Manna Dey was born Prabodh Chandra Dey on May 1 1919, in Calcutta. Growing up, he was mentored by his uncle K.C. Dey, a popular singer and composer. He also owed his solid grounding in Hindustani music to Ustad Dabir Khan. When K.C. Dey left for Bombay, young Manna accompanied him.
His first break as a singer was under the baton of K.C. Dey for the films Mera Gaon (1942) and Tamanna (1942).
Manna Dey stepped outside his uncle’s shadow for the first time for Ram Rajya (1943). The producer of Ram Rajya, Vijay Bhatt, and music director, Shankar Rao Vyas, had initially approached K.C. Dey to sing for this film. K.C. Dey refused saying he would only sing to his own music. The visitors then asked Manna Dey, who was present there at the time, to sing for the film instead.
His playback singing career didn’t take off in the 1940s and Manna Dey took to assisting music directors like Anil Biswas, Khemchand Prakash and S.D Burman. He also worked as an music director in the early 1950s, mostly for Hindu mythologicals. He helped complete Khemchand Prakash’s unfinished work when the senior composer died in 1950. He shared music director credits with him in films like Jan Pahchan (1950), Shree Ganesh Janma (1951) and Tamasha (1952).
After a long period of struggle, Manna Dey got his first big hit at the turn of the decade. The song – Oopar Gagan Vishal (Mashal, 1950) composed by S.D. Burman. Things started looking up for Manna Dey in 1953 with the success of the song Dharti Kahe Pukaar Ke (Do Bigha Zamin, 1953). He was also noticed for a few semi-classical songs he recorded that year, notably Lapak Jhapak Tu Aa Re Badarwa (Boot Polish, 1953) and Ritu Aaye Ritu Jaye Sakhi Ri (Hamdard, 1953). The popularity of these songs helped Manna Dey establish himself as a specialist in Hindi film songs based on Hindustani music.
However, he had to wait two more years for a meaningful uptick in his career. This was a break that might not have materialised if Mukesh had not been bitten by the acting bug. Mukesh had established himself as the singing voice of Raj Kapoor and delivered many hits in the early 1950s. However, during the making of Shree 420 (1955), he excused himself after singing only two songs. This was because he had signed a contract with the producer of the film Mashuqa (1953) which required him to not sing for any other film till it was released. This left Raj Kapoor very angry but helped boost Manna Dey’s career as he was brought in to replace Mukesh. In Chori Chori (1956), he sang exclusively for Raj Kapoor and delivered several hit songs, the scepticism of producer A.V. Meiyappan notwithstanding.
His track record in the Hindustani classical music genre was further strengthened by his songs in Shankar – Jaikishan‘s Basant Bahar (1956). Of note was the jugalbandi Ketaki Gulab Juhi Champak Ban Phoole, in which he held his own singing with Pandit Bhimsen Joshi.
Manna Dey’s career finally took off, and he became the second most prolific male playback singer after Mohammed Rafi. His career was on an upswing between 1957 and 1960 with hit songs like Kaun Aaya Mere Man Ke Dware (Dekh Kabira Roya, 1957), Masti Bhara Hai Sama (Parvarish, 1958), Babu Samjho Ishare Horn Pukar Pam Pam Pam (Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, 1958), Chadh Gayo Papi Bichhua (Madhumati, 1958), Tu Chhupi Hai Kahan (Navrang, 1959) and Tu Hai Mera Prem Devta (Kalpana, 1960).
Manna Dey continued to deliver some of the best raaga-based Hindi film songs in the 1960s – Albeli Naar Preetam Dware (Main Shadi Karne Chala, 1962), Sapta Suran Teen Gram (Sangeet Samrat Tansen, 1962), Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (Dil Hi To Hai, 1963), Ek Ritu Aaye Ek Ritu Jaye (So Saal Baad, 1966), Jhanak Jhanak Tori Baaje Payaliya (Mere Huzoor, 1968), and Tere Naina Talaash Karen (Talash, 1969).
As the legend goes, the recording room at Mehboob Studio fell silent when Manna Dey finished the recording of Poochho Na Kaise Maine Rain Bitai (Meri Surat Teri Ankhen, 1963) in one take. The singer was wondering if he had made a mistake when S.D. Burman came into the room and told him that everyone was speechless because they had been moved to tears by his beautiful singing.
Unfortunately, Manna Dey’s strength became a liability of sorts in the film industry. For instance, he got caught up in the trend of raaga-based songs being used for comedic effect. Some of his classically influenced songs were effectively parodies, like Phool Gendva Na Maaro (Dooj Ka Chaand, 1964), Nir Ta Ta Dhang (Chandan Ka Palna, 1967), and Ek Chatur Naar (Padosan, 1968). Additionally, he became typecast as a voice for senior actors, character artists and relative unknowns. This deprived him of the kind of songs that usually got the limelight – songs filmed on popular heroes. Manna Dey produced a wide variety of popular songs despite these constraints, Ae Mere Pyare Watan (Kabuliwala, 1961), Aao Twist Karein (Bhoot Bungla, 1965), Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen (Waqt, 1965) and Kasme Waade Pyar Wafa Sab (Upkar, 1967), for instance. He ended the 1960s on an upward trajectory with two National Film Awards for Best Male Playback Singer – for Jhanak Jhanak Tori Baaje Payaliya (Mere Huzoor, 1968) and Ey Bhai Zara Dekh Ke Chalo (Mera Naam Joker, 1970), and a Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer for Ey Bhai Zara Dekh Ke Chalo.
Manna Dey continued to grapple with issues of being typecast in the 1970s. For example, among his more popular songs during the decade, Aayo Kahaan Se Ghanshyam (Buddha Mil Gaya, 1971) was filmed on Om Prakash and was filmed on Pran. Manna Dey ended up as the fourth most prolific male playback singer of the 1970s. His song credits dipped a little in 1979 and 1980.
Sonal (1973) was a significant milestone in the 1970s – it was his return to music direction after many years.
As music trends evolved, he was nearly completely displaced by 1990. He attempted to produce a film, Rishte Ki Deewar (1992), and composed music for it, but it appears to have been shelved due to a shortage of funds. He sang one last Hindi film song in 2006 at the age of 87 – Duniyawalon Ko Nahi Kuch Bhi Khabar (Umar, 2006).
The film fraternity finally came to the realization that Manna Dey had not been given his due. A spate of awards came his way in the 2000s – the Padma Bhushan in 2005, the Dadasaheb Phalke award in 2007, and the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010.
Manna Dey breathed his last on October 24, 2013. A remarkable facet of his Hindi film career was its longevity. He may not have been as prolific as some of his peers, but he had the longest career span among male playback singers – 64 years.
The length and spread of Manna Dey’s career was reflected in the diversity of the music directors he sang for.
A listing of Manna Dey’s most loved songs is available on MySwar.
Data for this post was derived using MySwar’s Advanced Search feature.
[This post originally appeared as a thread on X.]
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