A tribute to Hemant Kumar on his 31st Remembrance Day (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989) in his Birth Centenary year by guest author N Venkataraman

(N Venkataraman launched the Centenary Celebration of Hemant Kumar with his superb article Hemantayan Part 1 on his Birth Centenary, 16 June 2020. This gave a comprehensive overview of Hemant Kumar’s early life, his rise as a singer and composer of great repute in Hindi and Bengali films and non-film songs, up to 1960.

In this second and concluding part of his tribute, Venkatarmanji carries on his excellent work and covers his remaining career post-1960. The special aspect of this article is his focus on Hemant Kumar’s forays into production of films, which is not highlighted much as his heavenly voice left such a powerful impact. This aspect is also important because it became Hemant Kumar’s hubris, sucking him into deep financial troubles. But the multifarious talent that he was, he was able to come out of it as he had become an icon in Bengali music as a singer and composer. That became his main arena, where he was the Monarch.

This two-part tribute by Venkataramanji is the most comprehensive you can find on any blog. It is not only a chronicle of Hemant Kumar’s life and his professional achievements, it also provides insight into the ecosystem of Hindi and Bengali films of the era, his strength of character, simplicity and generosity and also his foibles, and his ups and downs. We are passionately fond of his singing and music direction, our awareness being primarily limited to Hindi. Thanks to Venkataramanji now we know that Hemant Kumar was much larger than that.  We can’t thank Venkataramanji enough for this. – AK)

“It was now time to build up on this success and reputation. Was he able to consolidate his position and career in Bombay and also in Calcutta? I will leave that for another post, the second part of this write-up. I would be covering his career post-1960 in the second part of my article”.

I had concluded the first part, Hemantayan – Part1 with the above lines.

I would break up this part into two sections, Hemant Kumar’s career in Bombay/ Hindi films post 1960 and his career in Calcutta/ Bengali films during the same period. And his career in these two areas presents a contrasting scenario in every respect. Let me set the ball rolling with his stint in Bombay. First let me do a quick recap.

After the resounding success of ‘Nagin’ (1954) he was flooded with offers. And responding to the overwhelming offers, Hemant Kumar scored music for thirty films between the years 1955 and 1960. A year-wise overview would give us a clearer picture.

1955:  4 films – Bandish, Lagan, Bhagawat Mahima and Bahu
1956:  9 films – Hamara Watan, Laalten, Bandhan, Anjaan, Arab Ka Saudagar, Taaj, Inspector, Ek Hi Raasta   and Durgeshnandini
1957: 9 films – Kitna Badal Gaya Insaan, Bandhi, Champakali, Hill Station, Ek Jhalak, Payal, Yehudi Ki Ladki, Fashion and Miss Mary
1958: 3 films – Police, Sahar and Do Mastane
1959: 2 films – Hum Bhi Insaan Hain and Chaand
1960: 3 films – Duniya Jhukti Hai, Masoom and Girl Friend

Neel Aakasher Neeche’ (1959) were after the sixties, I did not include it in ‘Hemantayan 1’. I would attend to his two movies in Bengali, in the section where I would discuss his career in Calcutta/ Bengali films at length.

Section 2: Hindi films – post 1960
As a Producer / Music Director

That brings me to the section – Hemant Kumar as a producer of Hindi films, and it goes without saying that he was the music director for all the films he produced.

Since there were no signs of revival of his fortunes in Bombay, he wanted to return to Calcutta in the beginning of the 60s. But his family members were reluctant to leave Bombay. And Hemant Kumar did not want to impose his wish upon them. The lack of work as a music director in Bombay on the one hand and his earlier success as a producer in Calcutta on the other, made him toy with the idea of producing a Hindi film.

Biren Nag was an Art Director, who had worked for Guru Dutt and Dev Anand among others. He was the Art Director for films like ‘CID’(1956), ‘ Pyasa’ (1957), ‘Nau Do Gyarah’ (1957), ‘Kala Pani’ (1958), ‘Chaudahvin Ka Chand’ (1960). He won the best Art Director Award in 1960 for the film ‘Chaudhvin Ka Chand’. In a casual discussion, Biren Nag expressed his wish to direct a film, Hemant Kumar promptly responded to his wish. They decided to remake the Bengali film ‘Jighangsa’ (1951). Incidentally ‘Jighangsa’ was the last film for which Hemant Kumar had composed music for, before moving to Bombay and Biren Nag was the Art director. ‘Jighangsa’, a thriller film based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s ‘The Hound of the Baskervilles’ was a commercial success. Dhruva Chatterjee, who was nominated for the best story for the film ‘Chirag Kahan Roshni Kahan’ (1959), was also a good screenplay writer. Dhruava Chatterjee had written the story for the film ‘Kashti / Ferry’ (1954), for which Hemant Kumar was the music director. Hemant Kumar secured his service for writing the screenplay. He decided to employ a new face for the lead male role in his debut film ‘Bees Saal Baad’.

Biswajit, started his career as a stage actor with Rang Mahal and had acted in few Bengali films. Biren Nag agreed to Hemant Kumar’s suggestion, but suggested an established name for the female lead role. Biren Nag had worked with Waheeda Rehman in ‘CID’, “Pyasa’ and ‘Chaudahvin Ka Chand’ and Waheeda accepted his offer. Thus everything in place, the shooting was to start on 5th February 1960. In the meantime he had taken up the music direction for the film ‘Shahib Bibi Aur Ghulam’ at the request of Guru Dutt. I will come to that later. All of a sudden tragedy struck Hemant Kumar in his personal life. The news of the sudden demise of his mother on the morning of 2nd February 1960 left him devastated. Hemant Kumar‘s mother Kiranbala Debi was only 59 years of age. Hemant Kumar had to rush to Calcutta. He could not afford to postpone the shooting since it would have incurred a substantial additional cost. He had to shuttle between Calcutta and Bombay, simultaneously attending to the shooting and the rituals that followed after his mother’s demise.

