A unique voice and singing style that could not possibly be emulated, and an acting prowess that complemented the gifted throat, earned Kundan Lal Saigal a distinct place in the annals of Indian cinema. A bi-lingual actor, he commenced his cinematic sojourn with New Theatres, and touched the zenith with Devdas in 1935, that was to become an all-time classic. With each successive venture – President, Dharti Mata, Street Singer, Zindagi, Bhakt Surdas, Tansen, Shahjahan, et al – he kept soaring to reach the zenith. With the release of his maiden Bengali film, Didi, he captured the hearts of Bengal’s cognoscenti. And his songs in Bangla received approbation of the Nobel Laureate Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore: “Ki shundar gala tomar! Aage jaane le katayi na anand petam.”No non-Bengali singer had been conferred such praise before or after Saigal.

Here was an artiste, nonpareil, in past or future, as he became a legend in his lifetime. His repertoire in varied genres of songs, ghazals, bhajans, as also in other modes of classical style enthralled the masses, as these renditions made them laugh and cry. A film career that merely lasted fifteen years (1932-1946), he performed in just about 36 films and rendered about 185 songs in Hindi, Urdu, Persian, Punjabi, Bangla and Tamil, thus proving the dictum that it’s not the extensiveness but the intensity of those renderings that bequeaths the mantle of immortality. This national award-winning biography of a peerless classic singer is a premier enterprise, as also a signal tribute. Archival records, rare photographs and posters of Saigal’s films in this tome, give insightful glimpses, and beckon collectors and connoisseurs.