Kishore Kumar was one of the most celebrated singers of his time, and it was during the prime of his career that the government placed a ban on him. In 1976, six months after the imposition of Emergency, Kishore Kumar’s songs were banned on All India Radio. In a recent interview, his son Amit Kumar shared what inspired the government to make this decision. Amit shared that Kishore was invited to sing for a show at Sanjay Gandhi Flying Club, but, for some reason, he declined the invitation.
In a chat with Vickey Lalwani, Amit said that his father wasn’t happy about the way that he was invited over the phone. “Dad said, ‘I can’t come like this. You will have to send a representative to invite me’. This statement annoyed that officer. My dad said, ‘Even if God comes and calls me like this, I won’t go’,” Amit recalled, and said that as soon as he said it, he was told he would be banned. “They said we will ban you and within 8 hours, he was banned,” he shared. Amit said that during the ban, Kishore’s songs were not allowed to be played on All India Radio.
Amit shared that the ban was lifted after a while thanks to Balasaheb Thackeray. He shared that a meeting was arranged between Thackeray, Raj Kapoor, Vijay Anand, Dev Anand and then I&B minister VC Shukla. “My father was also there. Shukla ji came and there, the ban was lifted,” he said. When asked if Kishore apologised for his actions, Amit said that there was no apology from his father’s end. “He never apologised,” he said.
Amit recalled that the show happened at a later date and was a three-day affair at Sanjay Gandhi Flying Club. Celebrities like Rajesh Khanna and Dharmendra also marked their attendance at this show. Amit shared with a laugh that a red carpet was rolled out for him, and that the organisers had even hired people to yell out ‘Kishore Kumar zindabad’ when he walked the red carpet.
