Unforgettable Kishore

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Bulba

@Bulba

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Posted: 19 years ago

SURMA MERA NIRALA

Was Kishore Kumar eccentric? Was he obsessed by money? What made him opt for the tongue-in-cheek and the audacious? Why are there hundreds of storied circulating in the film circuit about his oddities? In these excerpts exclusive to the Deccan Herald from his just published book, 'Kishore Kumar: The Definitive Biography,' KishoreValicha shares a few inside glimpses.

Deccan Herald - Sunday Herald - Pg 1, September 6,1998

Was Kishore Kumar eccentric? Was his behaviour kooky, a little off centre? Or was he merely odd and a bit different from others? Most people asking these questions have in mind the rather picturesque stories that circulate concerning Kishore Kumar's oddities and misdoings. Some of the stories are bizarre, while others testify to something impetuous and even reckless in Kishore Kumar. Some talk about how he was obsessed with money. And quite a few of the stories are truly spectacular.

Many hearing these stories for the first time, are filled with puzzled wonder and, at times, admiration for a man who could not only act contrary to normal behaviour but who could be tongue-in-cheek and audacious in situations that most people would view with modesty and restraint.

Quite a few, who have known Kishore Kumar, put forward the view that he was not really eccentric but a very serious person at heart, very earnest about what he wanted to do. Unfortunately, he was not always understood. As Mehmood characterizes it:

"He was neither eccentric not miserly, as some people seem to think. He was in fact a genius. He was a louder version of Raj Kapoor, an all-rounder who could handle every aspect of cinema but and all-rounder who enjoyed making noise and being notices..."

Tanuja's feelings run deeper. As she puts it, " I don't know why he put on this madcap act. May be, like every other human being, he needed to hide something. When he was in a good mood, he was great fun. He told us the most atrocious jokes. One day Dadamoni (Ashok Kumar) and I were shooting and both the brothers got together to put up a show for me. They had this routine they used to perform. Like they had this game - one said Pandurang, the other said Tukaram and they went on faster and faster. It was a competition to see who would fall out first... The understanding was fantastic. Then at the end of it when we all were in hysterics, he would ask, "ab batao, ham dono bhaiyon mein se kaun zyada paagal hai?"

Kalyanji, who takes a dispassionate view, says,

"He had his moods, but that is an artiste's privilege. He had to be treated like a child if you wanted to get him to do anything...To get him to do what you wanted you had to tell him exactly the opposite."

Anandji's version is more matter-of-fact. He says:

"Kishore Kumar wasn't the least eccentric. It's just that he didn't like people cheating him of his dues."

In any case, there is no way to establish the veracity of the stories, each of which makes a definitive positive point about Kishore Kumar. Moreover, they have been told and retold so many times that it is quite likely many of them bear the impressions of the teller more than that of fact.

And yet the stories are interesting for they present Kishore Kumar as a somewhat temperamental man whose moods were strange and at times unruly. They show him as being generally unpredictable and, in some ways, with justification surmise that a lot of Kishore Kumar's skill arose, as happens with quite a few creative individuals, from his strange and often feisty moos and from something aberrant he held within him.

It is certainly true that Kishore's off personality did not quite fit into the snippy mould of the typical Bollywood actor and singer. He was strikingly dissimilar. In a way, Kishore responded to life and to people in terms of the way he felt within himself and out of impulses he did not attempt to control. There was something of the pagan about him, as though he were nature's own spoilt child.

There is a story of a reporter who came to interview Kishore Kumar. She made a comment about how lonely he must be. Kishore Kumar stood up at once and took her to the garden around his bungalow. He introduced her to his many friends. "These are my friendly trees", he told her and rattled of their names, "Janardhan, Raghunandan, Gangadhar, Jagannath, Buddharam, Jhatpatajhatpatapat. They are my closest friends."

The reporter gave him an odd look. She probably thought he was crazy. A man who spent his evenings with his arms entwined around trees had to be kooky.

