When Kishore Kumar request for a week's time to record an RD Burman song

Kishore Kumar is today remember as one of the most legendary and iconic playback singers of Hindi Cinema of all time. With the kind of versatility and emotion that Kishore Kumar brought to his songs, most people would be surprised (or rather shocked) to know that The icon was never formally trained in music or singing. It was a talent the artist had picked up and honed out of pure perseverance. However, there was one instance where everyone felt his lack of formal talent would be an impediment.

Kishore Kumar refused to record Mere Naina Saawan Bhado

The story dates back to 1976. Shakti Samanta was making Mehboooba his big-scale reincarnation drama with Rajesh Khanna and Hema Malini. The director had gone to his favourite R.D.Burman for music composition, and for one of the melancholic situations in the film, Burman had composed a classical-based song. The song was titled ‘Mere Naina Sawan Bhado’ and it had two versions - male and female. 

While R.D.Burman wanted to record both the versions on the same day, Kishore Kumar refused to oblige Burman. Everyone was flummoxed by Kumar’s strange request, but Kumar requested that he would require at least 7 days to prepare for the song, and meanwhile, the makers could proceed with recording Lata Mangeshkar’s version.

Kishore Kumar heard Lata’s recording for 7 days straight

R.D.Burman and Shakti Samanta did just that - they recorded Lata Mangeshkar’s version. The same evening, Kishore Kumar asked for the recording. R.D.Burman now knew what Kishore Kumar was up to. Reportedly, Kishore Kumar heard the Lata Mangeshkar version for 7 days straight, learning by heart every phrase, every nuance of the song rendering. 

A week later, when Kishore Kumar turned up for the recording, everyone was stunned to hear that Kishore Kumar sang the song exactly like Lata Mangeshkar, just like a classical trained singer would render the song. But then, that’s the magic Kishore Kumar brought to Hindi film music.