Indian music is blessed with legendary personalities, as a result of which Indian songs, music, cinema, and so on are still famous across the world. Many outstanding individuals have been born from time to time who have enhanced Indian culture via songs, music, and cinema. Hemanta Mukherjee, popularly known as Hemant Kumar, was a famous personality and a legendary vocalist who was born on June 16, 1920, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. He was a music director and vocalist who performed in Bengali, Hindi, and a variety of other Indian languages. On the occasion of his birthday, this piece is dedicated to his everlasting soul. It is not surprising why he is still remembered not just in India, but also throughout the world, such as in Bangladesh.
Family and birthplace:
He was born in Varanasi at the home of his mother’s father, a prominent physician. His paternal family hails from Jaynagar, West Bengal, which is still famous for a unique form of sweet known as ‘moa’ (sweet ball composed of dry-milk and a form of puffed rice) commonly known as ‘Jaynager moa’. Though in the early 1900s, his family moved from Jaynagar to Calcutta, which has now become Kolkata. He was raised there, getting used to the surroundings of the heritage of Calcutta, and then he joined Nasiruddin School and, later, Mitra Institution School in Calcutta.
Early life:
When he took admission to the famous school in Calcutta, he met his dear friend Subhas Mukhopadhyay, a well-known Bengali personality known for his poems later in life. Hemant Kumar became friends with prominent writer Santosh Kumar Ghosh while studying there. Hemant soon took admission to Bengal Technical Institute in Jadavpur, Calcutta, after he passed the intermediate examinations (the current 12-grade examination), so that he can seek his course in Engineering, but for his intense interest in music, his dream to continue engineering overshadowed, so he left to start a career in music, despite his father’s objections.
Moving to the film industry:
In 1959, Hemant Kumar moved to a new world of possibilities exploring new film culture in India. He wanted to create the film under his own production, ‘Hemanta-Bela productions’ (Bela Mukherjee Herself was a sensational vocalist and Hemant Kumar’s wife). The first film they came up with was a Bengali film titled Neel Akasher Neechey, directed by Mrinal Sen. (meaning under the blue sky). Eventually, he became more interested in Rabindranath Tagore’s songs, and he continued to sing till his death, and a few famous Tagore’s songs sung by him in the 1940s include: Amar aar habey naa deri (1944), Keno pantho ey chanchalota (1944), Aashad kotha hote aaji1(1945), Esho shyamalo sundaro(1945), etc.
He lent his prominent vocals in several of Tagore’s musical dramas throughout the 1960s, including Valmiki Pratibha, Shyama, Sapmochan, Chitrangada, and Chandalika. However, his success in Hindi films was limited. He composed music for a few of his home productions, but neither the shows nor the music became that popular.
Musical accolades:
He was selected for Padmabhushan for his outstanding musical performance, which he graciously declined, as he had previously declined Padmashree. It is gratifying to note that he was officially honored in Netaji Indoor Stadium in Calcutta/Kolkata for accomplishing 50 years in the musical, where legendary vocalist Lata Mangeshkar gave him mementos and other awards. Hemant Kumar performed in a variety of languages and received several accolades. Among the honors are the Filmfare Best Music Director Award (1956), the National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer (1971), the National Film Award for Best Male Playback (1987), and others.
He was also the recipient of the BFJA Best Music Director Award (1962, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1975, 1986, 1987, and 1988), as well as the BFJA Award for Male Playback Singer in 1972, 1975, and 1976. It is worth noting the Bengal Film Journalists’ Association Awards, also known as the BFJA Awards. In 1986, Hemant Kumar received the coveted Sangeet Natak Akademi Award. He was also a wonderful human being.
Hemant Kumar used to pay for tea, pastries, and other refreshments for his teammates whenever they went to a local play. He remained fully active in the music scene until his death, with his last concert taking place in Bangladesh in September 1989, when he traveled to collect the Michael Madhusudhan Award. Following his return, he suffered a serious heart attack and died on September 26, 1989, in Kolkata, at the age of 69.
On the occasion of his birthday, we salute such a magnificent personality and legendary vocalist.