Chanchal
—  town  —
Chanchal Location of Chanchal in West Bengal and India
Coordinates	25°23′N 87°59′E / 25.39°N 87.99°E / 25.39; 87.99Coordinates: 25°23′N 87°59′E / 25.39°N 87.99°E / 25.39; 87.99
Country	India
State	West Bengal
District(s)	Malda
Parliamentary constituency	Maldaha Uttar
Assembly constituency	Chanchal, Malatipur
Time zone	IST (UTC+05:30)

Chanchal (Bengali: চঞ্চল) is a town in Malda District, West Bengal, India.

Geography[link]

Chanchal is located at 25°23′N 87°59′E / 25.39°N 87.99°E / 25.39; 87.99.^[1] Chanchal is the headquarters of the Chanchal subdivision. Also, the headquarters of the Chanchal–I CD block is here.^[2]

Chanchal subdivision consists of six blocks Harishchandrapur–I, Harishchandrapur–II, Chanchal–I, Chanchal–II, Ratua–I and Ratua–II.^[3] Chanchal comes under the "Tal" region of the district.

History[link]

It was the home of Raja Saratchandra Rai Bahadur, who had built the Chanchal palace. The King was married to Queen Dakshyani. The palace was transformed into a government college in 1969.

References[link]

v t e Cities, towns and locations in Malda district Cities and Towns Chanchal subdivision Chanchal Malda Sadar subdivision Aiho English Bazar Kachu Pukur Kendua Old Maldah Locations other than cities and towns Gaur Kharba Pandua Singhabad Related topics Malda topics Villages in Malda district People from Malda district Cities, towns and locations in other districts Bankura Bardhaman Birbhum Cooch Behar Dakshin Dinajpur Darjeeling Hooghly Howrah Jalpaiguri Murshidabad Nadia North 24 Parganas Paschim Medinipur Purba Medinipur Purulia South 24 Parganas Uttar Dinajpur West Bengal portal

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Amit Kumar (born 3 July 1952) is an Indian film playback singer, actor, director, and music director. He is the son of the famous singer and actor Kishore Kumar and the Bengali singer and actress Ruma Guha Thakurta. Like his father, Amit loved singing and from childhood used to sing during Durga Pooja functions in Kolkata. Once when he was performing on stage in a Durga Pooja function arranged by Bengali actor Uttam Kumar, people kept requesting more songs and this information reached his mother. She complained to Kishore Kumar that his son was singing "filmy" songs. Hearing this Kishore Kumar decided to bring him to Bombay.

Before this, Kishore Kumar had cast Amit as his son in two critically acclaimed films that he produced himself, Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein (the well known song "Aa chalke tujhe, mein leke chaloon" was filmed with Kishore Kumar singing to his eleven-year-old son) and Door Ka Raahi (with Amit as a teenager).

He has sung many popular Bollywood and regional film songs since the 1970s. Apart from Hindi songs, he sang several songs in Bangla, Bhojpuri, Oriya, Assamese, Marathi, Konkani.

1970s[link]

Amit Kumar made his debut as a child singing and acting in his father's movie Door Ka Raahi. He recorded the song "Main ik panchi matwaala re", which was later removed from the film.

In the 1976 film Balika Badhu he sang "Bade achchhe lagte hain", by the legendary composer R. D. Burman, with whom he subsequently recorded many other songs.

In the late '70s "Aati rahengi baharein", from Kasme Vaade, was a huge hit, which he sang for Randhir Kapoor, while Kishore Kumar sang for Amitabh Bachchan.

Amit Kumar sang many hit songs in various films, including Aandhi, Aap Ke Deewane, Khatta Meetha, Gol Maal, Des Pardes, Ganga Ki Saugandh, Deewanagi, Duniya Meri Jeb Mein, Parvarish, Baton Baton Mein, and others. The duet sung with Lata Mangeshkar from the film Baton Baton Mein - "Uthe sabke kadam" - became popular.

As a leading playback singer in Bollywood, he sang many songs for Kumar Gaurav, who was a new star in the 1980s. But most of his songs are recorded and released for Anil Kapoor.

1980s[link]

Amit sang all the songs for the 1981 hit film Love Story, and won a Filmfare Award for the duet "Yaad aa rahi hai" with Lata Mangeshkar. Composer R. D. Burman jokingly told Amit before its release that this song sounds like a "Bhajan".

