Kajjanbai - Actress, Singer(Silent & Sound Era)
#The Only Bollywood Film With 42 Songs: How A 16-Year-Old Girl Became India’s First Female Superstar
VIDEO: A gem called Jahanara Kajjan | bollywood | actress
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VIDEO: Jahan Ara Kajjan Bai: From Tawaif to Superstar #shorts #music #ai #bollywood #india
Jahanara Kajjan
About:
Born Jahanara Begum 15 February 1915, Patna Bihar India
Died 20 December 1945 (aged 30), Bombay, Maharashtra, India
Other names:
Nightingale of Bengal
Lark of Hindi Cinema
The Lark of India
Beautiful Nightingale of Bengal Screen
Miss Kajjan
Occupations:
Singeractressmodel
Years active 1920–1945
aPrent(s) Suggan Begum (mother)
Nawab Chammi Saheb of Bhagalpur (father)
Introduction:
Jahanara Kajjan (15 February 1915 – 20 December 1945), or "Miss Kajjan", was an Indian singer and actress active during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, often referred to as the "Nightingale of Bengal" The reigning queen of early talkie films, glamorous movie sensation, the trained classical singer, the fashion icon and the trendsetter, she was known as "Lark of Hindi Cinema", "The Lark of India" and the "Beautiful Nightingale of Bengal Screen". She along with Master Nissar made most sought after and popular singing pair of the stage and film. She was a popular star of silent films.
She was one of the top leading ladies of the 1930s along with actresses like Bibbo, Devika Rani, Durga Khote, Sulochana, Mehtab, Shanta Apte, Sabita Devi, Leela Desai and Naseem Banu.[2] She was referred to as "one of the most important female stars of the 1930s and 1940s". Her fame had her featured in the lyrics of a popular song from the film Gharib Ke Lal (1939) sung by Mirza Musharraf and Kamla Karnataki, with music by Sagheer Asif and lyrics by Rafi Kashmiri. "Tujhe Kajjan Kahoon Ke Shanta" (Should I call you Kajjan or Shanta), where Santha Kumari referred to another popular actress of the time. This was the first time a song featuring famous actors was used in the lyrics of a film song.
Early life:
Born on 15 February 1915 to Suggan Begum of Lucknow who was very famous for her beauty and singing capabilities and the Nawab Chammi Saheb of Bhagalpur. Kajjan received education at home and learnt English. Well versed in Urdu literature, she wrote poetry under pseudonym “Ada” she received training in Hindustani classical music from Ustad Hussain Khan of Patna. She was hired by a theatre company at Patna. Then she joined Alfred Company owned by Madan Theatres of Calcutta. Kajjan attained name and fame as a very popular singer and actor of the stage.
Career:
Kajjanbai soon began singing ghazals, thumris and poetry, and her popularity started rising steadily. One day, producer Jamshed Madan noticed her talent and cast her in his film. He was then making Shirin Farhad, India’s second talkie. And just like that, Kajjanbai entered the film industry.
Remembering JAHANARA KAJJAN (Born 15 February 1915 - Died 15 December 1945) was a legendary Indian singer and actress who reigned as the first true superstar of the early talkie era. Hailed as the "Nightingale of Bengal" and the "Lark of Hindi Cinema," she was a trained classical singer and a fashion icon of the 1930s.
