K.L. Saigal

Born in 1904 and deceased in 1947, Kundan Lal Saigal ranked among the earliest vocalists to build a name in Hindi film songs and left a deep mark on later playback artists such as Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh, though detractors persist in fixating on his wigs and drinking habits. Equally comfortable before the camera, he took leading male parts in titles including Devdas, Street Singer (released as Saathi in Bengali) and Tansen. His recorded work also extended across Punjabi, Bengali, Tamil, Urdu and Persian.