Kishore - S.D.Burman - A Relationship That Began With ‘Aradhana’
Destiny takes its own course in everyone’s life. Kishore Kumar was destined to meet the famous Sachin Dev Burman on that day. It was during one of those earlier periods in Kishore’s life when he was starting his career and not much known. S.D.Burman visited Kishore’s brother at their home in Mumbai. Kishore, who had not got any formal education in music, had adopted a style in those days to imitate the notable singer K. L. Saigal.
Burman, on listening to Kishore’s song from outside, mistakenly assumed that Saigal was singing inside. Soon Kishore was introduced to Burman by his brother, and thus the first meeting between Kishore and S.D.Burman happened unexpectedly. It was that meeting that altered the destiny of Kishore Kumar altogether. From that day onwards, Kishore stopped mimicking others and started singing in his own voice. Soon he developed a style of his own. He became popular in the Indian music world with his unique yodeling style that he adopted in his singing.
The Bollywood will never forget the movie Aradhana and its songs. The movie was a significant milestone in Kishore Kumar’s career too. Firstly, he was absorbed to sing the songs that were previously decided for Mohammed Rafi. Again it was destiny that played a big role in choosing Kishore in that notable movie. S.D.Burman fell ill, and it was R.D.Burman who took the responsibility of completing the movie of his father and decided to use Kishore Kumar. Kishore Kumar thus got the opportunity for singing ‘Roop Tera Mastana’ and ‘Mere Sapno Ki Rani’. He bagged his first Filmfare award for the song ‘Roop Tera Mastana’ in that year.
Kishore Kumar’s honest association with S.D.Burman helped him achieve a series of hit songs from the movies such as ‘Taxi Driver, Paying Guest, Funtoosh, Nau Do Gyarah, etc. Prem Pujari, a debut from director Dev Anand, though did not find much audience, was known for the popular hits ‘Phoolon Ke Rang Se’ and ‘Shokiyon Mein Ghola Jaaye’ – a combined effort of S.D.Burman and Kishore Kumar.
The relationship of Kishore Kumar with Burman did not find any boundaries. They were made for each other. ‘Sharmilee’ and ‘Jugnu’ followed to add to the success stories of the duo with the songs ‘Aj Madhosh Hua Jaaye Re’, ‘Khilte Hai Gul Yahan’, ‘Oh Meri Sharmilee’, and ‘Pyaar Ke Is Khel Mein’. The last few films of S.D.Burman as music director with Kishore singing apart from Mili, were ‘Arjun Pandit’ with the song ‘Dil Mera Udh Jaaye’, Deewangi with the memorable soft song ‘Chalo Sapnon Ke Shehar’ and Tyaag, with yet another beauty rendered ‘Man Pukare.’ (These films were released much later in 1976.) The commitment of Kishore Kumar to S.D.Burman continued even after Burman’s unexpected departure from the world of music and movies in 1975. After the death of S.D.Burman, Kishore Kumar kept his commitment towards his maestro by associating with R.D.Burman and continued his contribution by singing many songs including ‘Sholay’, ‘Warrant’, Heera Panna’, etc.
Kishore Kumar – S.D.Burman pair will remain in the hearts of the music enthusiasts forever. There are certain souls in the world that are ‘Made for each other’. The humanity gets rare chance to identify and make the most of such pairs. Indian cinema was lucky to have one of them - KK and SDB.
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March 30th, 2009 at 11:29 pm
ya khemchand prakash identified two talents Lata and kishore!
he gave serious songs to kishore even though manna de and others dismissed him as clown at hat time!
the song “khilte hai gul yqhan ” is a case in point. here kishore first experimentd ith a vrition of quick taan , later on perfected in gadi ula rahi hai, ankhome humne aapke sapane ajaye hai and jab bhi koi kngan ole( U must listen t it). SDb allowed him the variation. Perhaps the retest point is hat ishore catched the kudrati flavor in the song succintly and better than lata.
another exmple is the duet “shokhiyo me gholajaaye”. here in first and third stana kishore takes pahadi taan as “he he ” while lata is given a feminine taan in second stanza. It was sdbs briliance as a omposer and perfectionist that he composed uch a tune.
