G. M. Durrani
Encyclopedia
G.M. Durrani was a popular India
n playback singer
in Hindi
movies in the 1930s, 1940s and 50s.
Sohrab Modi
. He gave him his first chance around 1935-36 in the movie Saaed-e-Hawas, a historical
under the music director
, he classical musician Bundu Khan popularly known as "Taan-Talwar" Bundu Khan. It was a ghazal
whose words went something like this "Mastonko shem farz hai peena Sharab ka, gutti mein meri padh gaya qatara sharab ka."
Later when the concept of playback singing
started he was the first to lend his voice for a film titled Bahurani
. The film was made by Sagar Movietone and its music director was Rafeeq Gazanavi. Durrani sahab was then working as a fulltime artist in AIR. Those were British
days and they were not allowed to do any private recordings. But Rafeeq Saab insisted. Durrani sahab laid down some conditions, like; the recording
should be fixed on a Sunday night so that no outsiders would be allowed to enter the studio
. Secondly, he said that his name shouldn't appear in credit titles or on discs. The song was a duet with Miss Rose, an Anglo-Indian, who didn't have much experience as a singer. He was paid Rs.75 for the song as against his salary of Rs.70 a month at AIR. He then chucked up his job on 31 December 1940.
Thereafter he sang for, among others, noted music directors like Khurshid Anwar, Naushad
, Shankar Rao Vyas and A. R. Qureshi (Better known as Alla Rakha, Pandit Ravi Shanker's famous tabla
accompanist) for films like Mirza Ghalib
, Humlog, Magroor
, Shama, Namaste, Sabak and scores of others. He became very popular. Many singers started their careers with him and he inspired many others too. He was the idol of Mohammed Rafi
sahab who imitated him in the initial days. Now what could be a better tribute to singer than that, that the symbol of divinity in the Indian Music Industry, Mohammad Rafi, followed him. In fact, in 1944 Rafi sahab recorded what he considered his first Hindi
language song for the film Gaon ki Gori (1944) for Shyam Sunder, Aji dil ho kaaboo mein with G. M. Durrani and chorus. Similarly, Ae Chorre Ki Jaat Badi Bewafa, a duet with G. M. Durrani, was Lata
's first song for composer, Naushad
. Geeta Dutt
also started her career in her break through movie Do Bhai with the song Aaj Preet Ka Naata toot gaya for S.D. Burman.
Durrani sahab has sung many songs during his career. His output later reduced. According to some a reason was an altercation with a prominent female singer. According to another story he was influenced not to sing for some time after his Hajj
visit and Rafi sahab then helped him get back to singing but by then his career was over. Music Composer Khurshid Anwar
in his first film Kudmai (Punjabi-1941)took him as his assistant and later gave him the film Angoori (1943)as Music Director.
It is said that many years later someone heard an old man singing in a recording studio for jingles in a corner. When person went to tell him what a lovely voice he was surprised to see it was Durrani Sahab who had fallen to bad days.
are as follows :-
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n playback singer
Playback singer
A playback singer is a singer whose singing is prerecorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras, while the actual singer does not appear on screen.-South Asia:...
in Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
movies in the 1930s, 1940s and 50s.
Biography
G.M. Durrani sahab was discovered by film producerFilm producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
Sohrab Modi
Sohrab Modi
Sohrab Modi was an Indian Parsi stage and film actor, director and producer. His films include Khoon Ka Khoon , a version of Shakespeare's Hamlet, Sikandar, Pukar, Prithvi Vallabh, Jhansi ki Rani, Mirza Ghalib, and Nausherwan-e-dil . His films always carried a message of strong commitment to...
. He gave him his first chance around 1935-36 in the movie Saaed-e-Hawas, a historical
Period piece
-Setting:In the performing arts, a period piece is a work set in a particular era. This informal term covers all countries, all periods and all genres...
under the music director
Music director
A music director may be the director of an orchestra, the director of music for a film, the director of music at a radio station, the head of the music department in a school, the co-ordinator of the musical ensembles in a university or college , the head bandmaster of a military band, the head...
