Throaty-voiced thrush Shamshad Begum, one of Bollywoodâ€™s earliest singers, died on April 23 in Mumbai, India. She was 94 and had been ailing for some time.

Before Lata Mangeshkar put her stamp on India's film industry as the prima singer who provided the voice for many Hindi film actresses, Begumâ€™s distinctive notes were behind such hits as â€œMere piya gaye Rangoonâ€ in â€œPatangaâ€ (1949) and â€œLeke pehla pehla pyarâ€ from â€œC.I.D.â€ (1956).

â€œI am saddened to hear of the death of Shamshad Begum. I have sung with her in several films and she had a pleasant and simple personality,â€ Mangeshkar tweeted.


Begum made her film debut as a playback singer in â€œKhazanchiâ€ (1941) and her radio bow in Lahore in 1937. When her mentor Ghulam Haider moved to Bombay in 1944, she joined him, but stayed on when he left for Pakistan after India was partitioned in 1947.


She recorded songs for films such as Indiaâ€™s first foreign-language Oscar nominee, â€œMother Indiaâ€ (â€œO gadiwala dheereâ€ and â€œHoli aayee re Kanhaaiâ€), â€œNaya andazâ€ (â€œMeri neendon main tum, meri khwabon mein tumâ€) and â€œBabulâ€™sâ€ â€œChod babul ka ghar.â€ Ramachandra tapped into the mischievous sound in her voice for fun songs such as â€œAana mere jaan Sunday ke Sundayâ€ and â€œMere piya gaye Rangoon.â€

But by the late 1950s Mangeshkar and her sister Asha Bhonsle were ascending and there was little demand for Begum, although some of her fave composers had her sing a number occasionally. Her last song was for the film â€œMain papi tum bakhshanhaarâ€ in 1976.


Survivors include a daughter.