Hemant Kumar- A League of his Own
Apart from books and movies, Music has been one of my other passions. And i just have a big time passion for old Hindi movie songs, especially the Golden era of 50’s and 60’s. Madan Mohan, S.D.Burman, Shankar Jaikishan, O.P.Nayyar each one of them distinct from each other, each having their own styles. I had already blogged about some of them at my site, and interested persons can check out the following posts on Salil Choudhury,Gulzar Remembers Pancham,Kaifi Azmi and
Sahir.
With his distinctive voice, excellent compositions and melodious tunes, Hemanta Kumar Mukherjee or Hemant Kumar was in a league of his own. Hemant Kumar was not just a singer, he was also a music composer and a movie producer. A truly multifaceted personality, who was a genius, like my other favorite Salil Choudhury. Hemant Da was born in Varanasi, and grew up in Kolkata. He quit his engineering studies at Jadavpur to pursue music as a career. Most of his early songs were Bengali non filmi songs, and his first movie as a singer was a Bong movie, Nimai Sanyas. He was also a foremost exponent of Rabindrasangeet.
Along with Salil Chodhury, he was one of the members of the IPTA( Indian People’s Theater Association), and in 1951 he score the music for Anandamath, based on Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay’s famous novel. The movie became famous for the Vande Mataram song, sung by Lata, which had a marital tone to it. He however became a name to reckon with, following the success of Nagin in 1954, for which he also won the Filmfare Best Music Director award. This post is one some of my favorite Hemant Kumar numbers in Hindi. I have not heard much of his Bengali songs or even the Rabindrasangeet numbers he had composed and sang. But i did hear some of my friends say that his Bengali songs are some of the best ever, maybe some of my Bong friends out here could throw more light on them.
Beqaraar Karke Hume( Bees Saal Baad, Hemant, Hemant)- Pretty zany, pretty melodious, easy on the ears. One of my all time favorites by Hemant Da. Bees Saal Baad in fact remains one of the better horror flicks made in India.
dekhiye vo kaalii kaalii badaliyaa.N
zulf kii ghaTaa churaa na le kahii.n
chorii chorii aake shokh bijaliyaa.N
aapakii adaa churaa na le kahii.n
yuu.N qadam akele na aage ba.Dhaaiye
aapako hamaarii
In fact Bees Saal Baad, for which Hemant Da composed music, had that other unforgettable number from Lata, Kahin Deep Jale Kahin Dil. Very haunting, very poignant.
Dheere, Dheere Machal( Anupama, Lata, Hemant)- As a movie Anupama had some wonderful songs, but this Lata solo is one of my favorites. If you take the beginning of the song, you can see the way Hemant Da, intersperse Lata’s voice with the piano tunes. So you have like this
“Dheere Dheere Machal”, followed by piano tune, “Ae Dil E Bekaraar”, again followed by the tune, to give an effect of the character, actually trying to get the tune right, and then she sings the full stanza
“Dheere Dheere Machal,
Ae Dil E Bekaraar
Koi Aaata Hai”.
Just observe the way Hemant Da, keeps the piano tune, going on throughout the song. And the lyrics by Kaifi Azmi.
mujhako chhune lagi.n usakii parchhaaiyaa.N
dilake nazdiik bajatii hai.n shahanaaiyaa.N
mere sapano.n ke aa.Ngan me.n gaataa hai pyaar
koii aataa hai
I would rate this as one of Lata’s best solos ever.
Ya Dil Ki Suno(Anupama, Hemant, Hemant)- When it came to slow, soul stirring poignant numbers, Hemant Da was one of the best. He seemed to revel in that slow melancholic nature. This was one such number. One feature if you see for most of Hemant Da songs, is the way he consistently maintains the tone of the song. At no stage does he deviate it from it at all. Here also he uses the piano tune, but unlike Dheere Dheere Machal, where the tune is more frenetic, here he sets it to a more slower level.
Ek Khwaab Khushi Ka Dekha Nahin
Ek Khwaab Khushi Ka Dekha Nahin, Dekha Jo Kabhi To Bhool Gaye
Maana Hua Tum Kuch De Na Sake, Jo Tumne Diya Woh Sehne Do
Ya Dil Ki Suno Duniyawalon
Jaane Woh Kaise Log The( Pyaasa, Hemant, S.D.Burman)- This is the kind of song, which i would say “Dil ko choo lena wali”. Dada gave one of his best scores for Pyaasa, with every song being a gem in it, and this one sung by Hemant Da, beautifully conveys the frustration and pain. Great lyrics by Sahir.
khushiyo.n kii ma.nzil Dhuu.NDhii to
Gam kii gard milii
chaahat ke naGame chaahe to
aa.Nhe.n sard milii
dil ke bojh ko dhu.Ndhalaa kar gayaa jo Gamakhaar milaa
Na Tum Hamein Jaano(Baat Ek Raat Ki, Hemant, S.D.Burman)- This song has two versions one by Hemant Da and another by Sumant Kalyanpur. Pretty melodious, romantic number.
