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:

Oh! We can’t be compared at all!

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.

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Bappi started his career on the first day that he [arrived] in Mumbai. He was a couple of years younger than me when I met him. He was 20. I had heard that B R Ishara had signed him for the background music of his movie Charitra, which launched Parveen Babi and Salim Durrani. Bappi knew the Mukerji family and got a film with them. In those days, Bappi and his parents would meet producers at their offices, and one day, he dropped in at Navketan. I asked him to sing something for me.

The next day, the producer of Chalte Chalte [Bhisham Kohli] dropped in to meet us. Bhisham told me that while they had raised money with great difficulty, and got Simi Garewal’s nod to play the lead role, R D Burman and Lamikant-Pyarelal, whom they approached first, had backed out as they were busy. Bhisham asked me to recommend someone, so I told him about this young boy who came to meet me and played some interesting Bengali music. Bappi seemed promising, I told him.

Bhisham liked his music, especially a particular melody that became the title song, Chalte Chalte. Bappi would sing in Bengali, and I would write the words in Hindi. From there, our association began. That evening, we finalised the song and another one which Lata ji sang — Dur Dur Tum Rahe. It was an unusual song for her. The film’s music became a hit, and there was no looking back for Bappi. Out of the 40 to 50 songs I wrote, I must have written a dozen for him.

One of my favourite compositions of his was for my directorial venture, Sheeshe Ka Ghar. Anup Ghoshal’s Tum Saath Ho and Salma Agha’s Chala Hai Balamwa, were hits. Bappi was talented, and few know that he was a brilliant tabla player — a child prodigy in Kolkata. He learned from Pandit Shanta Prasad, and once, when people heard him at a public performance, they were shocked to see that he could play so well.

He played the tabla in one of my songs in Sheeshe Ka Ghar. In Raj Sippy’s Josh, I wrote the songs and we made Amjad Khan and Deven Verma sing. It was the first in nonsensical music and the lines went like Jab Khat Mein Khatmal Chalega.

Bappi, like Pancham, understood that sound was as important as recording. The way you balance the orchestra is essential. He came to be known as the Disco King after B Subhash’s music became a freak hit. That’s how he perfected the disco sound. Though he became very famous, as a person he remained simple. He was a simple man at heart, but later got sucked into being a showman.

Bappi Lahiri has been lying low ever since he battled Coronavirus in April. Admitted to the Breach Candy Hospital as a precautionary measure after he tested positive, the veteran singer-composer was discharged soon after. However, five months since his recovery from the virus, health issues are plaguing him. It is heard that of late, Lahiri, 68, refrains from talking, leading to speculation that he has lost his voice.

The singer has been confined to a wheelchair, and a lift has been installed at his Juhu bungalow for his easy mobility. A source reveals, “Visitors who met Bappi da after his discharge have found him uncharacteristically low. Recently, he has not been talking. This has left many wondering whether he will be able to return to singing.”

Son Bappa, who flew down from Los Angeles to attend to his ailing dad in April, has been in Mumbai since. He assuages concerns about Lahiri’s voice, explaining that he was seeking treatment for a lung ailment when he was diagnosed with the virus. “He has been advised not to talk as part of the recovery. That’s why onlookers wonder if he has lost his voice. But his spirits remain high. He is planning to record a Durga Puja song with Bengali actor Rituparna Sengupta. He also composed the song, Ganpati Bappa Morya, rendered by Anuradha Juju.”

Bappa admits that his father’s existing medical issues, coupled with the Covid-19 diagnosis, have taken a toll on his health. “The virus has slowed him down; he gets tired easily, but there is no cause for alarm. He is on the road to recovery.”

Lahiri, who appeared as a celebrity guest on Indian Idol 12, has been moving around in a wheelchair. Bappa attributes it to the knee replacement surgery that he had undergone earlier in the year. “He has been advised the procedure for the other knee as well, but we are in no hurry. Gone are the days when dad would be travelling, recording and doing shows. We are viewing this as a break for him.”