Book Review - Kishore Kumar: Method in Madness

Kishore Kumar: Method in Madness by Derek Bose is a very engaging and well-written biography of the versatile entertainer who was not trained in music but whose work lives on & regales the masses. Each of the ten chapters of the book is about the different roles Kishore Kumar has played in a magnificent career spanning forty years. Starting as an actor at 19, he went to sing, compose, perform in stage shows, produce & direct films while being hugely popular in all the roles. 

Kishore Kumar as we know him now was born on August 4, 1929 in Khandwa, a tiny township in the central Indian province of Madhya Pradesh. 

A funny anecdote from the book as narrated by his elder brother Ashok Kumar about Kishore's early days: 

"As a child his voice was very shrill. His speech too, was not clear as he was often down with cough and cold. But he was very fond of singing. It was more like screeching than singing. I was trained in classical music and used to sing regularly. But for Kishore to be a singer was beyond my imagination. Still, I had gifted him a small harmonium on his birthday. He would carry it up to the terrace and sing to himself. He loved solitude"

Kishore's biggest handicap was the coarse grating noise he let out whenever he tried to modulate his voice. Family elders joked that it was more like the rasp of a bamboo being split. But he continued, undaunted by the taunts, till about ten years of age, when, according to Ashok Kumar, his voice changed miraculously: "It so happened that Kishore used to hover constantly around mother. He would never let her go out of his sight. He was very naughty as a ten-year-old. His favourite prank was to upset the things that mother had neatly piled up. One day, when mother was chopping vegetables, he rushed in with such speed that his leg hit the chopper and one of his tiny toes fell apart. In those days, let alone surgical facilities, even painkillers were not available. As a result, Kishore suffered immensely and cried non-stop. He used to cry in agony for almost 20 hours daily and this continued for a month. Gradually, the wound healed up. But one month's practice of crying suddenly cleared his voice and it became melodious!"

Kishore Kumar was related to Satyajit Ray through his first wife, Ruma Devi (Ray was her maternal uncle), but again, did not let his style influence him. He sang for Ray twice—for Charulata in 1964 and Ghare Baire in 1985 — and generally, was in very good terms with him. But on a professional level, their sensibilities were different and they occupied a workspace, distinct from one another. So when Ray wanted to cast him in Parash Pathar (1959) and later, in Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1968), he refused on both occasions.

Contrary to his image of a light-hearted entertainer, he was actually, deep inside, a serious student of music. He learnt Rabindra Sangeet on his own, but for some strange reason, felt inhibited at revealing this side of his talent. So when Satyajit Ray praised him for one of his rare renderings of a Tagore song, Aami chini go chini in Charulata, Kishore just could not believe his ears. He insisted that Ray "give it in writing" that he was a good Rabindra Sangeet singer and only then would he leave his studio!

with Satyajit Ray during the recording of Aami chini go chini for Charulata (1964)

The book is sprinkled with good many photographs from his childhood and film career. It is a great read for Kishore Kumar fans and anyone interested in Bollywood icons.

Also see: Biographies, Memoirs and Autobiographies that I've read