Google celebrates 114 birth-anniversary of KL Saigal with a doodle
Tech giant Google celebrated the 114th birth anniversary of legendary singer-actor KL Saigal with a doodle. Considered the first superstar of Indian cinema, Kundan Lal Saigal is known to have recorded 185 songs as well acting in 36 films in his career that spanned 15 years. His musical journey began in 1930 when he started working for New Theatres Calcutta at Rs. 200/month.
He gave music to prominent songs of 1930s and 40s
Saigal gave voice to melodies such as Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya, Bangla Bane Nyara, Hum Apna Unhe Bana Na Sake, Do Naina Matwale Tihare, Main Kya Janoon Kya Jadu, and Katibe Taqdeer among others. His first film was the 1932 Urdu film "Mohabbat Ke Ansu" and he followed it up with two more movies the same year, "Zinda Lash" and "Subah Ka Sitara.
Saigal become famous with 'Yahudi ki Ladki'
KL Saigal tasted success with the "Yahudi ki Ladki", a costume epic-based on Aga Hashr Kashmiri's famous play Misar Kumari. He further catapulted his position as an actor with films such as "Chandidas" and Pramathesh Barua's "Devdas". In 1941, he shifted his base to Bombay, where he acted and sang in films including "Bhakt Surdas" (1942) and "Tansen" (1943).
Lata became Saigal's fan after listening to 'Chandidas' songs
On Twitter, veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar remembered listening to Saigal's songs and revealed that she became a huge fan of Saigal after listening to songs of "Chandidas". "All three of us me, Kishore da and Mukesh bhaiya were the devotees of Saigal sahab," she added.
