K.L. Saigal
Background information
Birth name	Kundanlal Saigal
Born	(1904-04-11)11 April 1904 Jammu,Jammu and Kashmir,British India (present-dayJammu and Kashmir,India)
Died	18 January 1947(1947-01-18) (aged 42) Jalandhar,Punjab,British India (present-dayPunjab, India)
Genres	Playback singing
Occupation(s)	Playback singer, Actor
Years active	1932–1947

Kundan Lal Saigal, often abbreviated asK. L. Saigal (11 April 1904 – 18 January 1947), was an Indian singer and actor who worked inHindi cinema, which was centred inCalcutta (Kolkata) during his time, but is currently based inBombay (Mumbai).^[1][2]Saigal's unique voice quality which was a mixture of baritone and soft tenor was the benchmark for most of the singers who followed him. In fact it remains the gold standard even today shining through very early and practically primitive recording technology. He did not sing songs on which other actors would lip-sync for the camera. It was only towards the very last stages of his career, during 1945 to 1947, that he sang to make studio recordings, and these were for himself as the actor on the screen. Thus, while other singers in Hindi Cinema are playback singers, he was not a playback singer.

Saigal was born on 11 April 1904 inJammu to aDogra family.^[3][4] His father Amarchand Saigal was atehsildar at the court of theMaharaja Pratap Singh ofJammu and Kashmir, while his mother, Kesarbai Saigal, was a deeply religiousHindu lady who was very fond of music. She used to take her young son to religious functions wherebhajan,kirtan, andshabad were sung in traditional styles based onclassical Indian music.^[5] Saigal was the fourth-born child of five, following two elder brothers and an elder sister, and preceding a younger brother. He was the first cousin of famous character actorsChaman Puri,Madan Puri, andAmrish Puri.^[6]

As a child, Saigal occasionally played thesitar in theRamlila of Jammu. His formal schooling was brief and uneventful; he dropped out of school and started earning money by working as a railway timekeeper. Later, he worked as a typewriter salesman for theRemington Typewriter Company in Simla (nowShimla)^[7] which allowed him to tour several parts of India. His travels brought him toLahore, where he became friends with Mehrchand Jain (who later went on to start the Assam Soap Factory inShillong) at theAnarkali Bazaar. Mehrchand and Kundan remained friends when they both moved to Calcutta and had many amehfil-e-mushaira. In those days Saigal was a budding singer and Mehrchand encouraged him to pursue his talent. Saigal often remarked that he was what he was because of Mehrchand's encouragement and early support. He also briefly worked as a hotel manager. Meanwhile, his passion for singing continued and became more intense with the passage of time.^[8]

In the early 1930s, classical musician and music director Harishchandra Bali brought K.L. Saigal to Calcutta and introduced him toR. C. Boral. R.C. Boral took an instant liking to his talents. Saigal was hired byB. N. Sircar's Calcutta-based film studioNew Theatres on a contract of Rs. 200 per month. There he came into contact with contemporaries likePankaj Mullick,K. C. Dey andPahari Sanyal.

Meanwhile, Indian Gramophone Company had released Saigal's record containing a couple ofPunjabi songs, composed by Harishchandra Bali. In this way, Bali became Saigal's first music director. The first film in which Saigal had a role was the filmMohabbat Ke Ansu, followed bySubah Ka Sitara andZinda Lash, all released in 1932. However, these films did not do very well. Saigal used the name Saigal Kashmiri for his first three films and used his own name Kundan Lal Saigal (K. L. Saigal) fromYahudi Ki Ladki (1933).^[9] In 1933, four bhajans sung by Saigal for the filmPuran Bhagat created a sensation throughout India.^[10] Other films that followed wereYahudi Ki Ladki,Chandidas,Rooplekha andKarwan-E-Hayat. As a youngster,Lata Mangeshkar is alleged to have said that she wanted to marry K.L. Saigal after seeing his performance inChandidas (1934). In 1935, Saigal played the role that would come to define his acting career: that of the drunken title character inDevdas, based onSarat Chandra Chattopadhyay'snovel of the same name and directed byP.C. Barua.^[11] His songs in the filmDevdas (1935), "Balam Aaye Baso Moray Man Mein" and "Dukh Ke Ab Din Beetat Naahi", became popular throughout the country.^[12]

Saigal picked upBengali very well and acted in seven Bengali films, produced by New Theatres.Rabindranath Tagore first heard Saigal before giving consent for the first time to a non-Bengali singing his songs. Saigal endeared himself to the whole of Bengal through his 30 Bengali songs.^{[citation needed]}

