Kundan Lal Saigal, often abbreviated as K. L. Saigal, was an Indian playback singer and actor who worked in Hindi cinema, which was centred in Calcutta (Kolkata) during Saigal's time, but is currently based in Bombay (Mumbai). Saigal's unique voice quality which was a mixture of baritone and soft tenor was the benchmark for most of the singers who followed him. In fact it remains the gold standard even today shining through very early and practically primitive recording technology.
Mohabbat Ki Kasam is a 1986 Bollywood action melodrama film directed by K. Pappu. It stars Amjad Khan, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Tanuja, with special appearances from two of Bollywood's biggest stars, Dharmendra and Rajesh Khanna. Produced by P. B. Pictures, it features music by Kamalkant. The lyricist was Kulwant Jani. The director of photography was Sushil Chopra, the film also features Vinod Mehra, Shoma Anand, Moon Moon Sen, Anita Raj, Paintal and Imtiaz Khan, forming an ensemble cast.
Zindagi is a 1940 Indian film, directed by Pramathesh Barua and produced by Birendranath Sircar. Starring K. L. Saigal, Jamuna Barua, Pahari Sanyal, Shyam Laha, Sitara Devi, and Nemo, it revolves around Ratan, an unemployed university graduate, and his relationship with Shrimati, who is on the run from her cruel husband.
Lagan is a 1941 Indian Hindi language film. It was the fifth highest grossing Indian film of 1941. The film was directed by Nitin Bose for New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta. The film was a bilingual with K. L. Saigal and Kanan Devi acting as the lead in its Bengali language version, Parichaya. The music for both versions was by R. C. Boral. This was the last film Saigal did for New Theatres, Calcutta, before his move to Bombay to make films for different studios there.
Bhakta Surdas is a 1942 Indian Hindi language film devotional film. It was the third highest grossing Indian film of 1942. This was K. L. Saigal's first film after his move to Bombay from Calcutta. The film was directed by Chaturbhuj Doshi for Ranjit Studios. It had music by Gyan Dutt with lyrics by D. N. Madhok. Khursheed, after acting in several less popular films, finally became a big success with this film. The cast included K. L. Saigal, Khursheed, Monica Desai, Nagendra, M. Saigal and N. Desai.
1857 is a 1946 Indian Bollywood film. It was the fifth highest grossing Indian film of 1946. The film was directed by Mohan Sinha for Murari Pictures. The story was by M. Zahur with screenplay and dialogue by Safdar 'Ah'. The film starred the singer-actor pair of Surendra and Suraiya, along with Wasti, Nigar, Munshi Khanjar, Madan Puri.
Dillagi is a 1949 Indian Bollywood film. The film was produced and directed by A. R. Kardar for his "Kardar Productions", and had music composed by Naushad. The film starred Suraiya and Shyam, alongside Chandabai, Sharda, Amar and Amir Banu. The story was a romantic tragedy and became commercially successful, being the fourth highest grossing film of the year.
Parwana (transl. Moth) is a 1947 Indian Hindi-language drama film. It was produced by R. B. Haldia and Pratap A. Rana, and directed by J. K. Nanda. The songs were composed by Khurshid Anwar and became popular. The lyrics were written by D. N. Madhok and Naqshab. The film starred K. L. Saigal, Suraiya, Najma, K. N. Singh, Baby Khurshid and Azurie. It was K. L. Saigal's last film and was released in February 1947, one month after his death in January 1947. Suraiya, who had stated in an interview that she was a big fan of Saigal's, and had already acted in two films with him. The first two were Tadbir (1945) and Omar Khaiyyam (1946). Parwana was their third film together and the most famous.
Dushman is a 1939 Hindi social romantic drama film. It was directed by Nitin Bose for New Theatres Calcutta Production. The film starred K. L. Saigal, Leela Desai, Najmul Hassan, Prithviraj Kapoor, Nemo and Jagdish Sethi. The music was composed by Pankaj Mullick and the lyrics were written by Arzu Lucknavi. Nitin Bose besides directing also wrote the story and wielded the camera for the film. The dialogue writer was Sudarshan. The story subject about tuberculosis was suggested as a propaganda film by Viceroy Lord Linlithgow and his wife, who were then the Chairman and Patron of King George’s Tuberculosis Fund.
Street Singer is a 1938 Hindi film directed by Phani Majumdar. It was produced by New Theatres Calcutta and was Phani Majumdar's first Hindi film as a director. The film was made in Bengali as Sathi in the same year. It starred K. L. Saigal, Kanan Devi, Jagdish Sethi and Bikram Kapoor. The music was composed by R. C. Boral with lyrics written by Arzu (Arzoo) Lucknavi. Two street urchins dream of singing and making it big in the glamorous world of theatre in Calcutta. They grow up with the girl being employed while the boy is not. The story follows them through first their enchantment and then the disillusionment with the theatre. Finally both choose to return to their roots in the village.
