Parakh
Salilda had acquired great popularity all over the country by the time Parakh was released in 1960. Madhumati, arguably the most popular musical of all time, had seen Salilda zooming to the zenith of his popularity in Bombay. And "Parakh" followed not too later.
Now, "Parakh" is in its own way as memorable a soundtrack as "Madhumati". The Lata perenials in the film are the stuff dreams are made of. There is hardly a wrong note in any of these Lata songs of the film. Each of them have their own distinct flavour. Not one of these songs would I miss out when draw a list of my 50 favourite Lata songs. That speaks volumes about the quality of these songs. Lets dig in then..
o sajanaa - The most celebrated song of the track, and indeed one of Lata's most cherished numbers. The Bengali original of the song naa jeo naa is equally brilliant. That version is devoid of all the orchestral flourishes that Salilda has added to the Hindi version. Pt Ravishankar was not pleased with Salilda having used such "heavy western instruments" in the interludes saying they tended to spoil the simple beauty of the song. Salilda however differed - and while that debate continues, personally I love the orchestration in the song. The typical Salilda use of the counterpoint in the antaraas enhance the beauty of the song and give it a very distinct Salil ring.
milaa hai kisii kaa jhumakaa - Another outstanding melody and a very typically complex Salilda composition. The notes sway from the low to high to the higher octaves successively. But Lata appears to handle it with consummate ease. The flute pieces in the melody are equally brilliant.
ye ba.nsii kyo.n gaaye - One of my very favourite Salilda compositions and easily amongst his most complex ones. The song is very fast and the notes move up and down as to cause even us listeners to gape in wonder. Lata and the flute again hold sway in the song. The song starts on a rather high note :
o ye ba.nsii haaye..
and then swings to the sway of the notes.
The antaraas in particular are tremendously crafted.. how Lata manages the switch from
ye ba.nsii nadiyaa ke tiir mohe dekh ke akelii
to
mujh ko sikhaade aa_ii priit pahelii
has to be heard to be believed. Lata and Lata alone could have rendered this song to such perfection !
mere man ke diye - One of those songs that creates an aura of deep isolation. Salilda realizes that such a mood can best be captured with that most potent of music - Silence. The song is a masterly synchronization of the cry of the heart and the silent cry that lingers around. The orchestra is magnificent, mainly built on choral singing. Then the beautiful interlude music which is simply a delightful play on the flute that gives a very "birdy" air to the song. What more can one say about Lata's singing ? Just listen to the song - you will be haunted.
Ok - so thats the soundtrack for today. Catch you with another great soundtrack soon..
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
Salilda's debut "Do bheega zameen"
I had talked about Salilda a couple of days back. Now, lets get on to his musical creations specifically. I am going to start with his Hindi output and take it soundtrack by soundtrack.
Do Bheegaa zameen : This was Salilda's first film in Bombay - the story was also his. The film went on to win international accolades and established Bimalda as one of the premier directors of the country. Alongside, it also established Salilda on the national scene. His music was immediately different and much removed from the established melody pattern of the day. Not to say that Salilda's music was not melodious - it was. But Salilda's musical outlook was very different from the others.
The title music of the film is itself brilliant. Salilda went on to gain enormous respect just as a creator of background music. He has composed just the background music for many films including one of the first songless film of India, "Kaanoon".
"dhartii kahe pukaar ke" is the first stunner in the film. Its an amazing composition that was daringly different at the time and proved to be a typical Salilda composition. The song, as Salilda himself pointed out, is inspired from a Russion red-army march song. Its inspiration, not plagiarization. The song starts with Mannada sounding on the inevitablity of marching forward in life..
ga.ngaa aur yamunaa kii gaharii hai dhaar
aage yaa piichhe sabako jaanaa hai paar
Then with a gentle rhythmic beat, the song switches to a robust pace. The brilliant innovation here is the switch to a komal note for the "..mausam biitaa jaaye" lines. Thats pure Salilda genius. Lata then joins in more conventional bhairavi for the antaraa "terii raaho.n me galiyo.n me.." . All in all, a brilliant song..
