Talat Mahmood: An inimitable voice

Talat was an established singer in Calcutta and sang under the name Tapan Kumar. In fact his non-ghazals were so popular that listeners already knew him when he got into playback singing. He was introduced in Bollywood by music composer Anil Biswas in 1949. He sang for Biswas’s Arzoo, starring Dilip Kumar. His association with Dilip Kumar in films like Daag, Shikast, Taraana, Sangdil, Babul, Arzoo, and Footpath brought to playback singing a genre of songs that remain inimitable.

His voice had a natural treble which was his hallmark and gave identity to legends like Dilip Kumar who confessed that his tragic hero image owed a lot to Talat’s voice. Not only did Talat sing for Dilip Kumar, but also Dev Anand and Raj Kapoor, who formed the legendarytrio.

Thespian Dilip Kumar who has given lip movement for many of Talat Mehmood’s songs said it is a sad loss. "He was as fine a singer as he was as a man – gentle, refined and extremely amiable. There was an era of Talat Mehmood during which I sang his songs. But time and trend change. The boogie music with false rhythm came in and good lyrical songs bypassed Talat. I am sure he is better off wherever he is now than where he was before," he added. Music maestro Naushad poignantly said, "Ghazal adhura ho gaya (Ghazal remains incomplete). He sang his first song for me in Babul – Mera jivan saathi bichad gaya, Khatam kahani ho gaya. Today this song fits his death."

He acted in a dozen films and goes down in the history of Indian music as the only singer few could imitate.