Author: Manek Premchand
Pages: 440
Paperback
ISBN: 978-81-939555-3-6
Paperback Available on Amazon:
India | USA | UK | Canada | Australia | France | Germany | Spain | Italy | Japan
Foreword by GULZAR
With a study of his Bengali repertoire by
Antara Nanda Mondal and Sounak Gupta
Hemant Kumar, what a wonderful singer, what a gifted composer! Decades after this amazing man left us, we sing his songs and enjoy his tunes, not just in Mumbai and Kolkata, but everywhere music buffs live.
The Unforgettable Music of Hemant Kumar looks in detail at specific areas of Hemant Kumar’s work. Chapters include the journey of his life, from Varanasi to Calcutta to Bombay and back to Calcutta. It lists his discographies as a singer—both in Hindi and Bengali films—as also out of cinema in many languages. It identifies his songs as a composer, again in his work in many languages.
The essays address his singing—in that famous baritone voice, his compositions, the classical raags that his tunes romanced with, the instruments he frequently used, the singers and lyricists that he worked with, and his Rabindra Sangeet.
Featured is an interview with his son Jayanto and much more. Popular personalities like him, who have spent decades doing stellar work, often have plenty of trivia attached to them and their work. As such, we have put together a largish chapter on such trivia about Hemant Kumar.
Rita P. –
A must buy BookReview on Amazon
A must buy for all Hemet Kumar his Music fans.
An in-depth study done by the writer and very well narrated too. As you read you go from page to page into the life and works of Hemet Kumar.
i loved the layout, cover, and most of the photos in the book too.
Only wish they had a hardback copy of this fascinating book.
Ashok Nanavati –
Great Singer,Greater composer, Greatest evaluation.Review on Amazon
Great Work from a great author, an authority especially on memorable music of the hindustani cinema. Simply marvellous. This work on Hemantda not only vividly describes his life and times, but also provides full information about his renditions and compositions created in Hindi, Bangla and other regional languages as well. Hats off to Manekji.
P. S. SESHADRI –
A Must for Hemant Kumar FansReview on Amazon
The Unforgettable Music of Hemant Kumar” is the latest work to emerge from the prolific pen of Manek Premchand. Since 1997, he has been chronicling Hindi film music extensively through books and newspaper columns. His previous work on the crooner Talat Mehmood was well received and appreciated.
The book on Hemant Kumar is in two parts. In the first part, Premchand takes us through the life and times of Hemant Kumar and his music. It has a wealth of information on the songs he sang and composed, the actors who sang his songs on the screen, the influence of Rabindra Sangeet on Hemanta (remember that Hemanta had one foot in Bombay and another in Calcutta), and much useful information. Premchand’s interview with Jayonto Mukherjee has nuggets of news and views on Hemant Kumar. There is a trivia section, too.
In the second part, songs sung/composed by Hemant Kumar are listed chronologically. Premchand is ably assisted by Antara Mondal and Sounak Gupta for the Bengali repertoire of Hemant Kumar.
There is a foreword by Gulzar who feels enriched for his long association with Hemant Kumar.
Harshvardhan Laad –
बेहतरीन बुकसर जी ,
ग्रेट श्री हेमंत कुमार साहब पर आपके द्वारा प्रकाशित बुक बहुत ही अच्छी और विस्तृत है। तमाम जिज्ञासाओं का समाधान करती है ।
तथ्य और आँकड़े भी व्यवस्थित है।बेहतरीन बुक के लिये बधाई ।।?
Meenu –
Hemant Kumar the geniusHemant Kumar’s voice has magic and is intoxicating.There is romance,pathos and spiritualism in his voice..He is a great composer too.
Manek your this book is well researched and beautifully written. with so much information.Thank you Manek.