Kishore Vs Kishore
His The Train, Mela and Caravan were just his last pending triumphs with Rafi as the only or main voice. With Kishore Kumar himself on the crest of a wave, RD had no qualms or fears about his favourite voice. He could afford to give the sort of music which he really relished, music which […]
His The Train, Mela and Caravan were just his last pending triumphs with Rafi as the only or main voice. With Kishore Kumar himself on the crest of a wave, RD had no qualms or fears about his favourite voice. He could afford to give the sort of music which he really relished, music which was to earn him the tag of being the most innovative Indian film composer of all time.
That Rajesh Khanna was himself like a locomotive in full steam helped, of course. But RD thrust Kishore even on Rafi-centric stars like Dharmendra (Do Chor), Sanjeev Kumar (Seeta Aur Geeta, Anamika), Shashi Kapoor (Aa Gale Lag Jaa), Jeetendra (Caravan, Parichay, Jaise Ko Taisa) as well as on newcomers like Randhir Kapoor, Navin Nischol, Vijay Arora, Amitabh Bachchan, Vinod Mehra and Rakesh Roshan.
In short, Kishore did not hold merely the centerstage in Pancham’s sur – he held the entire stage! And RD’s songs weren’t quite like anything heard before in our films. Neither were they wholesale Western adaptations, nor were they in the traditional film music mould. They were an exotic amalgam of Indian and Western, of traditional core and modern packaging. In 1971-2, such was the Kishore wave that even the mediocre Hum to hai rahi dil ke (Caravan) which is now almost forgotten was more popular than the three excellent Rafi duets which endure to this day, but RD and Kishore were something khaas. Yeh shaam mastani, Pyar diwana hota hai and Yeh jo muhabbat hai (Kati Patang), Raat kali ek khwab mein ayee (Buddha Mil Gaya), Chanda o chanda (Lakhon Mein Ek), Koi maane ya na maane (Adhikar) and Hone wali hai Gangaram ki sagaai (Pyar Ki Kahani) were just the exciting beginning of the superb melodies and riveting rhythms that they created together.
Caught in the Kishore wave, LP, whose previous but notable association with the singer was limited to Kishore Kumar’s acting vehicles like Mr X In Bombay, Shriman Funtoosh, Pyar Kiye Jaa and Hum Sab Ustad Hain, had begun to employ Kishore Kumar sporadically. Laxmikant was a composer who thoroughly needed to absorb an artiste’s style and USP before employing him; whenever he could not he just ignored the singer, whether it was Talat Mehmood, Abhijeet, Poornima or Kumar Sanu.
So, after due study, the versatile and prolific tunesmith had yielded two songs for Jagdeep (Khilona and Darpan), three for Mehmood as a comic (in Jawab and Humjoli) and others in Bachpan and Satyakam.
But there were only two memorable songs – Sui jaa taara for Mehmood as a hero in Mastana and Sa re ga ma pa in Abhinetri . It was in 1971 that LP realised that their good friend and contemporary RD and Kishore Kumar, individually and especially together, could not be wished away. Rafi, so to speak, was firmly entrenched in their system, but it was at this point of time that LP for the first time unsheathed that daunting weapon – their remarkable chameleon-like power to change with the times – which enabled them to surmount every challenge for two more decades.
With Kalyanji Anandji never obsessed with one-upmanship, SJ on the decline, every other giant passe and Dada Burman choosy, the stage was thus set for the ruling champions – LP – and the surprise challenger Pancham to have a battle royal for the for the baton.
the site for rafi saab is not like kk site.there are always
write ups about rafi saab since there are lot of subjects
about him whether it is his association with fellow singers
or with music directors or the type of songs he rendered.
each of his song is a lesson for true music lovers.as far
as kk is concerned his talents,his association with mds
or fellow singers are concerned is very limited and that
is clearly seen in this site – this site is a dessrt site.
there are number of articles appearing in rafi saab’s
site and no comments were there about any singer
by the fans.it is common among rafi fans that they
are treating rafi saab above anything including their
beloved ones.it is giving some sort of irritation to the
fans of other singers especially the fans of kk.this leads
to unnecessary arguments and using bad words.so it is
clear that the problems are starting by kk fans.these
fans of kk are aware that their idol kk is not enough to
project against as far as high pitch and other difficult
songs are concerned and that leads to the discussion
of gantasalaji who was not at all a threat for rafi saab.
Hello friends,
I had always been a Mohd. Rafi fan, since I was a kid. Like my parents and friends, I, obediently followed the tradition to listen and admire rafi and only rafi. His “Makhmali awaaz” was always a treat to my ears. I would sing his songs at the school and with friends. People liked me because I was eventually, if not easily. able to hit those “high surs”. I was admired.
But, then I had chance to listen to Kishore da`s songs. I was moved! His voice was uniquely LARGE. The base in his voice was incredibly deep, unlike any other singer. His voice was inimitable. Such strong voice, reflected pronounced masculinity. His songs like ‘Hal Kya Hai Dilon Ka’, ‘Phoolon ke rang se’, ‘Aapke Anurodh Pe’ ‘Kuch To log kaheinge’ and many others, are great examples of his talent. You would see many singers singing Rafi`s songs, giving him a good enough tribute. There are sonu nigam, shabbir and many others who are fairly good at it. But Kishore Kumar was UNIQUE. No one in the world has such a tremendous throw and solidarity. AND now we can just IMAGINE what kishore da could have done if he was classically trained from his childhood. His voice would have broken the boundaries and CONQUERED the world!!
The khanak in kishoreda`s voice was a god-gift and the almighty has not given even one-tenth of that charismatic resonance that kishoreda was rewarded with.
Conclusively, I hope and pray that the rafi`s fans break their old bias for an hour and just listen to the songs I have recommended above! Do not banish kishore da`s talent without even weighing them fairly. And as for Rafi, he has been my guru, idol, teacher, god and always will be.
Thank you.
Kishore the unmatchable singer. Can’t we get another Kishore soon?
Why we compare these two legends ? Kishore Kumar was a genius singer one can never deny . So , in singing Kishore is a style and an institution to learn the music . How we could sing hindi /urdu songs . Kishore gave different touch to Hindi/Urdu songs . New style emerged in shape of KK this was creativity that kk given to Indian Cinema .so KK was Innovative in style of singing At same time M.Rafi at his own place sung the song with traditional way. So M. Rafi gave peaks to music in India and strengthen the music world and its foundation . Whereas KK gave new inventions to music world and new style that was not in fashion. KK gave new birth to music while M.rafi gave new life to old music .
So There is no need to compare these two outclass singers ..
One is fragance other is sense if one is sense other is fragance .
i beg to differ with your opinion that kishore da outclassed md. rafi for the song ‘tum bin’. i believe rafi’s rendition was by far the more refined of the two and with all due respect to kishore, rafi was a class act in his own right. these two stalwarts of indian cinema gave us such a treasure trove of music and set such high standards, that we are yet to see talent reach those dizzying heights in melody.
rd employed kishore till end as main singer. rah pe rahate hai (nameen”), jab bhi koi kangana bole ( shaukin), rocky, “agar tum na hote” etc. eve lp had to emloy ishorein mr India in 1987.
i think kk is the best ever gift to mankind.
Though RD is associated mainly with KK, but I would like to compliment LP for giving some of the their best works to KK. LP gave KK a total different dimension to his voice.
Kishoreda is greatest.