In 1980 the actor Feroz Khan produced the film Qurbani (1980 film), from which the song "Laila o Laila" became a big hit, with Amit Kumar rendering his voice for Amjad Khan.

His duet "Tu rootha toh main ro doongi sanam" with Asha Bhonsle from the film Jawani (1984), composed by R. D. Burman was a mega hit. Another chart-buster from 1983 from the film Haadsaa was "Yeh Bombay shehar haadsoon ka sheher hai".

In this decade, Amit Kumar sang for almost all music directors, actors, producing hit after hit. He became the voice of Anil Kapoor in the 1980s, but before this many hit songs were also released for Kumar Gaurav in films such as Romance (1983), Teri Kasam, Lovers (1983), All rounder, and Telefilm-Janam. In this decade Kumar sang hits for Anil Kapoor in films including Tezaab, Yudh.

The song from Tridev filmed with Naseeruddin Shah, "Oye oye- Tirchi topi waaley", was a nationwide hit. Amit also sang for Naseeruddin Shah in the film Hero Hiralal.

Soon after Kishore Kumar's death, he and his half-brother Sumit Kumar released an album called Dui Kishore as a tribute to their father.

Early 1990s to mid-1990s[link]

In 1990 the film Hum and the song "Sanam mere sanam" brought another big hit for Amit. Baaghi: A Rebel for Love had a smash hit in the song "Kaisa lagta hai". From the film Ghayal the song "Pyaar tum mujhase" was popular.

Amit delivered more hits for the film Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa. The songs "Deewana dil deewana" and "Sachhi yeh kahani hai" were hits, especially the former.

In this decade, he sang for other hit films including Awwal Number, ChaalBaaz, Khel (1992 film)|Khek]], Vishwatma, Bade Miyan Chote Miyan, Judaai), Indrajeet.

Amit Kumar enjoyed a special work relationship with the music duo Anand-Milind, who heavily promoted Kumar in the early 1990s. Among their best works are: Baaghi: A Rebel for Love, Mera Pati Sirf Mera Hain, Maha-Sangram, Swarg, Suryavanshi, Anjaane Rishtey, Talaashi, Jawani Zindabad, Sangdil Sanam, Deewana Mujh Sa Nahin and Rakhwala. Anand-Milind were one of the few new-age music composers of that period who regularly recorded with Amit Kumar, making him the voice for Salman Khan and Aamir Khan.

Amit Kumar also enjoyed success with another fresh talent from the 1990s, Jatin-Lalit, who had Amit Kumar croon hit numbers in several films such as Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar and Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham....

Later in the decade his career declined with the invasion of many other Kishore Kumar clones and the death of R. D. Burman, with whom Amit had a special bonding. Kumar started withdrawing and undertaking more live stage performances in various parts of the world.

He lost out on singing for Burman's last mega hit 1942: A Love Story, and he has stated in an interview that Burman was under pressure to use another singer for the songs because it was the "trend" in those days.

During these years, he composed and released music albums which were not much successful. Some of these are:

• MAD
• Pyaar toh bas pyaar hai
• Dam dama dam

Some music directors tried to recreate the old magic by composing songs similar to the ones in the 1970s sung by his legendary father. However, success on this front was elusive.

Television[link]

• In the late 1980s, Kumar rendered his voice to TV serials on Doordarshan such as Chuanuti and Campus.
• He also did songs for the Telefilm Janam.
• He sang the title tracks for the Hindi-dubbed version of Disney's animated series Duck Tales and Bob the Builder.
• He was one of the main judges in the May 2008 singing competition reality TV show K for Kishore, where singers tried to recreate the magic of Kishore Kumar's songs on Sony Entertainment Television Asia.

2000-2010[link]

• He will be the main judge in the singing competition on Zee Bangla TV for the show: Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Mr/Miss Universe 2010.
• He also sang two songs in Raju Chacha, starring Ajay Devgan, Kajol and Rishi Kapoor - "Dil dil ka yeh kaam hai" and "Kahin se ayi Rani".
• He sang "Tigde Tigde" with Neetha Subhir for Kandahar, starring Mohanlal and Amitabh Bachchan.

Bangla-Hindi connection[link]

Not many people know that one of the most popular duet songs of Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar, "Kya yehi pyaar hai" from Rocky (1981 film)Rocky]], the debut film of Sanjay Dutt, composed by R. D. Burman, was initially sung by Amit Kumar in Bangla film.

