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{{short description|Indian singer (1898–2000)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Chamiyan Bai
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| native_name =
| native_name_lang =
| birth_name =
| birth_date = {{Birth year|1898}}
| birth_place = [[Kashmir]], [[Presidencies and provinces of British India|British India]]
| death_date = {{death date and age|1998|08|14|1898|df=yes}}
| death_place = [[Mumbai]], [[India]]
| other_names = ''The Queen of Music'' [citation needed] <br> ''Shamshad Begum'' <br> ''Shamshad Begum of Delhi''
| occupation = {{Hlist | Singer | Actress | Classical Singer}}
| spouse = Nawab Abdul Waheed Khan
| children = [[Naseem Banu]] (daughter)
| years_active = 1916 – 1950
| relatives = [[Saira Banu]] (granddaughter)
}}

'''Chamiyan Bai''', also known as '''Shamshad Begum''' (1898 – 14 August 1998), was an Indian singer, actress and [[courtesan]] ([[tawaif]]) based in [[Shahjahanabad|Old Delhi]] during the early 20th century. She was the mother of Bollywood actress [[Naseem Banu]] and the maternal grandmother of actress [[Saira Banu]].<ref name="TheEconomicTimes">{{cite web |date=November 2, 2025 |title=Amitabh Bachchan called her the most beautiful woman. But she had to go on hunger strike after family did not support her film career |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/amitabh-bachchan-called-her-the-most-beautiful-woman-but-she-had-to-go-hunger-strike-after-family-did-not-support-her-film-career/articleshow/124890870.cms?from=mdr |website=The Economic Times}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Chamiyan was born in 1898 in [[Kashmir]], [[British Raj|British India]].{{Citation needed|date=January 2026}} She moved to Delhi at a young age. She was born into a musical family. Her mother was tawaif Jumman Bai, her father was musician Ratan Singh.<ref name="IndiaNews">{{cite web |date=May 7, 2025 |title=Father sold her daughter to a brothel for money, three generations spent their lives in humiliation, it was not easy for this actress to enter films, her name is… |url=https://www.india.com/entertainment/for-the-greed-of-money-father-sold-her-daughter-to-a-brothel-three-generations-spent-their-lives-in-humiliation-it-was-not-easy-for-this-actress-to-enter-films-her-name-is-saira-banu-7805937/ |website=India News}}</ref>

== Career ==
{{Expand section|date=January 2026}}
Chamiyan became a [[Indian classical music|classical singer]] and [[performer]] in Delhi, and was also a tawaif during the early 20th century.<ref name="IndiaNews" /><ref name="QuarterlyJournal">{{cite book |title=Quarterly Journal - Volumes 15-16 |publisher=University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign |page=107}}</ref><ref name="HayHouse">{{cite book|title=Dilip Kumar: The Substance and the Shadow|publisher=Hay House|page=1872}}</ref> She was trained in [[classical music]] and performed frequently on [[All India Radio]] (AIR).<ref name="HayHouse" /> Chamiyan later adopted the name "Shamshad Begum", and recorded songs for [[Columbia Records]].<ref name="HayHouse" />

She also worked as an actress. Her debut (both for herself and her daughter) was an appearance in [[Sohrab Modi]]'s 1935 film ''[[Khoon Ka Khoon]]'', an adaptation of [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]'s ''[[Hamlet]]''.<ref>{{cite book|title=Doing Women's Film History: Reframing Cinemas, Past and Future|publisher=University of Illinois Press|page=36}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Screen - Volume 43|publisher=Oxford University Press|page=24}}</ref> She played [[Gertrude (Hamlet)|Gertrude]] and her daughter played [[Ophelia]].

== Personal life ==
Chamiyan married Nawab Abdul Waheed Khan, who was from [[Hasanpur]].<ref name=HayHouse/> After the marriage she became known as Shamshad Abdul Waheed Khan.<ref>{{cite web |date=October 30, 2025 |title=Hailed as Bollywood's first female superstar, this actor had to go on hunger strike to join cinema; Amitabh Bachchan, Dilip Kumar called her 'the most beautiful woman ever' |url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/saira-banu-mother-actress-naseem-banu-was-hailed-as-bollywood-first-female-superstar-10332256/ |website=The Indian Express}}</ref> They had a daughter, Roshan Ara Begum, later known as [[Naseem Banu]].<ref name="IndiaNews" /><ref name="TheIndianExpress">{{cite web|url=https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/bollywood/saira-banu-she-cried-on-the-first-day-of-her-bollywood-shoot-dilip-kumar-refused-to-work-with-her-at-her-familys-behest-9527174/|title=Saira Banu: She cried on the first day of film shoot, Dilip Kumar refused to work with her at her family’s behest|website=The Indian Express|date=August 23, 2024}}</ref>

[[Naseem Banu]] became an actress in Indian cinema, and her daughter, and Chamiyan's granddaughter, is actress [[Saira Banu]].<ref name="TheIndianExpress" />

== Death ==
Chamiyan Bai died on 14 August 1998, at the age of 100.<ref>{{cite book|title=Yesterday's Melodies Today's Memories|publisher=Notion Press|page=311}}</ref>

== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders"
|- style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col"|Year
! scope="col"|Title
! scope="col"|Role
! scope="col"|Notes
|-
|1935
| ''[[Khoon Ka Khoon]]''
| [[Gertrude (Hamlet)|Gertrude]]
|<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.filmkailm.com/sohrab-modi-the-lion-of-minerva/ |title=Sohrab Modi-The lion of Minerva |publisher=Film Ka Ilm |access-date=6 January 2015 |archive-date=5 November 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141105121023/http://www.filmkailm.com/sohrab-modi-the-lion-of-minerva/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title='Hamlet' and World Cinema|publisher=Cambridge University Press|page=154}}</ref>
|}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{IMDb name|0787909}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bai, Chamiyan}}
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1998 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian women ghazal singers]]
[[Category:Indian ghazal singers]]
[[Category:Hindustani singers]]
[[Category:Women Hindustani musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women classical singers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women singers]]
[[Category:Indian courtesans]]
[[Category:Actresses from Delhi]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian actresses]]
[[Category:Indian film actresses]]
[[Category:Actresses in Hindi cinema]]
[[Category:Indian women classical singers]]

Chamiyan Bai - Revision history

Folin at 01:37, 24 April 2026