By mid 1936 her relation with Seth Karnani owner of Madan theatre deteriorated and she left Madan theatres and she had to face a legal case by Karnani which ruined her she had to sell her mansion in Calcutta and all of her property so she left Calcutta in early 1938 and made her own theatrical company Jahanara Theatrical Company and decided to present her famous old shows with less duration and some new settings, she spent 60,000 rupees in those days on a stage project and started doing shows in all over India started from lahore, Amritsar, multan, Delhi and Bombay but her health started to fall so she along with her Mother Suggan bai had to settle in Bombay and started working in Bombay film Industry Kajjan's career in Bombay was short-lived from 1941 to 1944, during which she appeared in seven films mostly of Ranjit films, sunrise pictures and Minerva films none of them made big for Kajjan with the exception of Sohrab Modi's Prithvi Vallabh in which she was given a character role Further, she was given character roles so she could not made it big in Bombay. Her films in Bombay were Ghar Sansar, Suhagan, Bharuthari, Prarthna, Merchant of Venice and her last was Ranjit films Mumtaz Mahal in which she played Empress Noor Jahan. She lived a lavish life at Calcutta. She even had two tiger cubs as pets. Kajjan had learnt western dancing and was a regular visitor to Calcutta Club, it is said that she was intimately involved with Najmul Hassan, a popular Star in 1930s. She died of Cancer in late December 1945 at a young age of 30. Starting her career from stage, she moved to films, joining J. J. Madan's Madan Theatres. Two of her early Talkies becoming instant hits, Shirin Farhad (1931) and Laila Majnu (1931) both Madan Theatre productions. Her co-star in the two films was Master Nissar and the duo became popular singing sensations, with Kajjan being known as "the lark of India". Her mother was a tawaif with important connections. Kajjan was the daughter of the courtesan Suggan and a Nawab of Bhagalpur. Jahanara was educated at home, where she learned English and Urdu; she wrote poetry, some of which was published. She received a classical music training from Ustad Hussain Khan. She began appearing on stage in the years when women were first allowed to perform in the Indian theatre.
Aside from acting, Kajjanbai and Ustad Ghulam Mohammed also taught Noor Jehan when the latter was young, making her do riyaz up to 12 hours each day. Later she also mentored and trained Rehana in acting and dancing. Kajjan stopped singing in 1930, however, she continued to star in movies such as Shirin Farhad and Layla Majnun opposite Nissar, becoming a symbol of on-screen romance in the cinema of India.
Notable films:
Shirin Farhad (1931), the second Indian Talkie to be made, was released two months after the landmark Alam Ara,[9] which released on 11 March 1931. The story centred on a folk-legend from the Shahnama, and was already a success on the Parsi stage. J. J. Madan adapted it to film form with Master Nissar and Kajjan playing the lead roles. According to author Gooptu, the film "created a box-office record". It was "twice as successful" compared to Alam Ara, and had 17 (out of the 18) songs sung by Jehanara Kajjan and Master Nisaar.
Laila Majnu (1931)
Indrasabha (1932)
Bilwamangal (1932)
Zehri Saanp (1933)
Sakhi Lutera (1934)
Rashida (1935)
Miss Manorma (1935)
Mera Pyara (1935)
Regeneration (1936)
Shaitan Ka Pash (1936)
Personal life:
She was known to be intimately involved with actor Najmul Hassan, a popular star in the 1930s. They were in a relationship for a few months before parting ways.
Death: 
Remembering Kajjanbai, Indian cinema's 'nightingale of Bengal'
Kajjan died in 1945 in Bombay, Maharashtra, India.
