Showing posts with label Amit Kumar interview. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Amit Kumar interview. Show all posts
People say Amit Kumar was born with a silver spoon, but I have also seen the hard life-Amit Kumar
8:30 AM
Debarati S Sen (MID-DAY; October 26, 2023)
Amit Kumar has been the voice of almost all big stars in Bollywood including Dilip Kumar, Sanjay Dutt, Govinda, Anil Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Shah Rukh Khan and Salman Khan. In a candid conversation with us at his Juhu home, he admits he is nothing like his genius father Kishore Kumar, talks about the maestro, the ups and downs in his musical career and being in a phase where he is enjoying live performances. Excerpts:
Your father was a genius but also known and loved for his quirkiness. How much of him do you see in yourself?
Oh! We can’t be compared at all!
But would you say that you are temperamental, a trait your father was known to have?
You could say that. My father was temperamental, and I used to be like that, too. I guess all artistes have that to some extent. But my father was also a very down-to-earth person and a very simple man at heart. Earlier, I had a restless mind like him, but over the years, I have calmed down a lot. I regularly meditate now.
Over the years, you sang for almost all the big heroes in Bollywood, but then there was a lull. What do you think was the reason behind that?
My first recording was in 1973, but the song came out five years later. Then sang a duet with Asha Bhosle, and one for Madan Mohan and Salil Choudhary, but none of them released on time. Bade Achhe Lagte Hai (Balika Badhu, 1976) became a popular song even though the film didn’t do so well, and it is my bread-and-butter song even today. My songs in the 1979 film Baton Baton Mein were all hits. With Bappi Lahiri, I did Govinda’s first film, and the song I Am A Street Dancer was a super hit. After that, I sang for films like Afsana Pyar Ka, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and Baaghi. I sang many songs for Anil Kapoor in Tezaab, Judaai, Rakhwala, Khel, Jamai Raja, Kala Baazar, Kishen Kanhaiya and others. I became his voice with hits. There were also many other good songs, but those films didn’t run at the box office, so they weren’t heard by most, just my luck!
Now, you are not actively into playback singing, are you enjoying doing live shows?
I do stage shows frequently. I have performed in Amsterdam and the US recently. In November, again, I will be out of the country. I am also constantly creating and composing music for the digital platform. The fact that people still want to listen to me on stage and buy tickets for my shows is overwhelming. I am 71 and still going strong and loving it. I have been performing on stage for the last 50 years! Whether good or bad, I have played my innings, and now I am relaxed and enjoying this stage of my life.
How do you view your journey in the music industry?
I have never spoken about this, but when I was in the Calcutta Youth Choir, I travelled all over India. We would travel in a third-class compartment in trains, carrying heavy bags. It was tough, but fun. People say Amit Kumar was born with a silver spoon, but I have also seen the hard life. My father used to say you must see all this to grow. When he introduced me at Shanmukhananda Hall (Mumbai) with the show ‘Daddy Kishore and sunny Amit’, it went on for three years, and every single weekend was houseful. It was because of my father, of course, but that made a difference in my life and gave me immense confidence.
Wasn’t your singing style compared to your father? Did you consciously try not to sing like him?
R D Burman had told me in the early days, ‘Don’t try to sing like your father. Don’t clone him. Sing what you are. Just do your own style.’ He egged me on. The composers I worked with helped and I developed my own style.
A lot has been written about your father. What is that one thing that most of his fans don’t know about him?
My father used to do stage shows for the army, but he never publicized that kabhi bhi apna dhol nahi pita. Sab bolte the ki Kishore Kumar kanjoos hai, but no one knew how much he did for others. He did the maximum free shows for the jawans of our country. Not many people know this. I have been doing shows to support cancer patients for the last six to seven years and consider myself extremely fortunate to be able to give back to society. And I too have been doing shows to support cancer patients for the last six to seven years and consider myself extremely lucky to be able to give back to society like this. I am blessed with everything and to be able to do such charity shows, it feels great. This year it is special because my 18-year-old daughter Muktika debuted on stage with me. She isn’t a professional singer, but I feel she has it in her.
Love Story (1981) was your first major hit?
