Should composers sing? Why not? All composers learn to sing. In Indian films, the successful singer-composers are the ones who can actually...
Should composers sing? Why not? All composers learn to sing. In Indian films, the successful singer-composers are the ones who can actually hold a note, such as Shankar Mahadevan, or are limited but know how to use their voice well, such as SD Burman. Then there are those with unconventional voices, such as AR Rahman, and the mavericks who can modulate their voices as and how they please, such as RD Burman.
Some composers shouldn’t be allowed into a recording booth, but their odd voices click with actors, such as Wajid Khan’s for Salman Khan.
The most unfortunate composers are those who aren’t bad singers per se, but are unable to bring that something extra to a tune. These include Salim Merchant, Jigar Saraiya and Arko Pravo Mukherjee. Here’s our list of the melodious, the middling, and the mediocre.
Hemant Kumar
Hemant Kumar’s baritone and his ability to soften his voice served him well in the handful of tunes he sang in Hindi films. Born as Hemanta Mukhopadhyay, which is the name he used for his Bengali recordings, Kumar was stronger at enunciating in his native tongue. There is a qualitative difference between his singing in the Bengali and Hindi versions of the same tune. Case in point: Ei Raat Tomar Aamar (Deep Jwele Jaai, 1959) reworked as Yeh Nayan Dare...