There are seven songs sung by Amit and his father separately. All Bangla songs were sung by Amit and their Hindi versions were sung by Kishore. Songs are:

Filmafare Awards[link]

Won[link]

Nominated[link]

Acting Stint[link]

Amit Kumar also acted in films that were directed by and starred his father, notably Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein (1964), Door Ka Raahi (1971), Badhti Ka Naam Dadhi (1974) and Shabhash Daddy (1979).

Amit Kumar Filmography[link]

See Amit Kumar Filmography

Some popular songs[link]

1. "Dilrubaon ke jalwe" (Dulha Mil Gaya, 2009 / 2010)
2. "Main ek panchhi" (Door Ka Raahi)
3. "Main jis din bhula dun" (Police Public)
4. "Teri yaad aa rahi hai" (Love Story, 1981)
5. "Dekho maine dekha hai ye ek sapna" (Love Story, 1981)
6. "Aankho mein band karloon" (Sangdil Sanam)
7. "Aankhon mein band karloon" (Sad version) (Sangdil Sanam)
8. "One two three give me a kiss" (Sangdil Sanam)
9. "Sanam sangdil sanam" (Sangdil Sanam)
10. "Aap ko dekh ke" (Kishen Kanhaiya)
11. "Ye zameen gaa rahi hai" (Teri Kasam)
12. "Bade acche lagate hain" (Balika Badhu, (1976))
13. "Bombay shehar" (Haadsa, 1983)
14. "Deewana dil deewana (Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, with Udit Narayan)
15. "Sacchi Ye Kahani hai.. Kaise Don" (Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa)
16. "Dil dil dil le liya" (Bhagyawan)
17. "Nazrein mili (Afsana Pyaar Ka)
18. "Aashiq deewana" (Afsana Pyaar Ka)
19. "Tip tip tip baarish" (Afsana Pyaar Ka)
20. "Pehla Pehla Pyar Hai" (1988 Film: Woh Phir Aayegi. With Anuradha Paudwal)
21. "Tu rootha toh mein ro doongi sanam" (Jawaani, 1984 film))
22. "Dil mein bajey guitar" (Apna Sapna Money Money with Mika)
23. "Koi nahin aisa" (Dillagi)
24. "Makhna" (Bade Miyan Chote Miyan)
25. "Kehh do ke tum ho meri varna" (Tezaab)
26. "Jaan-e-mann jaan-e-jigar" (Ghazab, 1982)
27. "Laila o Laila" (Qurbani, 1980)
28. "Aati rahengi bahaarein" (Kasme Vaade with Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhonsle)
29. "Gabbar Singh yeh keh gaya" (100 Days, 1991)
30. "Le le dil de de dil" (100 Days, 1991)
31. "Hum Aur Tum Ab Nahin Paraye" (Jamai Raja, 1990, with Alka Yagnik)
32. "Ek do teen" (Tezaab)
33. "Oye oye- Tirchi topi waaley" (Tridev, 1989, with Sapna Mukherjee)
34. "Main hoon hero" (Ram Lakhan)
35. "Jao tum chahe jahan / Yaad karoge vahan" (Narsimha, 1991)
36. "Na jaane kahan se ayeeh" (Chaalbaaz)
37. "Kaisa lagta hai" (Baaghi: A Rebel for Love, with Anuradha Paudwal)
38. "Maang teri saja doon" (Baaghi: A Rebel for Love, with Anuradha Paudwal)
39. "Tap tap tapori" (Baaghi: A Rebel for Love)
40. "Rama o Rama" (Rama O Rama)
41. "Roz roz aankho tale" (Jeeva)
42. "Sanam mere sanam" (Hum)
43. "Suno suno ladkiyon" (Silsila Hai Pyar Ka, 1999)
44. "Uthe sabke kadam" (Baton Baton Mein)
45. "Na bole tum na maine kuch kaha" (Baton Baton Mein)
