His majesty's voice
MUTHUKUMAR K & MANU JOSEPH
[ WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2004 12:06:01 AM ]
His majesty's voice - Article in Economic Times on 13 October, 2004
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/882939.cms
Seventeen years after his death, Kishore Kumar outsells everybody else, including Lata Mangeshkar, in the solo orbit in metros.
On the 13th of October, 17 years ago, Kishore Kumar’s heart stopped when he was watching The River Of No Return. Once again, he had tried to run away, but a world that so loved him dragged him back and put him on the long road to encashable eternity.
In the Rs 40-crore old Hindi film music market, Kishore Kumar contributes nothing less than 20%.
In the high-end music stores of the metros, the man who sang 2,648 Hindi songs sells more than any man or woman of his very special era, cornering 30-35% of the market share in the solo compilation segment, outselling the enchanting Mohammed Rafi and even the great survivor, Lata Mangeshkar.
In the past two years, Kishore Kumar’s solo compilations alone netted over Rs 42 lakh in the western region of Planet M’s music stores. This does not include the vast expanse of versions, remixes and film tracks where Kishore Kumar brushes shoulders with others who don’t yodel.
In the store’s solo compilation segment, the singer has a market share of over 35%, way ahead of Lata Mangeshkar, who trails at under twenty. Kishore Kumar grosses more than Mohammed Rafi, Mukesh and Manna Dey put together.
The eccentric singer’s compilations and film tracks earned between Rs 25 lakh and Rs 30 lakh last year for the Crossword book store.
According its CEO R Sriram, “Kishore Kumar is way above the rest, accounting for over 30% of the market share in what we at Crossword call the Golden Oldies segment”.
This despite the fact the music accounts for just 9% of the store’s revenues.
Vikkas Chopra, a top marketing executive of Saregama that holds the rights for about 80% of Kishore Kumar’s works, explains the popularity of the endearing ghost: “Young people love him because there is youthfulness in his voice and in his songs”.
On the eve his seventy-fifth birth anniversary, Saregama launched “Kareeb” which was a remix of his old songs. According to the firm, it has sold over a lakh copies already.
In better parts of metros where good life makes space for nostalgia Kishore Kumar seemingly cannot be dethroned even by Lata Mangeshkar. In somewhat poorer parts where the living sell more than the dead, the master slips below the lady.
An untrained singer from a small town in Madhya Pradesh, Kishore Kumar always had a warm madness about him. Despite the pressures of good looks, he managed to be a mimic and a clown in situations.
Author Derek Bose narrates an incident in his book Method In Madness when director HS Rawail went to find Kishore Kumar after he did not turn up for a filming. Kumar sat with a chain around his neck like a dog with a plate of food by his side, and kept barking.
There was a board beside him that said, “Do Not Disturb The Dog”. When Rawail tried to play along and tried to hold out his hand, Kishore Kumar bit him.
In the beginning, his famous brother Ashok Kumar did not have much faith in his younger brother’s music talents and hoped that he would choose a safe career in acting.
Kishore Kumar would one day make his mark as an actor but his fate as a singer was so compelling that despite his huge appeal as an actor, it was through his songs that he found astounding success.
And that’s how he would be remembered. First as a singer and then as one of the most entertaining actors and personalities of socialist India. He was a dramatic stage performer too and it is that quality that the new generation would never see or feel.
The trouble with eternal men is that they are usually dead.
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Regards,
Shailendra
13 October, 2004
