Hemlata
Hemlata is an Indian playback singer in Bollywood best known for her songs in the late 1970s. She is classically trained. She established herself in film, concerts, television and music.
She was nominated for Filmfare Best Female Playback Award five times in the period of 1977–81 and won once for Chitchor in 1977 for her classical rendition of "Tu Jo Mere Sur Mein" which was duet with K.J. Yesudas, composed by Ravindra Jain.
Early life and background
Hemlata was born in Hyderabad as 'Lata Bhatt into an orthodox Marwari Brahmin family and spent her childhood in Calcutta.Around the time Hemlata was seven, Gopal Mallik, disciple of her father, recognised her singing talent and gave her an opportunity to perform live before large audience for very big musical concert organised by him at Rabindra Stadium of Calcutta. Her father agreed and decided to bring her to Bombay. In between, before her family left for Bombay, Ravindra Jain came to Kolkata for higher education in music and regularly used to visit their home to learn music from his Guru Pt. Jaichand Bhatt. After taking lessons, he played his own compositions in Bengali on the harmonium and little Hemlata, aged 12, used to sing them. Hemlata's mother Ambica Bhatt also encouraged her.
Career
Early career
In 1966, her family moved to Bombay, where they resided at Girgaon in southern Bombay, India. While in Bombay they visited Alla Rakha khan. Then her family shifted to Mahim, Bombay. Next, they visited Ustad Rais Khan, from whom she learned Ghazal singing.Hemlata received an invitation from the music director Naushad Ali, who asked her to sing and was very impressed by hearing her voice that she was singing a non-filmic composition, then impressed Naushad Ali, who had promised Hemlata that he would give her an opportunity to sing in his films but advised her to wait till her voice matured. Then Hemlata signed five-year contract with Naushad Ali. She began her formal training of playback singing under Ali. On those days, Hemlata was in news as she was introduced by Ali, in the world of playback singing.
On very first day, she received invitation from music director Roshan through whom she did her first ever concert Roshan Night at the Shanmukhananda Hall, Bombay, India, in 1967. In the same week, she recorded her first ever song "Tu Khamosh Main Purjosh" under composition of Usha Khanna for the film Roop Rupaiya. Her first released song was "Dus Paise Mein Raam Le Lo" from the movie Ek Phool Ek Bhool.
At the age of 14, she got an opportunity to record one Ghazals EP under the auspice of music director Khayyam. In 1970, HMV issued the first-ever cover versions in Hindi film music history in parallel with Polydor's original soundtracks to such films as The Train, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Sachaa Jhutha, Johny Mera Naam, Ek Nazar, Ek Bar Mooskura Do, and Jawani Diwani, employing such singers as Hemlata, Amber Kumar, and others.
Leading career
In the early 1970s, Ravindra Jain came to Bombay to try his luck. Before arrival of Ravindra Jain she already sang more or less 100/150 songs. Initially, Ravindra Jain used her voice for his debut movie "Kanch Aur Heera " then for "Rakh Aur Chingari ", "Geet Gata Chal ", "Salaakhen " and for "Tapasya ", which not have blazed the charts. However, Hemlata gained recognition when Ravindra Jain gave her a break for movie Fakira for song "Sun Ke Teri Pukar".In the same year, Ravindra Jain used her voice for Rajshri Banner's movie Chitchor for which she won the Filmfare Award. Thereafter, Hemlata had established herself in various movies of Rajshri Productions in the 1980s and 1990s.
In association with Ravindra Jain, she had worked on many other songs. Among them is "Ankhiyon Ke Jharokhon Se". According to the Binaca Geet Mala, it became the number one song in the year 1978. Hemlata was also nominated for Filmfare award for the best female playback singer for this song. It has received millions of views on YouTube. Hemlata sang on Jain's cassette album Sahaj Dhara dedicated to Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, and sang songs from this album in two concerts in Brussels, Belgium in July 1992.
She is the only Indian playback singer who has recorded maximum number of Hindi songs with K. J. Yesudas.
In the 1990s, Doordarshan had invited her to perform "Tista Nadi Si Tu Chanchala" along with K. J. Yesudas and 'Saath Jo Tera Yun Paya' for herself under the composition of Ravindra Jain which both songs were frequently broadcast on Doordarshan as a "filler" in between programmes, especially in the evenings.
