An endless feud between the fans of Mohammed Rafi and Kishore Kumar..
Mohammed Rafi was born at Kotla Sultan Singh, near Amritsar . Rafi displayed his talent for singing at the tender age of 13. The lure of movies beckoned him to Bombay in 1944. His first hit was the Tera Khilona Toota Balak from Anmol Ghadi in 1946. India lost this jewel on July 31, 1980.
Abhas Kumar Ganguly, better known as Kishore Kumar was born on August 4, 1929 in Kandwa. Following the footsteps of his elder brother Ashok Kumar he too ventured into movies. But he soon realised that his heart was in singing. Under the patronage of RD Burman he soon flourished. He would at times compose and write songs himself. Sadly he passed away in October,1987.
The debate as to who was the greater singer carries on even today, even decades after their death. Both of them left an indelible mark in the world of Indian film music, a void that still cannot be filled today. No wonder that their fans are at constant feud with one another trying to prove that their hero was better.
It is a no secret that Mohammed Rafi was a trained classical singer and that Kishore Kumar had a natural talent. Hence Rafi’s fans feel that he was the more accomplished and skilful of the two. Kishoreda’s fans are of the opinion that though he may not have been trained, he had purity and sheer quality of voice. The fact that he wasn’t trained, and could still sing anything, both classical and non classical songs with equal magic rendered him more superior than Rafi.
Fans claim that Rafi was the most favoured singer for many veteran composers while Kishore Kumar was preferred by few and was a playback mainly for Dev Anand and later for Rajesh Khanna. Rafi on the other hand balanced his melodious voice for diverse stars like Dilip Kumar, Dev Anand, Guru Dutt, Rajendra Kumar and Shammi Kapoor.
In support of Rafi’s greatness, many of his fans say Rafi sang for Kishore Kumar in films that Kishore himself acted. They also draw the attention to Rafi’s song Darde Dil in Karz which was based on a single note and proved that he was indeed blessed with God-gifted melody. Mohammed Rafi’s fans also claim that Sonu Nigam and Udit Narayan who belong to the Rafi school are technically better than Kumar Sanu, Babul Supriyo etc.
On the other hand, Kishore Kumar’s fans remind people of songs which he sang by melodiously incorporating his inimitable yodelling. Those numbers are extremely popular even today. They further claim that in the 70’s and 80’s, it was he who sang for a number of heroes.
This debate can go on endlessly. However it must be stated that both were great singers of their times and each had his own distinctive style.
There was no feud between the two and the immense respect that Kishore Kumar had for Mohammed Rafi is clearly seen in the photo during Rafi’s funeral. A silent, sad and grief-struck Kishore in the newspapers portrayed very well that no one except him understood what an irreparable loss had taken place in Indian film music.
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January 19th, 2008 at 12:15 am
I appreciate what Anmolaryan Dogra has written.Let us focus on the song and not the singer.A bad song sung by Rafi is a bad song just as a bad song sung by Kishore is a bad song.If we include all the singers in our debate we shall make it more comprehensive and rich.Men like Sudip and Vikram have amazing knowledge of music.We would like to hear from them about merits of different singers and their best renditions.Now though I believe that Rafi was the most versatile singer(incidently Naushad Sahib also said this and who could be a greater judge of the quality of a musical voice than Naushad) yet there are scores and scores of songs of Mukesh which are surpaasingly beautiful.Only Mukesh could have sung Saranga teri yaad mein,a difficult song sung to perfection.Rafi also sang the mukhra of this song but failed completely.The bass of Nain dwar se man mein voh aa ke tan mein aag lagaye was beyond the vocal capacities of any other singer.Is there anything as lovely as Mujhe tum se kucch bhi na chahiye mujhe mere haal pe chhod do in the repertoire of any other singer?Mahendra Kapoor and Kishore were full-throated singers.Rafi could sing at any pitch at will.He is full throated in O door ke musafir hum ko bhi saath le le hum reh gaye akele just as Mukesh is in Aa ab laut chalein in Jis Desh mein Ganga Behti hai.I heard today on world space radio a rarely heard Rafi-Suraiya duet Bekraar hai koi aa mere dildaar aa.Has anybody heard this one?About Manna De I would say that he lacked something that kept him back.Unlike Rafi,Mukesh and Kishore he couldn’t carry an entire film on his shoulders.Raj Kapoor tried him in Chori Chori in the absence of Mukesh who was busy producing his own film (in which enterprise the latter failed) but he found De’s voice to be too dry.