The film ‘Bees Saal Baad’ was released in 1962 under the Geetanjali Pictures banner. Defying all odds and belying negative reviews of its detractors, it became the highest grosser at the box office for the year 1962. The film won four out of the seven Filmfare Awards it was nominated for. The song ‘Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil’ fetched Shakeel Badayuni and Lata Mangeshkar the best lyricist award and the best female playback singer award respectively. After ‘Nagin’, this was the second time Hemant Kumar was nominated for the best music director award, although the award was bagged by Shankar-Jaikishan for ‘Professor’.

It was the first time Hemant Kumar and Shakeel Badayuni were working together as composer-songwriter. Previously, Hemant Kumar had rendered three songs penned by Shakeel Badayuni for the films ‘Shabaab’ (1954) and ‘Ganga Jamuna’ (1961) under Naushad’s baton. Hemant Kumar and Shakeel Badayuni together fashioned five fabulous songs for the film. Hemant Kumar rendered two solos and Lata Mangeshkar three solos.

1. Beqarar karke humein yun na jaiye, film Bees Saal Baad (1962), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

Hemant Kumar planned his second film ‘Sharmilee’. Uttam Kumar and Waheeda Rehman were cast in the lead roles. Everything in place, the launch was to start with an outdoor shoot at Asansol, when Uttam Kumar decided to withdraw himself from the film. Hemant Kumar shelved the film and asked Dhruva Chatterjee to prepare a fresh screenplay based on Daphne du Maurier’s 1938 novel ‘Rebecca’. The film ‘Kohra’ was directed by Biren Nag, starring Waheeda Rehman and Biswajeet. Elated by the nomination for the Filmfare award in his debut directorial venture, Biren Nag was in an upbeat mood. When the film was completed, Hemant Kumar had exhausted all his reserves. The film came in for lavish praise from everybody who saw it at the trial show. Hemant Kumar was not comfortable with the concluding part of the film. Biren Nag did not agree to the change suggested by him. The film was released in 1964 and bombed at the box office. Biren Nag was stunned by the reverse. Though Hemant Kumar financially suffered a setback, he was quick to recover mentally.

At this juncture the invitation for a West Indies tour came as a godsend opportunity. Hemant Kumar requested Biren Nag to join him and Bela in their West Indies tour with the hope that it would act as a much needed diversion. Biren Nag turned down the offer and deeply afflicted by the setback of ‘Kohra’ he went into a depression. The success of the trip acted as a great moral booster for Hemant Kumar. He received lot of accolades and was financially benefitted too. Towards the last leg of their trip he received the news of Biren Nag’s deteriorating health. By the time they were back in Bombay, Biren Nag was admitted to the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital, where he breathed his last. He was 42 years of age then, two years younger to Hemant Kumar. In the demise of Biren Nag, Hemant Kumar suffered a personal loss.

‘Kohra’ (1964) had four songs, two solos each by Hemant Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar. Presenting a song rendered by Hemant Kumar. The tune was originally set for the song ‘Ye raat tomar amar’ for a 1959 Bengali film ‘Deep Jwele Jaay’.

2. Ye nayan dare dare, film Kohra (1964), lyrics Kaifi Azmi

The next four films, ‘Faraar’ (1965), ‘Biibi Aur Makaan’ (1966), ‘Majhli Didi’ (1967) and ‘Raahgir’ (1969), did not do well at the theatres. ‘Faraar’ was the remake of the Bengali film ‘Rakta Palash’ (1962). Hemanta engaged Pinaki Mukherjee, the director of ‘Rakta Palash’, to direct the Hindi version. ‘Faraar’ had Anil Chatterjee, Balraj Sahini and Shabnam in the cast. ‘Bibi Aur Makaan’ was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Biswajit, Kalpana, Mehmood, Shabnam, and Kesto Mukherjee were in the lead roles. Hemant Kumar recycled his own tune from his successful Bengali film ‘Monihaar’ rendered by Lata Mangeshkar. The Hindi version was rendered by Hemant Kumar. Presenting both the versions:

3a. Sawan mein barkha sataaye pal pal chhin chhin barse, film Bibi Aur Makaan (1966), lyrics Gulzar

3b. Asharh shraban mane na to mon by Lata Mangeshkar, film Monihar (1966), lyrics Pulak Bandopadhyay

‘Majhli Didi’ was not produced under the Geetanjali Pictures banner, but Hemant Kumar had invested in its production at the request of his brother-in-law Gopal Mukherjee, who used to work in Hemant Kumar’s productions in various capacities. Kochi Sarkar and Gopal Mukherjee were long time friends. Kochi Sarkar was also close to Meena Kumari and he used to frequent her house. Later he got married to Meena Kumari’s niece. Gopal Mukherjee (Bela’s brother) wanted to produce a film and at his request Kochi Sarkar approached Meena Kumari. On receiving the consent from her, Gopal approached Hemant Kumar and Hemant Kumar agreed to invest in the film. It was a big opportunity to a do a film with Meena Kumari in the lead role. The film was produced under the banner K (Kochi Sarkar) G (Gopal Mukherjee) Pictures. Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay’s story ‘Mejdidi’ (1915) was selected and Hrishikesh Mukherjee was given the responsibility of directing the film. Dharmendra agreed to play the male lead role. Hrishikesh Mukherjee was very meticulous in his planning and detailing. The film was well made, yet on its release in 1967, it fell flat on its face. The failure was attributed to the timing of its release. In the previous year, a few months before Majhli Didi’s release, Jupiter Pictures, a production house from Madras had released the film ‘Chhota Bhai’, based on another story, ‘Ramer Sumati’ by Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay. Both the stories had similar endings.

