A Darker Truth
When anyone mentions Kishore Kumar today, one’s instant reaction is that he was a very famous comedian and then the second most popular reaction would be that he was a great singer. Must say, that is a lot to achieve in a single lifetime. But the truth is that is just the tip of the iceberg. Kishore Kumar was a lot more than that.
Trying something new and excelling in it came naturally to Kishore. Due to his second wife -Madhubala’s heart condition, his acting career took a slump for 9 crucial years. But he saw this as an opportunity and created some really deep and meaningful movies in the time available.
As a film maker, Kishore’s style was vastly different from that of the jovial comedian that everyone saw. Being a realist to the core, his films were stark and naked - with a strong message and equally strong direction. Very to the point, it made quite a few people uncomfortable. He was labeled as an eccentric and his films were considered as not being commercially viable. But that’s exactly what they were not - he made those films not for main stream success, but for satisfaction.
One of his productions titled Door Gagan Ki Chaaon Mein features him in the title role. The story is that of a soldier, who is anxious to get home after a long and strenuous war only to see that his home has been torched to the ground and the only survivor of this catastrophe is his son who is so badly traumatized that he can’t speak. The movie is about the unspoken bond that the two develop between each other - one which starts of as slow and halting, but gradually becomes the epitome of love and devotion. The film also stars his son Amit and the duo has doe such a beautiful job - it is moving and brings tears to your eyes.
Then who can ever forget Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi - a light hearted comedy of errors which stars all the three brothers - Ashok, Kishore and Anup plus his second wife. In a hilarious and rib cracking comedy, Kishore has exhibited his versatility in direction - he showed everyone that he is not closed to anything.
It is really sad that of the 18 films that he made, only eight saw the light of day and even those were grossly under rated. When it came to expressing himself through films, Kishore Kumar let a deeper, intellectual side of him be seen. Unfortunately, not too many could see that part of him as they were too busy laughing at his antics in other films. If they would have made that effort, they would have seen another facet to this gem of a man.
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February 19th, 2010 at 10:01 am
Praveen
When did yesudas become SPB’s favourite singer, In your dreams perhaps ? I have seen in many interviews and heard from many people, only rafi in hindi and ghantasala in telugu are the favourite singers of spb. In fact, I have personally seen mentioning that SPB had quoted, his favourite singers are in line ghantasala, kishore, lata, rafi in order in one interview.
Yesudas is a great singer from malayalam, but he cannot be placed anywhere near rafi in terms of melodious voice and expression range of mohd. rafi.
Further, I have myself seen articles by Yesudas himself claiming mohd rafi as the king and similarly in the south, such reverence is only enjoyed by ghantasala of telugu, (even yesudas and illayaraja mention that) who continues to enjoy vast reverence even from rafi fans and fans of other singers as well even today i.e after nearly 4 decades of his passing away.
February 19th, 2010 at 9:35 am
yesudas is also the name you can say as gr8,he won his first national award in hindi, with a melodious song GORI THERA GAON, HE WON NATIONAL AWARDS IN , HINDI, TAMIL, TELUGU, AND MALAYALAM, ACTUALLY HE KNOW ONLY MALAYALAM, STILL HE WON NATIONAL 07 AWARDS IN 4 OTHER LANGUAGES, MORE THAN SPB RAFI& KISHORE, REMEMBER YESUDAS IS SPBS MOST FAVOURITE SINGER,….23 STATE AWARDS . FILIM FARE AWARDS3, IN TOTALITY, MORE AWARDS THAN ANY SINGER IN INDIA,HE ISA SOUTH INDIAN, SO HE IS NOT IN THE GR8 LIST OF NORTHEES,HE IS ALSO CLASSICAL MUSIC GENIUS, TO ME HE IS THE BEST, PLSE HEAR HIS HINDI, MALAYALAM SONGS, BEFORE GETTING A CONCLUSION,VOICE WISE KISHORE &YESUDAS IS2 OF THE BEST
September 27th, 2009 at 2:42 pm
the man re tu kahe na dhir dhare rendition of kishore as a tribute to rafi in khanadawa is beautiful and has more depth and conveys the mood than the original. kishore also sang it in filmfare. does some body have a recorded version of it.
i dont think kishore’s voice became coarser in mid eighties. it was that just tunes were not good. mds like bappi failed to control him. listen to “maine timse kuch nahi manga ” from katha and nowhere there is coarseness. similalry mr india (1987) has no shades of coarseness!
