Subir Sen
Subir Sen sang about twenty Hindi film songs in the late 1950s and early 1960s, nearly all for Shankar-Jaikishan, and two of them — Manzil Wohi Hai Pyar Ki in Kathputli and Dil Mera Ek Aas Ka Panchhi in Aas Ka Panchhi — are still heard on every oldies programme. His resemblance to Hemant Kumar worked against him in Bombay, and he went home to Calcutta, where he had a long career in Bengali modern song.
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Life
He was born in Dibrugarh, Assam, in 1934, and grew up in Calcutta, where he trained under Anathnath Bose and recorded Bengali songs from the mid-1950s. Shankar-Jaikishan brought him to Bombay for Kathputli (1957) and used him in Aas Ka Panchhi, Chhoti Bahen and a few others; Salil Chowdhury and Hemant Kumar also gave him songs.
He returned to Calcutta in the early 1960s and sang Bengali basic discs and Puja songs for decades; he received the Sangeet Natak Akademi award and the Banga Bibhushan. He died in Kolkata in December 2015.
The voice
Subir Sen's voice is deep, soft and very steady, in the Hemant Kumar mould but a shade lighter and brighter; the Shankar-Jaikishan songs show it at its most open.
Composers
- Shankar-Jaikishan
- Salil Chowdhury
- Hemant Kumar
- Kalyanji-Anandji
Sang for
- Rajendra Kumar
- Balraj Sahni
Sang with
Honours
Sangeet Natak Akademi Award · Banga Bibhushan
More film songs 1 songs, by year
year not stated
Bengali songs 3
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