Amitabh Bachchan recalls Kishore Kumar's hilarious phone mix-up: ‘He thought I was Amit Kumar’

Dubai: Amitabh Bachchan has shared a warm and amusing memory of the late Kishore Kumar, recalling a phone call where the legendary singer mistook the megastar for his own son, playback singer Amit Kumar.

The story emerged during the latest episode of Kaun Banega Crorepati 18, where Bachchan spoke about his relationship with the beloved artist.

A generous, warm-hearted man

Bachchan remembered Kishore Kumar with clear affection, recalling time spent together in recording studios and an invitation to the singer's home.

"He was a very, very generous and warm-hearted person. We met many times and he always greeted me with great affection. I got the chance to sit with him in the recording studio. Once, he invited me to his home. In those days there were video cassettes that could record pictures, and he had a great passion for collecting them. He showed me that he had collected cassettes from all over the world," he said.

The mix-up

When Bachchan introduced himself with "Main Amit bol raha hoon" (This is Amit speaking), Kishore Kumar assumed it was his son, singer Amit Kumar, on the other end of the line. Bachchan's full name is Amitabh, often shortened to Amit, which set up the confusion with Kishore Kumar's own Amit.

The anecdote drew added warmth from a contestant on the show, Virendra Jaiswal, who hails from Kishore Kumar's hometown of Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh and spoke about the deep connection the city still shares with the artist.

A bond that once hit a rough patch

The two did have a well-documented misunderstanding in the mid-1980s.

The rift reportedly developed around Kishore Kumar's final directorial project, when the singer wanted a big star for his film and Bachchan, who was extremely busy at the time, was unable to commit. As these things went in that era, the back-and-forth was amplified by the press. Rajesh Khanna eventually played the role.

Amit Kumar himself has since spoken about the episode, describing it as an ordinary human misunderstanding rather than a feud. "The media really exaggerated it. But later, everything got sorted out. Mr Bachchan came home, they hugged it out, the misunderstanding was cleared," he said in an earlier interview.

Kishore Kumar passed away in 1987.