Songs:
Kahe Neha Lagaye Sajania
Tumhare Darshan Ko Naina
Ek Dhundla Sa Mohabat Ka Hai Naqsha
Aya Sawan Aja Sajan
Kookat Koyalia
Filmography:
Film
Year Film Role Director
1931
Shirin Farhad Shirin J.J. Madan
Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra J.J. Madan
Laila Majnu Laila Kanjibhai Rathod
Shakuntala 1 J.J. Madan
Laila Majnu 1 Laila J.J. Madan
1932
Ankh Ka Tara Jyotish Bannerjee
Alibaba & Forty Thieves J.J. Madan
Chatra Bakavali
Gulru Zarina Zarina
Indrasabha Fairy
Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves
Bilwamangal
Pati Bhakti
Shakuntala
1933
Dhruva Jyotish Bannerjee
Aankh Ka Nasha J.J. Madan
Prem Ka Nasha
Zehari Saap Shehzadi
1934
Garib Ki Duniya
Anokha Prem Faredoon Irani
1935
Miss Manorama Manorama
Jahanara Jahanara
Mera Pyara Ezra Mir
Dil Ki Pyas J.J. Madan
Rashida Rashida Ezra Mir
Prem Ki Ragini Ragini Faredoon Irani
1936
Shaitan Ka Pash Ezra Mir
Nariraj
Regeneration
Struggle
Raj Dulari Dulari
1940
Abla Ki Shakti Munshi Dil
1941
Zalim Saudagar Portia J.J. Madan
Mubarak Barkat Ram Mehra
1942
Ghar Sansar V.M. Vyas
1943
Prarthana Sunderabai Sarvottam Badami
VIDEO:PRARTHANA (1943) - Aaya saawan aaja sajan sooni sejariya - Jahanara Kajjan
Prithvi Vallabh Lakshmi Devi Sohrab Modi
1944
Bhartrahari
VIDEO: KAJJAN BAI.(Jehan Ara)-Film-BHARTHHARI-[1944]-Kookat Koyaliya Kunjan Mein-[Great Classical Gem]
Mumtaz Mahal Noor Jehan Kidar Nath Sharma
Reference:
A gem called Jahanara Kajjan
Here is a peep into the artistic and personal life of Jahanara Kajjan, a forgotten actor and a singing star of the 1930s.
Published - December 24, 2015 07:09 pm IST
PRAN NEVILLE
VIDEO: Khule Swarg Ke Dwar (HD) - Prithvi Vallabh Songs - Sankata Prasad - Jahanara Kajjan - Menka
Jahanara Kajjan.
Hailed as the reigning queen of the stage, the glamorous movie actor, the trained singer, the fashionable modern girl, and the trendsetter, Jahanara Kajjan or Kajjan Bai, better known as Miss Kajjan was many a splendored personality. No wonder, in her heyday she was saluted as the ‘Lark of Hindi cinema’ and the ‘Beautiful Nightingale of Bengal Screen’. As a young lad in Lahore, I dimly remember, seeing her in Madan Theatres’ “Laila Majnu (1931). I recall its roaring publicity through splash of posters and eye-catching hoardings all over the city with dazzling pictures of Miss Kajjan. The novelty of Talkies was still fresh and cinema houses attracted big crowds, more so when films were packed with songs. “Laila Majnu” featuring Miss Kajjan and Master Nissar, the most popular singing pair of the stage was a spectacular success. I vaguely remember, a scene from the film, where Majnu (Nissar) looking for Laila (Kajjan) in the wilderness sings Laila Laila Pukarun Mai Ban Mein, Laila Pyari Basi More Man Main . “I am crying for Laila in the jungle when the beloved Laila is residing in my heart”.
Those days, there were hardly any film magazines and the practice of publishing spicy interviews of stars was still a couple of decades away. There is a mention of Kajjan by Kathryn Hanson, a leading scholar of South Asian theatre history in her book “Stages of Life” (2011). Jahanara Kajjan (1915-1945) is pronounced there as ‘Popular singing actress, daughter of the courtesan Suggan and the Nawab of Bhagalpur’. There is a question mark on her date of birth since no authentic information is available. This applies practically to all female artistes from the professional class, who turned famous as theatre and cinema actors. However, the circumstantial evidence culled from Kajjan’s stage and cinema career in the late 1920s and early ’30s and also some reference to her love affairs during that period leads us to conjecture that she was born sometime around 1910.
The anti-nautch campaign at the beginning of the 20th Century denigrated the singing and dancing profession. Some, among them, became gramophone singers or theatre stage actors. Kajjan received education at home and even learnt English. Well versed in Urdu literature, she wrote poetry under pen name “Ada” and some of her poems were published in Urdu magazines. She received intensive training in Hindustani classical music from Ustad Hussain Khan of Patna. Noting her mastery of ragas, her mellifluous voice and also her charming looks, she was hired by a theatre company at Patna. She is said to have performed on stage for three days at a fee of Rs.250 per show. She enchanted the audience with her golden voice. This paved the way to her joining Alfred Company owned by Madan Theatres of Calcutta. According to Fida Hussain, a Parsi theatre legend, “He worked with actress Jahanara Kajjan becoming her director and leading man”. Kajjan attained name and fame as a very popular singer and actor of the stage.
