Everyone is aware of the name of the 60s singer and actress Tuntun. Tun Tun was the first female comedian of that decade, whose hallowed laughter as soon as she came on screen. Tun Tun's real name was Uma Devi Khatri. But due to being obese, people started calling him Tun Tun. Since then her name was Tun Tun. She had a special sweetness in her voice even though she had no formal musical training.
The influence of Noor Jahan and Shamshad Begum on her music was visible. Tuntun was very fond of singing songs since childhood. She often used to do it by listening to songs on the radio. Tuntun had a desire since childhood to go to Mumbai and make a career in singing, but it was difficult even for girls to study during that period. So becoming a singer was a far cry. But it was written in her luck to shine on the screen of Bollywood.
One day a friend of hers had gone to her village, who knew many filmmakers in Mumbai. Tuntun moved to Mumbai with her. Coming to Mumbai, he knocked on the door of musician Naushad. She insisted in front of Naushad that if she did not get a chance to sing, she would jump from her bungalow into the sea. Naushad Sahib took a small audition for Tuntun and impressed by her voice, immediately gave him the job.
Someone in Delhi gave him the address of director Nitin Bose's assistant Jawwad Hussain. She came to Mumbai and met him and it was she who gave shelter to Tuntun. In the year 1947, she got a chance to sing for the first time. Tun Tun's first song was 'Afsana Likhta Rahi Hoon' in the movie 'Dard'. This song became a super hit and Tun Tun's luck shone.
A Pakistani Akhtar Abbas Qazi liked this song of Tun Tun so much that she left her country and came to India and married Tun Tun. Akhtar was an old knower of Tun Tun. After this, Tun Tun sang about 45 songs continuously. But due to pregnancy and some domestic responsibilities, she had to take a break from films. Tun Tun's husband Akhtar used to work but as the family grew, the salary started falling.
After having a child, Tun Tun's weight was increasing continuously. But Naushad recognized her acting talent and gave him a chance to work in the film 'Babul'. People liked the character of Tun Tun very much and on seeing it she became a comedy actress. In her career spanning five decades, Tuntun acted in about 200 films. After the death of her husband in the 90s, she distanced herself from films. Her famous films include 'Aarpaar', 'Pyaasa', 'Mr. and Mrs. 55' and 'Mome Ki Gudiya'.
Tuntun's parents and brother were murdered over a land dispute. Two days before Tuntun's passing, she had said in an interview, 'I don't know how my parents looked because they had passed away when I was two and a half years old. I had an eight-nine-year-old brother named Hari. I remember we used to live in Alipore. One day my brother was also murdered, then I would have been four or five years old.
