Kishore Kumar is famous as the pioneer of yodelling in Hindi filmdom. This is just one of the reasons for his popularity. This actor-singer, who was gifted with multiple talents, started a whole new era in Indian cinema. Kishore, whose original name was Abhas Kumar Ganguly, started his singing career when he was 18, though he did not know even the rudiments of music. (more…)
By Suguna Sundaram
Kishore Kumar apparently made Chalti Ka Naam Gaadihoping it would flop. He wanted to show losses in his income and avoid paying a huge income tax to the authorities. So he made two films, Lookochuri in Bengali and Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi in Hindi, and waited eagerly for them to collapse.
Whoever said eccentricity , thy name is Kishore Kumar, was indeed very true. And some of them also believe that he was not only a hard core but also a thick skinned eccentric. Two of the examples nee real life life incidents will prove the point aptly.
AN ARTICLE BY J.S.RAO Known for his eccentricity, he was called everything from a miser to a madcap to a moron. But, as a singer he was unparalleled. So was his ability to make people laugh. J S Rao remembers Kishore Kumar on the occasion of his 15th death anniversary. (more…)
Source: The Asian Age, 13 June 1996, Calcutta
(By Dinesh Raheja and Jitendra Kothari)
When dust particles dance in the ray of light that bisects the darkened theatre and the screen lights up, a special communication is established between the moviegoer and the flickering images onscreen. And when the viewer becomesentranced with the shifting dynamics of the world before him, luminaries are born. It was on a wet day in July 1896, in a much smaller Mumbai with a population of barely 10 lakh people, that the screening of the first ever cinema show in India was held at Watson’s Hotel. British officials and their memsahibs came to see this ‘marvel of the century’ brought here by the Lumiere brothers barely six months after they had first exhibited their exciting invention in Paris. When the lights came on, even the pricey Re 1 seaters cheered and welcomed this new mass medium of entertainment. (more…)
Mumbai, 17 Nov In the ‘Melodiana’ dated November 3, I explored the theme of how papa S D Burman was an inspiration to RD Burman. R D, interestingly, never did care for Mohammed Rafi. But SD did. In fact, such was the aura of Rafi (on our top stars through the mid ’50s) that Dada Burman was left with no go but to alternate Rafi with Kishore Kumar, even on Dev Anand, in Nau Do Gyarah. (more…)
Asha Bhonsle
All the names I have mentioned have God gifted voices.
They are a class in themselves and nobody can touch or imitate them. I feel such singers are rarely born in centuries. There is a gap between the heart and brain — that is where the soundbox lies — some sing from their heart, others use their brain. But all singers in my list apply both their heart and brain. That is the reason I consider them great singers. strongly feel that the government must preserve their songs and set an example for the coming generations.
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? (more…)
