Kundan Lal Saigal

Kundan Lal Saigal, often abbreviated as K. L. Saigal, was an Indian singer and actor who is considered the first superstar of the Hindi film industry, which was centred in Calcutta (Kolkata) during Saigal's time, but is currently centred in Bombay (Mumbai). Saigal's unique voice quality which was a mixture of baritone and soft tenor was the benchmark for most of the singers who followed him. In fact it remains the gold standard even today shining through very early and practically primitive recording technology. Saigal was born on 11 April 1904 in Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, British India, one of twelve children of a weaving teacher. His mother, Kesarbai Saigal, was a deeply religious Hindu lady who was very fond of music. She used to take her young son to religious functions where bhajan, kirtan, and shabad were sung in traditional styles based on classical Indian music. Saigal was the fourth-born child of five, following two elder brothers and an elder sister, and preceding a younger brother. His formal schooling was brief and uneventful. As a child, he occasionally played the Sitar in the Ramlila of Jammu. He was the first cousin of famous character actors, Chaman Puri, Madan Puri and Amrish Puri. Saigal dropped out of school and started earning money by working as a railway timekeeper. Later, he worked as a typewriter salesman for the Remington Typewriter Company, in Simla (now Shimla) which allowed him to tour several parts of India. His travels brought him to Lahore, where he became friends with Mehrchand Jain (who later went on to start the Assam Soap Factory in Shillong) at the Anarkali Bazaar. Mehrchand and Kundan remained friends when they both moved to Calcutta and had many a mehfil -e- mushaira. In those days Saigal was a budding singer and Mehrchand encouraged him to pursue his talent. Saigal often remarked that he was what he was because of Mehrchand's encouragement and early support. He also briefly worked as a hotel manager. Meanwhile, his passion for singing continued and became more intense with the passage of time. In the early 1930s, classical musician and music director Harishchandra Bali brought K.L. Saigal to Calcutta and introduced him to R. C. Boral. R.C. Boral took an instant liking to his talents. Saigal was hired by B. N. Sircar 's Calcutta-based film studio New Theatres on a contract of Rs. 200 per month. There he came into contact with contemporaries like Pankaj Mullick, K. C. Dey and Pahari Sanyal . He acted and sang in many films, starting with Mohabbat Ke Ansu in 1932, followed by Subah Ka Sitara and Zinda Laash in 1932, all produced by East India Film Company. When the talkies were introduced, Saigal became involved in sound recording and even went to Calcutta to train in this new technology. He sang and acted in the first talkie version of Devdas in 1935, which was directed by P. C. Barua and was a huge success. He went on to star in many more films with New Theatres, such as President (1937), Street Singer (1938), Dushman (1939), Zindagi (1940), Chandidas (1942), Tansen (1943), and My Sister (1944). He also sang and acted in films made in Tamil, Bengali and Urdu. Some of his popular songs are "Babul Mora Naihar Chhooto Hi Jaaye", "Dukh Ke Ab Din Beetat Nahi", "Diya Jalao Jagmag Jagmag", "So Ja Rajkumari So Ja", "Ek Bangla Bane Nyara", "Do Naina Matware", "Main Kya Janoon Kya Jadoo Hai", "Duniya Rang Rangili Baba", and "Hum Apna Unhe Bana Na Sake". Saigal moved to Bombay in 1941 and worked with Ranjit Movietone and later with Filmistan. His last film was Shahjehan (1946), in which he played the role of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan and sang some of his most memorable songs, such as "Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya", "Ae Dil-e-Beqarar Jhoom", and "Gham Diye Mustaqil". Saigal had a very serious drinking problem and was often unable to record his songs because of it. He died of a heart attack on 18 January 1947, at the age of 42, leaving behind his wife Asharani and three children. He was buried in Jalandhar, Punjab, British India. Saigal is still considered as one of the greatest singers and actors of Indian cinema. His influence can be seen in the works of many singers who came after him, such as Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, and Manna Dey. He was also admired by many musicians and composers, such as Naushad, S. D. Burman, Madan Mohan, Ravi Shankar, and Salil Chowdhury. He was honoured with a stamp by the Indian government in 1972.