Hai Apna Dil to Awara(Solva Saal, Hemant, S.D.Burman)- Totally peppy, masti bhare gaana, which really perks your mood. In fact the movie was interesting too, about Waheeda Rehman, who runs away from home to meet her boyfriend, and she runs into Dev Anand. This song was picturized on Dev in the train. In fact, after Kishore and Rafi, i think Hemant sang a good number of songs for Dev Anand. Here Dada makes good use of the mouth organ, throughout the song, as it goes in perfect synch, with Hemant Da’s voice. Incidentally the mouth organ in this song was played by one R.D.Burman.
Yaad Kiya Dil Ne(Patita, Hemant-Lata,Shankar Jaikishan)- Totally melodious duet from this Dev Anand flick. Very romantic number.
o, kho gaye ho aaj kis khayaal me.n
o, dil fa.nsaa hai bebasii ke jaal me.n
matalabii jahaa.N meharabaa.n ho tum
yaad kiyaa dil ne kahaa.N ho tum
pyaar se pukaar lo jahaa.N ho tum
Nagin is a Hemant Da album, for which i guess a separate post would be necessary. Hemant Da, makes wonderful use of the Indian folk tradition, and ethos to create a masterpiece of an album. Observe the way he makes extensive use of the been sound, to create the mood of the movie. Especially in Lata’s Man dole, mera Tan Dole, where throughout the song, you hear the been sound. In fact Lata seems to have given her all for the movie, be it Jaadugar Saiyyan, or the more soulful Mere Dil yeh Pukare Aaja or Oonchi Oonchi Duniya ke Deewaron.
One more standout song in the movie is Hemant’s Tere Dwar Khada Ek jogi. The song in fact is more of a religious kind of one, and the music in fact is similar to what you hear in the Eastern UP region.
karake jatan aayaa, man me.n agan laayaa
akhiyo.n me.n darshan-pyaas)
priit kii bhiikshaa, prem kii diikshaa
maa.Ng rahaa yah daas
na maa.Nge yah sonaa chaa.Ndii maa.Nge darshan devii
tere dvaar …
Zindagi pyaar ki do chaar ghadi(Anarkali, Hemant, C.Ramachandra)- The earlier reworking of the Salim-Anarkali love story, before Mughal E Azam, this had Pradeep Kumar and Bina Rai as the ill fated lovers. Heard this song many times as a kid, but could not find it later. Thanks to the net, could again rediscover this.
taaj yaa takht yaa daulat ho zamaane bhar kii
kaun sii chiiz muhabbat se ba.Dii hotii hai
zi.ndagii …
Like Naagin, another memorable album from Hemant Da was Khamoshi, a pretty underrated movie starring Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra and Waheeda Rehman.
Tum Pukar Lo(Hemant)- One of the best songs ever. Just gives me goosebumps every time i listen to it. Hemant Da’s score is brilliant, as he captures the pensive nature of the song. And his singing beautifully brings out the feelings. In fact if you take the starting of the song, he actually drags the Tum syllable, so it comes off like Tummm, mmm,, Pukar Lo and then he pitches it up Tumharaaa Intezaar Hai. And Gulzar’s lyrics give that perfect touch.
Honth Pe Liye Huey, Dil Ki Baat Hum
Jaagte Rahenge Aur, Kitni Raat Hum
Honth Pe Liye Huey, Dil Ki Baat Hum
Jaagte Rahenge Aur, Kitni Raat Hum
Mukhtasar Si Baat Hai, Tumse Pyar Hai
Tumhara, Intezaar Hai
The other 2 equally great songs from this movie are Kishore’s Woh Shaam Kuch Ajeeb Thi, and Lata’s Hum Ne Dekhi Hai.
In fact if you listen to Woh Shaam Kuch Ajeeb, it has a distinct Hemant Da touch there. Kishore starts off like Woh Shaam Kuch Ajeeb Thi, its like Woh Shaam come high, and then he brings it down. But somehow, brilliant as this song, i found that the background score tends to dominate at many points in the song. In fact a feature of many Hemant Da composed songs was that, he would keep the music in the background and not allow it to intrude into the song.