On the sets of Bhai Bhai, Kishore Kumar refused to act. The director M V Raman tried his best to persuade him. Raman requested Kishore Kumar's brother Ashok Kumar, who was on the sets, to intervene. Raman told him, "It's a very brief scene; all he has to do is to walk along the floor and mutter to himself, anything he likes; it won't take more than a few minutes".

Ashok Kumar spoke to his brother, urging him to do it. "He owes me five thousand rupees," Kishore Kumar told him. "He promised to pay before I did the scene; let him me the payment and I'll do what he says".

When Ashok Kumar spoke to Raman, Raman told him, "The money's on the way; I'll pay him at the end of the shooting."

Once again, Ashok Kumar requested Kishore Kumar to comply. "I know these people," Kishore told him. "They're liars; once I do this scene he will not pay me the money".

"But the money's on the way", Ashok Kumar told his brother and once again persuaded him to finish the scene.

Kishore Kumar, unable to refuse his brother, agreed. The lights were on and the camera began to whirr. Kishore walked across the floor and, each time he walked a few places, he said, "Paanch Hazzar Rupaiya," and did a summersault. He went on doing this while everybody watched in amazement.

Kishore reached the end of the floor and kicking, a cartwheel that was lying there, went straight out of the studio. Jumping into his car, he ordered his driver Abdul to drive away.

Later, Raman confessed that he had not arranged for the money and so Kishore Kumar's conduct, in this case, seemed more than vindicated.

Kishore Kumar was forever defying producers and directors. Indeed, one producer even went out to court to get a decree that Kishore Kumar must follow the director's orders. As a consequence, Kishore Kumar obeyed the director to the letter. He refused to alight from his car until the director ordered him to do so. Once, after a car scene, he drove on till Khandala because the director forgot to say 'Cut'.

When, in the Sixties, Kalidas Batvabbal, patently disgusted with Kishore Kumar's alleged lack of cooperation during the shooting of Half Ticket, gave him away to the income tax authorities, Kishore had to face a raid at his house.

Later, Kishore invited him home. Kalidas responded; he thought he and Kishore Kumar could make peace with each other and put the past behind them.

When he arrived, Kishore Kumar greeted him. He appeared friendly and even showed him around his house. He them told him, "There's something special I want to show you; it's a secret way," and he unlocked a large cupboard, which had no shelves in it.

The director saw the empty cupboard. "It leads to my secret hideout," Kishore Kumar told him. "Let's go there and settle down for a bit of a chat."

The unsuspecting director entered the cupboard. As soon as he did so, Kishore quickly bolted the panels and locked the cupboard.

The director, secured inside the pitch-dark chamber, experienced sudden shock. Recovering slightly, he began to thump on the cupboard and shout for help. "Let me out, let me out," he rasped, his voice sounding frightened and hoarse. Nothing worked and he remained locked in for two full hours.

When Kishore Kumar finally opened the cupboard, a thoroughly exhausted and a completely jaded director fell out. Drenched all over with sweat, he could hardly stand. "Don't ever come to my house again," Kishore Kumar told him. Kalidas hardly looked at him. He made his way quietly out and left.

There is also the atrocious story of the time when Kishore Kumar acquired a flat in the posh Warden Road at Bombay. That was when his bungalow was being done up and he needed a temporary place to stay.

Kishore Kumar had a sign put up on the front door. The sign said, Beware of Kishore Kumar. It seemed almost like a parody of the usual signs, which blare Beware of dogs.

When H S Rawail had to pay him a last balance he owed him, he went to the flat to give Kishore Kumar the money. A Servant opened the door and asked him his name and what he wanted. When Rawail told him, the servant asked him to wait and went to check with Kishore Kumar, who luckily was in.

As the servant left the door open, Rawail sauntered in. He walked with confidence, for he knew Kishore Kumar would be happy to receive the money. When Kishore Kumar saw him inside the flat, he said nothing. He took the money Rawail gave him and offered to shake hands with him. Kishore took Rawail's hand in his and, quickly putting it to his mouth, he bit him.

Rawail felt the pain; more than that he felt shocked.