July 13th, 2009 at 11:28 pm
Kishore Kumar is my absolute favourite and i sing his songs profesionally too. He was a rare talent —maybe the most talented singer ever born or will ever be born. I am extremely happy to find this website. I create music on advanced synthesizers/ keyboards and love singing Kishore songs even for myself. Apart from him i love singing Neil Diamond and Engelbert Humperdinck who are my English favourites. I wonder if there is a music club in Delhi with similar taste and interest for music.
Satish Sharma
011-26896578/ 26134842
March 31st, 2009 at 12:47 am
Rds best music was amarprem. His best light music was not teesari manzil but “awanidiwani” where there were many experiments. his best composed song was “aanewala pal”.
he did not like spb as he did not use him in “sanam teri kasam”.
i would like to know about the interview where he said “rafi version was better than ishore” for tum bin u kahan. It is very clear that kishore version was appreciated and even rdb always said that kishore gave him extra dge.
yes rdb was very careful. he never gave way to make impression that he discared rfi. he always periodically used rafi partly as he knew his competitiors lp peferd rafi, partly to avoid monotony, partly to get supprt from rafi fans.
but a careful listening one come to conclusion that is favortie was “kishore” and like a clever fox he used ri or spb for a change and also to avoid the charges of being biasedness. he also knew what appened to mds who used only 1 singer “c. ramchandra, opn, naushad, and rdb wanted to play a long innings.
March 10th, 2009 at 7:56 pm
Ali saab…
Bahut shukriya,,, Bahut hi achha laga jaanke ke pakistan ke sangeet premiyon ko bhi hindustan ke gayakon se utna hi pyar hai,,
Aapne kuchh baatein achhi kahi: 1. yahan pe 80% posts mere hai( ekdum sahi)2. Kishore fans apne top 3 favourites pe rafisaab ko rakhte hai( jeeta jagta example main hoon aap ke liye) and 3. singing more songs don’t make a singer greater than others( isse sachhi baat to kisine bhi nahi kiya yahan par)
Kuchh baatein “judgemental” hai aapke, uspe main comment nahi karoonga, kyunki us se dispute create hota hai aur dispute ka koi ant nahi hota( like, “KK was a great singer and will be but no one can be compared with Mohd Rafi.”)
Aap ki jis baat se main agree nahi karta hoon woh bas bol deta hoon aur woh Kishore ya Rafi ke upar nahi hai, woh hai R D Burman ke upar… Jo apne kaha-”you agree or not that RD Burman best film as music hit was when he used Mohd Rafi in all songs that was one of few films that one singer in all songs of film..”..SORRY bhaiyya, complete disagreement here, if you mean that movie to be “Teesri Manzil”.. “Teesri Manzil” was a great musical, yes I repeat, a great musical, but RD has done better music than Teesri manzil than in Aandhi, Amar Prem, Masoom(no Kishore Kumar song here, boora mat maniyega) and Ijazat(Kishore Kumar to door, Ashaji ko chhodke koi singer hi nahi hai),,, Aap poochhnge, kyun? Let me answer…
1. Teesri Manzil: Very catchy tunes,, Based on rock n roll( Aaja aaja main hoon and o haseena), based on raag pahadi tunes-like his father’s tunes(deewana mujhsa nahi) and a brilliant soulful sad song( tumne mujhe dekha)… But, the movie scores lacked “variety”, which means it cannot be used as a “showcase” to show RD’s versatility in classical, ghazal, folk tunes and deep soulful numbers… Now look at others:
2. Amar Prem: This movie actually was a final sentence to Rajesh Khanna, Kishore Kumar and R D Burman’s superstardom,,, As you might call them “media game”, so, let us put that matter apart and discuss the topic “purely on music gambit”: Here RD had semi-classical( “Raina Beeti Jaaye” on Raag Yaman and “Kuchh To Log Kahenge” on Raag Kalavati), bengali folk tunes( “doli mein bithayeeke kahar”), deep soulful(”chingari koi bahdke”), sweet devotional,meera bhajan type( bada natkhat hai re) and a sad but peppy track( yeh kya hua)… The variety of Amar Prem- as a showcase to RD’s talent- is much bigger than Teesri Manzil, where RD was definitely great but not “comprehensive”- I hope you get what I mean,,,,
3. Similalry, please listen the numbrs of the other films mentioned by me, you will find justification to my statement,,,, Feel free to share your feedback also,,, but don’t use the word “popularity” for Teesri Manzil… Rafi fanatics(not fans), use this word very politically, when Rafi is compared with Kisghore, they say , popularity is not a measure and it is all of media game but when the same Rafi is compared with Manna De, they say “who is more popular? Rafi or Manna”???? ” So,, please, sir, get out of that and stick to musicial discussions….
