Kishore Kumar with wife Leena Chandavarkar. The sweetness is particularly noticeable in songs of pain and melancholy - such as Mera jeevan kora kagaz ( from Kora Kagaz) Koi humdum na raha ( Jhumroo) Zindagi ke safar mein guzar jaate hain ( Aap ki Kasam) Dukhi man mere ( Funtoosh) Meri bheegi bheegi si ( Anamika). It is said that Kishore’s voice combined the strength, depth and richness of the male voice with the sweetness of the female voice. He had no classical training but could surpass me in a song because of his wonderful musical instinct and natural singing flair.” Lata Mangeshkar, who described Kishore as her favourite Bollywood singer, remarked “it’s God who guided his music.” Manna Dey once said “Kishore had the best voice of all playback singers. He was an unschooled singer, but his magic did not derive from training or technique. “Acting is fake, music comes from the heart,” he remarked famously. His versatility was amazing (he variously donned the hats of singer, composer, actor, lyricist, editor and director).īut music was his first passion. He gave Bollywood music a new idiom, introduced the art of yodelling and performed rather than sang songs. He sang more than 2,600 Hindi film songs, including some of Bollywood’s most loveable gems, in his event-filled 40-year career. Ray and Bachchan were two of the millions in India and overseas charmed by Kishore Kumar, whose creative brilliance enriched cinema in many ways. “That’s because his name symbolised entertainment.”
“Just hear the word Kishore and you smile,” Amitabh Bachchan said.
“As a singer of popular songs, he had no equal.” He was gifted with this rare, fluent and mellifluous voice,” said Satyajit Ray about Kishore Kumar.