46. "Salma pe dil aa gaya" (Salma Pe Dil Aa Gaya, Title song)
47. "Le jhing kur kur" (Olot Palot - Bangla Film 2009)
48. "Ms. India marti mujhpe" (Dhamaal with Adnan Sami)
49. "Juhi ne dil maanga main nakkho bola" (Ehsaas: The Feeling, 2001)
50. "Chori ki baatein" (Fight Club – Members Only, 2006, with Shweta Pandit)
51. "Yeh raat yeh tanhaiyaan" (Gunaah—1993 film, with Sadhna Sargam)
52. "Vinashak aatha hai" (Vinashak – Destroyer, (1998))
53. "Aana re aana re dil yeh deewana re" (Gurudev (film), 1993, with Asha Bhonsle and Shailender Singh)
54. "Ek din tera dheere se dharwaja kholunga" (Gurudev, 1993)
55. "Dheere dheere dheere chori chori chori (Imtihaan, 1995, with Alka Yagnik
56. "Chal naujawaan aage chal" (Jaagruti, 1992)
57. "Dil jigar ke jaan" (Jaanam, 1992, with Anuradha Paudwal)
58. "Teri chahat ke siva" (Jaanam, 1992, with Anuradha Paudwal)
59. "Humein tumse pyaar kitna" (Jhankaar Beats, 2002, with K. K.)
60. "Maalum hai kya" (Jhankaar Beats, 2002, with Vishal Dadlani)
61. "Rukh rukh rukhna" (Jhankaar Beats, 2002, with Vishal Dadlani)
62. "Naam hai mera Fonseca" (Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar, 1992)
63. "Aaya main aaya" (Maha-Sangram, 1990, with Udit Narayan)
64. "Aa baahon mein aa" (Maha-Sangram, 1990, with Anuradha Paudwal)
65. "Filmy very filmy" (Page 3, 2005, with Blaaze and Tannishtha Chatterjee)
66. "Aadhi raat ko" (Parampara (film), with Lata Mangeshkar)
67. "Dil dil ka yeh kaam hai" (Raju Chacha, 2000)
68. "Kahin se ayi Rani" with (Raju Chacha, 2000, with Kavita Krishnamurthy, Shweta Pandit, Shrradha Pandit and Kajol)
69. "Tu roop ki rani tu choron ka raja" (Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, 1993, with Kavita Krishnamurthy)
70. "Chai mein chini" (Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, 1993, with Kavita Krishnamurthy)
71. "Parda utha" (Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja, 1993, with Kavita Krishnamurthy)
72. "Aala re paoos aala" (Safari, 1999, with Alka Yagnik)
73. "Kajal kajal teri aankhon ka yeh kajal" (Sapoot with Asha Bhonsle)
74. "Jaane de jaane de" (Shola Aur Shabnam, 1992, with Kavita Krishnamurthy)
75. "Tere liye saari umar jaagun" (Yaad Rakhegi Duniya, 1992)
76. "Gali gali mein gana" (Yaad Rakhegi Duniya, 1992)
77. "Tooti khidki makdi ka jangla" (Yaad Rakhegi Duniya, 1992, with Kavita Krishnamurthy)
78. "Pyaar bada mushkil hai" (Yodha, 1990)
79. "Do bechare" (Victoria No. 203, 2007, with Udit Narayan)
80. "Dil le gayi teri bindiya" (Vishwatma, 1992, with Sapna Mukherjee)
81. "Bole chudiyan" (Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..., 2001, with Kavita Krishnamurthy, Alka Yagnik, Sonu Nigam and Udit Narayan)
82. "Salma Pe Dil Aa Gaya" (Title Song, 1997, with Asha Bhosle, Kumar Sanu and Udit Narayan)
83. "Ka janoon main sajaniya, chamkaibe kab chandania, uthaile ghoongta, chand dekh le" (Hum Panch)

