Kishore Kumar- Remembering the legendary singer on his 84th birth anniversary

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: Born as Abhas Kumar Ganguly in a wealthy and highly sophisticated family, little did anyone know that this young man will someday make it big in Hindi Cinema and croon his way into millions of hearts. The ace singer started his career in the domain of acting, with the movie ‘Shikari’ in 1946. But it was in 1948, that music director Khemchand Prakash gave him the golden opportunity to sing a song. Kishore Kumar, who once followed Kundan Lal Saigal’s singing style, took no time to make a niche for himself in Bollywood as a singer. Kishore Da soon developed his own unique singing fashion which featured yodeling and went on to become an eternal heartthrob. It was music director RD Burman who encouraged his singing talent and teamed up with Kumar to deliver many hit songs like ‘Maana Janaab Ne Pukara Nahin’, ‘Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke’, ‘Ek Ladki Bheegi Bhaagi Si’, ‘Haal Kaisa Hai Janaab Ka’ etc. Apart from showing his singing and acting prowess in movies like ‘Padosan’, ‘Aasha’ etc, he also ventured into direction and production. He produced and helmed movies like ‘Aradhana’. From Rajesh Khanna to Amitabh Bachchan, Kishore Kumar has given his melodious voice to many superstars. Kishore Da, with 8 Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer to his credit, was undoubtedly one of the most valuable artists that Hindi Cinema ever had.