Dr. Rajesh Deshpande

In Memoriam: Suman Kalyanpur, an epitome of talent, grace and dignity

Guest article by Dr Rajesh Deshpande as a tribute to one of the last of doyens of playback singing of the Golden Era

(When Suman Kalyanpur passed away recently, I suddenly felt that with her one of the last links with the Golden Era of playback singing is gone. She was a tragic figure, the similarity of her voice with Lata Mangeshkar was both a curse and boon for her. Curse, because when original was available, why go for a duplicate! And boon, because when the mighty Mangeshkar had her famous spats with all and sundry because of her own hubris, Suman Kalyanpur got a chance to sing some exquisite songs. I thought SOY had to write a tribute on her. I did not have the same urge when Asha Bhosle passed away a couple of months earlier, because she had created her own niche, and there were a good number of articles on her on SOY thanks to some of her inveterate fans.

I realised Suman Kalyanpur enjoyed tremendous respect in Marathi music, and some Marathi knowing person can do proper justice to her. I am happy to say that Dr Deshpande accepted my request to write a guest article on her. Her work is so vast that it was not possible to fit into one article. He proposes to write two articles, one on solos and the other on duets.

As the SOY readers are aware, Dr Deshpande is a pathologist by profession and works in a healthcare MNC, based out of Bombay. Thank you Dr Deshpane for a superb article on Suman Kalyanpur. – AK)

Within two months of the passing away of Asha Bhosle, we lost another illustrious singer who mesmerised us with her golden voice since the 50s. Suman Kalyanpur, the last pillar of the golden era of Hindi film music left for heavenly abode on May 31, 2026 at the age of 89 due to age-related ailments.

Looks like Sundays have been bringing us the sad news as all the 3 queens of melody (Lata, Asha and Suman) passed away on a Sunday. A singer par excellence, Suman Kalyanpur’s career began in 1954, peaked in the 60s and she retired in 80s, having sung in Hindi, Marathi and other regional languages.

She was born as Suman Hemmady on 28 January 1937 in Kolkata. The family moved to Dhaka and then to Mumbai, where they finally settled. Besides music, she was also interested in painting and got admission in the Sir J. J. School of Arts for higher studies. She received primary training in music from family friend and composer Keshavrao Bhole. She later took professional training from Navrang Nagpurkar and Ustad Abdul Rehman Khan. She got an opportunity to sing for a Marathi film Shukrachi Chandani, which unfortunately got shelved. However, composer Mohammad Shafi had heard her singing during the recording and offered her songs for the film Mangu (1954). Her first release was Darwaza. She also sang a few lines uncredited for the film version of the song Mohabbat kar lo jee bhar lo of Aar Paar under OP Nayyar.READ THE FULL ARTICLE

The trio that changed the Hindi film music scene – RD Burman, Kishore Kumar and Rajesh Khanna

Guest article by Dr Rajesh Deshpande in the continuing series on RD Burman, with his songs for Rajesh Khanna on Kishore Kumar’s 38th Remembrance Day (4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987)

(The single most important factor for RD Burman’s fame is his songs for Kishore Kumar lip-synched by Rajesh Khanna on the screen. Therefore, when I started discussing with Dr Deshpande on the themes, we agreed on this date for the combination. But what the man proposes, God disposes. As the day came nearer, I had a scheduled travel from 8th-13th October, and as such, 7th October was a very busy day for me. Therefore, I wanted the article to be in by the 5th October. Dr Deshpande had sudden work-related travel and the vagaries of air travel meant he could touch base on the 7th and he had to catch up with meetings and work. Thus, the most important article in the series of tributes to RD Burman would have almost missed the scheduled date.

As his flight was to land, he must have seen my reminder, and in the course of the day, I kept pursuing him. Without showing any signs of annoyance, he sent the article 7th night, giving me barely sometime to work on it. It is to the credit of Dr Deshpande that in spite of the last-minute scramble, he has not let the quality of the write-up go down. Thank you, Dr Deshpande, for another excellent article.

