HIS FATHERS SON

We were then living in Seksaria Colony in Juhu,a place where we had a small ground-floor house with a terrace. Composer Anil Biswas was our neighbour and there was another Anglo-Indian family and producer T.C.Dewan,whose son Vinod was my friend. Juhu was exceptionally beautiful then. I recall Baba having a 16 mm projector at home and all of us watching his classics like Naukri,Baap Re Baap and Bhai Bhai. I still watch these classic comedies on DVD,and I must have crossed the figure of 75 times for each! My 7-year-old daughter Muktika enjoys them too.

I also remember Baba celebrating my birthday each year in a shack that was next to Janki Kutir. As kids,Rakesh and Rajesh Roshan,Suneil Anand and even Randhir Kapoor and Rishi Kapoor would come for my parties. One year,Baba gifted me with my own 16 mm projector and I would watch Walt Disney classics like Lady And The Tramp,hired from a shop near Mumbais Regal Cinema. My uncle Dada Moni Ashok Kumar then lived at Ashok Kumar House in Rampart Row in town. There were great parties there too. Those were fun times.

My father was extremely fond of me. One morning he dragged me out of bed at seven in the morning. Rubbing my eyes,I went down with him and he showed me three cars,one of which was a Mercedes. Which car should I take today to work? he asked me. He had woken me up just for that! Baba loved cars and there would be competition among Shammi Kapoor,Mehmood and him to buy better imported cars than each others newest acquisitions!

Missing Mumbai

Things changed completely in 1957 when my parents got divorced. We moved to Kolkata and I began to miss Mumbai terribly. I was admitted in Miss Higgins School where my classmates included Sandip Ray,Satyajit Rays son. Not many know that Mrs. Ray was my maternal grandmothers sister. I have memories of a good time though,and of the Sports Day where I would lose out because I was bad at tying shoelaces!

My mother was a busy actress then and so when I was in the third standard,I was sent to St. Xaviers,a fabulous boarding school at Hazaribagh in Bihar. My life took a turn there as I began to study very well. I would have completely moved away from films and maybe entered the medical or some other highly-qualified profession had I continued there. But after a year,I was brought back to Kolkata. I recall the principal there terming my parents as very selfish. But I guess that was Fate.

In the holidays,I would always come down to Mumbai. In 1960,my father was writing Door Gagan Ki Chhaon Mein inspired by a film called The Proud Rebel. Veteran character artiste Iftekhar uncle,who was very close to my father,was co-writing with him and since one of the protagonists was a young boy,a queue of aspiring child artistes who had responded to ads in the newspapers would come home for camera tests that Baba was conducting even as I buzzed around like a brat. The boy was to be mute till the end of the film and Baba needed someone who could speak with the eyes.

An actor is born

It was Iftekhar uncle who first suggested my name to Baba. He told him,Ghar ki murgi daal baraabar kyoon? Yeh tumhara ladka yahaan badmaashi karta rehta hai Why ignore the in-house brat?. Why dont you try him out? So Baba called me and told me to go behind a curtain and come out saying the line,Bapu,tum kab aaoge? And Baba told me sternly,Be serious! I did what he said and Baba simply said,Ifti,issiko le lo!

But there was a problem: my mother would be dead against any such thing! However,Baba did not bother. He said that we would do it quietly! He was facing tough times then and my grandmother helped out in the finances by selling some ornaments,but we began shooting the film within three days,the first shots being at China Creek in the suburbs where our cars headlights were used as reflectors because there was no spare money to hire them!

The film took three years to make as there would be gaps of six months between my vacations. Strangely enough,the continuity jumps because I was rapidly growing were barely noticeable. The films first show at Mumbais Lotus had 15 people 8211; eight of whom were from Kishore Films staff! The distributor was in a state of shock and all that my father told him was,Others had refused to buy this film. Why did you buy it? I had warned you about it!

But things changed that evening. The critics,though surprised at the way a complete comedian had made a poignant film,raved about it and had a major role in making the film a hit.

My mother,as expected,was very,very angry when she was finally told how I had shot for the film. But she did come for the premiere and she wept in the film and complimented me for my acting.

Towards music

Meanwhile,my academic record had nosedived after moving back from Hazaribagh and I had even failed in one class and was removed from one school. My mother had founded the Calcutta Youth Choir,which is still there. I would sometimes play the tabla and the triple congo and would occasionally help out by singing a bit.

One day,a friend suggested that we form a band or group to perform. Once again,I knew that my mother would never allow it,so again it had to be done secretly. Our first show was during the Durga Puja and was arranged by the late Uttam Kumar in his locality itself. I had prepared three or four songs but ended up singing ten. I was paid eight hundred rupees. The shows became successful and we performed in every locality. I would sing Kishore Kumar hits of course.

