East India has produced some of the most accomplished stalwarts in playback singing, who with their illustrious career, have immortally etched their names in Indian Cinema and Indian Music.
Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay, an Indian playback singer and heading role model of Rabindra Sangeet, completed his education in Calcutta. He made his foray to Bollywood in the 50s and lent voice to songs of Hindi films like `Jaal`, `House No. 44` and `Solva Saal`. Indian Cinema had the privilege of having Manna Dey grace it during the 50s to 70s. A Padma Bhushan, Manna Dey awed the audience with some of the most popular songs in multiple languages, his repertoire in Hindi films including "Awaara", "Do Bigha Zamin", "Mera Naam Joker", "Seeta Aur Geeta" and "Sholay".
Sandhya Mukhopadhyay is a famed Indian singer and musician, who in her illustrious career has sung for prominently Bengali songs. Born in Kolkata, India, she began her career with Hindi film songs, starting with a song from the 1948 film "Anjangarh", before settling back in Kolkata after marriage with Bengali poet Shyamal Gupta, post which she continued singing for Bengali films. Padma Bhushan Dwijen Mukhopadhyay is a versatile singer who has recorded more than 1500 songs, of which about 800 are written by Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore. He made his professional debut in 1944 and has lent his voice to both Bengali and Hindi films.
Geeta Dutt was a prominent playback singer who became popular in Hindi Cinema and also sang Bengali songs. Born in Faridpur, East Bengal, Geeta Dutt, having lent her voice for films like "Devdas" and "Pyaasa", was a premier female playback singer of the 50s. Now a national level politician, Babul Supriyo is a playback singer who in his career has lent voice to over 70 Hindi films, in addition to Bengali and Odia regional films. The very mellifluous Alka Yagnik, one of the most established female playback singers of Indian Cinema, hails from Kolkata. She has sung for the most established Bollywood actresses, the likes of Madhuri Dixit, Sridevi, Kajol, Rani Mukherjee and Karisma Kapoor.
The very popular Shaan belongs to a Bengali family, who apart from his multiple private albums like "Tanha Dil", has sung for films like "Lakshya", "Dil Chahta Hai", "Dhoom", "Salaam Namaste", "Fanaa" and "Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna". The most euphonious and loved singer of contemporary times, Shreya Ghoshal, was born in Behrampore, West Bengal. A 4-time National Award winner, she has recorded songs for films in various languages in addition to Hindi. She made her Bollywood debut with Sanjay Leela Bhansali"s "Devdas" and is today the globally recognised playback singer of Indian Cinema.
