The Different Lata: Suman Kalyanpur and her almost-famous singing profession

Just a few years later, it wasn’t actually a shock when the well-known Doordarshan present Chhaya Geet attributed Kalyanji-Anandji’s fashionable tune, Na na karte pyar kisi se kar baithe, an Aantakshari staple, to Mangeshkar. Nobody batted an eyelid, besides a 20-year-old lady named Charul Hemmady. She known as up the Prasar Bharati workplace and requested them to ratify the error. The feminine singer was her mom Suman Kalyanpur. “Nobody believed me. It sounded precisely like Lataji,” says Hemmady. Aaj kal tere mere pyaar ke charche (Bramhachari, 1969), one in all her extra well-known duets with Rafi, met the identical destiny. The songs nonetheless echo however in some way the face was typically consigned to oblivion.

Kalyanpur appears uncomfortable when requested concerning the similarity between her voice and Lata’s, however she solutions fastidiously. “I used to be fairly influenced by her. In my school days, I used to sing her songs. Meri aawaaz nazuk aur patli thi (My voice was fragile and skinny). Additionally, when Radio Ceylon relayed the songs, the names have been by no means introduced. Even the data typically gave the unsuitable identify. Perhaps that induced extra confusion. Shreya Ghoshal’s voice can also be skinny, however can folks go unsuitable now? We have been dwelling in numerous occasions then,” the soft-spoken Kalyanpur, now 85, mentioned on this interview in her Mumbai residence in 2015.

Kalyanpur, in her complete profession, has not often agreed to giving interviews. Veteran radio artiste Ameen Sayani needed to chase her for near 45 years earlier than he might document a one-hour present along with her in 2005. “She spoke so little. As a lot as I might attempt, she answered lots of questions in monosyllables,” says Sayani.

After repeated requests, she agreed to fulfill us, however with sure situations. “No photoshoot. Uncomfortable questions might not be answered.” We agree.

On the third flooring of her Lokhandwala condo in Mumbai, subsequent to her daughter’s home, the place she lives alone now, Kalyanpur greets us with a nervous smile. A panorama Kalyanpur painted hangs on the wall. “That is what I do nowadays. I paint. Cooking is one other favorite. Bas issi sab mein din beet jaata hai (The day goes by in all this),” she says. And what concerning the riyaaz that playback singers swear by? “Kabhi kabhi gunguna leti hoon kuch (Typically I hum one thing). I haven’t been singing for a really very long time,” says Kalyanpur, who’s remembered for being a “shy lady whose voice had shehed jaisi mithhas (the sweetness of honey)”.

The music business of Mumbai within the Nineteen Sixties moved to a special beat. The tunes spawned right here would go on to create a sound revolution, one that will be later known as the golden period of Hindi movie sangeet. This was additionally the time when the world of feminine playback singing was dominated by the monopoly of Mangeshkar sisters, extra Lata than Asha (Bhosle). “The primary 5 positions have been occupied by Lata, however Suman, in some way naturally gave the impression of Lata. She was additionally diligent, sharp and had a stunning skinny voice. So when Lata was overseas or unavailable, or if the producers couldn’t afford her charge of Rs 100 per track, or if the track suffered due to her refusal to sing with Mohammad Rafi over royalty points, Suman, the poor man’s Lata, was known as in. She was not only a nice substitute, she was additionally extraordinarily hardworking. If Lata was the Marathi Noorjehan, Suman was the Marathi Lata,” Bharatan had mentioned.

She additionally sang two duets with Mangeshkar earlier than her personal songs turned fashionable. Kabhi aaj kabhi kal within the Balraj Sahni starrer Chand (1959) was a Hemant Kumar composition and “not many can spot the distinction”. “We have been fairly cordial to one another and felt like pals. I all the time felt that there was rather a lot to speak,” says Kalyanpur, going quiet for nearly a minute. Her daughter is fast so as to add, “That’s how you are feeling. What about her?” Kalyanpur says, “I used to be invited for Lekin’s premiere and that was the final time I met her,”

Rising up in a pre-Partition Mumbai, Kalyanpur was the eldest of 5 sisters. The ladies rising up in a conservative home sang as a result of they couldn’t play exterior. “It wasn’t thought of protected for women to enterprise out. Ma and pitaji used to like bhajans. However we weren’t allowed to sing exterior the home. I didn’t have the permission. Singing might be carried out at residence,” says Kalyanpur, who ultimately was requested by some neighbours to sing for Ganpati Mahotsav. Nevertheless it was her neighbor DB Jog’s Marathi movie Shauchi Chandni (1953) that obtained Kalyanpur inside a recording studio. Jog was her father’s pal and permission was granted. The movie, nevertheless, by no means took off.

