Being treated for respiratory illness and renal failure, Dey was 94 years old. Dey’s daughter and son-in-law were present at the time of his death. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee wants to bring back his mortal remains for the public to pay their last respect. ‘Manna da is no more. I am deeply pained.
To the entire music world, his passing away is an irreparable loss,’ said Banerjee on her Facebook page, echoing the voice of millions who will miss ‘Manna da’ and his evergreen songs.
The state government had honoured Dey with Bengal’s highest civilian award ‘Bangabibhusan’.’I met him last at Bangalore to personally hand over the ‘Bisesh Sangeet MahaSamman’ award to him. That time I requested him to come to Kolkata and stay with us. He was happy to hear this and expressed his desire to do so. But it could not happen,’ rued Banerjee.
The versatile singer Dey flagged off his playback singing career in Bollywood in 1943 with the film Tamanna and recorded more than 4000 songs-in several languages including Bengali and Hindi-between 1942-2013. Along with Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Mukesh, he dominated Indian film playback music with unforgettable hits between the 1950s and 1970s.
Dey’s ‘Zindagi Kaise Hai Paheli’ song for the Hindi film Anand and set to the tune by Salil Chowdhury is still a huge hit. His rendition of qawalis like ‘yaari hein iman mera’ in the blockbuster Amar, Akbar, Anthony earned him accolades and a large number of fans. ‘But the path was never easy. Dey had to prove repeatedly that he was not just a great singer but an artiste. His range was immense.
From singing with Bhimsen Joshi in Basant Bahar (1959) to the timeless Ek Chatur Naar Badi Hoshiyaar in Padosan (1968) to Ke tumi Nandini in Teen Bhubaner Pare (1969), the tenor of his voice was unique, something India had never heard before,’ said music director Debojyoti Mishra to Millennium Post.
Dey recorded many popular duets with Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Kishore Kumar. He gave some of his biggest hits with composers S D Burman, R D Burman, Shankar- Jaikishan, Anil Biswas, Roshan and Salil Chowdhury, Madan Mohan and NC Ramachandra. His lilting voice enthralled fans throughout the world and awards flowed naturally to him, including titles like the National singer, Padmasree, and Padmabhusan.
In Bengal, an entire generation grew up listening to his romantic hits. ‘I remember Mannada’s romantic songs playing in the puja pandals. O Lalita, Ami Jamini, Pyar hua ekrar hua are evergreen hits’ said sarod player Tejendra Narayan Majumdar.
Dey won national awards for Best Male Playback Singer for the Hindi film Mere Huzur and for the Bengali film Nishi Padma. Trained by his uncle ‘Sangeetacharya’ Krishna Chandra Dey and by Ustad Dabir Khan, Dey sang light classical songs for Hindi films with the ease and felicity rarely matched. He was also a great teacher. Says singer Haimanti Shukla who knew him, musically, for four decades, ‘He always encouraged young musicians like us’.
To the entire music world, his passing away is an irreparable loss,’ said Banerjee on her Facebook page, echoing the voice of millions who will miss ‘Manna da’ and his evergreen songs.
The state government had honoured Dey with Bengal’s highest civilian award ‘Bangabibhusan’.’I met him last at Bangalore to personally hand over the ‘Bisesh Sangeet MahaSamman’ award to him. That time I requested him to come to Kolkata and stay with us. He was happy to hear this and expressed his desire to do so. But it could not happen,’ rued Banerjee.
The versatile singer Dey flagged off his playback singing career in Bollywood in 1943 with the film Tamanna and recorded more than 4000 songs-in several languages including Bengali and Hindi-between 1942-2013. Along with Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar and Mukesh, he dominated Indian film playback music with unforgettable hits between the 1950s and 1970s.
Dey’s ‘Zindagi Kaise Hai Paheli’ song for the Hindi film Anand and set to the tune by Salil Chowdhury is still a huge hit. His rendition of qawalis like ‘yaari hein iman mera’ in the blockbuster Amar, Akbar, Anthony earned him accolades and a large number of fans. ‘But the path was never easy. Dey had to prove repeatedly that he was not just a great singer but an artiste. His range was immense.
From singing with Bhimsen Joshi in Basant Bahar (1959) to the timeless Ek Chatur Naar Badi Hoshiyaar in Padosan (1968) to Ke tumi Nandini in Teen Bhubaner Pare (1969), the tenor of his voice was unique, something India had never heard before,’ said music director Debojyoti Mishra to Millennium Post.
Dey recorded many popular duets with Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle and Kishore Kumar. He gave some of his biggest hits with composers S D Burman, R D Burman, Shankar- Jaikishan, Anil Biswas, Roshan and Salil Chowdhury, Madan Mohan and NC Ramachandra. His lilting voice enthralled fans throughout the world and awards flowed naturally to him, including titles like the National singer, Padmasree, and Padmabhusan.
In Bengal, an entire generation grew up listening to his romantic hits. ‘I remember Mannada’s romantic songs playing in the puja pandals. O Lalita, Ami Jamini, Pyar hua ekrar hua are evergreen hits’ said sarod player Tejendra Narayan Majumdar.
Dey won national awards for Best Male Playback Singer for the Hindi film Mere Huzur and for the Bengali film Nishi Padma. Trained by his uncle ‘Sangeetacharya’ Krishna Chandra Dey and by Ustad Dabir Khan, Dey sang light classical songs for Hindi films with the ease and felicity rarely matched. He was also a great teacher. Says singer Haimanti Shukla who knew him, musically, for four decades, ‘He always encouraged young musicians like us’.