External links[link]

1. Amit Kumar's Official website
2. Amit Kumar's Official Fan Club
3. Amit Kumar IMDB profile
4. The Statesman on his 58th Birthday

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (February 2007)

Prabodh Chandra Dey (born 1 May 1919),^[1] better known by his nickname Manna Dey (Bengali: মান্না দে), is a playback singer in Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Malayalam, Kanada, Assamese films. Along with Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh he was a part of Indian film playback music industry. He is rated best classical singer among all singers of Hindi film music though he sang all types of songs from Pop to folk. He has recorded more than 3500 songs over the course of his career. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 1971, the Padma Bhushan in 2005 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2007.^[2]

Biography[link]

Dey was born to Purna Chandra (father) and Mahamaya Dey (mother) on 1 May 1919. Besides his parents, his youngest paternal uncle Sangeetacharya (meaning "Venerable Teacher of Music" in Sanskrit), K. C. Dey highly inspired and influenced him. Dey received his early education in a small pre-primary school named Indu Babur Pathshala. Thereafter he attended Scottish Church Collegiate School and Scottish Church College,^[3] followed by Vidyasagar College where he received his graduate education.

During Dey’s years at Scottish Church College, he sang to entertain his classmates. He began taking singing lessons from his uncle, Krishna Chandra Dey and Ustad Dabir Khan. During this period, Manna Dey stood first for three consecutive years in three different categories of inter-collegiate singing competitions.

In 1942, Dey accompanied Krishna Chandra Dey on a visit to Bombay. There he started working as an assistant, first under Krishna Chandra Dey, and then under Sachin Dev Burman. Later he assisted other music composers and then started to work independently. While working independently as a music director for various Hindi movies, Manna Dey continued to take musical lessons in Hindustani classical music from Ustad Aman Ali Khan and Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan.

Dey started his career in playback singing with the movie, Tamanna, in 1943. The musical score was by Krishna Chandra Dey and Manna sang a duet with Suraiya. The song was an instant hit. He sang a solo composed by Sachin Dev Burman, Upar Gagan Vishal, in the 1950 movie, Mashal. Its lyrics were written by Kavi Pradeep. In 1952, Dey sang for a Bengali and a Marathi movie with the same name and storyline, Amar Bhupali. This established him as a leading playback singer.

Dey recorded popular duets With great Mohd. Rafi, Dey sang 58 duets like "Isq Isq" (Barsat ki raat) "Tu hai mera prem Devta (Kalpana), "Mama o mama" (Parvarish). With Lata Mangeshkar, Manna recorded 113 duets including Yeh raat bhigi bhigi,"Pyar hua iqrar hua", "Aja madhur sanam", "Ritu aye". With Asha Bhosle, Manna recorded more than 100 duets including "Re man sur me ga", "Tu chupi hai kahan", "Zindegi hai khel". Dey sang with singer/composer, Hemant Kumar (Hemanta Mukherjee), in Bengali movies, and also for some other Bengali composers like Nachiketa Ghosh and Sudhin Dasgupta. He sang a duet, "Ke Prothom Kachhe Esechi", with Lata Mangeshkar in the movie Sankhyabela. He also performed Rabindra Sangeet and has recorded over 3500 songs. In addition to film songs, Dey has released several albums of devotional songs of Jagadguru Shree Kripaluji Maharaj.^[4]

He was presented the Filmfare Life Time Achievement Award in 2011.

Personal life[link]

On 18 December 1953, Manna Dey married Sulochana Kumaran from Kerala They have two daughters: Shuroma, born on 19 October 1956; and Sumita, born on 20 June 1958. Manna's source of inspiration Sulochana died in Bangalore on 18 January 2012 on her birthday. She was suffering from cancer for long time. Manna Dey currently lives in Bangalore in the township of Kalyannagar after spending more than fifty years in Mumbai. He also maintains a Calcutta address. He still travels widely in the world to present musical programs.

His Bengali-language autobiography, Jiboner Jalsaghorey, has been published by the renowned Ananda Publisher in the year 2005 which has been translated in English as Memories Come Alive, in Hindi as Yaden Jee Uthi and in Marathi as Jiboner Jalsaghorey.

Jibaner Jalsaghore, a documentary on Dey's life, was released in 2008. Manna Dey Sangeet Academy is developing a complete archive on Manna Dey. In association with Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata, the Manna Dey Music Archive has been developed in the Sangeet Bhawan.

He has also lent his voice for Madhushala, composed by Late Harivansh Rai Bachchan

Accolades and awards[link]

Dey has been honored with the titles Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.

The following is the list of Manna Dey's other awards:

• 1969 National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the Hindi Film Mere Huzur
• 1971 National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer for the Bengali film Nishi Padma and Hindi film Mera Naam Joker
• 1971 Padma Shri Award by Government of India
• 1972 Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer for Mera Naam Joker
• 1985 Lata Mangeshkar Award awarded by Government of Madhya Pradesh
• 1988 Michale Sahittyo Puraskar awarded by Renaissance Sanskritik Parishad, Dhaka
• 1990 Shyamal Mitra Award by Mithun Fans Association
• 1991 Sangeet Swarnachurr Award awarded by Shree Khetra Kala Prakashika, Puri
• 1993 P.C.Chandra Award by P.C.Chandra Group & others
• 1999 Kamala Devi Roy Award by Kamala Devi Group
• 2001 Anandalok Lifetime Award by the Anandabazar Group
• 2002 Special Jury Swaralaya Yesudas Award for outstanding performance in music
• 2003 Alauddin Khan Award by the Government of West Bengal
• 2004 National Award as Playback singer by Government of Kerala
• 2004 Hony D. Lit Award by the Rabindra Bharati University
• 2005 Lifetime Achievement award by the Government of Maharashtra
• 2005 Padma Bhushan Award by the Government of India
• 2007 First AKSHAYA Award by Government of Orissa
• 2007 Awarded the Dada Saheb Phalke Award by the Government of India
• 2008 Hony D. Lit Award by Jadavpur University
• 2011 Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award
• 2011 Banga-Vibhushan by Government of West Bengal

