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Hemant Kumar

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Hemant Kumar, known in Bengali as Hemanta Mukherjee, was an Indian music director and playback singer. He was born on 16 June 1920 in Varanasi, grew up in Calcutta and died on 26 September 1989. He left an engineering course to choose music. His debut as a playback singer came in 1940 with the Bengali film Rajkumarer Nirbbasan under S.D. Burman. He sang mainly in Bengali and Hindi, but also in many other Indian languages.

Music and breakthrough

In 1944 he recorded his first album of songs by Rabindranath Tagore, and he became one of the most important interpreters of Rabindra Sangeet. In 1947 he had a turning point with Gayer Badhu, a six-minute song by Salil Chowdhury about the consequences of the Bengal famine, which filled both sides of a record. In 1951 he moved to Bombay. There he composed for, among others, Nagin in 1954, a film that was a great success mainly because of its music and won him a Filmfare Award for best music director in 1955. As a singer he often worked with S.D. Burman and sang for actors such as Dev Anand, Sunil Dutt and Biswajeet. In Bengal he formed a much-loved duo with the actor Uttam Kumar.

Influence

He won two national awards for best male playback singer. His deep, warm voice earned him the nickname Voice of God.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to Rabindra Sangeet in his performance or to songs from Nagin. Notice his deep, warm voice and how calmly he lets each line fade out.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Categories: Artists