Suman Kalyanpur: The 'Other Lata' Who Never Got Her Due But Left Behind Evergreen Melodies That Wooed Generations

Mumbai: It was in the mid-seventies when I was passing below the gurudwara at Dadar that I heard this nugget of a song, ``Mere mehboob na ja, aaj ki raat na ja...." wafting out of a music shop. On an impulse, I stepped into the shop and asked for the cassette of Lata Mangeshkar which was being played. The shopkeeper, a sardar, had a hearty laugh. He said it was an audio cassette Suman Kalyanpur's songs that he was playing! That ethereal song's lyrics were penned by Saba Afghani, music was by Jani Babu and the film was ``Noor Mahal." That one incident underscored the misleadingly close similarity in the voices of Suman Kalyanpur and Lata Mangeshkar. Little wonder Suman was referred to as the ``other Lata" something which she disliked.

Misleading similarity between two voices

In fact, there were reports that Lata felt so insecure by the voice of Suman's that she ensured that composers do not give her opportunities to sing. However, in an interview with this journalist several years ago conducted at her modest Khar (west) apartment Suman herself said these reports were grossly baseless. Nevertheless, the fact remains that the Hindi film industry did not extract the full potential of this charming singer, who breathed her last on Sunday night even as India was engrossed watching the IPL final match. She was 89.

Irrespective of whether the film industry was fair to Suman or not, the fact remains that she sang some of the evergreenest songs which wooed entire generations of movie buffs. How can anyone forget the supremely romantic duet ``Tehriye hosh me aloon..." from the film ``Mohabbat Isko Kehte Hai" delightfully composed by Khayyam and sung by Mohd Rafi and Suman? This song was picturised on the handsome Shashi Kapoor and gorgeously good-looking Nanda.

Film industry did not extract her full potential

In the popular duet ``Dil ek mandir hai.." Suman matched Rafi word for word and made it an all-time hit. The other duet with Rafi ``Itna hai tumse pyar mujhe mere raazdar" from the film ``Suraj" filmed on Rajendra Kumar and Vyjayantimala was the stuff that romance was made of. Little wonder Vyjayantimala personally complimented Suman for this song.

If it is a classical number that you are looking for you cannot miss ``Ajhuna aaye baalma..." in which she convincingly demonstrated that she was she was equal to the legend Rafi in every respect. My all time favourite is the duet with Rafi from the film ``Palkhi" ``Dil betab ko seene se lagana hoga..." penned by Shakeel Badayuni and ably composed by Naushad. She sang several songs in Marathi and other languages many of which were instant hits.

Sadly she never acquired the stature of Lata Mangeshkar or Asha Bhosale despite being hugely talented. But Suman ``Rahe na rahe aap mehka karenge" forever.

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