Meanwhile,there is a heartening news for all lovers of music that there is a proposal to consider Rafi for the award of Bharat Ratna.The Indian Express has mentioned it in an editorial.Let us hope that the greatest Indian singer of all times gets his due,though belatedly.
January 17th, 2008 at 2:07 am
Sudip, I have gone through this whole chain today and I am impressed by your knowledge about music. Great analysis.. keep it up…
BTW, here are some songs where Rafi excelled as singer.
1> Chal ud ja re panchhi
2> Jawaniyan yeh mast mast
3> Aapke hassen rukh
4> Zindabad
5> Yeh jo chilman hai (This one is on Rajesh Khanna - supoosed to be uusing KK all the time)
6> Kar chale hum fida
7> Duniya na bhaye mohe
8> Hui Sham unka khyaal (That stupid kumar “naku” sanu tried this one in one of the concerts in his nasal style and failed miserably)
I can go on …. there are so many.. I thank Rafi for what he has given to me.
January 17th, 2008 at 1:44 am
Listen to rafi song ” Hai duniya ooski zamana oosika” ..Rafi just can;t go wrong…
January 16th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
Ashwin, I agree with you that ultimately it boils down to individual tastes. My only grudge against some of Kishore fans was their foul language directed at Mohd. rafi. Some of them had also mentioned religion. This is despicable. I would request all to keep this discussion to the level of humanity.
January 16th, 2008 at 6:56 am
Oh, Thanks Sudip and Vikaram for coming to the positive roles.
Now you both are heroes.
Yes, I do agree with both of you. Each of our great singers have some unique qualities of their own, which have created great effects on our Bollywood’s success, which have now big name in the world.
I am the man who respects even a smallest artist.
Rafi Saheb, Mukeshji and Kishoreda are immortal for ever in our lives.
Rafi Saheb and Mukeshji were great sigers also.
However, I mostly listen the songs of Kishoreda daily in the car that keeps me going on a daily basis. In fact, I drive car better when the Kishoreda’s song is being played.
Like:
(1) Rook Jana Nahin Tu kahi Haar ke
(2) Jeevan mein tu darna nahin
(3) Phoolon Ke Dhere Hai
(4) Jab bhi koi kangana bole
(5) Har koi chahata hai ek Mutthi
(6) Nadiya se Dariya
(7) Diye Jalte Hai
(8) Aane wala pal Jaane wala hai
(9) Jo Tum Hansonge to Duniya Hasange
(10) Jaa Mujhe na aab yaad aa
(11) Sama hai suhana suhana
(12) Pyar ko chahiye kya ek nazar ek nazar
These are just few as an example. I will be listening the songs of Kishoreda until the last day of my life. But, Rafi Saheb and Mukeshji will be in my heart also. At least good, Lataji and Ashaji are still with us.
You know, many times we do get bored in life for no reason, but, when Kishoreda is with me, I never get bored even for a moment, that is the type of good effect he has created on me.
I appreciate your nice comments.
January 15th, 2008 at 9:38 pm
I have lately read the entire debate on this site. More than 500 posts have failed to clinch the issue either way. Rafi fans have remained Rafi fans and Kishore fans have remained Kishore fans. Neither side has succeeded in converting anybody from the other side. Still it has not been a futile debate. Leaving aside some catankerous posts, the debate has been conducted in an able, intelligent and skillful manner. It has highlighted many of the finer aspects of Hindi film music and is a learning exprience for music lovers. I agree with Dhani Ram Ji that the debate should go on. But I would suggest that it should not be limited to just 2 singers. It should be more inclusive as some other stars like Mukesh, Talat, Hemant Kumar, Mahender Kapoor, Manna Dey etc. also shown on the musical fermament. Alongwith Rafi & Kishore, Mukesh diserves equal honours. Starting way back in the late 1940s, he gloriously all kinds of vicissitudes to sing his great swan song “Kabhi Khabhi mere dil mein khyal aata hai”.
