Hemant Kumar’s songs by SD Burman

17 September 2014

SD Burman and Hemant KumarHemant Kumar, a singer-composer par excellence, and SD Burman, a Titan among singer-composers. And the former was quite open to singing for other composers too. That brought the two great Bengalis together. Hemant Kumar was another name for melody and sweetness – he is among those who never sang anything which was less than extremely melodious. SD Burman’s motto seemed to be ‘give me the singer and I would give you a great song’. So, you know what happened when they combined. Even with a handful of songs (14 songs including 10 solos) they left an everlasting impact. I put Ye raat ye chaandni phir kahan at the very peak of Hemant Kumar solos (along with Naushad’s Chandan ka palnaa). Its duet version with Lata Mangeshkar has also figured in their best duets in my earlier post. Aa gup chup gup chup pyaar karein, Hai apnaa dil to aawara, Jaane wo kaise log the jinke – you can name one after another, each is a landmark song.

SoY regulars are aware 2014 has become the Year of the Rise of the Planet of Bengalis on this blog. I had not intended this kind of takeover, but it happened because a number of factors – the Centenary Year of Anil Biswas, revival of SD Burman with his remaining major singers on some readers’ suggestion and frontloading of some ideas which were on the backburner – coalesced together.

Born on June 16, 1920 in Varanasi at his nanihaal, Hemant Kumar belonged to a lower middle class family of Bengal. His father, Kalidas Mukherjee, was a clerk in a shipping company, and his ambition did not go beyond seeing his son as a Babu in some office. But Hemant Kumar was drawn to music from childhood. He would bunk schools, go to music soirees, and managed to get some recognition by singing in Durga Puja and the All India Radio. His ‘security’ minded father got him to take admission in Jadavpur Engineering College, but Hemant Kumar remained disenchanted with studies. He started doing the rounds of recording companies, but his voice was rejected (!) by them in the beginning. He then dabbled into writing stories for magazines like Vatayan and Desh. The editor of Vatayan introduced him to Shailen Dasgupta, the music director of Columbia Company, on whose advice Hemant Kumar learnt Rabindrasangeet. His first record for Columbia Jaani te jodi go tumi became a roaring hit, leading to Columbia brining out his 12 records in a year.

His first Bengali playback song was in the film Nimai Sanyaas (1940), composed by Hariprasanna Das. Thus started a successful era of his playback singing in Bengali films. Impressed by his singing, Hariprasanna Das made Hemant Kumar his assistant. His first song in Hindi films was in Meenakshi (1942) – Ankhon ki ote jo rahtaa tha, composed by Pankaj Mullick.

(Acknowledgement: The above information is based on Pankaj Raag’s Dhunon Ki Yatra and Anil Bhargav’s Swaron Ki Yatra).

In Bombay, it was Anandmath (1952) which brought him fame as a music director. His music in Nagin (1954) was a runaway hit and brought him his first (and last) Filmfare award. His compositions bore his sweetness, but it was as a singer that he was irresistible. Besides his own compositions, he freely sang under other composers. SD Burman was one of the most important for him, making him the voice of Dev Anand – one of the big three – in many films. Continuing the series on SD Burman for various singers, let me present his songs for Hemant Kumar as a tribute to the latter on his 25th death anniversary a few days away (b. 16 June 1920; d. 26 September 1989).

1.  Aa gup chup gup chup pyar karein (with Sandhya Mukherjee) from Sazaa (1951), lyrics Rajendra Krishna

This seems to be the first time Hemant Kumar sang for SD Burman. One of the most romantic duets, it has a unique chorus-backed prelude and interlude provided by a travelling group of singers, passing by the love-struck Dev Anand and Nimmi in moonlit night.

 

2. Ye raat ye chaandni phir kahan from Jaal (1952), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanavi

SD Burman was very eclectic in his choice of singers. He first used Mukesh for Dev Anand in Vidya (1948), followed by Hemant Kumar in Sazaa. He got his favourite Kishore Kumar in Baazi (1951), and he wowed everyone by coming back to Hemant Kumar with a stunning two version song: one of his greatest solos, and a slightly slower paced, melancholic duet with Lata Mangeshkar. As the incredibly dapper Dev Anand in his check-sweater, with guitar in his hand, croons this lovely song, Geeta Bali becomes restless, and by the time the song ends, she sways, as if in a trance.

