Suman Kalyanpur, who touched the deepest corners of our hearts with her silken voice, passed away in Mumbai on Sunday (May 31, 2026) night after a brief illness. Like a gentle wind bearing the fragrance of first rain, Kalyanpur’s voice possessed a luminous clarity that spoke directly to the listener. It never knocked on the door of the heart — it felt like it was already nestled within, like a long-lost memory waiting to be remembered. Her understated and intimate expressions made her songs feel like quiet confessions.

In Hindi cinema’s golden age, when competition was not always fair, and musical giants carried huge egos, Kalyanpur viewed singing not as a vehicle for fame but as a pure, spiritual extension of her early love for the fine arts. Underappreciated even after delivering massive chartbusters, she remained remarkably soft-spoken, media-shy, and genuinely embarrassed by extravagant praise.

Also read |A journey so sonorous

Born on January 28, 1937, in Dhaka to Shankar Rao Hemmady, a noted banker, she relocated to Bombay with her family in 1943. Music was not her first choice. As a teenager, she was passionate about the visual arts. After completing her schooling at Mumbai’s St. Columba High School, she enrolled at the prestigious Sir J.J. School of Art to pursue painting.

Natural talent

Her musical quest began when family members noticed her natural talent while she sang Noor Jehan songs at home, prompting her to pursue formal vocal training under family friend and composer Pandit Keshav Rao Bhole. Later, maestro Khan Abdul Rehman Khan of Kirana gharana gave her a grounding in Hindustani classical music, followed by a stint with Master Navrang. Meanwhile, in 1953, when Kalyanpur sang at a college function, she impressed the legendary Talat Mahmood with her rendition of Noor Jehan classics. Mahmood recommended her name to the recording label HMV, and Kalayanpur found a footing in an extremely competitive industry led by the Mangeshkar sisters.

While her first film, Mangu, was caught in production delays, she was signed for Darwaza. Produced by the literary icon Ismat Chughtai, with music by Nashad, the film is remembered for the elegant duet Ek Dil Do Hain Talabgaar, which Kalyanpur sang with Talat Mahmood. A newcomer holding her own in front of the Ghazal king’s velvety voice proved she was not a passing curiosity, and soon, reigning composers were eager to work with her. Kalyanpur’s duets with Mohd Rafi became one of the defining features of film music. In 1958, she married Ramanand Kalyanpur, a Mumbai-based businessman who became her biggest admirer. A regular presence at her recording sessions, he managed her dates and everything that happened outside the studio.

100 films

In a career spanning three decades, the Padma Bhushan sang in around 100 films in different languages. Her definitive masterpieces include Na Tum Hamein Jano (Baat Ek Raat Ki), a masterclass in romantic yearning with Hemant Kumar, where her voice floats like moonlight over a minimalist arrangement by S.D. Burman. In Shankar Jaikishen’s pulsating Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyar Ke Charche (Brahmachari) and Kalyanji Anandji’s teasing love song Na Na Karte Pyar Tumhin Se Karte (Jab Jab Phool Khile, 1965) with Rafi, Kalyanpur exudes her playful energy and mischievous tone without losing vocal control, while Naushad’s tender Mera Pyar Bhi Tu Hai (Saathi,1968) with Mukesh is a perfect example of Kalyanpur’s soft, romantic, caressing vocal style.

Her deep ghazal sensibilities, rich with Urdu nuance and delicate ornamentation, came to the fore in Ghulam Mohammad’s Chhipe Chhipe Se Kyon Ho (Shama, 1961). Similarly, Khayyam’s Thehriye Hosh Mein Aa Loon (Mohabbat Isko Kahte Hain, 1965) highlights her emotional depth and classical training. At the same time, the tender lullaby, Juhi Ki Kali Meri Ladli (Dil Ek Mandir), composed by Shankar Jaikishen, showcases her ability to evoke pure, maternal warmth, and who can forget the timeless anthem for sister-brother affection, Behna Ne Bhai Ki Kalai Par Pyar Bandha Hai (Resham Ki Dori). Kalyanpur also had a rewarding collaboration with composer Usha Khanna; the devotional number Allah Tu Reham Karna (Dada) continues to draw the faithful to shrines.

Comparison with Lata

Though Kalyanpur always looked up to Lata Mangeshkar as an inspiration, the vocal intersection between their voices is one of the most fascinating narratives in Indian playback history. During the early 1960s, when Mangeshkar had royalty disputes with Rafi and certain music directors such as S.D. Burman, Kalyanpur became the industry’s premier choice to fill the void. To the untrained ear, their voices shared an uncanny structural resemblance. Both possessed a high-pitched, crystalline soprano that defined the acoustic ideal of the golden era.

Though a section of the industry saw Kalyanpur as an alternative to Mangeshkar, and radio announcers inadvertently credited her songs to Mangeshkar, a close look reveals the difference in their sonic signatures. The discerning always appreciated Suman’s softer, slightly rounder texture, which lent itself beautifully to intimate settings.

Composers like Madan Mohan and Roshan knew this difference and didn’t use them interchangeably. Mohan recognised that Kalyanpur lacked Mangeshkar’s sharp, dramatic bite, but possessed an unparalleled interiority which comes through in Mujhe Yeh Phool Na De (Ghazal). In this duet with Rafi, Kalyanpur wraps her voice around Sahir Ludhianvi’s lyrics with an understated melancholy, proving that restraint can be just as haunting as a high-pitched crescendo. Similarly, Roshan leaned into the slightly rounder, gentler texture of her voice, frequently pairing her with earthy folk melodies or semi-classical structures such as Garjat, Barsat Sawan Aayo Re (Barsaat Ki Raat), where singing alongside Kamal Barot, Kalyanpur delivers a classical Malhar composition, capturing the grounded, sensory experience of monsoon rain.

Simultaneously, Kalyanpur achieved complete, unassailable artistic recognition in the Marathi non-film music ecosystem. Collaborating with literary geniuses such as poet Shanta Shelke and composers such as Srinivas Khale, she became the definitive voice of Bhavgeet.

She handled comparisons and competition with dignity and gracefully stepped away from active playback singing in the mid-1980s, when Laxmikant-Pyarelal chose to unceremoniously scratch her vocals for younger voices. Ironically, her last hit, Zindagi Imitihan Leti Hai (Naseeb), was also with LP. One of the abiding links with the golden era of Hindi film music, Kalyanpur will live on through melodies that continue to resonate across generations, a soothing voice that made ordinary love stories feel poetic and eternal.

Published – June 01, 2026 07:39 pm IST