The Legacy Continues

Those who haven’t had the good fortune of interacting with the legendary singer-actor-director Kishore Kumar,can have a glimpse of him in his son Amit Kumar. Seated in his father’s Juhu Bungalow,the 61-year-old exudes Kishore’s enthusiasm and passion for music. There are other shared traits as well. “Sometimes,I sit on the floor and record songs,which is something my father was famous for,” says Amit. Following in Kishore’s footsteps,Amit became an acclaimed Bollywood playback singer between the ’70s and ’90s,with hits such as Kasme Vaade,Gol Maal,Love Story and Tezaab. His father’s death,followed by the death of music composer RD Burman,made him withdraw from the industry. “After dad,responsibilities hit me. I had to take care of my house and family,” he says.

Amit is now back in Bollywood with his father’s hit number Nainon main sapna from Himmatwala. “I am not in this rat race. I left all this behind almost a decade ago. But when somebody asks me to sing for their film,I do it,” says Amit,who had been requested to sing this number by the film’s director,Sajid Khan.

The feedback has been encouraging. “I have been following the comments on YouTube. Most of them are good,but one of the comments said that I sounded pretty old,” he says. But like his father,Amit remains unaffected by negativity.

He is now working on an online music store alongwith stepbrother Sumeet Kumar. They intend to begin with an album by Amit,who has already recorded eight songs for it. Three of them have been arranged by Sumeet and one written by Sumeet’s mother Leena Chandavarkar.

“It was Sumeet’s idea,” says Amit. His company,Kumar Brothers Music,will also promotes “Bhadra Sangeet”,a neglected form of Indian classical music. “We need to promote classical music. It is,after all,a part of our culture,” says the singer. He also wants to encourage new singers and composers,and keep his father’s legacy alive.