Yes my stardom in playback singing was with Love Story and I became the voice of Kumar Gaurav. We went on to do many films together for five years after which Kumar Gaurav’s films began flopping and slowly, I was out too. Over the years my career has been like the waves in the ocean, full of ups and downs. I did so many songs for Anil Kapoor and became his voice with all the super hit songs! The fact that you journalists are still coming to me for interviews shows I must have done something right.
Your first stage performance was with your father? You weren’t based in Mumbai in those days. How did that happen - coming from Kolkata where you stayed with your mom, and working here?
I landed in Bombay when I was 19. My father introduced me for the first time on stage 50 years ago in 1973, at Shanmukhananda Hall. Then we went on to Europe, America, all over the world for shows. People talk of my father, but no one speaks about my mother, Ruma Guha Thakurta. She was instrumental in my life, encouraged me a lot. I used to sing in her group, Calcutta Youth Choir that she set up along with Salil Chowdhury and Satyajit Ray. I grew up in Uttam Babu’s (film star Uttam Kumar) neighbourhood. My first stage program was during Durga Puja, and Uttam Kumar had called my mother saying, ‘Ruma your son is a good singer, will he sing on stage?’. My mother refused saying he has studies. But he coaxed me to sing anyway. I rehearsed four songs but sang 10 and got Rs 800 for that show and we friends went over to Park Street the same night and spent all the money eating there.
My ma wanted me to have a stable career like a doctor as she knew music was not a steady profession. She complained to my father, ‘Your son is singing here and there, not studying. Gali gali mein gaana ga raha hai awaara jaisa. Fail ho gaya hai (at the famous institution Patha Bhavan). But my Baba hearing all this said, ‘Very good, very good! Time for him to come to me in Bombay’. That was typical of my father (laughs) He then came to Kolkata and saw me perform live at Rabindra Sadan. He said never keep a seat for me because the audience will get distracted and won’t hear you. So, he watched me from backstage. That’s when he was convinced. I learnt classical music for a bit but bouncer gaya. I learnt tabla and then it all began. Music directors like R D Burman, who was like family, Kalyanji Anandji, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Rajesh Roshan, they stood by me. They knew how to extract the best from me and I learnt a lot through experience.
After all these years, Kishore Kumar is still number one-Amit Kumar
7:58 AM
With the fervour for Kishore Kumar songs still going strong on the legend's 88th birth anniversary, singer Amit Kumar Ganguly gets candid about life with his iconic father
Debarati Sen (BOMBAY TIMES; August 5, 2017)
The best of men have been
struck by the fickleness of time and relegated to obliv ion, not Kishore
Kumar. He just gets stronger. You can hear him everywhere - films,
radios, music reality shows, remixes, speculations (personal life or a
potential biopic), theatrics (Jhumroo) and even politics (his stand
during Emergency). It makes you wonder if it's really been 30 years
since he passed away in 1987. “He is still the number one!“ beams the
legendary entertainer's son, noted singer Amit Kumar Ganguly. In an
exclusive interview with Bombay Times, on the celebrated entertainer's
88th birth anniversary (August 4) week, Amit gets candid about life as
Kishore Kumar's son. Excerpts...
Kishore Kumar's presence is as
all-encompassing in the world of entertainment and music even now, as it
was 30 years ago. What gives him an edge considering he wasn't trained
like his contemporaries?
I am his son and I am not going to be defensive, but the fact is that trained or untrained, this man has been an institution. He made his way from scratch to the very top. He succeeded in all the departments of his field without any so-called training. R D Burman (a great music director who was with my father from the beginning) and his father S D Burman (my father's guru) were once discussing various singers. When my father's name cropped up, R D said, 'Kishore da ke saamne jitney bhi bade ustad ko rakh do, during the actual take of any song, woh un sab ko utha ke phek sakte hain'. Pancham da used to say that 'syncopation' like tatada-ta-tada tadarum - would never sound as good when done by others. Who says he didn't know classical? I think he knew everything about music. He used to sing straight from his heart. He used to say, 'Main seedha gaata hoon, nakkashi (harkatein) kum karke, dil ko choona chahta hoon, so that even the street boys, the paan wala can relate to my song - unke mann ko lagna chahiye'. He was a technical man, he wouldn't take chances, but that didn't mean he did not know it. Unke samne bade bado ki chutti ho jati. I don't want to take names, but big singers would get nervous before him. He was one-of-a-kind. After all these years, he is still the number one. Aaj bhi sabse zyada gana unka hi bajta hai.
