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Begum Akhtar (1914–1974) was a Hindustani classical singer of dadra, thumri and ghazals. Cited as "one of India's finest ghazal singers", she was referred to as Mallika-E-Tarannum or Mallika-e-Ghazal (Queen of Ghazals). Akhtar's first recording was a combination of ghazals and dadras for the HMV label and the ghazal "Woh Asire-Daam-e-Bala" became popular.
Akhtar's performances were in the nature of a classical presentation with just the traditional accompaniment of the tabla, sitar and harmonium.Her rendering of Ghalib's ghazals like "Aah Ko Chahiye Ik Umr Asar Hone Tak" and "Koi Umeed Bar Nahin Aati" made her a "household name".
She started her career as a mehfil singer under her name Akhtari Bai, and became famous when she sang at the Bihar earthquake music conference in 1934. On the basis of the popularity she got offers in films, starting her career with Ek Din Ka Badshah and Nal Damayanti (1933) produced by the East India Company, Calcutta. In 1942, she was cast by Mehboob Khan in Roti. One of the songs that became popular was "Phir Se Fasle Bahar Aayi". There was a hiatus of five years in her career when she married Ishtiaq Ahmed Abbasi, Nawab of Kakoli in 1945. She returned to films with Dana Pani (1953) and Ehsan (1954). She stopped working in films after 1956 but continued giving performances on stage. Her repertoire included the ghazals of Ghalib, Momin, Faiz Ahmed Faiz, Jigar Moradabadi, Shakeel Badayuni, Mir Taqi Mir, Sauda and Shamim Jaipuri.