August 4 marks the 84th birth anniversary of Kishore Kumar the vocal acrobat who has the distinction of winning maximum 8 Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer. On his birth anniversary shares an unknown anecdote that will stun his fans. Believe it or not Kishore Kumar, the ruler of such a magnificent voice was born with a hoarse voice! According to Ashok Kumar, Kishore Kumar's elder brother Kishore had a hoarse voice! In an interview he said, ''Kishore had a rough and hoarse voice as a child. But he had great passion for singing and use to imitate K.L.Saigal. We use to laugh and turn him off. However one day he accidentally cut his toe and he cried so much that suddenly the hoarseness in his voice disappeared giving way to a sweet melodious voice.'' Kishore Kumar landed in Mumbai to become a singer like his idol, the famous K.L. Saigal. But compelled by destiny he worked as an actor and kept struggling to get noticed as a singer. Hence when he became an actor he worked on the condition he will sing his songs. Eventually S.D.

Burman noticed his talent and gave him break in MUNIMJI, staring Dev Anand. The song was 'Jevan ke safar mein rahi....' The song became a run-away hit. Following this came NAU DO GYARAH in which Kishore Kumar sang all the songs for Dev Anand. Remember 'Mana janab Ne Pukara Nahin' and 'Chod Do Anchal Zamana Kya Kahega..' Soon Kishore Kumar became to be identified as voice of Dev Anand. Later in the early 70's with the Rajesh Khanna wave he reached the peak of stardom. In ARADHNA Kishore Kumar won his first 'Filmfare Award' as the best singer for the song 'Mere Sapno Ki Rani..' and became a phenomenon. Further with movies like KATI PATANG, AMAR PREM, TERE MERE SAPNE, KORA KAGAZ established him as a singer par excellence. Actors who avoided him also began taking him as their playback singer. For example, Dilip Kumar, who insisted upon Mohd. Rafi's voice, also took his voice in SAGINA. Remember the hit song 'Sala mein to sahab bangaya....'