Besides, most importantly, why should we discuss the singer and not the song. If I can enjoy Rafi’s “Choudwin ka chand ho”, why can’t I enjoy Kishore’s “Zindgi ek safar hai suhana” as well as Mukesh’s ” Suhana Safar aur ye mausam hasin”? They are all wonderful songs and deserve our hearing. Why should we deprive ourselves of the bliss of listening to a song because it has been sung by A and not B? Could just one singer have sung all the songs in all the films produced during the last 60 years? We should be grateful that we had a galaxy of good singers who have provided us rich variety to suit our different moods and tastes. Rafi, Mukesh and Kishore have all gone. They are no longer alive. Our venom against any of them makes no difference to them now. If we denigrate any of these colossuses of film music, we show only our own ingratitude, meanness and poverty of tastes and imagination. Let us celebrate all the great singers and their great songs and not throw mud at them.
January 15th, 2008 at 9:04 pm
Ashwin, Please do not mention Bhappi Lahri to verify something. What does he know about music? He probably is the worst ever music director. Laxmikant-Pyarelal have always been of the opinion that when it comes to singing there is nobody bigger than Rafi. At the same time they never despised Kishore kumar. In fact, they used him for some of their great compositions. That’s what Rafi fans are like. Now compare this with R D Burman. He only used Rafi when he had no other option. He made Kishore sing songs that should have been given to Rafi. It was Rafi who brought RD into the big league with Teesri Manzil and Chhote Nawab. This is another example of an over zealous kishore fan. Later on although he went back to Rafi as he thought Kishore will not be able to do justice to his difficult to grasp compositions. I will not dispute the fact that RD composed some great scores for Kishore Kumar. We respect the best, but at the same time we don’t hate the second best. This is where we differ from Kishore fans. In a bid to prove their point they can go to any point to malign Rafi. Please show some respect to the singer whom majority of the people think to be the best ever.
I like Kishore Kumar a lot. Some of his songs are a real joy. They are as good as Rafi’s best songs, if not better. But, that’s about it. Rafi’s voice modulations and variations were simply divine. Rafi’s repertoire is just unbelievable. In terms of variety and quality that he provided over a span of thirty years is far beyond the reach of Kishore Kumar, or for that matter any other singer. Manna Dey, Mukesh and Mahender Kapoor also had their time in the sun. Their best work is also as good as the best of Kishore’s or Rafi’s. We should appreciate their contribution to our film industry without holding anything against them. When you have so many stalwarts in one field, someone is bound to be better than the rest.
January 15th, 2008 at 9:52 am
Ashwin:
As far as music is concerned MODULATION has only one meaning (unless Bappi’da questions etymology. he is surely fatter than the dictionary).. And you are correct: “In a plain words, MODULATION means keeping the sound constant in its quality.” You missed one small part. Let me fill that part in parentheses :
In a plain words, MODULATION means keeping the sound constant in its quality (within the same antara of a song). And Kishore has hardly sung any song with lots of back-to-back ups and downs within an antara..And for your information Bappi’da has hardly composed any..
Manna De (who understands music a little more than your Bappi’da), once said “Kishore khub-i baro gayak. Kintu o kothin gaan gailo kobey?” (Translated from Bengali: Kishore is a very good singer. But when did he ever sing difficult songs? ).
You know what, when you talk about the TIMES and Bappi’da, I see no point arguing because you have different sensibilities and tastes than mine. Just as it is pointless to talk about Satyajit Ray, Fellini, de Sica and Kurosawa to someone who follows Manmohan Desai..
Rafi’s beauty was that he unified the diverse worlds of Kishore and Talat or of Mehdi Hasaan and Udit Narayan. Kishore created a rift in that world-either follow this way or that way..His gayaki was made for the TIMES it did not transcend diverse eras.
And mind you, the trend you are talking of was not Kishore’s creation..It was that the West started transferring garbage to Bollywood via Pancham and Bappi’da and Kishore’s voice suited those. Another coincidence was the emergence of deep voiced heroes like Amitabh. I am sure Kishore left a lot of influence behind-little wonder we heard “Main to bhelpuri kha raha tha” or “Mera pant bhi sexy” after his death (Now don’t tell me that’s in keeping with the TIMES and sound marvelous).
Rafi, to be fair, sang a lot of garbage too (in fact, possibly more than Kishore). But he was ALSO singing Thumris, Gazals, Qawaalis, light classical and heavy songs alongside.
January 15th, 2008 at 5:51 am
This is to Sudip:
MODULATION applies to any sound generated in space, it doesn’t matter, whether it is from a musical instrument or from a person singing.
