Kishore Kumar Called Mumbai Friendless, Exploitative: 'Who Wants To Die In This Ugly City?'

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Kishore Kumar opened up in an old interview about hating Mumbai, being forced into acting, and his wish to return to Khandwa before his untimely death.
For all the fame and love he earned, Kishore Kumar never truly felt at home in Mumbai. In one of his rare, brutally honest interviews with The Illustrated Weekly of India, the legendary singer revealed his deep discomfort with the film industry, his dislike for the city, and how he longed to return to his roots in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh.
'Who can live in this stupid, friendless city where everyone seeks to exploit you every moment of the day? Can you trust anyone out here? Is anyone trustworthy? Is anyone a friend you can count on? I am determined to get out of this futile rat race and live as I've always wanted to. In my native Khandwa, the land of my forefathers. Who wants to die in this ugly city?" he had said.
Though Kishore rose to become one of India's most beloved playback singers, few know how reluctant he was about acting — something he never truly wanted to pursue. It was, according to him, a path forced upon him by the industry and his association with his famous brother, Ashok Kumar.
'I was conned into doing this. All I wanted was to sing, and yet due to peculiar circumstances, I was persuaded to act in the movies. The directors don't give a da*n about me, they just need me because I sell," he said, revealing how unwanted the limelight often felt.
To avoid acting, Kishore would go to great lengths — from sabotaging scenes to behaving erratically on set. 'I have tried every trick in the book to get out of acting. I muffed my lines, pretended to be crazy, shaved my head off, played difficult, began yodelling in the midst of tragic scenes, told Meena Kumari what I was supposed to tell Bina Rai in some other film. They still wouldn't let me go, and I hated every second of it," he admitted.
Even his move to Mumbai was never about stardom. Kishore simply hoped his brother Ashok would introduce him to his musical idol, KL Saigal. But the film industry had other plans. 'The industry was determined to make a star out of me because I was dadamoni's (Ashok) brother," he said.
Though he had made up his mind to leave Mumbai and settle in Khandwa, it took him two more years to wind things up. Tragically, before he could make the move, Kishore Kumar died of a heart attack — on Ashok Kumar's 76th birthday.
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