Of course,my mother came to know about my latest activity! She rang up my father and complained,Your son is not studying at all. He is singing your songs on stage! But Baba was happy. He wanted to watch me perform,but there was a hitch: If the audience sees me there,who would want to listen to you? he said very candidly! So he finally sat high above the stage where the guys were operating the lights 8211; no one could see him,but he could see me,and he expressed his appreciation in gestures!

The die was cast. In 1970,I became a major and decided to shift back to Mumbai. We began performing shows that were billed as Daddy Kishore Sunny Amit. My first show with Baba had S.D.Burman,Kalyanji-Anandji and I.S.Johar as special guests. My first song was to be Babas Do Chor hit Meri jaan kehna maano and Baba had an idea. I will start singing the song and you will enter the stage,tap me on the shoulder and sing Mere baap mere baap ab tum jaao!

It was an unforgettable moment when,after my first song,Dada Burman removed his own chief guests garland and threw it at me so perfectly that it seemed to come in slow motion and land on me! Later,he told Baba,Amit sings very well. He has a bit of a problem in the taal beats,send him to Pancham R.D.Burman and he will fix it!

Soon,I joined Baba in his overseas shows,the first one being in Nairobi and Kampala around 1972 and then in UK and USA.

Playback time

My first recording had been Main ek panchhi matwala in Door Ka Rahi,which was recorded around 1965. Baba filmed the song on me on a tree in our own garden and I was billed as Amit Ganguly. I recall having high fever that day. But the song was finally chopped out of the film by Baba himself!

My first adult recording was for Sapan-Jagmohan for Darwaza by the Ramsays. The lovely song Hosh mein hum kahaan was removed from the film again. Baba was present at the recording. The second song was a beautiful duet,Hai shaam badi matwali with Asha Bhosleji for a film called MISA,which was composed by Madan Mohan. The film was shelved. Before that,Laxmikant-Pyarelal had suggested my name for Bobby,but I was terrified of the prospect of singing an entire film for Raj Kapoors banner aur main Kolkata bhaag gaya. Salil Chowdhury gave me the song Humko kisne jaana that was in high pitch 8211; he was really impressed with me,but that film too never made it!

One day in 1974,Pancham called me to his music room and told me to sing the Jhumroo title-song. I recall Manna Dey and my father being present and I got so nervous I sang it very badly. My father castigated me,You lost Bobby and now you messed up another chance! But the same evening Panchamda called me for a song in Shakti Samantas Balika Badhu. My father demanded to know why he could not sing it! Ussko kyoon? he asked,and Pancham replied,The hero is very young. You are over 40! The song was Bade acche lagte hai from Balika Badhu. Pancham suggested that I keep the tone soft so that I do not highlight the natural resemblance to my fathers voice.

But Salaam kijiye with Rafisaab and Bhupinder from Panchams Aandhi was the first to release in 1975. In Jai Kumar Partes Jaan Haazir Hai ,the songs O meri chhammak chhallo and Tum na rahoge hum na rahenge were hits. Kalyanji-Anandjis Chori Mera Kaam and Mounto and Laxmikant-Pyarelals Zindagi Aur Toofan also released that year.

My first major break as a solo singer in a score was of course Love Story. Neither Pancham nor I really liked Yaad aa rahi hai,and he would grumble that Rajendra Kumar had passed the song,but it became a rage! In that phase,and later in the sympathy wave after Baba passed away in 1987,I got terrific songs from not only Pancham but also Kalyanji-Anandji,Laxmikant-Pyarelal,Bappi Lahiri,Rajesh Roshan,Anand-Milind and Viju Shah in particular. I also sang some good songs for Jatin-Lalit later.

The latest song I have recorded now is for Nitin Shankar in Maaee,Ashajis acting debut. I sing when called,but the current practice of trying out different voices for as song is something I do not care for. In our times,if we were not up to the mark,composers would work on us and make us deliver. Besides,where is the melody today?

As for albums,I started out as a composer and singer with O Sweetheart in 1987. The album was formally released by Baba himself. And Pancham released MAD two weeks before his death. He had predicted that these songs would have worked better in a movie. He was right. It is only after almost 17 years that the songs,which the company did not even market properly,are getting attention. I like to compose and I am working on my next set of songs. But I am in the process of creating my website and Sumit,my brother who is also into music,has rightly suggested that I release it online.

In 2003,I married Rima,who is also a singer. I have no desire to run after work in the current kind of atmosphere 8211; my voice was replaced in Don and had Subhash Ghai not put his foot down,I would have also been replaced in Dil mein baji guitar Apna Sapna Money Money,which was a major hit. I am told that the music scene is set to change for the better. I hope that happens,because melody is forever.

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