Actor-singer K L Saigal was India's first male superstar whose immensely popular songs were the source of inspiration for future legends like Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar. Death, however, robbed Saigal from his millions of fans when he was barely 42.

Saigal's golden voice enthralled cinemagoers in made-in-Kolkata films of the 1930s like Devdas and Street Singer.

In the 1940s, Kundanlal Saigal moved to Mumbai and starred in successes like Bhakt Surdas (1942), Tansen (1943) and Shahjehan (1946). But his fondness for drinking took a toll on his failing health and he passed away on January 18, 1947. Undivided India was plunged into grief for its singing superstar.