Now Hemant Kumar was obsessed with film making. His next film was ‘Raahgir’, a remake of the 1963 Bengali film ‘Palatak’. Since ‘Palatak’ belongs to the period under discussion and Hemanta was the music director, it would not be inconsistent to talk about the film here. At the request of a close acquaintance who was a retired Judge from Calcutta, V Shantaram decided to produce a Bengali film. He soon spoke to his distributors in Calcutta to put him in touch with Bengali film makers. Tarun Majumdar, a young upcoming director and writer met Shantaram with a script based on a story, ‘Angti Chatujjer Bhai’, penned by the eminent poet and writer Manoj Basu. Shantaram was impressed by the script. Tarun Majumdar, Dilip Mukherjee and Sachin Mukherjee used to work as a team under the screen name Yatrik (phonetically Jatrik in Bengali) until 1963, after which each began to be credited separately. The entire shooting schedule was in Calcutta. After the post production work in Bombay, the film ‘Palatak’ produced under the Rajkamal Kalamandir banner was released in Calcutta in 1963 and was a big success. The film featured Anup Kumar, Sandhya Roy and Ruma Guha Thakurta in the lead roles. Since the script/ film demanded folk-based songs, initially Hemanta was reluctant to take up the job of music director for this film. He felt his lack of experience in this genre would be an impediment to its success. At the insistence of Tarun Majumdar he accepted the offer on the condition that Mukul Dutta should be roped in as the song writer. And the songs / music of the film too came in for generous praise. That added one more feather to his cap.

In the remaking of the film ‘Palatak’, Hemant Kumar took a huge risk, since the film typically belonged to the ‘Bengali Gharana’. Hemant Kumar was very well aware of the fact that the film may not go well with the ethos outside the Bengali viewership, yet he was willing to take the risk. For ‘Raahgir’, Hemant Kumar came back to Biswajit and Sandhya Roy was retained. Tarun Majumdar was in charge of the direction once again. The story is about Biswajit playing the role of an impulsive young man in search for ‘the meaning of life’ and is regarded as one of his most credible performances. Hemant Kumar once again was at his best as a music director. Yet the film failed to draw crowds. Let me present the Hindi and the Bengali versions of a song rendered by Hemanta Mukhopadhyay.

4a. Janam se banjara hun bandhu, film Rahgir (1969), lyrics Gulzar

4b. Jibon purer pathik re bhai, film Palatak (1963), lyrics Mukul Dutta

Unfazed by five failures on a trot, Hemant Kumar was again into production the same year. Now it was a remake of the hugely successful 1959 Bengali film ‘Deep Jwele Jai’. ‘Khamoshi’ (1970) explores the deep, emotional nature of a woman. Waheeda did complete justice to the role with great maturity. She carried the entire film through her powerful acting. She was nominated for the Filmfare Best Female Actor Award. Dharmendra‘s role too was handled well by the director Asit Sen. The film stood out for Rajesh Khanna’s performance and also for its Black & White cinematography by Kamal Bose, who won the Filmfare Award for his work in the film. Hemant Kumar and Gulzar did an outstanding job in their respective roles as composer and song writer.  The film is particularly remembered for its songs such as, ’Tum pukar lo tumhara intezaar hai’ sung by Hemant Kumar, ‘Woh shaam kuchh ajeeb thi’ by Kishore Kumar and ‘Humne dekhi hai in aankhon ki mahakti khushboo’ sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Though the film was not another failure, yet it did not live up to the expectations; at box-office the film met with moderate success.

5. Tum pukaar lo, tumhara intazaar hai, film Khamoshi (1969), lyrics Gulzar

By the end of the decade (1961-70), Hemant Kumar’s career in Hindi films was coming to an end, however there were few spillovers into the seventies, before the ‘Last Bugle’ was sounded. Ten years ago, Hemant Kumar had started his production venture in Hindi films with ‘Bees Saal Baad’. After ten years and despite repeated failures he once again entered into his next project ‘Bees Saal Pahle’. His son Jayanta Mukherjee was in one of the lead roles under the adopted film name Ritesh. It was more like a family venture. His daughter Ranu Mukherjee sang a couple of songs. Gautam Mukherjee, who later married Ranu, acted in this film. Shamsul Huda Bihari, a longtime friend of Hemant Kumar, penned the lyrics. The film released in 1972 only added to Hemant Kumar’s mounting debts and woes.

Presenting a song rendered by Lata Mangeshkar, picturised on Farida Jalal and Ritesh (Jayanta Mukherjee).

6a. Kahte hain saare hanste nazaare by Lata Mangeshkar, film Bees Saal Pahle (1972), lyrics S H Bihari

Bengali listeners will certainly recognize the eminently popular tune of this song which was composed for the Bengali film ‘Monihaar’ (1966). The song ‘Nijum sandhyay pantha pakhira’ had two versions, rendered by Lata Mangeshkar and Hemant Kumar respectively. I would present the Hemanta’s version from ‘Monihaar’ (1966) picturised on Biswajit and Sandhya Roy.

6b. Nijhuma sandhya, film Monihaar (1966), lyrics Pulak Bandopadhyay

Altogether Hemant Kumar produced eight Hindi films. Except ‘Bees Saal Baad’ and ‘Khamoshi’, the rest bombed at the box office. For these eight films Hemant Kumar composed fiftyseven songs. He rendered twenty songs, out of which fifteen were solos.

As a Music Director for other producers

Hemant Kumar scored music for eighteen Hindi films after 1960. Out of the eighteen, eight were for his in-house productions, which I have covered in detail. Rest of the ten films were ‘Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam’ (1962), ‘Ma Beta’ (1962), ‘Bin Baadal Barsaat’ (1963), ‘Do Dil’ (1965),’Sannata’ (1966), ‘Anupama’ (1966), ‘Do Dooni Chaar’ (1968), ‘Us Raat Ke Baad’ (1970), Do Ladke Dono Kadke (1979) and Love in Canada (1979). Hemant Kumar composed fifty eight songs for these ten films. Interestingly, he rendered only eight songs out of which five were solos.