"Didn't you see the sign?" Kishore asked him.

Rawail said nothing. He laughed and politely and quickly left.

There is a story of Kishore Kumar that reveals another side to him. Bipin Gupta, known for his many character roles in the Hindi movies produced the film Dal Mein Kala that was released in 1964. Satyen Bose was its director. The film starred Nimii and Kishore Kumar.

Bipin Gupta was short of money and was compelled to cancel the shooting. Kishore Kumar, seeing the plight Gupta was in, ordered his driver Abdul to go home and bring Rs 20,000 in cash immediately. That was the amount Gupta needed. As soon as the money arrived, Kishore Kumar gave it to him personally.

The film incidentally flopped, practically ruining Bipin Gupta.

The some what obscure singer and music composer Arun Kumar Mukherjee was one of the invitees to a trial screening of the film Bandish which starred Ashok Kumar and Meena Kumari and which was released in 1955. Kishore Kumar too was there, as was his brother Ashok Kumar, Hrishikesh Mukherjee and a few others. The trial run was being held at a studio in Tardeo at Bombay.

After the trial, all four men got into Ashok Kumar's car to return to their homes. Arun Kumar sat next to the Ashok Kumar. Even before the car could start, Arun Kumar had a sudden massive stroke. He fell literally into Ashok Kumar's arms and died.

Arun Kumar died young, leaving behind a wife and two children who lived in Bhagalpur. Everyone felt shocked and a wave of sympathy filled them. Ashok Kumar too felt moved and promised to help the family.

Later, Hrishikesh Mukherjee raised a fund for the family to which a number of persons contributed. The money was sent to the family to help them tide over their deep loss.

But very few people know that Kishore Kumar secretly sent money regularly, month after month, to the wife. In fact, the truth is, she depended entirely on the money Kishore sent her. She herself confessed this to a friend. If Kishore had not helped, it is likely that the family would probably have been wiped out. Incidentally, Arun Kumar Mukherjee is the same person who used to visit the Gangolys at Khandwa and who was one of the first persons to appreciate Kishore Kumar's singing talent.

Kishore Kumar sent money to a few other people as well. Nobody knows who they are and he himself kept the matter under wraps.

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ajooni

@ajooni

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Posted: 19 years ago

thanks bulba for the article on the eccentric? GENIUS
kishore kumar 😃

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Bulba

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Posted: 19 years ago

My Baba, Kishore Kumar
Amit Kumar Ganguly on his best friend, his father

Dr Rajiv Vijayakar

Fifteen years ago, Kishore Kumar bid adieu to a chequered life. A shattered wife and sons, devastated composers, benumbed friends and fans, immortal songs, unforgettable performances and a phantasmagoria of memories were the legacy he left behind.

Says Amit Kumar Ganguly, his son and no mean talent himself, "At one time, a serial had been planned on the anecdotes, stories and memories that abounded about my father. Theoretically, it could have run for hundreds of hours, and yet it would have been inadequate to narrate all the tales that together give some glimpse of my father. Put simply, he was a complete artiste, and the greatest all-rounder Indian cinema has ever seen.

"Who else wrote, produced, directed and edited films, wrote lyrics, composed and sang songs, and acted in every role from the most serious to the completely comic?"

Amit Kumar goes down memory lane in an attempt to spotlight a man who was a great father as well. "My father was not a mere Jack-of-all-trades and master of none. He exhibited a natural and complete mastery over everything he chose to do."

Amit recalls that there was a small story about the trilogy that Kishore made --- Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein, Door Ka Rahi and Door Wadiyon Mein Kahin. "The first was made when Baba was going through a financial crisis. So he switched on the headlights of his car for the mahurat shot.

"At the first show at the Metro [a theatre in Mumbai], only 50-60 people were in the hall, 12 of which were our staffers and Baba. But the film ran for 24 weeks. Not 25, because Baba refused to spend on the publicity for the Silver Jubilee!"