You can make many definition of MODULATION depending upon our context. In a plain words, MODULATION means keeping the sound constant in its quality.
As Bhappida were saying in one of the “K for Kishore” show, that Kishoreda were keeping the voice in same quality whether it is in a low notes or high notes.
Also, as Amitji were saying to one of the singer in “K for Kishore” show that
your MODULATION was good.
So, don’t try to teach anything to anybody, just write comments that applies to the show. I know both English and Science very well.
January 14th, 2008 at 1:16 am
Rafi lacks modulation ? You guys lack common sense
January 14th, 2008 at 12:40 am
Ashwin:
“Kishoreda has more modulation in his voice than Rafi Saheb”
-WHAT??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Surely your definition of modulation is different from what musicians understand as modulation. According to dictionary mudulation is ” Music. transition from one key to another.”
Asha Bhosle to A R Rahman talked of Rafi’s ability to switch keys easily and instantly. Forget Kishore..Mehdi Hasan to Manna De did not have this ability..
I am naming 3 songs of Rafi..
“Jawaaniyan yeh mast”
“Pukarta Chala hoon main”
“Tasveer tere dil mein”
Name ONE song of Kishore that has the same level of modulation. If you need help you can use a Frequency analyzer to help you.. I can give you some hint-the closest that comes to those songs is “Khilte hai gul yahan”.
January 14th, 2008 at 12:18 am
Ashwin wrote:
“We are talking here about the TIMES. Kishoreda wasn’t there when Rafi saheb were singing for our actors. When Kishoreda came, singing his style, Rafi Saheb were tarnished a little”
-That’s natural. I was not born in the 60’s. But if I were I would be tired of Rafi’s voice as well. No one likes to hear the same voice, movie after movie, year after year.
-Similarly public got tired of Kishore wanted fresh voices in the mid 80s. That’s why we saw Amit, SPB and even 3rd grade singers like Aziz and Shabbir Kumar.
-Sanu had monopoly between 1990-96..People got tired of Sanu in 1996 and that’s why Udit appeared from reappeared after his QSQT days.
-Udit enjoyed monopoly between 96 and 2001. Public replaced him with Sonu Nigam.
-Sonu had a short life at the peak. Now we have Ganjawala, Kailash Kher, etc.
FYI…Kishore was surely there when Rafi was singing but no one other than SDB appreciated his talent. Salil Chowdhury even had Hemant Kumar sing for KK in Naukri because he thought he was not good enough. Lot of MDs though Kishore was offbeat in the 50s and hence he was thrown into the sidelines.
I can never visualize Kishore Kumar singing Talat’s “Tasveer banata hoon” in Baradari. He simply does not have that mellow…Talat created a magic of a different kind that Kishore fans do not care about…They are only obsessed with one dimension of the voice- the open-throated one where the “atomsphere inside the theater becomes just superb….”.. I can easily visualize Rafi singing that song.. Though I think Talat reached a different level in that song..
January 13th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
I agree with Ashwin. Kishore Kumar masterfully blended his modulated voice to suit Dilip Kumar in “Salaa Main To Sahab Bangaya”. I thought it was Dilip Kumar singing. I was surprised to hear that SD Burman was the MD of that song.
January 13th, 2008 at 10:32 am
Sudip and Vikram,
We are talking here about the TIMES. Kishoreda wasn’t there when Rafi saheb were singing for our actors. When Kishoreda came, singing his style, Rafi Saheb were tarnished a little. However, Kishoreda has more modulation in his voice than Rafi Saheb. When Kishoreda’s voice is present in the theater, the atomsphere inside the theater becomes just superb, splendid, terrific, fabulous, fantastic, marvelous and wonderful.
After reading your comments, I would like to say:
Yeah sirf yehi baat hai, Pasand Apni Apni, Khayal Apna Apna.
January 13th, 2008 at 2:04 am
Aswin,
Can you dispute the fact that Everest is the highest mountain in the world?There definitely is some confusion about the second higest. Rafi is the Everest of singing. Mukesh, manna Dey and Kishore are the competitors for the second place. I will give the benefit of doubt to Kishore Kumar, for the fact that his voice had more variations compared to the other two. You just can not compare Rafi with anybody. In cricketing terms Sachin Tendulkar is great. But is he as great as Don Bradman? Definitely not. Rafi was divine. He could mould his voice at will to suite any actor. It’s a fact. Like it or not. He was declared the most popular singer of the millenium in a poll conducted by a leading magazine.
