Gaane lagi har dhadkan
What more can one write when so much has already been written for the icon Kishore Kumar! He was the voice of countless gems of Hindi film music and one cannot write about Hindi music without talking about him.
For those who do not know, he was not a trained singer. There are popular stories about some of the songs such as "Mere naina saawan bhado'. This song was a heavy classical song and he asked Pancham to record Lata's version first so that he could listen to that and rehearse. It is one of the most popular songs of Kishore Kumar today and one cannot even think that he did not have the required training of Hindustani music. Similarly, in the very popular 'pag ghungroo baandh meera naache', there is a part which is purely sargam. He refused to sing the song itself as he was not at all comfortable singing the sargam. Bappi Lahiri who was the music director, had to take another singer just for the sargam so that Kishore Kumar would agree to sing that song.
The story goes that when he was a child, he had injured himself and cried for days which resulted in the wonderful voice whom the world today knows as Kishore Kumar. He was not the first choice for the film makers and music composers in the 50's and 60's. Then Aradhana was released in 1969 and he became the voice of Rajesh Khanna and took over the music industry. He had arrived and the trio of Rajesh Khanna, Pancham Da and Kishore Kumar gave us innumerable gems. His popularity overshadowed all singers of that time and he became the playback voice for all top and upcoming actors of the industry - be it Rajesh khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Dev Anand, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Rishi Kapoor. His voice was one of the reasons behind immense popularity of these actors. On a flipside, his voice was so powerful that one did not even have to see the movie as one could just listen to his songs in a loop :)
The story goes that when he was a child, he had injured himself and cried for days which resulted in the wonderful voice whom the world today knows as Kishore Kumar. He was not the first choice for the film makers and music composers in the 50's and 60's. Then Aradhana was released in 1969 and he became the voice of Rajesh Khanna and took over the music industry. He had arrived and the trio of Rajesh Khanna, Pancham Da and Kishore Kumar gave us innumerable gems. His popularity overshadowed all singers of that time and he became the playback voice for all top and upcoming actors of the industry - be it Rajesh khanna, Amitabh Bachchan, Dev Anand, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Rishi Kapoor. His voice was one of the reasons behind immense popularity of these actors. On a flipside, his voice was so powerful that one did not even have to see the movie as one could just listen to his songs in a loop :)
As Telegraph India's article says - his voice is the voice of Now. His voice is broody, intense, romantic, comic - name the emotion and I am sure you can find a Kishore Kumar song that aptly represents that.
It is his birth anniversary and I am sharing my favourites in this post. Selecting these songs from a graph of 2000+ songs was mind boggling and I hope you enjoy these as I do.
Mere Mehboob Qayamat Hogi
Composed by Laxmikant Pyarelal for 1964 Mr.X in Bombay, this song is so enjoyable even today that it has been remixed by Sanam - the band that is very popular with the younger generation. Kishore Kumar's voice expresses the pain of heartbreak with deep intensity in this song. I first heard this song sometime in 1980's and till date I have not stopped marveling at the depth that he brought to this song.
Phoolon ke rang se
One of my all time favourites. An absolutely romantic number composed by Dada Burman and written by Neeraj in the 1970 movie Prem Pujari, the song reminds you of moments filled with love and longings. An interesting tidbit about this composition is that it was first created for a Bengali film and the song was penned by Meera Dev Burman (wife of Dada Burman). It was after that Neeraj penned the lyrics for the Hindi version.
Neeraj's soft lyrics are crooned aptly by Kishore Kumar in a soft yet powerful voice. As one of the line goes - "याद तू आये, मन हो जाये, भीड़ के बीच अकेला" - the song has exactly that effect on the listener.
साँसों की सरगम, धड़कन की बीणा , सपनों की गीतांजलि तू
मन की गली में महके जो हरदम , ऐसी जूही की कली तू
छोटा सफ़र हो, लम्बा सफ़र हो , सूनी डगर हो या मेला
याद तू आये, मन हो जाये, भीड़ के बीच अकेला
बादल बिजली चंदन पानी, जैसा अपना प्यार
लेना होगा जनम हमें कई कई बार
Tere Bina Zindagi se
This masterpiece of a song by Gulzar Sahab, Pancham da for the 1975 movie 'Aandhi' is a duet sung by Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar. If there is one song that I can call as my topmost favourite, it is this. This was originally a Bengali melody "jete jete patho hole deri' composed by Pancham da for Durga Pooja. Gulzar sahab liked it so much that he wrote the Hindi lyrics for this melody. This song has a few dialogues in between two stanzas and Pancham da unhappy about that had asked Gulzar sahab if he had any knowledge of sur and taal 😀
The pain of separation, lost love and the intensity of few moments of togetherness are reflected with such tenderness in this song. Every time I listen to this song, I find myself drifting away to some hidden lanes of life, bringing out emotions that one is usually unaware of. One questions if living a life of accomplishments but without the one whom you truly love is worth it? For me, I think this song immortalizes the complexities of love.
तुम जो कह दो तो आज की रात चाँद डूबेगा नहीं , रात को रोक लो
रात की बात है, और ज़िन्दगी बाक़ी तो नहीं
तेरे बिना ज़िन्दगी से कोई शिक़वा तो नहीं
तेरे बिना ज़िन्दगी भी लेक़िन, ज़िन्दगी तो नहीं
For those interested in listening to the Bengali melody: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-JixDkGKqw
Chingari koi bhadke
Amar Prem released in 1972 followed the super hit series by Pancham Da & Kishore Kumar in Aradhana and Kati Patang. Each song in these movies is supremely melodious and if anyone had any doubts about Pancham da or Kishore Kumar's talent, Amar Prem put that to rest. Rajesh Khanna had already become a superstar by this time and Kishore Kumar had found his footing. His voice was a critical factor behind the immense success enjoyed by Rajesh Khanna.
This song also had Pt.Shiv Kumar Sharma playing the Santoor and Pt.Hari Prasad Chaurasia playing the flute. The lyrics by Anand Bakshi very poignantly express the feelings of betrayal and Kishore Kumar's broody voice stirs something deep inside.
हमसे मत पूछो कैसे मंदिर टूटा सपनों का
लोगों की बात नहीं है, ये किस्सा है अपनों का
कोई दुश्मन ठेस लगाये, तो मीत जिया बहलाये
मनमीत जो घाव लगाये, उसे कौन मिटाये
Aaye tum yaad mujhe
The song that makes my heart sing is the very romantic आए तुम याद मुझे from the 1975 movie Mili. Soulful lyrics by Yogesh and a melodious composition by Dada Burman, Kishore Kumar's intense voice takes you to the lanes of nostalgia, love and never ending commitment. I personally think that this movie is one of the finest performances of Amitabh Bachchan and the depth of Kishore Kumar's voice is a perfect fit for an equally broody Bachchan.
An absolute gem:
आए तुम याद मुझे, गाने लगी हर धड़कन
ख़ुशबू लायी पवन, महका चंदन
I was reminded of several songs while creating this post. Some of those songs are:
O Saathi re, tere bina bhi kya jeena from Muqaddar ka Sikander
Roop tera mastana from Aradhana
Kiska raasta dekhe from Joshila
O Hansini from Zehreela Insaan
Meri bheegi bheegi si from Anamika
Ye jo mohabbat hai from Kati Patang
Main pyaasa tum saawan from Pyaasa Saawan
Rimjhim gire saawan from Manzil
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