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Kajjanbai

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Jahanara Kajjan
Born
Jahanara Begum

15 February 1915
Patna, Bihar British India
Died20 December 1945(1945-12-20) (aged 30)
Bombay, Maharashtra, British India
Other namesNightingale of Bengal[1]
Lark of Hindi Cinema[1]
The Lark of India[2]
Beautiful Nightingale of Bengal Screen[1]
Miss Kajjan[3]
Occupations
  • Singer
  • actress
  • model
Years active1920–1945
Parent(s)Suggan begum (mother)
Nawab Chammi Saheb of Bhagalpur (father)

Jahanara Kajjan (15 February 1915 – 20 December 1945), or "Miss Kajjan",[3] was an Indian singer and actress active during the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s, often referred to as the "Nightingale of Bengal".[1] The reigning queen of early talkie movies glamorous movie sensation the trained classical singer, the fashion icon and the trendsetter, Jahanara Kajjan 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.[3]

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.[4]

Early life

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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.

The advent of talkies in 1931 brought a revolution in Film industry Madan Theatre of Calcutta, “Shirin Farhaad” based on the stage play scripted by the renowned playwright Agha Hashar Kashmiri. It featured 42 songs by Kajjan and Nissar, already popular singing pair of the stage. The film got overwhelmed success across India with Kajjan emerging as the first superstar of Hindi cinema then came another super hit “Laila Majnu”, followed by “Indrasabha” based on the play written by Agha Hasan Amanat, it had 71 songs, the film still holds the world record as “film with most songs”. The film with duration of three and half hours was entirely in verse and Kajjan sang several songs, it became a blockbuster.. . Some of her other memorable movies were "Bilwamangal", "Shakuntala", "Alibaba aur Chalis Chor", "Aankh ka Nasha", "Zehari Saanp", etc.

Career

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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 Thaetrical 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.[5] 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".[2] Her mother was a tawaif with important connections.[6] Kajjan was the daughter of the courtesan Suggan and a Nawab of Bhagalpur.[7] 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.[3] She began appearing on stage in the years when women were first allowed to perform in the Indian theatre.[6]

Aside from acting, she and Ghulam Mohammed also taught Noor Jehan when the latter was young, making her do riyaz up to 12 hours each day.[8] Later she also mentored and trained Rehana in acting and dancing. Kajjan stopped singing in 1930,[3] 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.[1]

Notable films

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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.[10] 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".[11] 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)
  • Bilwamangal (1932)
  • Zehri Saanp (1933)
  • Sakhi Lutera (1934)
  • Rashida (1935)
  • Miss Manorma (1935)
  • Mera Pyara (1935)
  • Regeneration (1936)
  • Shaitan Ka Pash (1936)

Personal life

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She was in a relationship with actor Najmul Hassan, a popular Star in 1930s.[3]

Death

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Kajjan died in 1945 in Bombay, Maharashtra, British India.[12]

Songs

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  • Kahe Neha Lagaye Sajania
  • Tumhare Darshan Ko Naina
  • Ek Dhundla Sa Mohabat Ka Hai Naqsha
  • Aya Sawan Aja Sajan
  • Kookat Koyalia

Filmography

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Film

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Year Film Role Director
1931 Shirin Farhad Shirin J.J. Madan
Satyawadi Raja Harishchandra J.J. Madan
Laila Majnu Laila Kanjibhai Rathod[3]
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 Sakhi Lutera Sorabji Kerawala
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
Prithvi Vallabh Lakshmi Devi Sohrab Modi
1944 Bhartruhari
Mumtaz Mahal Noor Jehan Kidar Nath Sharma

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Orsini 2006: 272
  2. ^ a b c Rani Burra; India. Directorate of Film Festivals (1981). Looking back, 1896-1960. Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Plan Neville (24 December 2015). "A gem called Jahanara Kajjan". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  4. ^ "Tujhe Bibbo Kahoon Ki Sulochana". lyrics-hindi.com. LyricsHindi.com. Archived from the original on 23 November 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  5. ^ Manoj Srivastava (6 December 2017). Wide Angle: History of Indian Cinema. Notion Press. pp. 20–. ISBN 978-1-946280-48-0. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  6. ^ a b Uwe Skoda; Birgit Lettmann (30 October 2017). India and Its Visual Cultures: Community, Class and Gender in a Symbolic Landscape. SAGE Publishing India. pp. 67–. ISBN 978-93-86446-69-5. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  7. ^ "40 SHORT BIOGRAPHIES OF INDIAN CINEMA PIONEERS WHO WORKED BETWEEN THE YEARS 1897 - 1947".
  8. ^ PTV World News
  9. ^ Ashok Damodar Ranade (2006). Hindi Film Song: Music Beyond Boundaries. Bibliophile South Asia. pp. 94–. ISBN 978-81-85002-64-4. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  10. ^ Sen, Shomini. "100 years of Indian cinema: The first talkies and era of taking risks". ibnlive.in.com. ibnlive.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  11. ^ Sharmistha Gooptu (November 2010). Bengali Cinema: 'An Other Nation'. Routledge. pp. 39–. ISBN 978-1-136-91217-7. Archived from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
  12. ^ Neville, Pran (24 December 2015). "A gem called Jahanara Kajjan". The Hindu. The Hindu. Archived from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.

Sources

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