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Top 10 Remarquable Facts about K.L Saigal

K.L. Saigal is considered the greatest superstar singer cum actor of all time in the history of the Indian Film industry.

Kundan Lal Saigal often abbreviated as K.L Saigal born on 11 April 1904 in Jammu, Jammu and Kashmir, British India (present-day Pakistan) to a Punjabi family. He was an Indian Singer and actor who is considered the first superstar of the Hindi Film industry.

The industry was centred in Kolkata during Saigal鈥檚 time but is currently centred in Mumbai. Saigal鈥檚 unique voice quality which was a mixture of baritone and soft tenor was the benchmark for most of the singers who followed him.

It remains the gold standard even today shining through very early a practically primitive recording technology. The very name K.L Saigal conjures up an image of a superstar who ruled the screens long before people heard of Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna.

K.L Saigal was undoubtedly India鈥檚 first superstar whose charisma and magic are still alive and continue to inspire budding talents. Here are 10 remarquable facts about K.L Saigal

1. His  musical education was informally earned

Due to K.L Saigal鈥檚 modest background, as a child he earned his music education informally, singing along with people at a local shrine and religious ceremonies with his mother (Kesarbai Saigal).

His mother was a deeply religious Hindu lady who was very fond of music. She used to take her young son (K.L Saigal) to religious functions where bhajan, kirtan and shabad were sung in traditional styles based on classical Indian music.

His formal schooling was brief and uneventful. As a child, he occasionally played the Sitar in the Ramlila of Jammu.

2. He worked several odd jobs before his musical breakthrough

Maruzen electric typewriter photo by Meomeo15 –

Saigal dropped out of school and started earning money by working as a railway timekeeper. Later, he worked as a typewriter salesman for the Remington Typewriter Company in Simla (now Shimla).

This flexible schedule allowed him to tour several parts of India and pursue singing as a vocation. Those days, his singing was limited to his friend鈥檚 circle.

During one such occasion of his singing, a sales representative of the Hindustan Record company happened to be present in the congregation. He recognized Saigal鈥檚 potential and persuaded him to sign a contract for recordings with the company.

One of his earliest records 鈥淛hulana Jhulao鈥� in Dev Gandhar Raag was a huge hit.

3. He signed for B N Sircar New Theaters

Portrait of Pankaj Kumar Mullick photo by All India Radio (AIR) –

In the early 1930s, classical musician and music director Harishchandra Bali brought K.L Saigal to Calcutta. In Calcutta, Saigal got introduced to B N Sircar, who had just started new theatres. He was not impressed by the lanky gauche man nervously clutching his Kurta.

However, he was astounded by Saigal鈥檚 song and immediately got a liking for his talents. Saigal was hired by B N Sircar鈥檚 Calcutta-based film studios on a contract of Rs. 200 per month. There he came into contact with contemporaries like Pankaj Mullick, K.C Dey and Pahari Sanyal.

4. Saigal’s first film came in 1932

Photo by Jakob Owens on

After Saigal was appointed by B N Sircar, he got a hold of his first film role. In 1932, Saigal鈥檚 first break came when his first film Mohabbat Ke Ansu was released. Other films that followed were Subah Ka Sitara and Zinda Laash in the same year.

However, the films did not do well but the performance of the young actor did not go unnoticed.

5. He began using his name in his fourth film

For his first three films, he used the name Saigal Kashmiri. He started using his name Kundan Lal Saigal (K. L Saigal) in his fourth film Yahudi Ki Ladki which was released in 1933. He also started to act and sing in films since then. Some of the following films were Karwan-E- Hayat, Rooplekha and Chandidas.

Four bhajans sung by Saigal for the film Puran Bhagat created a sensation throughout India. He was also the lead actor in the film Chandidas which led to more and more offers. His enigmatic voice only made him even more famous.

6. Saigal’s big break came with the film Devdas

K.L. Saigal in Devdas (version Hindi) (1935) photo sourced from

In the year1935, Devdas was released, the soul-stirring masterpiece based on Sharat Chandra Chattopadhyay鈥檚 novel of the same name. It was directed by P.C Barua starring Saigal who enacted a drunken and sad character Devdas.

This was the actor鈥檚 first super hit film. It established him as a talented actor in the Indian film industry and arguably a formidable entity in the media industry.

7. He married a girl chosen by his mother

In 1935, Saigal married Asha Rani, a girl chosen by his mother. Their matrimony was blessed with three children, a son and two daughters: Madan Mohan Nina (born 1937) and Bina (born 1941); and an adopted child, his late brother鈥檚 daughter, Durgesh Nandani.  He adopted Durgesh Nandani when he was still single.

8. He learned Bengali and acted in Bengali films

Despite being a non-Bengali, Saigal used his time in Calcutta to become proficient in Bengal. This allowed him to sing and act in several Bengali films.

He had the distinction of being the first non-Bengali that the great Indian philosopher and thinker, Rabindranath Tagore would allow to record his work.

Saigal endeared himself to the whole of Bengal through his 30 Bengali songs.

9. He quickly adjusted to changing times

“A Bombay Drygoods store a photo from the 1920’s Source: eBay photo sourced from

The 1940s were a transitional period in the history of the Indian film industry. The centre of the Hindi film industry was shifting from Calcutta to Bombay; so Saigal swiftly transitioned with the shift of the base. Yet again, he became part of various hit films like Kurukshetra, Omar Khayyam and Tadbear.

10. He had a legendary career in a shorter period

In his singing and acting career spanning 15 years, Saigal rendered 185 songs which include 142 film songs and 43 non-film songs. Of the film songs, there are 110 in Hindi, 30 in Bengali and two in Tamil.

There are 37 non-film songs in Hindi and two each in Bengali, Pashto, Persian and Punjabi. His non-film songs comprise Bhajans, ghazals and hori.

The legendary singer however became an alcohol addict and it began to affect his health and work. He passed away in his ancestral city of Jalandhar in 1947, at the young age of 42. He was posthumously honoured by his last appearance in the film Parwana (1947).

Saigal鈥檚 distinctive singing was revered and idolized by the first generation of post-independence Hindi playback singers. Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar have gone on record in an interview that they consider K.L Saigal to be their Guru.