Celebrated lyricist Prasoon Joshi has been honored with the National Kishore Kumar Award by the Madhya Pradesh government. The prestigious accolade was presented during a ceremony held in Khandwa, a district in Madhya Pradesh, India, which is also the birthplace of legendary singer Kishore Kumar.
Joshi received the 2024 National Kishore Kumar Award at the event. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav joined the ceremony via video conference from Bhopal, with various state ministers also in attendance.
Chief Minister Yadav praised Kishore Kumar as an “invaluable gem” of Madhya Pradesh, sharing anecdotes about the iconic artist. He also lauded Prasoon Joshi as a “magician of words.”
Upon receiving the award, Joshi expressed his gratitude to the state government. He reflected on Kishore Kumar’s legacy, stating, “When Kishore Da passed away, I was in school, but I have written countless songs in my career. I wish he were alive and would lend his voice to my songs.”
Joshi further described Kishore Kumar’s inner artist as childlike, a natural quality that remained vibrant without effort.
The National Kishore Kumar Award has previously recognized numerous prominent personalities from the Indian cinema and music industries. Past recipients include Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Naseeruddin Shah, Gulzar, B.R. Chopra, Amitabh Bachchan, Javed Akhtar, Shyam Benegal, Yash Chopra, Dev Anand, Salim Khan, Sameer, Priyadarshan, Waheeda Rehman, Amitabh Bhattacharya, Dharmendra, and Rajkumar Hirani.