Filmography[link]

References[link]

Tamanna (1942) Ramrajya (1943) Jwar Bhata (1944) Kavita (1944) Mahakavi Kalidas (1944) Vikramaditya (1945) Prabhu Ka Ghar (1946) Valmiki (1946) Geetgobind (1947) Awaara (1951) Do Bigha Zamin (1953)ff Hamdard (1953) Parineeta' '(1953) Chitrangada (1953) Boot Polish (1954) Shree 420 (1955) seema (1955) chori chori (1956) Do Aankhen Barah Haath (1957) Kabuliwala (1961) Dil Hi To Hai (1963 film)(1963) Chitralekha (1964) Waqt (1965) Love in Tokyo (1966) Teesri Kasam (1966) Pyar Kiye Ja (1966) Upkaar (1967) Raat Aur Din (1967) Aamne Samne (1967) Palki Nawab Sirajdoula) Boond Jo Ban Gaya Moti (1967) Padosan (1968) Mere Huzoor (1968) Neel Kamal (1968) Ram aur Rahim (1968) Ek Phool Do Mali (1969) Chanda Aur Bijli (1969) Jyoti (1969) Mera Naam Joker (1970) Anand (1970) Johar Mehmood in Hong Kong (1971) Jane Anjane (1971) Lal Patthar (1971) Buddha Mil Gaya (1971) Paraya Dhan (1971) Reshma Aur Shera (1971) Anubhav (1971) Chemmeen (Malayalam) Bawarchi (1972) Seeta Aur Geeta (1972) Shor (1972) Zindagi Zindagi (1972) Avishkaar (1973) Dil Ki Rahe (1973) Hindustan Ki Kasam (1973) Sampurna Ramayan (1973) Saudagar (1973) Zanjeer (1973) Bobby (1973) Resham ki Dori (1974) Us Paar (1974) Sholay (1975) Himalaya Se Ooncha (1975) Sanyasi (1975) Ponga Pandit (1975) Jai Santoshi Ma (1975) Das Mnambati (1976) Mehbooba (1976) Amar Akbar Anthony (1977) Anurodh (1977) Minoo (1977) Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978) Satyam Shivam Sundaram (1978) Jurmana (1978) Abdullah (1980) Choro Ki Baraat Kranti Karz (1980) Laawaris (1981) Prahaar (1990) Guria (1997) Umar (2008)

External links[link]

• Manna Dey official website
• Manna Dey interview at 90 in Anandabazar Patrika
• Manna Dey's interview by Chandan Mitra
• Manna Dey's interview by Shekhar Gupta
• "Ai Mere Pyare Watan" Little India article
• "Being Manna Dey: The modest musical maestro" - IBNLive interview

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2008)

Debabrata Biswas (Bengali: দেবব্রত বিশ্বাস) (22 August 1911 - 18 August 1980), also known as George Biswas (Bengali: জর্জ বিশ্বাস) or George-da (Bengali: জর্জদা), was an Indian Rabindra Sangeet singer.

Early life[link]

He was born in 1911 in Barishal and then later came to Kishorgonj of Mymensing district of British colonial undivided Bengal province of India, when King George V was visiting India for the Delhi Durbar, so he was nicknamed George. He was popularly called George Biswas and George-da which means Brother George.

Career[link]

His music, though not always technically pristine, was notable for its exceptional depth of emotional expression verging on the dramatic. His early gramophone recordings of Tagore songs brought out in the early 1940s demonstrate soulful full-throated expression of melody with a strict adherence to the rules and norms of tradition, written and unwritten, which he felt obliged to break in the early 1960s - considered by most to be his heyday up to the year 1969. His renderings in this period show amazing power of voice and modulation, compounded with overt emotional expression of a kind hitherto unpractised by his contemporaries and even himself. His voice at this period ranged at ease within the three octaves and with varied tempos and rhythms and showed greater variety of emotional expression from the thunderous and rumbling to the soft and mellow. Somewhat audacious and overpowering in his personal feelings and mores, his enunciation of the words of over-used and hackneyed Tagore lyrics extracted new meanings and freshness from the compositions. Some of his numbers which surely goes deep into the heart of Bengalis are Akash bhora surjo tara, Je ratey mor duarguli, Pinakete lagey tonkar, Tomar kache ebor magi etc.