Thank you so much!!
March 8th, 2009 at 12:42 pm
it has been come from a deep observation that kishore’s voice was best in 70swhich later lost its deep bass and rythmic feelings in 80s also the indian cinema was at loss of good music director at 80s.
being a die hard kishore fan one can feel that kishore was lonely in 80s being void of competition after death of md rafi.
however what kishore had done to indian music is really uncompareable and none other than kishore could do it.
March 5th, 2009 at 9:50 pm
Sir arghya ,
If am not wrong from 155 post there should be 80% your.I agree with you that the awards not make the singer better as Lata Ji got Bharat Ranta award…
I want to ask you sir arghya why you try to compare Mohd Rafi with KK!!!!I don’t know anything about music but what said by greatest name in music world about Mohd Rafi and Lata Ji never said for any singer in Bollywood or any place in world…..as you know media played big role in 1970’s to put Kk at the top as they played a big role to put Amithab Bachchan down in 1990’s.
KK was a great singer and will be but no one can be compare with Mohd Rafi.
Sir arghya If am not wrong ask any Pakistani do you have better singer than Mohd Rafi the answer will be no….
I don’t know if you agree or not that RD Burman best film as music hit was when he used Mohd Rafi in all songs that was one of few films that one singer in all songs of film..
If we speak about best 3 singers ever born in Bollywood if am not wrong KK fans will put Mohd Rafi within three name……….I hope you understand what I mean…….
when said that Kk was at the top in 1970’s because sung more than Mohd Rafi I think your are wrong as you know singing more numbers of songs not make better singer as you said that in 1980 mohd Rafi sung more than KK as you know mohd Rafi in 1980 he sung only for 8 months I feel that was a message of God to us that we don’t need good people with us..
The topic is not “A Darker Truth”but at KK site what ever the topic we try to compare KK with Mohd rafi,
Sir arghya as you know many thing about KK please try to tell us that good things about KK and not to compare ,
Jest listen Mohd Rafi song in film Johar in Kashmir
March 4th, 2009 at 10:02 am
Prabhanjan
I have mailed you two Rabindrasangeets of KK.. Thank you so much..
March 3rd, 2009 at 8:18 pm
As far as voice texture is concerned my humble observation for the two best playback singers are:
KISHORE- Best in early 70s, next best in late 60s, third in early sixties, fourth late 70s, fifth in fifties and finally in mid 80s… I don’t say, he lacked aesthetics in voice in mid80s(after his heart attack)-many people love his voice most in that phase also as rightly put by Smitha, but I got a feeling, it became a bit streneous for him to pull those high notes… In the movie Zameen Aasman(1984), there is a Lata-Kishore duet(composed by RD)- “Maine dil diya dil diya ghabrake o sathiya”, where Lata starts it with low and Kishore takes it on one higher note.. Definitely, the extra effort he had to put was quite visible and not as effortless as his earlier high notes rendering were( Jab dard nahi tha, Ek haseena thi, Are bhai nikalke aa ghar se etc.)
