Kishore Kumar is revered as a demigod by Bollywood music devotees. When Kishore took his first steps on the road to Bollywood during the late 1940s, knowledge of Indian classical music was considered an essential requirement for singers. But Kishore did not possess this knowledge; in fact he had only very basic training in music and as a result many refused to take him seriously. But whatever he lacked in formal training, he more than made up by his intuitiveness and through the rich and emotive quality of his voice. Kishore defied the critics and rose to become India's most celebrated singer, winning a record 8 Filmfare Awards for Best Playback Singer along the way!

After struggling for the first 20 years of his singing career, Kishore Kumar finally made his breakthrough with the help of long-time supporters S.D. Burman and R.D. Burman. After being crowned 'King', Kishore ruled at the top from 1969 till his death in 1987. Kishore's trademark yodelling was an alien concept that he successfully introduced to Hindi music. Kishore, the regular singing voice of 3 of Bollywood's biggest stars, Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan, was a popular actor himself during the 1950s. In fact, Kishore dabbled in many fields, including film production, film direction, music composition and as a writer, but it is for 'true love' of playback singing that he will always be remembered.