‘His wife was found begging at railway station': Forgotten composer who launched Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar died penniless

Indian Express

07-06-2025

Veteran lyricist-writer Javed Akhtar has long endorsed the practice of paying royalties to writers, composers, and other artistes involved in the creation of songs. He put his might behind the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2010, and cited the example of composer Khemchand Prakash as one of the many industry figures who slipped through the cracks because there were no systems in place to protect them and their families. His wife was found begging at a railway station after his death. There are innumerable stories of yesteryear Bollywood personalities who found themselves penniless because they didn't have the foresight to invest their money and secure their future.
One of them was Khemchand Prakash, who remains best known as the person who mentored the likes of Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Naushad, and Manna Dey. In fact, he was the one who gave Lata a break with the film Mahal, after she was famously rejected by producer Chandu Lal Shah. He stood up for the young singer, and predicted that she will go on to achieve greatness in her career. He hired her to sing a song in the film Ziddi (1948). But their second collaboration, the song 'Aayega Aane Wala,' made Lata a household name. Unfortunately, Khemchand Prakash died of liver cirrhosis at the young age of 42 in 1950, and didn't experience the success of Mahal.
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His wife and daughter, Sridevi and daughter Chandrakala, reportedly didn't get the support of the industry, and had to struggle with poverty. In his Rajya Sabha speech in 2012, Javed Akhtar mentioned their plight, as he voiced support for the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2010. He said, 'Ayega ek din, ayega. Bahut mashoor geet hai, 60 saal pehle likha gaya tha... This song was composed by Khemchand Prakash, a deeply admired musician of his time… When they tried to locate him to pay Rs 13,000 owed to him, it was found that his wife was begging in Malad. This is not surprising. There are many stories like this.'
Listen to 'Ayega Aane Wala' here:
He said in a follow-up interview with The Times of India, 'The law is supposed to protect the rights of the vulnerable. Nobody cares for the families of creators of evergreen songs — the story of Khemchand Prakash, a singer of the golden era who composed songs like 'Aayega Aane Wala' is a case in point. Sometime ago, his wife was found begging at Mumbai's Malad station. If Prakash's family had received adequate royalty from his music, it would not have met such a fate.' Khemchand Prakash's family stood to earn Rs 50 lakh in royalties for 'Ayega Aane Wala' alone, a report by journalist Abhilasha Ojha noted.
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According to The Quint, Khemchand Prakash was born in 1907. His father Goverdhan Das was a Dhrupad singer and Kathak dancer in the royal court of Madho Singh II. He reportedly composed two songs in the 1935 adaptation of Devdas — 'Dukh ke din ab…' and 'Baalam aan baso…' — but he was not credited for them. He got his first break in 1939, with the film Meri Aankhei. In 1948, he gave Kishore Kumar a break with the song 'Marne ki duaaen kyun maangu…'
Watch Javed Akhtar's Rajya Sabha speech
Khemchand's short career was marked by successful ventures such as Ziddi, Tansen, and Mahal. He composed songs that were picturised on stars such as KL Saigal, Kamini Kaushal, Noorjehan, Shamshad Begum and Ashok Kumar. The song 'Ayega Aane Wala' was one of the first Hindi compositions that compelled the record company HMV to include the singer's name in the credits.
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In an interview with Nasreen Munni Kabir, published in the Mumbai Mirror in 2020, Lata Mangeshkar recalled her first interaction with Kishore Kumar on her way to Khemchand's studio. 'I would take the train from Grant Road to Malad and one day Kishoreda got on at the next stop. I thought he looked very familiar and wondered who he was. We both got off at Malad. Bombay Talkies studio was a long way from the station and that day I decided to take a taanga. And Kishoreda hired one too. We rode along and finally we both entered the studio. I thought to myself, 'Something strange is going on here. This fellow is following me.' I asked Khemchandji: 'Uncle, who is this boy? He's following me.' He laughed and said: 'He's Kishore. Ashok Kumar's brother.' That day we recorded our first duet 'Ye Kaun Aya Re Karke Sola Singar.''