"Door Ka Rahi," says Amit, "ran for 15 weeks. Baba went around telling the distributors this time not to buy it. 'Boring film hain!' he would tell them. It ran for 15 weeks. Door Wadiyon Mein Kahin was a washout, with Baba refusing to have both songs and background music in it as it was his film. But before that, he approached Laxmikant-Pyarelal to only do the background music!'

An interesting tale about Kishore pertains to the cameo he was to do in his brother Ashok Kumar's production Ziddi (1948), which marked Kishore's debut as playback singer under Khemchand Prakash. 'Dada Moni [Ashok Kumar] wanted Baba to do the cameo of a gardener who just abused the hero Dev [Anand] in a scene. Baba reluctantly agreed and when the camera rolled, used unprintable words instead of the abuses in the script!

"Dada Moni frantically yelled 'Cut!', but I believe that this incident had a big role to play in the bond that Baba shared with Dev Anand. For Dev Anand was the only star for whom he would sing playback when Baba himself was a big star."

Kishore Kumar's debut as an actor was in Dada Moni's Shikari in 1946, also S D Burman's first film as composer. His first lead role was in Vijaya (1948) opposite Ratnamala. Only a few weeks ago, Amit Kumar came to know that his Baba had actually recorded two ghazals for an EP even before Ziddi. "They were Baba's first recorded songs and someone has promised to give me the recordings,' he says, thrilled at the prospect.

After Chham Chamma Chham (1952), Kishore became a huge star. He saw ups and downs as an actor and finally crested as a playback voice to stay on for two decades at the top with Aradhana (1969). Says Amit, "Baba would say, 'I am the same man. Then why do the same people change towards me according to my fortunes? That is why I say that Destiny is all-powerful.' "

Kishore would often tell his (fourth) wife Leena Chandavarkar, 'God has given you a free ticket as a tourist in the world. Why blame him for all the inconveniences in this journey? Be strong and remain detached. Happiness and sorrow are part of life.'

As well known to those close to him as his eccentricities was the fact that all these seeming kinks and quirks were clever veneers, facades that were meant to keep a certain aloofness. "He would do such mad things at others' costs that even the targets did not mind," says Amit.

"Baba loved his family, his cars and travel. We would often have to go to Khandala or Mahabaleshwar [in Maharashtra] in the middle of the night, at an hour's notice," says Amit.

The Sixth Sense

He seemed to have a sixth sense even of his death," Amit remembers. "On that day, he refused to allow [Amit's stepbrother] Sumeet to go swimming and was very anxious that my flight from Canada would land on time. He was suffering from symptoms of a heart attack but joked that if we called a doctor, he would have a heart attack. In fact he was laughing and talking with Leena when he keeled over. Leena at first thought that he was playing a prank."

A strict teetotaller and non-smoker --- he believed that for a singer alcohol and tobacco were sheer poison --- Kishore hated parties. Amit recalls Dada Moni telling him that Kishore would slip out and sleep on the pavement opposite when Ashok Kumar had late night parties.

But he loved movies and had a fantastic video collection of James Bond, Westerns, Hitchcock, Indian and Hollywood classics and his special favourites --- horror films. He was planning a remake of The Coffin Of Dr Brown when he passed away. He also loved to sketch and was inspired by Dada Moni and character artiste Iftekhar in this hobby.

Kishore Kumar, in his own words, wanted to become a 'chhota mota school master in Khandwa,' (the Gangulys' hometown in Madhya Pradesh) when music beckoned and Dada Moni forced him to come to Mumbai.

"Towards the end, he was very unhappy with the songs he was getting. He wanted to return to Khandwa, which he loved. Even in his shows, he always called himself Kishore Kumar Khandwawala."

Kishore Kumar's only musical grounding was listening to and singing K L Saigal's songs. "For Baba," recollects his son. "Saigal was up there on a pedestal. Once he even met him. Saigal praised his singing but told Dada that Kishore moved his body too much. Baba never moved a muscle when singing a Saigal song from that day! Many years ago, my father refused to sing a five-volume Saigal tribute for [music company] HMV, stating that he would hate being compared to his guru."

