Today's Google doodle marks the 114th birth anniversary of KL Saigal.

NEW DELHI: Today is the 114th birth anniversary of Kundan Lal Saigal, or KL Saigal as he is popularly known. Google is marking this anniversary with a doodle of the late maestro.

Saigal, blessed with a sonorous voice and a unique song style, was Bollywood 's first legitimate 'superstar'. He was an actor-singer, appeared in 36 films made in three languages, and sang 185 songs in his 15-plus-year career.

Saigal was the gold standard for all the singing luminaries who came after him; indeed, many mimicked him. These include Mohammad Rafi and Kishore Kumar. To think, Saigal wasn't even a trained musician.

The deep-timbred Saigal had humble beginnings and learned music informally, even as he sang along with his mother and other devotees at local religious shrines. He never managed to complete school and before his big break worked odd jobs like as a timekeeper and a salesman. He continues to sign on the side, though.

Saigal got his big break in 1932 when he was cast in three films by a film studio called New Theatres. A year later, he sang the songs in a film called 'Puran Bhagat'. They became wildly popular and Saigal became a household name.

New Theatres kept its golden goose and produced a bunch of hits through the 1940s with Saigal as their singing and acting star. His most memorable films (along with their songs) are 'Bhukt Surdas'(1942) and 'Tansen' (1943).

His final film Parwana (1947) released after he passed away.

"Saigal was the only person who could sing right from the lowest to the highest note. If there are four stanzas in a song, his scale would be different for every stanza. He could sing one line of a song in four different ways," said Pune singer Shridhar Ranade, who has made a career of performing Saigal songs.

Today's Google doodle celebrates this golden-voiced son of India. The doodle has been created by noted illustrator Vidhya Nagarajan.

