Spicezee Bureau
Mumbai: The doyen of Hindi and Bengali cinema, playback singer Manna Dey has been honoured with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 2007.
Manna Dey, along with Mukesh, Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar, formed the famous quartet who ruled the Indian film industry between the 1950s and ‘70s. They together churned out several huge hits such as ‘Aye Mere Pyaare’ – ‘Kabuliwala’, ‘Aye Meri Zhora’ – ‘Waqt’, ‘Kasme Waade Pyar’ – ‘Upkaar’, ‘Mud Mud Ke Na Deekh’ – ‘Shree 420’, ‘Poocho Na Kaise’ - ‘Teri Surat Meri Anken’, ‘Zindagi Kaisi Hai’ – ‘Anand’ and many more timeless classics in Hindi and Bengali that made Manna Dey a household name and soon turned him into a living legend.
The singer who has sung more than 3,500 songs has already been awarded the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan.
Pyarelal of the fabled Laxmikant Pyrelal music director jodi said, “I am very happy for Dada. Manna Dey is a versatile singer who sang from pure classical to romantic songs with great élan.”
The prestigious Dadasahed Phalke Award in an annual prize given by the government of India for the lifetime contribution in the field of Indian cinema.
First Published: Wednesday, September 30, 2009, 12:09