Kishore Kumar (born Abhas Kumar Ganguly; ; 4 August 1929 – 13 October 1987) was an Indian playback singer and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest, most influential and dynamic singers in the history of Indian music. He was one of the most popular singers in the Indian subcontinent, notable for his yodeling and ability to sing songs in different voices. He used to sing in different genres but some of his rare compositions, considered classics, were lost in time. According to his brother and legendary actor Ashok Kumar, Kishore Kumar was successful as a singer because his "voice hits the mike, straight, at its most sensitive point". Besides Hindi, he sang in many other Indian languages, including Bengali, Marathi, Assamese, Gujarati, Kannada, Bhojpuri, Malayalam, Odia and Urdu. He also released a few non-film albums in multiple languages, especially in Bengali, which are noted as all-time classics. He won 8 Filmfare Awards for Best Male Playback Singer and holds the record for winning the most Filmfare Awards in that category. He was awarded the Lata Mangeshkar Award by the Madhya Pradesh government in 1985. In 1997, the Madhya Pradesh Government initiated an award called the "Kishore Kumar Award" for contributions to Hindi cinema. In 2012, his unreleased last song sold for 15.6 lakh at the Osian's Cinefan Auction in New Delhi. Early life Kishore Kumar was born in a Bengali Brahmin Ganguly family in Khandwa, Central Provinces (now in Madhya Pradesh) as Abhas Kumar Ganguly. His father, Kunjalal Ganguly (Gangopadhyay) was a lawyer and his mother, Gouri Devi came from a wealthy Bengali family and was a home-maker. Kunjalal Gangopadhyaya was invited by the Kamavisadar Gokhale family of Khandwa to be their personal lawyer. Kumar was the youngest of four siblings, the older three being Ashok (the eldest), Sati Devi, and Anoop. While Kumar was still a child, his brother Ashok became an actor in Hindi cinema. Later, Anoop also ventured into cinema with Ashok's help. Kumar graduated from Christian College, Indore. Early career After Ashok Kumar became a star of Hindi films, the Ganguly family visited Bombay (now Mumbai) regularly. Abhas Kumar changed his name to 'Kishore Kumar' and started his cinema career as a chorus singer at Bombay Talkies, where his brother worked. Music director Khemchand Prakash gave Kumar a chance to sing "Marne Ki Duayen Kyon Mangu" for the film Ziddi (1948). After