Anupama Nair
Then came the great blockbuster of all times – Anmol Ghadi with Surendra and Suraiya. This movie is my all-time favorite and I do not know how many times I saw this movie. The film was a musical hit and still remembered for its music by Naushad, with many super hits like “Aawaaz De Kahaan Hai”, “Jawaan Hai Mohabbat Haseen Hai Zamana” and “Mere Bachpan Ke Saathi Mujhe Bhool Na Jaana”. The film also featured playback singer, Mohammed Rafi's first super hit, “Tera Khilauna Toota Balak”, and became the highest-grossing film at the Indian box office in 1946.
Jugnu released in 1947, directed by Shaukat Hussain Rizvi was the highest grossing film of 1947. The film starred Dilip Kumar, Noor Jehan, and Ghulam Mohammad. The famous playback singer Mohammed Rafi also had a cameo appearance. This film was the first major hit for Dilip Kumar, who went on to become the Kohinoor of Bollywood. Another hit movie was Mirza Sahiban released in 1947. The movie was directed by K. Amarnath, starring Noor Jehan and Trilok Kapoor in the lead roles, based on the folktale of ‘Mirza Sahiban’ and was the fourth highest grossing Indian film of 1947.
From 1945 to 1947 Noor Jehan was one of the biggest film actresses of Bollywood. In 1947, with the partition of India, we lost our Noor of the film industry. She along with her husband moved to Karachi. She later came to India in 1982. She passed away in 2000 after a heart attack and when I heard the news left a void in my heart.
The famous musician C. Ramachandra said “A political agreement divided the kingdom of two queens. In 1951, the heir and the empress met each other in the middle of the road. When the political surgeons of the subcontinent amputated Pakistan from India, they underestimated its cultural consequences. Art, cinema, and literature of the subcontinent found themselves disembodied. The decision of Noor Jehan to move to Pakistan hurt many of her fans – especially a young Lata Mangeshkar in particular”.
But even though distances separated them, the two singers have always claimed love for each other's talents. An incident that reflects the connection between the two occurred in 1951. In the words of C Ramachandra “travelling through Amritsar for a recording, Lata Mangeshkar was seized by a desire to meet her former idol, Noor Jehan. Noor Jehan resided in Lahore, a couple of hours on the other side of the border. Immediately, calls were made to Noor Jehan. Both singers spoke for hours over the phone, sharing tales, gossip, even songs, before the decision to meet was made. Since both singers could not cross the border, the meeting was set up in that desolate place armies call ‘No Man's Land’. It seems apt that two legendary artists could only meet in a place that no country or government had claim over.
Noor Jehan Ji came running and the two embraced each other like long lost friends. Both were weeping. We who were witnesses to this divine meeting were overwhelmed and could not stop the tears. Even soldiers on both sides of the border were weeping. After some time, they sat chatting. We had food. They had brought sweets from Lahore and us from India. Noor Jehan’s husband was also there. I shall never forget this scene in my life. A great testimony to the fact that music can break any barrier. After few hours, we returned with wet eyes but with a divine and unique experience indeed”, he said in his biography.
Later in 1982, Noor Jehan visited Bombay for a concert. Lata Mangeshkar performed in her honor, winning the praise of Noor Jehan. We cannot comment whether Lata Mangeshkar would have been so successful if Noor Jehan had decided to stay back in India. But we cannot doubt the respect the two ‘queens of melody’ had for each other. Noor Jehan was truly Mallika-e-tarannum and would remain my favorite forever.
