August 05, 2004
 

Kishore Kumar's 75^th birth anniversary was celebrated yesterday all across India. The great singer was born on 4^th August 1929 in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh. His real name was Abhas Kumar Ganguly. Eldest brother Ashok Kumar had not yet made it big in cinema. Predictably enough, Kishoreda's entry into Hindi cinema was not smooth and his voice was rejected on the basis that it didn't have that special something. Shades of what another legend would go through a couple of decades later.

Success in the initial days was mainly as a comedian, along with a few songs here and there. Mohammad Rafi and Talat Mahmood still ruled the roost and it was difficult for a new entrant, who had an ability to sing like Saigal, to break the hegemony. He did manage to grab singing assignments for almost all of Dev Anand's films, starting from Ziddi (Dukhi man mere). Until the 1970s, he was essentially an actor (comedian) who sang a few songs. Aradhana changed it all and then there was no looking back. He became the undisputed leading male singer throughout the 1970s till his death in 1987, even though he had some totally crappy numbers towards the end. You could say that the second phase of his career started from Aradhana and ended with Saagar.

He was a total eccentric and made producers and directors tear their hair out in frustration.

Between 1996 and 1998, I created my own tribute to the legend along with a list of Kishore Kumar songs in my collection. I haven't updated the page for over 5 years now but I'm absolutely sure I have added to my collection.

If you're a Kishore fan, you ought to try your hand at this quiz.

Rambled @ 8:41 AM

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