‘Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam’ was an important landmark in his career as a music director. The film came in for major critical praise and won several awards, but did not do well at the box office. Hemant Kumar’s music was highly appreciated. SD Burman and Sahir Ludhiyanavi were the original choice for the music direction and song writing respectively, but SD Burman was unwell and Sahir declined the offer. When Guru Dutt approached Hemant Kumar, he was not willing to accept the offer for two reasons. Firstly, he was already in the last stages of his legwork for his first Hindi film production. And two, he was apprehensive about Guru Dutt’s unpredictable moods. Guru Dutt’s assurance dispelled his misgivings on both the counts. Hemant Kumar wanted Shakeel Badayuni to pen the songs since Shakeel was the song writer for ‘Bees Saal Baad’ too. And their combination produced seven songs, out which five can be considered as exquisite numbers; out of this five, two were rendered by Asha Bhosle for Waheeda Rehman – ‘Bhanwara bada naadan’ and ‘Meri baat rahi mere mann mein’, while Geeta Dutt sang three songs, ‘Koi door se awaaz de’, ‘Piya aiso jiya mein samaay gayo re’ and ‘Na jaao sainya chhuda ke bainya’. The only song, ‘Saahil ki taraf kashti le chal’, sung by Hemant Kumar had a shot which showed Chhoti Bahu (Meena Kumari) resting her head on Bhootnath’s (Guru Dutt) lap in the carriage. Due to adverse reactions, Guru Dutt removed the song and the ‘offending shot’, changing the carriage scene to a dialogue exchange between Chhoti Bahu and Bhootnath. Hemant Kumar used this tune in the 1966 film ‘Anupama’ for which he was the music director.

‘Anupama’ was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The movie stars Dharmendra and Sharmila Tagore in the lead roles. The film did reasonably well at the box office and its music and songs came in for praise.

7. Ya dil ki suno duniyawalo, film Anupama (1966), lyrics Kaifi Azmi

I would present one more song for which Hemant Kumar scored music for a film outside his own banner. ‘Bin Baadal Barsaat’ (1963) was a thriller movie featuring Asha Parekh, Biswajit and Mehmood in the lead characters. The film was directed by Jyoti Swaroop and produced under the Uttam Chitra Banner (NC Sippy). Hemant Kumar worked again for NC Sippy under the Uttam Chitra Banner in 1965 for the film ‘Do Dil’ directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. As we have seen earlier, whenever Hemant Kumar and Sakeel Badayuni came together, they produced sheer magic. After ‘Bees Saal Baad’ and ‘Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam’, the duo combined for the last time to produce some eminently listenable numbers for the film ‘Bin Baadal Barsaat’ (1963). Presenting a solo rendered by Hemant Kumar from this film.

8. Zindagi kitni khubsurat hai, film Bin Baadal Barsaat (1963), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni

As a playback singer for other Music Directors – Hindi Films

Hemant Kumar’s total output as a playback singer declined significantly during the decade 1961-70. He rendered approximately 35 songs in 26 films as against 141 songs in 81 films in the previous decade (1951-60). His total output in Hindi films from 1971 to 1989 was only 14. I would present two songs he rendered for other composers during this period.

Based on the 1892 short story by Rabindranath Thakur, ‘Kabuliwala’ (1961) had Balraj Sahni in the title role. The Bengali version was made by Tapan Sinha in 1954 and had Chobi Biswas in the main role. Hemen Gupta made it in Hindi in 1961. Let me present the song rendered by Hemant Kumar for this film,

9. Ganga aaye kahan se, Ganga jaye kahan re, film Kabuliwala (1961) lyrics Gulzar, music Salil Choudhury

Let me do a summing up of his career in Bombay.

After the success of ‘Nagin’ (1954), he did not show enough discretion in his selection of films. He accepted almost all the offers that came his way to score music. Hemant Kumar states in his biography that he could not assess his market rate after Nagin’s success. He accepted offers to score music for Rs 12000/- to 15000/- per film. An offer of Rs. 20000/- seemed to him a huge sum at that moment. He rues his decision and further states that he should have restricted his number of films in Bombay and raised his remuneration. But that was an afterthought and one cannot set the clock back. In the process he started losing his position as a leading singer too, which he had gained especially after the success of ‘Anarkali’ (1953).

In order to get back his foothold in Hindi films Hemant Kumar ventured into production. After the success of his first two films as a producer he lost his way. Instead of being deterred by failures, he was sucked deep into the vortex of production. This not only affected him financially but also harmed his singing career in Bombay. In the process, he even lost his toehold which he was able to gain after ‘Bees Saal Baad’ and ‘Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam’.

Reverting back to the first part of the question, “Was Hemant Kumar able to consolidate his position and career in Bombay…………”, to state that he failed to capitalize on his extraordinary success would be a simplistic statement. Irrespective of the box office outcome, Hemant Kumar had a large number of highly listenable songs. Ashok Vaishanvji had rightly pointed out this fact in one of his follow up articles on Hemant Kumar. I quote “As it happens with the majority of the film songs, the songs from the films that did well on the box office had longer recall value in the minds of the listeners”.

Providence conspires to make things happen the moment one definitely commits oneself. A whole stream of events gradually proceeds from the decision. But capitalizing on such providential help is another matter. Success and failures are relative. This was evidently true in Hemant Kumar’s career. He had his own share of defining moments and disappointments. And there was the luck factor too. As it often happens, his fortune did not favour him as it did earlier. Hemant Kumar, it seems, believed in destiny and coped up with the ecstatic highs and appalling lows in his career philosophically. He could accept the fact that stardom is transient and the real happiness lies in the act of creation. He was blessed with loads of patience and that helped him to take things as it came and he moved on with his search for the ultimate bliss in his own creations.

