In 1948, Hemanta recorded a non-film song called gaNyer badhu (literally translates to 'The rural bride') that had music and lyrics by Salil Chowdhury. One of the main driving forces behind the establishment of IPTA was the Bengal famine of 1943 and the inaction of the British administration and wealthy Indians to prevent it from happening. In the mid 1940s, Hemanta became an active member of the Indian People's Theatre Association (IPTA) and started an association with another active IPTA member – songwriter and composer – Salil Chowdhury. Jayant is married to Moushmi Chatterjee, an Indian film actress who was popular in the 1970s. Ranu as Ranu Mukhopadhyay pursued a music career in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with somewhat limited success. They had two children: a son, Jayant, and a daughter, Ranu. Although Bela (maiden name also Bela Mukhopadhyay) had sung some popular songs in a Bengali movie, Kashinath (1943), with music by Pankaj Mullick – she did not actively pursue her musical career after marriage.
He also recorded a few Bengali songs in the 1960s.In 1945, Hemanta married Bela Mukherjee (died 25 June 2009),a singer from Bengal. The youngest brother, Amal Mukhopadhyay, composed music for some Bengali movies, most notably Hospital and Abak Prithibi. His elder brother, Tarajyoti, was a short-story writer in Bengali. Hemanta had three brothers and a sister, Nilima. Some contemporary male singers of Hemanta in Bengali around that period were Jaganmay Mitra, Robin Majumdar, Satya Chowdhury, Dhananjay Bhattacharya, Sudhirlal Chakraborty, Bechu Dutta and Talat Mahmood. Although many of the songs Hemanta recorded during this time received critical acclaim, major commercial success eluded him until 1947.
His first movie as a music director was the Bengali film Abhiyatri in 1947. The songs were Aamar Aar Habe Na Deri and Keno Pantha E Chanchalata. He recorded his first non-film Rabindrasangeet disc in 1944 under the Columbia label. His first recorded Rabindrasangeet was in the Bengali film Priya Bandhabi (1944).The song was Pather Sesh Kothaye. Hemanta is considered a foremost exponent of Rabindrasangeet. His first Hindi film songs were in Irada in 1944 under Pt. Lyrics of these two songs were by Amiya Bagchi. Hemanta's first compositions for himself were the Bengali non-film songs Katha Kayonako Shudhu Shono and Amar Biraha Akashe Priya in 1944. Music for this film was scored by Hariprasanna Das. Hemanta's first film song was in the Bengali film Nimai Sanyas released in 1941. Music for these songs were composed by Kamal Dasgupta, lyrics were by Faiyaz Hashmi. His first Hindi songs were Kitana Dukh Bhulaya Tumne and O Preet Nibhanewali, released in 1940 under GCI's Columbia label. Thereafter, every year Hemanta continued to record non-film discs for the Gramophone Company of India (GCI) till 1984. The songs (non-film) on this disc were Janite Jadi Go Tumi and Balo Go Balo More whose lyrics were by Naresh Bhattacharya and music was composed by Sailesh Duttagupta. In 1937, Hemanta cut his first gramophone disc under the Columbia label. In an interview on television in the early 1980s, Hemanta had mentioned that he had also received classical music training from Ustad Faiyaz Khan, but his tutelage was cut short by Ustad's untimely death. Hemanta's music career was primarily mentored by the Bengali musician, Sailesh Duttagupta. The first line of the song was Amar Ganete Ele Nabarupi Chirantanii. Under the influence of his friend Subhas Mukhopadhyay, Hemanta recorded his first song for All India Radio in 1933. He briefly tried his hand at literature and also published a short story in a prestigious Bengali magazine called Desh, but by the late-1930s he was committed entirely to music. However, he quit academics to pursue a career in music, despite parental objection. After passing the intermediate examinations (12th grade), Hemanta joined Jadavpur University to study Engineering. There he met his longtime friend, Subhas Mukhopadhyay who later became a Bengali poet. Hemanta grew up there and attended Mitra Institution school of Bhawanipore area. They migrated to Calcutta in the early 20th century. He sang in Hindi films under the name Hemant Kumar Hemanta was born in the city of Varanasi, India although his family hailed from a village named Baharu in West Bengal.
Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay (Bengali: হেমন্ত কুমার মুখোপাধ্যায় Hemonto Kumar Mukhopaddhae) also known as Hemanta Mukherjee (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989) was an Indian singer, composer and producer.