Kundan Lal Saigal (1904-1947) was an Indian actor and singer. He is considered to be the first superstar of the Hindi film industry. He was revered as “Shahenshah-e-Mausiqi” (Emperor of Music) and known as the “King of Ghazal”. The status he achieved in singing was simply the result of informal learning. Devdas, released in 1936, was a landmark film in his career, which gave him iconic status. He sang in six different languages. In a career that spanned just 15 years, he appeared in 36 films and sang 185 songs in different languages.
Wiki/Biography
Kundan Lal Saigal was born on Monday, April 11, 1904 in Jammu, Kashmir and Jammu, Principality of Jammu, British India (now Jammu, India) (age 42 years old). His zodiac sign is Aries. He received his basic education in Jammu and then attended Prince of Wales College (now known as Gandhi Memorial Science College) in Jammu and Kashmir, India, but discontinued his studies due to his interest in music and singing. Kundan’s mother was very fond of music and he often accompanied her at religious events, where he learned the technique of singing and perfected it through practice. He became the disciple of Ustad Fayyaz Khan for several years. He died in 1947 in Jalandhar, Punjab, India.
appearance
Height (approximately): 5′ 9″
Weight (approximately): 70kg
Hair color: black
Eye color: black
family
Kundan was born in a Punjabi family in Jammu region.
Parents and siblings
Kundan’s father, Amarchand Saigal, was a Tehsildar in the court of Maharaja Pratap Singh. His mother’s name is Kesarbai Saigal. He has 4 siblings, 3 brothers: Ram Lal, Hazari Lal and Mohendar Lal, and a sister.
Kundan Lal Saigal (standing far left) and his family
wife and children
Kundan married Asha Rani in 1935. They have three children, including two daughters, Nina and Bina, and a son, Madan Mohan. He adopted Durgesh Nandini, the daughter of his brother who died at a young age. Kundan adopted Durgesh when he was single.
KL Saigal’s wife Asha Rani
KL Saigal’son, Madan Mohan Saigal, plays organ
Signature/Autograph
Profession
singer
In the early 1930s, classical musician Harishchandra Bali brought Saigal to Kolkata. Saigal moved to Kolkata with his friend Mehrchand Jain, where he recorded several CDs of Punjabi songs composed and arranged by Harishchandra Bali. The songs were released through the Gramophone Company of India. “Yahudi Ki Ladki” is the first film of the new theater to be dubbed by Saigal. He sang Nuktacheen Hai Ghame-Dil, a Ghalib ghazal and several other songs, which made the film a hit.
Movie “Yahudi Ki Ladki” poster
In the same year, another film Puran Bhagat was released. Sehgal sang four bhajans in it, which became a national sensation and made him a star. In 1935, he lent his voice to songs composed by Rabindranath Tagore such as “Ek Tuku Chhoa Laage” and “Tomar Binaye Gaan Chhilo Aar Aamar”. In 1937, he sang the song “Ek Bangla Bane Nyara” in the movie “The President”, which became a national hit and made him a household name.
During his short career, he sang 185 songs, including 142 film songs and 43 non-film songs. He sang in Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Punjabi, Pashto and Persian.
actor
In Kolkata, Saigal met RC Boral, who hired him to join Calcutta New Theater Ltd., a film studio owned by BN Sircar. In 1932, Sehgal’s debut film “Mohabbat Ke Ansu” was released; it was directed by Pumankul Atothi. In the same year, he acted in two more films, “Zinda Laash” and “Subah Ka Sitara”. In all three films, his name appears in the end credits as Saigal Kashmiri.
New theater logo, roaring elephant
BN Sirka; Owner, Calcutta New Theater Ltd.
In 1933, “Yahudi Ki Ladki” was released. He used his name KL Saigal in this film.
A scene from Yahudi Ki Ladki (1933)
In the following years, several films such as “Rajrani Meera”, “Dulari Bibi”, “Daku Mansoor” and “Mohabbat Ki Kasauti” were released. In 1934, “Chandidas” came out, which won him applause from all over. In 1935, he played the leading role in the film Devdas. This was a turning point in his life. He became popular across the country and became the most popular actor-singer.
