Kishore Kumar: The Ultimate Biography

Kishore Kumar – The Ultimate Biography (Harper Collins) is at its core almost an encyclopaedia on the Artist. Parthiv Dhar ( my batchmate at VRCE, Nagpur) is a die-hard fan of Kishore and the book in collaboration with Aniruddha Bhattacharya is apt way of paying tribute to the legend. Of Kishore Kumar’s multiple facets as singer, actor, producer, director, today’s generation perhaps may be largely aware of his songs. There are more than 3000 of them. And the beauty is even today, a song gets ‘discovered’ on YouTube. The details of his faculties other than singer are where this book covers vast ground and will reach out to the newer audience in knowing Kishore Kumar. It also helps that the biographers have, perhaps intentionally, not taken any particular lens to chronicle the life. The book is relentless in pursuing facts & events as they occurred in his life and is backed by robust, extensive research. It is rich in detail. In fact it as trivia collector's delight. The writer duo keep the writing simple, accessible and brisk. There are enough events in Kishore’s life that lend credence to theories about his eccentricity & parsimonious attitude. The book brings out quite a few of them and live it up to the reader to judge for themselves. More poignantly, the book is able to focus sharply on Kishore’s directorial adventures, his four marriages, the emergency chapter and the events on the fateful day. Kishore’s fascination with ‘things horror’, his relationship with Rafi saheb, discussions about the frailties of his life with Lata Mangeshkar, his philanthropic side are some of the passages worth reading. The book deserves to be on shelf of any film buff and is must recommended for anyone interested in any aspect of the madcap genius that was Kishore Kumar.

Felt like getting to know a legend I idolize better and why he deserved all that adulation. A genius indeed and the authors made it feel like going through the sets of a Bollywood movie with the behind the scenes story of every familiar set. Priceless!

happy with the book, service and price.

You’ll love this book if you’re a fan of Kishore da like me. Wonderful book which takes you down the memory lane.

This book is truly the “ultimate biography” on Kishore Kumar and a tribute to the musical genius. Reading the book is like watching a movie on Kishore Kumar’s life. The book is a true reflection of the passion of the authors – Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Parthiv Dhar who have showcased authentic and verified facts, through their extensive research for more than a decade that justifies the details and the size of the book. The writing style is very conversational and gripping. Once I started reading the book, I couldn’t keep it aside, went from cover to cover in a week. The book covers many unknown / little known facets of Kishore Kumar – especially his early phase of life and career. The book also provides a great insight to his family background, social background, and how his personality and way of thinking evolved. It provides a glimpse into the off-screen character and personality of Kishore Kumar – why he probably behaved in a certain way and the ups and downs he experienced in his life. At certain points the book made me quite emotional. This book brought me closer to the person behind the voice, and the brains who brought a musical revolution in our country. Unique aspects of many songs have been described and on many such instances I went to Youtube to see the videos and understand the nuances and stories behind the songs. There are several rare photographs in the book. I also had the privilege of meeting the authors during a Literary Fest, and also got to see Parthiv Dhar’s unbelievably huge collection / museum of Kishore Kumar memorabilia and treasure. A pleasure for every fan. Some songs by Kishore Kumar that I emotionally relate to as I read this book: Aa chalke tujhe main leke chaloon… …Pal pal dil ke pas tum rahte ho… …Ye jeevan hai, is jeevan ka… …Tere bina zindagi se… …Haal kya hai dilon ka na poochho sanam… …Tera mujhse hai pehle ka nata koi… … Jeevan ke safar mein rahi… …Khilte hain gul yahan… …Zindagi ki yahi reet hai… …Ane wala pal jane wala hain… …Zindagi ka safar hai ye kaisa safar… …Rote hue aate hain sab… …Chalte chalte mere ye geet yaad rakhna… “Kishore Kumar: The Ultimate Biography” is a must read for anyone who is a fan of Kishore Kumar the entertainer, or would like to get a glimpse of the film industry during the 1940s to 80s. Kudos to the authors!!