Suman Kalyanpur (born as Suman Hammadi; 28 January 1937) is an Indian playback singer, one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India.
Suman Kalyanpur was born as Suman Hemmadi on 28 January 1937 in Dhaka (now in Bangladesh). Suman Kalyanpur’s father Shankar Rao Hemadi hailed from a Saraswat Brahmin family belonging to Mangalore. Hemmadi is a village in Kundapur Taluk of Udupi District, Karnataka. He served on a top post in the Central Bank of India and was posted to Dhaka for a very long period. In 1943, her family moved to Mumbai, where she received her musical training.
Her voice was often mistaken to be that of Lata Mangeshkar. Many of her songs are indistinguishable from Lata’s style because she sings with a quality comparable to Lata’s.
Suman Kalyanpur’s career started in 1954 and was a very popular singer in the 1960s and 1970s. She recorded songs for movies in several languages besides Hindi, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Maithili, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, Bengali, Odia, and Punjabi. She is considered among the popular singers of her prime time.
Suman had always been interested in painting and music. After completing schooling at Mumbai’s famed St. Columba High School, she got admission to the prestigious Sir J. J. School of Arts for further studies in painting. Simultaneously, she started learning classical vocals from Pune’s Prabhat Films’ music director and a close family friend, Pandit Keshav Rao Bhole
Suman Hemmady married a Mumbai-based businessman Ramanand Kalyanpur in 1958 and thus, became Suman Kalyanpur from Suman Hemmady. He accompanied her for every recording session after her marriage. She has a daughter named Charul Agni who settled in the United States after marriage.
According to Suman, “Everybody at home had an inclination towards arts and music but public performances were strictly prohibited. Still, I could not say ‘no’ to an offer to sing for All India Radio in 1952. This was my first public performance after which I got a chance to sing for the Marathi film Shukrachi Chandni released in the year 1953.
She sang for the movie, Mangu (1954), Koi Pukare Dheere Se Tujhe. Kalyanpur provided playback singing for Miyan Bibi Razi (1960), Baat Ek Raat Ki (1962), Dil Ek Mandir (1963), Dil Hi To Hai (1963), Shagoon (1964), Jahan Ara (1964), Sanjh Aur Savera (1964), Noor Jehan (1967), Saathi (1968) and Pakeezah (1971). She has sung over 740 movie and non-movie songs. She sang over 140 duets with Rafi in the 1960s.
Kalyanpur sang with Lata Mangeshkar the duet “Kabhi Aaj, Kabhi Kal, Kabhi Parson” under the direction of composer Hemant Kumar. She recorded some popular duets with male singers Mohammed Rafi, Manna Dey, Mukesh, Talat Mahmood, and Hemant Kumar. Some of her memorable duets with Rafi are “Aajkal Tere Mere Pyaar Ke Charche”, “Na Na Karte Pyaar”, “Tumse O Hasina”, “Rahen Na Rahen Hum”, “Parbaton Ke Pedon Par Shaam Ka Basera He”, “Ajahuna Aye Balama”, “Tumane Pukara Aur Hum Chale Aye”, “Bad Muddat Ke Yeh Ghadi Ayee”, “Mujhe Yeh Bhool Na”, “Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya”, “Tujhko Dilbari Ki Kasam” and “Chand Takata Hai Idhar”.
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