Performing career and albums
In collaboration with Ravindra Jain, she has widely sung for most movies based on Indian scriptures and many devotional albums such as Mastakabhishek, as well as Jai Bahubali, Sahaja Dhara dedicated to Shri Mataji Nirmala Devi, and Aqeeda, and has also rendered the Ramayan Chaupaiyan, Kabir Doha, Sanskrit Bhaktamar Stotra], Sunder Kand and various devotional songs.In addition to this, She has lent her voice for Ramanand Sagar's epics T.V. Serial Ramayan, as well as Uttar Ramayan and Shri Krishna throughout the series.
She also rendered the Italian song O Sole Mio in concert in Italy during Easter 1992.
She had also done some original creative and innovative research work in 14 different basic folksongs of India in their original and dialect form.
She has also given live concerts all over the world. She accompanied many live concerts with Mohammad Rafi and Mahendra Kapoor.
In recent years she had been doing a lot of charity shows, in India and abroad. She had performed along with Ataullah Khan for a charity show in London in aid of Imran Khan's cancer hospital. This was the first effort from an Indian singer for Pakistan.
On a trip to London, Hemlata recorded two albums with Ataullah Khan. The first one titled, Sarhadein and the second one, Atta and Hemlata which has ghazals and geets. Then, she also recorded one pop album titled Ishq which featuring a fusion of Hindi and Punjabi folk.
Regarding these three albums, only Sarhadein was released by Tips. The other two albums have not been released.
All about the same time, when she happened to sing the song Sanwal Sanwal from Hero Hindustani. Hemlata claimed that Ataullah Khan and she gave this song to Anu Malik. “It is a folk song which had recorded in London and it is a rage there." But here, when the rights were sold to T-Series, the company dubbed her song in someone else's voice.
She was the only Indian film playback singer who has started a musical academy in a country like America and her Academy is promoting spreading and broadcasting the typical Indian classical and folk music as well as Gurmat Sangeet from Hollywood Los Angeles to the entire world.
She was the only one Bollywood singer, who has been selected by the world community of Sikhs and the government of Punjab as well as the Holy Akal Takht to perform Gurmat Sangeet live composed in original Ragas for the celebration of 300 years of Sikh Khalsa Panth at Shri Anandpur Sahib Akal Takht on 13 April 1999. Kini Tera Ant Na Paya was the only one album of Sikh Sangeet which was especially in her voice and inaugurated by the honourable Chief Minister of Punjab Shri Prakash Singh Badal and attended and blessed by honourable Prime Minister of India Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
In November 2010, she was in news for filing FIR against the mother in law of Sonali Bendre for cheating Hemlata in a case of selling a bungalow in Lokhandwala, for Rs.25 million.
Awards and nominations
Filmography
2000s
| Year | Song name | Film name | Co-singer | Music director | Lyricist | Lang |
| 2016 | "Tip Tip Barse Jab Barsat" | Na Hum Jo Keh De | Abhinanda Sarkar | Dilip Dutta | - | Hindi |
| 2015 | "Maa Mujhe Aane De" | Beti Bachao Beti Padhao | Solo | Hemant Mehta | Hemant Mehta | Hindi |
| 2008 | "Hey Ganga Maai Hum Hain Tohaar Parchhai", "Kaga Bole Kaon Kaon" | Gaon Ki Ganga | Solo | C. L. John | Ajeet Yadav | Bhojpuri |
| 1991 | "Nidharma Larkayera Saptarangi Tiko" | Bijaya Parajaya | Solo | Sambhujeet Baskota | Dinesh Adhikari | Nepali |
| 1991 | "Fagun Bhar Baba Laage Devarva" | Rang Barse | Shabbir Kumar | Bhushan Dua | Traditional | Bhojpuri |
| 2002 | "Tumhara Pyar Bhulaoon To", "Jeevan Main Aisey", "Toba Ye Naz Aur Ye Addayen", "Mujhe Dard Deke" | Sarhadein | Attaullah Khan Essa Khailwi | Attaullah Khan, Afzal Ajiz, Sabbir Ali | – | - |
| 2002 | "Pyar Ki Galiyan" | Sarhadein | Solo | Attaullah Khan, Afzal Ajiz, Sabbir Ali | – | - |