Zinda Lash is a 1932 Indian costume drama directed by Premankur Atorthy. The film was produced by New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta. The cast of the film included K. L. Saigal, Rattan Bai, Pahari Sanyal, Mahajabin, Nawab, Kumar and Radharani. The music direction was by R. C. Boral. B. N. Sircar started New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta in 1930 and produced his first film in Bengali, Dena Paona in 1931. In 1932 he produced films in Hindi where he introduced K. L. Saigal to Indian Cinema. The first was Mohabbat Ke Ansu and the second was Zinda Lash both directed by Premankur Atorthy. K. L. Saigal changed his name for his first three films and was billed as Saigal Kashmiri to prevent his family from finding out his profession. This film like his earlier Mohabbat Ke Ansu was not successful at the box office.
Mohabbat Ke Ansu is a 1932 Indian Urdu-language social romantic film. It was directed by Premankur Atorthy for New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta. The music for the film was directed by R. C. Boral. The film starred K. L. Saigal in his debut role with Akthari Muradabadi, Mahajabeen, Ansari and Sadiq. According to reports the film was not successful however Nevile claims that the "debut was successful beyond expectations" as it led to Saigal acting in several New Theatres films.
Subah Ka Sitara is a 1932 Urdu/Hindi romantic costume film from India. It was directed by Premankur Atorthy for New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta. Subah Ka Sitara was the third of the three films with which K. L. Saigal started his acting career in 1932. The first was Mohabbat Ke Ansu and the second was Zinda Lash. Like the first two films, Saigal used the name Saigal Kashmiri in the credit roll of the film. The film starred K. L. Saigal, Rattanbai, Mazhar Khan, Ali Mir Kumar, Radhabai, and Siddiqui. The music was by R. C. Boral. This was also actor Kumar’s second film, the first being Zinda Lash with Saigal in the lead role. Kumar’s name appeared in the credit roll as Ali Mir and it was from his third film Puran Bhagat that he changed his screen name to "Kumar".
Puran Bhagat is a 1933 Hindi devotional biopic film from New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta. The film was Debaki Bose's debut direction in Hindi. The film starred K. L. Saigal, Uma Shashi, Kumar, Molina Devi, K. C. Dey and Tarabai. The film was based on a popular Punjabi devotional story of Puran Bhagat, which was a change for New Theatres from their regular films based on traditional Bengali stories, saints and novels. It was a "great success all over India".
Karwan-E-Hayat is a 1935 Urdu/Hindi costume action-adventure film. The film is directed by Premankur Atorthy, with assistance by Hemchandra, for New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta; and it was produced by Lahore branch of New Theatres. The cast included K. L. Saigal, Rattan Bai, Pahari Sanyal, Rajkumari, Shyama Zutshi, Gul Hamid, Rajkumari, Molina, Shyama Zutshi, Siddiqi, Kapoor and Rana. The cinematographer was Krishna Gopal, with music composed by Mihir Kiran Bhattacharya and his brother Timir Baran Bhattacharya, with lyrics by Hakim Ahmad Shuja Pasha. The film, a costume drama, involved the Prince Pervez on the run from an arranged marriage to a princess, only to fall in love with her when they meet in unusual circumstances.
Pujarin is a 1936 Hindi social film. It was directed by Prafulla Roy for International Film Craft. The film was based on a story by writer Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay from his story "Dena Paona". The film was the remake of the Bengali film Dena Paona directed by Premankur Atorthy. The music direction was by Timir Baran with lyrics by Pandit Bhushan and Kidar Sharma.The film starred K. L. Saigal, Chandrabati Devi, K. C. Dey, Pahari Sanyal and Rajkumari. The story is about a reckless immoral youth who marries for money then deserts his wife due to circumstances, only to return as an aristocrat and reform through the love of his wife.
Mohabbat Ki Kasauti also called Rooplekha in Bengali was a 1934 Indian "semi-historical" bilingual film in Hindi and Bengali, directed by P. C. Barua for New Theatres. Though Barua is consistently mentioned as director, according to author J. K. Bajaj, Debaki Bose directed Rooplekha in 1934. It had music by R. C. Boral and the cast included Rattanbai, K. L. Saigal, Pahari Sanyal, Noor Mohammed Charlie and Vishwanath. Jamuna started her career with a small role in the Hindi version.
Kurukshetra is a 1945 Indian Hindi-language film directed by Rameshwar Sharma. Produced Under the banner of Unity Pictures it starred K. L. Saigal as Karna, P. V. Narasimha Bharathi as Krishna, Radharani, Nawab, Shanti, Biman Bannerji and Shamli and had music composed by Ganpatrao. The film was cited as an offbeat film of K. L. Saigal, directed by a relatively unknown director; it's stated to be a "forerunner" to later Art Cinema. It was also the on-screen debut for actor Ajit Khan.
Shakuntala is a 1943 drama film based on Kālidāsa's Sanskrit drama Abhijñānaśākuntalam, directed by V. Shantaram. It was the first film made under the newly formed Rajkamal Kalamandir banner that Shantaram had started. It was the first film to be shown commercially in US. Adapted from the Shakuntala of Kalidas the screenplay was by Diwan Sharar. Music was composed by Vasant Desai with lyrics by Diwan Sharar and Ratan Piya. The cinematatography was by V. Avadhoot and the film starred Kumar Ganesh, Jayashree, Chandra Mohan, Ameena, Shantaram, Zohra and Nana Palsikar.
