Let's bring back the spirit of the golden - Page 8

Kishore Kumar's was the second golden male voice that the film industry produced. , the first being that of Kundan Lal Sehgal. Besides being a singer, Kishore was a talented actor and comedian who stood out for his performances. He made his mark as an accomplished film and music director.

The traditional concept of a comedian has always been one of lowly stature, that of a sidekick. It was Kishore Kumar who successfully became Hindi cinema's comic hero whose popularity relied primarily on his comic talents. Add to that his phenomenal acting talent and amazing singing voice and you have a performer who bordered on the genius. And like most geniuses he was notoriously eccentric!

He was born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly in Khandwa. As a child, he had been mischievous and loved playing pranks on everyone around him. His penchant for effortless comedy perhaps, came from his early days of pranks and mimicry. And there were directors like Kalidas (Half Ticket) and Satyen Bose (Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi) and actor-director Keshto Mukherjee (co-star in Padosan) who realised this potential and cashed in on his unusual brand of humour with stupendous success.

At the age of 18, he came to Bombay where elder brother Ashok Kumar was a major star. He got his first opportunity as a singer in Bombay Talkies Ziddi (1948) where he sang the song Marne ki Duayen Kyon Mangu for Dev Anand. Being an ardent admirer of K.L. Saigal, the song was sung in the style of the legend. But in spite of Ziddi's success, Kishore found few offers forthcoming and did the odd singing assignment with bit roles making a rather tepid acting debut as hero in the forgettable Andolen (1951). At the age of 18, he came to Bombay where elder brother Ashok Kumar was a major star. He got his first opportunity as a singer in Bombay Talkies Ziddi (1948) where he sang the song Marne ki Duayen Kyon Mangu for Dev Anand. Being an ardent admirer of K.L. Saigal, the song was sung in the style of the legend. But in spite of Ziddi's success, Kishore found few offers forthcoming and did the odd singing assignment with bit roles making a rather tepid acting debut as hero in the forgettable Andolen (1951). After his marriage to Ruma Devi resulted in a split in the family, Kishore approached S.D. Burman who had given him an opportunity in Pyar (1950) where interestingly he had sung for Raj Kapoor. Burmanda gave him the song Qusoor Aapka in Bahar (1951) which became a hit. As he got more singing assignments, he also began being offered leading roles in films. Kishore was initially taken quite lightly as a singer and was given mainly lighter songs by Burmanda and other music directors. But with the soulful Dukhi Man Mere from Funtoosh (1956), Kishore was now taken seriously as a singer. Though he was formally untrained, he assimilated jazz-scat fragmented musical notes into a rhythmic sequence and once its beat was established, departed from the pattern and combined notes and words/ syllables into new kinds of musical harmony.

Kishore reached his peak as an actor with the zany comedy Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958) which starred all the three Ganguly brothers and Madhubala. Kishore and Madhubala matched each other step for step in this comic caper with Burmanda composing such lighthearted ditties as Haal Kaisa Hai Janaab Ka and Paanch Rupaiya Barah Anna. After Kishore's marriage to Ruma Devi disintegrated, he married Madhubala. The two starred in Jhumroo (1961), which Kishore produced and directed. He also composed the music of the film. The riotous Half Ticket (1962) with the two of them saw Kishore at his madcap best impersonating a 12 year old!

For all his eccentricity, Kishore married some of the most beautiful women in India. First Ruma Guha-Thakurta (the mother of his singer son Amit Kumar), then the beautiful Madhubala (whom he literally nursed for years till her death), Yogita Bali (niece of the great Geeta Bali) and finally Leena Chandavarkar. There are any number of Kishore Kumar tales to be heard in Mumbai. The best is how when he was shooting for a Satyen Bose film in Mahableshwar, he was supposed to come out of a bungalow, get into a car and go past the gate. After a couple of retakes, Kishore got into the car and drove past straight to Bombay while the entire unit waited for him to return. Night fell, but there was no sign of the man. To make matters worse, the car belonged to the producer. He was a miser, screamed that the taxmen took away all his earnings. And considerable earnings they were too: he charged Rs 15,000 per song. He charged one rupee less than Lata Mangeshkar to show his respect for her and her seniority. And he talked of going back to Khandwa to become a farmer.

He shunned people, never smoke or drank and had no friends. Once when a lady gossip writer asked him who his friends were, he took her to his backyard and introduced her to half-a-dozen trees. There they are, he said, Janardhan, Raghunandan, Gangadhar, Jagannath, Budhuram and Jhatpatjhatpat-jhatpat! The lady wrote that he was mad.