Conflict[link]

Authoritarian eyebrows started to be raised from 1964 onwards with the liberties he started taking by challenging the published tune-notations, scansion, traditional tempo, beat and rhythms which people were accustomed to associate with Tagore lyrics, as well as with his inclination towards the use of western musical instruments for the purposes of accompaniment and interlude - an obsession that remained with him till his death. He challenged the sensibilities of Tagore song listeners with the use of the Spanish guitar, the saxophone,the clarionet, the piano and the cello along with the sitar,the sarode, the esraj and the violin; and all this in the name of 'interpretation' and 'freedom of expression'. His popularity swelled beyond bounds with the masses, young and old - connoisseurs and dilletante alike for, despite these excesses, the power and intrinsic purity of style and spirit of his renditions were unparalleled.

In the later part of the 1960s Debabrata was seriously challenged by the authorities over his audacious style and quite a number of his records were prohibited from commercial production for reasons attributed to wrong spirit, wrong tempo and other melodic excesses not regarded as harmonious to the purity of Tagore compositions. Although initially he did brace himself to meet the challenge,he retreated later and on his own volition stopped all record production. As further controversy fuelled,his public live performances continued with an even increasing demand but with age (now he was 60)and a declining voice and his lifelong affliction of the asthma, he withdrew from public appearance, venting his anguish and frustrations in his autobiographical reflections : Bratyo Janer Rudhha Sangit' (or The Stifled Music of an Untouchable), published in 1979, a year before his death on August 18, 1980.

Personal life[link]

A bachelor, a teetotaller, an excellent cook of spiced food, a visitor to the Calcutta Horse Racing Turf, a traditionalist at heart yet posing as a bohemian in a tongue-in- cheek style, and by any standards an eccentric, he lived a simple, modest and spartan life at his rented flat in South Calcutta, retiring in 1971 from the Life Insurance Corporation of India where he held a clerical position throughout his tenure; this, despite his being a post-graduate in economics from the Calcutta University. A confirmed communist throughout his life, he held his party membership with the Communist Party of India till the mid 1950s. However, he was hurt at the fact that a conflict had arisen among the core groups of the Communist Party itself. Hence, when Communist Party of India (Marxist) was formed, he was in a confused state. However, he remained in touch with the communist party till his death. In one of his memoirs he has said: "When the party got divided into two sections, I was confused, because I was attached to the members of both, Communist Party of India or CPI, as well as the newly formed Communist Party of India (Marxist). So, I decided to remain away from active politics. However, I must confess that I have been lucky to get the true love of all the members of both the wings of the communist party all through my life."

Apart from Rabindrasangeet, he is known to have held the masses spellbound with his booming and baritone voice singing Ganasangit or Peoples' Songs in party gatherings, meetings and plenary sessions up to the mid-1950s. He remains one of the towering personalities of the peak era of Indian People Theatre Association (IPTA) as a cultural delegate of which he visited China twice in the early 1950s with other great cultural luminaries from India. He recorded his experiences with China in a well-written but somewhat simplistic and naive book titled Antaranga Chin or China of My Heart.

A broad-hearted man of caustic humour even to the point of self-mockery, buffonery and feigned frivolity, he was fond of sketching and often gave drawings along with autographs. One such signature features himself praying to Tagore and another showing Tagore hitting a sixer with a cricket bat. Immensely popular as he was, he had shunned the press and the media all his life, even not allowing his own photographs or career history on blurbs or record cases.

He lent his voice to a number of films and after his death was the subject of a documentary film by his name, based on archival footage and interviews.

To this day he remains the most popular exponent in the art of Rabindrasangeet, a model of orthodoxy when orthodox and an icon of protest against establishment, organised media and cultural dictatorship when breaking away from the orthodox. Even after 30 years from his death, his records remain in supreme demand.

