Shamshad Begum, who died at 94, was among the first playback singers of Bollywood. Many of her hit songs have been remixed for modern listeners but little is known about the reclusive singer herself.

When her singing career began, Indian cinema had barely started talking. And by the time it got over, the Golden Age of melody in Hindi films was gone. The Amritsar-born playback singer, who passed ...

Throaty-voiced thrush Shamshad Begum, one of Bollywood’s earliest singers, died on April 23 in Mumbai, India. She was 94 and had been ailing for some time. Before Lata Mangeshkar put her stamp on ...