BIOGRAPHY OF MANNA DEY

Manna Dey was one of the great playback singers in

Bollywood in the 50's, 60's and 70's. He sang for
many of the male actors in a variety of films such as
"Boot Polish" (1954), "Love in Tokyo" (1966),
"Padosan" (1968), and a host of others. In his career
spanning more than 4 decades, it is said that he
recorded more than 3000 songs.
Manna Dey's name at birth was Prabodh Chandra
Dey. He was born on May 1, 1919 in Calcutta. His
father was named Purna Chandra Dey and his mother
was named Mahamaya Dey. His earliest education
was received in the Indu Babur Pathshala. After that
he entered the Scottish Church Collegiate School and
then to the Scottish Church College. He went for his
post graduate education at the Vidyasagar College.
Manna Dey had a variety of interests in his youth. He
showed a particular fondness for wrestling and
boxing as well as music. He originally received his
musical training under his uncle, the late Krishna
Chandra Dey, and then later under Ustad Dabir Khan.
He began to show his abilities while in college where
he was a frequent participant in college music
competitions. As his school progressed, he was of
mixed mind as to what his future should be. He was
unsure as to whether to try his hand in the film
industry or to become a barrister.
1942 was a pivotal year for Manna Dey. It was in this
year that he joined his uncle K.C. Dey in Bombay, to
act as assistant music director for H.P Das. His first
foray into playback singing was in Vijay Bhatt's "Ram
Rajya"; this endeavour was somewhat less than
successful. However the 1943 film "Tamanna" proved
to be a great hit; in particular was his duet with
Suraiya.

After some time he began to act as an assistant to

the late S.D. Burman. During this tenure he sang
Upar Gagan Vishal for the 1950 film "Mashaal". By
1952 he had established his name as one of the top
playback singers. It was at this point that he started
to work independently.
His professional progress in the film industry did not
interfere with his musical training. While working in
the films he continued his training in Hindustani
classical music under Aman Ali Khan and then under
Ustad Rahman Khan.
Manna Dey's personal life progressed well. He
married to Sulochana Kumaran, on December 18th
1953. Together their first daughter Shuroma was
born on October 19th, 1956 and their second
daughter Sumita was born on June 20th 1958.