Sep 28, 1998
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BOOKS Zindagi ka Incomplete Safar Kishore deserved better than factual errors and a disjointed narrative. By Anirudha Bhattacharjee KISHORE KUMAR: THE DEFINITIVE
BIOGRAPHY
What makes the book so difficult to follow and review is its unstructured character. It has a dual aim. One, to chart Kishore's life in all its varied dimensions. Two, to make a thorough appraisal of his talents. Eventually, the book is caught midway. It does engrave the finer points of Kishore's character to a nicety. But while recounting his career, the author seems to be ill-equipped with facts and tries bridging gaps with research that is at times irrelevant. Valicha starts off well, fondly recreating Kishore's early days in Khandwa and the background responsible for his migration to tinsel town. This is the pivotal juncture from which the book seems to lose direction. True, Valicha explores the tortured soul behind the nonchalance and the creativity of a lonely musician. The problem begins when he tries to relate Kishore's career with the history of Bollywood. The main narrative gets entangled with too many strings and far-fetched connotations. The idea of delving deep into the history of music and comedy appears so pronounced that the main purpose of the biography is lost. For example, for no reason whatsoever, Raj Kapoor's debut film finds mention, incorrect at that. Raj's debut was in Kidar Sharma's Neelkamal and not in Mahesh Kaul's Gopinath, as Valicha claims. If Raj was to come into the picture at all, the story of how he assisted Kishore on the tabla during the latter's radio audition and the fact that Kishore's first solo for S.D. Burman was featured on Raj (Pyar, 1950) and not on Dev Anand (Baazi, 1951) as is largely believed could have been referred to. Valicha should re-check his basic information. There are factual errors aplenty. Kishore won eight Filmfare awards, not seven. The lyrics of Jeevan se bhari are credited to Shakeel in place of Indivar. The first Kishore-Madhubala film was Dhake ki Malmal, not Chalti ka Naam Gaadi. S.D. Burman's origins are traced to Manipur in one paragraph and Tripura in another. Ankhon mein kya jee and Eena meena deeka were sung by Asha Bhosle, not Lata Mangeshkar. The chapter on Kishore's songs is very well written, though it could have been stretched to incorporate misses like Main shayar badnaam and Koi hota jisko apna among others. An entire chapter was possible on his duets, especially the sugar and spice numbers which have been forgotten simply because the films have. Aficionados would have been gratified if Na soyenge na sone denge (Mr Romeo), Kasam khao tum ek baar (Madhosh) or Ankhon ankhon mein hum tum (Mahal) had found recognition in print. All in all Kishore Kumar: The Definitive Biography was well worth doing but could have been bettered. It should have been the gospel for the music lover. Sadly, it appears to be aimed at the public school nouveau riche and Valicha's peers in literary circles. It is literature no doubt, but certainly not music.
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The word "genius" has somehow
paled with the unwarranted use of superlatives by DJs, VJs and self-financed artistes.
Fortunately, Kishore Kumar was someone whom the term fitted like the proverbial glove. It
is not easy to capture the essence of a performer who could run the entire gamut of
emotions. Kishore Valicha's book aims at being comprehensive and discursive, but lacks
bite. The author often loses track of thoughts and in all probability was never a trained
listener. His book has excellent material for someone starting to know the great singer
but will fail to satisfy the hardcore researcher or the aficionado hooked to Kishoreda's
music. 