ये रात ये चाँदनी फिर कहाँ सुन जा दिल की दासताँ

पेड़ों की शाखों पर सोई सोई चाँदनी, तेरे खयालों में खोई खोई रागिनि
और थोड़ी देर में थक के लौट जायेगी, रात ये बहार की फिर कभी ना आयेगी
दो एक पल और है ये समां सुन जा दिल की दासताँ

लहरों के होठों पर धीमा धीमा राग है, भीगी हवाओं में ठण्ढी ठ्ण्ढी आग है
इस हसीन आग में तू भी जल के देख ले, ज़िंदगी के गीत की धुन बदल के देख ले
खुलने दे अब धड़कनों की ज़बाँ, सुन जा दिल की दासताँ

जाती बहारें हैं उठती जवानियाँ, तारों की छावों में कह ले कहानियां
एक बार चल दिये ग़र तुझे पुकार के, लौट के ना आयेंगे क़ाफिले बहार के
आ जा लगी ज़िंदगी है जवाँ, सुन जा दिल की दासताँ

(My English translation)

This night, this silver moon, when you would get again
So, listen to your heart’s tale

The drowsy moonlit night on the branches of the trees,
The melody lost in your thoughts
They will go back tired after a while
And this night of delight would never come again
This scene is just there for a moment or two, so listen to your heart’s tale

On the lips of the waves there is a languorous lilt
In the moist breeze there is a mellow fire
In this beautiful fire, you too get burnt
And see for yourself the change in the melody of life
Let the voice of the heartbeats pour forth open, listen to the heart’s tale

The receding spring is like waning of youth
They tell a story in the shadow of the stars
Once they go back after serenading to you,
These caravans of delight would never come back
Come here, the life seems so charming,listen to your heart’s tale

 

 

3. Teri duniya mein jeene se to behatar hai ki mar jaayein from House No. 44 (1955), Sahir Ludhiyanvi

The song is apparently sad and poignant. But before the song begins, you see Dev Anand reclining on the straw-floor in a barn, with a boy, looking at Kalpana Kartik in her (their?) bed room, through the dividing window, going about her chores, apparently unconcerned. She hums the tune of this song, which obviously has some romantic association between them. Dev Anand then picks up the tune, and this great Hemant Kumar melody follows. In the end, you see Kalpana Kartik looking at him with enigmatic smile. So, after watching the video, I believe this song is not intended in अभिधा, but is a perfect example of व्यंजना.

 

4.  Chup hai dharti chup hai chand sitaare from House No. 44

This is the second great solo from the same film. Not surprisingly both the songs made it to the best ten solos of 1955 in detailed year-wise review on SoY.

 

5.  O Shivji bihane chale paalki sajaaye ke from Munimji (1955), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi

1955 was a great year for Hemant Kumar. After poignant and romantic, SD Burman-Hemant Kumar give us a rip-roaring fun song. The song starts with an absolutely funny introduction by a heavily-disguised Dev Anand.

 

6. Jaane wo kaise log the jinke pyar ko pyar mila from Pyasa (1957), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanvi

With his heavy and melancholic voice, Hemant Kumar was best suited for a dejected lover. Sahir himself had faced disappointments in his love affairs, which reflected in his poetry. With SD Burman’s music, and actor-director Guru Dutt’s brilliant picturisation, you have an all-time classic.

 

7.  Hai apna dil to aawara from Solva Saal (1958), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

We had some exchange earlier with SSW that sad songs leave a more lasting impact than happy songs. Hai apna dil to aawara has two versions: happy and sad. Poignant songs are also a natural forte of Hemant Kumar, yet it is interesting that its happy version is more popular. With RD Burman playng the mouth organ, this train song too has entered the annals of all-time classics.

 

8.  Yaad aa gayi wo nasheelee nigahein from Manzil (1960), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

Childhood lovers Dev Anand and Nutan are separated by fate and meet up when they grow up, but there are many misunderstandings on the way. This gives opportunity to SD Burman to compose many versions of Yaad aa gayi wo nasheelee nigaahein. Again, I feel, though counter-intuitive it is the happy version that is more appealing.

 

9. Na tum humein jaano from Baat Ek Raat Ki (1962), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

I started with the first Hemant Kumar song by SD Burman. I now end with what must be their last song. This is a Twin song, having a version in Suman Kalyanpur’s voice. In Twin songs I have a general theory that the male version is almost always better. If the male singer is Hemant Kumar, the matter is beyond doubt.

{ 39 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Shekhar Gupta September 17, 2014 at 11:07 am

AK-ji,
Tkx for this great post.
Kindly check if the lyricist of the Jaal number “Ye raat ye chaandni phir kahan” is not Sahir Ludhiyanvi (instead of Rajendra Krishna).
Rgds,
Shekhar Gupta

2 maheshmamadapur September 17, 2014 at 2:28 pm

AK ji,

Thanks for the treat.