References[link]

• Website on Debabrata Biswas

Shyamal Mitra (14th January, 1929 - 15th November, 1987) was a Bengali singer, composer and producer. Along with Hemanta Mukherjee and Manna Dey, he was the most notable musician of the golden era of Bengali music industry. His baritone voice reflected a range of emotions. Beside recording a huge number of popular Bengali basic songs, he also worked as playback singer in more than hundred Bengali movies and directed music in more that fifty Bengali films. He also sang in various other Indian languages, like Hindi, Assamese and Oriya.

Early Life[link]

Shyamal Mitra was born in Naihati, a city near Kolkata, India. His father, Dr. Sadhan Kumar Mitra, was a reputed doctor over there. The father wanted his son to follow his foot steps and to become a doctor, but the son was very keen about music and always inspired by his mother and the local singer Mrinal Kanti Ghosh. People associated with the I.P.T.A. movement used to visit Sadhan-babu's house and this gave the chance to yound Shyamal Mitra to come in contact with Salil Chowdhury. Young Shyamal Mitra and his youngest sister Reba used to sing “O Aalor Pathajatree” on the road for I.P.T.A.

Shyamal Mitra went to Hooghly Mohsin College for graduation degree. There he met Satinath Mukhopadhyay, another prominent exponent of Modern music. Satinath inspired him like anything. Then Shyamal Mitra came to Kolkata and met Sudhirlal Chackraborty. That was the turning point of his life. He started struggling till he got a chance to playback in "Sunandar Biye”, with Supriti Ghosh in 1949, and recorded his first basic songs from H.M.V. under the supervision of Sudhirlal Chackraborty. After the sad demise of Sudhirlal Chackraborty in 1952, he recorded “Smriti Tumi Bedonar”. That was the turning point and he never looked back after that. He became one of the leading singer and composer of the country.

Journey as Musician[link]

Shyamal Mitra started working both as singer and music composer for the Bengali music industry. During the fifties and early sixties he composed music for hit films like "Joy Maa Kali Boarding", "Jamalaye Jibonto Manush", "Bhranti Bilash". During this period he also worked as playback singer in many Bengali films.

In 1963, he produced a film called “Deya Nega” and that film was another milestone of his carrier. Then he produced more films like “Rajkanya", "Kheya", and "Ami Se O Sakha”. He was also the distributor & producer of “Nasimpur”.

Shyamal Mitra went to Mumbai in early fifties with Salil Chowdhury. He worked in 3 films “Musafer”, “Biraj Bou”, and “Naukri”. In 1973, he again went to Mumbai. He worked in Shakti Samanta’s films, like “Amanush”, “Ananda Ashram”, F.C.Mehra’s film “Bandi”, Basu Chatterjee’s films like "Safed Shooth”, “Mamta” etc. He came back to Kolkata again and created many hit tracks in both Bengali basic and film songs.

Shyamal Mitra got a long association with All India Radio. He also sang in the famous Mahisasura Mardini programme of All India Radio.

Beside modern Bengali song and film song, Shyamal Mitra worked with many other different forms of Bengali music like Rabindrasangeet, Nazrul Geeti, "Chotoder Gaan", and Atul Prasadi. As a music composer, he also worked in a Yatra Pala called "Bibi Anondomoyee".

As music composer, Shyamal Mitra worked with almost all the major artists like [[Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay]], Tarun Bandyopadhyay, Dhananjay Bhattacharya, Pratima Bandyopadhyay, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, Satinath Mukhopadhyay, Ila Basu, Supriti Ghosh, Gayatri Basu, Talat Mahmood.

As an actor, Shyamal Mitra, worked in couple of Bengali movies like Sharey Chuattar and Saapmochan.

Shyamal Mitra died in 15th Nov. 1987, leaving behind his wife Protima Mitra, son Saibal Mitra and Saikat Mitra, daughter Monobina.

Bengali audience will never forget his songs like "Gaane Bhubon Bhoriye Debe", "Amar Sopne Dekha Rajkonyya", "Ami Tomar Kachei Phire Ashbo", "Ke Jane Kobe Abar", "O Mon Kokhon Suru", "Tinti Montro Niye Jader Jibon", "O Shimul Bon", "Emono Din Ashte Pare", "Sediner Sona Jhora Sondha", "Naam Rakhechi Bonolata", "Ei Sundor Prithibi Chere", and many others.

Shyamal Mitra as Music Composer[link]

Shyamal Mitra as Playback Singer[link]

References[link]

^[1]

External links[link]

• Shyamal Mitra at the Internet Movie Database
• List of Indian film music directors
• Shyamal Mitra

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