Borrowing lyricist Yogesh’s words.
Jeevan ek pyaas hai,
Sabhi ko kuchh talaash hai
Jeevan ek pyaas hai

Jinki hum talaash mein umra bhar chale
koi jaanta nahin wo kahan mile
Phir bhi tooti nahin ye jo aas hai
Sabhi Ko Kuchh Talaash Hai
Jeevan ek pyaas hai
Sabhi ko kuchh ki talaash hai

10. Raahi tu mat ruk jaana, film Door Gagan Ki Chaaon Mein (1964), lyrics Shailendra, music Kishore Kumar

Section 3:

The saying, ‘as one door closes another one opens’, was very much true in Hemant Kumar’s career. As we see a downward curve in his assignments in Bombay, there was an upward swing in Bengali films in Calcutta. Before I broach the subject, I would like to touch upon the churning that was happening in Bengali film world during the fifties and Hemanta Mukhopadyhay’s ‘positioning’ therein.

When Hemanta Mukhopadyay left Calcutta in search of greener pastures in Bombay, Bengal film industry was poised for a major change. The old order was gradually withering away and giving way to a new one. The gradual eclipse of New Theatres and similar production houses, the effects of partition on the market and the cine goers, and the emergence of glamorous Hindi films in a big way had a definite impact on the Bengali cine watchers. They were moving away from regional cinema. Wooed by the popularity and demand for Hindi cinema, theatre owners were inclined to show Hindi movies. Younger generations of that period were yearning for something different. Responding to the needs of the situation Bengali Cinema went through a process of transformation. Effective changes especially in the areas of content, narration, style and presentation, catering to the taste of the masses was bringing back the audience to the theatres. Awakening to a new dawn, Bengali film industry was entering into its golden period. 1953-54 marked the watershed in Bengali film industry. While the popular cinema was getting back on the tracks, Bengali cinema also had space for serious or parallel cinema and had its exclusive audience. And there was an intersecting overlap too. There were enough audience for all the three categories, the popular cinema having the major share. While directors like Nirmal Dey, Ajay Kar, Sudhir Mukherjee and others were nourishing the popular cinema, Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen and Ritwik Ghatak were creating waves on the other front, and directors like Tapan Sinha and Tarun Majumdar were making their own brand of films which may be considered as the bridge between the two. Even as the appearance of two youthful faces, Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen, injected the much needed star appeal, Soumitra Chatterjee, Kali Banerjee, Supriya Devi, Sharmila Tagore emerged in the Bengali film scenario through the parallel cinema. Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, Nachiketa Ghosh , Sudhin Dasgupta and Shyamal Mitra as music directors, Gouriprasanna Majumdar, Pulak Bandopadhyay and Mukul Dutta as song writers contributed immensely to the resurgence of the popular Bengali cinema. Parallel cinema too was enriched by musicians like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Ustad Vilayat Khan. And the above list is not exhaustive.

Removed from the rejuvenation that was happening in the east, Hemant Kumar was cementing his place in the west. In 1954 he had reached his pinnacle in Bombay coinciding with the watershed period in Bengali films. This provided the perfect launching pad for his re-emergence in Bengali films. And when the offers came, Hemanta riding on the chariot of success entered the field with aplomb in 1955. Hemanta as a composer and a singer in Bengali films was high on popularity for the next 25 to 30 years. Very few composers / singers have enjoyed such a huge popularity and fan following. To cover the entire success story spanning three decades would be a tall order.

First I would give a statistical overview of Hemanta Mukhopadhyay’s work for the period under discussion

Then I would try to focus on a few important associations (and some relevant Information) that was instrumental to further his career in Calcutta.

I would follow it up with the two in-house productions in Bengali, before concluding.

Statistical overview of Hemanta Mukhopadhyay’s Bengali Films

A year wise break-up from 1955 to 1960 will give an indication of his steady rise as a music director in Bengali Films.

1955: 2 films – Shaapmochan and Suryamukhi
1956: Nil
1957: 3 films – Shesh Parichay, Taaser Ghar and Harano Sur
1958: 4 films – Lukochuri, Shikaar, Jautuk and Suryatoran
1959: 6 films – Neel Aakasher Neeche, Marutirtha Hinglaaj, Deep Jwele Jai, Khelaghar, Sonar Harin and Kshan-iker Atithi
1960: 5 films – Kuhak, Khokababur Pratyabartan, Baishe Shraban, Gariber Meye and Shesh Prjanta

In the 20 films, he composed roughly 81 songs out which he rendered 43 solos.

As a playback singer for other music directors he approximately rendered 70 songs in 43 films between 1955 and 1960.

And a synopsis of Hemanta Mukhopadhyay’s career in Bengali films and his NFSs post 1960 would give yet another vivid picture of his consolidation.

As a music director:
1961-70: 51 films; composed approximately 231 songs, rendered around 122 songs out of which 89 were solos.
1971-80: 39 films; composed approximately 195 songs, rendered around   80 songs out of which 62 were solos.
1981-88: 26 films; composed approximately 164 songs rendered around   43 songs out of which 26 were solos.
Total: 116 films; composed 590 songs, rendered 245 songs out of which 177 were solos.
Besides he scored music for a Bengali Film ‘Nyay Bichaar’ produced in Bangladesh in 1989.

Again in 1989, Biswajit signed Hemanta to score music for a bilingual film. One song for the Bengali version ‘Bhalobasar Raat’ was recorded on 23^rd September 1989, three days prior to his demise.

As a playback singer under other music directors:
1961-1970: Roughly 117 songs (approximately 69 films)
1971-1980: Roughly 117 songs (approximately 80 films)
1981-1990: Roughly 66 songs (approximately 50 films)
After 1990 three more films were released for which he rendered 3 songs.
Total 303 songs; this includes songs from unreleased films.

Bengali NFSs including Rabindra Sangeet (Records and cassettes)
1961-1990:  roughly 370 songs. This approximately includes 50+ self-composed songs.

