Kishore – The Extraordinaire

Eskayes writes……… Fortunate had been the music lovers the world over, and especially my fellow Indians, for this day in history which witnessed the birth of one of the greatest singers in Indian Film Industry, Kishore Kumar aka Abhas Kumar Ganguly. A genius is born, and not made. And how true is this saying when […]

Eskayes writes………

Fortunate had been the music lovers the world over, and especially my fellow Indians, for this day in history which witnessed the birth of one of the greatest singers in Indian Film Industry, Kishore Kumar aka Abhas Kumar Ganguly. A genius is born, and not made. And how true is this saying when it comes to him. Even though he had no formal education in music, acting or film production, which one would associate as a must for any talent to be harnessed, he was an epitome in virtually every bit if art he touched, be it singing or acting. Never had the industry seen such a versatile genius and perhaps would never see.

Starting with a humble beginning as a chorus singer in 1940s, he went on to become the numero uno singer of the Indian cinema by 1970s. During this journey to stardom of three decades, he grew from strength to strength and unfolded his multitude of talent and artistic skills. During the course, he sang lighter, comedy type songs like Kuyen Mein Kood Kar Mar Jana from Parivar, to soft melodies like Ye Duniawale Poochenge from Mahal, to heart rendering songs like Koi Hamdam Na Raha from Door Ka Rahi, to classical songs like Husn Bhi Udaas Hai from Fareb, to soothing silken touch songs like Ye Jeevan Hai Is Jeevan Ka from Piya Ka Ghar with equal ease and aplomb. His reverberating baritone and pristine voice always infused such life to his songs that even Aurangazeb would have been tempted to hum his songs. Old and young alike, his voice touched people at their heart that even to this day, after two decades of his death, he remains one of the most popular singer even amongst the current youth which never had the fortune of being contemporary to his singing life.

But Kishore Kumar was not only all about singing. He started his acting career in 1946 in the film Shikari.. How coincidental that this film in 1946 was also to be the debut film for another legend of Indian film music, SD Burman. Acting was never something which Kishore Kumar liked very much. It was just at the instance of his by then famous actor brother, Ashok Kumar that he took to acting. Despite being a reluctant actor, he would go on to become the leading Superstar hero of bollywood by the turn of 1950s only speaks of a genius of art that he was. His first experience of producing a film was in 1958 with the film Chalti Ka Naaam Gaadi, a movie remembered to date as one of the best comedy films ever made in Bollywood. He penned his first song for film Jhumroo in 1961, Main Hoon Jhum Jhum Jhumroo, which remains as the epitome of yodeling abilities even after half a century. Through his first two music compositions for films Jhumroo and Door Gagan Ki Chhan Mein, he unleashed his breadth of music comprehension and feel, spanning from fast, pacey, rap like music from Jhumroo to soft, soothing and mesmerizing music of Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein.

Kishore Kumar was someone extra-ordinary. He was gifted and perhaps ahead of his times. He was willing to explore horizons most would dread to tread, especially in the earlier part of his Bollywood life. As he grew in stature and popularity, he introduced the industry with newer paradigms of singing and acting. “Towering genius disdains a beaten path. It seeks regions hitherto unexplored.” If these remarks of Abraham Lincoln suited anyone the best, Kishore Kumar would be the one.

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26 Blog Comments to “Kishore – The Extraordinaire”

  1. Bipin Desai says:

    Kishorkumar (kishordaa) is my idol since 45 yrs. My parnams to this Great Man

  2. susanta says:

    My greatest idol through my entire life. He will remain my idol even after my death. “LONG LIVE LEGEND”.

  3. My brother and I seriously need to thank you, this was very good to read!

  4. Suman paul says:

    i was born 3 years after d death of kishore da.but he had such an impact on me dat whenever i here his voice i forget everything.He is nt less than God for me. kishore da wl never die he wil alwaz be alive in our heart>>>>>

  5. kishor da is a great singer.i miss so him.i want some golden song of kishor da. think after Elvis, its Kishoreda who has made a difference.
    Singers in India/Pakistan have risen to great heights by just cloning him. He has been a source of bread earners, a soother and a relaxer for many in life and death.
    Long live the great Kishore.

  6. bharat says:

    Kishor Kumar is a great singer in the world

  7. Bhagat says:

    Kishor Kumar is a great singer in the world
    i miss him so much.
    i want some Golden songs of kishor da.

  8. usman says:

    Oct 13 evening the day when the great Kishore left the physical wold. But his voice will remain eternal till time memorial, and till generations pass on the word.
    I am thrilled how my younger bro and siters rejoice at his remixed versions, when they have no lue about the great voice.
    I think after Elvis, its Kishoreda who has made a difference.
    Singers in India/Pakistan have risen to great heights by just cloning him. He has been a source of bread earners, a soother and a relaxer for many in life and death.
    Long live the great Kishore.

  9. Every year on this day13 of october ,i ;m so sad for this great man i ask myself why he had to die .the love that i have for you and the respect is still there for you and will always be there,in our heart;s you still livesefor us and you will alway;s be in our heartand mind till our dying day .

  10. Ashish Ravindranath says:

    Every year, on 13th October, I feel myself filled with sadness when I think of this cruel day when Kishoreda was taken away from us. The loss was irreperable and for good. Never again will there be another Kishore Kumar. Nobody can hope to sing like him. I pay my heartfelt tribute to this genius on this day. Year after year, until I die. Kishoreda, you live within us forever.

  11. Rajesh Ray says:

    Do any one have complete list of Kishor’s Bengali film songs?

