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."

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."