Kishore Kumar’s songs of love, loss and hope

Even 34 years after his death, Kishore Kumar’s voice captures the popular imagination like no other

His demise on October 13, 1987 was as sudden as his ascent to superstardom in 1969, the year he staged a melodious coup with the songs of Aradhana and emerged a formidable competitor to Mohammed Rafi. Overnight, Kishore, who had been ignored for long, became a favourite of an entire generation of music-lovers. For the next 18 years of his life and all 34 years since his death, Kishore has remained not just popular, but also the most emulated male playback voice.

What is it about Kishore’s voice or singing that contributes to his everlasting appeal? The question defies an easy answer. To millennials, it may never make sense that he had to wait 21 years to be considered good enough to sing for the top heroes of his time; that from 1948 to 1969, he sang playback only for himself in the movies he acted in, or intermittently for Dev Anand at the insistence of his mentor, S.D. Burman. Other top composers of the 1950s and 1960s — Naushad, O.P. Nayyar, Shankar -Jaikishan — rejected his voice as non-musical. Last week, October 13, was Kishore’s 34th death anniversary and a good way to remember him would be by delving deeper into the songs that are milestones in his musical trajectory.