Somebody had mentioned in one of the posts that Kishore was the voice of the young actors. Sheer nonsense! Where in the hell that came from? Rafi was the voice of young Dilip Kumar. He was the voice of young Dev Anand. He sang some of the best songs for Dev. Dev Anand owes a lot to rafi Sahab for what he is today. Shashi Kapoor, Dharmenda, Jeetendra, Bishwajeet, Rajender Kumar, Joy Mukherjee were the young faces of the 60’s. It was Rafi who did the vocals for them. Kishore Kumar became the voice of Dev Anand when he grew older and started producing those horrible movies. Brring a few, the music of most of them was horrendous. Dharmendra, Shashi Kapoor and Jeetendra were not growing any younger when music directors started using Kishore Kumar for them during the 70’s.
In the late 70’s Rafi became the voice of the youthful Rishi Kapoor, truly the only musically successful actor of those times. He also sang for Vinod Khanna who was the young fresh face in the 70’s. He did playback for some other not very well known young actors like Vijay Arora and Anil Dhawan. Rafi sang for more actors than anybody else. He provided vocals to playback for a young Kishore Kumar. He did that eleven times. Now that’s what I call greatness and versatility. His voice was used on Amitabh a lot of times and also occasionally on Rajesh Khanna.
The dialogue from the movie “Waqt” that ” those who live in glass houses should not throw stones at others”, is appropriate for these kind of people who want to malign Rafi at any cost. No matter how much these guys try, they will never succeed in their sinister designs.
January 13th, 2008 at 1:06 am
Making corrections and adding since this site does not have “Preview” feature
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“If you don’t believe me in this context. Just ask our superstars of today and yesteryears. Rajesh Khannaji, once said, when Kishore Kumar
sung a song for him, It is like, I am singing that song myself. King Khan also gave great tribute to great Kishoreda in public!”
–I do believe in you.. I can also add Dev Anand and others to your list who loved Kishore’s voice. Similarly there are tons such as Dilip Kumar, Shammi, Rajendra Kumar, Joy Mukherjee who thought Rafi was their voice.. that includes B grade film personalities like Johnie Walker.. Who remembers the two unknown faces in Dosti or the lean hero in Dulari.. All that they remember is Rafi’s songs. The song “Suhani Raat Dhal chuki” was recorded in 1949. It has survived 60 years while the movie or the hero has sunk into oblivion.
But all these are anecdotal observations..None of these conclusively proves one is better than the other. The only proof is what we “feel” and at times backed by what experts say.. And let me tell you musical “experts” do not include King Khan (whose knowledge of music may be a tad better than my 9 year old son’s). That way Punjabi kudiya Priyanka Chopra’s favorite singer is Rafi (does it count at all?)
To me Kishore was a great entertainer. He brought a freshness to the industry like no one before. No one before sang with a full-throated voice (something which my knowledgeable co-poster P Halder commented on). The golden voice with the energetic rendition made old styles redundant and outdated. So Talat, Saigal, Hemant disappeared from the scene in the new era heralded by the great Kishore Kumar. This is also the reason why Kishore’s fans hardly listen to Talat, Mahendra K, Subir Sen, Pankaj Mullick..To them the GOD’s style was all that mattered. In other words, Kishore’s voice and style was unique-that makes him great.
Rafi, on the other hand was unique in that he was not unique.. Sounds paradoxical? Let me explain. He did not make Talat or Hemant’s style redundant. He was Talat, Saigal, Hemant, Kishore and Mukesh combined into one…He could be Talat if need be, and be Kishore if need be..In “Jaane Kya dhoondti” Rafi was Talat personified, in “Khilona Jankar” he was Mukesh, in “Barbad-e-mohabbat” he was Bhupinder, in “Gar tum bhoola na donge” he was Kishore, in “Kain ek masoom nazuk si ladki” he was Hariharan, in “janewalo ka gham” he was Pankaj Udhas. No one in history had this range, which is also “God gifted” (Since you believe in God which I don’t).
Kishore had a single, unique style which was great..But when it comes to choosing the best singer it has to be Rafi. Even your “superstars of today and yesteryears” voted for Rafi when it came to choosing one. If you do not believe in that look at the various polls such as the Outlook magazine poll and go through the participants list.
