Shamshad was at the peak of her career right from 1941 to 1955 and was the most in demand female singer and highest paid female playback singer from 1940–1955. She was the lead singer for many films like "Taqdeer", "Humayun", "Shahjehan", "Anokhi Ada", "Aag", "Mela", "Patanga", "Babul", "Bahar", "Jadoo", "Aan" and more. But after her husband's accidental death in 1955, Begum became a recluse and stopped accepting singing assignments, including recordings, for a year. Though she had stopped recording for her songs in the year 1955 after her husband's death, the songs released between 1955 and early 1957 including songs from films such as "CID", "Naya Andaz", "Baradari", "Mr. & Mrs. '55" and other hits continued to be popular . At this juncture Mehboob Khan approached her in 1957 and said he wanted a full-throated voice for Nargis in "Mother India". The first song she sang after returning to her career was "Pee ke ghar aaj pyari dulhaniya chali" for "Mother India". She made a successful comeback, and subsequently recorded many notable songs for films such as "Howrah Bridge", "Jaali Note", "Love in Simla", "Bewaqoof", "Mughal-e-Azam", "Bluff Master", "Gharana" and "Rustom-E-Hind".