Remembering Kishore Kumar: Here are some interesting stories about the legend

On Kishore Kumar’s 92nd birth anniversary, let's take a look at some unknown facts and stories of the legend that you probably did not know.

The legendary Kishore Kumar was not just a singer but a superb actor, lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenplay writer, and scriptwriter. He sang in different genres in different languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Malayalam and Urdu.  

Today, 4 August, we celebrate Kishoreda's birthday by remembering him as an untrained, prolific singer with excellent comic timing before the camera and a man of strange manners. We still love listening to his beautiful songs, whether we are sorrowful or in love or going on a long drive, especially during the monsoons. 

When Kishore Kumar was a kid, his voice was very sharp, almost ear-splittings. You heard it right, Kishore’s family members used to joke about his squeaky voice.

During his exames, Kishore did not answer a single question in his maths exams when he was in 5th grade. Instead of solving the paper, the singer used to filled his answer sheet with jokes, little poems, doodles and smiley faces for his teacher.

The above point proves that Kishore was very particular about his fee. Still, very few know that he refused to take remuneration from Oscar-winning filmmaker Satyajit Ray for singing in his masterpiece film Charulata in 1964.

Kishore Kumar was an ardent fan of three people in particular.He was a devout fan of KL Saigal, Rabindranath Tagore and Hollywood actor-singer Danny Kaye. He hung their portraits in his Gaurikunj residence.

In college, Kishore often used his bench in the classroom as a tabla. When his professor angrily told him to stop misusing time with antics like these, he said that music was how he planned to earn his living. During his college days, he was obsessed with his long black overcoat.

Jimmie Rodgers and Tex Morton inspired Kishore's unique style of yodelling. Yodelling is singing so that the voice fluctuates rapidly between a normal and an exaggerated tone. We have seen him doing it in many songs like Chala Jata Hoon Kisi Ki Dhun Mein, Zindagi Ek Safar and many more.

Kishore Kumar was well-known for his eccentricities. There are many such incidents to prove it. He once put up a signboard saying ‘Beware of Kishore’ on his Warden Road flat door. When a filmmaker didn't pay his fee, he allegedly kept shaving off parts of his moustache and hair till he was born the entire remuneration. During his stay in Madhya Pradesh, he hung a board instead of his nameplate outside his home saying ‘Mental Hospital’.