# Hemant Kumar (হেমন্ত মুখোপাধ্যায়)
**Hemant Kumar** (হেমন্ত মুখোপাধ্যায়; born Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, 16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989) was an Indian playback singer, music director, and film producer whose deep baritone was a defining voice of Hindi and Bengali film music from the 1940s through the 1960s[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/hemant-kumar-death-anniversary-old-hindi-songs-films-6007711/). In the Bombay film industry he worked under the name Hemant Kumar, a name given to him by the producer [Sashadhar Mukherjee](https://www.edgepedia.org/sashadhar-mukherjee), while in Bengal he remained Hemanta Mukhopadhyay[2](https://www.thequint.com/singer-composer-hemant-kumar-interview). He was also a leading exponent of [Rabindra Sangeet](https://www.edgepedia.org/rabindra-sangeet), the songs of [Rabindranath Tagore](https://www.edgepedia.org/rabindranath-tagore)[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/hemant-kumar-death-anniversary-old-hindi-songs-films-6007711/).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born / died | 16 June 1920, Varanasi (Benares); 26 September 1989[3](https://bengali.indianexpress.com/entertainment/hemanta-mukherjee-centenary-hemant-kumar-facts-trivia-232289/) • [4](https://www.songsofyore.com/hemant-kumar-songs-by-other-music-directors/) |
| Names | Hemanta Mukhopadhyay in Bengal; "Hemant Kumar" in Bombay, a name given by Sashadhar Mukherjee of Filmistan[2](https://www.thequint.com/singer-composer-hemant-kumar-interview) |
| Recording start | First song recorded for All India Radio in 1935; first gramophone record on Columbia in 1937, two non-film songs tuned by Sailesh Dattagupta[3](https://bengali.indianexpress.com/entertainment/hemanta-mukherjee-centenary-hemant-kumar-facts-trivia-232289/) |
| Hindi debut as composer | Anand Math (1952), produced by Filmistan[5](https://artsandculture.google.com/story/TgWhQpRJFmoq7A) |
| Landmark score | Nagin (1954), which brought him the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director[6](https://www.filmfare.com/features/filmfare-profiles-composer-and-singer-hemant-kumar-12269.html) |
| Output | Approximately 2,000 songs recorded over his career[7](https://chandrakantha.com/bios/hemant-kumar/) |
| Signature songs | "Yeh Nayan Dare Dare" (Kohra), "Na Tum Humein Jano" (Baat Ek Raat Ki), "Jaane Woh Kaise Log The" (Pyaasa)[8](https://editorialge.com/hemant-kumar-vs-other-golden-era-singers/) |
## Early life and beginnings
Hemanta was born on 16 June 1920 in Varanasi, in the house of a well-known physician of the city, and grew up in Calcutta[3](https://bengali.indianexpress.com/entertainment/hemanta-mukherjee-centenary-hemant-kumar-facts-trivia-232289/). He studied first at Nasiruddin School and later at Mitra Institution in Bhawanipur; his two closest school friends were the future poet [Subhash Mukhopadhyay](https://www.edgepedia.org/subhash-mukhopadhyay) and the writer Santosh Kumar Ghosh, and at the time it was Subhash who was the known singer of the three, while Hemant wrote short stories[3](https://bengali.indianexpress.com/entertainment/hemanta-mukherjee-centenary-hemant-kumar-facts-trivia-232289/). After class twelve he enrolled in the engineering department of the Bengal Technical Institute, later [Jadavpur University](https://www.edgepedia.org/jadavpur-university), and left his studies against his father's strong objection, drawn to music[3](https://bengali.indianexpress.com/entertainment/hemanta-mukherjee-centenary-hemant-kumar-facts-trivia-232289/). A [Hindustan Times](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindustan-times) profile adds that he had taken a job as a singer at All India Radio, then known as Broadcasting House, and bought his first harmonium with the salary[9](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/the-voice-of-god/story-EtFJ3r1IdgbqhdIX42LDcO.html).
