When Kishore Kumar lip-synced to son Amit Kumar's voice in front of 25000 people
Mumbai, Oct 15
Playback singer Amit Kumar once spoke about his father, Kishore Kumar and how both of them managed to entertain a crowd of 25, 000 at a stadium in West Bengal when the late legend's throat was choked.
A video from one of Kapil Sharma's shows has resurfaced on the Internet, and it shows how Amit and his father pulled through the live performance.
In the video, Amit said, "It was in Kolkata, Medinipur Stadium, in 1975. Okay. So, my father's throat was completely choked. And 25,000 audience was sitting. Suddenly, Baba said, 'Do one thing. I will just lip-sync to Amit's vocals from behind. And it happened. I did it".
He further mentioned, "And you know what my father said, Archana ji? He said, 'I am unable to sing', in the Bangla language. He said, 'My throat is choked. But my child will sing. I will just lip-sync, he will sing from behind. Will it work?'. The audience roared, 'yes, chalega' (it will work)".
There are many interesting trivia around Kishore Kumar, who was one of the most prolific artistes of Indian cinema. Earlier, Amit Kumar spoke about his father's eccentric habit when he was called a dark skinned person by a director.
The singer said, "My father was very fond of food. He used to go for shoots with my uncle, Ashok Kumar. He used to say, 'Kishoriya, will you come for my shoot today?'. My father said, 'No, I won't come'. Then Ashok Kumar said, 'There's food on the sets'. My father then said, 'Okay, I'll come'. So, my father went there. Ashok Kumar was very handsome. They were fair. My father was a bit dark. He was a small kid. He was 9-10 years old. When Ashok Kumar entered, everyone came. They took photographs. The director also came".
He further mentioned, "The director asked him 'Who is he?'. My uncle said, 'He is my brother, Kishore'. The director then said, 'He is dark. You are so fair'. That thing somewhere hit my father. He told himself, 'He called me dark'. Then later he became a hero. The same director called my uncle, and told him that he wanted to cast my father in his film. My uncle said, 'Kishore, the director has called you. Do you remember? He came on time. He said, yes. He wants to take you as a hero. I said, okay. He said, 'dark'. Go and meet him in the office".
"He said, 'Okay, I'll definitely come. But I have some conditions'. He said, 'when I come to meet him, I'll roll over and come. I'll stand on the table. He'll also stand on the table after rolling over. Both of them will salute like this. It'll be a business talk. Hello. I'll leave with a kick. They'll also sit there with a kick. They'll roam around in the chair. The director got furious", he added.
— IANS
Reader Comments
This story shows why Kishore Kumar was such a beloved artist. He turned a potential disaster into a memorable performance. And the Kolkata audience shouting "chalega" - typical Bengali enthusiasm for good music! 🎵
The part about the director commenting on his skin tone is really sad. It's unfortunate that such discrimination existed even back then. Good on Kishore Kumar for standing up for himself in his own unique way!
Kishore Kumar was a true genius - both as a singer and as a person with strong principles. His response to that director was classic Kishore da style! We need more artists with such integrity today.
While I appreciate the entertainment value, I wish the article focused more on the actual performance details. What songs did they perform? How did the audience react during the lip-sync? Some more specifics would have been nice.
Amit Kumar must have been so nervous singing for his legendary father in front of 25,000 people! What pressure for a young singer. But what a bonding experience between father and son. 🎤
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.