Entertainment News Desk !!! Zohrabai Ambalewali (English: Zohrabai Ambalewali, born- 1918; death- 21 February 1990) was the playback singer of Hindi cinema and Indian classical singer. She was active in the 1930s and 1940s.
Early life
Zohrabai was born and grew up in a family of professional singers in Ambala, Haryana, which gave him his surname, ‘Ambalewali’. He started his music training with Ghulam Hussain Khan and Ustad Nasir Hussain Khan. He was then trained in music from the Agra Gharana of Hindustani music.
Career
There was an era, when the singers like Shamshad Begum, Khurshid, Amirbai Karnatki were singing with the leading playbacks of Thumri and heavy voices in Hindi cinema. It was just before Lata Mangeshkar’s arrival in 1948, who moved the popular voices with Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle to a fine voice. This gradually eliminated the career of those old singers. Another leading film of that era, the playback singer Nur Jahan decided to stay in Pakistan and made a highly successful singing career in Pakistan until he died in 2000. Zohrabai Ambalewali retired from the film industry in 1950, although she continued singing in the performances of her daughter Roshan Kumari, who is a famous Kathak dancer. Roshan also acted in Satyajit Ray’s film ‘Jalsaghar’ (1958).
Zohrabai Ambalewali is known for her huge voice singing in the songs of ‘Akhian Mili Ke Jia Bharmake’ and ‘Ai Diwali, Ai Diwali’ from Ratan’s hit music in 1944. Jugalbandi song ‘Udan Khatole Pe Ud Jaun’ with Shamshad Begum in ‘Anmol Watch’ (1946) is also his famous song. The music was given by Naushad in both films. She was included in the first generation of playback singers in the Hindi film industry along with Rajkumari, Shamshad Begum and Amirbai Karnatki. However, in the late 1940s, new voices like Geeta Dutt and Lata Mangeshkar mean that Zohrabai Ambalewali’s career ended.
Death
Zohrabai Ambalewali took place on 21 February 1990.
