D O B August 4,1929
Languages Hindi
Place of Birth Khandwa, Central Provinces and Berar
Known For Actor, Singer, Director, Producer, Music Director, Song Writer
Married Yes

Biography Kishore Kumar was an actor and playback singer in Bollywood films He was most active from until his death in He was famous for singing upbeat light songs and light comical acting roles However in his long career he worked in almost every capacity in the film industry not only as a a singer and actor but as a screenwriter producer director and script writer Kishore Kumar was born Abhas Kumar Ganguly on August in Khandwa present day Madhya Pradesh Although this is a Hindi speaking area he was a Bengali His father was a lawyer named was Kunjilal and his mother's name was Gouri Devi He was one of four children He had two older brothers named Ashok Kumar and Anoop Kumar and a younger sister named Sati Kishore Kumar's entrance to the film industry was very different from most people Most of the famous playback singers struggled hard to find a position and struggled equally hard often unsuccessfully to retain that position However Kishore Kumar easily slid into the film industry without any real effort The reason for this was through the influence of his elder brother Ashok Kumar Kishore Kumar never had any formal musical training but More this did not stop him In his career he showed proficiency in a variety of musical styles Furthermore he was able to pick up the piano and played it well The young Kishore and his family used to visit Ashok Kumar in Bombay very often There was years difference between Ashok and Kishore so the elder Ashok was well established in the film field while Kishore was still just a kid Due to his brother's connections Kishore was able to secure odd positions at an early age When quite young he became a chorus singer for Bombay Talkies where his brother Ashok worked This was in spite of the fact that Kishore never had any formal training in music Several other films also came his way Kishore got his first role in Shikari he was only about at the time He was also hired by Khemchand Prakash to sing a song for the film Ziddi These were just odd assignments Kishore was still with his family then and not in Bombay where the Hindi film industry was centred In Kishore moved to Bombay Being located in the centre of the Hindi film industry brought him much more work He acted in several movies he even got the leading role in films such as Andolan Naukari and Musafir Kishore Kumar's personal life during this period is somewhat mixed In he married the first of his four wives the actress singer Ruma Guha Thakurta a k a Ruma Ghosh This marriage lasted until when they divorced This union produced a son Amit Kumar Today Amit Kumar is a noted actor singer music director and director However Kishore Kumar's real interest was in playback singing It was S D Burman who first tapped Kishore's inner talents as a playback singer It was during the making of Mashaal that SD Burman told Kishore that he was trying too hard to imitate KL Saigal SD Burman persuaded Kishore to develop his own style In this period he sang for a number of films Some of the major ones were Munjim Nau Do Gyarah Kishore was not afraid to borrow unusual techniques For instance he was inspired by the yodelling that he heard on his brothers phonograph records he adapted this technique with great public appreciation He used this in a number of films such as New Delhi and Pyar Ka Mausam Although acting did not seem to be his real passion he continued to act in a number of capacities His romantic hero personas never really clicked at the box office however his comedic roles really proved to be his forte This was amply demonstrated in such films as New Delhi Asha Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi Half Ticket and Padosan There are a large number of Asha Bhosle Kishore Kumar Duets Many result from the SD Burman Lata Mangeshkar feud which was going on from to Many also result from R D Burman's preference for Asha over Lata as well Some notable duets were Ankhon Mein Kya Ji from Nau Do Gyarah or Paanch Rupaiya Baara Aana from Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi Kishore Kumar was by no means limited to the Burman clan of music directors He created very notable songs with most of the top ranking music directors of the period These include such immortal hits as Salil Chowdhuri's Chhota Sa Ghar Hoga Naukari - C Ramchandra's Eena Meena Deeka Aasha - Shankar - Jaikishan's Nakhrewaali New Delhi - or Ravi's C A T Cat Maane Billi Dilli ka Thug - During this period there were also developments in Kishore Kumar's personal life In he married the actress Madhubala real name Mumtaz Begum Jehan Dehlavi with whom he had worked in such films as Chalti ka Naam Gaadi This marriage created considerable ill will in the family because he was Hindu and she was Muslim Their marriage was a civil marriage and Kishore Kumar's parents refused to attend Later Kishore and Madhubala had a Hindu ceremony to appease his parents but to very little advantage After only a month of marriage she leaves the Kumar's household and returns to her own residence They remain married for the rest of her life but under somewhat strained circumstances At the time she was suffering from a heart condition It became progressively worse and she died on February In the 's Kishore Kumar began to expand his involvement to include almost every aspect of film production For instance he produced directed and acted in Jhumroo Furthermore he wrote the lyrics for the title song and composed music for all of the songs in the film Other films that he produced and directed were Door Ka Rahi and Door Waadiyon Mein Kahin The s were a mixed period for Kishore Kumar On the bright side there were a number of hit songs from this period Some examples are Gaata Rahe Mera Dil from Guide and Yeh Dil Na Hota Bechara from Jewel Thief However he also had his problems For instance there was the much publicised problems with the Indian government over income tax evasion He began to acquire a reputation of being unreliable he frequently used to come late for recordings and occasionally would not show up at all Furthermore many of is movies flopped To make matters worse There was also the tense marital relationship with his wife Madhubala compounded by her deteriorating health By he was so disheartened that he was considering retirement The Bollywood film industry is full of personality conflicts and Kishore Kumar was no exception There was the well publicised friction between Kishore Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan Kishore Kumar refused to do playback singing for Amitabh after he refused to participate in a film which was being produced by Kishore Kumar However there was a reconciliation where Kishore sang for him in Toofan this was released after Kishore's death There was also a short period where Kishore refused to sing for Mithun Chakraborty The cause of this appears to be Mithun's marriage Kishore's ex-wife Yogeeta Bali However this too was later resolved and Kishore sang for Mithun in films such as Disco Dancer and Pyar ka Mandir is a critical year for Kishor Kumar He suffers from a heart attack He recovers from the this but it causes him to greatly reduce his recording schedule He plans to go into retirement and return to his birthplace of Khandwa but this just does not seem to happen Kishore's last recording was a playback song for Mithun Chakraborty This was a duet with Asha Bhosle for the film Waqt Ki Aawaz In he suffers another massive heart attack in Bombay He died on October at the age of His body was taken back to his birthplace of Khandwa for cremation Kishore Kumar's reputation remains unabated after his death There are endless streams of commemorative works remixes and repackaging of earlier recordings