{"id":5212,"date":"2019-09-26T00:15:13","date_gmt":"2019-09-25T18:45:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/?p=5212"},"modified":"2019-10-05T12:42:25","modified_gmt":"2019-10-05T07:12:25","slug":"raah-bani-khud-manzil-remembering-hemant-kumar-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/raah-bani-khud-manzil-remembering-hemant-kumar-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Raah Bani Khud Manzil – The Lingering Effect of Hemant Kumar Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Hemant Kumar<\/p><\/div>\n

A doyen of Bengali music and Rabindra Sangeet, it was Hindi cinema that introduced Hemant Kumar, the singer and composer, to a larger audience. Though Bollywood provided him a bigger canvas to paint, it was Calcutta where his heart was most of the time\u2014maybe because he received more reverence there. He made frequent trips there to record Bengali songs, film as well as non-film, so much so that he was fondly called their \u201cdaily\u201d passenger by Indian Airlines. As a welcome gesture he was also honoured with the best passenger award by the airline.<\/p>\n

May be because of his roots, the work he has done for Hindi cinema is less than half of what he did for Bengali music\u00a0 industry. The list of Hindi film songs that he sang is not very large when compared to the other famous singers of the Golden era; by and large, though, the songs that he sang were all major hits. The same is true for his work as a composer. Fewer films, as against the other stalwarts of the golden era, but all with excellent musical score, the memories of which have been etched in our memories forever. His music spelt class and showcased quality. Years have passed but his music still graces the sentiments and nostalgia of sensitive music lovers who enjoy soulful music.<\/p>\n

Conveying emotions is the hallmark of Hindi Film Music as against Indian Classical Music in which emphasis is more on the swaras<\/i> (notes). Emotions are conveyed to the audience in film music with the creative use of tune, lyrics, vocals and variations in the way words are sung. Apart from this, a diligent use of varied instruments also helps in the process. Hemant Kumar\u2019s deep, resonant, and sonorous voice provided an additional allure here, the reason that his songs remain alive in our memories.<\/p>\n

Hindi film music industry has, especially in what is called its Golden Era, seen many eminent music directors; every music composer having a style of his own. Some had a fascination for one particular raag<\/i>, some were more inclined towards the use of Indian classical music, while yet others were charmed by fusion and believed in experimentation.<\/p>\n

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Stamp on Hemant Kumar released 2016 (Pic: India Post, GODL \/ Wikimedia)<\/p><\/div>\n

Hemant Kumar, however, carved a niche for himself in the film industry because of his simple and sensitive music that was not only melodious, but also conveyed the emotional requirements of the scene and human sentiments in the best possible way. Remember, for example, the music of Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam<\/i>.<\/p>\n

If I were to brand Hemant Kumar\u2019s music, I would label it as one coming from deep within on one end while having a direct connect to nature on the other. A good example of this connect is the song Hawaon pe likh do hawaon ke naam <\/i>composed by him and sung by Kishore Kumar.<\/p>\n

When Hemant Kumar was asked about his approach towards composing music, he had said that it was sweetness, simplicity, melody and rhythm. However, I feel there is one more dimension to his music. I would like to call it the lingering effect or a haunting power, a quality which is seen in many songs composed by him. While the song Tum pukar lo<\/i> exemplifies this effect at its best there are many such songs, as you would know by reading further.<\/p>\n

Hemant Kumar\u2019s deep resonant voice was quite suitable for romantic songs. Manna Dey, the famous singer, had always praised Hemant for his god-gifted golden voice. Lata Mangeshkar who has sung many romantic duets with him, had once said, \u201cListening to Hemantda<\/i>, I feel as though a sadhu<\/i> (saint) is sitting in a temple singing a bhajan<\/i>.\u201d It is touching to recall what music maestro Salil Chowdhury said when Hemant Kumar died. He said, \u201cHemant Kumar\u2019s voice was the voice of God.\u201d No wonder! Each word he sings reverberates in your mind and the sound of his notes leaves a trail on your consciousness. The same haunting poignancy is also evident in his iconic music compositions.<\/p>\n

Here is a collection of songs by Hemant Kumar divided into two sections, one for the songs he sang for other music directors and the other for music he himself composed (also includes the songs he sang). During this selection I have traversed through a beautiful terrain that was bedecked with lilt, melody and joy. So, enjoy!<\/p>\n

THE SINGER\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

Hemant Kumar\u2019s career as a playback singer for Bengali films started in the 1940s. Before he came to Bombay he was already an established singer in Calcutta. It was during the 1950s and 1960s that his career as a playback singer for Bollywood songs was at its peak. In the Bombay film circles if a singer was called by SD Burman, it was big news. So, when Dada<\/i> called Hemant Kumar to sing a song for the film Sazaa<\/i>, it was a big reward. In fact, all the songs that he sang for Burmanda <\/i>became super-hits, as given below:<\/p>\n

S D Burman<\/b><\/p>\n

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SD Burman (left) and Hemant Kumar chatting at the dinner given by the India Culture League in honour of maestro Burman (1959).
(Pic: SMM Ausaja)<\/p><\/div>\n

Hemant Kumar had great respect for SD Burman whom he knew from his Calcutta days. Every morning, when Dada<\/i> did his riyaaz<\/i>, Hemant Kumar and his friends would gather outside his apartment to listen. Hemant Kumar\u2019s mother had aspired that one day her son would also become as big as Sachin Dev Burman and Pankaj Kumar Mullick. And it was Sachin Dev Burman, the master, who also became the master craftsman for shaping Hemant Kumar\u2019s career as a playback singer in Bollywood.<\/p>\n

Hemant Kumar, the singer,\u00a0 had a long association with SD Burman, with whom he had recorded a Bengali\u00a0 song as early as 1940. After Dada<\/i> came to Mumbai, Hemant Kumar was especially chosen to sing the following song along with Sandhya Mukherjee who was invited to come all the way from Calcutta to sing the song for Sazaa.<\/i><\/p>\n

Sandhya Mukherjee has very fond memories of the song. As it was a frivolous number, Sachinda<\/i> wanted to put something funny in the song. So he started singing a line, Tangoly o tangoly, nakey mukey chun kali<\/i>, meaning \u2018nose and face blackened\u2019, an expression in Bengali used for conveying embarrassment. Taking a cue, the lyrics of the song were modified to include the line Gup-chup gup-chup pyar karein<\/i>. The romantic song penned by Sahir Ludhianvi also had excellent picturisation that cine-goers remembered for a long time.<\/p>\n

Aa gup-chup gup-chup pyar karein <\/i><\/b>(Sazaa,<\/i>1951) with Sandhya Mukherjee\/ Rajinder Krishan<\/span><\/p>\n