Even in “rimzim gire sawan”, “hume aur jeene ki chhat na hoti ” kishore had n edge over lata and if one notes arefully right from 50s SDB has reserved the haunting and hit numbers for kishore ( ye dil na hota bechara, khwab ho, mana janab ne pukara nahi, gata rahe, hum hai rahi pyar ke, hum matwle naujaan, o eri sharmille, phoole ke rangse, mere spano ki, e met na ila re manka. an in this sense amongst all singers( male and female) kishore ws his favorite and the trend continued with rdb. lata was avorite of salil choudhary, madanmohan, sj and lp, mukesh was favorite of sj, salil, ka, manna de was avorite of sj, rafi was favorite of naushad, opn, LP, as one cn easily recognize.
occasiinaly sdb gave key tunes o rafi as in “khooya khoya chnd”, “hum bekhudim” but usually comaratively duller tunes( ocourse good) were given to rafi.
It seems tht hough sdb used rafi (as he was number one) he wnted other male inger at top( admiting utility of rafi at times) and initailly he seems to be in two minds “kishore” or “hemanta”. But the ability to sing thepopular type of songs was noted by sdb and he finally arrived at the judgement that “kishore” only could be a candidate for replacement of rafi as the number one singer.
actully “rafi has sung best with sdb followed by OPN, followed by sJ and worst with LP.all this marks he greatness of indias greatest composer SDB
February 27th, 2009 at 10:22 am
//Songs 1 and 3- absolutely brilliant sad songs. So early in Kishore’s career, he showed such woderful voice modulation especially in song no. 3.. Also, it was sheer genius of KP that he had identified Kishore’s potentital to carry off these songs at the age of 19-20!!//
Sorry..please read it songs 1 and 4.. it ws a mistake
February 27th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Anilji..
Nice piece of writing.. Thaks so much.. And forget about comments of Binu Nair- I know that hypocrite very well…
As far as, S D Burman is concerned, definitely he was the person behind Kishore’s rise to fame.. But one person, who was always unsung for Kishore’s success was Shree Khemchand Prakash(1908-1950).. He was the first, yes-I say “first”- to understand and appreciate immense talent Kishore had in his voice.. And he used to adore Kishore like his own adapted child.. sadly, he did not live enough to contribute more to Kishore’s career.. But if you see the work which he had given to Kishore during the latter’s tender age and early career, you would know why I am making this statement… The songs sung by Kishore under KP are-
1. Marne ki duayein kyun mangu- Ziddi(1948)
2. Yeh kaun aaaya re(with Lata)- Ziddi(1948)
3. Mere ghar aage hai- Rimjhim(1949)
4. Jagmag Jagmag- Rimjhim(1949)
5. Aati hai yaad- Muqaddar(1950)
6. Ek do teen- Muqaddar(1950)
7. Balma Balma- Muqaddar(1950)
8. Ghar le maalik- Muqaddar(1950)
5,6,7,8 are all duets with Asha Bhosle.. To be noted, These 8 were the first 8 “released movie” songs of Kishore, after these 8 songs, SDB chipped into Kishore’s career with Pyaar in 1950.. To be noted points-
*Songs 1 and 3- absolutely brilliant sad songs. So early in Kishore’s career, he showed such woderful voice modulation especially in song no. 3.. Also, it was sheer genius of KP that he had identified Kishore’s potentital to carry off these songs at the age of 19-20!!
* Not only sad!! song no. 6 was the first yoodeling song of KK!!! Yes, I mean it! That means KP was not only aware of KK’s potential to sing soulful songs, but also to carry comedy songs with initial glimpse of great yoodeling as well!! Remember it was 1950, and KK was not even a hero that time.. It was only after he became hero, he started to yoodel more for himslef on screen to popularize yoodeling..
* And what a romantic song it was, ie, song no. 2.. With Lata… Only 8 songs in 3 movies is what KK could do for KP before the latter passed away at a very young age of 42..
