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Tuesday, July 3, 2012

Kumar Sanu

Birth Name: Kedarnath Bhattacharya
Born: September 23, 1957 (age 54)
Kolkata, West Bengal, India
Origin Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Genres: Playback singing
Occupations: Singer, Music Director, Playback Singer
Instruments: Tabla
Years active: 1984–present
Labels: Sony Music, T-Series, Tips, Saregama, Venus Records & Tapes
Wife Name: Saloni

Kumar Sanu
Kumar Sanu (alias Kedarnath Bhattacharya, born in Kolkata) is a leading Indian Bollywood playback singer. He was awarded the Filmfare Best Male Playback Award over five consecutive years. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Shri in 2009.

Early life

"Kumar Sanu's father Pashupati Bhattacharya was a vocalist and composer. He trained Sanu as a singer and tabla player. After getting a degree in commerce from Calcutta University, Sanu began performing publicly in 1979, singing at shows and restaurants around Calcutta. He modeled his singing style after Bollywood singer Kishore Kumar.[3] Later he developed his own singing style."

Kumar Sanu with Alka
Kumar Sanu is one of the most popular playback singers of Bollywood. He holds the Guinness Book world record for recording the maximum number of songs in a day, which are 28. He was born on 23rd September, 1957 and was named Kedernath Bhattacharjee. His father, Pashupati Bhattacharjee was a renowned classical singer and composer who noticed his son's talent at a very young age. When he was still very young, his father trained him to sing classical music and play the tabla. Given here is a small biography which captures the life history of Kumar Sanu.

Kumar Sanu with Wife Saloni
Kumar Sanu graduated in commerce from Calcutta University and then started giving public performances at small shows and restaurants in Calcutta itself. His style of singing was greatly influenced by the legendary Kishore Kumar. He badly wanted to become a playback singer but the competition in the Indian film is more than just fierce; it is ruthless. It took several years and a lot of struggle before Kumar Sanu was noticed by the great Jagjit Singh. He offered Kumar Sanu a chance to sing in the Hindi film Aandhiyan.

Kumar Sanu
Kumar Sanu came to Bombay when Kalyanji - Anandji offered him to sing for the movie "Jadugar". He was then asked to adopt a different name that was much more acceptable due to caste/region preferences. Thus, he started to work under the name Kumar Sanu instead of Kedernath Bhattacharjee. This gave him a wider appeal with the masses and he did not remain restricted to the Bengali mass. His real achievement however, came in the year 1990 with the movie "Aashiqui".

Kumar Sanu Receiving Padma Shree Award From President Of India, Pratibha Patil
The talented music directors Nadeem - Shravan gave him all but one song of the movie Aashiqui. Kumar Sanu proved himself with this opportunity and the songs took the entire nation by rage. Everyone hummed the songs that were touted as that year's biggest hits. Kumar Sanu became a star and also won his first Filmfare award as the Best Male Playback singer. He began recording for many more films and achieved much success with more and more hits. Some movies that are worth the mention are Saajan, Deewana, Baazigar, and 1942: A Love Story.

Kumar Sanu and Asha Parekh at Dadasaheb Ambedkar Awards
He won five Filmfare awards for five consecutive years and by the end of 1990, he had sung for hundreds of films in different languages. However, during the prime of his career, he was diagnosed with throat cancer. He was under medication after which he sang chosen songs. He cut down on singing and branched out, giving public performances and also acting in Bengali and Hindi serials. Some of his popular songs are given below.

Kashmira Shah, Bali Brahmabhatt, Kumar Sanu & Sunidhi Chauhan
Aane Waala Kal Ek Sapna Hai
Aankhon Ki Gustakhiyan
Chori Chori Jab Nazarein Mili
Do Dil Mil Rahe Hain
Ek Ladki Ko Dekha
Jab Koi Baat Bigad Jaaye
Nazar Ke Saamne Jigar Ke Paas
Rim Jhim Rim Jhim
Teri Umeed Tera Intezaar
Tu Mile Dil Khile
Tujhe Dekha Toh Yeh Jana Sanam
Tumhe Apna Banaane Ki Kasam

Kuamr Sanu With Wife SaloniKuamr Sanu Wife Saloni




More Details of Kumar Sanu and List of songs by Kumar Sanu

Kundan Lal Saigal

Birth Name: Kundan Lal Saigal
Born: April 11, 1904, Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir
Died: January 18, 1947 (aged 42), Jalandhar, Punjab
Genres: Playback singing
Occupations: Singer, actor, Playback Singer
Instruments: Vocalist
Years active: 1932–1

Kundan Lal Saigal
Kundan Lal (K.L.) Saigal (11 April 1904 – 18 January 1947) was an Indian singer and actor who is considered the first superstar of the Hindi film industry, which was centered in Calcutta during Saigal's time, but is currently centered in Mumbai.

