Baam Chik Chaam Chik

Indian Cinema has seen a number of great artists but there have been very few who can be rated as versatile performers as well a complete entertainer. Kishore Kumar was one of such few artists - a maverick always wanting to do something unexpected; one of those persona, full of character, who enriched whatever they touched.

He might not have been close to the heart of purists, the way Rafi or Manna Dey were. Yet, his charisma and his popularity has remained unchallenged, unmatched. A sensitive artist & a quick learner who could sing songs in a manner that made it sound so effortless. If you have a doubt, just listen to his rendition of Mere Naina Sawan Bhado from Mehbooba. Despite no classical music training, he could perform better than the one sung by Lata Mangeshkar, and only by learning from the manner in which she had performed. 

Think of songs for any mood and most of the time an immediate recall would be of more than a couple of Kishore Kumar songs. Be it any genre; romance, melancholy, pathos, compassion, philosophical or any other one can think of and one would find his gems amongst the top notch ones. 

Yet, one genre which he really excelled in was also the one that matched his personality to a T. In one word this could be called Joie-de-vivre. The dictionary defines this French word as "Exuberant enjoyment of life". Truly, that was his entire persona. 

Unlike Rafi or Mukesh who had sober demeanour, in Kishore da's case, such songs seemed to be the ones which were natural for him. Just think of songs like O Meri Pyari Bindu from Padosan; Aa ke Seedhi Lagi Jaise Dil Pe from Half Ticket, Guni Jano re Bhakt Jano from Ansoo aur Muskan, Rafta Rafta from Kahani Kismat Ki or even his own introduction which he used to start his concerts with - Mere Nana Naniyon, Mere Dada Dadiyon.

Here is another song from the same genre where he has excelled himself, not heard so often, but is another example of his zest of living life to the fullest. This is from a 1975 movie Kahte Hain Mujhko Raja, starring Dharmendra & Biswajeet. The movie  was produced & directed by Biswajeet, perhaps as his last ditch effort to extend his career. It seems, looking at the clips that by then it was already quite late. As a result, along with the sinking of the movie also were lost the compositions despite being of the same class that one expects from a Pancham & Kishore Kumar combination. It is indeed unfortunate that this number did not get the attention it deserved. 

Perhaps this could be my opinion, and hence I invite you to judge it yourself - on Kishore Kumar's birth anniversary, this breathless performance of Kishore Kumar that is matched only by its verse & composition.