Yeh Raat, yeh Chandni Phir Kahaan( Jaal, Hemant, Lata, S.D.Burman)- What a song is this, so romantic and so sensous. So beautifully does it capture the restless spirts of the lovers.
aatii hai sadaa terii TuuTe hue taaro.n se
aahaT terii sunatii huu.n khaamosh nazaaro.n se
bhiigii havaa, uma.Dii ghaTaa kahatii hai terii kahaanii
tere liye bechain hai sholo.n me lipaTii javaanii
siine me bal khaa rahaa hai dhuaa.n, sun jaa dil kii daastaa.n
ye raat ye chaa.Ndanii phir kahaa.n, sun jaa dil kii daastaa.n
Hemant Da may have passed away into another world, but his songs and music, would forever remain with music lovers. I would love to hear your favorite Hemant da songs.
Tags: Hemant Kumar, hindi movie songs
Anurag Kashyap
Abhay Deol
Dibakar Banerjee
Hansal Mehta
Khalid Mohamed
Kundan Shah
Anish Kuruvilla
Jaideep Verma
Manish Gupta
Navdeep Singh
Bhavani Iyer
D. Santosh
Onir
Ashvin Kumar
Ramu Ramanathan
Sudhir Mishra
Pankaj Advani
Revathy
Saurabh Shukla
Shilpa Shukla
Sujoy Ghosh
Suparn Verma
Santosh Sivan
Shashank Ghosh
Shivajee
Pavan Kaul
Partho Sen-Gupta
Prroshant Naryannan
Sam Langoria
Satish Kasetty
Nice post and a long awaited article on the musical genius.My personal favouries are Yeh nayan dare dare(Khamoshi),Kuch dil ne kaha(Anupama and one of Lata’s best ever),Na jao saiyan and Meri baat rahi mere man mein(Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam),Tum Pukar Lo(Khamoshi),De di hame aazadi and Hum laye hain toofan se kashti nikal ke(Jagtiri).In fact as albums Khamoshi,Anupama,Nagin and Jagriti were fabulous.The music of been which he used for Nagin remained same whenever there was any films on nagins.Such was the impact of his music.
@ Anindya thanks for the comment, and oh yes i missed out Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam. Nagin was one of the best albums,to date none has been to replicate the magic which Hemant Da, did with the been.
‘Hemant Kumar’ sang few Marathi songs which I like very much;
Songs which I like most; are about life style of fisher folks from Konkan seaside.
Songs like:
-
“ Gomu sangatine mazya tu yeshil kaay”
-
“Me dolkar , dolkar daryacha raja”
-
“Vallav re nakva”
-
very Nostalgic
To me ;his Voice is like Sea waves,.
Deep and soothing
@ Shekar
Never knew about Hemant Kumar’s Konkani songs, thanks for that info.
BTW r u Konkani or do u come from the Uttara Kanara region?
thanks for bringing Hemantda on pfc,i am not sure bout the time .. but it was in night and in my city coz of power cut i was lazying around at my roof when suddenly i felt a sweet.. no tht wznt sweet.. melodious..no smething else. ya a godly vocie coming from a direction…from a radio set.. that was song.. Tum pukkaar lo.. from moive Khamoshi..i loved the song… the lyrics … the voice..everythign..and wondered about the singer whole night.. only to realise after a few dayz.. htat it was HemantDa…..
Ajay for me Tum Pukar Lo, has just one word, haunting. The way Hemant Da intones that Tummm sound, just gives me goosbumps. Also what i love is the way he does not let the music dominate the song, he keeps it firmly in the background, while letting the singer gain prominence. The music for Tum Pukar Lo, is just haunting.
@ Ratnakar
I’m from Pune,. Maharashtrian,..
And the songs I mentions are sung in Marathi,
But Geetkar (Lyricist) use few Konkani words here and there,
for more flavor of the sea side,
Ratnakar – Great article. A Minor correction – Kabuliwala was composed by Salil Chowdhury, so Ae Mere Pyare Watan doesn’t belong here.
What was unique about Hemant da was that he was not only a noted composer himself, he sang for all the major composers of his time – SJ, KA, Naushad, Ravi, SDB, Roshan, Salil Chowdhury, Vasant Desai, etc.
