Major and Minor Voices 379 As an upshot of Mukesh’s vocal qualities and his temperament he docs not seem to enjoy the ‘Western’ kind of songs — though he remains tuneful, rhythmically alert, etc. “Taron me sajke’ (Jal Bin Machli Nritya Bin Bijli’, 1970, Laxmikant Pyarelal) has energetic, fast-paced attacking beginning, Western rhythms and drumming, dextrous instrumental slides and ascents fit to be described as won- derful sound-effects, vocal orchestra and all such features — once again, Mukesh is just adequate! Ik is not far incorrect to say that Mukesh’s music is music of introversion! It is always on the look out for creating a private soli- tude even in public places! Perhaps less versatile than Mohammad Rafi — but Mukesh compensated for it by musically reflecting sheer intensity, depth and varicty of subtler shades of human suffering! Aristotle was not perhaps alone in regarding the tragic as the essence of human existence! It is in Mukesh that onc can truly celebrate sad happiness, nostaligic optimism and resigned fulfilment! Kishore Kumar (4-8-1929 — 13-10-1987) Born in Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh, Kishore Kumar was hardly known for diligence in studies but was nearly famous for his ability to sing songs — a la Saigal! Appreciative of his talent, as additional incentive his father used to reward Kishore Kumar with 4 annas to sing a song from Ashok Kumar's movie and 1 rupec to sing like Saigal! Kishore used to spend these musical earnings in eating sweets and secing films! Watching movies and miming was his passion right from childhood! Like many others in the world of Hindi film music, Kishore too was under the Saigal spell for a long time — till he discovered his own voice! Apart from imitating singers and re-ren- dering their songs, Kishore also spent time in studying how to create different kinds of voices — a skill that obviously served him later because he was probably the first Indian singer in film-music to yo- del — so musically! He shifted to Mumbai around 1940 and stayed with his famous brother Ashok Kumar — again getting exposure to the film world and film artists. Google380 Hindi Film Song : Music Beyond Boundaries In addition to singing, Kishore kumar also acted in nearly 81 films, thus carving out a niche for himself as an actor-singer — even after the age of playback singing had nudged aside that rare species! Like his one-time hero Saigal — he too was an actor singer! But while Saigal exemplified music in acting, Kishore provided an in- stance of drama in music! * In 1948-49 Khemchand Prakash gave Kishore the first break in Ziddi — though Kishore was specifically asked to sing in Saigal style ("Yeh kaun aya re karke solah singat’ as also the solo song ‘Marne ki duvaen kyon mangu, jeene ki tamanna kaun kare’). However, he came into limelight next year with ‘Jagmag jagmag karta nikala chand!’ (Rimzhim, 1949, music Khemchand Prakash). * After 1950, Kishore revelled as an actor-singer. As a ‘laughing- singing’ hero he made a mark in Cham Chama Cham (music by O.P. Nayar). His voice was popularly associated with three ‘herocs’, First it was with Dev Anand. Then S.D Burman voice-cast him for Rajesh Khanna in 1970. Finally, it was also linked to Amitabh Bachchan. * Kishore probably cxcelled in love songs, ducts and comic songs. One can say that his ability to create varied vocal effects and yet be ‘musical’ — certainly marked him as someone special. He hummed ordinary words extremely musically before the singing proper began and he did yodelling, Further, by using words such as ‘ah’ or ‘hur’ — in singing — he could introduce effects of interjections in speech — again an effect that was dramatic. He was also not averse to singing like a woman or with exaggerated nasality and yet successfully keep- ing the music going! + In 1968 (Pedosan and Pyar Ka Mausam) he sang songs which Rafi had also sung — and the difference is remarkable! + In his career, Kishore sang under Naushad, Shankar Jaikishan, Madan Mohan, Usha Khanna, Hemant Kumar, Chitragupta, Vedpal, O.P. Nayyar, $.D. Burman, Jaidev, Rajesh Roshan, etc. He sang most often for R.D Burman, Laxmikant Pyarelal, and Kalyanji Anandji, and remained at the top for almost 17 years in the face of competi- tion from the likes of Rafi! It is notable that he had a voice and prowess that could accommodate senior music-composers as well as GoogleMajor and Minor Voices 381 the new wave tune-rousers such as Rahul Dev Burman and Bhappi Lahiri of the recent batch! * After Aradhana, Kishore