“Suchitra
Sen is a great artiste. But in those early days, she was not very well known.
Even I had not gained much fame as of then. It was me, who sang the first song
Suchitra Sen lip synched on screen - ‘Ei Mala Je Chao, Tumi Ei Mala Je Chao’.
After this I sang for her in a few films, one of which was - Ora Thake Odhare”,
so had recalled Alpana Bandyopadhyay in one of her interviews.
Presenting
the pair of dulcet melodies, the one mentioned before and ‘Aaji Ei Sandhyay, Bolo
To Ki Mon Chay’, both from Sukumar Dasgupta’s
‘Saat Number Koyedi’ - a 1953-release. The 'Aji Ei Sandhyay' number, although not mentioned by
Alpanadi in the quote above, was also lip synced by Suchitra Sen. Thanks to senior composer Kalipada Sen - Alpana Bandyopadhyay had undoubtedly been an appropriate choice for these songs. 'Ei Mala Je Chao' is a personal favourite!
FILM - SAAT NUMBER KAYEDI (1953)
SONG - AJI EI SANDHYAY
LYRICIST - GOURIPRASANNA MAJUMDAR
MUSIC COMPOSER - KALIPADA SEN
ARTISTE - KUMARI ALPANA BANERJEE
FILM - SAAT NUMBER KAYEDI (1953)
SONG - EI MALA JE CHAO
LYRICIST - GOURIPRASANNA MAJUMDAR
MUSIC COMPOSER - KALIPADA SEN
ARTISTE - KUMARI ALPANA BANERJEE
This is a humble tribute to the musical diva on the
fifth anniversary of her demise.
Rest in eternal peace, Alpanadi!
(Photo Courtesy - Sri Sridhar Mukherjee)