**First recordings.** Encouraged by Subhash Mukhopadhyay, he recorded his first song for [All India Radio](https://www.edgepedia.org/all-india-radio) in 1935, opening with the line "Aamar ganete ele noborupi chirontoni"[3](https://bengali.indianexpress.com/entertainment/hemanta-mukherjee-centenary-hemant-kumar-facts-trivia-232289/). His guru at this stage was Sailesh Dattagupta, and he modeled his style on Pankaj Mullick so closely that listeners called him "Chhoto Pankaj" (little Pankaj). In a 1980s television interview he said he had also begun training in classical music under Ustad Faiyaz Khan, an education cut short by the ustad's early death[3](https://bengali.indianexpress.com/entertainment/hemanta-mukherjee-centenary-hemant-kumar-facts-trivia-232289/).
In 1937 the Columbia label, owned by the Gramophone Company of India, recorded his first disc, the non-film songs "Janite Jadi Go Tumi" and "Balo Go Balo More", and he went on to record non-film songs for the company every year until 1984[3](https://bengali.indianexpress.com/entertainment/hemanta-mukherjee-centenary-hemant-kumar-facts-trivia-232289/). His first Hindi songs, "Kitna Dukh Bhulaya Tumne" and "O Preet Nibhanewali", were recorded for Columbia in 1940, with music by Kamal Dasgupta and lyrics by Faiyaz Hashmi[3](https://bengali.indianexpress.com/entertainment/hemanta-mukherjee-centenary-hemant-kumar-facts-trivia-232289/).
His first playback recording was for the film Nimai Sanyas, with music by Hariprasanna Das; the Hindustan Times profile dates it to 1940, while the Indian Express Bengali centenary account gives the film's release as 1941[9](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/the-voice-of-god/story-EtFJ3r1IdgbqhdIX42LDcO.html) • [3](https://bengali.indianexpress.com/entertainment/hemanta-mukherjee-centenary-hemant-kumar-facts-trivia-232289/). On his first [Hindi film song](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-film-song) the accounts differ: the Hindustan Times profile names Meenakshi, with music composed by Pankaj Mullick, while the Bengali centenary article gives Irada in 1944, under Pandit Amarnath[9](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/the-voice-of-god/story-EtFJ3r1IdgbqhdIX42LDcO.html) • [3](https://bengali.indianexpress.com/entertainment/hemanta-mukherjee-centenary-hemant-kumar-facts-trivia-232289/). Also in 1944 he recorded his first non-film Rabindra Sangeet, "Aamar Ar Hobe Na Deri" and "Ken Panth E Chanchalata", for Columbia[3](https://bengali.indianexpress.com/entertainment/hemanta-mukherjee-centenary-hemant-kumar-facts-trivia-232289/). In 1944 he composed the entire score for Heman Gupta's film Abhijatri[10](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hemant-kumar-mn0000575841).
## Bombay and the Filmistan years
**Anand Math and a new name.** His first Hindi film as composer was [Anand Math](https://www.edgepedia.org/anand-math) (1952), a story of revolution based on Bankim Chandra's novel, produced by Filmistan and directed by his longtime friend Heman Gupta; for it he composed "Bande Mataram", sung by [Lata Mangeshkar](https://www.edgepedia.org/lata-mangeshkar)[5](https://artsandculture.google.com/story/TgWhQpRJFmoq7A) • [6](https://www.filmfare.com/features/filmfare-profiles-composer-and-singer-hemant-kumar-12269.html). It was Filmistan's owner Sashadhar Mukherjee who gave him his Bombay name: "This is Bombay... people don't understand complicated names, so I will call you Hemant Kumar"[2](https://www.thequint.com/singer-composer-hemant-kumar-interview). Mukherjee kept him in Bombay until he delivered a hit[2](https://www.thequint.com/singer-composer-hemant-kumar-interview).
**Nagin.** That hit was Nagin (1954), his second Bombay film as music director. For its snake-charmer song "Man Dole Tan Dole" he did not want a real been, the instrument used to charm snakes; his assistant Kalyanji Virji Shah, later of the Kalyanji-Anandji composing team, produced the tune on harmonium and Clavioline, a prototype of the modern synthesizer. The improvisation became hugely popular, made Kalyanji a sought-after Clavioline player, and helped make the film and its songs a sensation. Hemant Kumar received the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for Nagin[2](https://www.thequint.com/singer-composer-hemant-kumar-interview) • [6](https://www.filmfare.com/features/filmfare-profiles-composer-and-singer-hemant-kumar-12269.html).
