Menu

Hemant Kumar (composer)

Overview

Hemant Kumar (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989), born Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, was an Indian singer, composer and film producer who worked extensively in Bengali and Hindi cinema. A leading figure of the post-Rabindra Sangeet generation in Bengal and a prominent playback singer of the 1950s and 1960s in Bombay's film industry, he was known for his rich baritone voice and an understated, melodic style of composition. He recorded songs in several Indian languages and became a major interpreter of Rabindra Sangeet.

Key facts

Born 16 June 1920, Varanasi, United Provinces, British India
Died 26 September 1989, Calcutta, West Bengal
Other names Hemanta Mukherjee, Hemanta Mukhopadhyay
Occupations Playback singer, music director, film producer
Languages of work Bengali, Hindi, and others including Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Sanskrit
Genres Film music, Rabindra Sangeet, modern Bengali songs
Spouse Bela Mukherjee
Children Jayant Mukherjee, Ranu Mukhopadhyay
Notable awards Padma Shri (1970), Padma Bhushan (1987), National Film Awards for Best Male Playback Singer

Background and early life

Hemant Kumar was born into a Bengali family in Varanasi and grew up in Calcutta, where he attended Mitra Institution in Bhowanipore and later Jadavpur Vidyapith. He briefly studied engineering at Jadavpur College before turning to music full-time. His early mentor was the composer Sailesh Duttagupta, and he was encouraged by his friend, the writer Subhas Mukhopadhyay.

Career

Early years in Bengal

Hemant Kumar made his first gramophone recording for the Columbia label in 1937 with two non-film Bengali songs. Through the 1940s he recorded for HMV and emerged as a notable voice in Bengali modern songs (adhunik gaan) and Rabindra Sangeet. He trained in Rabindra Sangeet under Sailen Das Gupta and was associated with Visva-Bharati's catalogue of Tagore's compositions.

Hindi film career

His Hindi film debut as a playback singer came in the 1940s, but his major breakthrough was as music director for Filmistan's Anand Math (1952), which featured "Vande Mataram" sung by Lata Mangeshkar in his composition. He went on to compose for and sing in films such as Shart (1954), Nagin (1954) — whose score, including "Man Dole Mera Tan Dole", made him a household name — Jagriti (1954), Bandi (1957), Miss Mary (1957), Bees Saal Baad (1962), Kohraa (1964) and Khamoshi (1969).

As a singer in Hindi films he is identified with songs such as "Hai Apna Dil To Awara" (Solva Saal, 1958), "Yeh Raat Yeh Chandni Phir Kahan" (Jaal, 1952, composed by S. D. Burman), "Tum Pukar Lo" (Khamoshi) and "Na Tum Hamen Jano" (Baat Ek Raat Ki, 1962).

Bengali cinema and production

In Bengali films he composed for and sang in productions such as Harano Sur (1957), Deep Jwele Jaai (1959), Shesh Anka, Lukochuri and Palatak. He frequently collaborated with director Ajoy Kar and with Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen, the leading screen pair of Bengali cinema. Through his production company Hemanta-Bela Productions and Geetanjali Productions, he produced several films, including Bees Saal Baad and Kohraa in Hindi.

Rabindra Sangeet and non-film music

Hemant Kumar's recordings of Rabindra Sangeet are regarded as a benchmark of the genre. He also recorded a large body of Bengali modern songs written by lyricists such as Gauriprasanna Majumdar, Pulak Bandyopadhyay and Salil Chowdhury, with whom he had a long association. He performed extensively abroad, including concerts in the United States, the United Kingdom, the West Indies and East Africa.

Timeline

  • 1920: Born in Varanasi.
  • 1937: First commercial recording for Columbia.
  • 1940s: Established himself in Bengali modern songs and HMV catalogue.
  • 1952: Music direction for Anand Math; settled in Bombay.
  • 1954: Nagin brought wide popular fame as composer.
  • 1955: Won Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for Nagin.
  • 1957: Composed for Harano Sur in Bengali.
  • 1962: Produced and scored Bees Saal Baad.
  • 1970: Awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.
  • 1987: Awarded the Padma Bhushan.
  • 1989: Died in Calcutta on 26 September following a heart attack, shortly after returning from a concert in Dhaka.

Style and significance

Hemant Kumar's vocal style was characterised by a deep, resonant baritone, restrained ornamentation and clear diction, qualities that made him equally suited to devotional songs, romantic ballads and Tagore's compositions. As a composer he favoured uncluttered orchestration built around melody, often using folk-derived motifs, as in the famous been-inspired theme of Nagin. He is widely considered one of the principal architects of the "golden age" of Bengali film music alongside Salil Chowdhury, Sudhin Dasgupta and Nachiketa Ghosh, and one of the leading male voices of Hindi film music in his era. Satyajit Ray reportedly described his Rabindra Sangeet as the voice of God reading Tagore.

Awards and honours

  • Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, 1955 (Nagin).
  • National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for Nimantran (1971) and Aaj Sandhya-era Bengali work.
  • Padma Shri, 1970.
  • Padma Bhushan, 1987.
  • Honorary D.Litt. from Rabindra Bharati University and Visva-Bharati University.

Personal life

He married Bela Mukherjee, a singer, in 1945. Their son, Jayant Mukherjee, also became a singer and music director, and their daughter, Ranu Mukhopadhyay, was briefly a playback singer in the 1970s. The actor Babul Supriyo's father is among the artistes who have cited Hemant Kumar as a guiding influence.

References

  • Profile entries on Hemant Kumar in standard reference works on Indian cinema, including Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen's Encyclopaedia of Indian Cinema.
  • Archival catalogues of HMV/Saregama and Columbia (India) gramophone recordings.
  • Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Padma Awards records.
  • National Film Awards official archives, Directorate of Film Festivals, Government of India.