True genius — there is perhaps only one word to describe Kishore-Da, for he defies any one particular definition for an artiste. He could sing and dance; act and mimic; write and compose; make you laugh and cry; and he lived a life that challenged all social norms. Kishore Kumar's hilarious movies, and his ever-enchanting songs make him the most memorable multifaceted talent of Bengali origin of all times.
Born on August 4, 1929, in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh, India, Abhas Kumar Gangoly (his real name) was the youngest son of Kunjhalal Gangoly and Gauri Devi. Music and culture was in his blood. In Kishore's own words: "My father Kunjalal Ganguli, was a pleader (advocate) who earned Rs 30 a month. My mama, Dhananjay Banerjee, a classical singer, was the only family link I had with music. But I was never trained to be a singer. It was my brother Dadamoni (Ashok Kumar) who learnt music from the well-known Saraswati Devi."
Neither school nor college interested him. As he once said: "I used to compose different tunes for different subjects. For instance, I composed a tune for a paragraph on the Malthusian theory of population." Music was the heart and soul of Kishore. "Very early in life I was fascinated by K.L. Saigal. I used to save my pocket money to buy his records. He's my real guru."
When his elder brother Ashok Kumar became a favourite Bombay Talkies hero, Kishore and his younger brother Anoop were still struggling to pass out college exams. The family finally moved to Bombay in 1946, in the hope that Ashok Kumar, whose career as an actor has just taken off, would be able to find jobs for the boys in films. That's how Kishore Kumar went on to became an actor, which he never wanted.
"I only wanted to sing…But somehow…I was persuaded to act in the movies. I hated every moment of it and tried virtually every trick to get out of it." But Kishore did make a successful film career. As he said, "I was the biggest draw after Dilip Kumar. "There were so many films I was doing in those days that I had to run from one set to the other, changing on the way." He acted in some eighty films in all, the most remarkable being Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi, Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein, and Parosan.
Today, Kishore Kumar's fame rests almost entirely on his wonderful legacy of songs. Beginning with Ziddi in 1948, Kishore Kumar produced thousands of soulful song with immense fervour, intense emotion and exceptional versatility. He sang for all the Bengali music directors of Bollywood, from Sachin Dev and Rahul Dev Burman, Anil Biswas and Salil Chowdhury to Hemant Kumar, Shyamal Mitra and Bappi Lahiri. He received many national and international awards and did stage shows all over the world. He is often compared with the likes of Bob Hope and Danny Kaye. Kishore also produced and directed about a dozen movies, including a few Bengali films. His favourite director was Alfred Hitchcock.
This exciting person, who made us laugh and cry with his scintillating performance, was not a happy man in personal life. He married four times, all actors — Ruma Ghosh, Madhubala, Yogeeta Bali and Leena Chandravarkar. Kishore Kumar died of a heart attack in Mumbai on 13th October, 1987. He is survived by his wife Leena and sons Sumit and Amit Kumar, who is also a gifted singer.
Kishore Kumar will always be remembered for his lively, sonorous and flexible voice that today's singers try to copy in vain. Kishore Valicha, in his book Kishore Kumar, The Definitive Biography, writes: "It may not be wrong to say that Kishore Kumar's was the second golden voice India has produced, if the first is that of Kundan Lal Saigal. Kishore's voice was not only a magnificent intonation in itself but belonged to the tradition-governed glorious era of melody, which ended, in a way, with his departure. Kishore Kumar marked the end of an era of great film music."
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