The singing superstar of cinema

The singing superstar of the 30’ and 40’s Kundan Lal saigal or K. L. Saigal became famous for widely popular songs like ‘Gham diye mustaqil ‘ and ‘dukh ke ab din’—each number a born sad poem, pointing death of a romantic dream—-before subsequently immersing his creativity in the silent depths of alcoholism. The sonorous wide range of kundan lal saigal’s voice still entertains us. More than a century ago on 4^th April 1904 Saigal began life in Jammu’s Nawan Shahar, family however later migrated to the city of Jallandhar. Saigal had an amazing understanding of music. As a school boy, he used to attend ‘kirtans’ in the temples and take part in the Ram Lila. He often visited Muslim dervesh and Sufi Salamat Yusuf in Jammu. As an adult Saigal moved to other cities in search of employment, Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), Moradabad (Uttar Pradesh), Kanpur , Delhi, and  Kolkata .

 He got his first job of a typewriter salesman with a monthly salary of Rs 80. Saigal’s Fancy to get into the movies was accomplished when B N sircar’s New Theatres, Calcutta signed him for ‘ Mohabbat Ke ansoo’ (1932). It was B.N. Sircar, the founder of New Theatres, Calcutta who discovered Saigal and presented him to the Indian public. Calcutta, in those days, was the Mecca for the actors, singers, dancers, scriptwriters, music directors, and all those who aspired for a career in the show business.

 Saigal’s first three films Muhabbat ke ansoo, Subah ka sitara and Zinda lash went unnoticed. It was chandidas (1934) that gave him instant recognition. His talent for both acting and singing was fully recognised after the success of ‘Yahoodi ki ladki’ a costume epic based on Aga hashar Kashmiri’s famous play ‘ Misar kumari ’ . Saigal’s film music style was largely shaped at New Theatres which had then a galaxy of music directors like R.C. Boral, Timir Baran and Pankaj Mullick who composed most of the songs which remain among the most popular hits of Indian Cinema. Saigal attained stardom with the release of New Theatres’ Chandi das in 1934. The marvelous success of the film set a new trend, establishing the monopoly of songs and music in Indian cinema which continues to be a major audience attraction even today. Saigal was acclaimed as the leading singing star, and then came the all-time great barua’s masterpiece Devdas, Sarat chandra’s classic time-honoured story of unreturned love. Saigal’s outstanding portrayals set the standards for musical melodrama acting. With his brilliant portrayal of Devdas, Saigal brought the author Sarat chandra’s desperate character to life. It was career-defining role, a dysfunctional drunk who laments his lost love in eternal despair. Post ‘Devdas’ films like President (1937), Street singer (1938) and Zindagi (1940) released, Saigal did only one or two films a year. Saigal later migrated to Bombay to work with Chandulal shah’s Ranjit studio at a fantastic payroll. Films like ‘Bhakt surdas’ and Tansen’ made Saigal popular at Bombay and national level. Saigal in his short career sung about 185 songs (Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Punjabi and Persian) which include 142 film songs and 43 non-film songs. He acted in 39 films (31 Hindi, 7 Bengali and one Tamil film).

 Saigal was no swashbuckler, but people responded to everyman mannerism and of course to that voice. Saigal had deep affinity for Jalandhar, his beloved hometown. Even when his health was declining and he was conscious of his declining health, he came all the way from Bombay to spend his last days there before his demise on January 18, 1947. There are many stories about singer’s enthusiasm for liquor and his inability to sing without its aid, however there is no evidence to support them. It is a mystery whether Saigal sang better with or without the influence of liquor. Like Ghalib, the bottle did not in any way affect Saigal singing faculties.

 Chandigarh ‘s Environment Society of India, an institution engaged in promoting art, heritage and environment is working hard to keep alive the memory of the man with the golden voice. In 2010 Singer Dinesh sharma’s " Saigal Sangeet Sarita " instituted ‘KL Saigal award’. Film music historians Nalin Shah of Mumbai, and Harmandir Singh ‘Hamraaz’ of Kanpur were felicitated with the 1st K. L. Saigal Award. Harmandir has authored an excellent compendium of all songs of Saigal titled "Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya".

 K.L. Saigal Films : Mohabbat ke Aansu (1932) Chandidas (1934), Devdas (1935), Karwan-e-hayaat, Pujarin (1935-36), President (1937), Street singer, Dushman and Dharti mata (1938), Zindagi (1940), Lagan (1941), Bhakt Surdas, Tansen, Parwana (1942-43), My sister (1944), Shahjahan (1946).