Besides, he lent his voice for 12 Geetinatya (musical drama) records, out of which 6 were Rabindra Geetinatya.

Some important associates in Hemanta Mukhopadhyay’s career:

Hemanta once told Pulak Bandopadhyay, the lyricist with whom he had worked extensively in his later part of his career, that two thing are important for success in one’s career; ‘Yogyata’ (eligilbility/ potential) and ‘Yogayog’ (associations/contacts/ connections). As regards ‘Yogyata’, I need not stress on this point, since it is very much evident that Hemanta had plenty of this trait. I would be discussing in brief, his association with some select set of individuals – lead actors, directors, song writers and others. In the process I would be bypassing a lot more than those I would be covering. But I am sure readers would understand and bear with me. I am sure we will have more opportunities in future to do justice to the rest. Let me start with Uttam Kumar and Soumitra Chatterjee, the two male lead actors who dominated Bengali films during the golden period.

Uttam Kumar was a one-man phenomenon who along with Suchitra Sen is credited for the revival of the Bengali films in the 50s. Actually Hemanta’s association with Uttam Kumar started in the year 1951 when he rendered two songs for Uttam in the film ‘Sahajatri’ under Robin Chattopadhyay’s music direction. Uttam was then in the nascent stage of his career. In 1953, Hemanta rendered four songs in a periodic film ’Bou Thakuranir Haat’ based on a story by the same name penned by Rabindranath Thakur. The film had Uttam Kumar in the casting but none of the songs rendered by Hemanta was picturised on him. ‘Sahajatri’ was Uttam’s fourth film. It took another four films for Uttam Kumar to come of age. ‘Basu Paribar’ (1952) was his first hit movie. And as I have stated earlier, 1953 was the watershed year for the Bengali film industry. ‘Shaare Chuattor’ (1953) was the first film Uttam Kumar and Suchitra Sen came together and it established them as the first couple of the Bengali films right away. The film became a box-office topper and there was no looking back for the pair. Uttam-Suchitra featured in six films in 1954. It must be said that though Uttam-Suchitra pair was a huge draw, at the same time each had their own fan following and cinephiles would flock to the theatres even when only one of them was present. Excluding the six films they were featured together, Uttam Kumar acted in 8 more films and Suchitra Sen acted in 3 more films in the year 1954.

The year 1955 marked the comeback of Hemanta Mukhopadhyay in a big way. He had his own fan following and after his recent success in Bombay, he too was in demand. When the producer of the next Uttam-Suchitra starrer approached him for scoring music for ‘Shapmochan’ (1955), he latched on to the opportunity. And this film too turned out to be a box-office sensation. All the four songs composed and rendered by Hemanta for Uttam Kumar were hits. By the end of 1950s, Hemanta Mukhopadhyay had established himself as the undisputed numero uno of Bengali Film music and out of the 20 Bengali films he scored music for, between 1955 and 1960, eleven of them were Uttam Kumar starrers. Besides ‘Shapmochan’ (1955), Hemanta scored music for two more Uttam-Suchitra starrers – Harano Sur (1957) and Suryatoran (1958) – where he rendered 4 songs for Uttam. Even non-Uttam films like ‘Suryamukhi’, ‘Shesh Parichay’, ‘Lukochuri’, ‘Kshaniker Athiti’ and ‘Bayisher Shraban’ did very well at the theatres. Between 1961 and 1980, Hemanta gave music direction for 16 more films in which Uttam Kumar acted (1961-70: 11 films, 1971-80: 5 films) and only two of them were Uttam-Suchitra starrers, Saptapadi (1961) and Nabaraag (1971).

‘Saptapadi’ (1961) was another blockbuster film of the first romantic pair of Bengali cinema. Mesmerising music direction of Hemanta Mukhpadhyay and playback singing by him and Sandhya Mukherjee added to the unprecedented popularity of the film. The story was based on a 1958 novel written by Tarasankar Bandyopadhyay. The evergreen Song ‘Ei path jodi na shesh hoto’ is one of the most popular Bengali duets of the golden period. Presenting the song,

11a. Ei poth jodi na shesh hoy, with Sandhya Mukherjee, film Saptapadi (1961), lyics Gouriprasanna Majumdar, music Hemanta Mukhopadhyay

Hemanta used the same tune for another duet in the 1963 Hindi film ‘Bin Baadal Barsaat’. It was a thriller movie featuring Asha Parekh, Biswajit and Mehmood in the lead characters.

11b. Ek baar zara phir kah do, with Lata Mangeshkar, film Bin Baadal Barsaat, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Hemant Kumar

The next song is from another 1961 film ‘Dui Bhai’. Uttam Kumar and Biswajit were cast in the role of two brothers and Sabitri Chatterjee was cast opposite Uttam Kumar in this film. Presenting another popular song rendered by Hemanta and picturised on Uttam Kumar and Biswajit.

12. Tare bole deo, film Dui Bhai (1961), lyrics Gouriprasanna Majumdar, music Hemanta Mukhopadhyay

Hemanta must have rendered around 55 to 60 songs, under other music directors, in films in which Uttam Kumar acted. And all of them were not picturised on him, some of them were background songs or surrogate songs. And the interesting point is that the majority of the songs Hemanta rendered for Uttam Kumar were lapped by the cine goers and music lovers. It is not that Hemanta dominated Uttam Kumar’s movies as a playback singer. There were other singers like Shyamal Mitra, Manabendra Mukherjee and in the later stages Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar also sang for Uttam Kumar. And yet surprisingly, fans readily considered Hemanta as the most preferred voice of Uttam Kumar. I have selected two films in which Hemanta lent his voice for Uttam Kumar where the music was scored by relatively lesser known music directors.

