Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay

Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay or Hemanta Mukherjee (1920 - 1989) was an Indian singer, composer and producer. For his Hindi songs, he adopted the name Hemant Kumar.

Hemanta was born in Varanasi ( Benares ) on 16th June, 1920. His family hailed from a village named Baharu in West Bengal and migrated to Calcutta in the early 20th century. Hemanta too grew up in Calcutta and attended a school in South Calcutta (Bhawanipore) named Mitra Institution. There he met his longtime friend, a celebrated Bengali poet, Subhas Mukhopadhyay. After passing the intermediate examinations (12th grade) Hemanta was admitted to Jadavpur University to study engineering. However, despite parental objection, he quit academics to pursue a career in music. Hemanta briefly tried his hand at literature and also published a short story in a prestigious Bengali magazine called 'Desh', but by the late-1930s he was committed entirely to music.

Under the influence of his friend Subhash Mukhopadhyay, Hemanta recorded his first song for All India Radio in 1933. The first line of the song was 'aamaar gaane te ele naba ruupe chirantanii'. Hemanta's music career was mentored by the Bengali musician Sailesh Duttagupta. In an interview on television in the early 1980-s, Hemanta had mentioned that he had also received training in classical music from Ustad Faiyyaz Khan, but his tutelage was cut short by Ustad-ji's untimely death. In 1937, he cut his first gramophone disc under the Columbia label. The songs (non-film) on this disc were 'jaanite jadi go tumi' and 'balo go balo more'. Lyrics were by Naresh Bhattacharya, music by Hemanta's mentor Sailesh Duttagupta. Thereafter, every year Hemanta continued to record non-film discs for the Gramophone Company of India(GCI) right till 1984. Hemanta's first Hindi songs were 'kitanaa dukh bhulaaya tumane' and 'o priit nibhaabewaalii', released in 1940 under GCI's Columbia label. Music for these songs were composed by Kamal Dasgupta, lyrics were by Faiyaz Hashmi. Hemanta's first film song was in the Bengali film 'Nimai Sanyas' released in 1941. Music for this film was scored by Hariprasanna Das. Hemanta's first compositions for himself were the Bengali non-film songs 'katha koyonako shudhu shono' and 'amar biraha aakaashe priyaa' in 1944. Lyrics were by Amiya Bagchi. His first Hindi film songs were in Iraadaa in 1944 under Pt. Amarnath's music direction. Lyrics were by Aziz Kashmiri. Hemanta is considered a foremost exponent of Rabindrasangeet(Tagore song) - songs (and lyrics) composed by the 's first Nobel laureate, Rabindranath Tagore. Hemanta recorded his first Rabindrasangeet disc in 1944 under the Columbia label. The songs were 'prangane mor shiriishh shaakhaay' and 'he nirupamaa'. His first movie as a music director was the Bengali film 'Abhiyatri' in 1947. Although many of the songs Hemanta recorded in during this time received critical acclaim, commercial success still eluded him, right until 1947. Some contemporary male singers of Hemanta in Bengali around that period were Jaganmoy Mitra(also called 'Jagmohan'), Robin Majumdar, Satya Chowdhury, Dhananjay Bhattacharya and Talat Mahmood.