But, it should be admitted that it was KP, who was the actual nurturer of kishore and actual “promoter” also.. Definitely, SDB did a lot better, because he lived more to see through Kishore’s rise to top, unfortunately, Khemchandji passed away… Even maestro naushad worked as an assistant to KP in 40s.. Such was the position KP used to hold that time…
February 24th, 2009 at 8:10 pm
Sd burman sed kishore in 50s and sixitis when he was nobody. so naturally he could not give all songs to him. he ied to identify what was mssing in rafi the enthu and the purity. so he ceated songs like “ye dil na hota bechra”, “hum matwale naujaan”, “man janb ne pukara nahi”, nd thetrend continued “o meri sharmile”, “re meet na “, “pholooonke ranse ” this is the facet of kishore exploited by sd. the aaaona in o mei sharmille is very sxy. “khilat hai gula yahan ko00 oooo…. is avariatio of the tune used by kishore at recording permitted by sdb.this vaiation was a speciality of kishore later perfected in “gadi bula rahi hai”, “aaankhme humne aapke sapane “(kishore has eaten lata here”, ” jab bhi koi kangana bole” from shaukin (RD burman). this vaition was used as kishoe style
about mere nainina sawan bhado rd himself prefers kishore version which conveys the pyqasa feeling with a subtle tone. it is superior to lata. me is case with “rimzim gire sawan”, “samauta gmonse karlo”, “zindagi pyar ka geet hi”. ishore has exceled lata lta had an edgeover kishoein “is mode pe jatae ha duet, kyayahi pyar i, tere mere milan ki raina”. kishores voice did ot eome hoarse towrads end.lisen to “kkate nahi katate hai ” d “zindagi pyr kageet ha” rom mr indi n 987. kishore has emakably rendered bhume tumse pyar and caried iton seer effect of voice to convey emotions nd many find ember superior to parveeen sultna s hakate.without harkate simply the voice has pellbound effect kishore’s oice does thesame magic in ” kab tak andhere chalatehenge(batobto e 1981), jeevan se na har jeeneqlle”, “ye jeevn ai”, ( piya ka ghar), “zindagi kasafa(immense depth) from “safar”, “aa chalke tuze leke chalo”.
Yes sincekishorewas ot trined he epnded less on phirat harkat and taan but sung ibuy instinct “bekarar dil tu gaye ja” and practiced a very diifcult taan even or classicalsingers in “jab bhi oi kangana bole “( from shaukin 1986). latas “megha chaya” from shillee qs only gr8 butin guide more harf ongs the gr8 songs were “kato se kheencheke” and “ose chl kye”.
May 1st, 2008 at 12:35 pm
kishore da always used to say “arrey dil se gao galey se nahin”. He was a magician of soz. I could not celebrate my B’day after 13th october 1987. My opinion is do not keep on counting hunderd of thousands of songs of a singer and then strip them out for evaluation that how good or bad that singer is/was. Only ONE song can change some one’s life. It is the power of music that will remain everlasting not the individual. Rafi Mukesh or Kishore All are angels of god whose talent has created beautiful environment around us. God bless them all.
Kind regards to you all
Sushil k parashar
December 16th, 2007 at 11:12 am
Binu ji - I will disagree with you here. Read some of the comments written by diehard Rafi fans. I think it is in bad taste.
Actually there are such fans for both the artistes and it is not fair to say that some writers in this forum are writing anti-Rafi sahab. I love the songs of both these artistes though I am more of a Kishore fan as it is my own liking and passion.
Read this post - I think it is in real bad taste.
http://www.yoodleeyoo.com/kishore-diary/an-endless-feud-between-the-fans-of-mohammed-rafi-and-kishore-kumar.html#comment-5679
I request the web-master to post all messages posted by Kishore/Rafi fans. I sense some of messages posted by Rafi fans are not being approved.
Ek dukhi ladki aur Kishore ki fan.
December 13th, 2007 at 11:20 am
Anil ji :
Most of Rafi saab fans and lovers love the songs of Kishore da
too.
They do not behave like fanatics or sectarians which is not the
case with some writers in this forum……
binu nair
December 8th, 2007 at 3:41 am
Dipankar,
Come down to earth! Many of the classical singers can sing great songs which can only be understood by people like you! If you don’t like kishore-da then you really don’t deserve to be a Rafi fan.
