experience of an intimate music gathering that you were a part of. Living vicariously, I find it as some form of compensation for me. To think about the experience, something to feel, the Velvet Voice intoxicating my senses with the most subtlest of touches.

They sure broke the mould, if there was one.

Film-Apsara-1961

Husnlal Bhagatram-Qamar Jalalabadi & Hasrat Jaipuri

*Pradeep Kumar & Padmini

3 duets of the same movie

all Talat Mahmood & Asha Bhosle

1)Hai Zindagi Intni Haseen

2)Hardam Tumhi se Pyar

3)Tu Mere Saath

song no 2 from Apsara

song no 3 from Apsara

Click to view attachment
(Talat Mahmood & Lata Mangeshkar / Film: 'AAWAZ" (1955) / Music: Salil Chowdhury)

A day of tributes to my favourite artistes would be incomplete without the voice of Talat-sahab. Here are three duets with three illustrious female singers. The third one, with Lata-ji, is well-known and might have been u/l'd earlier, but it is not in the Library:

Talat Mahmood & Asha Bhosle / Film "MAST QALANDAR" (1955)
Click to view attachment

Talat Mahmood & Geeta Dutt / Film: "LAL PARI" (1954)
Click to view attachment

Talat Mahmood & Lata Mangeshkar / Film: "RAJDHANI" (1956)
Click to view attachment

I had both of the lesser-known songs but not the duet with South-Asia's nightingale.

Thank you.

The tracks of the 1962 Bimal Roy film "PREMPATRA" are relatively rare. At least till recently I hadn't come across the full album.

Here are two Talat/Lata duets from the movie. The first one begins with the spoken voice of Talat-sahab reciting the lyrics.

Music Director: Salil Chowdhary

Click to view attachment

Click to view attachment