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Suman Kalyanpur Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 15, 2026 • 3 min read

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Quick Info

Date of birth28 January 1937

Age88 Years

BirthplaceKolkata, Bengal Presidency, British India

ProfessionSinger

NationalityIndian

Marital statusWidowed

SpouseRamanand Kalyanpur

FamilyDaughter - Charul Agny; Grandchildren - Aaishanni Agny, Aavniesh Agny

Suman Kalyanpur Biography

Veteran Indian playback singer Suman Kalyanpur, born Suman Hemmady in 1937, built a multi-lingual singing career across Hindi, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese,—

Early life and background
Suman Kalyanpur was born Suman Hemmady on 28 January 1937 in Kolkata, then part of the Bengal Presidency. Her family moved several times during her childhood as her father, an officer in the Central Bank of India, received postings that took them to Dhaka and later to Mumbai. She grew up in Mumbai, attended St. Columba High School, and went on to study painting at Sir J. J. School of Arts. From an early age she showed an interest in both music and the visual arts; she took basic classical vocal lessons at college and later trained with professional teachers.

Career
Kalyanpur’s professional recording career began in the early 1950s after she sang for All India Radio in 1952. She made her film debut in Marathi cinema with Shukrachi Chandni (1953) and entered Hindi films with Darwaaza (1954), for which she sang multiple songs. Over the following decades she became a sought-after playback voice across a wide range of Indian languages, recording songs in Hindi, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Punjabi, Kannada, Bengali, Bhojpuri and Oriya.

Her Hindi output includes memorable tracks from the 1960s and 1970s such as “Na Tum Humein Jaano” (Baat Ek Raat Ki, 1962), songs in Janwar (1965) and Rajkumar (1964), and contributions to films like Mangu (1954) and Miyan Biwi Razi (1960). She also recorded for regional film industries: notable Punjabi numbers in the early 1960s, Kannada songs including work on the 1964 film Kalavathi and the 1969 album Kalpavruksha, Assamese songs from award-winning films, Bengali film and album contributions, and multiple songs for Oriya films in the 1970s.

Kalyanpur worked with many leading contemporaries and composers of her time and shared studio space with celebrated singers such as Mohammed Rafi, Talat Mahmood, Mukesh, Manna Dey and Hemant Kumar. Her versatility included devotional and bhakti projects; from the 1970s onward she released Hindi and Marathi devotional albums and continued to record bhajans and devotional collections into later decades, collaborating with younger musicians as well.

Awards and recognition
Throughout her career she received several awards and honours. She won the Sur Sringar Samsad award three times for best classical song in a Hindi film, received the Lata Mangeshkar Award from the Maharashtra government in 2009, and was honoured with the Gadima Award in 2015. In 2022 she received the Mirchi Music Lifetime Achievement Award, and in January 2023 she was awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India. She was also nominated for a Filmfare Best Female Playback Award in 1975 for a song from the 1974 film Resham Ki Dori.

Public profile
Kalyanpur’s voice has long been compared to that of Lata Mangeshkar; she acknowledged Lata’s influence on her singing during her college years. Producers and directors sometimes engaged her as an alternative when scheduling, fees or other issues affected the availability of other leading singers. Her repertoire and multilingual recordings made her a familiar presence across regional and national cinema, and she performed extensively both in India and internationally, giving concerts in more than 30 countries including tours in the West Indies, the United Kingdom and the United States.

Personal life
She married Ramanand Kalyanpur, a Mumbai-based businessman, in 1958; he later managed aspects of her career and accompanied her to recording sessions. The couple had one daughter, Charul Agny. Her husband died in 2008. Suman comes from a large family with several younger siblings, including a sister who also sang. She has described domestic interests such as cooking, painting, gardening and knitting; she has spoken about enjoying crafts and making clothing and baked goods for her grandchildren.

Latest updates
In recognition of her lifelong contribution to Indian music, Suman Kalyanpur received the Padma Bhushan on 26 January 2023. She continued to be honoured for her work with lifetime achievement awards and remained a respected figure in the playback tradition. Her family has remained involved in public-facing activities: her granddaughter runs an NGO in Mumbai named after her.

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 Suman Kalyanpur, send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded

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Recent Work

Padma Bhushan

Awarded by the Government of India on 26 January 2023 in recognition of lifetime contribution to music.

2023
Mirchi Music Lifetime Achievement Award

Honoured in 2022 for contributions to Indian music.

2022
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Career Highlights

  1. Debuted in Marathi film Shukrachi Chandni (1953) and Hindi film Darwaaza (1954).
  2. Recorded songs across multiple Indian languages including Hindi, Marathi, Assamese, Punjabi, Kannada, Bengali and Oriya.
  3. Won Sur Sringar Samsad award three times and received state and national honours including the Lata Mangeshkar Award (2009) and Padma Bhushan (2023).
  4. Performed internationally in over 30 countries and collaborated with many leading singers and composers of her era.
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 Suman Kalyanpur born?

Suman Kalyanpur was born on 28 January 1937.

What is Suman Kalyanpur known for?

Suman Kalyanpur is known for singer.

What is Suman Kalyanpur’s marital status?

Suman Kalyanpur's marital status is listed as Widowed.

Who is Suman Kalyanpur married to?

Suman Kalyanpur is publicly listed as married to Ramanand Kalyanpur.