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Ghulam Mustafa Durrani, better known to cine-lovers as G M Durrani, dominated playback singing even in the 40s and early 50s. Within a few years of joining the industry, he had become so famous and successful that he had to become a victim of jealousy of his own friends.

Born in Peshawar in 1919, G M Durrani was a Pathan. Although his mother tongue was Pashto, but he could speak Hindi-Urdu-Punjabi very well. He came from a very conservative family where films were considered very bad. The painter with whom he used to work in Peshawar was always humming the songs of Rafiq Ghaznavi. While listening to him, G M Durrani also became fond of singing and he also started singing and when he got encouragement from his companions, he started doing music without seeing Rafiq Ghaznavi as his mentor.

Those who knew around him often used to say that this boy should go to Bombay and become a hero and from here the hobby of going to Bombay was born. That same day his father hired him at a friend’s motor-parts shop. There he did not feel at all, but his father was very strict, and could not say anything to him, so one day he fled to Mumbai with 22 rupees in his pocket.

When the money started running out, the idea of ​​​​working came, and then with a little effort, he got a job in a film studio. He also acted in two films, but he did not like this work and when he refused to act, he was fired. After losing his job at a film studio, he somehow got a job as a drama artist at a Mumbai radio station. On the radio, he used to meet many personalities in the field of music, big music experts used to come there. Sitting with him, listening to him, in his company GM Durrani learned the nuances of singing.

Luck once again took him to the film industry. Hearing his voice, actor-filmmaker Sohrab Modi was very impressed and in 1935 he got a job in Minerva Movietone. G M Durrani got a chance to sing a ghazal in the 1936 film Saeed-e-Havas.

Hearing his voice at that time, many people advised him to sing in films. And when there is something written in luck, then the paths are made automatically. He also got an offer to sing in a film, the composer in that film was Rafiq Ghaznavi whom he considered as his mentor.

For GM Durrani, this decade of 40 was very important in every respect, in this decade he touched the heights of fame. Not only did he sang the song in the 1942 Nai Duniya, he was also its assistant composer. His duet sung with Rajkumari in this film was well-liked. Many famous songs of this pair came during that period.

His first famous song is considered to be the film “Sharda” in 1942 — “Duniya mein sab jode jode, aashiq phire nigode” music was composed by Naushad and lyrics were written by DN Madhok. But when the film “Nai Kahani” came out in 1943, his song — “Need Hamari Khwab Tumke Kitne Meethe Kaisi Pyare” became so famous that after that his fame kept on increasing.

Mohammad Rafi sang the first Hindi song of his career with G M Durrani. The film that came out in 1945 was — Gaon Ki Gori and the song was — Dil Ho Kaboo Mein To Dildar Ki Aisi-Taisi. This was the time when GM Durrani used to recommend Mohammed Rafi and then came a time when he got a chance to sing a song in the 1956 film “Hum Sab Chor Hain” on the recommendation of Rafi Sahab.

But the time gone does not come back, although even after this, he sang a lot of songs. But the taste of films had changed, new singers had arrived and in fact, their time had passed. His last Hindi film was “Sunhare Kadam” in 1966. Apart from films, he also sang many non-film songs and bhajans, which became very popular during his time. He was diagnosed with throat cancer in 1982 and died on 8 September 1988.

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(NEETU SHARMA)