Kishore Kumar was their voice too!

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His long reign apart, Kishore Kumar was not really associated with certain names as a playback singer in popular memory. Here are six artistes we normally do not reconcile with Kishore Kumar, but have nevertheless lip-synched songs rendered by the all-rounder. We start with Dev Anand’s contemporaries Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor.

Dilip Kumar

Kishore Kumar was chosen as Dilip Kumar’s sole voice by S.D. Burman in the Bengal-based subject that Dilip himself is said to have unofficially produced—Sagina (1974). The songs included the chartbuster, Saala main to sahab ban gaya. Incidentally, Dilip and Kishore had also co-starred earlier in Musafir (1957).

Raj Kapoor

S.D. Burman also used Kishore Kumar for Raj Kapoor in all the five songs from Pyar (1950)—a rarely known fact as the songs failed to get popular endorsement. Of course, much later, Kishore was to sing for Raj’s son Randhir Kapoor in three Raj Kapoor productions—Kal Aaj Aur Kal, Dharam Karam and Biwi O Biwi.

Shammi Kapoor

Two completely different composers, Kalyanji-Anandji and Bappi Lahiri, used Kishore for Shammi Kapoor—when he was a character artiste. The chartbuster Saat saheliyaan (Vidhaata) and the classic Saare zamane ki amaanat from Armaan were the two songs. There was also Tumsa nahin dekha in Wanted (1984), also composed by Bappi. Great friends in real life, Shammi featured in Kishore’s incomplete production, Pyar Ajnabi Hai and sang in Shammi’s directorials, Manoranjan (for Sanjeev Kumar) and Bundalbaaz (for Rajesh Khanna) as well.

Raaj Kumar

Though the vocals sounded quite incongruous on the actor, Bappi Lahiri in Muqaddar Ka Faisla and Kalyanji-Anandji in Mohabbat Ke Dushmun used Kishore Kumar for Raaj Kumar as well! Both the films were directed by Prakash Mehra. The songs did not work after the films collapsed.

Rajendra Kumar

Rajendra Kumar and Kishore Kumar were again great friends, and the former gave the major break to Kishore’s son Amit Kumar in his production, Love Story. However, in his entire career, Kishore only lip-synched Tumko bhi to for the actor in Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s Aap Aaye Bahaar Ayee.

Ranbir Kapoor

Technology sprang a surprise in 2008 when a sample of Kishore’s Hum Kisise Kum Naheen hit, Bachna ae haseenon, was used in part and sat on Ranbir Kapoor’s lips in the film Bachna Ae Haseeno. The rest of the re-created song was sung by Kishore’s younger son, Sumeet Kumar, in one of his very few forays into playback singing.