## Composer, singer, producer
From then until the early 1970s he scored films as a composer and sang playback both in his own compositions and for other music directors[11](https://musicunrestricted.in/2024/07/17/hemant-kumar-and-his-haunting-melodies/). In 1955, songs from films including House No 44, Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje, Munimji, Milap, Abe Hayat, and Faraar became runaway successes[9](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/the-voice-of-god/story-EtFJ3r1IdgbqhdIX42LDcO.html). By one later account, the crowning work of his composing career was his music for [Guru Dutt](https://www.edgepedia.org/guru-dutt)'s 1962 film Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam[12](https://rotarynewsonline.org/hemant-king-of-soft-seductive-caressing-voice/). As a singer he also performed "Jaane Woh Kaise Log The" from Pyaasa, one of Guru Dutt's most memorable songs[8](https://editorialge.com/hemant-kumar-vs-other-golden-era-singers/) • [17](https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/song-jaane-woh-kaise-log-they-jinke/vAGB8ld32K5R-g?hl=en).
Thanks to his popularity he forayed into film production as well[6](https://www.filmfare.com/features/filmfare-profiles-composer-and-singer-hemant-kumar-12269.html). Khamoshi (1969) was his last Hindi film as a successful composer and producer; in it [Kishore Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/kishore-kumar) got one of the best songs of his career in "Woh Shaam Kuchh Ajeeb Thi", while Hemant himself sang "Tum Pukar Lo"[6](https://www.filmfare.com/features/filmfare-profiles-composer-and-singer-hemant-kumar-12269.html). In his youth he had also written fiction; AllMusic records that a story of his was published by *Dash* magazine in 1937 before music took over[10](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hemant-kumar-mn0000575841).
## Bengali work and Rabindra Sangeet
In Bengal his standing was at least as high as in Bombay. He was a master of Rabindra Sangeet, counted alongside Debabrata Biswas, Sagar Sen, and Kanika Banerjee among its exponents, and commentators credit him, together with Debabrata Biswas, with carrying Tagore's songs into non-puritan Bengali households in the decades after independence[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/hemant-kumar-death-anniversary-old-hindi-songs-films-6007711/) • [13](https://www.guruchandali.com/comment.php?topic=21612). The 1950s and 1960s are remembered as the golden age of modern Bengali song, with Hemanta Mukhopadhyay as one of its central figures[14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWtspqvMrbA).
His deep, soulful voice was the natural playback voice for Bengal's matinee idol [Uttam Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/uttam-kumar), and the two formed a long singer-actor partnership[15](https://learningandcreativity.com/silhouette/hemant-kumar/). With the composer [Salil Chowdhury](https://www.edgepedia.org/salil-chowdhury), his lifelong friend and colleague, he recorded songs including "Path Harab Bolei Ebar" and "Amai Proshno Kore Nil Dhrubotara" that remain among the best-known Bengali modern songs[13](https://www.guruchandali.com/comment.php?topic=21612).
## Voice and reputation
His baritone was the foundation of his identity; by one account only two singers of Indian film music, Pankaj Mullick and Hemant Kumar, are known for a perfect baritone[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/hemant-kumar-death-anniversary-old-hindi-songs-films-6007711/). He was also known for an unusually fine microphone sense, adjusting his distance from the mike to sound natural on the primitive recording equipment of the day, on a par in this respect with [Mohammed Rafi](https://www.edgepedia.org/mohammed-rafi)[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/hemant-kumar-death-anniversary-old-hindi-songs-films-6007711/). His singing favored emotional restraint over display, evoking quiet reflection and tenderness; songs like "Yeh Nayan Dare Dare" and "Na Tum Humein Jano" show how a minimal style produced maximum emotional effect[8](https://editorialge.com/hemant-kumar-vs-other-golden-era-singers/).