What are your memories of your father?
This bungalow (Gauri Kunj) was built by him. It may sound filmy, but we feel his presence here; we feel that his soul is still here. That's why we are blessed and have been staying here for so many years.
How does your brother Sumit relate to his memories? Or your daughter Muktika?
When my father left us, Sumit was only five and he does not have many memories of him. He tells me that I am the father-figure for him. My father always wanted Sumit to learn the piano. He used to dream of him being on a stage in Vienna, wearing a bow-tie and playing the piano, while we clapped in the audience. I made sure Sumit learnt the piano for four years. He's a brilliant musician. When it comes to singing, he's an original and does not sound like his father. We have a music company together and he looks after our offices here. Muktika is only 12. She's got a shundor voice, but we are not forcing her to learn singing. Her tribute song to her grandfather 'Mere Baba', two years back, went viral.
You sang Kishoreda's Himmatwala song, while Sumit reprised Bachna Ae Haseeno for a film - was it easy?
Singing the Himmatwala song (and another of his songs) was the biggest mistake. It's fine to sing his songs on stage. As a son, yeh mera haq banta hai. But I am not as great a singer as him, and singing his song on record was a blunder. Aaj bhi main apne aap ko kosta hoon. As for the Bachna Ae Haseeno song, Sumit just sang a few lines, which was okay.
When you do Kishore Kumar tribute shows, what are the responses abroad vis-a-vis back home?
I have been singing for more than 50 years now and have seen several ups and downs - success and more failures. Sab dekh liya hai maine in this whimsical industry. I have travelled all over India gully gully ghuma hoon doing tribute shows. We generally do 25 per cent Amit Kumar and 75 per cent Kishore Kumar songs. Main jitna bhi chahoon ki main pitaji ka gaana nahi gaaunga to avoid comparisons, I still get requests for his songs. People want to hear him. We always get full houses - be it in Mumbai (brilliant cosmopolitan audience), Pune (superb), Punjab (terrific) and even abroad, especially in England and America.
Songs in recent times that you feel should have been sung by Kishoreda?
I don't really listen to today's Hindi film music as they all sound similar. But I think the song sung by Arijit Singh, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil - woh agar Pitaji gaate toh accha hee gaate, he would have sung it beautifully. Hala ki Arijit has sung this song very nicely. Mujhe pasand bhi hai yeh gaana.
You share anecdotes from his life on your stage shows and radio shows. Do you ever plan to write a book on him?
Kitab toh mujhe likhna hi hai. My father told me to write a book on him when he is not around. Naam bhi soch liya tha - 'My Father As I Knew Him'. So, I will write a book as I've seen him up close for 35 years of my life.
I am his son and I am not going to be defensive, but the fact is that trained or untrained, this man has been an institution. He made his way from scratch to the very top. He succeeded in all the departments of his field without any so-called training. R D Burman (a great music director who was with my father from the beginning) and his father S D Burman (my father's guru) were once discussing various singers. When my father's name cropped up, R D said, 'Kishore da ke saamne jitney bhi bade ustad ko rakh do, during the actual take of any song, woh un sab ko utha ke phek sakte hain'. Pancham da used to say that 'syncopation' like tatada-ta-tada tadarum - would never sound as good when done by others. Who says he didn't know classical? I think he knew everything about music. He used to sing straight from his heart. He used to say, 'Main seedha gaata hoon, nakkashi (harkatein) kum karke, dil ko choona chahta hoon, so that even the street boys, the paan wala can relate to my song - unke mann ko lagna chahiye'. He was a technical man, he wouldn't take chances, but that didn't mean he did not know it. Unke samne bade bado ki chutti ho jati. I don't want to take names, but big singers would get nervous before him. He was one-of-a-kind. After all these years, he is still the number one. Aaj bhi sabse zyada gana unka hi bajta hai.
What are your memories of your father?
This bungalow (Gauri Kunj) was built by him. It may sound filmy, but we feel his presence here; we feel that his soul is still here. That's why we are blessed and have been staying here for so many years.