"Baba," says Amit, "was a great father, sentimental, full of life and more of a friend. He once came all the way to meet me on my birthday to London when I was on a concert tour with [composers] Kalyanji Anandji. After my mother Ruma and he divorced, he and I would meet during holidays when I would come down from Kolkata. I would sing his songs in college and he would take me along to his shoots.

"When I was born, he told someone, 'Yeh to ro bhi sur mein raha hain, yeh singer banega [he cries are in tune, he will become a singer]!' "

Kishore wanted Amit to be a singer, which is why Amit came to Mumbai at 18, and his father introduced him at a special show called Daddy Kishore Son Amit as, 'My son Amit, a chip off the old block. My son also sings!'

"But Baba never recommended me and was happy that I made it on own. He would relentlessly criticise my singing," says Amit. "Then one day, Dada Moni told me it was because he knew my potential and wanted me to improve. Dada Moni added, 'I would do the same thing to Kishore, and for the same reason!' "

Amit narrates one of the craziest anecdotes about his father: An interior designer once pestered Kishore for work. Kishore began asking him to do absurd things; the man kept agreeing. Finally, Kishore told him that he wanted a 'floating sofa in a round pool of water in the drawing room and that heads of actual eagles should be arranged around it!' The guy fled!

The Wedding Singer

Kishore Kumar married six times. Thanks to family pressures, he married Yogeeta Bali and Leena Chandavarkar twice each with proper rituals after his hush-hush rush marriages to them. Since all four of his wives stayed prior to marriage in Bandra in Mumbai, he would collectively call them bandariyas (monkeys).

Kishore Kumar met Ruma in 1950, but their marriage did not last. He wanted Ruma to be a hausfrau; she wanted to be a careerwoman. Madhubala proposed to him on the rebound after her split with Dilip Kumar on the sets of Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi during the picturisation of Haal kaisa hai janaab ka.

After Madhubala's death, Kishore was so depressed that he wanted to take sanyas.

Yogeeta Bali --- who carried the medicines sent by a friend to him --- nursed him back to health after an illness. He married her in 1972, but announced it in 1975. They soon separated as Yogeeta's mother was afraid that she would become pregnant and ruin her career.

'With Leena Chandavarkar, Baba finally found happiness," says Amit. "Baba offered her a role in his film Mamta Ki Chhaon Mein, when she had lost her husband and had come down to Mumbai to complete two pending films. She accepted the film and got out of her depression. She declined his proposal , but later impulsively accepted Baba's standing offer."

Sumeet, Kishore's second son, is now pursuing a professional course at a Mumbai college. "He sings, has learnt the piano, but is not too enamoured of this line," says Amit. "He is well aware of Baba's stature and work, though."

Baba's Music

Says Amit, "My father acted in some 98 films and sang over 3,000 songs, and choosing the best is always diificult from this wide choice, given Baba's level of excellence and versatility as an actor. The best are so many. Though I cannot pinpoint his worst songs, every singer and artiste always has his share of bad songs, role and films. I have attempted to choose 12 songs which are special to me:

Aa chalke tujhe (Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein)
Ae Haseeno (Chacha Zindabad)
Chhota sa ghar hoga (Naukri)
Hum matwale naujawan (Shararat)
Husn bhi hai udaas (Fareb)
Jaaneman Jaaneman (Jaaneman)
Jeevan se bhari (Safar)
Khilte hain gul yahan (Sharmilee)
Koi humdum na rahaa (Jhumroo)
Kuch to log kahenge (Amar Prem)
Mere mehboob qayamat hogi (Mr X In Bombay)
Panch rupaiyya barah anna (Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi)

Edited by Bulba - 19 years ago

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Bulba

@Bulba

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Posted: 19 years ago

The voice that could convey tears and laughter
An ode to the temperamental singing star Kishore Kumar

Dr Rajiv Vijayakar

He was India's first comic hero. A singing star who made people chuckle as much as his studied over-the-top performances as his fun numbers like Paanch rupaiya bara aana (Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi) and Eena meena deeka (Aasha).