"aajaa rii aa ni.ndiyaa tuu aa" - When someone referred to "dhiire se aajaa rii akhiyan me" as the greatest lullaby of all times to C.Ramchandra, the master composer scoffed and said that it was this creation by Salil that deserved that honour. CR was not being modest. This melody is really representative of all thats magical about lullabies. Its soft, gentle - just capturing the serenity of the sequence. Lata's first solo for Salilda could hardly have been better ! Sheer magic..
"hariyaalaa saavan Dol bajaataa aayaa" - Salilda has few equals in the matter of creating folk songs. IMO, only Anil Biswas himself could match Salilda in this. But while Anilda was focussed on Indian folk, Salilda had a much wider canvas. He loved folk music from all nook and corners of the world. And he had the ability of keeping his compositions melodious even while capturing the exuberance of the song. This is a masterpiece of a song, brilliant orchestrated. And Manna Dey and Lata sound magnificent.
The other song in the film is "ajab torii duniyaa" is the song I least like in the film. Somehow Rafi always sounds terrible in such songs - Mannada sounds so much better. Salilda did not enjoy Rafi too much - and it would be good few years before he used him again in his films.
There you are. "Do bheegaa zameen" is a wonderful sountrack with three masterpiece compositions. Give it a hear if you havent so far. In fact, give the film a watch. Its a great film with Balraj Sahni outstanding. I cant imagine how he was looked over for the best actor award. Thats filmfare awards for you.
Do Bheegaa zameen : This was Salilda's first film in Bombay - the story was also his. The film went on to win international accolades and established Bimalda as one of the premier directors of the country. Alongside, it also established Salilda on the national scene. His music was immediately different and much removed from the established melody pattern of the day. Not to say that Salilda's music was not melodious - it was. But Salilda's musical outlook was very different from the others.
The title music of the film is itself brilliant. Salilda went on to gain enormous respect just as a creator of background music. He has composed just the background music for many films including one of the first songless film of India, "Kaanoon".
"dhartii kahe pukaar ke" is the first stunner in the film. Its an amazing composition that was daringly different at the time and proved to be a typical Salilda composition. The song, as Salilda himself pointed out, is inspired from a Russion red-army march song. Its inspiration, not plagiarization. The song starts with Mannada sounding on the inevitablity of marching forward in life..
ga.ngaa aur yamunaa kii gaharii hai dhaar
aage yaa piichhe sabako jaanaa hai paar
Then with a gentle rhythmic beat, the song switches to a robust pace. The brilliant innovation here is the switch to a komal note for the "..mausam biitaa jaaye" lines. Thats pure Salilda genius. Lata then joins in more conventional bhairavi for the antaraa "terii raaho.n me galiyo.n me.." . All in all, a brilliant song..
"aajaa rii aa ni.ndiyaa tuu aa" - When someone referred to "dhiire se aajaa rii akhiyan me" as the greatest lullaby of all times to C.Ramchandra, the master composer scoffed and said that it was this creation by Salil that deserved that honour. CR was not being modest. This melody is really representative of all thats magical about lullabies. Its soft, gentle - just capturing the serenity of the sequence. Lata's first solo for Salilda could hardly have been better ! Sheer magic..
"hariyaalaa saavan Dol bajaataa aayaa" - Salilda has few equals in the matter of creating folk songs. IMO, only Anil Biswas himself could match Salilda in this. But while Anilda was focussed on Indian folk, Salilda had a much wider canvas. He loved folk music from all nook and corners of the world. And he had the ability of keeping his compositions melodious even while capturing the exuberance of the song. This is a masterpiece of a song, brilliant orchestrated. And Manna Dey and Lata sound magnificent.
The other song in the film is "ajab torii duniyaa" is the song I least like in the film. Somehow Rafi always sounds terrible in such songs - Mannada sounds so much better. Salilda did not enjoy Rafi too much - and it would be good few years before he used him again in his films.
There you are. "Do bheegaa zameen" is a wonderful sountrack with three masterpiece compositions. Give it a hear if you havent so far. In fact, give the film a watch. Its a great film with Balraj Sahni outstanding. I cant imagine how he was looked over for the best actor award. Thats filmfare awards for you.
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