Shekhar ji,

YES. It is Sahir saab.

In the duet version there is a line at the fag end of the song….
“barbaad hai aarzo ka jahaan”. What combination of words. what lyrics. And, then the voice of Lata and Hemant and the extraordinary acting skills of Geeta Bali. A great song indeed.

3 Ashok M Vaishnav September 17, 2014 at 2:47 pm

It was indeed quite unfortunate that winds of competition that came in form two directions – Moahhamad Rafi and Kishore Kumar- swept away a blossoming combination of SDB+Hemant Kumar.
But as long it lasted, it set the standards of its own, so much so that even after Rafi or Kishore had settled well as Dev Anand’s playback voices, we never felt anything amiss watching Dev Anand lip-singing Hemant Kumar’s voice.

4 arvindersharma September 17, 2014 at 4:49 pm

AK Ji,
A great intoxicating combination from Bengal and a lovely post.
Was this song from ‘Munimji’, a duet by Hemant Kumar and Geeta Dutt, with some buffoonery by veteran actor Pran, not eligible to be the tenth song in your list ?

Dil Ki Umange Hain Jawan – Hemant Kumar, Geeta Du…:

5 AK September 17, 2014 at 6:45 pm

Shekhar Gupta,
Thanks for pointing out the slip (since corrected), and thanks for your appreciation.

Mahesh,
You are welcome. Hemant Kumar is too good. With such limited songs with SDB, he left a big impact.

Ashokji,
It is intriguing why SDB could not do more songs with Hemant Kumar. When he worked with Hemant Kumar, Rafi and Kishore Kumar were going great guns, yet he could create a unique space for the former.

Arvinder Sharmaji,
Dil ki umangein hain jawaan is a very unique song, and I could have added it as the tenth song. But it seems I am a prisoner of my prejudices; it did not move me as much as a Hemant Kumar song normally does. But thanks for adding it.

6 Shekhar Gupta September 17, 2014 at 7:37 pm

Arvinder Sharmaji’s comments about a bit “unusual” trio of Geeta-Hemant-Pran from Munimji, reminds me of an unusual “duet” of Lata-Hemant in House No. 44 : “Peeche peeche aakar, chhoo lo hamen paakar” in which Hemant adds only ha-ha, o-ho, ho-ho, etc. on Dev Anand but enlivens the number with it. It is on YouTube at http://youtu.be/fussc3CyY-s.

7 SSW September 17, 2014 at 8:34 pm

For “yeh raat yeh chaandni” I think equal credit should be given to Anthony Gonsalves who did the arrangement and probably composed the interludes. I cannot imagine the song without the accompanying music starting with the lovely guitar piece that is almost never played on the radio. Luckily somebody on youtube has preserved that for us in this link you can hear the guitar at the begining
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBw_JSiNF9c.
The muted trumpet the following strings , the lovely flute pieces in harmony with the clarinet and saxophone all add to the magic. This is one of the best arrangments in the history of Indian film music. Reminds me of choro from Brazil.

8 ksbhatia September 17, 2014 at 10:12 pm

SSW’ji; The song “yeh raat yeh chhandni ” is really a marvel in its content and shows how important are interludes and preludes for a romantic and love song ; as also the selection of instruments . The song is beautifully captured by excellent photography and art direction. This reminds me of an equally good number from awara ” Dum bhar jo udhar mu phere “. SSW ‘ji Is Anthony Gonsalves the same arranger that worked for LP / MM?.

9 SSW September 17, 2014 at 10:36 pm

Mr.Bhatia, I not sure if he arranged for LP though he was Pyarelal’s violin teacher. By the time LP became really big Anthony Gonsalves had left for University of New York in Syracuse. He taught at the music department there and when he came back to India in the 70s he retired to his home in Goa. I don’t know about MM either. I remember hearing Zakir Hussain mention that MM’s main arranger was Master Sonik.

10 ksbhatia September 17, 2014 at 10:48 pm

AK’ji ; There could not be better selection of SD -Hemant songs listed by your goodself. This shows that Hemant was never behind Rafi or Kishore as far as romantic and sad songs are concerned. Hemant was also very effectively utilised by SD’s asstts– Ravi/ KA etc.

