Today marks the birthday of Andrew Kishore, one of the most prolific playback singers in the country, who passed away on July 6, 2020, leaving a void in our hearts. The evergreen singer was considered the king of playback. The songs he voiced have reached the hearts of millions, making him an immortal legend in the music industry.

On the occasion of his birthday, Kanak Chapa, with whom he has sung a lot of his popular songs, reminisced memories of him with The Daily Star.

"I call Andrew Kishore a fountain of liquid gold. It's difficult to accept that he is no longer here with us. I think Bengali people everywhere sing and hum his songs to this day. His songs still echo in the wind," said Kanak Chapa. 

"His absence makes me melancholic and nostalgic. Sometimes, I think that one day I will cook and feed him, but the next moment I realize that he is not with us anymore. There was one Kishore da who gave us a lot but did we repay him properly?", she added.  

Born and brought up in Rajshahi, Andrew Kishore came to Dhaka in the seventies and established himself as a music icon. 

The singer entered the film industry as a playback singer with the song "Ek Chor Jaye Chole" for the film Protikhkha, and went on to record thousands of songs as a playback singer.

Composed by renowned musician Alam Khan, the song "Dak Diyachhen Doyal Amare" (1982) put Andrew Kishore in the spotlight, as it gained massive popularity.

He is widely famous for evergreen songs, including "Jiboner Golpo Achhe Baki Olpo", "Haire Manush Rongin Phanush", "Amar Shara Deho Kheyo Go Mati", "Amar Buker Moddhe Khane" and "Amar Babar Mukhe Prothom Jedin Shunechhilam Gaan", among many others.

Kishore won Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer eight times for the films "Boro Bhalo Lok Chhilo" (1982), "Surrender" (1987), "Khotipuron" (1989), "Padma Meghna Jamuna" (1991), "Kabul" (1996), "Aaj Gaye Holud" (2000), "Saajghor" (2007) and "Ki Jadu Korila" (2008).