{{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, 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 tawaif based in 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 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 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 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 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 |<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