KL Saigal (far left) in Devdas 1935
Devdas film advertisement released on September 6, 1935
By then, he had started learning Bengali and he later acted in several Bengali films like “Sathi”, “Jiban Maran”, “Deshar Mati” and “Parichay”, all produced by New Theatre. In 1938, the New Theater produced “The Street Singer”. In the same year, a Bengali version of the film was made as “Sathi”.
Street Singer (1938) starring KL Saigal and Kanan Devi
By 1941, Bombay had become the center of Indian film production and Sehgal moved to the Millennium City. By this time, he had become a star. He later appeared in many films such as “Tamsen”, “Dushman”, “Lagan”, “My Sister” and “Shajahan”.
Tansen(1943)
Tansen styling by KL Saigal
His last film, Parvana, was released in February 1947, a month after his death. In such a short period of time, he made 36 feature films, of which 28 were in Hindi, 7 in Bengali and 1 in Tamil.
car collection
He owns an MG sedan.
KL Saigal’s car MG Saloon and his manager Paul
income
- He received Rs 80 per month while working as a salesman for the Remington Typewriter Company. His grandson Sumant Batra revealed this fact in an interview.
- In 1931, he joined the New Theater Company of Calcutta Ltd. and received a salary of Rs. 200 per month.
- In 1941, he moved to Bombay and received a monthly salary of 1,800 rupees.
- He received Rs 1 lac from Ranjit Movietone Studios, Mumbai for three films (Bhakta Surdas, Bhanwara).
die
Alcoholism increasingly troubled Segal. In the last years of his life, he could not record a song without drinking. As a result, his health deteriorated and he died in Jalandhar, Punjab, India, on January 18, 1947, at the age of 42.
favorite
- Singer: Fayaz Khan, Pankaj Mulik, Pahari Sanyal
- Actor: Khurshid
- Lyricist: Kedar Sharma
- Director: RC Boral
Facts/Trivia
- Amrish Puri is the cousin of Kundan Lal Saigal.
- Lata Mangeshkar was deeply influenced by Sehgal. After Saigal’s death, Lata Mangeshkar wanted to keep his organ, but Saigal’s daughter gave her a ring that belonged to Saigal. In her biography Lata Mangeshkar: In Her Own Voice, she revealed,
Ever since I was a child, I have always wanted to meet Saigal sahib. When I was very young, I would say: When I grow up, I want to marry Sehgal. My father would jokingly say: He will be old by then. I would say: It doesn’t matter, I will still marry him. ”
- Amrish Puri’s elder brother Chaman Puri worked with KL Saigal in the film “Street Singer”.
- KL Saigal worked many jobs before becoming a singer. Early on, he worked as a timekeeper for the railroad and then as a salesman for the Remington Typewriter Company. For a while, he worked as a hotel manager while in Calcutta.
- Kundan Lal Saigal sang and performed in Ramlila during his childhood.
- Saigal loves cooking food.Whenever he cooked Mughlai meat dish, he would take it to his studio and feed it to his friends
- He was the first non-Bengali singer whom Rabindranath Tagore allowed to sing songs based on Rabindra Sangeet.
- Several singers of Saigal’s contemporaries have confirmed that KL Saigal’s greatest quality was the musician’s ability to tune on his arap. Typically, the taanpura is first set to “Sa” or “Ma” by the ustad, and then the singer matches his/her pitch or scale. But when it comes to Sehgal, the musicians in the studio will wait for him to arrive, ask him to click “alaap”, and then everyone will tune their instruments with him.He gets the same treatment as ‘Shiv Ka Naad’
- Many prestigious awards are named after KL Saigal, including the KL Saigal Lifetime Achievement Award; Lata Mangeshkar and her brother Hridaynath Mangeshkar were awarded the KL Saigal Lifetime Achievement Award in November 2011.
- The Indian Postal Department issued a stamp on April 4, 1995 in memory of KL Saigal. Its denomination is 500 paise.
Kuala Lumpur Sehgal Stamp 1995
KL Saigal stamp first look (1995)
- In 2018, on the 114th anniversary of his birth, Google created a doodle in his honor.
Google’s KL Saigal Doodle in 2018
- In his last days, KL Saigal developed a habit of chain smoking and drinking. He couldn’t even sing without drinking two or three glasses of wine.
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education