‘Shesh Anka’ (1963) a thriller film directed by Haridas Bhattacharya was produced under the Kalpana Movies banner. The film featured Uttam Kumar, Sharmila Tagore, Sabitri Chatterjee, Utpal Dutta and Bikash Ray among others. The film was loosely inspired by the 1958 film ‘Chase a Crooked Shadow’. It was remade in Tamil in 1964 as ‘Puthiya Paravai’. Presenting a song rendered by Hemanta for the film,

13. Ami to jani, film Shesh Anka (1963), lyrics Shyamal Gupta, music Pabitra Chatterjee

‘Sonar Khancha’ (1973), a very unusual film, a romantic tragedy, that takes the viewer with it to a height of pathos. Brilliant performances by the evergreen Uttam Kumar and Aparna Sen make the film worth watching.

14. Ke jane ko ghanta, film Sonar Khancha (1973), lyrics Pulak Bandopadhyay, music Bireswar Chatterjee

Soumitra Chatterjee was another big name in Bengali films. He was almost eight and a half years younger to Uttam Kumar. He made his debut in the third part of Apu trilogy, directed by Satyajit Ray. ‘Apur Sansar’ (1959) was Satyajit Ray’s fifth film. He acted in 14 out of the 28 Satyajit Ray’s films in Bengali. Uttam Kumar and Soumitra Chatterjee acted together in at least 8 films and Hemanta had scored music for only one of the films, Pankhiraj (1980). Incidentally, ‘Pankhiraj’ was released in the same year when Uttam Kumar passed away at the age of 53.

Before I explore Hemanta’s association with Soumitra let me present a song from the film ‘Stree’ (1972). Hemanta rendered four songs in the film where Uttam and Soumitra acted together. All the four songs Hemanta rendered in this film were lip-synced by Soumitra Chatterjee. The music was by Nachiketa Ghosh, a name to reckon with. The film was also a box office hit. Presenting another popular number where Manna Dey sings for Uttam and Hemanta for Soumitra. By the beginning of the seventies, Manna Dey had gradually replaced Hemanta as Uttam’s main voice. But that did not affect Hemanta’s popularity.

15. Hajar takar jhaarbati ta, with Manna Dey, film Stree (1972), lyrics Gouriprasanna Majumdar, music Nachiketa Ghosh

By early sixties, Hemanta had tiled his place smoothly in Bengali films, and if I say that his popularity and fan following at this stage could be matched with that of Uttam Kumar, it would not be an exaggeration. And the success of ‘Neel Akasher Neeche’ (1959) pushed his stocks further. Hemanta’s association with Soumitra Chatterjee started during this period with the film ‘Swaralipi’ (1961) directed by Asit Sen. Thus another long and successful association was shaped. Within a short time Soumitra had emerged as a rising star and whose name would be talked in equal terms with Uttam Kumar for the next twenty years. Hemanta scored music for 29 films in which Soumitra Chatterjee acted, the break-up being, 1961-70: 14 films, 1971-80: 12 films and 1981-89: 5 films. I would present two more songs picturised on Soumitra.

16. Khirki theke singha duar, lyrics Pulak Bandopadhyay, film Stree (1972), music Nachiketa Ghosh

17. O aakash sona sona, lyrics Mintu Ghosh, film Ajana Path (1967), music Hemanta Mukhopadhyay

Gouriprasanna Majumdar and Pulak Bandopadhyay were the two prominent song writers with whom Hemanta collaborated most. The two song writers together penned roughly 52% of the songs for which Hemanta composed music in his career. And they had almost an equal share. Hemanta used Rabindranath songs on several occasions. Another lyricist who deserves mention here is Mukul Dutta. Rabindranath and Mukul Dutta must have accounted for 20% of his songs. Even the figures for the period 1961 to 1990 show almost an identical trend. Between Gouriprasanna Majumdar and Pulak Bandopadyay, the former dominates the period between 1947 and 1970, whereas in the latter period between 1971 and 1990 Pulak Bandopadhyay was Hemanta’s main song writer. Gouriprasanna and Hemanta worked together for the first time for the film ‘Purbaraag’ (1947). ‘Purbaraag’ was Gouriprsanna’s first film as a song writer and Hemanta’s second film as a music director. Their association was reestablished with the film ‘Suryamukhi” in the year 1955. Pulak Bandopadhyay’s first film with Hemanta was ‘Monihaar’ (1966). Roughly 40% of the songs Hemanta rendered for other music directors were penned by this pair. Interestingly, here too they had an equal share.

Among the music directors (90+) for whom Hemanta had lent his voice I would like mention two names, Nachiketa Ghosh and Robin Chattopadhyay. Hemanta’s songs for these two music directors should account for 22% to 25% of the songs he rendered for other composers. Hemanta’s first song for Robin Chattopadhyay was in the year 1946 for the film ‘Saath Number Bari’ and I have mentioned earlier Hemanta’s first song for Uttam Kumar was also under Robin Chattopadhyay’s music direction for the film ‘Sahayatri’(1951). Let me present an iconic lullaby and a wonderful composition, most likely picturised on Asit Baran. The video link to the song is not available, presenting an audio link to the song.

18. Ghum jay oi chand megh korider saathi, film Mayar Sangsaar (1962) lyrics Pranab Ray, music Robin Chattopadhyay

Nachiketa Ghosh was a qualified doctor, but his lure for film music made him opt for a profession as music composer. His entry into the Bengali film world coincided with the watershed period. His First film was ‘Boudir Bon’ (1953). He was one of the most acclaimed music directors of the golden period and had scored music for more than 60 films. His career was cut short by his untimely death in the year 1976 at the age of 51. His first association with Hemanta was in the year 1956 for the film ‘Asamapta’. In the 50s and 60s Nachiketa-Hemanta-Gouriprasanna team proved to be a winning combination. And the trio was very close to each other in their personal as well as professional life. Posting a hymn which is part of ‘Moha Mudgara’ (popularly known as Bhaja Govindam) composed by Adi Sankaracharya. The hymn appears three times in the movie ‘Sannayasiraja’ (1975), I am posting the video version lip-synced by Uttam Kumar. The song starts at 03:10 of the following link.

