Today, 28th january also happens to be her birthday and that being the prime resaon that a whole slot of 2 hours was dedicated to Suman Kalyanpur's songs and thankfully I became aware of this fact! Listen to this song, 'na tum hamein jaano' and let me know if you are not misled by the voice. I grew up listening to these songs yet was blissfully unaware of the singer. How injust is that to the singer. May be that was the time when every other singer was just overshadowed by the two sisters and if the voice happened to be like theirs then the chances of remaining in the shadow increased manifold.
Suman Kalyanpur mostly sang duets with Rafi and beautifully she sang!All of them were roaring hits. One song worth mentioning here is 'baad muddat ke vo ghadi 'which was to be initially sung by Lata but subsequently was sung by Suman Kalyanpur. Listen to the melody and not once you'll miss Lata's voice. Her rendition is so perfect and well what do I say of Mohammad Rafi; he is capable of doing anything to you: he could make you laugh, cry, tug your heartstrings, make you shake your leg. Even after so many years of his death, his voice is as fresh and vibrant.
Now, that I've been listening to just Suman's songs for 2 hours, there are so many other songs; solos and duets which I would like to post here but that would be a bit extensive task for me. I'll keep that for some other time. Anyway, listen to this one, 'rahein na rahein hum'. It has both the versions; the first half is sung by Lata and the other half by Suman. Both are exceptionally wonderful. That was the era where everything; music, lyrics and voice were extraordinarily beautiful.
Another song without which my post about this true artist would be incomplete is 'na na karte pyar tumhe se kar baithe'. If I were to make a list of my all time favourites then this number would definitely be there.
Actually,I must thank Mr. Farrukh Viqar, RJ at 89.1 Radio 4 Fm for airing Suman kalyanpur's songs! Listeners like me got the chance to know about her, her similarity to Lata's voice that became a curse for her for she didn't get her due in the Hindi film industry. One song, not many of us know was sung by Suman and then it was sung by Lata Mangeshkar. 'Haal-e-dil unko sunana tha, sunaya na gaya'. This one number was first sung by Suman Kalyanpur in 1964and is from the film Fariyaad. Listen to Suman's voice, it's totally magical.
Now, take a look at the song sung by Lata Mangeshkar. It's 'haal-e-dil yun unhe sunaya gaya'. It's strikingly similar, on the same tune and same style of singing. It is from the film Jahanara released in 1964.
The one sung by Suman kalyanpur came few months before the one sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Now does that ring a bell! Why Lata ji had to sing a similar kind of a song composed by Madan Mohan?
Was she trying to outdo Suman kalyanpur? Because rarely do we see such kind of similarities in songs.
Though Suman kalyanpur's voice was like Lata Mangeshkar's yet it had a distinct flavour of its own. My salute to this singer who remained and still remains to be an unsung legend.