, he classical musician Bundu Khan popularly known as "Taan-Talwar" Bundu Khan. It was a ghazal
Ghazal
The ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century...
whose words went something like this "Mastonko shem farz hai peena Sharab ka, gutti mein meri padh gaya qatara sharab ka."
Later when the concept of playback singing
Playback singer
A playback singer is a singer whose singing is prerecorded for use in movies. Playback singers record songs for soundtracks, and actors or actresses lip-sync the songs for cameras, while the actual singer does not appear on screen.-South Asia:...
started he was the first to lend his voice for a film titled Bahurani
Bahurani
Bahurani is a 1963 Indian Hindi film directed by T. Prakash Rao. The film stars Guru Dutt, Mala Sinha and Feroz Khan in lead roles.-Plot:The Zamindar has two sons - Raghu, by his first wife, and Vikram, by his second wife. Raghu is a simple-minded and innocent young man...
. The film was made by Sagar Movietone and its music director was Rafeeq Gazanavi. Durrani sahab was then working as a fulltime artist in AIR. Those were British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
days and they were not allowed to do any private recordings. But Rafeeq Saab insisted. Durrani sahab laid down some conditions, like; the recording
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
should be fixed on a Sunday night so that no outsiders would be allowed to enter the studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
. Secondly, he said that his name shouldn't appear in credit titles or on discs. The song was a duet with Miss Rose, an Anglo-Indian, who didn't have much experience as a singer. He was paid Rs.75 for the song as against his salary of Rs.70 a month at AIR. He then chucked up his job on 31 December 1940.
Thereafter he sang for, among others, noted music directors like Khurshid Anwar, Naushad
Naushad
Naushad Ali was an Indian musician. He was one of the foremost music directors for Bollywood films, and is particularly known for popularizing the use of classical music in films.His first film as an independent music director was Prem Nagar in 1940...
, Shankar Rao Vyas and A. R. Qureshi (Better known as Alla Rakha, Pandit Ravi Shanker's famous tabla
Tabla
The tabla is a popular Indian percussion instrument used in Hindustani classical music and in popular and devotional music of the Indian subcontinent. The instrument consists of a pair of hand drums of contrasting sizes and timbres...
accompanist) for films like Mirza Ghalib
Mirza Ghalib (film)
Mirza Ghalib is a Hindi / Urdu film, directed by Sohrab Modi. Based on the life of well known poet Mirza Ghalib, the film was acclaimed upon release. It stars Bharat Bhushan as Ghalib and Suraiya as his courtesan lover. The film won the Golden Lotus Award for National Film Award for Best Film in...
, Humlog, Magroor
Magroor
-Cast:*Shatrughan Sinha ... Ranjit Sinha / Raju*Vidya Sinha ... Anju*Prem Nath ... Mamaji*Shreeram Lagoo ... Chacha*Helen ... Ruksana*Nadira ... Mrs. Disa*Paintal ... Rakesh, Anju's brother...
, Shama, Namaste, Sabak and scores of others. He became very popular. Many singers started their careers with him and he inspired many others too. He was the idol of Mohammed Rafi
Mohammed Rafi
Mohammad Rafi , was an Indian playback singer whose career spanned four decades. He was awarded National Award and 6 Filmfare Awards. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri awarded by the Government of India....
sahab who imitated him in the initial days. Now what could be a better tribute to singer than that, that the symbol of divinity in the Indian Music Industry, Mohammad Rafi, followed him. In fact, in 1944 Rafi sahab recorded what he considered his first Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
language song for the film Gaon ki Gori (1944) for Shyam Sunder, Aji dil ho kaaboo mein with G. M. Durrani and chorus. Similarly, Ae Chorre Ki Jaat Badi Bewafa, a duet with G. M. Durrani, was Lata
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional...
's first song for composer, Naushad
Naushad
Naushad Ali was an Indian musician. He was one of the foremost music directors for Bollywood films, and is particularly known for popularizing the use of classical music in films.His first film as an independent music director was Prem Nagar in 1940...
