- Kanan Devi
Kanan Devi (
1916 -July 17 ,1992 ) was among the early singing stars ofIndian cinema , and is credited popularly as the first star ofBengali Cinema . [http://www.calcuttaweb.com/cinema/ Bengali Cinema, Calcutta Web] ] Her singing style, usually in rapid tempo, was used instrumentally in some of the biggest hits ofNew Theatres ,Calcutta .Biography
Kanan Devi was born as Kanan Dassi in
Howrah ,West Bengal in or around 1916. In her autobiography, Kanan Devi has observed that she was born illegitimately. She belonged to a poor family and after the death of her adoptive father, she and her mother were left to earn and live on their own and had to do all sorts of work to drag on their lives.Her name was soon changed to Kanan Bala. When she was only ten, a well wisher introduced her to
Jyoti Studios where she was cast in a small role in "Joydev" (1926). She later worked withRadha Films , in films mainly byJyotish Banerjee . After being noticed in "Khooni Kaun" and "Maa" (1934), she enteredNew Theatres ,Calcutta . She came in contact of maestroRaichand Boral who coached her and familiarized her in the Hindi accent. She received her initial musical training underUstad Alla Rakha . She was employed as a singer at theMegaphone Gramaphone Company , receiving further training underBhishmadev Chatterjee . She later learntRabindra Sangeet underAnadi Dastidar . Her name was soon again changed to Kanan Devi for the purpose of films.New Theatres 'sP.C. Barua wanted her to play the lead in his "Devdas" (1935), but, due to some reasons she could not act in the film. She later played the lead in Barua's "Mukti" (1937), which was perhaps her finest performance, making her the studio's top star. The films of New Theatres established her as a superhit singer. It was her association withK. C. Dey that people enjoyed the most. Kanan Devi remained the top star of New Theatres until she resigned her contract in 1941 and began to freelance in Bengali andHindi films.M.P. Productions 's "Jawaab", was perhaps her biggest hit. Her song "Yeh Duniya Hai Toofan Mein" was well received. She repeated the same feast in "Hospital" (1943), "Banphool" (1945), and "Rajlakshmi" (1946).She moved to
Bombay in 1948. She was seen for the last time inHindi cinema in "Chandrashekhar" (1948) withAshok Kumar . Kanan Devi turned producer withShrimati Pictures in 1949 and later launched theSabyasachi Collective with the film "Ananya" (1949). Her own productions were mainly based on the stories ofSharat Chandra Chattopadhyay . Kanan Devi married her first husband, ShriAshok Maitra , but their marriage was short-lived and ended in a divorce. However, she did express gratitude towards him for giving her social recognition for the first time in her life. Later, she married her second husbandHaridas Bhattacharya , had her first and only child, a son, Siddharta Bhattacharya, and settled down, raising her family inCalcutta . She also worked as the president ofMahila Shilpi Mahal , an organization that helps aged and needy female artistes of the yesteryears and for the upliftment ofBengali cinema . Kanan Devi, the first lady of the Bengali screen was awarded theDadasaheb Phalke Award for her contribution to Indian cinema, in 1976. She died onJuly 17 ,1992 inBelle View Clinic ,Calcutta when she was around seventy-six years of age.References
External links
* [http://www.kanandevi.com Official site]
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