Fellow musicians described the voice in almost devotional terms. Salil Chowdhury said that if God had a voice, he would have sung like Hemant Kumar; Lata Mangeshkar compared listening to him with hearing a sadhu singing a bhajan in a temple[5](https://artsandculture.google.com/story/TgWhQpRJFmoq7A) • [6](https://www.filmfare.com/features/filmfare-profiles-composer-and-singer-hemant-kumar-12269.html).
**Late career.** In the 1970s his Hindi film work thinned, though he continued composing for his own productions and singing[11](https://musicunrestricted.in/2024/07/17/hemant-kumar-and-his-haunting-melodies/). After heart disease in 1980 he lost control of his voice projection and breathing, an outcome he himself had anticipated; he died on 26 September 1989[16](https://www.anandabazar.com/editorial/essays/remembering-hemanta-mukhopadhyay-and-his-musical-works/cid/1305464). When Uttam Kumar died on 24 July 1980 and Mohammed Rafi a week later on 31 July, Hemant wept and said he had lost his two younger brothers[1](https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/hemant-kumar-death-anniversary-old-hindi-songs-films-6007711/).
## References
1. [Hemant Kumar: Singer with a perfect baritone, The Indian Express (26 September 2019)](https://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/art-and-culture/hemant-kumar-death-anniversary-old-hindi-songs-films-6007711/)
2. [Rewind: In Which Hemant Kumar Describes Guru Dutt as "Ruthless", The Quint](https://www.thequint.com/singer-composer-hemant-kumar-interview)
3. [মুছে যাওয়া দিনগুলি: শতবর্ষ শেষে হেমন্তের জীবনের জানা-অজানা মুহূর্ত, Indian Express Bangla (15 June 2020)](https://bengali.indianexpress.com/entertainment/hemanta-mukherjee-centenary-hemant-kumar-facts-trivia-232289/)
4. [Hemant Kumar's solo songs under 'other' batons, Songs of Yore (25 November 2020)](https://www.songsofyore.com/hemant-kumar-songs-by-other-music-directors/)
5. [Hemant Kumar: A Genius with a Distinct Voice and Great Musical Skills, Google Arts & Culture](https://artsandculture.google.com/story/TgWhQpRJFmoq7A)
6. [FlashbackFriday: Profiling Hemant Kumar, Filmfare (19 February 2016)](https://www.filmfare.com/features/filmfare-profiles-composer-and-singer-hemant-kumar-12269.html)
7. [Hemant Kumar, chandrakantha.com](https://chandrakantha.com/bios/hemant-kumar/)
8. [Hemant Kumar vs Other Golden Era Singers: What Made Him Unique, Editorialge](https://editorialge.com/hemant-kumar-vs-other-golden-era-singers/)
9. [The Voice of God, Hindustan Times](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/the-voice-of-god/story-EtFJ3r1IdgbqhdIX42LDcO.html)
10. [Hemant Kumar – Biography, Discography, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/artist/hemant-kumar-mn0000575841)
11. [Hemant Kumar and his haunting melodies, Music Unrestricted (17 July 2024)](https://musicunrestricted.in/2024/07/17/hemant-kumar-and-his-haunting-melodies/)
12. [Hemant: King of soft, seductive, caressing voice, Rotary News](https://rotarynewsonline.org/hemant-king-of-soft-seductive-caressing-voice/)
13. [হরিদাস পাল: হেমন্তচর্চা: কিছু গান, কিছু স্মৃতি, Guruchandali](https://www.guruchandali.com/comment.php?topic=21612)
14. [হেমন্ত মুখোপাধ্যায়ের জীবনের গল্প (biography video), YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWtspqvMrbA)
15. [Simple, Soulful, Sublime: The Music of Hemant Kumar, Silhouette Magazine](https://learningandcreativity.com/silhouette/hemant-kumar/)
16. [চিরন্তন তরুণ বিবাগির স্বর, Anandabazar Patrika (25 September 2021)](https://www.anandabazar.com/editorial/essays/remembering-hemanta-mukhopadhyay-and-his-musical-works/cid/1305464)
17. [Song: Jaane Woh Kaise Log They Jinke - Google Arts & Culture](https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/song-jaane-woh-kaise-log-they-jinke/vAGB8ld32K5R-g?hl=en)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Music scenes › South Asian scenes › Hindi film music (Bollywood) and Indian pop*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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