11 mumbaikar8 September 17, 2014 at 10:57 pm

AK,
Lata once said that Hemant Kumar”s voice reminded her of a sadhu baba singing in a mandir, I share her opinion, but only the master like SDB can get yeh raat ye chandni from this sadhu’s voice.
Hemant Kumar like many other singers had some of his best numbers with SDB. All 14 songs he has sung for SDB are among his best.
SDB can make him sing so well and you can complement him so well that even if I cannot agree on each count I have no room to rebut.
Admire your affection!

12 ksbhatia September 17, 2014 at 11:03 pm

SSW’ji ;Thanks for the information . For MM I think it was either pyarelal or anthony who played voilline in the song ” Main yeh soach kar ” from Haqueqat but as you correctly said Sonic has been the main arranger for most of the MM ‘s movies . I have read somewhere that SJ’s asstt. Sabestian was also arranger for MM for few movies. I think AKji can throw some light on this.

13 AK September 17, 2014 at 11:20 pm

Shekhar Gupta,
Peechhe peechhe aa ke And similar ‘duets’ that are really solos have come in for a good deal of discussion on SoY recently. I hope someone is maintaining a list.

14 AK September 17, 2014 at 11:45 pm

SSW, KS Bhatiaji,
It is so true Ye raat ye chaandni phir kahan can not be imagined without the opening guitar, the arrangement of instruments, the lyrics, the setting, the picturisation and the stars (both on the earth and in the sky). Thanks a lot for adding detailed information and your comments. It needed to be said. That makes me think, it is so unfair the musicians and arrangers had to remain ‘behind the curtain’. I have not read Gregory Booth’s book, but does he give their filmography so that we could also start acknowledging them at least for such songs?. (Bhatiaji, No, I can’t throw any light on them.)

Bhatiaji,
With just 14 songs of SDB-Hemant Kumar, everyone’s selection is going to be the same. It is remarkable that all the songs are of such high quality, and even more surprising why did SDB break with Hemant Kumar so abruptly.

15 AK September 17, 2014 at 11:51 pm

Mumbaikar8,
Thanks for your appreciation. I do like Hemant Kumar a lot.

“..even if I cannot agree on each count I have no room to rebut.” Is there something here too you don’t agree with or you are referring to your difference with me elsewhere?

16 mumbaikar8 September 18, 2014 at 3:42 am

AK,
I was talking about about you remark here, in this post.

17 Anu Warrier September 18, 2014 at 6:48 am

AK, some of my favourite songs here! Ye raat ye chandni phir kahan topping the list! Salilda once said of Hemant Kumar that if God could sing, it would be in Hemant Kumar’s voice. Thanks for a slew of lovely songs.

18 AK September 18, 2014 at 9:48 am

Anu,
Such high compliment by a genius!

19 Subodh Agrawal September 18, 2014 at 10:43 am

Can one ask for more – SDB and Hemant! My favourite MD with my super-favourite singer. Thanks for this lovely post.

Is it merely a coincidence that 8 out of 9 songs feature Dev Anand? I think not. The SDB-Hemant songs have a blithe air about them that was best represented on screen by Dev Anand and none else. ‘Almast’ is the word. Add a dose of romance and the combination is unbeatable. Many of my favourite Rafi songs also feature Dev. I think a post on Dev Anand songs is very much due. The only problem will be restricting the number to ten.

20 SSW September 18, 2014 at 7:48 pm

Mr.Bhatia,
The violin piece was played by Pyarelal and the arranger was master Sonik. You will find something about it in this link.
http://www.madanmohan.in/html/tribute/collegues/pyarelal_sharma.html

AK , Booth’s book does not have a comprehensive set of details about which musicians played on which songs. He could not have because by the time he wrote the book many of the older musicians had crossed the great divide. There are only little vignettes and memories from those who were still alive at that time.

As a rule we have had a very laissez-faire attitude to film music. So much so that today we don’t have folks in India who can play specific instruments needed for an orchestra. Everybody plays the guitar and keyboards, but there are hardly any clarinetists, oboists, violists cellists bassoonists etc. That is why people like Rahman and Illayaraja etc have to go to Prague and London to get groups who can play these instruments. Previously places like the Bombay Symphony orchestra and little choirs in Goa and Kerala provided employment for such musicians. I think now the only brass players in India will be those playing for a marriage band. Booth actually has written a book on the brass bands of Delhi.
It’s a pity, I think this music needs to be preserved. It is as Indian as it is western influenced. Recently in Calcutta a very well known guitarist Kokon Banerji died in reduced circumstances. He had played on great compositions by Salilda and other composers. There are people trying to set up a trust for such musicians so they can at least get a pension.
It is not easy to be a musician anywhere in the world and really if we can get some pleasure from their music maybe some of the responsibility for their welfare should belong to all of us who love music.
I’ll get off my soap box now. 🙂