The advent of talkies in 1931 brought a revolution in the entertainment scene. The phenomenal success of the first talkie “Alam Ara” in March 1931 inspired a number of producers to make their “all talking, singing, dancing films”. Madan Theatres of Calcutta, were already in the field and were only a few weeks behind when they hit the screen with “Shirin Farhaad” based on the stage play scripted by the renowned playwright Agha Hashar Kashmiri. “Shirin Farhad” beat “Alam Ara” as it was more refined technically and featured 42 songs by Kajjan and Nissar, already popular singing pair of the stage. The film was a tremendous success across India with Kajjan emerging as the first superstar of Hindi cinema. It is said that a tongawala in Lahore pawned his horse to see “Shirin Farhad” 22 times. It was followed by another super hit “Laila Majnu”, featuring the same duo Kajjan and Nissar. Another film that created history was “Indrasabha” based on the play written by Agha Hassan Amanat, the court poet of Wajid Ali Shah, the last Nawab of Awadh. Loaded with 71 songs, the film still holds the world record as “film with most number of songs”. The film with duration of three and half hours (211 minutes) was entirely in verse and Kajjan sang several songs, ensuring its roaring success all over the country.
Some of the most popular numbers sung by Kajjan were — “Toone to mora man har leeno more banke saanwaria ” (Oh my dearest you have captivated my heart); “Chaman ko yun mere saqi ne maikhana bana diya ” (My wine server has turned the garden into a tavern); “ Kab se khadi hun terey dwar, bula le mohe balam re ” (My love please call me as I have been waiting at your door for so long). Some of her other memorable movies were “Bilwamangal”, “Shakuntala”, “Alibaba aur Chalis Chor”, “Aankh ka Nasha”, “Zehari Saanp”, etc.
By mid 1930s, the early enthusiasm for song-dramas, mythological stories and Persian love tales was wearing off and many film producers were forced to close shop, Madan Theatres among them. The classical numbers sung by the likes of Kajjan were losing their appeal and so was her theatrical acting style. She failed to receive any offers from the new producers. A wealthy woman, she stayed on in Calcutta, but after a couple of years with depleting resources, she was compelled to move to Bombay. Her Parsi connection, especially with Sohrab Modi, the doyen of Parsi theatre, helped her to get some acting assignments there. Kajjan’s career in Bombay was short-lived from 1941 to 1944, during which she appeared in six marginal films, with the exception of Sohrab Modi’s “Prithvi Vallabh”. Further, she was given only minor roles and got little chance to display her singing calibre.
She lived a lavish life at Calcutta. Fond of pets, she even had two tiger cubs for some time. Kajjan was cited as a fashionable modern girl. A studio portrait of late 1920s shows her wearing makeup, ear rings, nose pin with finger waived hair, dressed in a sari with laced blouse. This very photograph was carried in an advertisement for face powder and hair products by “The Crisis (New York) 1928”. Kajjan had learnt western dancing and was a regular visitor to Calcutta Club, mixing freely with the elite gentry. On a personal front, she had a colourful life, with roaring love affairs with many of her co-stars. Fida Hussain, her theatre director and co-star openly speaks about the ups and downs of his romantic relationship with her. She was also intimately involved with Najmul Hassan, a very handsome actor of his time, who landed at New Theatres, Calcutta after being sacked by Bombay Talkies for his notorious affair with the leading star Devika Rani. There is little information about her personal life in Bombay, where she passed away unsung in 1945.
VIDEO: Kajjanbai - Biography In Hindi | पुराने फिल्मो की गुमशुदा Actress Singer | Lark of Hindi cinema HD
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Initially, she was known primarily for her singing. Her performances were widely applauded, and she would earn ₹250–300 per show, a significant amount for that era. Her growing fame as a singer paved the way for her screen debut in Shirin Farhad, where she also lent her voice to several songs.
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