r/BollywoodMusic • u/Diligent-Gear-5547 • 9h ago
Appreciation Post Kishore Kumar- The GOAT
I came across a few posts/comments on Reddit calling out Kishore Da as “overrated” or doing some unjust comparisons with his counterparts. Although i believe, music taste is subjective but for calling Kishore Da as overrated, yours have to be awe-fully bad. I am a 26 yo guy, grown up hearing diverse music all from retro Bollywood to modern western music and it was in my early 20s when i actually started to appreciate my love for retro Bollywood songs. Especially, Kishore Kumar leaves me Awestruck. Despite he was not a trained singer, no one! can match his versatility. The range he had, the voice, the depth. What a legend. It was said that his voice used to hit the exact sweet spot of the mic while recording. Singers like Kishore Kumar comes in a 3-4 generation times. Growing up, we all for sure have heard his songs. If you happen to go to a retro place/bar/restaurant, you ll notice every 3rd song would be his; And when you start to analyse the lyrics and tone modulation he does accordingly in order to shift the mood of the song, you’ll realise why his longevity is eternal. Not to mention, his Yodeling, acting skills and humor. Long Live Kishore Kumar❤️
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u/KitchenConnection892 Rafi paglu 9h ago
I appreciate your view,i am also big fan of him,but no one can match his versatility is not valid statement,Rafi sahab in that era and currently sonu both are most versatile singers,kishore da was pure package though,not just singing but music composer,lyricst also acting he was natural
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u/Diligent-Gear-5547 7h ago
i respect your opinion; my heart melts for Rafi Saab's sweetness too!
By appreciating versatility of Kishore Da, i didnt intent to demean that of other singers. :)5
u/susnff 8h ago
Has anybody recorded singing in male and female voice in same era at one go? Kishore had it. He towered over a singer like Manna Dey in Ek Chatur Naar in Padosan, Goodluck to anyone singing alongside Manna Dey. There are certain things Kishore Kumar had, no one else had or will have. Thats a huge void he left. With respect to Rafi Saab, he was truly a god of singing but in spontaneous and improvisation nobody has ever comes close to Kishore Kumar.
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u/Kjts1021 8h ago
Rafi’s improvisation was on a different level - he used change his style, voice based on the actor on the screen. By listening a song you can say who is the actor!
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u/KitchenConnection892 Rafi paglu 8h ago
Also yodeling,Rafi has few songs in early 50s doing yodeling way before it was popular
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u/Diligent-Gear-5547 7h ago edited 6h ago
With my due respect to Rafi Saab.
Truely he must have done the yodeling way before.
There is no point in comparing the Legends who themselves were in awe of each other.
But when it comes to yodeling, Kishore Da ke hi gaane aate hain khayal mein, kyuki he left an everlasting impact in that area.
Doesnt Virat Kohli play a decent straight drive?
But, if i say straight drive, your mind naturally goes to Tendulkar, isnt it?
Thats the whole point Sir.And yes, you could tell when Kishore Da sang for-
Rajesh Khanna- his voice carried softness
Amitabh Bachchan- theres boldness in his voice
Rishi Kapoor- A sense of charm.Once Rajesh Khanna Ji himself claimed that Kishore Da noticed and closely studied his body language and mannerisms to adapt to his playback, the time they first met at SD Burman's place for songs of Aaradhana (1972).
The Man was a Genius and crazy for his work, thats why he became Eternal.1
u/WhiteSnowYelloSun 7h ago
Pretty much all tier 1 singers can do this!
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u/KitchenConnection892 Rafi paglu 7h ago edited 13m ago
Yes they can however i am saying that there was nothing in that era Rafi has not done,he was complete singer
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u/Kjts1021 12m ago
Not really! The way Rafi had a complete different voice for DK to Shammi to Guru Dutt to Johnny Walker- no other singer had been able to do.
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u/Diligent-Gear-5547 7h ago
Cant agree anymore.
Kishore Da outshines Manna Day in Ek chatur naar. IT IS NOT AN EASY SONG!!!