became the force which outclassed other singers! Ic is remarkable to note that the generation gap did not hit him as it did other playback singers! Kishore had no formal training in music but he could sing al- most every kind of song with a certain musical authority. His singing, of ‘Mere naina sawan bhadon’ in Mehbooba (Music Rahul Dev Bur- man) sounds as if he had practised the Shivranjani raga for years! His voice was not thin but also not gravely low-pitched. At che most he could traverse a range of about one and half octave but he did that with an unmistakable sureness and quality. So versatile was he that he could also sing a ruminating song such as, ‘Husn bhi hai udas uudas, ishq bhi gam se choor hai’ (in Fareb for Anil Biswas) and other kinds of joyful/boisterous songs! One could easily add to the table shown here to bring out his versatility: “Ina mina dika’ Rock and roll Asha “Dukhi man mere’ Soulful serious Fantoosh “Koi hamdam na raha’ ‘Sweet and sad Jbumru “Mere naina sawan’ Evocative traditional Mehbooba Ithas been rightly said that if Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand and Dilip Kumar represented three major acting styles then Kishore Kumar added one more! It is also equally right to say that like Raj Kapoor, Kishore Kumar was sensitive to all aspects of filming — a real all- rounder — though a little ‘louder’ than Raj Kapoor! In 1960s Anil Biswas rated Kishore Kumar ‘the greatest singer’. He must have held this opinion truly because while other composers during the 1950s were camping for Rafi, Biswas had him only for 14 songs in 13 films! ‘As a composer Kishore Kumar’s first film was Jhumru (1961). One memorable song from the film was ‘Koi hamdam na raha’. In the same film he also wrote the song ‘Mai hun Jhumru’ — in which he created space for every singing-craft he knew! In all he composed Google382 Hindi Film Song : Music Beyond Boundaries for 13 movies and almost all the songs became hits, though he rarcly invited Lata to sing for his compositions! An Assessment The essence of Kishore Kumar's musicianship can be briefly summa- rised. Vocalisation Skills (1) Icis clear that Kishore impressed most as a singer who could combine numerous vocalising skills — perhaps to the maxi- mum among his contemporaries. The spectrum of vocal ef- fects he could bring in was the widest any one singer could make available. For example: yodelling and whistling, hunkar (humming superimposed on various vowel-sounds), la la la- singing, sighs, coughing, ‘ha ha hi hi’ and ‘hu hu’ sounds, half-closed and partially closed articulation. (2) Singing in male and female voices consecutively. (3) To sing in plain — almost flat ~ voice with nearly no tonal shadows left behind. He could also sing with resonance. (4) Clipping his vowels and consonants, he could render an al- most unilinear melody. (5) Slight, intermittent or excessive nasality formed part of his effective repertoire. (©) He explored both vibrato and tremolo effects. (7) He could invest a musical line with a prose quality and vice versa. (8) He could maintain an unremitting buoyancy to enhance an energetic effect of a fast-paced song. (9) He could also generate tuneful, tender and an introvert at- mosphere through singing. Comic Songs Kishore's renderings of comic songs stood out and some major fea- tures are identifiable: GoogleMajor and Minor Voices 383 (1) The most important was the frothy tone he could maintain in a song without excessive blurring or distorting melodic contours. (2) He was able to let notes or lines ‘fall or slide’ down as in a folk song and yet keep the musical effect unimpaired. (3) Imposing a dialectical speaking tone on a musical line was another strategy he used fruitfully. (4) For many comic songs it is essential to place syllables at the centre of rhythmic beat. This kind of exacting rhythm could be more taxing if an entire song is set in this way. He could be quick on the tongue to be at the centre of a single beat even ina fast pace. (5) Musical ‘spoofing’ could be achieved by singing in an allu- sive manner. The singer has to sing in such a way that one is reminded of the ‘original’ song subjected ro spoofing as well as the spoof-song rendered. He achieved the feat. (6) Some songs become comic because they reflect jerky, jumpy, absurd, abrupt, mechanical /non-human movements or ges- tures they are associated with. In rendering such songs Kishore Kumar could also judiciously rely on the acting skills he possessed in the genre described as ‘comic