Kundan Lal Saigal, more commonly known as K L Saigal was born on 11 April 1904 in Nawa Shahar, Jammu. Studies didn’t interest young Saigal, who was preferred to sing, which is why he dropped out of school early, much to his father’s disappointment, and started working as a railway timekeeper in Punjab Railways. Later, he took up the job of a typewriter salesman for the Remington Typewriter Company, due to which he got several opportunities to tour India. During one such tour to Lahore, he befriended Meharchand Jain, who guided and encouraged him to pursue his singing talent.

Harishchandra Bali, classical musician and music director brought K L Saigal to Calcutta in the early 1930s. He introduced the aspiring singer to R C Boral, who took an immediate liking to Saigal’s talents.

Saigal was hired by B N Sircar's Calcutta-based film studio New Theatres. While there, he met prominent figures like Pankaj Mullick, K C Dey and Pahari Sanyal.

In the meantime, the Indian Gramophone Company (IGC) released Saigal's first record comprising a few Punjabi songs composed by Harishchandra Bali.

Besides singing, Saigal also tried his hand at acting with films like Mohabbat Ke Ansu (1932), followed by Subah Ka Sitara (1932) and Zinda Lash (1932). Though these films did not do very well at the box office, the performance of young actor did not go unnoticed.

Saigal continued singing in 1933, starting with four bhajans for the film Puran Bhagat (1933). The songs in the film gained huge popularity. He also pursued acting in several films which included Yahudi Ki Ladki (1933), Chandidas (1934), and Karwan-E-Hayat (1935).

In the year 1935, Saigal played the memorable role of the sad and drunk Devdas, in the movie by the same name, an adaptation of Sarat Chandra Chattopadhyay's novel. His songs ‘Balam Aaye Baso Moray Man Mein’ and ‘Dukh Ke Ab Din Beetat Naahi’, became hugely popular throughout the country.

Saigal learned Bengali and acted in several Bengali films, which were produced by New Theatres.  The multilingual and multi talented film icon now saw a number of opportunities to flaunt his skills, and was considered one of the first superstars of the industry.

December 1941 saw the arrival of Saigal to Mumbai. Here he worked with Ranjit Movietone, singing and acting in hit films like Bhukt Surdas (1942) and Tansen (1943). Saigal the singer made a huge impact in the latter film through ‘Diya Jalao’ in Raga Deepak and other songs.

However, the legendary actor-cum-singer had become an alcohol addict and it began to affect his health and work. He passed away in his ancestral city of Jalandhar in 1947, at the young age of 42. His last appearance was in the film Parwana (1947). More recently, the Imran Khan starrer Delhi Belly (2011) showcased a tribute to him through the song ‘Saigal Blues.’ To this date, many of the prominent singers of the era consider him to be their first inspiration, including Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar.