हिमांशु दत्ता

Himangshu Dutta (1908-1944) was a composer and music director best remembered for his contribution to modern Bengali song, though his decade-long film career also extended into Hindi cinema of the 1930s and early 1940s. Born in Comilla, he trained from childhood in Dhrupad, bhajan, and classical music, began broadcasting on All India Radio in the late 1920s, and saw his first composed gramophone records released by the Gramophone Company of India in 1931.

Dutta entered the film industry in 1934 with the film Taruni, and over the following ten years worked as a music director across numerous Bengali productions as well as a number of Hindi film songs, blending Indian classical foundations with Western harmonic elements into a style distinctive enough that his compositions came to be known collectively as "Himangshu Dutta-er Gaan." His songs were recorded over the years by leading vocalists including Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Sachin Dev Burman, and Sandhya Mukhopadhyay.

He died on 15 November 1944 at the age of 36, but his compositions continued to be performed and recorded by generations of singers long after his death. The Saraswat Samaj of Dhaka honored him posthumously with the title 'Surasagar' (Sea of Music) for his contribution to Bengali and Hindi film music.