Apart from the ones listed above, my favourites of him as a singer also include: Woh Chand Nahin (Aandhiyan, Ali Akbar Khan, with Asha), Nain So Nin (JJPB, Vasant Desai, with Lata), Insaaf Ki Dagar Pe ( Ganga Jumna, Naushad)
Among the songs composed by him, I can’t get enough of Zindagi Kitni Khubsoorat (Bin Baadal Barsaat, Lata), Bas Ek Chup Si (Sannata, Lata), Hawaon Pe Likh Do (Do Dooni Chaar, Kishore), Bhanwre Bada Nadan (Sahib Biwi Aur Ghulam, Asha), Dil-e-Naddan Ko Sambhaloon(Faraar, Lata)and many more
Trivia – Hemant Kumar composed the only known Lata Mangeshkar- Suman Kalyanpur duet in Chand. When you listen to Kabhi Aaj Kabhi Kal Kabhi Parson, it is difficult to differentiate the singer unless you listen very closely.
great post..an awesome pilliar of hindi and bengali music golden era.
A nitpick: Kabuliwala was scored by Salil-da.
Hemant da ki baat ho aur “pyaasa’ ka zikra na ho? Who can forget ‘Jaane woh kaise log the jinke pyaar ko pyaar mila?’ My all time Hemant da number is ‘chhupalo yun dil mein pyaar mera’ from Mamta. Great post…will surely catch up with some of his songs this week-end.
@ Aditya and Arun, Sorry about that gaffe. My, bad, considering that when i had written about Salil Da, Kabuliwala was one of my mentions.
Some more Hemant Da gems, which i missed out on
Title song of Door Ka Rahi
Raahi Tu Mat Rukjana- Door Gagan ki Chaon Mein, Music Kishore Da
Aaj Rona Pade to Samjhe- Girlfriend, one of Kishore Da’s best sad numbers.
Tere Duniya Mein Jeene Se- House No 44, music by Dada
Chup Hai Dharti, Chup Hain Chaand Sitare- House no 44, Another lovely number
@ Aditya
Insaaf ki dagar pe is another great number, very patriotic, very inspirational.
Hawon pe Likh Do is another lovely number also.
For me most of the Sahib, Bibi aur Ghulam songs will come, especially Na Jaoo Saiyyan and Bhanwra Bada Naadan Hai.
@ Adhik
I did mention Jaane Woh Kaise Log the, yaar us gaane ko main kaise bhool saktha hoon. Itna dil choonewala gaana hai woh.
Hey I forgot to mention another Hemant Kumar song.Its Rahe na rahe hum from Mamta.The music is wonderfully complimented by the lyrics.
Jab hum na honge,jab hamare khaank pe tum rukoge chalte chalte
Ashkon se bheegi chaandni mein ek sadaa see suno ge chalte chalte
Wahee pe kahee hum tum se milenge,ban ke kali,ban ke sabaa,baag ye wafaan mein…
Rahen na rahen hum….
I really miss these nowadays…
Sorry guys Mamta is not Hemantda’s music.He has sung for the film though.
@ Anindya
Was about to correct u, when u did it urself
.
But Rahen Na Rahe Hum is one of my all time favorite songs, and the music for it was by Roshan.
Hi Ratnakar its one of my all time favourites too.
@ Ratnakar
Man- that was an interesting piece of nostalgia.
My favourites of Hemantda are ” Tum Pukar Lo” ( still can visualise Dharampaji sitting on the rocking chair), “yeh raat, yeh chandni” and ” beqaraar karke hamein yuna jaayiye”.
Brilliant- nothing else can describe his work!!!
hemant’s “me dolkar, dolkar” is in Marathi and is known as a ‘koli’ song as it is based on fishermen’s folk tune. Composed by Hridaynath Mangeshkar and sung by Lata and Hemant with chorus , the record saw its sale cross a million. Listen to it, if you haven’t already. It will become one of your favourites.
Ratnakar- nice post.
Please if possible embed YouTube videos or any other audio widget of the songs you have mentioned.
Thanks
Very well written article. Hemantda happens to be my favourite singer. Tum Pukar Lo is just wonderful ably supported by Gulzarsaab’s poetry.
If God ever decide to sing, he would do so in the voice of Hemant Kumar, Salil da nicely described the Godly Baritone of Hemant Da.. Whether he was a better singer or composer, the argument still continues.. The echoes of his voice still haunt us as Gulzar saab aptly put in a song sung by hemant da
“Meri aawaaz kisi shor me gar doob gayi
Meri Khamoshi bahut door sunayi degi”
Here is small tribute to hemant da… an old quiz of mine on Hemant da if anyone want to try!
http://www.gulzaronline.com/chitrahaar/qz3/sundayqz3.htm
I am surprised how come noone mentioned ‘leharon pe lehar’…even after Shekhar’s comment on his voice being as soothing as sea waves!!!
