Hemant Kumar
With his deep but passionate voice and melodic sensibility, Hemant Kumar (born Hemanta Kumar Mukherjee) helped steer the evolution of post-World War II Indian music. Well-known for his interpretations of Rabindranath Tagore's songs, Kumar was equally influential as a composer. In addition to scoring more than 150 Bengali films and 50 Hindi films, Kumar wrote an estimated 2,000 songs.
Appearing on Indian radio for the first time in 1933, Kumar recorded his debut disc, "Janite Jadi Go Tumi" b/w "Balo Go Balo More," six years later. Despite his obvious talent, Kumar gave little thought to a career in music. Instead, he enrolled in a four-year course at the Engineering College of Jaduvpar Polytechnic and dreamed of becoming a writer. In 1937, Dash magazine published one of Kumar's stories.
The impact of Kumar's voice could not be denied, however. Although he was turned down by the Senola and Megaphone Record labels, he was signed by Columbia and introduced to their staff trainer, Sailesh Dattagupta. Although he had previously begun studying classical Hindustani music with Ustad Faiyaz Khan, his lessons ended prematurely with Khan's untimely death.
Kumar's recordings for Columbia attracted critical acclaim. Following the release of his second single, he purchased his first harmonium. After his next single, he left school to devote his attention to music.
Commercial success was much slower. For several years, Kumar sought a way to break into film playback. His chance came when he was chosen to be the playback singer in the hit film Nimai Sonyas. In 1944, he composed the entire score for Heman Gupta's film, Abhijatri. He resumed his work for Gupta in 1951 with the film Anandamath. He subsequently relocated to Bombay and took a staff composer position with S. Mukherjee's Filmistan Studios. Although he attempted to break into film direction with his own Geetanjali productions, his best work was done for other directors.
Beginning in 1948, Kumar worked with lyricist/composer Salil Chowdhury to develop a new kind of music, Kavya-geeti, translated as "ballad but not necessarily romantic." Kumar reached his apex in 1955 when he received a Filmfare award as Best Music Director for the film Nagin.
© Craig Harris /TiVo
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Laga Ussetu Madadgar Hai (From "Ban Phool") - Single
Hemant Kumar, Dhirendra Chandra Mitra
World - Released by Saregama on Jan 1, 1945
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hill Station (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
World - Released by Saregama on Dec 1, 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Durgesh Nandini (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
World - Released by Saregama on Jan 1, 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Bahu (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
World - Released by Saregama on Dec 31, 1955
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Naikinicha Sajja (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
World - Released by Saregama on Jul 24, 1957
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ayel Basant Bahar (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
World - Released by Saregama on Jan 1, 1963
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Arab Ka Saudagar (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
World - Released by Saregama on Jan 1, 1956
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Girl Friend (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
World - Released by Saregama on Dec 31, 1960
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jane Woh Kaise Log The (Jhankar Beats)
Hemant Kumar, S. D. Burman, Sahir Ludhianvi
World - Released by Saregama on Feb 22, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Naa Ye Chand Hoga (Chill Trap)
World - Released by Saregama on Jan 20, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Chali Gori Pee Se Milan Ko (Ultra Jhankar Beats)
Hemant Kumar, Majrooh Sultanpuri
World - Released by Saregama on Jan 24, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hawaon Pe Likhdo Hawaon Ke Naam (Analogue Mix)
Kishore Kumar, Hemant Kumar, Gulzar
World - Released by Saregama India Ltd on Apr 18, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Teri Khushi
Blues - Released by Hemlok Production on Feb 18, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Doyal Tare Chara Bachi Na
Miscellaneous - Released by Niloy Khan Sagor on Dec 20, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Yeeno Vidhi Aaduthide
Hemant Kumar, V. Manohar, Manasa Holla
Miscellaneous - Released by Ismu Music on Jul 25, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Yeh Hansta Hua Carvan Zindagi Ka (Lofi)
Asha Bhosle, Hemant Kumar, S.H. Bihari
World - Released by Saregama India Ltd on Mar 20, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Ram Ratan Dhan Chhode Re
Miscellaneous - Released by Music Publisher India on Sep 1, 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Dheere Dheere Machal Ae Dil (Lofi)
Lata Mangeshkar, Hemant Kumar, Kaifi Azmi
World - Released by Saregama India Ltd on Apr 21, 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Kannage Heertavne (From "Thothapuri 2")
Arun Andrew, Hrudaya Shiva, Hemant Kumar, Chetan Nayak
Film Soundtracks - Released by Moniflix Audios on Sep 12, 2023
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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