Kishore Kumar : The
Everlasting Voice
It was Kishore Kumar who successfully became Hindi cinema's comic hero
whose popularity relied primarily on his comic talents. Add to that his
phenomenal acting talent and amazing singing voice and you have a performer
who bordered on the genius. Kishore Kumar was born on 4th August 1929 in a
middle class home at Khandwa. He was the youngest in the family.
Bollywood Calling
At the age of 18, he came to Bombay where elder brother Ashok Kumar was a
major star. He got his first opportunity as a singer in Bombay Talkies Ziddi
(1948) where he sang the song Marne ki Duayen Kyon Mangu for Dev Anand.
Being an ardent admirer of K.L. Saigal, the song was sung in the style of
the legend. He gradutaed into acting and made his debut as hero in the
forgettable andolen (1951).
After his marriage to Ruma Devi resulted in a split in the family, Kishore
approached S.D. Burman and then he was flodded with singing assignments.
Though he was formally untrained, he assimilated jazz-scat fragmented
musical notes into a rhythmic sequence. His name is synonymous with the
yodelling that started out in the music world. Kishore formed a solid hit
pairing with Rajesh Khanna and in the early 70s the duo churned out hit
after hit.
On
the acting front, by now Kishore was a major star acting opposite the
top heroines of the day. Kishore reached his peak as an actor with the
zany comedy Chalti ka Naam Gaadi (1958) which starred all the three
Ganguly brothers and Madhubala. Madumala and he finally tied the knot
after his first marriage failed. 