Later as he hit big-time as a playback singer, Kishore Kumar, born Abhas Kumar Ganguly as the temperamentally comic younger brother of superstar Ashok Kumar, also excelled in the romantic numbers of Rajesh Khanna, Rishi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan. Only then, Kishore's immense range, versatility and brilliance at the serious song were, to coin a ironical paradox, 'happily' recognised.

To be honest, the eccentric genius that was Kishore was not himself free of blame about stultifying his growth as singer in the earlier days. From day one, Kishore would willingly sing playback for Dev Anand. He would also --- very rarely --- sing for S D Burman, his favourite composer then. To others, he would reject singing assignments for other artistes, grandiloquently saying, "Main star hoon, singer nahin [I am a star, not a singer]!"

Since his were comic capers, Kishore was, so to speak, never taken seriously.

For Kishoreda was a man of (some say, carefully orchestrated) moods. About 1968, when K-A offered another pathos-laden gem, Dharti ki tarah har dukh she le (Suhaag Raat), he told them loftily, "Haan, ab main singer hoon, main gaoonga [Now I'm a singer, I'll sing]!"

Was it Kishore himself who wanted it that way? Or simply the image fixation rampant in the industry? Why did he have to wait till his post-Aradhana peak to cast his spell as a singer par excellence in the emotional orbit? Or was there a desire within him to crush the comic branding that explained why he composed such soulful songs for himself in his own productions as Koi humdum na raha (Jhumroo) and those lovely nuggets from Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein (Aa chal ke tujhe, Jin raaton ki bhor nahin hai and Koi lauta de mere beete hue din)?

We will never know. After all, it was a rare Dukhi man mere (Funtoosh, S D Burman) in which Kishore got an opportunity to break his comic mould then.

Significantly, and curiously, the three top composers who backed him at his peak --- Kalyanji Anandji, R D Burman and Laxmikant-Pyarelal --- began their association with him minus the man's trademark funny grammar. These were not only close friends in real life but also had realised from their career beginnings that they had to cover fresh ground to hold their own against and then eclipse the greats who were calling the shots when they arrived.

So when Kishore Kumar entered RD's music room for the first time in 1964, it was to etch out that haunting Bhoot Bungla cry of pathos, Jaago sonewalo, suno meri kahani. In that same year, Laxmikant-Pyarelal got Kishore to give body and soul to two evergreen numbers, Mere mehboob qayamat hogi (Mr X In Bombay), Yeh dard bhara afsana (Shreemaan Funtoosh) and Ajnabee tum jaane pehchaane se lagte ho (Hum Sab Ustad Hain). And the K-A Suhaag Raat story has been mentioned earlier.

Ironically again, Kishore Kumar hit his winning streak with Aradhana, a film in which he had two breezy and one sensuous number, but nothing in the department of pathos. But it took the L-P litany Khizaan ke phool pe aati kabhi bahaar nahin (Do Raaste) and that wistful Hemant Kumar winner, Woh shaam bhi kuch ajeeb thi (Khamoshi) to actually consolidate the new Rajesh Khanna-KK bond.

As the Kishore wave sidelined competition, Mukesh no longer became the compulsory element of change brought in to sing sad songs, as in the Rafi-dominated scores. In O P Nayyar's last burst of glory, Ek Baar Mooskura Do, it was Kishore who belted out the innovatively fast-paced bewafaa number Tu auron ki kyoon ho gayi and that maudlin masterpiece, Savere ka suraj tumhare liye hai, while Mukesh had two cheerful duets. In L-P's Manchali, Mukesh had a comic song, while Kishore got the poignant Mile kahin do ajnabi.

Probably not aware of where Aradhana and Rajesh Khanna would take him, Kishore had also done some more self-catharsis in his own film, Door Ka Rahi, by composing numbers like Panthi hoon main and Khushi do ghadi ki. But this time, these lovelies proved to be just two drops in an ocean of explosive emotions.

Because now the serious, sad side Kishoreda was being highlighted by a shower of sentimental beauties.