19. Ka tava kanta kaste putraha, film ‘Sannayasiraja’ (1975), lyrics Adi Shankaracharya, music Nachiketa Ghosh

Hemanta Mukhopadhyay in his long career as a music director (in Bengali films) was associated with more than 50 directors. Among the fifty+, Tarun Majumdar (20), Ajoy Kar (15) and Agradoot (10) would together account for almost one-third of his films.

Agradoot is not the name of a particular director, but was a group of film technicians signing collectively as director, a phenomenon unique to Bengali Cinema (as far as my knowledge goes). The group formed in 1946 was active up to the end of 1980s. Hemanta scored music for them in ten films and their association produced fruitful results in 1950s and 60s. Other well-known collectives include Sabyasachi, Agragami, Yatrik, Chitra Rath and Chitra Sathi.

Ajay Kar too initially started his directorial venture with such a group known by the name Sabyasachi Collective, which also included Kanan Devi and Benoy Chatterjee. His first independent film as director was ‘Jighangsa’ in 1951. Hemanta’s association with Ajay Kar started with this film and lasted till Hemanta’s death. In all Hemanta scored music for 15 films which would roughly account for 50% of Ajoy Kar’s directorial ventures. Ajoy Kar was one of the most sought after directors of the golden period and he was considered as the mentor to Uttam Kumar. His association with Hemanta Mukhopadhyay resulted in blockbusters like ‘Harano Sur’, ‘Saptapadi’, ‘Saat Paake Bandha’, ‘Khelaghar’ to name a few.

Tarun Majumdar, too, like Ajoy Kar started his career as a director with a group called Yaatrik/Jatrik. His first film with Hemanta was ‘Palatak’ (1963), when Tarun Majumdar was a part of the group. He was the brain behind this successful film produced by Shantaram. I have discussed the film while presenting the songs 4a & 4b. After ‘Palatak’ Hemanta became the permanent music director for Tarun Majumdar. Out of the 34 films Tarun Majumdar directed, 3 were before ‘Palatak’ and 8 were after Hemanta’s demise. And out of the remaining 23 films Hemanta composed music for 20. I would present three songs from the films directed by Tarun Majumdar and composed and rendered by Hemanta. First a popular Holi song from the film ‘Balika Badhu’ (1967)

20. Laag laag ranger bhelki, film Balika Badhu (1967), lyrics Gouriprasanna Majumdar, music Hemanta Mukhopadhyay

Hemanta could not take up any outside assignments in 1971-72, due to his involvement in his own production, ‘Anindita’ (1972) for which he was also the director. Besides, he had to travel to London twice for recording the songs for the film ‘Siddharth’ (1972) directed by Conrad Rooks. After ‘Anindita’ and ‘Siddharth’ when Hemanta had no films in hand, Tarun Majumdar stood by his side and gave him three assignments, ‘Shreeman Prithviraj’ (1973), ‘Phuleswari’ (1974) and ‘Thagini (1974). And all of them were well received by the audience. Out of the three ‘Phuleswari’ deserves a special mention. This film had a few songs belonging to a genre called ‘Paala Gaan’, a folk ballad based on musical narrative. In the beginning Hemanta was hesitant to take up the assignment, but Tarun Majumdar took him to Boral village where the veteran ‘Paala Gaan’ singer of yesteryears Krishnakali Bhattacharya resided. He was in his eighties and subject to irritable moods. To him Hemanta was just another name. Hemanta like an obedient student learnt the nuances of ‘Paala Gaan’ and humbly accepted the admonishment from the veteran authority, whenever he made mistakes. This depicts Hemanta’s character as a serious musician, learner and a human being. It was a milestone movie in the history of Bengali films both for its story as well as for its songs and it success once again revived Hemanta’s fortunes in Bengali films. Thus Tarun Majumdar’s association had a very significant influence in Hemanta’s career.

The film had 12 songs and Hemanta rendered 6 of them, Manna Dey 2, Haridhan Mukhopadhyay, Anup Ghoshal, Aarti Mukherjee one each. Sandhya Mukhopadhyay and Aarti Mukhopadhyay together rendered a duet. All the songs became eminently popular. I have selected the most popular song out of the six solos rendered by Hemanta for the film. It does not belong to the folk genre mentioned here.

21. Jeona danao bandhu, film Phuleswari (1974), lyrics Pulak Bandopadhyay, music Hemanta Mukhopadhyay

I had to leave out many significant relationships/ associations in Hemanta’s life, but the one important name that I must mention would be that of Lata Mangeshkar. After ‘Ananda Math’ Hemanta had established an excellent relationship with Lata. Hemanta in his biography states that Lata never accepted any remuneration for singing in his in-house productions. He also mentions that Lata never turned down any request made by him but always warned him of his fair-weather friends.

In 1953, Lata Mangeshkar recorded her first Rabindra Sangeet album at the request of Hemanta Mukhopadhyay. Both the songs, ‘Tomar holo shuru’ and ‘Madhu gandhe bara’, were duets with Hemanta and recorded under his direction. The album was released sometime in June-July 1953.The same year, again at the request of Hemanta, she recorded two more Rabindra Sangeet solos, ‘Hriday amaar naache re’ and ‘Sawan gagane ghor ghanaghata’ for the film ‘Bou Thakuranir Haat’ (1953), under Dwijen Choudhury’s music direction. The initial guidance was provided by Hemanta. In April 1954, she came to Calcutta at the invitation of Hemanta and Bela and stayed at Hemanta’s house at Bhawanipur. She also accepted an invitation to participate in the ‘Polila Baisakh / Bengali New Year Day’ programme held at Basusree Cinema Hall.

In 1985, a grand celebration was organized, at the Netaji Indoor Stadium at Calcutta, to commemorate Hemanta Mukherjee’s completion of 50 years of his career in music