Filmfare profiles composer and singer Hemant Kumar

Salil Chowdhary, the ace composer once remarked about his lifelong friend and colleague that if God had a voice, he would have sung like Hemant Kumar. Even Lata Mangeshkar compared his voice to the pure intonations of a bhajan being sung in a mandir. Hemant Kumar, the doyen of Bengali film music, may not have touched much work in Hindi but whatever he did turned gold, both as a singer and composer. Despite his mastery over Rabindra Sangeet, he didn’t adhere to the strict norms of either classical or Rabindra Sangeet. Instead he caught the sur of the composition and the mood of the situation. He was an innovator too. In Nagin (1954) for instance, his then assistant Kalyanji Virji Shah, of Kalyanji-Anandji fame played the Clavioline, which was a prototype of today’s synthesizer, to bring out sound of the been (musical instrument used to charm snakes) in Tan dole mera man dole song. The improvisation became hugely popular and Kalyanji became a much in demand Clavioline player.

With Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru and wife Bela

As composer/singer
Nagin proved to be the big hit for Hemantda. He had been active in the Bengali film industry since the late ’40s. Later, in the early ’50s, he shifted to Mumbai to try his luck. Here, he had made his debut with Anand Math (1952), the first Hindi film directed by long-time friend Hemen Gupta. His use of a marching beat for Vande Mataram, sung by Lata, is one of the most energetic reproductions of the patriotic song. But the musical Nagin, with such gems as Jadugar saiyyan, Mera dil yeh pukare aaja, Teri yaad mein jalkar dekh liya (all by Lata), Hemant’s bhajan, O zindagi ke denewale and of course Tan dole... made him a household name overnight.

Shart (1954) is remembered for its haunting duet Dekho woh chand chup kar, sung by Hemant and Lata, a hot favourite on the radio even today. The film also had Hemant crooning the classic Na yeh chand hoga. Jagriti (1955) was a small film revolving around Gandhian values. Kavi Pradeep’s patriotic songs, such as Aao bacchon tumhe dikhayen, De di hame azadi bina khadag bina dhaal, a pen portrait of Gandhiji as well as Hum laaye hain toofan se kashti nikal ke, sung by Mohammed Rafi, were all composed by Hemant. The songs showed his range as a composer and his mastery over getting the nuances right.

He needed big banners though, which came in the form of BR Chopra’s Ek Hi Raasta (1956), coincidentally Chopra’s debut film as a producer. The social melodrama carried the bouncy Hemant-Lata duet, Sawale salone aaye din, filmed on child artiste Daisy Irani, Sunil Dutt and Meena Kumari riding a tandem bicycle. The solo Hemant number, Chali gori pi se milan ko chali too is remembered. AVM, the behemoth banner from the South, made its foray into Hindi films with Miss Mary, starring Meena Kumari and Gemini Ganesan. Hemantda excelled in this lighthearted comedy, giving us songs like the Lata-Mohammed Rafi duet, O raat ke musafir, the classical based Lata-Asha duet, Sakhi ri sun bole papiha and Aayi re ghir ghir pehli badariya sung by Geeta Dutt.

As producer/composer
Thanks to his increasing popularity, Hemant Kumar forayed into film production as well. Bees Saal Baad (1962) was his first Hindi production. What a musical this mystery thriller turned out to be! The haunting Kahin deep jale kahin dil, which set the mood of the film, sung by Lata is right there with the singer’s own Aayega aanewala from Mahal (1949, composed by Khemchand Prakash). Bees Saal Baad also had two flirty songs, Zara nazron se kehdoji and Beqarar karke hamen yun na jaiye by Hemant himself.

The pinnacle of Hemant Kumar’s success as a composer came with Guru Dutt’s Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962). Guru Dutt had always worked with either SD Burman or OP Nayyar. It was a matter of pride for Hemantda to be chosen for an adaptation of Bimal Mitra’s novel about decadent nobility. Each song is a masterpiece, whether it’s the pathos-filled Na jao saiyaan chhuda ke baiyan by Geeta Dutt, bringing out the pain of Choti bahu, or Piya aiso jiya mein samaaye gayo re, again by Geeta, highlighting her fake joviality. Both songs were variations of Rabindra Sangeet. Asha Bhosle too got her due with the naughty Bhanwara bada nadaan hai on one hand and the lament filled Meri baat rahi mere man mein, which had elements of Baul (Bengali folk music).

Kohra (1964) produced by Hemant, gave Lata another mermerising song, Jhoom jhoom dhalti raat. The film is famous for the most romantic of his compositions, Yeh nayan dare dare. The musical accompaniment is secondary as his soulful voice takes over. He also had the lighthearted Rah bani khud manzil in the film as well. Hemant perhaps reserved his best for Lata. In Anupama (1966), the minimalist orchestration of the song Kuch dil ne kaha, which speaks of love’s first bloom suits the conversational lyrics. Lata got another great song, Dheere dheere machal and Hemant himself sang the soulful dirge, Ya dil ki suno duniyawalo. In Majhli Didi (1967), Hemant did a Dada Burman, using Bhatiali folk to compose and sing Umariya bin khevak ki naiyya, a neglected gem.

Khamoshi (1969), was his last Hindi film as a successful composer and producer. But what a swan song it was. In Humne dekhi hai un ankhon ki mehekti khushboo, Gulzar’s evocative wordplay got a worthy counterpart in Hemant’s layered composition while Lata sang it with the gravitas it deserved. Kishore Kumar got one of the best songs of his career in the intricate, Woh shaam kuch ajeeb thi and Hemantda outdid himself in his rendition of Tum pukar lo...tumhara intezar hai...The yearning never fails to move you.

Singing for others
Hemant Kumar wasn’t just a composer who sang for himself. He worked extensively as a singer too. Perhaps, the first person to realise his genius was SD Burman, who mostly gave him Dev Anand’s songs. His first break with Dada Burman came with Sazaa (1952), in the duet Aa gupchup gupchup pyar karein, in the able company of Bengali songstress Sandhya Mukherjee. In Jaal (1952), Hemant’s baritone was used expressively in Yeh raat yeh chandni fir kahan. House No. 44’s (1955) poignant Teri duniya mein jeene se behtar hai ke mar jaayen, was a ghazal at par with the then ghazal maestro Talat Mehmood’s renditions. Chup hai dharti, another melancholic solo is still a favourite.

Hemant has lent his voice to many bhajans but nothing could beat SD Burman’s Shivji bihane chale from Munimji (1955). Guru Dutt’s tragic Pyaasa (1957) was about a depressed poet, a dejected lover played by Dutt himself. SD chose Hemantda’s baritone to bring out the world-weariness in Jaane woh kaise log the jinke pyar ko pyar mila. The list couldn’t be complete without the inclusion of Hai apna dil to awara, from Solva Saal (1958), which remains evergreen as ever. Na tum hamein jaano from Baat Ek Raat Ki (1962) was another great effort from the composer-singer duo.

Hemant turned himself into a true blue Mughal era singer for C Ramchandra’s Anarkali (1953) in the song Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag. He demonstrated his classical virtuosity in the Vasant Desai composed Nain so nai nahi milao (Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje 1957). Perhaps, the most soulful of his songs for other composers is Chhupa lo yun dil mein pyaar mera, composed by Roshan for Mamta (1966). The bhajan like composition – you only hear cymbals in the background – is apt for Hemant’s baritone as his voice transcends the boundary of corporeal love. Lata, for once, is overshadowed in this duet, which belongs to the golden-voiced giant alone...