21 ksbhatia September 18, 2014 at 9:16 pm

SSW; Thanks for the link of Pyarelal’ji’s tribute to the great master of melody Madan mohan’ji . It rightly brought out the efforts and hard work of each musician and their mastery over the instruments . You have rightly pointed that now a day musicians do not go beyond guitar and keyboard . Their jarring and irritating metallic music is injurious to our ears . My respect goes to all the elderly musicians and arrangers who were associated with the great masters of the golden era in shaping the melody . For us it is impossible to sing a song without humming the preludes and interludes .

22 SSW September 19, 2014 at 1:39 am

Ah well, I don’t think modern music is all bad. And honestly while Bollywood films went through a period when music was not of prime importance there was still good music in the South and East and has continued to be. I don’t think guitars and keyboards are to be blamed either. They are just more accessible and easier to play in the begining than other instruments that require perhaps more investment up front. There is fairly complex music today too, its just that the economics makes it easy to use a computer rather than a real musician with an instrument. And the seeds of that were sown in the golden era.
People just gravitate to what is easier and technology has made it so.
Okay so AK might get disturbed that I have nothing to say about Hemant Kumar or SD so I’ll push off.

23 mumbaikar8 September 19, 2014 at 3:10 am

SSW,
Use of clavioline instead of real Been, is one of the seeds,
sown in golden era you are talking about?
Sorry AK I drifted from SDB and Hemantda too.

24 AK September 19, 2014 at 11:25 am

Bhatiaji, SSW, Mumbaikar8,
This is interesting discussion. Clavioline for been is an example that technology is not per se bad. Without recording and reproduction technology music would have remained a matter of personal expression to oneself.

The problem with today’s film music is its place in the overall scheme of things. In the Golden Era, the doyens had a sense of reverence to their craft, and they were trying to create something of permanent value. Today, blockbusters run for two weeks; it suffices if an ‘item’ number can be played by nightclubs and marriage bands until the next item song. If something different comes out, it is an exception.

25 N Venkataraman September 19, 2014 at 10:00 pm

AK Ji,
Thanks for yet another wonderful post, this time on S D Burman- Hemant Kumar Combo. The combination of true great musicians always results in some delightful melodies. There may be only fourteen songs that Hemant Kumar rendered for S D Burman, but the majority of them is listener’s pleasure. His deep voice and soft intonations enthralled many.

Hemant Kumar’s association with S D Burman started as early as 1940 with the song Jaago Pratham pranay lai laye in the Bengali film Rajkumarer Nirbasan. Again in 1944 he sang three more songs under S D Burman’s baton for the film Matir Ghar. Hemant Kumar rendered 17 Hindi film songs (11 duets, 6 solos) before the song Ye raat ye chaandni phir kahan brought him name and fame in Bombay.

You have said it all. And what remained to be said about the songs of this duo has appeared in the comment section.

Thanks a lot.

26 N Venkataraman September 19, 2014 at 10:17 pm

AK Ji,
I am getting the link to Yaad aa gayi wo nasheelee nigahein (again) instead of Na tum humein jaano (#9). Something wrong at my end?
I think the lyrics for the song Aa gup chup gup chup pyar karein was penned by Rajendra Krishna. Sahir Ludhiyanvi wrote only one song for this film, Sazaa, Tum na jaane kis jahaan me kho gaye. Please correct me if I am wrong.

27 AK September 20, 2014 at 11:02 am

Venkataramanji,
Thanks a lot for additional information about SD Burman-Hemant Kumar association.

The lyricist of Aa gup chup gup chup pyar karein is indeed Rajendra Krishna. Thanks for pointing out the slip.

Dr Watson, you were hearing Yaad aa gayi wo nasheelee nigaahein instead of Na tum humein jaano, because it was indeed the link of Yad aa gayi. It would be quite preposterous for me to pretend that I was testing your deductive ability. You should not have let your unfailing courtesy keep you from saying that I have goofed up something badly. Just shows even I am not infallible. 🙂 Thanks again.

28 SSW September 20, 2014 at 6:21 pm

Mumbaikar8 we shall talk about programming and music some other time.
I like both versions of “Na tum hamay jaano” equally. Suman Kalyanpur has also really sung it well. Lovely violin piece in the song.