How does your brother Sumit relate to his memories? Or your daughter Muktika?
When my father left us, Sumit was only five and he does not have many memories of him. He tells me that I am the father-figure for him. My father always wanted Sumit to learn the piano. He used to dream of him being on a stage in Vienna, wearing a bow-tie and playing the piano, while we clapped in the audience. I made sure Sumit learnt the piano for four years. He's a brilliant musician. When it comes to singing, he's an original and does not sound like his father. We have a music company together and he looks after our offices here. Muktika is only 12. She's got a shundor voice, but we are not forcing her to learn singing. Her tribute song to her grandfather 'Mere Baba', two years back, went viral.
You sang Kishoreda's Himmatwala song, while Sumit reprised Bachna Ae Haseeno for a film - was it easy?
Singing the Himmatwala song (and another of his songs) was the biggest mistake. It's fine to sing his songs on stage. As a son, yeh mera haq banta hai. But I am not as great a singer as him, and singing his song on record was a blunder. Aaj bhi main apne aap ko kosta hoon. As for the Bachna Ae Haseeno song, Sumit just sang a few lines, which was okay.
When you do Kishore Kumar tribute shows, what are the responses abroad vis-a-vis back home?
I have been singing for more than 50 years now and have seen several ups and downs - success and more failures. Sab dekh liya hai maine in this whimsical industry. I have travelled all over India gully gully ghuma hoon doing tribute shows. We generally do 25 per cent Amit Kumar and 75 per cent Kishore Kumar songs. Main jitna bhi chahoon ki main pitaji ka gaana nahi gaaunga to avoid comparisons, I still get requests for his songs. People want to hear him. We always get full houses - be it in Mumbai (brilliant cosmopolitan audience), Pune (superb), Punjab (terrific) and even abroad, especially in England and America.
Songs in recent times that you feel should have been sung by Kishoreda?
I don't really listen to today's Hindi film music as they all sound similar. But I think the song sung by Arijit Singh, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil - woh agar Pitaji gaate toh accha hee gaate, he would have sung it beautifully. Hala ki Arijit has sung this song very nicely. Mujhe pasand bhi hai yeh gaana.
You share anecdotes from his life on your stage shows and radio shows. Do you ever plan to write a book on him?
Kitab toh mujhe likhna hi hai. My father told me to write a book on him when he is not around. Naam bhi soch liya tha - 'My Father As I Knew Him'. So, I will write a book as I've seen him up close for 35 years of my life.
Balika Vadhu: 40 years and still bade achhe
8:38 AM
Roshmila Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; August 25, 2015)
Bade Achche Lagte Hain...Kya?... Yeh dharti, yeh nadiya, yeh raina... Aur? Aur tum...
Four decades have passed since Amit Kumar recorded the song in early '75 for Balika Badhu and the singer admits that it's become his bread-and-butter song.
"But when the film opened in '76, it wasn't an instant hit. Its popularity has grown over the years, peaking after Ekta Kapoor used it as the title track of her tele soap. Today, no matter which part of the world I go to, I have to open a show with R D Burman's signature melody," smiles Amit.
He's quick to point out that it's not his first Bollywood track. That was Hosh mein hum kahan for a forgettable Ramsay horror film, Darwaza, which only opened in '78. Two other films, one featuring Rajesh Khanna, also remained in the cans, though both the Salil Chowdhury composition, Humko kisne jana hai, and a duet with Asha Bhosle, Hai shaam badi matwali, tuned by Madan Mohan, are playing on YouTube today.
During one of his trips to Mumbai, he accompanied his father, Kishore Kumar, to R D Burman's music room. He was sitting quietly, while his baba and Manna Dey rehearsed a comedy track, when RD came up to him. "Panchamda had been hearing a lot of good things about me and enquired if I'd like to sing for them," he reminisces. Urged on by the musicians, Manna Dey and his baba looking on, a nervous Amit sang a song from Jhumroo.
"On our way home, baba admonished me for being so shy and singing badly. I told him I was happy doing shows in Kolkata and that got me another rap for my lack of ambition," he smiles.
