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Bhupen Hazarika Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 5, 2026 • 4 min read

Quick Info

Date of birth8 September 1926

Age85 (at time of death)

BirthplaceSadiya, Assam Province, British India

ProfessionMusician, Singer, Lyricist, Poet, Filmmaker

NationalityIndian

Marital statusMarried

SpousePriyamvada Patel

FamilySon Tej Hazarika; parents Nilakanta Hazarika and Shantipriya Hazarika

Bhupen Hazarika Biography

Dr. Bhupen Hazarika was an influential Indian musician, singer, lyricist, poet and filmmaker from Assam. With a career spanning decades, he earned national

Early life and background

Bhupen Hazarika was born on 8 September 1926 in Sadiya in the Assam Province of British India. He grew up in a large family as the eldest of ten children. The family moved several times during his childhood, living in Guwahati, Dhubri and Tezpur as his father sought better opportunities. From an early age he was steeped in Assamese musical traditions; his mother introduced him to local lullabies and devotional songs that shaped his lifelong musical sensibilities.

Education took him beyond Assam. He completed intermediate studies at Cotton College and earned a BA and MA in Political Science from Banaras Hindu University. A scholarship took him to Columbia University in New York, where he completed a PhD in 1952. While at Columbia he developed friendships with fellow musicians and encountered influences that informed some of his best-known compositions.

Career

Hazarika’s first recorded performance dates to his childhood: he sang as a young artist in the late 1930s and continued to perform through adolescence. He began appearing as a singer in films in the 1940s and made an early move into filmmaking by directing Era Bator Sur in 1956. Over the decades he composed, directed and sang for films in multiple languages and became widely known for songs in Assamese and Hindi.

His body of work includes enduring Assamese songs such as Moi Eti Jajabor, Bistirno Parore, Manuhe Manuhor Babey and others that entered the regional repertoire. He also recorded notable Hindi songs including Dil Hoom Hoom Kare and Ek Kali Do Pattiyan. Hazarika lent his voice to numerous films through the 1980s and 1990s and composed music for Indian and Bangladeshi cinema alike.

Between working as a teacher at Gauhati University and his growing artistic commitments, he became closely involved with the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA) in the 1950s, taking an active organizational role in regional events. Later, after a period in Kolkata, he established himself as a successful singer, filmmaker and music director, receiving both popular and critical recognition for his contributions to film music and culture.

Honours and recognition

Hazarika’s career was marked by prestigious national and state honours. He received the Padma Shri in 1977 and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1987. He was later awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1992 and Padma Bhushan in 2001. Further recognition included the Akademi Ratna Award by the Sangeet Natak Akademi in 2008 and the Asom Ratna from the state of Assam in 2009. Posthumously, he was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan in 2012.

He also received multiple film awards, including the President’s National Award for work on the films Pratidhwani, Sakuntala and Loti Ghoti, and a National Award for Best Music Director for Chameli Memsaab. In 1993 he won the Best Music Award at the Asia Pacific International Film Festival in Japan for the film Rudaali, becoming the first Indian to receive that honour.

Public profile

Hazarika’s public life included political engagement. He served as an independent member of the Assam Legislative Assembly from 1967 to 1972 after being elected from the Naoboicha constituency. Later, in 2004, he joined the Bharatiya Janata Party and contested the Lok Sabha election from Guwahati.

He held important cultural leadership roles as well, serving as President of the Asam Sahitya Sabha in 1993 and as Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi from December 1998 to December 2003. Institutions and public works have been named in his honour, including a museum at Srimanta Sankaradev Kalakshetra, a life-size statue in Guwahati, and the renaming of a cricket stadium in Barshapara as Dr. Bhupen Hazarika Cricket Stadium. India Post issued commemorative stamps celebrating his legacy, and the Dhola–Sadiya Bridge was named Bhupen Hazarika Setu when it opened in 2017.

Personal life

While studying at Columbia University, Hazarika met Priyamvada Patel; they married in 1950. The couple had a son, Tej Hazarika, born in 1952. After completing his studies in the United States, he returned to India in 1953 and resumed academic and artistic work. Music, writing and film remained lifelong pursuits: across his career he wrote numerous songs and authored about 15 books, including collections centered on his Assamese songs and essays on education and culture.

Later years and death

Hazarika continued to record well into his later years; his final film recordings were completed in 2011 for Gandhi to Hitler. He passed away on 5 November 2011 at a hospital in Mumbai due to multiple organ failure at the age of 85. His body was cremated near the Brahmaputra River in a plot donated by Gauhati University.

Latest updates

Hazarika’s legacy endures through his recordings, writings and the public institutions named after him. His influence spans regional and national music, film and cultural life, and his songs remain part of the repertoire in Assam and beyond.

Editorial Review and Sources

This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Bhupen Hazarika, send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded
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Recent Work

Gandhi to Hitler

Recorded songs for the film; this was his last film work in 2011.

2011
Rudaali

Provided playback singing; won the Best Music Award at the Asia Pacific International Film Festival in 1993.

1993
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Career Highlights

  1. Debuted as a child singer in films in 1939
  2. Directed Era Bator Sur (1956)
  3. Served as Chairman of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (1998–2003)
  4. Received national honours including Padma Shri (1977), Padma Bhushan (2001) and Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1992)
Reviewed by F4U Editorial Desk

F4U profile pages are prepared from public career information, checked for readability, and updated when reliable correction sources are shared with the editorial team.

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Frequently Asked Questions

When was Bhupen Hazarika born?

Bhupen Hazarika was born on 8 September 1926.

What is Bhupen Hazarika known for?

Bhupen Hazarika is known for musician, Singer, Lyricist, Poet, Filmmaker.

What is Bhupen Hazarika’s marital status?

Bhupen Hazarika's marital status is listed as Married.

Who is Bhupen Hazarika married to?

Bhupen Hazarika is publicly listed as married to Priyamvada Patel.