Amirbai Karnataki

Amirbai Karnataki
Born Bijapur, India
Died 3 March 1965(1965-03-03)
India
Genres Playback singing
Occupation(s) Singer, actor
Instruments Vocalist
Years active 1935–1961

Amirbai Karnataki (ca 1906 - 3 March 1965) was a famous actress/singer and playback singer of the early Hindi cinema and was famous as Kannada Kokila. Mahatma Gandhi was an ardent fan of her song Vaishnav Jan To.

Personal life

Amirbai Karnataki was born in Bilgi town, District of Bijapur in Karnataka into a middle-class family. Of all of her five sisters, Amirbai and her elder sister, Gauharbai, earned fame and fortune. Amirbai completed her matriculation and went to Bombay at the age of fifteen.

Career

Amirbai was a talented singer and actress who was fluent in Kannada (mother tongue) and gujrati. 'Mahre te gamray ek baar aawjo' is one of her famous sung gujrati song from the film 'Ranrakdevi' with music composer Avinash Vyas. A representative from HMV was so impressed by her singing talent that he made her sing a Qawwali, which became very popular. Her elder sister, Gauherbai, was an actress and helped Amirbai get a role in the film Vishnu Bhakti in 1934.

Initially, Amirbai sang songs in films, but they failed to attain the success she desired. In 1943, with the release of Bombay Talkies' Kismet (1943 film) (1943), she achieved popularity: the songs of Kismet became a rage and Amirbai became famous. The man behind the success was the composer Anil Biswas. She was initially known as a singing star, but at the decline of her career she became a playback singer. She reached her peak by 1947.

At this time Lata Mangeshkar became a rising star, so once again Amirbai switched over to acting. In her later years she mostly played character roles. Amirbai also composed music for Wahab Pictures' Shehnaaz (1948). In the same year she almost left Hindi Cinema for Gujarati and Marwari films. One of the famous film magazine 'Film India' had mentioned in one of her articles that at the time in the 20th century when other singers use to get Rs. 500 as a fees, Amirbai use to get Rs. 1000 per recording.

Romances

Amirbai's married life was full of ups and downs. Her first marriage was with the actor Himalaywala. He was a well known actor for playing villainous roles in movies. He use to beat Amirbai frequently after marriage and spent most of her earnings for his personal leisure. Amirbai had to put a fake smile on her face while performing as an actor and even while singing in studios. Famous gujrati writer Bhai Ranjan Kumar Pandaya has mentioned Amirbai's married life struggles in detail. He says that Amirbai's elder sister Ahilya Bai, yearning for justice, once late night went to the famous gujrati lawyer Chelshankar Vyas. She told Vyas that "Himalaywala took a handsome amount and Amirbai's car in return for a divorce. And the very next day he has even kidnapped her publicly from a recording studio. He has entangled her in a room and is repeatedly beating her. Even police was with Himalywala". Chelshankar Vyas taking into account all these allegations decided to help her. He used his societal status and judicial understanding and finally got Amirbai get rid of Himalaywala. In the year 1947, when India got partitioned between India and Pakistan, Himalaywala went to Pakistan and earned himself a good reputation as a talented actor. Here in India, Amirbai got married for the second time with Badri Kaanchwala, the editor of Paras, who was her all time supporter.

Death

She had a paralytic attack in 1965, died just four days later and was buried in her hometown. A cinema hall still runs in the name of 'Amir Talkies' in the city of Bijapur by her family.

see also

Biography

External links

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