January 13th, 2008 at 12:39 am
“If you don’t believe me in this context. Just ask our superstars of today and yesteryears. Rajesh Khannaji, once said, when Kishore Kumar
sung a song for him, It is like, I am singing that song myself. King Khan also gave great tribute to great Kishoreda in public!”
–I do believe in you.. I can also add Dev Anand and others to your list who loved Kishore’s voice. Similarly there are tons such as Dilip Kumar, Shammi, Rajendra Kumar, Joy Mukherjee who thought Rafi was their voice.. that includes B grade film personalities like Johnie Walker.. Who remembers the two unknown faces in Dosti or the lean hero in Dulari.. All that they remember is Rafi’s songs. The song “Suhani Raat Dhal chuki” was recorded in 1949. It has survived 60 years while the movie or the hero has sunk into oblivion.
But all these are anecdotal observations..None of these conclusively proves one is better than the other. The only proof is what we think and at times what experts say.. And let me tell you musical “experts” do not include King Khan (whose knowledge of music may be a tad better than my 9 year old son’s).
To me Kishore was a great entertainer. He brought a freshness to the industry like no one before. No one before sang with a full-throated voice (something which my knowledgeable co-poster P Halder commented on). The golden voice with the energetic rendition made old styles redundant. So Talat, Saigal, Hemant disappeared from the scene in the new era heralded by the great Kishore Kumar. In other words, Kishore’s voice and style was unique-that makes him great.
Rafi, on the other hand was unique in that he was not unique.. Sounds paradoxical? Let me explain. He did not make Talat or Hemant redundant. He was Talat, Saigal, Hemant, Kishore and Mukesh combined into one…He could be Talat if need be, and be Kishore if need be..In “Jaane Kya dhoondti” Rafi was Talat personified, in “Khilona Jankar” he was Mukesh, in “Barbad-e-mohabbat” he was Bhupinder, in “Gar tum bhoola na donge” he was Kishore, in “Kain ek masoom nazuk si ladki” he was Hariharan. No one in history had this range, which is also “God gifted” (Since you believe in God which I don’t).
Kishore had a single, unique style which was great..But when it comes to choosing the best singer it has to be Rafi. Even your “superstars of today and yesteryears” voted for Rafi when it came to choosing one. If you do not believe in that look at the various polls such as the Outlook magazine poll and go through the voters list.
January 12th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
Sudip:
I think my head is excellent without any doubts.
Do not compare singing with any other skills that need to be learned after we are born.
Any Doctor, Engineer or the Cricketer needs to be trained and practiced after the person is born. More the practice and training they have better they are!
Singers are born! they come to this earth with their good throat, they don’t need to be trained or practiced. They show their talent without a doubt. Think, we all like to be a singer but we can’t.
Kishore Kumar was just superb, superb singer. All the stars are shining today and have much success because the great voice of Kishoreda!
If you don’t believe me in this context. Just ask our superstars of today and yesteryears. Rajesh Khannaji, once said, when Kishore Kumar
sung a song for him, It is like, I am singing that song myself. King Khan also gave great tribute to great Kishoreda in public!
I think, you need to interpret my writing again carefully and you are writing yourself in your comment, “How can someone who yell without sweetness be a “good singer”, Yes, one cannot be a!
January 12th, 2008 at 11:38 am
Ashwin:
“Rafi saheb were just yelling without much sweetness of the voice and Rafi saheb never matched the voice to that of Actor’s. Rafi Saheb also have sung for less actor whereas Kishoreda have sung for many actors matching their natural voice”..
-Since you are the first one to mention this (as distant from truth as Kumble is a bigger spinner of ball than Shane Warne), I recommend you have your head checked. Rafi Saab’s main strength was the mithas (sweetness of voice).
And your writing itself shows your contradictions. How can someone who yell without sweetness be a “good singer”. Make up your mind and then write..I am sure you have not heard 1/10th of the songs than any knowledgeable music follower has..
January 12th, 2008 at 10:16 am
Dhani Ramji,
Singers, who need training and who learn on the earth are just practicing singers, but, remember, Kishoreda were trained in heaven, as it is evident in his voice. Kishoreda is a great gift from our creator.
Without Kishoreda singing, I do not imagine any superiority of Bollywood.
