Mumbai, August 25 — Megastar Amitabh Bachchan recently recalled a heartwarming and amusing interaction with legendary singer Kishore Kumar.
The actor revealed that the late singer once mistook him for his son Amit Kumar during a phone call. Big B also remembered Kishore Kumar warmly welcoming him to his home and proudly showing him his collection of video cassettes.
In an upcoming episode of reality show, Amitabh Bachchan said, “ “Bohot heen bohot dildaar insaan the. Kayi baar mulakat hoti the, bohot prem se milte the hume, unke sath recording studio mein baithne ka mauka milta tha. Ek baar unhone hume unke ghar pe bulaya tha aur uss jamane mein joh video cassete the na jisme tasveer bante the toh voh collect karneka bada shauk tha, toh unhone hume dikhaya ki jitna bhi world bhar mein cassete hain sab unhone rakha tha.”
(He was a very, very generous and warm-hearted person. We met several times, and he would always meet us with great affection. I got the opportunity to sit with him in the recording studio. Once, he invited me to his home. In those days, there were video cassettes on which pictures could be recorded, and he had a great passion for collecting them. He showed me that he had collected cassettes from all over the world)
Amitabh Bachchan then recalled a humorous phone conversation with Kishore Kumar. When the megastar introduced himself by saying, “Main Amit bol raha hoon,” (This is Amit speaking), Kishore Kumar apparently assumed that it was his son, singer Amit Kumar, on the other end of the line.
Contestant Virendra Jaiswal, who hails from Kishore Kumar’s hometown Khandwa, also spoke about the special connection the city shared with the legendary artiste.
Talking about Kishore Kumar, Jaiswal said, “Kishore Kumar ji ka agar gaana hain, aur unke saare gaane aise dimaag mein basse hue hain, Sir. Kishore ji toh Sir, abhineta the, gayak the, lekhak the, aisa koi kaam nahi hain joh Kishore Kumar sahab ne nahi kiya. Humare Khandwa mein unka joh janam diwas hain, 4th August, voh iss tarah se manaya jaata hain ki har nukkad mein karaoke aaj kal bohot famous hain, toh kisiko bhi aana hain voh aake unke gaane gaa sakte hain. Matalb uss din humare Khandwa mein sab kuch Kishoremayi ho jaata hain. Ek aur baat Sir, jab humare yaha koi bacha paida hota hain toh uske kaano mein pehla shabd Kishore bola jaata hain aur Kishore Kumar sahab bhi Khandwa ko bohot prem karte thein.”
(Sir, when it comes to Kishore Kumar’s songs, all of his songs are so deeply embedded in our minds. Kishore ji was an actor, singer and writer; there is hardly anything that Kishore Kumar sahab did not do. In Khandwa, his birthday on August 4 is celebrated in such a way that karaoke takes over every street corner, and anyone can come and sing his songs. On that day, everything in Khandwa becomes completely Kishore-themed. One more thing, Sir, when a child is born in our place, the first word spoken into their ears is ‘Kishore’. Kishore Kumar sahab also loved Khandwa very much)
Talking about Kishore Kumar, the legendary singer went on to be a part of the entertainment industry for almost four decades.
From songs like Chala Jaata Hoon, Neele Neele Ambar Par, Mere Sapnon Ki Rani, Mere Saamne Wali Khidki and many more, Kishore Kumar went on deliver some of the most iconic song of Bollywood.