K. L. Saigal

Kundan Lal Saigal (1904-1947), one of the first singers to make a reputation in Hindi film music, was an enormous influence on the next generation of playback singers including Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh although the scurrilous tend to talk about wigs and drinking habits where he is concerned. Saigal was an all-rounder who played male lead in films such as Devdas, Street Singer (known as Saathi in Bengali) and Tansen. A versatile singer, he sang in Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, Urdu and Persian. ~ Ken Hunt