Kishore Kumar's birth anniversary: How his biography features his 'Emergency ban' episode

Today, 35 years after 'Kishore Kumar - A Versatile Genius', as one his biographies is titled, left the world, when his melodious songs are being played across mediums and are still being heard by people across all ages, little one would have wondered that these songs went off-air and out of the reach of the people following a government order. It was during the emergency declared by the Indira Gandhi-led Congress government on June 25, 1975.  

Kishore Kumar's songs were banned from all government mediums during the emergency after he declined to sing at a musical night programme organised by the then Congress government. Moreover, as other popular filmmakers from Mumbai attended, Kishore Kumar even refused to comment on the reasons for his decision to deny the invitation. 

Mention of 'emergency' in Kishore Kumar's biography

Congress leader Sanjay Gandhi, younger son of Indira Gandhi, ordered the then Information and Broadcasting minister to ban Kishore Kumar's songs from all government broadcasting mediums. Kishore Kumar's biographer Shashikant Kinikar says in the biography - 'Kishore Kumar - A Versatile Genius', "Sanjay Gandhi took it (declining to attend the musical night) as his insult and ordered the Information and Broadcasting minister Vidyacharan Shukla that Kishore Kumar's songs should not be played in any of the public broadcasting mediums."

The order not only stopped the songs of Kishore Kumar from being played on the government platforms but also, as the biography goes on to say, "refused to provide a censor certificate to the films that had songs sung by Kishore Kumar."

Books written on Kishore Kumar 

There are multiple books authored on Kishore Kumar reflecting on the various aspects of the persona he was, from the biography - 'Kishore Kumar - A Versatile Genius' by Shashikant Kinikar to another biography of Kumar viz. 'Kishore Kumar: the definitive biography' by Kishore Valicha. 

Kamala Dhimana has written three books, one each on the film-maker side of the actor (Filmmaker Kishore Kumar) and the other on the musical side of his abilities (Composer Kishore Kumar). He has also written another book showcasing the acting skills of the multi-talented personality: 'Main hoon Jhumroo...: Actor Kishore Kumar'. 

The other books include 'The musical journey of Kishore Kumar' compiled by Prasenjit Das, (Technologist), and edited by Suman Banerjee, (Theater enthusiast).  

Image: ANI