C.H. Atma was a Bollywood playback singer, ghazal singer and film actor. He was born in 1923 in Hyderabad (Sind), now in Pakistan. His real name was Atma Hashmatrai Chainani. He was the first singer from India to tour and sing outside India in Nairobi, East Africa in 1957. He fell ill after his singing tour to England in 1975 and died eight months later on 6 December 1975, aged 52.

Career

C.H. Atma debuted in 1945. His evergreen song is 'Preetam Aan Milo', which he sang in 1945 for a private album. In 1955, the same song was sung by Geeta Dutt for the film, Mr. & Mrs. '55 for composer

O. P. Nayyar Omkar Prasad Nayyar (16 January 1926 – 28 January 2007) was an Indian film music composer, singer-songwriter, music producer, and musician. He is considered to be one of the most rhythmic and melodious music directors of the Hindi film industr ...

, who was a great fan of his singing. His voice was quite similar to

K. L. Saigal Kundan Lal Saigal, often abbreviated as K. L. Saigal (11 April 1904 – 18 January 1947), was an Indian singer and actor who is considered the first superstar of the Hindi film industry, which was centred in Kolkata during Saigal's time, but is ...

. But he had his own unique style which he applied to become one of the fewest singers to become extensively popular both in film and non-film music. His best known pieces include his solo and duet songs with Geeta Dutt in O.P. Nayyar debut film Aasmaan (1952), and his non-film recording of "Preetam Aan Milo". C. H. Atma sang a ghazal in Film

Geet Gaya Patharon Ne ''Geet Gaya Patharon Ne'' () is a 1964 Hindi-language drama film, produced and directed by V. Shantaram on V. Shantaram Productions banner. Starring Jeetendra, Rajshree which were first marked debut to both of them and music is composed by Ram ...

directed by

V. Shantaram Shantaram Rajaram Vankudre (18 November 1901 – 30 October 1990), referred to as V. Shantaram or Shantaram Bapu, was an Indian filmmaker, film producer, and actor known for his work in Hindi and Marathi films. He is most known for films such ...

. He also sang two songs for Film

Nagina Nagina is a town and a municipal board in Bijnor district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. History Nagina is the word for ''"Jewel"'' (See Negin), it was named by Syed's who received this place as jagir by the Mughals. During the British ...

whose music was composed by Shankar-Jaikishan. He has sung duets with singers like

Lata Mangeshkar Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...

and

Asha Bhosle Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...

. But his career was short in Bollywood as brief as just 10 years. He also acted in two movies as hero, namely, ' Bhaisahab' (1954) (with Purnima and

Smriti Biswas Smritirekha Biswas (Commonly known as Smriti Biswas) is an Indian actress. Career She has worked in many Hindi, Marathi language, Marathi and Bengali language, Bengali movies. Biswas started her career as a child artist. She worked in the fil ...

) and 'Bilwamangal' (with Suraiya) (1954)

Personal life

C.H. Atma was the elder brother of the popular singer, Chandru Atma. He was not happy that the industry did not utilize his voice properly, reports say.

Additional Reading

https://www.cinemaazi.com/people/c-h-atma

References

{{authority control Indian male singers Bollywood playback singers