Cinemaazi salutes Hamida Banu / Hamida Bano on her birth anniversary.

Hamida Banu / Hamida Bano, the veteran singer-actor, was born on this day in 1929 in Lahore. She moved to Bombay at an early age with her family and tried to find herself a spot in the films. According to some sources, she moved to Calcutta where she worked with Prithviraj Kapoor in theatre where she got the opportunity to perform solo on stage. But her true calling was to be a singer and after returning back to Bombay, she got the opportunity to sing Naushad’s tunes in the 1943’s film Sanjog. Some of the notable films that she sang in are Neel Kamal (1947), Rimjhim(1949), Chor (1950),Bikhare Moti (1951) Anjaam (1952), and Shree 420(1955). In her career, she worked with some of the most talented music composers of Hindi cinema like ,Bulo C Rani Naushad, and Gyan Dutt.She eventually moved back to Pakistan in 1956 and continued to sing and engage in social work there. 

Image Courtesy: Cinestaan