16th Sharjah Biennial Diasporic dreams
An archival presentation of the choreographer Chandralekha
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New Indian Express
3 days ago
- New Indian Express
‘Tunes come out of nowhere, even in my sleep'
Jay Unnithan aka JK didn't grow up in a musical household. But somewhere between A R Rahman tracks on loop, old keyboards and hotel gigs, a composer began to take shape. Today, JK's songs are catching on — from the peppy, feel-good Trishanku tracks to the punchy score of Maranamass. Excerpts from a quick chat: Has music always been a part of you, or was it a chance stumbling? I was around 12 when music really caught my attention. My dad sang well, but we didn't have a musical background. It was A R Rahman's tracks, especially Chandralekha, that got me hooked. My sister and her friends had it on loop. I thought, 'Someday, maybe I will make music like that.' At 14, I joined keyboard classes, but didn't have my own instrument. I practised at my neighbour's place. In Class 10, I was picked for the school band. That boosted my confidence. Music soon became an integral part of my life. When did music become something core to you? Knowingly or unknowingly, music always stayed with me. I pursued engineering. By third year, I was performing in hotels, backing a singer. After graduation, I moved to Mumbai for a job but got frustrated. I quit and joined a music school. That might've seemed like an odd move, but it was a turning point. Subsequently, I was asked to join as a faculty member. Soon, I started performing in clubs across Mumbai and even played for artists such as Shaan, KK, Jonita Gandhi, Ayushmann Khurrana, and Shankar Mahadevan. As the shows picked up, I left teaching. A part of me always wanted to compose. So, I began reaching out to composers, taught myself the technical side, bought gear, and built a home setup. In many ways, I am a self-taught composer. How did you land your debut project, Trishanku? Technically, Trishanku was not my debut. It was just the first to be released. Between 2018 and '19, while juggling shows and ad jingles, I met Vishnu Shyamaprasad, son of director Shyamaprasad. He narrated a film, I sent a sample, and got on board. That film, however, is yet to be released. Later, Vishnu produced Trishanku and brought me in. I began working on it in 2021, but it was released in 2023 due to Covid delays. That downtime helped. With shows and ads paused, I had space to experiment. I had no studio experience or team — Trishanku was my solo production. And then came Maranamass. How did that happen? The director (Sivaprasad) and I had collaborated on an ad project, and discussed doing a film together. Soon after, he reached out for Maranamass. Within a month, we started composing. That project taught me how to manage a team.
Time of India
4 days ago
- Time of India
Meet Bollywood's first female comedian whose parents were murdered, Dilip Kumar gave her the screen name but she passed away in a chawl with no money for food in her final days
Just as we recall, ' Tun Tun ', a smile appears on most faces as we recall the memory of seeing this actress in movies that made us laugh. She was Bollywood's first female comedian but had quite a tragic life. However, she never showed that in her work. Infact, she made her weaknesses into her strength – for instance her body weight. Born in 1923 in a small town in Uttar Pradesh, her real name was Uma Devi Khatri. Her early life was marked by tragedy, her parents were murdered in a land dispute when she was just a toddler. In an interview with Shishir Krishna Sharma, which was replicated by the Navbharat Times, Tun Tun recalled how she stayed with her relatives after her parents passed away and they didn't allow her to study. 'I don't remember who my parents were and how they looked, I would be two to two and half years old when they passed away. I had a brother, eight or nine years old, whose name was Hari. I just remembered that we were living in a village named Alipur. One day, my brother was killed and I was left to relatives, that time I was four or five years old,' she said. At 23, Uma Devi came to Mumbai nothing. She turned up at the home of renowned composer Naushad and issued a dramatic ultimatum. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 75% off installation for LeafFilter LeafFilter Gutter Protection Get Rates Undo Either he listened to her sing, or she'd jump into the Arabian Sea. He agreed to listen and that audition changed her life. By 1945, she was singing in films. But fame was fragile. Her decision to sing for Chandralekha, produced by rival Gemini Studios, led to a rupture with Naushad, the mentor who had given her everything. Her singing career collapsed almost overnight. Yet, instead of shunning her, Naushad showed her another path - acting. It was Dilip Kumar who gave her a new identity—and perhaps unintentionally, a brand — when he christened her "Tun Tun," a cheeky nod to her size. That name stuck, and with it came a career of comic roles that leaned heavily on physical humour and self-deprecation. She became a staple of Hindi cinema's supporting cast—always present, always the butt of the joke. 'My bulk is my trump card. I don't regret that I am fat. I'm lucky I was born this way,' she said once in an interview. She added, 'However that does not mean that I am not in favour of dieting. I agree dieting is very essential to maintain a slim and healthy body. But where is the need for me to be slim and ravishingly beautiful?' Her final years were marked by poverty and neglect. Once a familiar face on the silver screen, Tun Tun spent her last days in a modest Mumbai chawl and was mostly forgotten. In a Times of India interview, journalist Shashi Ranjan recalled her plight, 'She said that she couldn't walk and had trouble even getting food. I remember she reiterating in the interview that she gave her life for the industry and look at the condition that she was back then. She thanked us for interviewing her and when I requested her, she sang the song Afsana Likh Rahi Hoon. Her specialty was that despite being in such a condition, she didn't lose her sense of humour. She laughed at her poverty, she laughed at the way she was being treated by the world. I liked that very much. Although I felt sad for her, it stayed with me that she didn't lose her sense of humour.' Tun Tun passed away in 2003, at the age of 80.
