The 1960's were not kind to Kishore Kumar. Most of the movies he starred in flopped at the box office, his marriage to his first wife ended in divorce and his songs were just not getting the airplay they had been when he first broke into the business. While he had the odd hit in 'Padosan' & 'Jewel Thief', for the most part it seemed that Bollywood had grown tired of Kishore and his career seemed over. He remarried in 1960 to the luminous Madhubala but the marriage was doomed from the start. Madhubala secretly pined for Dilip Kumar, who did indeed love her back - but Dilip's father forbade the two from getting married as he did not want his son marrying an actress (which he did anyway with Saira Banu). Madhubala passed away in 1969 while in Kishore's arms - she had loved him during their time together but was never in love with him. Yet that year would prove a watershed year in Kishore's life both personally and professionally...
S.D. Burman had already started recording the songs for 'Aradhana' and used Rafi's voice for the first two but became very ill shortly thereafter and had to be hospitalized. The responsibility for finishing the soundtrack fell on his son, Rahul Dev Burman and although R.D. was relatively new to Bollywood, he had always been enamored with Kishore's voice. The younger Burman broke tradition and recorded the remainder of the songs with Kishore, convinced that Kishoreda would be able to hit the nuances of the songs better than Rafi could. 'Aradhana' became a blockbuster hit and that one movie changed the entire landscape of Bollywood for years to come. Rajesh Khanna became the biggest movie star of the day and no one, not Raj Kapoor before him or Amitabh Bachchan after, could match the way he owned the silver screen for the next five years. Kishore fared even better, after the success of 'Aradhana' he became the most sought after singer in Bollywood until he passed away and had few if any peers to his craft.
The above video is of the song Kora Kagaz from the movie 'Aradhana'. A spellbinding duet by Kishore & Lata, it was also the song to which Nilong & I were introduced as husband and wife at our wedding reception. The song is iconic and like most things involving Kishore, it still sounds as fresh and alive as it did when it was first released over 40 years ago...
6 comments:
This is great - I am learning so much... I look forward to reading more. I love Kishore's voice in the songs from 'Aradhana', and never tire of listening to those songs, and I love many songs that he did in the 70s - but I am not very familiar with his older (60s and pre-60s) work - this post and the previous one have given me some clues as to where to start looking.
Glad to be of service! Kishore's voice is evergreen & I agree with you - some songs I do get tired of after repeated listenings but never his songs, ever. This little project has been so rewarding for me but the hardest part has clearly been picking which songs to upload. There are so many to choose from that the posts on the 70's & 80's will be the hardest ones yet - oh to suffer for one's art ;)
odd hit in "Padosan" ? I think you were not born when this movie came up. It was "Padosan" songs that made Kishore Kumar the number one male playback singer in Hindi movies. Songs of "Aradhana" and other movies came later.
It was the song "mere saamne waali khidki mein " from "Padosan" that clinched it for Kishore Kumar. It is Kishore Kumar and R D Burman who took the Bollywood music world by staorm with "Padosan". Rajesh Khanna's phenomenon arrived a couple of years later and that too was helped along by Kishore Kumar and R D Burman.
Actually 'Padosan' came out the year I was born - 1968. You are correct in that those songs started his comeback. However compared to his previous success it was rare hit (even though it remains one of my favorite movies).
'Aradhana' came out the following year in 1969 and catapulted Kishore to the top. A spot he would not relinquish till his untimely death in 1987.
It is completely wrong to say that SD Burman fell sick after first two songs and RDB brought in Kishore and completed the songs thereafter. There are several proofs available including interviews with Shakti Samanta, Late Manohari Singh, Bhupinderji, Kersi Lord, and several other musicians present during Aradhana who swear that all songs are by father SDB. Anyone wanting more details can contact me on amkon1@yahoo.co.in and get all the details.
Moti Lalwani
The songs that S.D Burman is to have written are completely different in rhythm and structure than the ones that R.D is said to have helmed so it's not out of the realm of impossibility that there would be truth to the rumor.
It is a matter of great controversy and since all the principals in this have passed on it will be impossible to get the actual truth. What is without dispute is that Kishore did amazing work with both father and son - with the Sachin Dev he learned his craft and with Rahul he perfected it.
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