People talk of the enomous versatility of Kishore Kumar but without meaning to offend, let me say that musically, none could match the versatiliy of Hemanta. I always wonder which Hemanta was better ñ Hemanta the composer, or Hemanta the Singer. It fluctuates depending on the song I hear. He was great at both ñ but I would give Hemanta the Composer a point higher than Hemanta the Singer simply because Hemantaís voice, for all its beauty and melody, was restricted whereas his compositions transcend different levels of compositions.

Hemant came to Bombay to compose for "Anandmath" - his first as a composer. And what magnificent compositions the film had. The entirely different style of composition in "Vande Mataram" was immediately ear-catching. Though it is the Lata version that is more often heard today, I feel the Hemanta version was superior. The voice was a natural, coming straight from the heart. Listen to "Jai jagdish hare" and you would comprehend the simple spirituality behind his voice. It is again a fantastic bhajan, with Geeta. All the songs in the film are must-hears. This includes the fabulous Geeta solos "Yaad aaye bachpan" and "Aa re bhanwre aa" and the beautiful duet with Talat "Kaise rokoge aise toofan ko". What melodies !! Hemanta had ARRIVED. If any further proof be required of Hemanta's singing prowess, Sachin Dev Burman proved it amply in "Jaal" - the song "Yeh raat yeh chandni phir kahan". The sensuous voice conveyed the sensuousness of the situation amply. And created the aura of the reckless, romanticism around Dev Anand.

Thus it was on Dev Anand that Hemanta's Hindi singing career took off. But much higher planes of success awaited Hemanta in Bengal. That happened with "Shapmochan" with Hemant going on Uttam Kumar with such superlative success that the two became intertwined in public imagination. There followed years of continued success for this combination. Some of my personal favourties include "Jhod utheche", "Shoorer akashe", "Moun mone aa", "Shoor jodhu par bala" .. (apologies for my Bengali). Wonderful meldoies.

Lets get back to Hemant Kumar now. 1954 saw Hemant rising to the legion of top-drawer composers. "Nagin" was released and the superlative success of the music once and for all established the name of Hemant Kumar as a great composer. He himslf rendered numbers "Zindagi ke dene wale" and "Tere dwar khada ek jogi" apart from the Lata duet "Ari chod de patang". Hemant received the Filmfare Award for the best composer. But, another movie released in 1954 caught my ear the more. "Shart" was the film. And the songs from this film have endured ever since. The Hemant-Geeta tandem "Na yeh chand hoga" remains the most popular melody of this film. But Lata affecionados would argue - listen to Lata rendering "Meri taqdeer ke malik" and "Ae mere chaman mein hoon who kali" and you have heard some of Hemant's best. And that heavenly duet - "Dekho who chand chupke" with Lata and Hemant. Each song a classic.

It was in 1952 that Guru Dutt-directed, Dev Anand-Geeta Bali starrer "Jaal" was released - and with it, the vocal prowess of Hemant Kumar were on prominent display. Overruling some of the musicians advice who wanted the "Yeh raat yeh chandni phir kahan" number to be rendered by the then-King Talat Mahmood, he had the song in the voice of Hemant Kumar. The voice carried the melody and the charm just right for the sensuous situation. Thus came Hemanta the singer into full focus.

C.Ramchandra, who professed himself a non-believer in Hemanta, had him render one of his finest compositions in "Anarkali" - "Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag". While Lata does hold her own with that aalap she picks up, it is Hemanta's magnificent rendition that is best remembered today. Another bewitching melody in the film was "Zindagi pyar ki do char ghadi". And when it was required that an additional song be put in as a prologue to the whole film, it was Hemanta again who composed and rendered "Ae baad-e-saba ahista chal".

Even a complete Rafian like Naushad saab could not resist the Hemanta appeal. He used it to mesmerizing effect in "Shabab" - that dream duet with Lata "Chandan ka palna". Again, such soothing melodies can find no better voice than Hemanta to render it. Thus by 1954, Hemanta had established himself as one of the prominent singers in Bombay as well. Of course, he was THE Voice of Bengal.

Came 1954, came "Nagin". And Hemanta found himself placed in the elite league of successful music directors. That "Nagin" overtook films like "Uran Khatola", "Azad", "Shabab" etc in 1955 to fetch the Best Music Director Award for Hemant Kumar might seem..er, rather undeserving in one angle, but it proved Hemanta's musical abilities once and for all. The film's music was a runaway success, and while "Man dole mera tan dole" became the only song in the Binaca GeetMala history to be played in the list of Sartaaj geets in two separate years, numbers like "Oonchi oonchi duniya ki", "Mera dil yeh pukare aaja", "O zindagi ke dene wale", "tere dwar khada ek jogi" and "Ari chod de patang" all created their own niche in film music.

As to my own opinion, I do not consider "Nagin" to be Hemanta's best - not by a long way. And it did not really deserve the Best Music award in 1955. But I do not complain here - for Hemantda deserved it, if not the film. That Hemanta for all the success he achieved, maintained a consistently low-profile providing always quality music, but never with a touch of grandeur meant that the Filmfare Awards would not approach him in a hurry again. In the age which was to follow, where the Best Music Director award became more a matter of manipualtion and money, Hemantda steered himself away from all that. And in his own simple way, composed one dream song after another.

1955 saw the release of another Hemanta musical "Jagriti", which again became immensely popular. The film by itself was a very fine one - and the songs added to its beauty. Pradeep, the lyricist penned the patriotic numbers, and rendered "Aao bachon tumhe dikhayen jhanki Hindustan ki", Asha had the sot "Chalo chalen ma" and the Mahatma Gandhi "bhajan" "Dedi hame azadi" and to round off, Mohd Rafi made his presence felt with that fabulous alvida of the beloved teacher to his students - "Hum laye hain toofan se khashti nikal ke".

