(This story is from The Quint’s archive and was first published on October 13, 2015. It’s being republished for Kishore Kumar fans on the iconic singer’s death anniversary.)
Kishore Kumar was a powerhouse of mad, wild, crazy talent and no other singer, actor, director, composer has ever come close to his uniqueness. No body else could or can, sing in multiple languages, dance, jump, roll and yodel, all in one song! There was no logic to his madness and his quirk is what I miss the most.
Remembering the legendary showman on his birth anniversary, we dance along with some of his funniest, his most wicked numbers!
This delightful Kishore Kumar-Asha Bhosle number from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi (1958) either reminds us all of our college canteen walas or our accountants! Story goes, the inspiration for the Paanch Rupaiya Barah Aana song came from Kishore Kumar himself. Rs 5.75 is what he owed his college canteen wala too!
Kishore Kumar was at his wackiest best in the 1968 film Padosan. The word ‘Chatur’ comes 28 times in the Ek Chatur Naar song! Don’t believe me? Have fun counting!
Kishore Kumar wasn’t quite in the same league as Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh and Talat Mahmood, up until he took the industry by storm with Aradhana (1969). His melancholic and romantic melodies are far too many to list down. But to me, what stands out is his energy and the effortlessness of his vocal and visual spunk. Check out some long forgotten, black and white Kishore Kumar numbers that’ll surely crack you up!
Kishore Kumar was all about jokes and laughter on his sets. His song and dance evidently came straight from the heart. The gifted person that he was, he had really cultivated each one of his talents extremely well. I believe that most of his endearing whacky quirkiness was his own creation simply because it seems impossible to achieve that in a script or choreography.
Kishore Kumar’s comic genius is not only rare but also timeless!
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