Indian singing legend Shamshad Begum, whose lilting voice charmed fans of Bollywood films for more than 60 years, has died in hospital in Mumbai, her family said on Wednesday. She was 94. She passed away last night (Tuesday),” Shamshad  Begum’s daughter Usha told the Press Trust of India news agency, adding that her mother had been unwell for several months. “The golden voice of Shamshad Begum, playback singer of great eminence in some of the most historic film songs … now silent … RIP,” Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan said on Twitter on Wednesday.

Born in 1919 in Amristar, Punjab, Shamshad Begum hailed from a conservative family and promised her father to never appear on-screen. She made her singing debut in 1947 when she began working on national radio and later became one of the most in-demand playback singers. Her most memorable songs include “Mere Piya Gaye Rangoon” from the 1949 film “Patanga” and “Leke Pehla Pehla Pyar” from the 1956 hit “CID”.  “Teri Mehfil Mein Qismat”, her duet with eminent playback singer Lata Mangeshkar in the 1960 blockbuster “Mughal-e-Azam”, is still often played on Indian radio.

“I 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,” Mangeshkar wrote on Twitter. Shamshad Begum received the Padma Bhushan, one of India’s highest civilian awards, in 2009. Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari said Shamshad Begum’s singing style had set new benchmarks and described her death as an “irreparable loss” to the world of music. Published in The Express Tribune, April 25th, 2013.