Kamal Dasgupta

Kamal Dasgupta
কমল দাশগুপ্ত

Born	(1912-07-28)28 July 1912 Kalia, Narail, Presidency Division, British India
Died	20 July 1974(1974-07-20) (aged 61) Dhaka, Bangladesh
Other names	Kamal Uddin Ahmed
Occupation(s)	Composer, music director, folk singer
Spouse	Firoza Begum (m. 1955)
Children	Tahsin Ahmed Hamin Ahmed Shafin Ahmed

Kamal Dasgupta (28 July 1912–20 July 1974), was a Bangladeshi music director, composer and folk artist active in Hindi and Bengali cinema especially in pre-partition British India. Rāga and thumri were the main elements of his music.^[1]^[2]

He later married Feroza Begum, a noted Nazrul Sangeet singer, converting to Islam and taking the name Kamal Uddin Ahmed. Their second and third sons Hamin Ahmed and Shafin Ahmed are the lead singers with Bangladeshi band Miles.^[2]

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Early life and career

Dasgupta was born into Baidya Brahmin family on 28 July 1912 in Narail, Jessore of the then British India. He matriculated in 1928 from Calcutta Academy and later completed B. Com. from Comilla Victoria Government College. He earned his doctorate in music from Banaras Hindu University in 1943 for his work on Meerabai, the composer and singer of Bhajans. His early inspiration came from his father, Tara Prasanna Dasgupta. He took his first music lessons from his brother, Bimal Das Gupta. Later he studied under Dilip Kumar Roy, K C Dey (Kana Keshto), and Jamiruddin Khan.^{[citation needed]}

Dasgupta sang modern songs in Bengali, Urdu, Hindi, and Tamil. He was also a composer, composing the music for about eight thousand songs. His work was based on classical music and tended towards the Thungri style, though he also drew inspiration from other sources.^{[citation needed]}

Dasgupta composed the music for about eighty Bangla films, among them Tufan Mail, Jhamelar Prem, Ei Ki Go Shes Dan. His last film as a music director was Badhu Bharan (1967). He also composed the background music for an American film, War Propaganda. His active life as a composer covered about fourteen years. His unique contribution in music is his invention of a shorthand method for swaralipi (notations).^{[citation needed]}

In 1935, Dasgupta joined the Gramophone Company of India as a music director. During his term there, he developed a close association with Kazi Nazrul Islam and composed the music for almost four hundred of his songs. The gramophone records for which Dasgupta composed music were notable in the 1950s and 1960s. Among his songs still notable today are Sanjher Taraka Ami (I am the star of twilight), Prithivi Amare Chay (The world needs me), and Ami Bhorer Juthika' '(I am the jasmine of morning).^{[citation needed]}

Dasgupta died on 18 July 1974 in Dhaka.^[3]