Singer Sharda of ‘Titli Udi’ fame no more She was 89
Singer Sharda of ‘Titli Udi’ fame no more She was 89
Singer-composer Sharda, whose playful rendition of ‘Titli udi ud jo chali’ from film Suraj, continues to pleasure retro music lovers, breathed her last at her Napean Sea Road residence on Wednesday morning. She was 89.
According to her son Shammi Rajan his mother Sharda was battling cancer for several months.
Sharda Rajan was a familiar presence in the world of 1960s Hindi film music.
Shankar-Jaikishan, the top music director duo of the time, composed a majority of her tracks in films like ‘Around the World’, ‘Diwana’, ‘An Evening in Paris’, ‘Seema’ and ‘Pehchan’.
Born in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, the singer also received the Filmfare Award for her sumptuous delivery of the sizzling track, ‘Baat zara hai aapas ki’ (film: ‘Jahan Pyar Mile’, 1969).
Drawn towards music since childhood, Sharda received training in Carnatic music.
Over an interview with DD, Sharda revealed when a cousin once visited the family and sang ‘Ankhiyan milakey’ (film: ‘Ratan’, 1944, singer: Johrabai Ambalewali), she was enchanted and wanted to sing similar numbers,
It was happenstance that brought her to the world of playback singing.
In the early 1960s, Sharda sang at a party hosted in honour of Raj Kapoor in Teheran. As per Shammi Kapoor her husband, Soundara Rajan, was employed with Iran Air in Tehran.
She recalled once that Raj Kapoor had liked her voice and invited her to Bombay. She gave a voice test at RK Studios. Sharda was referred to Shankar-Jaikishan, regulars in films starring Kapoor, under whose guidance she received training.
‘Titli Udi’, which finished 21st in Binaca Geetmala’s 1966 annual charts, gave her instant popularity, became her calling card.
Even today the frisky track is a hit on YouTube. Sharda’s own website is named titliudi.com.
Over an interview she revealed that Jaikishen explained how to emphasise on the word, ‘titli’, which elevated the song. The singer also recalled how the peerless Mohd Rafi had given her invaluable tips on breathing techniques during the recording of ‘Jab bhi yeh dil udaas hota hai’ (film: ‘Seema’, 1971).
In the 1970s, Sharda also provided the score for a bunch of low-budget films. The introspective ‘Andhe safar mein hum bhi tum bhi’ (singer: Kishore Kumar, film: ‘Kshitij’, 1974) can be included in any Rare Gems collection of the master singer. Compare the track with the rollicking ‘Kabhi khili dil ki kali’ (singer: Kishore Kumar, film: ‘Gharibi Hatao’, 1973) or the songs of ‘Hazaar Haath’ (1978) and Maila Aanchal (1981) and one notices a refreshing confidence to experiment with tunes and orchestration.
Not many know that Sharda also composed music for 24 ghazals of Mirza Ghalib.
Shammi Kapoor had also revealed that Sharda also did several shows for children and remained active in the world of music till her mid-80s.
With her sad demise, another musical chapter of old Bollywood comes to a close. Her songs though will continue to be hummed.
RIP SHARDA
News input KV Raman
