The melody and voice of Bengalis in Bollywood
To date, countless Bengali actors, actresses, directors, technicians have left their mark on Bollywood. But today I will talk only about the music hall. They have not only made a name for themselves in Bollywood with their voices and melodies, they have made history.
Today’s topic of discussion……
1.Sachin Dev Burman
2.Geeta Dutt
3.Manna Dey
4.Hemant Mukherjee
5.R. D. Varman
6.Salil Chowdhury
7.Kishore Kumar
8.Kumar Shanu
9.Bappi Lahiri
10.Abhijit Bhattacharya
11.Pritam Chakraborty
12.Shawn
13.Shreya Ghoshal
★1. Geeta Dutt
Born in Faridpur to an aristocratic zamindar family. He later moved to Kolkata and settled in Mumbai and started his career in 1946.
Possessing an impossibly sweet voice, he was more gifted than his contemporaries. But his personal life was repeatedly traumatized by his career and he died at the age of 41 from liver cirrhosis.
★2. Sachin Dev Varman
Sachin Dev Varman, son of Comilla. He started working as an artist in radio in Calcutta. He first started his career as a music director in Bengali films, later he became very popular in Bollywood music as an artist and composer from 1946 to 1975. He is one of the best musicians. His contribution to Bollywood music is immense.
★3. Manna Dey
Another gem of Bengal is Prabodh Chandra Dey, which we know as Manna Dey. Born in Calcutta. Kaka entered the world of music the inspiration of musician Krishna Chandra and traveled to Mumbai. Starting playback in 1942, he was very good at classical music, as well as film music. He was a regular till 1976, after which he sang Tuktak films, albums, hymns and ghazals.
★4. Hemant Mukherjee
Hemant Kumar will be the first to come up with a list of impossibly beautiful male voices. He has given another dimension to Rabindra Sangeet. Born in Varanasi Mama’s house, ancestral home in Calcutta. He first started working in radio, later became very popular as an artist and music director in Bengali films. He started his career in Bollywood in 1944 and later became a permanent resident of Mumbai. The film was also produced.
★5. R. D. Burman
A worthy successor to the father. Born in Calcutta. At the age of 9, he composed the melody for the first song. He started working as an assistant with his father. Later, he started his journey as a music director in full force from 1961. He has brought many innovations in Bollywood music. There were many variations in his compositions. Rock, pop music has been introduced in Bollywood as well as classical and romantic. Towards the end, this quality did not get the respect it deserved.
★6. Salil Chowdhury
Salil Chowdhury is another star in the world of music. Simultaneously musician, poet, story writer. Born in Calcutta. After starting in Bengali film, he started working as music director in Hindi film from 1953. He has worked in many Hindi, Bengali and Malayalam films. His specialty was – the melody he composed was as rich as it was melodic. It never gets old. He has given all the wonderful songs to Lata Mangeshkar.
★7. Kishore Kumar
Avas Kumar Ganguly alias Kishore Kumar. The best gift given by Bengal to Bollywood. Khandwa was born in Madhya Pradesh. Apart from any formal education, he was skilled in music and acting. Although the first Hindi song was sung in 1948, he became a regular performer at the behest of his brother. His elder brother Ashok Kumar was a very popular hero then. Later, SD Varman was impressed by his songs and gave him the necessary training and encouragement. Which makes his musical career fast and we get one great singer.
★8. Kumar Shanu
Kishore Kumar was born in Calcutta. Later arrived in Mumbai. There he met music director Kalyanji-Anandji. The name change at their suggestion. Kumar Shanu was matched with Kishore Kumar because of his similarity in voice and song style. Although he did some songs before, he became an overnight superstar in the 1990 film Aashiqui. He was the first choice of music directors then. Got a lot of success. He also entered the Guinness Book of World Records by singing a maximum of 28 songs in one day.
★9. Bappi Lahiri
Bollywood’s Disco King is another Bengali Alokesh Lahiri alias Bappi Lahiri. His role in the popularity of disco music in Bollywood is a lot. Born in Jalpaiguri, in a music rich family. He took music initiation from his parents. He made his Bollywood debut in 1973 as a music director and artist. Romantic as well as disco, he was equally adept at classical and reached the pinnacle of popularity.
★10. Abhijit Bhattacharya
In the nineties, another Bengali stunned Bollywood with his tune. He is Abhijit Bhattacharya. Born in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. He started in Bollywood with RD Varman’s tune, but got success by singing in the 1991 film Baghi. There was a lot of competition, yet he has a special place in Bollywood. Lots of songs. He has also worked on many hit albums.
★11. Pritam Chakraborty
Pritam Chakraborty is one of the most successful composers in Bollywood after 2000. Born in Kolkata, he started his career working in advertisements and TV serials. He started working in Bollywood in 2001 in association with another successful Bengali composer Jit Ganguly. Later, however, they became separated. The song from the 2004 Dhoom movie brought him huge success, then only success, which still exists.
★12. Shawn
Shantanu Mukherjee alias Shan. A romantic Bengali singer of the post-2000 period. Born in Calcutta, Baba Manas Mukherjee was also a composer. He lost his father when he was only 13 years old. He started working at a young age by giving voice in advertisements. Sister Sagarika has also worked on some hit albums. In 1969, at the age of 18, a few lines were sung in a song from the film Parinda. But officially Bollywood career started from 1999. After that he gained a wide reputation as a romantic singer.
★13. Shreya Ghoshal
Shreya Ghoshal is one of the most successful Bengali singers in Bollywood. Born in Murshidabad, our ancestral home is in Bikrampur. After winning the Surrey Ga Ma Pa Music Contest, Sanjay Leela Bansali got the opportunity to sing in 1 Devdas in 2002. In fact, Ghoshal came to the notice of his mother Leela Bansali first, then Sanjay Leela Bansali found Ghoshal and after Devdas only the history of success.