The extremely gifted signer her first playback singing contract at the age of 17 when music director Mohammed Shafi got bowled over by Suman's voice at a school function.
Born on January 28, 1937, Kalyanpur, in a career which began in 1953, has recorded songs for movies in several languages besides Hindi like Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, Bengali, Oriya and Punjabi. Her recordings include devotional songs, ghazals, and thumris.
There has been a popular view within both the industry and music lovers that Suman did not get the due she deserved because her voice resembled with that of Lata Mangeshkar who was ruling the playback singing scene in the industry.
During the times of rift between Lata and Mohammad Rafi, Suman Kalyanpur was seen as the one who could take over Lata’s mantle at the top.
Kalyanpur's voice has a tremendous resemblance to Lata which proved to be both a blessing and a curse for her.
Unlike Lata, Suman was not born into music. Nor did she had any formal training in music. Though she improved her skill under the guidance of Keshavrao Bhole, Yeshwant Deo, Sudhir Phadke and Master Navrang and Abdul Rahman Khan who gave her firm grounding in light classical music.
READ | Netizens misunderstood Lata Mangeshkar's view on Ranu Mondal, says Himesh
In the 60s, music in Hindi cinema was at its pinnacle. In the golden era of melody, Suman was at no dearth of opportunities where she got to record duets with stalwarts like Manna De, Hemant Kumar and Mukesh.
But one has to learn tricks of the trade to survive in the extremely competitive industry such as showbiz and music. An essential quality that Kalyanpur lacked.
In the year 2009, when Kalyanpur was presented with the Lata Mangeshkar Award, Chhagan Bhujbal said:
"Kalayanpur is an extremely talented singer, who did not get the recognition she deserved, due to politics in the film industry at the time."
Similarly, when very recently Lata made a remark on her soundalike Ranu Mandal, saying that "imitation is not a reliable and durable companion for success" filmmaker Apurva Asrani could not keep calm and reacted to Mangeshkar's statement, stating that it "lacks grace." He also said how Kalyanpur and other such talents could not sustain and thrive under the enormous presence of Lata.
"This statement lacks grace. Reminds me of my childhood when original talents like Runa Laila, Suman Kalyanpur, Usha Uthup and Sadhna Sargam didn't get their due because Lataji ruled the roost. Only imitators survived, somewhat. #RanuMondal #LataMangeshkar."
Undoubtedly, many of her songs are indistinguishable from Lata’s style, either because she was subconsciously imitating her style or the music directors were viewing her essentially as Lata’s replacement.
However, Suman Kalyanpur possesses an incredibly sonorous voice which still tugs at the hearts of music lovers. The lilt in her voice in songs like Pani Mein Jale and Man Bhaye will always linger in our memory.
