Manna Dey

Prabodh Chandra Dey ( ; 1 May 1919 − 24 October 2013), known professionally as Manna Dey, was an Indian playback singer, music director, and musician. With a strong foundation in classical music, he is widely regarded as one of the most versatile and celebrated vocalists in the Indian film industry. He is also credited with bringing Indian classical music into mainstream Hindi cinema. Dey was especially acclaimed for blending classical music elements with popular compositions, a style that played a significant role during the golden era of Hindi cinema. Over a career spanning more than five decades, Dey recorded about 3,500 songs. While most were in Bengali and Hindi, he also sang in 14 other Indian languages, including Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, and Chhattisgarhi. His peak popularity was during the mid-1950s to the 1970s. For his contribution to Indian music, Dey received numerous honours. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1971, the Padma Bhushan in 2005, and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 2007. He belonged to the Bhendibazaar gharana and trained under Ustad Aman Ali Khan.