Hemanta's singing career was also moving ahead smoothly. His renditions for S.D.Burman to go on Dev Anand became hugely popular. Songs from House no 44 for example. Songs like "Chup hai dharti chup hai chand sitare" and "Teri duniya me jeene se" became hugely popular. That touch of melancholy in Hemantda's voice much became the more subdued Dev Anand of those days. He also went tellingly on Guru Dutt in "Pyaasa" bringing out the anguish of the much-perplexed poet in "Jane who kaise log the jinke pyar ko pyar mila". His happy-go-lucky "Hai apna dil to awara na jane kis pe aayega" became the Binaca song of the year, 1958.

And in 1958, Hemanta produced the suspense thriller, "Bees saal baad". The music of the film became one of the runaway successes of the year. Hemantda's himself rendered "Beqarar karke hume yun na jaiye" and "Zara nazron se kehdo ji", while Lata got to sing the ever-thrilling "Kahin deep jale kahin din". The genius of Hemantda the composer, is best brought out in this song. And he brought out what magnificent musical effects may be achieved by using the simplest orchestra. Add to this the other Lata melodies in the film like "Sapne suhane ladakpan ke" and "Ae mohobbat meri duniya" - and you have one of the best musical of Hemantda.

The next major success for Hemantda was "Bin baadal barsaat". Never has Hemantda sounded as romantic as he did in that film, going on choclate-hero Biswajeet wooing Asha Parekh with such precious gems as "Zindagi kitni khoobsoorat hai" and "Jab jaag uthe armaan" to go with that lovely duet "Ek baar zara phir kehdo".

1962 saw Hemanta compose in one of the most important films of his career - Guru Dutt's "Sahib biwi aur ghulam". Guru Dutt's films had always had a very distinctive musical flavour, much removed form the other musicals of the time. And Hemanta rose to the occasion with some wonderful Geeta and Asha melodies that remain much-cherished compositions to this day. Look at the plethora of emotions that Hemanta encompassed - the mischievious "Bhanwra bada naadan hai", the plaintive "Koi door se awaaz de", the blushing-bride's "Piya aeso jiya me samaye gayo re", the dejected lover "Meri baat rahi mere man me" , that lament of a wife "Na jao saiyan chudake baiya" and two very fine mujhras to add - "Saqiya aaj mujhe neend nahi aayegi" and "Meri jaan o meri jaan". All high quality compositions. Hemanta won no awards for this film - but that has already been discussed.

Hemanta continued to compose occasionally in the next years. He was much occupied in Calcutta as a singer (he was the voice of the Bengali Mahanayak Uttam Kumar) and composer. But whatever he composed in Bombay -had a true melody ring to it. Bolstered by the success of "Bees saal baad", he proceeded to produce another thriller "Kohraa" based on Daphne du Maurier's "Rebecca". While the film fared badly, the music remains alive to this day. The Lata melody "O beqrar dil" (based on the sensational Bengali success "O nodi re" rendered by Hemanta himself) and the haunting "Jhoom jhoom dhalthi raat", while being noteworthy, are completely overshadowed by the Hemanta's romantic drawl "Yeh nayan dare dare" and "Raah bani khud manzil". He needed no awards to prove his mettle. Hemanta was in a class all his own.

Hrishikesh Mukherhee's "Anupama" occupies a position of pride amongs Hemanta's musicals. There were just five songs in the film - each of them of the finest quality. The two Asha melodies "Kyon mujhe itni khushi dedi" and "Bheegi bheegi hawa" (breezy), the two sensational Lata songs "Dheere dheere machal ae dil-e-beqarar" and "Kuch dil ne kaha" and finally Hemanta's "Ya dil ki suno duniyawalon" - all magnificent melodies. To round off his career in Bombay, Hemanta composed the songs of "Khamoshi" - he provided a new lease of life for Kishore Kumar with "Who sham kuch ajeeb thi", Lata going sweetly again with "Humne dekhi hai in ankhon ki mehekthi kushboo" and finally, that never-never Hemant melody "Tum pukar lo".

In between, he did compose and sing a number of other magnificent melodies like "Bas ek chupsi lagi hai", "Chupa lo yun dil me pyar mera", "Hawaon pe likhdo" (composed only, sung by Kishore Kumar), Hum chahen ya na chahen", "Ghira do parda" etc.

He remained associated with Bengali music for a long while - almost till his death in 1989. He epitomised all the melody and softness that one associates with Bengali music. He was one of the few composers who braved the onslaught of loudness into Hindi film music in the mid-60s and continued to provide melodies and simple, heart-felt melodies till the end. He was a genius in the true sense of the word - a man who could bring out melodies from the heart, that immediately touched yours, and a voice that seemed to find its way unfailingly into your soul. Such legends exist but few in number. We cherish them in our memory - their music remains immortal.

My 10 All-Time Favorite Hemant da Songs

1. Meri taqdeer ke malik(Lata)	2. Dekho woh chand chupke(Hemant & Lata)
3. Zindagi kitni khoobsurat hai(Hemant)	4. Chup gaya koi re(Lata)
5. Yeh nayan dare dare(Hemant)	6. Log peete hain(Hemant)
7. Sara mora kajra chudaya(Rafi & Aarti Mukherji)	8. Ae mere chaman main(Lata)
9. Kashti ka khamosh safar(Kishore & Sudha Malhotra)	10. Hum laye hain toofan se(Mohd Rafi)

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