His was a voice like the rustling of winds on a full-moon night. At a time in the Hindi film industry when three men dominated the screen, Raj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand, Talat Mahmood's was a voice which layered both their romantic and tragic personas. Sunil Dutt singing 'Jalte hain jiske liye' to Nutan over the phone, Dilip Kumar singing 'Sham-e-gham ki kasam' at the candle lit dinner, Dev Anand sitting at Juhu beach murmuring 'Jayen to jayen kahan' and Raj Kapoor flirting with Nargis over the piano and singing 'Dil matwala lakh sambhala'. These are only some of the 800 songs sung by Talat. His good looks also made him Independent India's first singing star. This was a term which meant that the playback singer also acted on screen as the main lead.
The Definitive Biography tracks the very start of his career from his first few Ghazal recordings in AIR Lucknow as a teenager that made his voice a rage. The 1940s bustling town of showbiz in Calcutta where Talat broke into the Modern Bengali music and made a name for himself as Tapan Kumar. And finally, the Golden Era film star for Hindi films in Bombay. A legend of the Golden Era, Undoubtedly, Talat built a huge fan following which wanted to see his handsome face on screen as the films' hero as well. He acted opposite top heroines such as Nutan, Suraiya and Mala Sinha in his films.
A pioneer who not just built the pillars of Golden Era music in films but also helped establish the independent Ghazal music industry of the country in the 1950s. He was known as the Ghazal Shahenshah ! Inspired by his success and his voice, later Ghazal legends such as Jagjit Singh and Mehdi Hassan followed in his footsteps to make this genre their forte. A frenzied stardom followed by his years of whirlwind world tours. He became the first playback singer from India to start world tours. His debut concert in East Africa in 1956 inspired other singers to set foot ashore to perform for Indians and Asians living abroad. Talat performed to packed halls in New York and the Royal Albert Hall in London, among many other popular venues across the world. He was introduced to the American audiences as the Frank Sinatra of India.
His velvet voice and gentle mannerisms didn't stop him from taking a tough stand on the issue of royalty payment for playback singers. Right at the origin of this campaign, Talat was the first Chairperson of the Playback Singers Association which pushed for bringing this demand on the forefront of the film industry!
This is the journey of tracing the Padma Bhushan legend's legacy by his own grand-niece, Sahar Zaman. An unprecedented effort of bringing vintage music to today's youth is an ongoing journey with the writing of this biography being an extension of those efforts. Sahar is someone who lived and observed him from close quarters. This biography shall reveal the man and the artist that Talat Mahmood was. Criss-crossing across the country to meet old family, friends and colleagues and uncover the enigma of Talat. Talat travels all age-groups and was truly the King of Romance.