The words and melodies of this immortal song sway in the minds of people across generations: 'Tomarey legechey eto je bhalo chand bujhi ta janey / Ratero bashorey doshoro hoye ty to amarey tane /Ratero akahshey tararo mitali amarey diechey surero gitali/ Koto je ashai tomar ami jaliye rekhechi dipali/ Akul bhromora boley se kotha bakulero kaney kaney .'
But the person who sang the popular song is not a Bengali speaking tuned by Robi Ghose for the film ‘Rajdhanir Bookey’. He has sung many popular Bengali songs like this song written by KG Mostafa, Nazrul Sangeet. Talat Mahmud, an unforgettable popular artist in the history of Bengali music, is considered one of the three best in the world of music in this subcontinent. He is one of the three stars known as the 'Singer of Three Men' in Indian music. The other two are Mohammad Rafi and Mukesh, who hold the record for peak popularity in film songs for several generations. But the voice of Talat is more melodious!
Talat Mahmood is considered one of the best male 'non-classical' and 'semi-classical' singers in the Indian subcontinent. He was a musician who had innate talent, incomparable aesthetics and sweetness. Although a play-back vocalist, he also acted in films, although he did not find success in acting.
Talat Mahmud's birthday passed away in soltitude on February 24. He was born on this day in 1924 in the traditional city of Lucknow in northern India to an Urdu-speaking family. As a child he showed his interest in music. He would stay up all night listening to the songs of the then famous Indian classical singers. He was the son of a conservative Muslim family where music was not encouraged. He had to decide whether to work in film or stay at home. Despite his father's objections, he chose the film. However, after a decade of gaining a respectable position in the film industry, his family accepted the matter.
In the late 1930s, Maris Sangeet Mahavidyalaya (now Bhatkhande Music Institute) Pandit S.C.R. Bhatt took primary learning to classical music. He started his musical career in 1939 as a ghazal singer. He started his musical career in 1939 at the age of sixteen by singing in Dag, Mir, Jigar Ghazal on All India Radio, Lucknow. His voice was distinct from other singers. In view of this uniqueness, the HMV group proposed to release a disc of the song in 1941, which contained songs like 'Sab Din Saman Nehi Tha', 'Ban Jao Giya Kiya Se Kiya Mein', 'Iska To Kuch Dhiyan Nehin Tha'.
His fame as a ghazal singer spread beyond Lucknow to Calcutta which became his destination. Then in Calcutta were the famous ghazal singer and musician Ustad Barkat Ali Khan, K. L. Siagol and MA Rauf. In 1944, his song disc became the best-selling song. His fame spread all over India. He acted in about 17 films in Kolkata and Bombay. Three of these films were successful. At first he performed many Bengali songs under the style of 'Tapan Kumar'. Some of the Bengali songs he sang were super hits and still played on the radio. He sang to the tunes of many famous music directors in the '50s and' 70s. Notable among them are Kamal Dasgupta (Duti Pakhi duti tirey), Sudhin Dasgupta (ei rimjhim barasha), Robin Chatterjee (Chander eto alo), Hemant Mukherjee (ey Jodi alaksh hoy) and VL Balsara (Jodi tumi sundaro nahi hou) .
In 1949, Talat Mahmood moved to Bombay to sing in Hindi films. Already his reputation was spread, with many job offers coming to Bombay. His song 'Ei Dil Mujhe Eichi Jaga Le Chal Jaan Koi Na Ho' directed by Anil Biswas in the movie 'Arjoo' brought him huge success. Then he did not have to look back.
In 1992, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India in recognition of his outstanding use of melody in films and his outstanding contribution to ghazals. In the 1950s and 1960s, his songs were highly literary and were highly valued in the Indian subcontinent, especially in the Urdu-speaking community. Even his discarded songs were able to gain popularity. At that time no other singer was as intelligent and educated as him.
He has sung about eight hundred songs in his long musical life. Talat Mahmud was the real author of modern semi-classical and non-classical ghazals. As a result, it had a profound effect on other contemporary ghazal singers. As a result, he was considered as the forerunner of Mehdi Hasan and Jagjit Singh. His innate talent was developed in his ghazals. Pankaj Udas always referred to him as 'Shahanshah-i-Ghazal'.
In 1958, he became the first Indian singer in East Africa to travel abroad to perform. Then he went to several other countries. Talat Mahmood passed away in Bombay on May 9, 1998 at the age of 74.