Biography

Shamshad Begum was born on April 14, 1919 in Amritsar, Punjab, British India [now Amritsar, Punjab, India]. She was an actress, known for Naya Daur (1957), C.I.D. (1956) and Amber (1952). She was married to Ganpat Lal Batto. She died on April 23, 2013 in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.

One of the first playback singers in the Hindi film industry.

She made her debut on a radio station in Lahore in December 1937.Radio Lahore had begun broadcasting on December 16,1937. Shamshad Begum was one of the first playback singers there.

She was one of the first "playback singers". Her voice was pre-recorded for use in films in which actresses would lip-sync to her songs.

She sang in the Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, and Punjabi languages.

Her ambition to be a singer was opposed by her family. When she finally won a contract with a recording company, her father agreed to let her sing on the condition that she would record wearing a burka and not allow herself to be photographed.