The following evening Kishore was surprised by a call from RD who wanted Amit to record a song for him. "We rehearsed the song at Panchamda's place before he drove me in his blue Fiat to Film Centre where Shakti Samanta (the film's producer), Tarun Majumdar (director) and the other musicians were waiting. Panchamda gently urged me on, telling me he didn't want me to copy my father. He wanted Amit Kumar, not Kishore Kumar. He even sang the O majhi re portion himself and in a couple of hours, Bade achhe lagte hain was recorded," says Amit.
Soon after, Kishore started his home production, Shabash Daddy, and Amit would play the song which RD had recorded for him on a cassette, on the sets. After the film's release, he accompanied Kishore to South Africa for a 50-show tour. "Baba was the first Indian artiste to enter the country still torn by apartheid. I always sang this song on stage with baba ribbing me from the wings," he says. "It was my first hit and every top music director wanted Kishore Kumar ka beta. Being baba's son was a bonus."
Balika Badhu was the coming-of-age story of a teenage bride and her school-going husband in pre-Independence earlier. In '67, Majumdar had made it in Bengali with a schoolgirl, Moushumi Chatterjee. For the Hindi version, he opted for another new face, Rajni Sharma.
Shakti Samanta's son, Ashim, was still in college when the film was being shot but got his first lessons in editing during the post production, recalls Anil Kapoor turning up in a dhoti-kurta one day to audition for the role of the husband, Amal.
"Dad was keen on Anil, but Tarunda eventually settled for Sachin," he says. "Both Sachin and Rajni made a cute pair but Balika Badhu is remembered today for Bade Achche Lagte Hain."
I couldn't pamper egos; so I left the scene to the Kishore Kumar clones-Amit Kumar
9:46 AM
Roshmilla Bhattacharya (MUMBAI MIRROR; May 31, 2014)
Amit Kumar celebrates his golden run in the film industry this year.
Five decades ago, in 1964, Kishore Kumar launched his son Amit as an actor in Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein. He played a boy who loses his voice so Amit didn't have any dialogue in his acting debut.
But the following year Amit Ganguly recorded his first song, Main Ek Panchhi Matwala Re, for another home production, Door Ka Raahi. The song was picturised on him but Kishore did not like it and edited it out the film.
Amit's voice was finally heard in the '70s when he moved to Mumbai, with Bade Achche Lagte Hain in the '76 film, Balika Badhu, being his "breadwinner song".
However, it was the two home productions that marked his entry into the film industry. To celebrate Amit's golden run, his Kolkata-based fan club is collaborating with Sa Re Ga Ma on a 3 CD pack tracing his 50-year journey through 1000 odd songs.
"The album should be out in a couple of months and will include Hindi, Marathi, Bengali and Oriya songs," Amit tells Mirror.
Quiz him on his favourite five and it takes Amit a while to pick out Har ghadi dhal rahi shyam hai zindagi (Saraansh), Kya hua ek baat par (Teri Kasam), Soone shaam savere (Khel), Daur e khiza tha (Shabash Daddy) and Tere liye sari umar jaagoon (Yaad Rakhegi Duniya).
He admits that though riding a sympathy wave after his father's death, he ruled Bollywood for five years ('87-'92), he sang mostly 'la ra lappa' songs for every top hero, from Amitabh Bachchan to Anil Kapoor, from Sanjay Dutt to Kumar Gaurav. "I got songs not because I was KK's son but for my talent. I gave lots of commercial hits but the good tracks were few. After my father's death, the system changed. I couldn't pamper egos so I left the scene to the Kishore Kumar clones who survived longer than I did," he says. "No regrets, as music has lost its lyrical quality and melody today."
Now Amit is planning a comeback with an online music company, Kumar Bros Music, with his younger brother Sumit.
As Mirror had reported (Nov 10, 2013), the first album has 10 songs composed by Amit. The title track, Baba mere itna bata do bhagwan ka ghar kitna hai door, penned by stepmom Leena, was recorded in March by his eight-year-old daughter, Muktika. "We'll shoot a music video in which she meets her grandfather in a dream. I'll play double roles, of Kishore and Amit Kumar," says Amit.
The tracks will be sent to London for mastering and Amit wants to collaborate with another music company on this venture. "The launch was delayed due to the elections but we'll flag off in the next three months and bring melody back," he promises. "Amit Kumar will be back."
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