The orchestration for “yaad aa rahi” is very subtle in both cases. There are some odd things in the picturisations vis a vis the music.

I found the song intriquing as it sounded like a raga base to me something like close to Bihag. It is tuned to a C major scale and there is some consistent use of going from C to E F…Subodh will know.

29 ksbhatia September 21, 2014 at 12:55 am

SSW’ji; Yes I totally agree with your good self that modern music is not bad at all . SJ’s “an evening in paris ” is an example of excellent use of modern musical instruments in their songs and background music. Their orchestrisation and sound effects were superb . Same can be said for Naushad sahib orchestrisation in “Mughal-e -Azam”. A keyboard neither can replace a 50 piece orchestra nor produce sound effects that of. My point is let technology not interfere with the original . Fiddling with the original by way of additional inputs as “Remix” should be discouraged. Even classic B & W movies made recently into colour movies with additional sound effects have lost their original shine . Let “Yeh raat yeh chandni ” be as it is for us to enjoy. AK ‘ji; I was wondering as SDB fully made use of Hemant’da voice as playback for Dev Anand why RDB did not used him. Scrolling thru youtube i could find only two songs of RDB- Hemant combo which i feel he should have not rendered at all .

30 AK September 21, 2014 at 8:51 am

KS Bhatiaji,
RDB-Hemant Kumar sounds a very unlikely combination. Surprising thing is why SD Burman didn’t use him more.

31 maheshmamadapur September 21, 2014 at 12:02 pm

Why did RBD use Mukesh more than his father, 20 against 14 ? I feel such instances and statistics are more of happenstance, circumstances, producer/director instructions, availability of singers etc rather than only the choices of MD’s or abilities of singers.
I may be wrong. I really donno.

32 Soumya Banerji September 23, 2014 at 5:41 am

A magical combination – Hemant Kumar and S.D. Burman. Pity they did not collaborate more frequently. I remember reading somewhere that the reason SDB parted ways with Hemant Kumar was that, according to SDB, Hemant Kumar’s voice lost it’s golden touch in the late 50s. It is true that in the late 50s or early 60s Hemant Kumar’s voice did show signs of going off-key. Also he lost his ability to really hit the high notes without straining. This could be attributed to his heavy smoking – he was almost a chain smoker. Also, he was notoriously sloth as far as riyaaz was concerned. SDB’s finely tuned ears perhaps picked this up before anyone else.

33 AK September 23, 2014 at 5:40 pm

Soumya,
Hemant Kumar’s strength was his swar, and not the sur. SD Burman gave him up very early, whereas until many years later (for example Khamoshi, 1969), he sounded very sweet. To me, it is still a surprise why SD Burman could not create more songs for him.

34 Ranbir October 24, 2015 at 12:31 am

In 1979 hemant da had re recorded some of his older works with Salil Chowdhury. Songs like Ranar and Palkir gaan required great strength of voice to bring the required effect. Though not as good as the original versions, the album was highly successful. So successful it was that the original versions are unknown to many hemant fans. His voice deteriorated only after his heart attack in 1980. He mainly lost his breath control after that. But his live performances on SDB songs after 1980’s show that he still had a good hold on those songs.

35 AK October 24, 2015 at 3:31 am

Ranbir,
Thanks a lot for the information.

36 Prashant Bodhe October 27, 2017 at 11:14 am

All good and beautiful has been already penned down.

Hemantdas caliber was very high as he exhibited in Anand Math and when he worked with Sachinda and other MD and as own MD, singer.

But later he got into production of movies. There he excelled in Bees saal baad and few movies. But his music interest and output got affected severely.

Many later year songs of Hemantda would have bad spots in songs. If you compare his songs in early part of career and later.

As MD Sachinda became more expressive and connected with masses as his career matured

Sometimes I connect (not compare) Hemantda with Talat. Talat maintained his voice and singing quality in better way till almost end of his career.

But Hemantda drifted in movie production……..

37 AK October 27, 2017 at 7:51 pm

Prashant,
Welcome to SoY. In my view Hemant Kumar’s strength was his sonorous voice. He didn’t have to do anything extraordinary to create impact. Even with film production, his songs remained as sweet as ever.

38 J kumar May 14, 2020 at 9:38 pm

I have something new in my mind for that i wanted to talk to Mr Moti lalwani unfortunately i couldnot get his ph no.I shall remain ever grateful if you send me his ph no
With regards

39 AK May 14, 2020 at 10:03 pm

Jayant Kumar,
Welcome to SoY. I have sent your interest to Mr Moti Lalwani.

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