Saigal's association with New Theatres continued to bear fruit in the successful filmsDidi (Bengali),President (Hindi) in 1937,Desher Mati (Bengali),Dharti Mata (Hindi) in 1938,Saathi (Bengali),Street Singer (Hindi) in 1938,Dushman (1939),Jiban Maran (1939) andZindagi in 1940, with Saigal in the lead. There are a number of songs of this era which form the rich heritage of film music in India. Also, inStreet Singer, Saigal rendered the song "Babul Mora Naihar Chhooto Jaye" live in front of the camera, even though playback was becoming the preferred method of singing songs in films.^[13]

In December 1941, Saigal moved to Bombay to work withRanjit Movietone. Here he acted and sang in a number of successful films.Bhakta Surdas (1942) andTansen (1943) were hits during this period. The latter film is still remembered for Saigal's performance of the song "Diya Jalao" inRaga Deepak; in the same movie, he also sang "Sapta Suran," "Tin .. Gaa-o Saba Guni Jan" and "Room Jhoom Room Jhoom Chaal tihari". In 1944, he returned toNew Theatres to completeMy Sister. This film contained the songs "Do Naina Matware" and "Ae Katib-e-Taqdeer Mujhe Itna Bata De".

By this time, alcohol had become a predominant factor in Saigal's life. His dependence on alcohol had begun affecting his work and his health. It was said that he could only record a song after being fortified with liquor. He survived ten years of drinking; however, his alcoholism was too advanced for even a single attempt at abstinence, and Saigal died in his ancestral city ofJullundur (now Jalandhar) on 18 January 1947, at the age of 42.^[14] However, before his death, he was able to churn out three more hits under the baton ofNaushad Ali for the filmShahjehan (1946). These are "Mere Sapnon Ki Rani", "Ae Dil-e-Beqaraar Jhoom" and "Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya".Parwana (1947) was his last film, released after his death, in which he sang under the baton ofKhawaja Khurshid Anwar. The four songs which Saigal sang in Parwana are:"Toot gaye sab sapne mere", "Mohabbat mein kabhi aisi bhi haalat", "Jeene ka dhang sikhaae ja", and "Kahin ulajh na jaana". Saigal was survived by his wife Asha Rani (whom he married in 1935); three children, a son and two daughters: Madan Mohan, Nina (born 1937) and Bina (born 1941); and an adopted child, his late elder brother's daughter, Durgesh Nandani, whom he adopted when he was still single.

In a career of fifteen years, Saigal acted in 36 feature films – 28 in Hindi, seven in Bengali, and one in Tamil. In addition, he acted in a short comedy Hindi film,Dulari Bibi (three reels), released in 1933. In 1955, B.N. Sircar released a documentary film based on the life of K.L. Saigal,Amar Saigal. In the film, G. Mungheri performed the title role of Saigal. The film contained 19 songs lifted from Saigal's films. In all, Saigal rendered 185 songs which includes 142 film songs and 43 non-film songs. Of the film songs, there are 110 in Hindi, 30 in Bengali and two in Tamil. There are 37 non-film songs in Hindi, and two each in Bengali,Pashto,^[15] Punjabi andPersian. His non-film songs comprisebhajans,ghazals andhori. He has rendered the creations of poets such asGhalib,Zauq, andSeemab.

Saigal's distinctive singing was revered and idolised by the first generation of post-independence Hindi Film playback singers, includingKishore Kumar,Mohammad Rafi,Lata Mangeshkar andMukesh have even gone on record in an interview that they consider Kundan Lal Saigal to be their musical Guru.^[16]

• The song "Saigal Blues" from theBollywood filmDelhi Belly (2011) pays tribute to him.
• On 11 April 2018, on the occasion of his 114th birthday,Google paid homage to Saigal with adoodle.^[17]

• Bollywood songs

• "Tribute: King of pain".The Tribune. 16 January 2005.

• Ashish Rajadhyaksha and Paul Willemen: Saigal, Kundan Lal. [In]Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, revised edition, 1999, p. 203.
• Pran Nevile (11 May 2011).K. L. Saigal: The Definitive Biography. Penguin Books Limited.ISBN 978-93-5214-160-9.
• Pran Nevile (1 January 2004).K L Saigal: Immortal Singer and Superstar. Nevile Books.ISBN 978-81-901166-1-9.
• Śarada Datta (2007).Kundan (Hindi) (in Hindi). Penguin Books India.ISBN 978-0-14-310156-7.

• Official website – comprehensive resource centre for research and documentation of K. L. Saigal songs & related memorabilia
• K. L. Saigal atIMDb

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• Indian male playback singers
• Male actors from Jammu and Kashmir
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• Alcohol-related deaths in India
• 20th-century Indian male actors
• 20th-century Indian male singers
• 20th-century Indian singers

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