RAFI: Definitely the texture of 60s Rafi was the best.. I personally feel SD Burman utilized the soft and silky texture of Rafi’s voice best ..Also Naushad and OP Nayyar were there.. I don;t like Shankar Jaikishen the way they utilized Rafi, as I think owing to the comfort Rafi used to have in higher notes, they sometimes used to make him go “too loud”… Example is “Kisko pyaar karoo kaise pyar karoo”.. Somehow, Rafi was not sounding very spontaneous but something “enforced” to sound loud.. May be it was because of the hero for whom the song was picturized ( Shammi).. I don’t like that much of Rafi’s voice in late 70s, because I think, he deviated from his soft and silky texture of 60s to a sort of “masculinity” then… Perhaps, a bit more like Kishore…”Mujhe choo rahi hai teri garm saansein” would have been a timeless gem had it been sung by Rafisaab in 60s
March 3rd, 2009 at 3:59 pm
Prabhanjan
//@Arghyaji: Very few people have the guts to admit that their fav singers voice became coarser in their fifties, which is only too natural.//
I am not sure what you intended to say here.. As far as I am concerned, I made it very clear that Kishore Kumar’s voice “did become coarse” after his heart attack.. That is a fact..
March 2nd, 2009 at 11:37 pm
Every singers’ voice changes with age and once they cross 50, it’s usually for the worse.
KK’s voice, from a puritan’s perspective got coarser and consequently worse as he advanced in years. But I, like most of the KK fans, think that the voice got better and better. The ‘coarseness’ is very much the part of package that KK was and for most of the fans, the coarser it is, the better.
To say KK is less appealing for a coarser voice is like saying that Salman is less appealing for a bigger bicep.
March 2nd, 2009 at 7:56 pm
@Arghyaji: Very few people have the guts to admit that their fav singers voice became coarser in their fifties, which is only too natural. One can’t just deny that, and its against evolution. Not just KK or Rafi, its true for one and all. Wether its SPb, Jagjit SIngh, Lata Mangeshkar, Bhimsen Joshi, its only correct that they won’t sound as nice in 50’s as in their pro-fifties. The same Rafi would have done much better with “Kya huwa tera wada” if he had sung at the time of “khoya khoya chand” and vice versa.
Regarding national awards, I would just like to say that they are better than filmfare awards. and in that sense, I still rate them in a better way than most others. Post 76 there was no way KKji would have got National Award with Congress at the centre is only political, and anybody would have to agree here. Having said this I would honestly say that he should have got one before that, say for those Mili songs on Amitabh, or any of those Hrishikesh Mukherjee songs. Moreover, I was expecting some in Bengali. Thats what I always have in mind when I say about KKji not getting the award.
Can you please mail me a few songs of KKji in Rabindra Sangeet to my ID statscholar@gmail.com
March 2nd, 2009 at 2:12 pm
Lastly, I really, from the bottom of my heart, appreciate the comments and posts Rafi fans give over here… This, according to me, only promotes healthy discussions and not “politics” as perceived by Rafi fans whenever in their community someone praises Manna or Kishore there…
The comments, Mr. KLF, had put over here, with due regards to him and all Rafi fans, had he put such comments for Kishore in the Rafi’s community, I would have loved to see the reactions there from Rafi’s fans.. No bad intention, but they would have simply thrashed his mouth.. We, only try here to give logical explanation to questions…
And, at last, no one is the “best” or “greatest”.. It is only whom we perceive or think.. Even I would not consider Lataji’s saying Kishore to be the best, as everyone has his own judgement to decide and his own right to chose who should be the best, irrespective of the fact that Lataji knows more music than him/her… So, let us get out of this fact and let us enjoy the divinity which all those legends created… Salil Chowdhury, as a contributor to music, is much bigger than any violinist who played under him, irrespective of the fact whether Salilda was Rafi-lover or not…