Personal Chords – Kishore Kumar 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 […]

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. He left his birthplace, Khandwa, and moved to Mumbai where his older brother, Ashok Kumar, was already an established actor. Despite this, opportunities did not come easily to Kishore. Initially he imitated the style of K.L.Saigal, whom he idolised. He sang his first song in 1948, ‘Marne ki duayen kyon maangu’, for Dev Anand in the film Ziddi. He then approached S.D.Burman, under whose music direction he rendered many hits. His uninhibited antics and spontaneity made him one of the greatest comedians of Indian cinema. His exuberance lit up the screen as he sang and danced in films such as Asha and Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi. The Sixties were tough times for Kishore as he encountered personal and professional problems. But he shot back to the top with Aradhana, following which he became the permanent voice of superstar Rajesh Khanna. His hits vary from the sad ‘Zindagi ke safar mein’ to the flippant ‘Rafta rafta’. He was married four times, to leading actresses Ruma Devi, Madhubala, Yogita Bali and Leena Chandavarkar, in that order. With his increasing fame also grew rumours of his eccentricities, strange lifestyle and weird behaviour. Despite this, he managed to remain at the top till the mid-eighties. At this time, his career began to decline until he finally succumbed to a major heart attack in 1987. His passing away created a void in the Indian film industry, which remains even today. As his son Amit Kumar describes him, I think it’s the fortunate who get these kind of fathers. He was known to play practical jokes on people very often. He used to love telling jokes too. But with the family he used to be serious. He loved us and the rest of the family. Most of the times, he was like a child. He never planned things. He was impulsive. He would just get up and say, ‘let’s go out’ and we would pile up in the car and go without thinking twice. He loved the mountains, nature. People think that Kishore Kumar only means jokes, comedy. But he had a very serious side to him too. A side very few got to see.

A tribute to the Legend – Personal Chords – http://music.indya.com

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