Former Deputy Prime Minister L. K.Advani, released ‘Talat Mahmood – AVelvet Voice’, a biography of the legendary musician and actor, written by journalist and author Manek Premchand at the KC College Auditorium, Churchgate, today.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Advani said that he always enjoyed listening to music despite his political engagements which had kept him busy. He said that he was present at the occasion to enjoy the evening. He praised Talat Mahmood and said, “It is a great honour to unveil this book of such a great and distinguished Icon of Music and I feel humbled to release Talat Mahmood – A Velvet Voice.”

His Excellency the Governor of Maharashtra, Mr. C Vidyasagar Raoand various people from the music and entertainment industry were among those who attended the event.

“I have been a fan of Talatji since my childhood and I’ve also had the honour of knowing him personally,” said Manek Premchand while talking about the book, published by Manipal University Press (MUP). “A significant portion of the Indian diaspora across the globe have a certain, special weakness for Talat’s soft voice, and there was no English biography of the genius voice actor. I hope the book reaches music lovers and Talat fans who are eager to know more about his life and contributions,” he said. Premchand has authored three earlier books and contributed to a third of the three-part biography of santoor maestro Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma.

Dr H. Vinod Bhat, Pro Vice Chancellor, Manipal University said in a statement issued by him, “This book is a proud presentation of Manipal University Press (MUP), which started as an academic publisher and is now venturing into various facets of publishing including audio books. Talat Mahmood was a magical musician as he swiftly blended the richness of Urdu poetry with soulful music, creating an extra-ordinary repertoire of both ghazals and cinema music. Mr. Manek Premchandhas made sincere attempts in sketching Talat’s life and musical journey, providing details of all the songs he sang during his long-lasting career.  We appreciate the efforts put by the author and wish the book is read by all lovers of music and Talat.”

Others in the audience included Talat Mahmood’s daughter, Ms. Sabina Talat Mahmood, musicians Ms.Sudha Malhotra, Mr. Anu Malik, Mr. Khalid Mahmood, television producer and hostess, Ms. Pratibha Advani, popular radio host, Mr. Ameen Sayani, Dr. Neeta Inamdar, Professor and Head of the Department of European Studies at Manipal and Mr Nanik Rupani, Chairman Emeritus Priyadarshni Academy, which organised the event.The book priced at INR 550/-, will be available in print in all standard book stores. The book is also available online on Flipkart, Amazon and mup.manipal.edu.

About the book

Talat Mahmood was one of the most important and significant singers of the golden era of Hindi film music. His songs are recalled by music lovers, generation after generation. The quality of his voice and the richness of his expression made him a great singer both in cinema and outside it. His melodies are a precious part of any music connoisseur’s repository and for several people around the world his is the most moving and soul-stirring voice ever. It’s a little known fact that as much as a third of his work is non-film recordings, which consists of several songs of absolutely stunning and magical melodies to touch the listener’s heart. There has never been someone quite like Talat till today and it is to his credit that he sang his songs softly and left deep impressions on our psyche. Because Talat Mahmood was handsome, he also acted in a few films, being cast opposite many beautiful ladies of the time, including Nutan, Suraiya, Nadira, Mala Sinha, Shyama et al. However, it is not as an actor but as a singer that he will be remembered. 

Inside the present work, tributes from his son and daughter find space. This is a focussed effort to look at the life and times of this amazing singing-actor, seen from the perspective of many music lovers who either knew him or understood his music. His entire repertoire of songs is tabulated and can be readily referenced. Plus there is a great deal of trivia related to the films in which his songs were featured. This is one book on the gentleman singer in which the readers or music lovers will find everything they always wanted to know about Talat, presented in a fun-to-read way, while continuing to fulfill its task of being an exhaustive work of reference.