S D Burman switched Kishore's vocals to supreme sadness as he unleashed Dil aaj shaayar (Gambler), Kaise kahoon main (Sharmilee), Duniya o duniya (Naya Zamana), Tere mere milan ki yeh raina (Abhimaan), Yeh laal rang (Premnagar), Badi sooni hai and Aaye tum yaad mujhe (Mili), while Pancham unravelled a cavalcade of jazbaat (emotion) in --- to select only the cream --- the three aces from Amar Prem (Kuch to log kahenge,Yeh kya hua and Chingari koi bhadke) besides O mere dil ke chain (Mere Jeevan Saathi), Zindagi ke safar mein (Aap Ki Kasam),Tere bina zindagi se (Aandhi), Mere naina (Mehbooba) and Rimjhim gire saawan (Manzil).

Kalyanji-Anandji, whose bond with Kishore was deeply personal despite their late professional start, obviously used this phase to adorn the Kishore oeuvre with greats in all genres, and the supreme sad-a-bahaar naghmein (evergreen melodies) that they composed for him included Zindagi ka safar, Jo tum hasogi to duniya hasegi (Kathputhli), Mera jeevan kora kagaz (Kora Kagaz), Apne jeevan ki uljhan (Uljhan) and O saathi re (Muqaddar Ka Sikander) apart from the feelingly rendered sentimental numbers Jeevan se bhari (Safar), Samaa hai suhana suhana (Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani) and Pal pal dil ke paas (Blackmail).

And of course we had Laxmikant-Pyarelal, conveying passion, pain or philosophy with Sui jaa tara (Mastana), Mere deewanepan ki bhi dawaa nahin (Mehboob Ki Mehndi), Yeh jeevan hai (Piya Ka Ghar), Mere dil mein aaj kya hai (Daag), Ruk jaan nahin (Imtihan), Gaadi bula rahi hai (Dost), Aadmi jo kehta hai and Nahin main nahin dekh sakta (Majboor), Mere dil ne tadapke and Na hansna mere gham pe (Anurodh), Har raat ek si hoti hai (Aadha Din Aadhi Raat), Ek rut aaye (Gautam Govinda), Mere hosh le lo (Bandish), and others.

Of course, most other composers pitched in too: Shanker-Jaikishan with Geet gaata hoon main (Lal Patthar), Ravindra Jain with Ghunghroo ki tarah (Chor Machaye Shor), Rajesh Roshan with the passionate paeans Dil kya kare (Julie), Yaadon mein jo Swami), Koi roko na (Priyatama), Aao manaaye jashn-e-mohabbat (Doosra Aadmi) and Chhookar mere man ko (Yaarana), Bappi Lahiri with Chalte chalte (Chalte Chalte), Manzilein apni jagaah (Sharaabi), Khayyam with Hazaar raahein (Thodisi Bewafaai) and even Prem Dhawan with Teri duniya se hoke majboor chalaa (Pavitra Papi).

Indeed for lovers of quality melody, there is a lot to be happy about in the soulful and doleful part of Kishore Kumar's music.

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Bulba

@Bulba

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Posted: 19 years ago

Oh man, you should have been to Kishorda's live shows. Wow amazing. He would dance all over while singing, virtually grabbing Sulakshana Pandit with him. He would come in suitcase one day or in a dhoti the next day or in a kurta-pyajama. Now that was what we called a performer.

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Bulba

@Bulba

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Posted: 19 years ago

Thank you guys, Abhi bhai for replying. Abhi loose the ji, I am only 35.

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Bulba

@Bulba

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Posted: 19 years ago

Yes even when Kishoreda was old, he was just so HYPER in his stage shows. The energy he possessed... One of India's most gifted sons.

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Bulba

@Bulba

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Posted: 19 years ago

BTW did you guys know that in the beginning Kishoreda was very unpopular as a singer because MDs wanted people who were heavily trained (not self trained). Then when he was popular after Aradhana, he would make the MD's wait in lines for hours, his servant would tell them: wait a little more. Finally when he himself appeared he told these very same MDs to do funny things like bray like a donkey, dance, etc.