Happy birthday Kishore da

Today is the 79th birth anniversary of one of the most prolific singers India has ever produced. Kishore kumar was born on 4th august 1929 as Abhas kumar Ganguly in khandwa (Madhya pradesh)

Kishore kumar was introduced in the film industry by his elder brother Ashok kumar (dada muni). Ashok kumar was already an established actor in bollywood and wanted kishore kumar who was younger to him by 19 years to follow his foot steps and become an actor. However Kishore kumar was never interested in acting. If it wouldn't have been for Ashok kumar, Kishore da wouldn't have become an actor at all. Kishore Kumar always wanted to be a singer. His singing talents were first recognised by S D Burman and he got his first break from Khemchand Prakash. Kishore da used to act in films because that was an era when actors used to sing their own songs. He purposely used to act in an insane manner so that the producer will not sign him for the next film and he will only have to sing in films. Little did he know at that time he will become the first comic hero of bollywood. Kishore kumar went on to act in 98 hindi films and 5 bengali films.

Kishore da was a multi faceted personality. He had four wives. He got married to Ruma Devi from whom he has a son (Amit Kumar). O P Nayar saab gave Amit Kumar the biggest compliment he could have ever heard. O P said ''No doubt your father is a great singer but he doesnt have the gamak(Grace) that you have". After divorcing his first wife he married Madhubala in spite of knowing that she has health problems. He got converted into a Muslim to marry Madhubala. After the death of Madhubala he married Yogita Bali, who also got separated. Yogita Bali went on to marry Mithun Chakravarty. Kishore kumar stopped playing back for Mithun da.Then he married Leena Chandavarkar from whom he has a son( Sumit Kumar) who has sung in films like Deewangee( Ajay Devgan got the filmfare for the best actor in a villainous role), Naach( Abhishek Bachchan, Antra Mali, Riteish Deshmukh starrer)and Bachna aye haseeno. Kishore Kumar called his wives Bandariya as they all lived in Bandra. Kishore used to talk to plants in his free time.

Kishore Kumar never sat for rehearsals with any music directors. He agreed to rehearse with Ravindra Jain as he was moved by his compositions. Only non Rabindra Jain song for which he agreed to rehearse is ghungroo ki tarah bajta hi raha hoon main. Rafi saab used to say "No matter how much I practise this tiger Kishore will beat me". This shows the greatness of Rafi saab. Kishore da practised the song main shayar badnaam only 3 times before he actually recorded it in 1 take.

Kishore had a great base voice and could sing any song with same class and grace. The emotions of the song were understood by him to perfection. His voice perfectly suited Rajesh Khanna, Dev Anand and Amitabh Bachchan among other actors.He was about to leave Hindi film industry and go back to Khandwa in 1968 just before Aradhana was about to be made. R D said wait for this film to release S D Burman is working on some great compositions. S D Burman composed the songs and then due to health problems couldn't continue with Music arrangements. R D Burman arranged the songs. Only the song Kora Kagaz tha ye mann mera was recorded by Kishore da and all other songs were recorded in Rafi saab's voice. R D Burman re recorded Roop Tera Mastana and Mere sapnon ki rani in Kishore da's voice and he got the first of his 8 FilmFare awards for Roop Tera Mastana. Had he left Bollywood that time we would have lost some of the beautiful songs like Chingari Koi Bhadke which is a Bhairavi Raga based song only Kishore da can sing with such emotions. Yaadon ki Baraat, Tum Agaye ho, Tere Bina Zindagi, Is mod se jaate hain, Humein tumse pyar, sagar kinare & many more.

The best part of Kishore da songs is Madhuban mein Radhika is a typical Rafi saab + Naushad saab song
Mera saaya is a typical Lata ji + Madan Mohan ji song
Deewana hua baadal is a typical Rafi saab + O P Nayar song
All songs of Kishore da are Kishore Kumar songs. Listen to Aa chal ke tujhe you will understand what a great lyricist he was! We admire a lot of harkats in singing that we forget the fact that straight notes are not easy but they are effective in communicating to the listeners. Ask any of the upcoming singers who understand music how difficult are the straight notes of Om Shanti Om from Karz. Many people feel that Kishore da could not sing Pure Classical songs, I suggest them to listen to Mere Naina Saawan bhado ( a semi classical number), Payalwali dekhna(composition by Chiragupt ji), Amar deep nibhano raat( a Bengali classical number). Hearing to Amar deep seems to be hearing to a classical singer like Manna da. Listen to the falseto to the normal voice modulation in the song Na koi dil mein samay from Aa gale lag jaa. Especially the Antra of the song is mind blowing. The Bengali version of the song is sung by R D Burman from which Kishore da learnt. This proves the mettle of Kishore da as a versatile singer.

Kishore da has been an inspiration to many singers like Kumar sanu, Abhijeet, Shaan and many more. This is a small tribute from one of his million fans to the one and only Kishore da on his brithday.

Kishore da will always be alive among us through his voice.