Jahanara Kajjan (15 February 1915 – December 1945), or "Miss Kajjan",[1] was an Indian singer and actress active during the 1920s and 1930s, often referred to as the "Nightingale of Bengal".[2] 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" 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.
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.
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.[3] 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".[4] Her mother was a "tawaif" with important connections.[5] Jehanara 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.[1] She began appearing on stage in the years when women were first allowed to perform in the Indian theatre.[5]
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.[6] Kajjan stopped singing in 1930,[citation needed] 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.[2]
Notable films
Shirin Farhad (1931), the second Indian Talkie to be made, was released two months after the landmark Alam Ara,[7] which released on 11 March 1931.[8] 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".[9] It was "twice as successful" compared to Alam Ara, and had 17 (out of the 18) songs sung by Jehanara Kajjan and Master Nisaar.
^Manoj Srivastava (6 December 2017). Wide Angle: History of Indian Cinema. Notion Press. pp. 20–. ISBN978-1-946280-48-0. from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
^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.
^ abUwe Skoda; Birgit Lettmann (30 October 2017). India and Its Visual Cultures: Community, Class and Gender in a Symbolic Landscape. SAGE Publishing India. pp. 67–. ISBN978-93-86446-69-5. from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
^Ashok Damodar Ranade (2006). Hindi Film Song: Music Beyond Boundaries. Bibliophile South Asia. pp. 94–. ISBN978-81-85002-64-4. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
^Sen, Shomini. . ibnlive.in.com. ibnlive.com. Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
^Sharmistha Gooptu (November 2010). Bengali Cinema: 'An Other Nation'. Routledge. pp. 39–. ISBN978-1-136-91217-7. from the original on 12 October 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
^Neville, Pran (24 December 2015). "A gem called Jahanara Kajjan". The Hindu. The Hindu. from the original on 10 April 2018. Retrieved 13 April 2018.
Sources
Orsini, Francesca (2006). Love in South Asia: A Cultural History. United Kingdom: Cambridge University.
. Pakistan Television Corporation World News. Archived from the original on 11 August 2006. Retrieved 4 January 2007.
kajjanbai, jahanara, kajjan, february, 1915, december, 1945, miss, kajjan, indian, singer, actress, active, during, 1920s, 1930s, often, referred, nightingale, bengal, reigning, queen, early, talkie, movies, glamorous, movie, sensation, trained, classical, sin. Jahanara Kajjan 15 February 1915 December 1945 or Miss Kajjan 1 was an Indian singer and actress active during the 1920s and 1930s often referred to as the Nightingale of Bengal 2 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 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 Jahanara KajjanBornJahanara15 February 1915Patna Bihar British India DiedDecember 1945 1945 12 00 aged 30 Bombay Maharashtra IndiaOccupationsinger actressYears active1930 1945 Contents 1 Life 2 Notable films 3 Death 4 Songs 5 Films 1 6 References 7 Sources 8 External linksLife EditBorn 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 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 3 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 4 Her mother was a tawaif with important connections 5 Jehanara 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 1 She began appearing on stage in the years when women were first allowed to perform in the Indian theatre 5 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 6 Kajjan stopped singing in 1930 citation needed 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 2 Notable films EditShirin Farhad 1931 the second Indian Talkie to be made was released two months after the landmark Alam Ara 7 which released on 11 March 1931 8 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 9 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 1933 Sakhi Lutera 1934 Zehri Saanp 1934 Shaitan Ka Pash 1935 Rasheeda 1935 Manorma 1936 Regeneration 1936 Mera Pyara 1936 Death EditKajjan died in 1945 in Bombay Maharashtra India 10 Songs EditKahe neha lagaye sajania tumhare darshan ko naina Ek dhundla sa mohabat ka hai naqsha Aya sawan aja sajan Kookat koyaliaFilms 1 EditShirin Farhad 1931 Laila Majnu 1931 Zalim Saudagar 1941 Prarthana 1943 Prithvi Vallabh 1943 References Edit a b c Plan Neville 24 December 2015 A gem called Jahanara Kajjan The Hindu Archived from the original on 10 April 2018 Retrieved 12 April 2018 a b Orsini 2006 272 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 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 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 PTV World News 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 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 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 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 EditOrsini Francesca 2006 Love in South Asia A Cultural History United Kingdom Cambridge University Noor Jahan The legend of Pakistani Music Pakistan Television Corporation World News Archived from the original on 11 August 2006 Retrieved 4 January 2007 External links EditIndian Cinema Database at the University of Pennsylvania Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Kajjanbai amp oldid 1068502418, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
