Kishore Vs Kishore

Rajiv Vijayakar Reams have been written about how Kishore Kumar,when he finally came into the mood to playback for artistes other than himself and Dev Anand, decimated the competition offered by such stalwarts as Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh and Mannadey. Volumes have been penned on how Destiny contrived to aid Kishore with the simultaneous upswing of […]

Rajiv Vijayakar
Reams have been written about how Kishore Kumar,when he finally came into the mood to playback for artistes other than himself and Dev Anand, decimated the competition offered by such stalwarts as Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh and Mannadey. Volumes have been penned on how Destiny contrived to aid Kishore with the simultaneous upswing of Rajesh Khanna and the Burmans and the rise of Randhir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan, all in those few decisive years from the fag end of the 60’s and the early 70’s. But as we complete 12 be-sura years without this eccentric genius called Kishore Kumar and his exquisite genius, let us ponder upon something that largely went unnoticed, and certainly unwritten: about how Kishore Kumar competed with Kishore himself. And what do I mean with this apparently crazy, even asinine statement? Simply this :

When Aradhana happened (and everyone knows that the late Rahul Dev Burman, urf Pancham urf RD, had the lion’s share in the creation of the three Kishore hits Mere sapnon ki rani, Roop tera mastana and Kora kagaz tha yeh man mera), RD was still a struggler, better known as Dada Burman’s son and associate music director. And Rafi was comfortable at the top.

Aradhana itself had two fabulous (and hit) Rafi duets composed by – to the best of our knowledge – the senior Burman. RD himself had delivered ace after ace from 1966 – Teesri Manzil, Baharon Ke Sapne, Abhilasha, Padosan, Pyar Ka Mausam (with that singular Rafi-Kishore battle Tum bin jaoon kahan which Kishore had won) and Waris, but had not made headway because with Rafi as his mainstay, he could not forge his own identity.
All that he proved with these films was that he was different from dad(a) Burman. On the other hand, the eternal Rafi-bhakts Laxmikant-Pyarelal had, come 1969, left Shanker Jaikishan with their wits scattered for the first time since the early 50s with humdinger after humdinger in the same post-1966 period. And but for a few exceptions, all these scores were dominated by Rafi – Aye Din Bahaar Ke, Aya Sawan Jhoom Ke, Sajan, Anjaana, Sadhu Aur Shaitan, Intequam, Wapas, Mere Humdum Mere Dost, Izzat, Jeene Ki Raah, Jigri Dost, Night In London, Taqdeer and other films with hit Rafi’s singles.
LP were securely perched at the top, with names like V.Shantaram and Manoj Kumar as the latest names in their bag – and no opposition to speak of. And RD, Kishore and Aradhana came like a giant bump as LP were speeding on the Numero Uno highway. Once Aradhana hit the nation like a thunderbolt – and I will never forget the hysteria its music generated – RD was ready to unleash himself with pet voice Kishore in the flood of assignments that came his way for the first time.

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9 Blog Comments to “Kishore Vs Kishore”

  1. Ahamed Kutty says:

    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.

  2. Fazal Ahmad says:

    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.

  3. Sathya prasad T N says:

    Kishore the unmatchable singer. Can’t we get another Kishore soon?

  4. Shahid says:

    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 .

  5. dr sam says:

    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.

  6. Anil says:

    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.

  7. vinod says:

    i think kk is the best ever gift to mankind.

  8. A Singh says:

    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.

  9. BAPAN says:

    Kishoreda is greatest.

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