Hemant Kumar 2003
A commemorative postage stamp on Hemanta Mukherjee, an Indian musical artist, 1971 & 1986 National Film Awardee for Best Male Playback Singer [a part of the series ‘Golden Voices of Yesteryears‘] :
Issued by India
Issued on May 15, 2003
Issued for : The Department of Posts is issuing a set of postage stamps to honour four such great legends of yesteryears: Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Mohammed Rafi and Hemant Kumar.
Credits :
Stamp & FDC : Sankha Samanta
Cancellation : Alka Sharma
Type : Miniature Sheet, Mint Condition
Colour : Four Colour
Denomination : 500 Paise
Overall size : 2.90 x 3.91 cms.
Printing size : 2.90 x 3.91 cms.
Perforation : 13.5 x 13.5 with elliptient hole on each 39.1 mm sides
Paper : Matt Chromo
Stamps Printed : 0.8 million
Miniature Sheet : 0.1 million
Number per issue sheet : 40
Printing Process : Photo Offset
Printer : Calcutta Security Printers Ltd.
Name : Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay
Born on Jul 22, 1923 at Delhi, British India
Died on Aug 27, 1976 at Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
About :
- Film music is omnipresent in India. Songs in different languages, sung by talented singers and set to catchy tunes fill the urban and rural landscapes of the country, emanating from radio sets, public address systems and cassette players. They bring to the common man everything ranging from the classical to semi-classical mode, and folk music from different parts of the country to the new sounds of fusion. Marriage parties, political rallies, cultural functions – whatever be the occasion, the songs keep the gathering engaged for the most part. It is not surprising then, that film music is often described as the ‘folk music’ of the present generation.
- Songs are a crucial ingredient of Indian films. The allure of the films, even if they have melodramatic and escapist recipes, is often due to the songs. The technique of playback i.e. using a voice ‘double’ to sing for the actors has been in use since the 1930s. The popularity of the songs ensured that some of the singers went on to become cult figures and cultural icons.
- Hemant Kumar (1920-1989) was one of the most prolific singers of the 1950s & 60s. He was also an accomplished composer and added to Indian film music his interpretations of Rabindra Sangeet. He scored music for films such as Anandmath, Nagin, Kohraa and Bees Saal Baad. In Nagin he used the clavichord played by Kalyanji to reproduce the sound of the snake charmer’s been. The evergreen song Man dole mera tan dole… is one of the finest presentations by him. An integral part of the golden era of the Hindi film music, Hemant will be remembered forever for his melodies.
- Text : Based on material received from the proponents of the stamps.