Door Gagan ki Chaon Main (1964) further confirmed Kishore's acting talent as he scored heavily in a rather serious film. But the 60s also saw Kishore fall from grace as beset by tax problems he was reduced to doing B-films with the likes of Kum Kum. He had the odd singing assignment for Dev Anand in Guide (1965) and Jewel Thief (1967) but that was all. The turning point came with Aradhana (1969).Though Burmanda used Kishore as what he called his second service, his songs for Rajesh Khanna - Mere Sapnon ki Rani and Kora Kagaz Tha Yeh Man Mera proved super duper hits ahead of theMohd. Rafisongs for the same film. It was a second coming and there was no turning back. Kishore formed a solid hit pairing with Rajesh Khanna and in the early 70s the duo churned out hit after hit. He overtook all competition and was the undisputed number one male playback singer of Hindi films, his voice pulsing with verve and exuberance.

As his fame grew so did stories of his eccentricities. He put up a board outside his house saying 'THIS IS A LUNATIC ASYLUM.' He reportedly spoke to his trees in his backyard addressing eachMby a special name. He zipped through a marriage with Yogita Bali which lasted just about a month and then married his fourth wife Leena Chandavarkar who was two years older than his son, Amit!

Kishore remained at the top till the very end succumbing to a major heart attack in 1987. The singer left for Mumbai when he was 18 years old but never failed to tell people that he hailed from Khandwa. But his wish to spend the twilight of his life here was never fulfilled. He succumbed to a heart attack in Mumbai on October 13, 1987. His body was subsequently brought to Khandwa. It was placed in the room where he was born.

Born in 1920, Hemant Kumar spent his childhood in a little known village called Baharu in Jainagar. It was here that he developed a liking towards singing being drawn to the Jatras and Kabigaans, which were a regular feature there. But, his trysts with folk singing had to end abruptly as his family moved to the sprawling city of Kolkata. In such cases, it's easy to get sidetracked, but Hemant da was determined to continue his association with singing. Sometimes, in school, he would use lunch breaks to hold impromptu singing sessions where he would be the sole singer and the classroom desk would become his percussion aide.

Despite his singing antics at school Hemant da passed his matriculation exam in flying colours. His father was pleased and began charting out his future career as an engineer. Hemant da even joined an engineering course in Jadhavpur University. But Hemant Kumar's heart was no longer in studies. He longed to be independent and chart his own future in singing, the one thing that was close to his heart.

Fortunately, Hemant da found an able ally in his mother who believed in his singing abilities. When Hemant da got a chance to sing on All India Radio his mother 's joy knew no bounds.
"That day is not far when Hemanta's record will be kept on the shelves of music shops beside those of Pankaj Mallik and Sachin Dev Burman" - she kept repeating to all and sundry.

Soon, Hemantda became a household name due to his fine interpretations and soulful rendering of Rabindra Sangeet. In fact, the name Hemant Kumar became synonymous with Rabindra Sangeet. In hindsight, the fact that he was not a trained singer or a Shantinekatani actually helped him to retain the magical quality of his voice, an observation he is known to have made. He soon joined Indian People's Theatrical Association (IPTA) and became actively involved in it's functioning. Here, he met many artists with great potential. One of them was Salil Choudhary. Hemant and Salil carved out a highly fruitful and satisfying relationship both in the professional as well as personal spheres.

Meanwhile, he fell in love with a Bangla singer Bela Mukherjee who was a decent singer in her own right. They married in 1945. It was an eventful and highly successful year for Hemantda but Bollywood still eluded him. In 1949 Hemanthda got his break in Bollywood when the celebrated filmmaker V Shantaram invited him to Bombay. But it was Hemen Gupta who played a major hand when he gave Hemanthda a chance to sing in 'Anandamath'. Many people believe that it was Nagin that established his career as a singer and composer in the Hindi Cinema. But his better half points out, "The turning point in his career had taken place much before that. It happened when he quit his engineering course and took a plunge into the world of music."

"Ye raat ye chaandni phir kahan." in Guru Dutt's Jaal (1952) picturised on Dev Anand on the beach among the fishing nets brought him into limelight and established him as a singer par excellence. His association with Guru Dutt also turned out to be a fruitful one as it created many hauntingly beautiful numbers.

Hemanthda was a recipient of many awards; he was awarded a D.Litt. by Vishwa-Bharati; 1987 saw him winning the National Award (for Lalan Fakir ) and the Sangeet Natak Akademi award. But, it hurt him that his assistants and juniors got the coveted Padma Shree award whereas he was ignored. That is why I had mentioned in the title as 'Unsung'. Later when he was offered this award he twice refused.


To me Hemantda had already received the greatest award in the form of a Golden Voice from the One above - no award on Earth would have matched that.

I have already written about his best solo songs in my previous review. I present here a few duets of his, with other great female singers, which touch me the most.

