By: Poonam Deviah

His life was one big 'roller-coaster' ride. His acting skills gave a new definition to comedy. His voice was multifaceted. It knew pain and joy alike. He was one of a kind who touched the helm of singing without any formal training. Welcome aboard 'The magical life of Kishore Kumar.'

On 4th August 1929, was born 'Abhas Kumar Ganguly' whom the world called 'Kishore Kumar' and who went on to become an unbeatable legend. His versatile personality and contribution to the Hindi Film Industry as an actor, singer, director, editor, composer and scriptwriter makes him unmatched to date.

At the age of 18 he left home to join his brother Ashok Kumar who was by then an established actor in Hindi Cinema. He got his first break as a singer in ZIDDI (1948) where he sang the song 'Marne ki Duayen Kyon Mangu' for Dev Anand. On the acting front, after initial struggle he was cast opposite top heroines of the day. He reached his peak as an actor with the wacky comedy CHALTI KA NAAM GAADI (1958) that starred all the three Ganguly brothers and Madhubabla. He was recognised as a comedian with his rib ticklers like HALF TICKET, CHALTI KA NAAM GAADI, FUNTOOSH and PADOSAN. He gave a new dimension to comic roles. He always sang for himself in movies.

It may come as a surprise to many that acting was one thing he hated. This was because he did not like to be dictated by his directors. It will be apt here to narrate an interesting incident. He was once issued a court order that he should always listen to his directors. So, once when he reported for shooting, he was reluctant to get off the car, as his director had not instructed him to do so!

He made DOOR GAGAN KE CHAON MEIN in 1964, which won him an international award. His film DOOR KA RAHI in 1971 was also widely appreciated. The movies directed by him stressed on serious themes and had a sentimental kind of music, which he had always aspired for, especially after being portrayed as comic hero. He had a string of hilarious hits for a decade from 1950 to 1960.

His greatest contribution to filmdom was his style of yodeling in songs like 'Mein hoon jhumroo' and 'Haal kaisa hai janaab ka.' But the true versatile singer that he was, he also gave all-time sentimental hits like 'Jeevan se bhari teri aankhen,' 'Kuch to log kehenge,' 'Mera jeevan kora kagaz.' His romantic numbers still remain unparalleled. He sang 112 songs for Burman and would have sung more but for the rift that developed between them in 1958. They settled their differences in 1965 with Kishore Kumar singing 'Khwab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat' and 'Gaata rahe mera dil.' Singing for S D Burman and his son R D Burman, Kishore Kumar's voice enthralled two generations of listeners. He soon became the singing voice for Rajesh Khanna and Dev Anand. In actuality he was the only hero in post 50s Bollywood to actually sing for himself.

As his fame grew so did stories of his eccentricities. He is said to have put up a board outside his house saying 'This is a lunatic asylum.' He reportedly spoke to his trees in his backyard.

On the personal front, life had been very challenging for him. After his marriage to Ruma Devi (mother of Amit Kumar) resulted in a split, he married actress Madhubala. But she fell victim to cancer and died a premature death. His marriage to Yogita Bali just lasted a month and his fourth wife Leena Chandavarkar was two years older than his son Amit Kumar. He remained at the top till his very end. He succumbed to a major heart attack on 13th October 1987 at the age of 58. Indeed fruitful was the life of the legendary Kishore Kumar. It wouldn't be wrong if we say that his sudden death created a void that hasn`t been filled ever since.