In the mid 1940-s, Hemanta became an active member of the Indian People's Theatrical Association (IPTA) and started an association with another active IPTA member - songwriter and composer - [Salil Chowdhury]. One of the main driving forces behind the establishment of IPTA was the Bengal famine of 1943 and the inaction of the British administration and wealthy Indians to prevent it from happening. In 1948, Hemanta recorded a non-film song called 'gaaNyer badhu' (literally translates to 'The rural bride') that had music and lyrics by Salil Chowdhury. The 6 minute song was sung at a varying pace and lacked the conventional structure and romantic theme of a Bengali song. It depicted an idyllic, prosperous and caring rural woman's life and family, and how it gets ravaged by the demons of famine and ensuing poverty. This song generated an unforeseen popularity for Hemanta and Salil in eastern , and, in a way, established Hemanta ahead of his male contemporaries. Hemanta and Salil paired again in several songs over the next 4 years and almost all these songs proved to be very popular. Around the same period, Hemanta started receiving more assignments for music composition for Bengali films. Some of these films were for a director named Hemen Gupta. When Hemen moved to Bombay a few years later, he called upon Hemanta to compose music for his first directorial venture in Hindi titled 'Anandmath' under the [Filmistan] banner. Responding to this call, Hemanta migrated to Bombay in 1951 and joined the Filmistan Studios. The music of Anandmath(1952) was a moderate success. Perhaps, the most notable among 'Anandmath' songs is 'vande mataram' sung by [Lata Mangeshkar], which Hemanta set to a marching tune. Following Anandmath, Hemant scored music for a few Filmistan movies in subsequent years, the songs of which received moderate popularity. Simultaneously, Hemant also gained popularity in Bombay as a playback singer. Hemant's songs playbacked for actor Dev Anand under music director Sachin Dev Burman in movies like 'Jaal', 'House No. 44', and 'Solva Saal' became quite popular.

By the mid-fifties Hemant had consolidated his position as a prominent singer and composer. In Bengal , he was one of the foremost exponents of Rabindrasangeet and perhaps the most sought after male singer. In Bombay , alongwith playback singing, Hemant also carved a niche as a composer. A Hindi film called 'Nagin'(1955) with music by Hemant became a major success owing largely to its music. Songs of Nagin remained chart-toppers continuously for two years and culminated in Hemant receiving the prestigious Filmfare Award for best music director of 1955. The very same year, Hemant scored music for a Bengali movie called 'Shapmochan' in which he also playbacked four songs for the Bengali actor Uttam Kumar. This started a long partnership between Hemant and Uttam as a playback singer-actor pair that contributed to their becoming the most popular singer and actor respectively, in Bengal , over the next decade.

During the 1950s his full baritone voice established him as the undisputed star of middle-class Bengali romanticism, where love was found, lost and then regained; where joy was unbounded and despair fathomless. His style of delivery became the standard for all romantic heroes in Indian film since his time. His first Hindi success as a composer was Nagin, which introduced electronics into Indian film.

Still later, Hemanta branched into film production with movies of a decidedly occidental cast, like Bees Saal Baad based on The Hound of the Baskervilles and Kohraa derived from Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca.

Hemant Kumar was married to Bela Mukherjee, who was also a singer in her younger days. They have two children. A son,   Jay ant and a daughter Ranu, who is also a singer. Jay ant is married to popular actress Mousumi Chatterjee.

Even after his death in 1989, Hemant Kumar remains a leading role model that many male Indian singers imitate.

1. list: l0 level1 lfo1; tab-stops: list .5in">Anand Math, Anjaan, Anupama, Arab Ka Saudagar

    

2. Bahu, Bandhan, Bandi, Bandish, Bees Saal Baad, Bees Saal Pehle, Bhagwat Mahima,  Badal Barsaat, Biwi Aur Makaan

    

3. Chand, Champakali

    

4. Daku Ki Ladki, Do Dil, Do Dooni Char, Do Ladke Dono Kadke, Do Mastane, Durgesh Nandini
5. Ek hi Raasta, Ek Jhalak

    

6. Ferry, Faraar, Fashion

    

7. Girl Friend

    

8. Hamara Watan, Hill Station, Hum Bhi Insaan Hai

    

9. Inspector, Insaaf Kahan Hai

    

10. Jagriti

     

11. Khamoshi, Kohraa, Kitna Badal Gaya Insaan
12. Lagan, Laalten, Love in

     

13. Maa Beta, Majhli Didi

     

14. Nagin, Nayakeenicha Sajja

     

15. Payal, Police

     

16. Rahgeer

     

17. Sahara , Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, Samrat, Sannata, Shart

     

18. Taj

     

19. Us Raat Ke Baad

     

20. Yahudi Ki Ladki

     

 Courtesy:-wikipedia