    I am doing a compilation with following details:

    1. Year
    2. Film
    3. Song
    4. Music director
    5. Lyricist
    6. Co singer
    7. In who’s lip or in background.

    If any one has please send the details

    Regards,

    Rajesh

  12. vikas sharma says:

    shashank chickermaneji,

    I m highly delighted by knowing that u have lots of kishore kumars photos .sir i m also trying to get access to as many photos of the legend as possible.WE ALL WILL BE VERY HAPPY INFACT ON TOP OF WORLD IF U CONTRIBUTE SOME OF FINEST PICTURES OF THE PHENOMENON

    IN NEAR FUTURE I WILL BE CONTRIBUTING KISHORE KUMAR’S PHOTOGRAPHS WITH AMITABH BACHCHAN AND RAJESH KHANNA

    THANX A LOT SIR FOR UR REPLY

  13. Vikasji,

    I have lot of Kishorekumars photos, but i want to contribute to the website. I have the book “The Method of Madness” by Derek Bose. so good photos of his with everyone. i will post if get the chance.

    shashank_72@rediffmail.com

  14. vikas sharma says:

    there are very few photographs that have been posted on this site of the legend known as kishore da why dont u all post huge photograhs of kishore da with the various music directors,actors and other personalities

  15. luckyda fan dada says:

    many many happy returns of all day in kshored
    chalte chalte chale jindagi
    un yaadoen ke shath kuchapal bitale
    woh amarr hai mere kwabo kayalome
    love dadaji

  16. Gurufan says:

    SKS,

    WAITINF FOR YOUR NEXT POST ON GURU

  17. abhijeet ganguly says:

    choti si ye duniya pehchane raste hai tum kanhi to miloge kabhi to miloge to puchenge haal.

  18. eskayes says:

    Special thanks to you Subir for those lovely pictures which adorn this write-up. I fully agree with you that words could never be adequate to express our love and respect to Guru.

  19. Subir Biswas says:

    Thanks a lot Eskayes for this beautiful article….Though I peronally think that no epic will be sufficient to express our love and respect to GURU.

  20. eskayes says:

    Thanks friends for liking the article…

    And thanks Madhavi for bringing up the reference of my post in HF thread “Birth of a Legend: The Guru”…because that article of early 90s, that I talked about in the post, had touched me deeply and changed my whole perspective on Idols and Heros…

    I am reproducing my post on the said thread here for the readers of this site…may be some of us would see our heros in different light altogether…Here is the reproduction….

    “”I remember reading an editorial article in one of the national dailies in early 1990s about the reasons for misdirected youth at that point in time…if you recall, the period between 1989 to 1992 was a testing period for our country from socio-politico-economic point of view…there were turmoil in the form of Mondal Commission back-lash, political instability and indurability, forex bankrupcy, and what not….this article was in the context of some of these developments and the way youth was grappling with these issues in directionless manner….one of the main causes author attributed to this was sudden vacuum felt by youth because of the void created by the absence of their heros and idols….he argued that the youth shared three very strong idols till 1987 who acted like binding force amongst them….and three, according to him, were Amitabh Bachchan (he almost disappeared from industry around that time), Sunil Gavaskar (he retired in 1987) and Kishore Kumar (died in 1987)….newer heros like Sachin Tendulkar and Shahrukh Khan took centre-stage around 1992-93…those 5 years post 1987 were indeed a period of void…

    I distinctly remember how this article had set me thinking at that time…having just finished my college education towards the end of 1980s…i too had been great fans of all these three and will always be…what really dawned upon me was the extent and magnitude of effect national heros have on the society….without one overtly realising it, they act as a strong bond and a common thread amongst the masses and classes…irrespective of religion, creed and beliefs, their admirers share a common image in their minds, a common vicarious feeling of well-being, a common platform to communicate….these idols thus have much stronger and deeper impact than one would generally think…

    Kishore Kumar had been one of those heros, who like others of his clan, played a much larger role and contributed much more to the society than the songs, acting, composition, and lyrics we associate him with…one wonders if anyone, even amongst his near-ones, had ever imagined at his birth this very day, 78 years ago, as to what he was destined to achieve and offer to the mankind of this land…wonder if he too ever had an estimate of this…20 years have passed since he died, and he continues to have his influence on industry, admirers, and youth alike…i am sure, even at this stage, we would not be able to assess the contribution he would continue making….and that is the true hallmark of a hero….””
    Source: “Birth of a Legend: The Guru” thread, Hamaraforums.com

  21. Madhavi says:

    A very appropriate article for his birthday, SKS. Also enjoyed reading that post that you made in the thread that you initiated in the KK forum on HF, “Birth of a Legend: The Guru”. As you aptly reminded us there, this was the magnetic personality, who inspired many in his generation so personally, and as you rounded it off here, this is the multi-faceted personality who continues to inspire generations that have not had a first hand experience of him. Actually, let me correct myself… listening to Kishore will always be a first-hand experience 🙂

  22. Sunny says:

    Excellent write-up, Eskayes.

    Kishore Da Forever.

  23. Gurufan says:

    Great write up sks

    liked it a lot

    GF

  24. Joy says:

    Excellent articlle! very well said! Ksihore da is indeed the epitome of a towering genius! His magic is eternal ! Happy birthday kishore da

  25. Azad says:

    Very well written, Eskayes.

    Guru still lives with us in his voice.

  26. Debjyoti says:

    happy Birth-Day to guru(kishore da)…………….
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