acting’. (7) Yet another way of creating comic effects is to bring in in- strumental tone in vocalising. Awareness of vocal and in- strumental timbres is essential to this task. Creative imitations of Saigal and S.D. Kishore Kumar was able to creatively imitate $.D. Burman, whose unique way of singing was at once aloof and involved, ‘folkish’ and sophisticated, and it could also sound as if singing to oneself and/or to somebody out there! The Adimirable Negative Adaptability! Kishore Kumar could also boast of the admirable quality of negative adaptability! To put it differently he could sing as if he did not pos- Google384 Hindi Film Song : Music Beyond Boundaries sess those scores of vocal effects which were at his beck and call! His self-effacing singing is notably heard in duets he sang, with Lata Mangeshkar. Technical Efficiency Kishore was technically efficient enough to generate tones of varying musical traditions such as Bengali folk and devotional, Rock and Roll, Carnatic classical and night club songs. In the rhythmic aspect too he was equally proficient, A tune set in 14-beat cycle, syncopated cycles of R.D. Burman, fast paced and stressed rhythms set by vari- ous composers and Qawwali type thythms — he could present all these. Kishore could also correctly intone phrases with consecutive ‘komal’, ‘shuddha’ and ‘tivra’ notes. Though his image was to the contrary, he produced films which could be only described as ‘serious’! He was also known not ro enjoy film-parties! His ways of honouring seniors and meritorious were perhaps ‘old worldly’, For example, when he was singing wich Lara he always insisted to be paid one rupee less than her! When some- body approached Kishore wich the idea that he should bring out an album of songs sung by Saigal he refused saying, ‘I do not want to sully a memory so sacred to me!” During the notorious ‘Emergency’ days, he was asked to sing for a concert organised by Yuva Congress led by Sanjay Gandhi. Many obliged but Kishore Kumar refused with the consequence that his songs were banned from all programmes broadcast from all stations of the All India Radio! The songs came back with a bang as soon as the Government changed and Janata Party had its stint! Kishore was rehearsing Salil Choudhury’s composition in the film Guear Gaye Din. The composition was complex, musical and evocative. After a while Kishore got down from the cot they were sitting on and said: “To learn this I must sit down” and sat on the floor to sing, so full was he of musical humilicy. GoogleMajor and Minor Voices 385 In a programme called Kishore Kumar Night, Mr. Madhav Moholkar, a reputed (Marathi) writer on aspects of film music, rec- ‘ommended to Kishore to sing ‘Husn bhi hai udas’ composed by Anil Biswas in 1950 for Fareb, Kishore candidly told him, “this song would require rehearsing. However, you come for my next programme, here is th: invitation.” Moholkar attended the next programme as per the invitation and Kishore did sing that song! Mohammad Rafi (24-12-1924 - 31-7-1980) Rafi was born in a small village called Kotla Sultansinha near Amritsar in a Chaudhary family on December 24, 1924, His father, Ali ‘Muhammad was against his son’s love of music but the son was ada- mant! He had some music-training from Ustad Vahid Khan (Kirana Gharana), and also from Phiroze Nizami, Pt. Jeevan lal Mattoo (Lahore). He idolised Saigal whom he met and Saigal was so im- pressed with Rafi’s talent that he recommended Rafi to the Lahore radio authorities. Shyamsundar offered Rafi the first break in 1944 in the Punjabi film Gul Baloch (song ‘Soniye ni heeriye ni’), Shyamsundar also gave Rafi his first Hindi song in Gaon ki Gori (‘Aji dil ho kabu men to dildar ki aisi ki taisi’) and the same year Rafi sang in Pehle Aap (1944). The same composer gave Rafi seven songs in Bazar. Husnalal Bhagatram gave him 10 out of 12 songs in Meena Bazar. The details are mentioned to suggest how Rafi was accepted by a varied array of composers with different styles during the forties. The fact is indeed a pointer to his musical versatility, proved beyond doubt in years to come. Rafi shifted to Bombay in 1944. His first solo film song was in Hamara Sansar (‘Ai dile nadan’, 1946, music Govind). It is to be remembered that as yet, the era belonged to actor-singers and for a person to get along in the film industry only as a singer meant a lot of struggle and Rafi could not escape this. This remained so till play- back became the main vogue of projecting film music. Further, it is Google