 Dr Deshpande is a pathologist with blood transfusion as his speciality. He is currently in-charge of Medical Affairs for Asia Pacific and International Region in Fresenius Kabi, a healthcare MNC. Dr Deshpande is based out of Mumbai. – AK)

No series of tributes to RD Burman can be complete without covering his main male playback singer – Kishore Kumar. RDB-KK had forged a musical and emotional bond and an association that went way beyond the usual music composer-singer collaboration. The rise of RD Burman and the resurrection of Kishore Kumar as playback singer also coincided with the superstardom of Rajesh Khanna. It would not be incorrect to say that both the composer and the singer had a major contribution in the creation of the phenomenon called Rajesh Khanna (RK). RK brought the romantic and soulful melodies of RDB-KK alive on screen, so much so that he came to be known as the eternal romantic hero. On the occasion of Kishore Kumar’s 38th Remembrance Day (13th October), it would be a fitting tribute to discuss his songs composed by RD Burman and picturised on Rajesh Khanna. Along with RD Burman, this is also a tribute to the superstar, born as Jatin Khanna (b.29 December 1942 – d.18 July 2012).READ THE FULL ARTICLE

A Musical Association: RD Burman and The Kapoors

Guest article by Dr Rajesh Deshpande

(During our discussions about possible themes in RD Burman series, Dr Rajesh Deshpande made an obvious (!) mention of RDB-RK. I was taken aback that no one would associate Raj Kapoor with RD Burman. Dr Deshpande clarified he had in mind Rajesh Khanna! But our cross-understanding led to discussing the Kapoors further and he had a quick thinking that RD Burman had worked with several from the House of Kapoors. This post is the result of our comical misunderstanding. Now the other RK whom Dr Deshpande had in mind would come later.

The SOY regulars are aware how the series on RD Burman came about. Knowing my limitations I said I would need help from others. Dr Deshpande agreed to contribute some articles. This is his second article in the series.

By profession, Dr Deshpande is a pathologist with blood transfusion as his speciality. He is currently in-charge of Medical Affairs for Asia Pacific and International Region in Fresenius Kabi, a healthcare MNC. Dr Deshpande is based out of Mumbai. He is deeply into film music. He is a regular contributor to HFGK and works closely with Har Mandir Singh ‘Hamraj’. Thanks to him, I am also now aware that many on this forum are big fans of RD Burman. Dr Deshpande has done an excellent survey article on this theme. Thank you Dr Deshpande for your second nice article. – AK)

When we think of the actors on whom some of the famous songs of RD Burman have been picturised, Rajesh Khanna’s name comes foremost to the mind, followed by Dev Anand, Sanjeev Kumar, Mehmood, Randhir Kapoor, Sanjay, Rishi Kapoor, Tariq etc. And of course, Shammi Kapoor, the hero of the first successful RDB film, Teesri Manzil.

I realised that two generations of Kapoors (from Prithviraj Kapoor family) have lip-synched to many RDB composed numbers. There are many known and popular films and numerous memorable RDB songs featuring the Kapoors: Raj-Shammi-Shashi as well as Randhir-Rishi-Rajiv.READ THE FULL ARTICLE

The musical revolution: RD Burman and the 70s

Guest article by Dr Rajesh Deshpande continuing the series on tributes to RD Burman

(When I embarked upon celebrating 2025 as the year of RD Burman, I was aware of my limitations. The blog’s focus area was 1930s through 60s, whereas RD Burman was clearly a man of the 1970s onwards. I was deeply into the music of the earlier era, and couldn’t relate much to the later period. In other words, I didn’t know much about the music of the post-1970s. It was quite clear that I would need help from the readers more au fait with music of the 1970s. Dr Deshpande’s name came to my mind who is very up-to-date with RD Burman’s music. I was happy when he responded positively to my request whether he would be interested in writing a couple of articles on him. With this article he is debuting as one of the distinguished guest writers for Songs of Yore. This debut article gives an excellent summary of the dominant position of RD Burman in the 1970s.

By profession, Dr Deshpande is a pathologist with blood transfusion as his speciality. He is currently in-charge of Medical Affairs for Asia Pacific and International Region in Fresenius Kabi, a healthcare MNC. But, more importantly, he is a film music man. He is a regular contributor to HFGK and works closely with Har Mandir Singh ‘Hamraj’. It is my pleasure to welcome him as a guest author to SOY. – AK)

It is indeed a privilege to write a post for SoY. AKji asked me if I could write an article on RD Burman. It would be my first time to write a full non-medical article for a blog but I thought why not. I have enjoyed Hindi films and songs right from my childhood and RD Burman’s music was an integral part of my growing up in the 70s. After all, the Pancham sound was at the peak of its success in the 70s. This decade remains my favourite and I consider early 70s as part of the golden period of Hindi film music as much as the late 60s. These, and below are my personal thoughts to which others may not necessarily agree.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE