"Kalayanpur is an extremely talented singer, who did not get the recognition she deserved, due to politics in the film industry at the time," Bhujbal said, after the government presented the Lata Mangeshkar Award 2009 to 74-year old Kalyanpur here last night.
On the similarity between the voice of Lata and Kalyanpur, Bhujbal said, "when we listen to Kalyanpur's voice we cannot differentiate between both the voices.
"Till somebody points out that the song is by Suman Kalyanpur, one feels it is sung by Lata Mangeshkar," Bhujbal said, equating the two singers with cricketers Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag.
Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who presented the award to Kalyanpur, said the singer made it in the music world on her own and "worked beautifully, without waiting for women's reservation."
In her acceptance speech, Kalyanpur said she could do well on the professional front and also in her role as a housewife, due to the support of her husband.
"My husband supported me so much that he remembered each and every song of mine and the circumstances surrounding it," Kalyanpur said.
Born on January 28, 1937, Kalyanpur, in a career which began in 1953, has recorded songs for movies in several languages besides Hindi like Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, Bengali, Oriya, and Punjabi.Her recordings include devotional songs, ghazals, and thumris.
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