It was at 16, when she was a pupil at Sir JJ College of Artwork that iconic singer Talat Mehmood heard her sing at a university perform and “gave shabaashi”. He then put her in contact with the recording firm HMV. Regardless of the equivalents of A & R managers of at present calling her voice “amateurish”, Kalyanpur bagged a track in Darwaaza (1954) and debuted alongside Mehmood with the fragile and melodious Ek dil, do hain talabgaar. The movie was produced by Ismat Chughtai and folks seen. This was adopted by Chhodo chhodo mori baiyaan (Miya Bibi Raazi, 1960), Na tum humein jaano (Baat Ek Raat Ki, 1962), Mere sang ga, gunguna (Janwar, 1965), Aajhuna aaye baalma (Saanjh aur Sa km vera, 1963), Tumne pukaara aur hum chale aaye (Rajkumar, 1964).

“Submit Independence, everybody was actually excited to do one thing. My father additionally agreed about me singing however accompanied me to each recording. It was fairly conservative at the moment as folks talked shortly,” says Kalyanpur, who, after getting married in 1958, was accompanied by her husband to each recording session. “I used to be married right into a joint household that had 15 members. I used to be simply glad that they have been permitting me to proceed. Additionally, not like different singers, I wasn’t good at negotiating contracts and speaking to folks, in order that was fully dealt with by my husband,” says Kalyanpur.

Marriage introduced its personal large and small pressures and Kalyanpur turned to the identical business to search out assist. For starters, she learnt how you can make a very good omelette from composer Roshan’s spouse, Ira. “I got here from a vegetarian household right into a non-vegetarian one. Who might I ask for assist? Movie business was like household and other than happiness that I obtained singing there, additionally they helped flip me right into a non vegetarian,” says Kalyanpur with amusing, the primary within the dialog. The larger sacrifice got here by way of turning into selective concerning the lyrics. “I couldn’t sing cabarets or mujras. I needed to be cautious if any member of the family noticed and mentioned one thing adverse and hurtful in that orthodox surroundings,” says Kalyanpur, who by no means attended premieres or socialised along with her colleagues.

As soon as contained in the studio, Kalyanpur hardly interacted along with her co-singers, regardless of singing fashionable duets, together with with the holy trinity – Talat Mehmood, Mohammad Rafi and Mukesh. “Rafi sahab and Talat sahab have been extraordinarily quiet folks themselves and principally interacted with my husband. It was Mukeshji who spoke rather a lot. He beloved telling me tales. I suppose he was very well-read,” says Kalyanpur, whose final fashionable quantity within the business was Behna ne bhai ki kalai pe (Resham Ki Dori) in 1974. She sang about 100 songs for composer Usha Khanna. She additionally sang for composer Anu Malik and Bappi Lahiri within the ’80s however quickly bowed out of the business in 1986, after singing for nearly 100 movies with among the best composers, together with Naushad, Shankar Jaikishan, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Nashaad amongst others. Her remaining track, which was for the movie Love 86, actor Govinda’s debut, was by no means launched. “Laxmikant Pyarelal didn’t use her model. They rerecorded it in Alka Yagnik’s voice,” says Charul. She did do an HMV album in 1997, rerecording her previous numbers, however the album didn’t get a lot consideration.

“The system was an excessive amount of to deal with. I loved taking care of my household and wished to be away from all types of politics and let singing take a backseat,” says Kalyanpur. In her profession, she solely acquired a Filmfare nomination. There was additionally the Lata Mangeshkar Award by Authorities of Maharashtra in 2010. The Padma Bhushan, introduced on Wednesday, is a late however a lot deserved recognition for the unsung expertise.