Mumbai. Today is the birth anniversary of Krishnakumar Kunnath i.e. KK. KK was on top of the playlist of people of the 90s and 2000s. KK’s voice resonated not only in India but all over the world. He performed in music albums as well as films and live events. He was born on 23 August 1968. KK, a resident of Delhi, moved to Mumbai in 1994 in search of work. For the first time, he got a chance to sing a one-minute jingle for singer Leslie Lewis. KK’s career, which started with singing a small jingle, gradually grew and Vishal Bhardwaj gave him his first break in Bollywood.
In 1996, he sang the song ‘Chhod Aaye Hum’ in Gulzar’s ‘Maachis’. 5 singers including Suresh Wadkar and Hariharan gave their voices to the song. This song was liked but KK did not get the fame he wanted. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, released in 1999, gave him that position. His song ‘Tadap Tadap’ proved to be a blockbuster like the film. He also received the Filmfare Award for this song.
KK with Gulzar. (Photo courtesy: Instagram @kk_live_now)
As soon as the year 2000 came, KK’s demand in Bollywood started increasing. The year 2000 started off well for him. He lent his voice to many songs. The film and the stars would change, but KK’s voice would create a magic in the film. He sang “Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe” in the 2001 film ‘Dil Chahta Hai’. Apart from this, he lent his voice to songs like ‘O Humdum Suniyo Re’, ‘Das Bahane’, ‘Woh Lamhe’, ‘Tu Hi Meri Shab Hai’, ‘Aankhon Mein Teri’, ‘Zara Sa’ and ‘Tu Jo Mila’. It is said that KK started singing at the age of two and was also a part of his college’s rock band.
KK lent his voice to more than 3500 jingles in four years, including Monte Carlo, TVS Scooty, Amul, Britannia and Pepsi’s Ye Dil Maange More. He also enthralled the audience with his magical voice in films in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Bengali, Assamese and Gujarati languages. When KK said goodbye to the world, he was performing even in his last moments.
KK was performing live on Kolkata’s Nazrul stage on 31 May 2022. He last sang his famous song ‘Hum Rahe Ya Na Rahe Kal, Kal Yaad Aayenge Ye Pal…’. During the show, his health deteriorated and he was then taken to the hospital. Where he was declared dead. Kolkata Police registered a case of unnatural death on 1 June 2022. The post-mortem report revealed that he died due to a heart attack. KK sang more than 700 songs in his career, almost all of which proved to be hits in their time.
Tags: anniversary, Bollywood News
FIRST PUBLISHED : August 23, 2024, 12:07 IST