I would say Rafi Saheb and Mukeshji were good singers also, but, but Kishoreda were just superb. In singing, we are looking here the sweetness of the voice. Kishoreda’s voice is sweeter than any other man made sweet. Man made sweet can go sour the next day, but Kishoreda’s voice never went sour. Rafi saheb were just yelling without much sweetness of the voice and Rafi saheb never matched the voice to that of Actor’s. Rafi Saheb also have sung for less actor whereas Kishoreda have sung for many actors matching their natural voice.
Don’t you think, the singer who needs training, practices more and sings normal, where as the singer who does not training and practice and sings superb, is the greatest singer. Think about this logic. I think you are thinking up-side-down.
Kishoreda’s throat was perfectly tuned by our creator, who did not need any training and/or practice.
January 12th, 2008 at 12:26 am
The debate must go on.It is a question of the ascertainment of refined tastes and their ascendancy.When on 31st December my ears were assailed till well after mid-night by noise called music by many these days played on DJs,I reased the value of arguing for good music.Good music has a soothing effect.It transports you to another world.After listening to it you feel relaxed and don’t have a headache.
I have never been able to like Kishore Kumar’s style of singing
nor Pancham Da’s compositions.Hear Pancham’s songs sung by himself(there is a horrendous one sung in a rasping voice whose wording I have never been able to grasp) and compare them to his father’s.Sun mere bandhu re.Which one is music? Pancham’s cacophany or his father’s soulful melody?
Times Today telecast a tribute to Pancham today and the anchor after mentioning several of Pancham’s compositions with approval remarked that his crowning achievemment was Gol maal hai,bhai sab gol maal hai.Wah! If that is music,one should keep light years away from it for one’s own health.
Some participants have commented adversely on Sony TV’s tribute to KK by his camp followers.Does any Indian TV channel have any sense of music?Where is music on TV?It is all worthless trash,including the serials.For comparison,watch Andhera Ujjala, a serial produced by PTV long time back.I don’t know of anyone who has seen that serial and who doesn’t believe it be better than all Indian soap operas and even Bollywood films.
One thing that I have noticed in the course of this debate is that the fans of Kihore make assertions only without substantiating them.One of the stock assertins repeated by many is that Kishore had a natural talent while Rafi had training and therefore Kishore was superior.What nonsense! Rafi had huge natural talent which he had refined through tremendous training.Rafi had a passion for music to which he was devoted wholeheartedly and singlemindedly.It was not so with Kishore.Rafi’s forte was singing; Kishore’s was showmanship which took several forms none of which he could master.
And let us not forget another great Bengali! Hemant Kumar.Listen to one song of Kishore and then of Hemant.Repeat it with 50 songs of either of them.If at the end,you still prefer Kishore,you certainly need some training in music.
January 9th, 2008 at 8:49 pm
Shekhar, I completely agree with your thoughts on the TV show “K for Kishore”. This is the worst form of tribute to a singer of Kishore’s class. And the judges on the show! Less said the better. Bhappi Lahri should take a break from judging any contest for that matter. Sudesh Bhonsle is the kind of guy who is good for nothing. He thinks mimicking Big B’s voice is the only form of singing left. I was expecting better from Amit Kumar. I think he is an original singer, and understands the nuances of music. The anchoring of the show is third rate. For the sake of KK, Amit should make Sony television and others associated with the show to understand the importance of the show and see reason.
January 7th, 2008 at 9:11 am
Sony TV now have ONE MORE program to learn from.
Guys, just learnt about one MORE program on Star TV. They have also started a musical program and that also with some kids. I hear their program is also SUPERB!!! So now Sony is in deep trouble. They are STUCK with their substandard singers (Yaar woh Suhas Sawant ki awaaz suni kya ? You must hear to believe it!!!). I keep repeating - serves them right. Zara idhar ghaur kijiye huzzuuur….phir uparwale gaaney suniye……
THEN you decide why should SONY force us to ask our cable guy to STOP telecasting Sony….:
http://starvoiceofindiachhoteustaad.blogspot.com/2008/01/chhote-ustad-january-4-th-videos-star.html
January 6th, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Sumit Kumar:
Good that you respect your dad..How are your mom (Leena Chandravarkar) and brother Smit Kumar doing?
January 6th, 2008 at 12:58 am
Hame Aur Jeene Ki Aarzoo Na Hoti
Agar Kishore Na Hote.