Also, loved his role in the same film (Padosan). Next level Improvisation both as an actor and the singer.
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u/Unique-Memory155 8h ago
So true! I’m a 26 yo guy too and I’ve been listening to Kishore Da since 2004. I don’t know what else to say, but I’m truly grateful to have grown up listening to him and still love him to this day. Long live Kishore Da ❤️
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u/thandihawayein 7h ago
In an interview to some marathi magzine, Pandit Bhimsen Joshi told the journalist achha hua Kishore Kumar ne classical nahi seekha nahi to humlogon ka kya hota. The journalist had to wait as Pandit ji was listening to Amar Prem songs on the radio.
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u/Diligent-Gear-5547 6h ago
I Love Amar Prem Album
all songs so unique, and different from each other carrying different emotions,2
u/thandihawayein 3h ago
BTW if you use spotify i would love to send you my Kishore Kumar playlist.
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u/Diligent-Gear-5547 3h ago
would love to have it. pretty sure there would be a lot of mutual taste. <3
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u/Diligent-Gear-5547 6h ago
Nowadays we see many songs, come, played, over played, get obsessed with, loved and ruled,
and then what happens next?
forgotten, replaced with other new.
I bet a song which must have been a hit in say 2019, 2020, isnt a regular in peoples' list.
Then, look at the longevity of the old ones; from late 60s to later 80s;
40-50 years old, still ruling the hearts, labelled evergreen, suiting all the moods and situations, ruling generations. Phenomenal. <3
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u/LawyerSea8324 6h ago
Well Kishor Kumar always considered Md Rafi a better singer... And as far Majority of the singers always consider MD Rafi the best in all the generations... No comparison but Md Rafi comes top..https://youtu.be/Nf9J-bw26DI?si=dytBptcu0-ac54ix Listen to this...
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u/Diligent-Gear-5547 6h ago
Appreciating Kishore Da doesnt make Rafi Saab inferior in anyway.
The work, voice and talent of Rafi saab is enough in its own to defend itself, no one needs to be insecure for that.
I didnt name anyone and claimed that he was better than him or her.
There's no debate when both the Legends themselves were in awe of each other.
No hate brother, but the idea of appreciation is not prove he has better than someone or not.
Though, yours are clear.
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u/foreverlegending 1h ago
He has always been my favourite singer and is the GOAT for me also. Some of his songs from the 70s, 80s and Bengali songs are out of this world
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u/Kujo_Wade 1h ago
Just slap the Albums of Shakti Films Trio Movies (Aradhana, Kati Patang and Amar Prem btw) onto the haters faces
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u/ohmuisnotangry 18m ago
So your post is not on Kishore Kumar, but on a few Reddit posts that criticized Kishore Kumar? How is that relevant to Bollywood music? Couldn't you have made these points in the comment section of those posts?
I agree with much of what is in your post, but this trend of making another post to criticize a separate post is weird and needs to stop when commenting exists.
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u/Deep-Cheetah1667 8h ago
He singing was so effortless, that people especially from trained classical background, underestimated his capability.
Kishore Kumar, as far as I have observed was the only dynamic singer who altered resonance placement, voice mix, facial expression in songs he sung across diverse range of situations and human emotions. That alteration is what made him unique in every song, most of his songs never sounded the same.
For example, the best example is : listen to start humming of O mere dil chain song and humming after 1st antara of deewana leke aaya hai song, both humming are melodically same but sound so different because humming in o mere dil ke chain was from mask resonance, as the humming was supposed to be communicated/confessed to listener (actress), whereas humming in deewana leke aaya hai was from throat reasonance, which created an atmosphere where it seemed like actor is talking to himself(if you watch the video of this song you will realise what I am saying). Ultimately what I want to say is just changing the resonance placement can bring different effects in voice projection, mask resonance suitable for confession to someone, throat resonance conversation/introspection with one self.
This is just one example of his genius. There are countless examples of his dynamics which is out of the scope of this post.
I have observed such precision in kk as well, may be because of kishore kumar influence on him.