@Aditya(9)
Thanks for reminding me of ‘bas ek chup si’…lovely song! been years since I heard it.
@ Neeraja
Well you mentioned it right now
.
@Pavan
Well for me i felt he was equally good in both, his singing had a kind of dreamy, soothing effect. I will try ur Quiz once im free.
@ D&C
Yeah sure, thanks for suggestion.
@ Sethu
Well Hemant Da songs, always trigger that nostalgia. Tum Pukar Lo remains my favorite also.
@ Anil
Yeah sure will check out the Marathi song u mentioned.
great post.Even though Salil Choudhary is my favourite MD from that era Hemant Kumar,OP Nayyar,SD Burman,Madan Mohan were great musicians,I don’t have much appreciation for Shanker JaiKishan
Sharath saab, we have some serious contradictions here. Can you please elaborate, why you dont like SJ ?
Good Tribute Ratnakar. I think Hemant da was a musician, class apart. One of the best that India has produced. Look at the sheer range !! Ratnakar, do get hold of the tracks from the Bengali film “Luko Churi”, just to see the variety !! His comedy songs like “Shingh Nei Tobu”(LukChuri), Gaana Na Aaya (Miss Mary) & Ek Roz Hamaari Bhi (Bandi) are mindboggling
I remember, when i was a child , my parents used to listen to hemonto in our
stereo . this is how i get used to listen to hemonto, however when i started
listening to hemontos in my walkman my friends are started making fun of me .
they often said i am boring type person and I become old blah blah . I listen to
bangla music most of my free times
and enjoy listening to hemonto , manna day , anjan dutta etc. culcuttas
music always best . specially for lyrics .
Hi, i m raj kumar, writing a book on hemant kumar. Can anybody provide the recording of the folloiwng songs of Hemant Kumar:
Sr. No. Song Film
1 Ankhon Ki Oat Jo Rahta Tha Meenakshi
2 Beiman Tori Batiyan Jadubhari Manmani
3 Soja-E-Beqarar-E-Dil Ek Aurat
4 Chhak-5 Dear `M’ Engine Ban Jana Ghar Ki Numaish
5 Dekho-2 Kaise Sajdhaj Ke Chali Hai Barat (Chorus) Maldar
6 Danka Baja Bahadur Jaga Shamsheer
7 Hai Loot Liya, Loot Liya, Loot Liya Shahi Bazar
8 Are Kahan Phans Gaye Beta, Kidhar Chala Shahi Bazar
9 Kahta Hai Pyar Mera O Mere Ladle Santan
10 Phoolo Se Dosti Hai Kanton Se Yari Hai (Sad) Duniya Jhukti Hai
11 Sahil Ki Taraf Kashti Le Chal Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam
12 Sanjh Khile Bhor Jhare Phool Har Singar Ke Phir Bhi
13 Tera Jalta Gagan Teri Jalti Dhara Prem Ki Ganga
14 ??????????? Koi Hai
Non-Film
Song Music Director
1 Beet Gaye Din Bhajan Bina-4, (Baal Awastha Khel Gawayo)-2 Hemant Kumar
2 Bhaj Man Ram Nam Savera, Sunder Deh Dekhe Din Bhulo, Saphal Hot Hemant Kumar
3 Dekh Liya O, Bhagwan, Bhagwan Tera, Dekh Liya Sansar Re Nikhil Ghosh
4 Itni Si Yeh Meri Kahani-2, Kahate Kahate In Ankhon Mein, Bhar Aata Hai Pani Sachin Gupta
5 Jahan Madhur Koyaliya Gati Ho, Bhanwaron Ko Kali Bulati Ho Sachin Gupta
6 Jal Mein Kumbh, Kumbh Mein Jal, Bahar Bhitar Pani, Uth Kumbh Jal Hemant Kumar
7 Khoobsurat Ho Tum, Main Wafadar Hoon, Tum Ho Pyare Magar Vinod Chatterjee
8 Na Main Dharmi, Na Hi Adharmi, Na Main Jati Na Kaami Ho, Na Main Kahta Hemant Kumar
9 Qaum Ki Khidmat Mein Raho, Mitane Ko Taiyar, Marne Ko Taiyar Raho Hemant Kumar
10 Tum Kab Tak Pyar Chhupaoge, Kamsin Ho Jag Se Darti Ho, Ahen Hemant Kumar