THE COMPLETE ARTIST: KISHORE KUMAR

THE COMPLETE ARTIST: KISHORE KUMAR

WRITTEN BY : RAJESH V. GAUR and SUNEEL V. GAUR

EMAIL: sunrise607@rediffmail.com

 

 

                      Writer Vrajendra Gaur with dear friend Kishore Kumar

 How do you gauge a genius whose talent is immeasurable? What do you call a man who can sing and dance; act and mimic; write and compose; make you laugh and cry all at one time? How do you define a person who lives by defying norms?  We have tried  to unravel the enigma that Kishore Kumar was.

There has been only one such great in the film industry, the multifaceted Kishore Kumar – a man who lived for his one love – music. The real Kishore Kumar, always remained an enigma even to his own family and close friends, Born in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, Abhas Kumar Ganguly better known as Kishore Kumar, nurtured dreams of following in the footsteps of his idol K.L.Saigal. He visited his by then famous star brother Ashok Kumar, in Mumbai frequently, in the hope that he would introduce him to K.L. Saigal. But destiny willed otherwise. He was forced into acting and hated every moment of it.                                              
                                                

New Delhi (1956), Chalti Ka Naam Gadi (1958), Jhumroo (1961), Naughty Boy [1962],  became successful and that managed to tie down Kishore to a busy acting schedule, so much so, that for a song in Sharaarat, Mohd Rafi, actually had to provide playback for him.
Kishore’s ambition of becoming a playback singer was no cakewalk. And then came the chance to sing ‘Marne ki duayen kyon mangu‘ for Dev Anand in Ziddi 1948. His first sad song was from the film Kafila [1952] “Who meri taraf yoon chale aa rahe hain …” penned by Vrajendra Gaur and composed by Husanlal Bhagatram which became a chartbuster. Vrajendra Gaur also wroote his films like Jhumroo, Naughty Boy, Jaalsaaz and Muqaddar. Gaur was also writing Kishore's Pyar Ajnabi Hai, before it got shelved due to the sad demise of Kishore.   
                                                       

                        
            KISHORE KUMAR AND KUNDAN IN 'NAUGHTY BOY'

S.D. Burman who was always confident about the potential of Kishore made him the voice of Dev Anand in Guide, Gambler, Teen Deviyaan Jewel Thief, and Paying Guest and fine tuned his talent . This much before Rajesh Khanna came on the scene.

Kishore Kumar was unstinting in crediting his popularity to the Burmans – father and son. It was S.D. Burman who made Kishore, the superstar singer of the seventies, when he chose him to sing the superhit songs of Aradhana for Rajesh Khanna. The chartblazing songs of Aradhana made both, Rajesh Khanna a superstar and Kishore Kumar the number one singer, overnight. This also marked the begining of the end of another popular singer Mohd Rafi .                                                                                                    
                                                  

     

                                                         
Another composer who placed great faith in Kishore was S.D. Burman’s son, R.D. Burman. His ability to mimic combined with his voice flexibility, expression and voice quality, tremendous range gave him great speed and power. . R.D. Burman found these qualities greatly lacking in other singers . Which is why after the decline of Rajesh Khanna, music directors like R.D. Burman , Kalyanji Anandji and other composers were able to successfully exploit Kishore Kumar’s voice for the new superstar Amitabh Bachchan.
Rajesh Khanna always spoke with unrestrained fondness, of the manner in which Kishore so beautifully reflected his persona’s character. Rajesh would say ‘ We are like two lives in one body’. He could keep in step with the debonair Dev in ‘Maana janab ne pukara nahin‘, drench his voice in the excitement and nervousness of the mad, passionate Rajesh Khanna in ‘Roop tera‘ and clown around for Amitabh in ‘My name is Anthony Gonsalves
                                                 
                                                     

 

Kishore ji apni pyari Maa ke saath aur Bete ke saath.

 

Kishore Kumar’s eccentricities were probably his way of defending himself from a cruel, confused world through laughter and humor which were his his support system. Kishore’s dislikes were telephone calls, tax problems, cigarette smoke, alcohol and the studio routine which were well known in the film world.
When he finally found true love in his fourth marriage to Leena Chandravarkar fate intervened and before long took him away forever in 1987. There have been clones of many popular singers but none of Kishore Kumar, which goes to prove that it is no easy task imitating a genius.
Like Lata ji once said – Kishore was a 'Sampoorna Kalakaar' [The Complete Artist.]
                                  

          WRITTEN BY: RAJESH V. GAUR and  SUNEEL V. GAUR