Parthiv Dhar

Parthiv Dhar

An ardent admirer of Kishore Kumar, Parthiv Dhar recently released his co-authored debut book ‘Kishore Kumar: The Ultimate Biography’, through Harper Collins. It is a celebration of the music, the films and the genius of Kishore Kumar, an outstanding biography for a new generation of readers.

A Bengali, Guwahati born Parthiv Dhar (50), is presently posted with Indian Oil in Hyderabad as DGM, LPG Operations, Telengana. He spoke to A. Radhakrishnan about his book and the singer he adores.

What inspired you to write a book on Kishore Kumar? Compare him to other popular singers?

As a child, I was made to believe that Kishore Kumar was a very good singer. Subsequently, I realised he was also quite an actor. In college, I came to know of his direction and composition skills. An interview gave us a tryst with the man and it was enough to conclude that the person was no way less iconic than his songs and his super hits.

Thus began a journey of knowing the person spread over a period of twenty years with stoppages at Khandwa, Indore, and Bhagalpur, among others. The book is a compilation of information in a structured fashion.

Quoting my co-author, Anirudha Bhattacharjee, retired SAP consultant, Wipro, and musician, “All our male singers except Bhupinder and too some extent Yesudas have been tenors. Maybe the timber has varied, but they are tenors, nevertheless. Similarly, K L Saigal, Kishore Kumar, and Pankaj Mullick were tenors with a unique quality in their voice – Dhaar and Bhaar (Sharpness & Weight).

For other singers, it was a case of either/or. Hence, Kishore could playback for Dev Anand using his dhaar (e.g. – Hum hain rahi pyaar ke), complement it with some bhaar and mizaaz when he sang for Rajesh Khanna (e.g. – Kuch toh log kahenge), and use his bhaar when he would sing for the next superstar, Amitabh Bachchan (e.g. – O Saathi re).

He also had a very strong swarranth, which gave the songs resonance. Plus, his flux density was unique. Even with such a heavy voice, it would remain steady when negotiating long notes, something very difficult to achieve. I know from experience as I sing.”

Why does he deserve the Bharat Ratna?

The Bharat Ratna deserves him.  Kishore Kumar as a person stands out among others, quite contrary to what the general thought process is. He was probably India’s first dancing star between 1956 to 1958 and Helen is on record concluding that she could not match up to his steps. Similarly, Shahrukh Khan felt the energy while emulating Kishore Kumar in live performances. As an actor, he was a complete natural in the societal and romantic scenes but looked awfully out of place in action scenes which actually is a tribute to the persona that he is.

From whatever we have found in our research, his reel life was just an extension of his real-life mannerisms and thus he didn’t need to ‘act’, probably the only actor to do so. I categorically state that as an entertainer he had no competition miles apart. Even half of his deserved recognition in that arena would have been sufficient for the most prestigious of awards. 

Have you ever interacted with him personally? What help did his family give for the book?

How we wish!! He passed away way too soon. We had a couple of interactions with his son Amit. However maximum inputs attributed were from the public domain.

Which songs of his do you like the most? Why? Do you sing too?

There are so many but to name a few … Aa Chalke tujhe, Mere deewanepan ki dawa, Chand roz, Maine Tumse Kuch nahin maanga are my all-time favourites. Kishore Kumar would make singing appear easy to the extent that emulation became an everyday affair. Later clones would realise that the songs were after all not everybody’s cup of tea. But yet, everyone would attempt a Kishore song. The very fact that he was an actor made him think like one when he would playback. Also, he was perhaps the only one to develop his texture and baritone with the infrastructural progress each decade after Independence. This led to him being probably the only one to realise that tragic songs need to make the audience cry, not the singer. 

How long did it take to write the book from conception to publishing? 

It took us almost 12 years. To finalise the structure itself, we needed two years. The book has been shortened a great deal since the first draft although the basic structure has remained the same.

Why a partnered book? How did you finance your book?

Anirudha-da and I go a long way. In fact, around 2004-05, we started a campaign for the Bharat Ratna for Kishore Kumar and did quite a fair bit of work. Probably during those times, writing a book on Kishore Kumar crossed our minds. I remember, we both were clueless initially on the structure of the book owing to the multidimensional persona of Kishore and thus we started late. The impetus was gained with my visit to Khandwa in 2010 and Anirudha da nearing completion of his book on Rahul D Burman which later won the National Award in 2012    for best book on cinema. Graduating to Kishore was a natural progression. The Khandwa and then the Indore visits brought me extremely close to his friends and their families, his caretaker at the Ganguly House and his college professors who shared with us anecdotes and documents. Fittingly, the book is being dedicated to Khandwa.

We had a fantastic time at Bhagalpur, trespassing through unknown events related to his maternal side, interacting with his relatives like Ratna-di, daughter of his cousin Arun Kumar. Meeting his secretary Abdul was also a high point in the making of the book. For research-based writers like us, writing with a partner helps. Finance was partially by self and the publishers.

Does writing energise or exhaust you? Did you get writers’ block?

Writing is one of the few things which excites me. It does not exhaust me much as I spend maximum energy in imagining and creating visuals while taking forward one sentence to the next. This gives adequate rest to the pen. While I take extra precautions on readers’ perception, till now the writer’s block has eluded me. 

How did you use social media as an author?

Social media exposed us to many knowledgeable Kishore fans, many of whom gave us significant inputs during the book’s making. A few collectors/ sellers were also traced through the social media and their contributions too can’t be ignored. We have followed some discussion threads too in case it added value.

How successful is the book? 

The book has been an amazing success, earning rave reviews. That credit of course should go to the subject of the book and the cover. Our role comes once you start opening the pages. The fact that many are using the book as festive season gifts has been deeply gratifying. 

How do you deal with negative reviews?

I love to have genuine constructive criticisms but ignore trolls.

Any regrets?

I will always rue the fact that my father passed away in 2021 before he could see this book. He would have told you how many commas and semi colons, the biography had!

 What according to you are the elements of good writing?

Good writing in my opinion should be simple and ideally close to how we talk and understand. The idea should be not to demonstrate our command over the vocabulary but to seamlessly communicate the intended message to the reader. Empathising with the reader’s mindset is the key. Secondly while writing a biography, we have tried to flavour it from the eyes of a raconteur. While ending a chapter and going on to the next, especially the narrative should flow as a well-oiled machine. Good writing should also be accustomed with the value of silence. Skipping and letting the readers decipher instead of concluding everything.