The term superstar may have arrived late in the Bollywood lexicon, but superstars had existed right from the early years of the industry. Even in the days when Bombay was not the filmmaking capital of India, big stars were ruling the roost. The first of them captivated the audience like nobody has since and set the template for what superstardom is. And yet, his journey has been briefer than anyone’s since.
Bollywood’s first superstar
Kundan Lal Saigal gained fame as KL Saigal in the 30s and 40s. Saigal was an extraordinary singer and a hugely popular actor, the original Hindi cinema superstar. Born in Jammu to the tehsildar at the court of the Maharaja of J&K, Saigal learnt singing from his mother, who used to take him to bhajans and kirtans as a kid. He began as a singer in Calcutta in the early 30s, and eventually made his acting debut with Mohabbat Ke Ansu in 1932. He used the stage name Saigal Kashmiri for his first few films, but they all flopped.
His breakthrough came with the 1933 film Puran Bhagat, where his bhajans became chartbusters. Films like Chandidas and Yahudi Ki Ladki followed. In 1935, he played the character that defined him – Devdas. PC Barua’s adaptation was a golden jubilee hit, making Saigal a superstar. In the late 30s, Saigal continued to churn out hits like President, Dharti Mata, Street Singer, and Dushman. He even appeared in a few Bengali films during this period.
Move to Bombay and decline
In 1941, Saigal moved to Bombay and appeared in more hits like Tansen and My Sister. But by now, alcohol had taken hold of him. Contemporary reports state that the star was unable to come to the sets unless drunk, and his dependence on alcohol was starting to affect his work. Despite this, he delivered hits like Shahjehan and Omar Khaiyyam in 1946 and Parwana in 1947. Parwana was to be his final film and was released after his death. Saigal went to his ancestral city of Jalandhar in early 1947, where he eventually died of liver failure. He was 42.
Saigal’s legacy
Easily the biggest star of the time, his death created a vacuum in Indian cinema filled only by youngsters like Dilip Kumar a few years later. Saigal acted in 26 films in his career, of which 28 were in Hindi. Over half of them were successful at the box office, a record no superstar has been able to achieve, not even Amitabh Bachchan or Shah Rukh Khan.
But not just actors, even singers idolised Saigal. Legends like Kishore Kumar, Mohammad Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, and Mukesh have spoken of Saigal as their musical guru.