The very name K.L Saigal conjures up an image of a superstar who ruled the screens long before people heard of Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna. Not many are aware of the achievements of this great persona and his contributions to the Hindi film industry. K L Sehgal was undoubtedly India's first superstar whose charisma and magic is still alive and continues to inspire budding talents. Born in Jammu on April 11th, 1904 as Kundan Lal Saigal, he inspired legends like Kishore Kumar and Mukesh to copy his style to make their mark in the industry before developing their own signature tones. His songs are evergreen and are hummed even today. To know more about the life history of K L Saigal, read this biography given below.

K.L Saigal started singing from a very young age and his mother used to take him to Sufi-Pir Salman Yousuf of the Yesvi sect. His father Amarchand Saigal was employed at the court of Maharaja Pratap Singh. At the age of twelve, K.L Saigal sang Meera Bhajan at the court of the king. The Maharaja was really impressed and blessed him saying that he had a bright future. His father was disappointed when he learnt that his son wanted to sing and dropped out of school.

When K.L. Saigal realized that his voice was cracking at the age of 13, he was so shocked that he remained silent for months together. His worried family took him to a saint who told Saigal to refine his voice and not leave practicing. For three years thereafter he practiced with determination and also received some help from Faiyaaz Khan, Pankaj Mullick and Pahari Sanyal, who were the greatest singers of that era. Saigal also learnt to sing in Punjabi when he was in Jalandhar. The most astonishing thing is that he never received any formal training and cultivated his own style, which was accepted and appreciated by all.

K. L Saigal worked as a time keeper with Punjab railways and also a salesman before he chose music as a vocation. Those days, his singing was limited to his friend's circle. During one such occasion of his singing, a sales representative of Hindustan Record Company happened to be present in the congregation. He recognized Saigal's potential and persuaded him to sign a contract for recordings with the company. One of his earliest records "Jhulana Jhulao" in Dev Gandhar raga was a huge hit.

Thus started the flourishing career of K.L Saigal and he started to act and sing in films. Some of his earliest films were Subah Ke Sitare, Zinda Laash and Mohabbat Ke Aason. The songs that showered fame on him were Premnagar Mein Basoongi Ghar Main, Tadapat Beeti Din Rain and Prem Ki Ho Jai from the first feature film Chandidas. He was also the lead actor of the movie. More and more offers started to pour in making him one of the reigning stars of the film industry. His enigmatic voice only made him even more famous.

In the year 1935, Devdas was released, which increased his popularity manifold. Saigal portrayed the character of the love struck and heartbroken Devdas with flawless perfection. His solo performances Balam Aaye Baso and Dukh Ke Ab Din were tagged as immortal. Saigal experimented with many forms of music and perfected Khayal, Bandish, Ghazals, Geets, Bhajans, Hori and Dadra in various Ragas. He also sang in many different languages like Hindi, Urdu, Pushto, Punjabi, Bengali and Tamil. Saigal always drank before recording and he fondly called a peg Kaali Paanch.

The period from 1932 to 1946 is called as Saigal era. Saigal shifted to Bombay in 1940 and did unforgettable films like Bhakta Surdas, Tansen, Kurukshetra, Omar Khayyam, Tadbeer, Shahjahan and Parwana. Some of his immortal songs are Diya Jalao Jagmag Jagmag, Rumjhum Rumjhum Chaal Tihari, Baag Laga Doon Sajani, Chah Barbaad Karegi, Ai Dil-e-beqarar Jhoom, Gham Diye Mustaqil and the eternal Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya.

The great composer Naushad commented that Saigal did not drink while recording for his last two films Shahjahan and Parwana. His addiction to alcohol reached a stage where quitting was just not possible. On January 18th, 1947, at the age of just forty two years, this great inimitable artist passed away. The industry was suddenly deprived of one of the greatest performer. Today, sixty years since his death, his songs continue to bring nostalgic moments alive and remind people of the golden era of music.

More Details of Kundan Lal Saigal