Indian Express
4 days ago
- Indian Express
Parents murdered, career crushed, she became Bollywood's first comedian, was left to rot in a chawl with no money for food in final days
Born in the year 1923, she was determined to go as far away from her Uttar Pradesh small town as soon as she could. She was only 23 when she moved to Mumbai, and by 1945, she was singing in the movies. She was born Uma Devi Khatri, and she didn't have a single idea about how to break into the film business. So, she went knocking on music composer Naushad's door, and threatened to jump in the Arabian Sea unless he listened to her voice. He did, and she got her break. But her ambition effectively ended her singing career, when her mentor severed ties with her for working with a rival producer. It was Naushad who suggested that she start acting; it was Dilip Kumar who gave her her stage name: Tun Tun. In an interview with Shishir Krishna Sharma, which was replicated by the Navbharat Times, Tun Tun recalled her tragic youth. Her parents were murdered in a land dispute when she was a toddler, and she was sent to live with her relatives. They didn't allow her to study, so she learned to read and write by herself. When she was a little older, her elder brother was murdered as well. She wanted to run away from it all; all she wanted to do was sing. 'I don't remember who my parents were and how they looked, I would be two to two and half years old when they passed away. I had a brother, eight or nine years old, whose name was Hari. I just remembered that we were living in a village named Alipur. One day, my brother was killed and I was left to relatives, that time I was four or five years old,' she said. Also read – Born out of wedlock, abandoned by father, serially abused in Bollywood, she became industry's biggest female superstar Tun Tun moved to Mumbai to pursue her dreams. After a spate of early success, she decided to take up an offer to sing for the film Chandralekha , produced by Gemini Studios. This angered the man she'd been working with, and her career as a playback singer came to an end. It was Naushad who pointed her in a new direction. She told Femina in 1975, 'Naushad, who is my rakhi brother, knew this defect of mine pretty well and kept on telling me that he saw more of a mischievous comedian in me. I decided to fall in line and on the spur of the moment told him that I would act as a funster only if Dilip Kumar were to act opposite me. Naushad bhai immediately consulted Yusuf bhai and I was baffled and could not believe my own ears when he created a character especially for me in Babul.' Also read – Bollywood director lost entire life's savings after one flop; daughter was forced to dance, son performed for money at beach to repay debts It was Dilip Kumar who suggested the name 'Tun Tun', a crass dig at her weight. Tun Tun was typecast, repeatedly playing secondary roles that reduced her to a punching bag. But she didn't mind, or at least that's what she said in the Femina interview. 'My bulk is my trump card. I don't regret that I am fat. I'm lucky I was born this way. However that does not mean that I am not in favour of dieting. I agree dieting is very essential to maintain a slim and healthy body. But where is the need for me to be slim and ravishingly beautiful?' she said. But, like most performers of her era, she was sidelined from the industry the moment she outlived her usefulness. In an interview conducted by the late actor Tom Alter, just five years before her death, Tun Tun had spoken philosophically about the passage of time, 'I am 75 years old. I am a young lady. But I can still sing if I want to. Manna Dey can still sing, but our time is up. New artists are coming in. If you look at the comedians in films and on TV now, it's their time to shine, we had our time too, and it was great. Time doesn't wait for anybody. Today you're a star, tomorrow it's someone else.' Read more – Patriarch of iconic Bollywood family abandoned his son, forced second family to live in secrecy for decades, went blind in his final days Her final years weren't pleasant. In an interview conducted by Shashi Ranjan for The Times of India, it was revealed that Tun Tun was living in a chawl, forgotten by her fraternity. She didn't have enough money for food or medicines. 'She said that she couldn't walk and had trouble even getting food,' he said. 'I remember she reiterating in the interview that she gave her life for the industry and look at the condition that she was back then. She thanked us for interviewing her and when I requested her, she sang the song Afsana Likh Rahi Hoon. Her specialty was that despite being in such a condition, she didn't lose her sense of humour. She laughed at her poverty, she laughed at the way she was being treated by the world. I liked that very much. Although I felt sad for her it stayed with me that she didn't lose her sense of humour,' he concluded. Tun Tun died at the age of 80, in 2003.