By the way what is taans, alaaps? Music has no language! Just feel it! If you can feel it then that is YOUR feeling!
December 6th, 2007 at 8:16 pm
LMAO!!! This is the problem of us asians. We dont want to accept what the truth is , our views are biased. Kishore kumar didn’t have harkats and taans in his voice which rafi had. But kishore had an awesome voice , very melodic. Guys , honestly ; rafi was a muslim but he sang man tarpat hari darshan ko aaj , an indian bhajan like a pandit. He sand semi classical songs like madhuban mein radhika nache re (where the classical part is very hard to attempt) . Rafi sang high songs , he sang sad songs , he sang inatoxicated songs , he sang happy songs , he sang cocky songs , he sang funny songs , he sang shabds (sikhs) , he sang bhajans (like pandits) , he sang muslim hamds and naats , he sang ghazals , he sang 2 english songs , he sang semi classical songs.!!!!!!! Is there ever been a singer like rafi then??? If you understand music , u must know that rafi was a master of harkats. And also his taans and alaaps are undisputed.
Please acknowledge the truth , dont fool yourselves . Both singers are from india but try to understand which one was better. RAFI has got no match till date. EVEN sonu nigam the best singer in india right now and the only one that can cut a semi classical album loves RAFI. CZ he understands music.
October 29th, 2007 at 3:03 am
People keep saying that KK was never a trained singer, well why not. You mean to tell me he just got up every morning and started singing. Maybe he was never formally trained as a youngster but did train when he started singing. No one will has yet to have range in voice that Mohd. Rafi sahib had. He could sing anything from a ghazal to qawali to raag to a song in any mood. I love KK as much, but they were both different. I miss them both, and wish they were still alive.
August 18th, 2007 at 3:38 pm
Guys I challenge any songs of Kishore VS Rafi/Lata, anytime Kishore is any time best. Its very difficult to change people who does not understand music, singing + pure sheer of listening to a male voice + versitality what Kishore cannot put in words, he was exteremly talented.
To be honest many and many feel Rafi’s songs were all of similar style, may be those days composers had same kind of creating songs or the trend was that. Rafi could have done differently if had sung in a different generation but tell me about the VOICE what kishore had… extremly good.
Pure Man’s voice.
Kishore sung best songs because he had the talent and support of people.
Rafi was washed away there was no one to listen Rafi’s songs once Kishore came to his peak.
Time is the best example to say Kishore swept all good songs as people/directors/producers/music directors wished him to sing. Easily 70s and 80s belonged to Kishore, there was no way to look back till he expired.
Take any of kishore’s songs, I am sure none of previous singers or current or future singers can sing with such versitality with such good voice.
I and my friends always feel God has made some people where their brains cannot be tuned at all, they stick to it even if its wrong, they cannot think beyond what they understand, just like the supporters of Rafi. They want to stay in 60s and cannot understand music because their brain is tuned to certain level and cannot go further
NO ARGUEMENT PLEASE ….. KISHORE IS BEST !!!!
July 28th, 2007 at 10:37 pm
Kishoreda is the greatest artist in the universe.
July 28th, 2007 at 3:35 pm
There need be no debate about Kishor’s talents and often-remarkable performance, and he of course shone well particularly well under Sr Burman’s baton. Especially his several songs based on Khamaj - for example, Koi humdum na rahaa; musaafir hoong yaaro, to fix clear what I mean) were great, since, as one has written on this site (not this page), he did enjoy a certain inexplicable natural melodic flair which showed in certain types of songs mostly classical or semi-classical, or else straight notes using the Ragas in a non-classical manner. I want to only add a negative facet of his music, just so that we maintain an unbiassed and fair view of him. It is that towards the latter phase of his cine musica career, his voice became very very hoarse, either due to overexploitation with too many singing contracts, or due to songs mismatched to his innate singing qualities.
July 27th, 2007 at 11:31 am
Mr A Singh,I certainly know that koi humdum was based on jhinjhiti raaga.