Singer Sharda Rajan Iyengar passes away at 85

Sharda Rajan Iyengar/Twitter

Popular singer Sharda Rajan Iyengar has passed away at 85 on Wednesday. According to reports, Sharda passed away due to cancer. She had performed alongside many well-known artists, including Mohd Rafi, Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar, Yesudas, Mukesh, and Suman Kalyanpur. She also lent her voice to leading ladies like Vyjayanthimala, Saira Banu, Hema Malini, Sharmila Tagore, Mumtaz, Rekha and Helen among others.

She was the first female vocalist from India to record her own pop album, 'Sizzlers,' which was released in 1971. She was known for her legendary song Titli Udi from 1966 film 'Sooraj.' In 1960, Sharda had made her playback singing debut in the movie 'Sooraj.' She went on to perform songs in languages like Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, in addition to Hindi.

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In 1960, Sharda made her playback singing debut in the movie Suraj. She has performed songs in Telugu, Marathi, Gujarati, in addition to Hindi. She contributed her vocal talents to films like Gumnaam (1965), Sapno Ka Saudagar (1968), and others. Moreover, also scored music for such films as Garibi Hatao (1973), Mandir Masjid, (1977) and Maila Aanchal (1981). She won the Filmfare Award for Best Playback Singer for the cabaret Baat Zara Hai Aapas Ki from Jahan Pyar Miley (1969).

Over the years she had collaborated with music duo Shankar-Jaikishan on several hit songs. Actor-filmmaker Raj Kapoor had given her a break in the music industry and introduced her to the music directors Shankar-Jaikishan. Her Ghazal album ‘Andaaz-e-Bayan Aur' was released in 2007, wherein she created her own compositions based on Mirza Ghalib's popular ghazals. She collaborated on a few tracks with Usha Khanna, Ravi, Dattaram, and a few others in addition to Shankar.

Sharda sang in all major Indian languages with major music directors of that time. In the 70s, she launched her pop album and turned to music direction. Her last song was in the film Kaanch Ki Deewar in the 80s.