Hemant Mukherjee famously known as Hemant Kumar was a brilliant singer, composer, and producer in the Hindi and Bengali film industry.  His music career began with All India Radio (AIR) in 1933, when he was barely 13! He was born on June 16, 1920 in Benares (Varanasi). Throughout his career, he recorded around 2000 songs! Out of which, many songs were composed also by him. Hemant Kumar was blessed with an intense and passionate voice. He understood music, and therefore sang some of the most iconic numbers which have set a benchmark in Hindi film industry.  Listen to his songs just by closing your eyes, the songs take you in a different world…..his velvety voice is captivating.

Please note that the famous song ‘bande Mataram’ from film Anand Math, written by Bankim Chandra, sung by Lata Mangeshkar was composed by Hemant Kumar!

He was the voice of film star Dev Anand before Rafi and Kishore Kumar. He sang 12-13 songs for Music Director S.D.Burman and all were very popular and all of these songs were picturised on the super charming hero Dev Anand “Hai apna Dil to Awara…”, “Na Yeh Chand Hoga, Na Taare Rahenge…” or “Yeh Raat Ye Chandini Phir Kahan…”, “Na Tum Hame Jano Na Hum Tumhe Jaane…”. The famous Bengali film star Uttam Kumar used to demand that Hemant Kumar should be his voice on screen and he should be the music composer of his films. Both Uttam Kumar- Hemant Kumar made a successful actor-composer /singer pair.

Another facet of Hemant Kumar’s life was that he was studying engineering, but dropped out of engineering college to pursue his passion for music, both singing and composing. He learnt music from several teachers: the major portion of his training seems to have been under Sailesh Duttagupta.  He also studied under Phani Banerjee, and received his training in Rabindra Sangeet under Anadi Dastidar.  Much later, he even learnt music from Faiyaz Khan.

Close your eyes and listen to these melodious numbers, few of them are duets.

1. Yeh raat, yeh chandani phir kahan (Jaal) 1952 MD S.D.Burman

2. Yaad kiya dil ne kahan ho tum (Patita) 1953  MD Shankar Jaikishan

3. Muzko tum jo mile yeh jahan mil gaya (Detective) 1958 Music Director Mukul Roy

4. Neend na muzko aye (Post Box 999) 1958 Kalyanji Anandji

5. Tumhe yaad hoga, Kbhi hum mile the (Satta Bazar) 1959 Kalyanji Anandji

5. Leheron pe lehar (Chabilee) 1960 Snehal Bhatkar (Vasudev Gangaram Bhatkar gave music by pseudo name Snhal Bhatkar to avoid any breach in contract while officially working for HMV, the name was derived from his newly-born daughter, Snehlata)

7. Gumsum sa ye jahan (Duniya Zukati Hai) 1960 Hemant Kumar

8. Bekarar karke hume yun na jaiye (Bees Saal bad) 1962 Hement Kumar

9. Zara Nazaron se kahedo ji (Bees saal bad) 1962 Hemant Kumar

10. Tum Pukar lo (Khamoshi) 1969 Hemant Kumar

The feel of this song is unmatched. It seems when this song was being recorded, R. D. Burman was crying profusely and beating his hand on the wall praising Kishore Kumar’s versatility for singing this song so soulfully. On screen, you see Jitendra simply dressed, with spectacles standing on the boat and rendering this great number; there is no romancing, no glamour, no heroine in the scene (except twice Sari-clad simply dressed Hema Malini is shown separately in different shots) the song is just shot on a boat, rowed by a boatman(mazi).

River has a magical beauty, and it lends itself to a variety of metaphors. Its timeless flow denotes jeevan ki dhara. The river plays an important role in the country side. The rivers mark boundaries of villages; and are usually meeting place of lovers. Rivers play a significant role in our life. We therefore see many songs with river themes. Also, river water can inspire, soothe, cuddle and calm a person. I think river water has a musical feel which great composers like S.D.Burman, Salil Chowdhary, Hemant Kumar, R.D.Burman, Kalyanji Anandaji and Bhupen Hazarika have captured in their songs.

This song is from film Kushboo, based on the Bengali novel “Panditmashai” by Sharat Chadra Chattopadhyay. The film was released in 1975, produced by Prasan Kapoor and directed by Gulzarsab. The film’s music was composed by the great R.D.Burman.

The genre of the song is “Bhatiyali folk song.” Bengal has a vast coastal land with long rivers and sea. Hence you will see many Bhatiyali songs sung by boatmen. S.D Burman used to say that Bhatiyali has its roots in earth, flowers, sky, and river. The notations of Bhatiyali songs, its words, and its pathos have an enchanting interpretation reminding the listeners of the river, and the journey by river. Bhatiyali’s mood and its passion are immersed in philosophies of life.

‘O mazi re’ song is written by Gulzar Sab. The song is about life’s unstoppable journey without a shore and an anchor. The river has eroded many shores which are now flowing with the river. Life is like a paper boat which flows directionless and it can’t reach any shore. The lyrics are awesome describing the solitude and yearning of the protagonist of the film Jitendra (Dr. Brindavan) who is separated from his childhood love Hema Malini (Kusum). He is married but loses his wife and is lonely.

The song is sung by Kishore Kumar and is has a magical hollow effect on the listeners.  It seems when this song was being recorded the people present for recording were so much moved by Kishore Kumar’s singing that most of them burst into tears like R.D.Burman did. Kishore Kumar’s voice full of twinge and pathos had that magic effect on them. R.D always said that though Kishore was an untrained singer, he was like a volcano of talent, who could improvise any song incredibly and he would provide vocal insights and expression beyond the composer’s imagination.

Watch this soulfully magical song and enjoy few stirring moments.