The Awakening:

Film : Anarkali, with Lata Mangeshkar

Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag, jaag dard-e-ishq jaag
dil ko beqaraar kar, chhed ke aansuon ka raag
jaag dard-e-ishq jaag, jaag dard-e-ishq jaag

Where there is love there is also pain, and both are inseparable from each other. Without the agony of pain, the ecstasy of love cannot be fully experienced. It's a call for awakening love in us, making our hearts long for a partner. The message is that despite the pain it gives, people should not resist from falling love.


Cupid Strikes:

Film : Baat Ek Raat Ki, with Suman Kalyanpur.

Na tum humen jaano, na hum tumhe jaane
magar lagta hai, kuch aaisa, mera humdam mil gaya
yeh mausam yeh raat chup hai
do hothon ki baat chup hai
khamoshi sunaane lagi hai dastaan
nazar ban gayi hai, dil ki zabaan

It's not always necessary that the prerequisite for a man and a woman to fall in love is that they should know each other. Sometimes, a chance meeting with a total stranger can ignite the flame of love and you suddenly realise that, yes, this is the person you have been waiting for all your life. The quietness of the night, the sealed lips, and the silence, all tell a story. The eyes have taken over, and convey the feelings of two fluttering hearts.

The Realisation:


Film : Post Box 999, with Lata Mangeshkar

Neend naa mujh ko aaye, dil meraa ghabaraye
choop ke choop ke koi aa ke, soyaa pyaar jagaaye

soyaa huaa sansaar hain, soyaa huaa sansaar
mai jaagoo yahaan, too jaage wahaan, ek dil mein dard dabaaye.

Pity the person who has not experienced love, but more importantly, pity the person who is in love. A Catch 22 situation, indeed! Love robs a person of his sleep; it robs him of his peace of mind, moving in stealthily it stokes the embers of a dormant passion.


The Fun and Frolic:

Film : Barsaat, with Lata Mangeshkar

Patli kamar hai tirchhi nazar hai
khilen phool si teri jawani
koi bata de kaha kasar hain
aaja mere manchaahe baalam
aaja tera aankhon mein ghar hain

The couple is totally intoxicated by love. The man feels that his beloved is the most beautiful and desirable woman devoid of any flaws that can be attributed to a woman. His ladylove is smitten and seduced by such sweet words and expresses her love in unmistakable terms mentioning that his place is in her heart and eyes.


The Pangs of Separation:

Film : Patita, with Lata Mangeshkar

Yaad kiya dil ne kahaan ho tum
jhoomti bahaar hai kahaan ho tum
pyaar se pukaar lo jahaan ho tum
yaar se pukaar lo jahaan ho tum

For the lovers, even a brief moment of separation is unthinkable and unbearable. Both express a longing to be together again. All it takes is a loving call from one, and the other is willing to risk everything in life to break away from the shackles and answer that call.


Journey's End:


Film : Mamta, with Lata Mangeshkar

Chhupaa lo yoon dil mein pyaar meraa
ke jaise mandir mein lau diye kee
tum apane charanon mein rakh lo mujh ko
tumhaare charanon kaa phool hoon main
main sar jhukaye khadee hoon preetam
ke jaise mandir mein lau diye kee.

Love has finally reached a stage where it has become sublime and eternal. The man expresses his desire to hide his love from the prying public and keep it safe in his heart, like the light of the lamp in a Mandir. The woman wishes to be at the feet of her lover, rather, insisting that she is just a flower that should be used in the veneration of her god on earth.

Bengali

Tagore Songs (Rabindra Sangeet) Basic/Non-film Songs (Adhunik gaan) Film Songs (Chhayachhabir gaan)
1941-1968 (released on 78 rpm disks)
• 1969-1989 (released on 45 rpm or 33-1/3 rpm disks)
Other Songs (Nazrulgeeti, Atulprasadi, Rajanikanter gaan, etc.)
• Songs released after Hemant Kumar's demise

Hindi*

Film Songs (1941-50) Film Songs (1951-60) Film Songs (1961-70) Film Songs (1971-89)
• Non-Film Songs(Geets)

Other Languages

Gujrati Konkani Marathi
• Tamil

Isliye riyaaz zaroorihai. And for a writer , riyaz means simply sitting at the table and writing everyday . Tagore had a daily habit of writing, says Gulzar. So did Bernard Shah who said that he could think only with his typewriter in front of him. Me I am like a clerk. I reach my office at 10.30 in the morning g and sit there till the evening working. And work for me is basically writing. A few last questions. His films. please, says Gulzar, looking mildly pained, No questions on films. Let 's stick to books. That's what you were here for, is not it? He obviously takes his new role of short story writer very seriously. A novel may not be that far away. Perhaps it is in the churning stage right now..