The legendary singer’s wife, Leena Chandavarkar, speaks up while attending his 90th birth anniversary celebration
Debolina Sen (BOMBAY TIMES; August 7, 2019)

The pretty face of the Hindi film industry of the ’70s still glows warmly. The soft countenance and the innocent smile are still in place. Leena Chandavarkar, who also made headlines for her marriage to Kishore Kumar — a man 21 years older than her — amazes you with her childlike simplicity. We caught up with the former actress when she was in Kolkata recently, to attend Tomay Poreche Mone — Kishore Kumar’s 90th birth anniversary celebration. She spoke about her life, films, Kishore Kumar and more. Excerpts:

How did Kishore Kumar influence your personal and professional lives?
I have innumerable memories of him. He was like a pillar of strength who taught me to accept the good and bad in life. He looked at life as a whole and understood that you win some and lose some. He would show his funny side to the world, but never his sad face. He also taught me to do that. I went through a lot in life and it was only because of him that I could come out of depression. So, I have written this song for him now — Kaun tha woh kya tha, Jadugar ya farishta tha, Athwa woh ajooba tha. Even he always wanted me to write songs. After he passed away, Amit (Kumar) asked me to fill in some dummy words, to which he gave the tunes and it got approved. So, I think it’s Kishore da who has again guided me from heaven. His song, Hamein Aur Jeene Ki Chaahat Na Hoti, is one of my favourites because it resembles my relationship with him. He would also mention that he always came across talented people as life partners. True, you see Ruma didi was there. Amit received a letter from the President of India after Ruma didi passed away. That’s a great honour. Both of Amit’s parents were extremely talented people. He has also carved a niche for himself. It’s extremely difficult to match up to a father like Kishore Kumar, but he has done well for himself.

You live with your son Sumit Ganguly and stepson Amit Kumar Ganguly. It is a rare sight in Indian households today where sons take care of their ageing parents.
I wouldn’t know what triggered this bond, but it feels like the expression, Sago se zyada apna. Amit respects his father a lot. He would always ask for his advice when taking an important decision. Sumit was only five years old when Kishore da passed away, but he scolds me and tries to guide me now (laughs). Amit and Sumit have a beautiful bond between them. In fact, Amit brought up Sumit. If I would ever forget to pick up Sumit from school on time, Amit would leave his recordings and rush to his school. Then he would scold me. Amit was also responsible for getting Sumit married. Now, the family is complete.

You have dealt with deep personal losses. What would you have to say to people who are unable to deal with the ups and downs of life?
Kishore da was the reason why I could successfully deal with all the pain in life. He could give strength to anyone. He would also say, ‘Hum log travellers hain duniya mein. Kisiko first class milti hain, kisiko third class. Par free mein duniya dekhne ko saab ko milti hain na?’ (laughs). I went through a lot in life. My brother committed suicide and my mother passed away just after Sumit was born. After Kishore da passed away, I would depend a lot on tablets and injections to deal with depression. Then one day, Amit said he would be busy with shows abroad and that so, I’d have get out of my depression and take care of Sumit. So, a supportive family is extremely important. But to stay out of depression, you have to accept life the way it is.

Tell us about your marriage with Kishore Kumar.
Kishore da and I had many funny memories together. I had told him that he marries whoever he works with, so I wouldn’t do a film with him. He then cancelled the proposal because according to him, two August-born people shouldn’t marry each other. He was born on August 4 and I, on August 29. Then, when my father hurt me by saying ‘Yeh phirse mere ghar wapas aa gayi’, I called Kishore da to get married then and there because I wanted to leave my father’s house. I even called him up to say that I would ask the drivers of every car that passes me that night if they would marry me. He said, had he thought that only he was eccentric, but I had joined that list. My parents were apprehensive about me marrying him. My mother said he had married thrice, but wanted to know his ancestral origin. I told her he must be Christian since I had seen many statues of Christ and other biblical things at his house. Until our wedding, I never knew he was a Bengali Brahmin (laughs).

He told me that he couldn’t marry me unless he got divorced from Yogeeta Bali, his third wife. He had stopped doing playback for Mithun (Chakraborty) at that time. Mithun did gauge the situation, but still came home to ask him why he wasn’t singing for him. After all, every hero wanted his voice in their songs. He told him about the divorce clause. Mithun saw to it that the divorce was through in no time. Then, I said, ‘Let’s get married now’, but he said he wanted to get my parents’ approval. He came home and sang till every member of the family agreed to our union, even my father. He sang Nafrat karne walo ke seene mein pyar bhar du, Arey mein woh parwana hu, Pathar ko moum kar du (laughs)!

You belong to an era that saw some of the biggest superstars in Hindi cinema. How difficult or easy was it making your presence felt when working with them?
For some people like me, dreams do come true. If you want to pursue something with all your heart, you don’t find the effort too difficult. I had learnt a lot from the superstars who were my costars. They were like family. Dilip Kumar would be so natural while acting that his voice would sound muffled at times like it does when we speak in our normal tone. I would often miss his dialogue cues (laughs). Shammi Kapoor would make me laugh a lot.