. Geeta Dutt
Geeta Dutt
Geetā Dutt was a prominent singer in India. She found particular prominence as a playback singer in Hindi cinema...
also started her career in her break through movie Do Bhai with the song Aaj Preet Ka Naata toot gaya for S.D. Burman.
Durrani sahab has sung many songs during his career. His output later reduced. According to some a reason was an altercation with a prominent female singer. According to another story he was influenced not to sing for some time after his Hajj
Hajj
The Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is one of the largest pilgrimages in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so...
visit and Rafi sahab then helped him get back to singing but by then his career was over. Music Composer Khurshid Anwar
Khawaja Khurshid Anwar
Khwaja Khurshid Anwar was a filmmaker, writer, director and music composer who gained extreme popularity both in India and Pakistan...
in his first film Kudmai (Punjabi-1941)took him as his assistant and later gave him the film Angoori (1943)as Music Director.
It is said that many years later someone heard an old man singing in a recording studio for jingles in a corner. When person went to tell him what a lovely voice he was surprised to see it was Durrani Sahab who had fallen to bad days.
Songs with Geeta Dutt
His songs sung with Geeta DuttGeeta Dutt
Geetā Dutt was a prominent singer in India. She found particular prominence as a playback singer in Hindi cinema...
are as follows :-
- do bhai[47]-aaj preet ka naata toot gaya[s d burman],
- geet govind[47]-chamkat damkat damini[gyan dutt]-with abha,
- geet govind[47]-viyogan deepshikha si jare[gyan dutt]-with rekharani,
- heer ranjha[48]-kafas ki qaid mein humko[aziz khan],
- hip hip hurray[48]-hip hip hurray-2,dubeyji ko pakwan mila[hanuman prasad]
- dil ki basti[49]-yahi hai dil ki basti[ghulam mohammed],
- dil ki basti[49]-kadam hai...nazuk dil hai tod na dena[ghulam mohammed],
- nazare[49]-mere man mein dol[bulo c rani],
- nazare[49]-milate ho usiko[bulo c rani],
- nazare[49]-duniya ki andheri raat mein[bulo c rani]-with shamshad,
- nazare[49]-bahar aayi chaman[bulo c rani]-with shamshad,
- dilruba[50]-humne khai hai mohabbat mein[gyan dutt],
- jalte deep[50]-nai ek duniya basayenge[sardul kwatra],
- khel[50]-teri nazaron ne mere seene pe fire kar diya[sajjad]
- man ka meet[50]-machalta hua yeh dil[sardul kwatra],
- ghayal[51]-o rani mainawati[gyan dutt]-with meena kapoor,
- ghayal[51]-daiya re daiya[gyan dutt]-with meena kapoor,
- sansar[51]-lucknow chalo ab rani[m d parthasarti,e s shashtri,b s kalla],
- baghdad[52]-dile beqarar kahe baar baar[bulo c rani],
- baghdad[52]-yeh pyar ki baatein[bulo c rani]-with talat,
- neelampari[52]-jab tak chamke chand[khurshid anvar],
- nirmal[52]-tu jo mere pyar ki khichdi pakayega[bulo c rani],
- patal bhairvi[52]-jaoongi maike jaaongi[ghantsala],
- usha kiran[52]-jago jago jago bhor suhani[hanuman prasad]-with zohra and asha,
- pehli shaadi[53]-tum haan kah do[robin chatterji],
- awara shahzadi[56]-hum tum se raazi[jimmy],
- badshah salamat[56]-dil ke darwaze mein hui khatkhat[bulo c rani],
- sheikh chilli[56]-madhoshi mein tanhai mein[vinod],
- akashpari[58]-ho gaye barbad hum acchha hua[inayat ali],
- akashpari[58]-ho khel nahin dil se voh dil ka lagana[inayat ali],
- jwalamukhi[unreleased]-tum tana tum tana...balam koi karke bahana,chupke se chod na jana.
- non-film patriotic[1950]-vande matram