Biography
Naushad offered Tun Tun job of singer at A.R. Kardar Production Naushad had good contacts with many film production companies hence he put a word of recommendation to film maker A.R. Kardar , who hired Tun Tun as a singer in his film company A.R. Kardar Production. Tun Tun began her career with the solo song in Nazir's Wamiq Azra (1946). As singe she was known as Uma Devi. Though the song was not huge hit but with her next film Dard (1947), Tun Tun created sensation. Her song Afsana Likh Rahi Hoon Dil-e-beqarar ka … became a national craze and till date, music lover go gaga at this immortal classic song. Besides this song other songs from the like Yeh Kaun Chala Meri Aankhon Mein Sama Kar…. and Aaj Machi Hai Dhoom Jhoom Khushi Se Jhoom……. Etc were also hit. After Dard she was flooded with offers like Mehboob Khan's Anokhi Ada (1948), which had hit numbers Kahe jiya dole…… and Dil ko lagake humne kuch bhi na paya……. S.S. Vasan's Chandralekha (1948) made by Gemini Studios, Saanjh ki bela………… Filmmaker A.R. Kardar sued Tun Tun for breach of contract Though Tun Tun was having a great career as singer but she was put in tight corner when filmmaker A.R. Kardar sued her for breach of contract as she was working for A.R. Kardar and had violated the contact by working in outside film companies. This ruined her singing career and she quit Bollywood and settled a married life. Tun Tun ruled the 50’s to 90’s as no.1 comedian After Babul became a hit, Tun Tun became Indian Cinema’s First comedienne or lady comedian. She became a common feature in top film stars films like Dilip Kumar – She worked with him in many films like Deedar , Udan Khatola, Kohinoor, Ganga Jumna, Dil Diya Dard Liya etc. Similarly she was Guru Dutt’s favorite and did most of his films like Aar Paar (1954), Mr. & Mrs. '55 (1955), Pyaasa (1957), CID etc She worked with every top stars of Bollywood like Raj Kapoor - Shree 420, Dev Anand - Bombai Ka Babu, Shammi Kapoor - Professor, Kishore Kumar - Half Ticket, Rajendra Kumar - Talash, Dharmendra in Phool aur Pather, Rajesh Khanna - Do Raaste, Jeetendra – Himmat and even Amitabh Bachchan in Namak Halaal. She had a great tuning with many comedians like Mehmood, Bhagwan Dada, Agha, Sunder, Mukri, Dhumal, Johnny Walker, Keshto Mukherjee and others. Her last Hindi film was 'Kasam Dhande Ki' (1990).
Career & Achievements
Tun Tun became immortal as comedian in Babul After marriage when Tun Tun made a comeback in Bollywood, it was again Naushad , who came to her rescue. Naushad , who had excellent relation with Dilip Kumar asked Dilip Kumar to give Tun Tun a break as an actress. Dilip Kumar agreed and a special role was written for Tun Tun in his film Babul. Recalling her comeback Tun Tun informed, “In my very first film I played the bulky young daughter of a postman who aspires to marry the film hero Dilip Kumar .” She added, “The name Tun Tun was the brainchild of Dilip Kumar , who said it was rhythmical and went well with my comedy image!” The role was loved by audience so much that Tun Tun became stereotyped as the nubile overweight bride!” Nevertheless the role made her immortal in Indian Cinema so much that her name became synonymous with fat women! Death She died on November 23, 2003 at the age of 80!
