It was the phenomenal success of his songs in Rajesh KhannaРІР‚в„ўs Aradhana (1969) that brought him back triumphantly in the mainstream cinema.Р”В®ven though he subsequently proved his classical mettle in movies such as Amar Prem (1972), it was his rendition of 'Mere Naina Saawan Bhadon' for the Rajesh Khanna-Hema Malini starrer, Mehbooba (1976) that stunned his critics into silence. He had already been branded as a madcap who was not interested either in his singing or acting career. During the sixties, he sang either for Dev Anand or for himself on the screen. He just loved singing and he sang from his heart, which made all the difference. But here was a happy-go-lucky man who was his own guru and his own shishya.Р”Р„n iconoclast in the truest sense of the word, Kishore simply did not care about any traditions. In keeping with the deep-rooted traditions of the guru-shishya parampara of Indian classical music, it was considered necessary for a singer to have a proper guru for honing his skills.

Kishore was not taken seriously by the composers like Naushad and others primarily because he did not have any classical background.

Many music critics believe that NaushadРІР‚в„ўs refusal to accept KishoreРІР‚в„ўs innate singing talent in the 1970s hastened the veteran composerРІР‚в„ўs downfall. But by that time Kishore had become the numero uno singer of Bollywood and Naushad was well past his prime. It was a duet with Asha Bhosle, 'Hello Hello Kya Haal Hai' in a 1975 Rajendra Kumar-Hema Malini starrer, Sunehra Sansar, which was not even used in the movie. In fact, so contemptuous was Naushad of KishoreРІР‚в„ўs singing style that he gave him only one song in his entire career. The great Naushad and the majority of his contemporaries who ruled the roost those days swore by the genius of Mohd Rafi, who was a trained and astounding classical singer. Except for his mentor-in-chief Sachin Dev Burman, nobody believed that the maverick younger brother of Ashok Kumar could do anything beyond yodelling. But long before he was considered great, there was a time - the 1950s and 1960s to be precise - when as a singer, he was treated with utter disdain by many a great music director of Bollywood. The inimitable Kishore Kumar, one of the greatest playback singers of all times, passed away 31 years ago on October 13 at the age of 58 in Mumbai.

Rajesh khanna kishore kumar