New Delhi: Though he is best known as one of Indian cinema's greatest playback singers, Kishore Kumar was also an actor, lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenplay writer and scriptwriter.
Born on August 4, 1929, Kishore was introduced to the world of cinema by his elder brother Ashok Kumar who was already a star in the film industry. The youngest of four siblings, Kishore always knew that he wanted to be a singer.
On his 85th birth anniversary, we have compiled five things/anecdotes about the legendary singer that you might have not known of.
All in the endevour of knowing the legend a little better; in the hope of understanding the man behind the magical voice.
The following article is a compilation of excerpts and observations from the book titled, 'Kishore Kumar: Method in Madness', written by Derek Bose.
1) When he was a small boy, Kishore liked to sit on his father, Kunjalal Ganguly's shoulders and play tabla on his bald head.
2) Kishore Kumar's voice as a child was very shrill. His family would invariably laugh, or cover their ears if he ever tried to sing. One of his biggest problems was that his voice would break into a coarse, grating noise, whenever he tried to modulate his voice. Kishore's family joked that his voice sounded like a rasp of a bamboo being split in two!
3) When Kishore Kumar was about 10 years old, his voice changed miraculously. Kishore was in the habit of hovering around his mother constantly. He was a reputed prankster and he would constantly tease her. One of his favourite pranks was to disrupt whatever his mother had piled neatly. One day, when she turned her back after chopping some vegetables, he rushed in with such speed, that he accidentally stepped on the traditional vegetable chopper and cut one of his toes off! As painkillers, antibiotics and surgeries were rare in those days, he spent an entire month, writhing in pain, and crying on top of his voice. But there was a silver lining to this painful experience: His voice suddenly became melodious!
4) Once, when little Kishore Kumar was studying in Class V, he could not answer a single question on his maths exam. So instead, he filled the paper with jokes, little poems, doodles and smiley faces!
5) In college, young Kishore Kumar was obsessive about his long black overcoat. He was known for his trademark outfit: the black overcoat, white pyjamas, muffler and leather sandals. He would never take off the coat, as he was very insecure about his scrawny physique.
(A photograph of Kishore Kumar from when he was around 10 years old. Image courtesy: 'Kishore Kumar: Method in Madness')
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