KISHORE KUMAR
Born : 4th August
1929
Place : Khandwa, India.
Profile
Kishore Kumar a
name that is synonymous with the yodelling that started out in the music
world many many years back when only classically oriented singers were
giving the playback in the films.
For people who do not know much about
Kishore Kumar and probably have heard a few great songs of his and hum
them in the pastime being thoroughly ignorant about the singer.
His
Birth and His family
Kishore Kumar was born on 4th August 1929 in a
middle class home at Khandwa. He was the youngest in the family. Kishore
Kumar's father, whose name was Kunjhalal Gangoly, a lawyer by profession,
was a modest man. Kishore's mother Gauri Devi, hailed from a wealthy
family and had received an education denied in those days to most girls.
Of the four children, Ashok Kumar was the eldest, born on 13 October 1911
and was twenty years older than Kishore . He was followed by a daughter
who was about 15 years older to Kishore. Her name was Sati Devi. The next
was a boy, Anoop Kumar - who was about 5 years older than Kishore, who was
the youngest of all.
His Childhood
As a young boy, Kishore
was full of mischief and pranks. He loved to play and almost never tired
of seeking amusements . He constantly thought up antics to play on his
sister and his brother Anoop Kumar. Kishore was very close to his sister,
who appreciated his sense of humour. Though the interaction with his
eldest brother was minimal as Ashok Kumar left home to study law after
graduating in science. He met his brother occasionally when Ashok used to
come to visit the family.
Though Kishore went to a prominent school at
Khandwa, he was never interested and he hated reading books and having to
learn under a discipline that seemed to curb his natural steam.
The
Influence
Kishore Kumar used to sing for his parents and they would
give him money as a small token. His father often asked him to sing Ashok
Kumar's song from the movie Achut Kanya.(Main ban ki chidya .. bolun
re..). Kishoreda was good at imitating and this was near to perfect when
it came to singing K.S.Saigal's songs. K.S.Saigal turned out to be his
mentor and meeting him was his wish at the top of his mind. Sadly, the
meeting with Saigal did not take place, for Saigal died soon after
Kishore's arrival in Mumbai.
The move into the filmdom
Ashok
Kumar thought it was best for Kishoreda to try and pick up acting by
initially doing small roles in films and he also considered that just
singing was not lucrative as acting. Kishore knew that he was cut out to
do the romantic hero. He felt was just an ordinary looking person. In his
heart, Kishore resolved to try and pursue a singing career, which he was
confident about. He was rejected many times on the pretext of "Your voice
is no good; us mein woh cheez nahin hai.'
He was offered a small role
in the movie Ziddi and it happened in the making of this movie. Khemchand
Prakash heard Kishore Kumar sing and was impressed. He told Ashok Kumar
that the boy (Kishore) had a future as a singer. Khemchand went ahead and
gave a song to Kishore who executed it in a typical Saigal style..Marne ki
duayen lyon maangon.... What impressed Khemchand was the skill with which
Kishore held the tune.
The early times with the
Burmans
Sr.Burman was visiting Ashok Kumar when he heard Kishore
sing in his bath. When he was told who was singing, he decided to wait and
meet Kishore. He complimented his singing and told him that he should
develop a style of his own. In his own words 'Saigal is undoubtedly a
great singer, but there not much sense in imitating him; a singer needs to
have a distinct style that is his own.' How true it was what he
said.
What launched KK as a hit was Aradhana with his Mere Sapnon Ki
Rani under the music direction of S.D.Burman. The rest is
history...
For more information on Kishore Kumar visit
www.yoodleeyoo.com
