Madan Mohan's best : His first decade

Madan Mohan is a very curious composer in many ways. Distinguished from the beginning as a composer of high quality, today he is toasted as the numero-uno composer for Lata. That of course is not true. But certainly, Madan has weathered time much better than most of his seniors and peers of superior quality. C.Ramchandra and Anil Biswas hardly ring a bell in today's music listeners' ears, but chances are high that Madan Mohan's name will bring a spark of recognition.

While you feel happy for the man who in his lifetime never got his due, it is a little sad to note that the music for which he is receiving accolades today is hardly his best. His post-"Adalat" output is inconsistent, often showing signs of a man trying to live up to an image - the image of a ghazal king. No question that some of his melodies in "Anpadh", "Woh kaun thi", "Mera Saya" et al. But Madan's freshest compositions and his superior ones (IMO), came during the 1951-57 phase with Lata and Talat. Consider the cascade of such brilliant soundtracks as

.. Adaa : Lata's "priitam merii duniyaa me" and Talat's "jis dil me basaanaa chaahaa thaa" make this a track to own and listen to repeatedly.

.. Madhosh : Talat's "merii yaad me" was the first true success of Madan's career and remained one his personal favourites. Talat was hitting the zenith of his career and he sounds simply thrilling here. Lata's melodies like "chhoD mujhe naa jaanaa" and "mujhe ho gayaa tumas epyaar" are overshadowed.

.. Aashiyaanaa : One of Madan's great tracks. Lata had a whole host of unforgettable melodies - "tum chaa.Nd ke saath chale aao", "mere piyaa se koii jaake kahade", "mukh moD naa lenaa saajanaa", "samaa hai bahaar kaa" and the tandem with Talat, "meraa qaraar lejaa" . Then there is Talat's "mai.n paagal meraa manavaa paagal" - one of my very favourite Talat melodies. This is Madan at his very melodious best.

.. Khoobsoorat : Just the two Talat masterpieces "merii raato.n ke" and "mohobbat me qashish hogii" make this a track worth trasuring.

.. Chacha Chodhury : Has Asha ever sounded sweeter than in "mere piyaa chheDe jiyaa" ? A superb melody, sadly ignored even by the legions of Asha devotees.

.. Baghi : "dard ki ae raat guzar jaa", "hamaare baad ab mehafil me", "kahii.n bin aag jale naa paravaanaa" among others make this a veritable Lata-Madan track of desert-island value !

.. Railway Platform : To me, "chaa.Nd madham hai" is a Lata song to die for. It belongs to that category of songs which leave you awestruck, haunted.. you just are lost !! Madan did not make such songs very often.. this is tops !

1957 saw Madan scaling new peaks with "Dekh Kabira Roya" which takes my vote for Madan's greatest ever soundtrack. Madan tries his hand at a variety of musical moods. His classical leanings and his expertise at blending them to a film song come out strongly in "kaun aayaa mere man ke dvaare" and "merii viinaa tum bin roye", typical ghazal tones in "ham se aayaa na gayaa", "ashqo.n se terii hamane" and "tuu pyaar kare yaa Tukaraaye" and the breezy melodies, "ham pa.nchhii mastaane" and "ham bulaate hii rahe". We dont get such overall outstanding soundtracks too often. And look at the singers - Lata, Asha, Geeta, Talat, Manna Dey and Rafi. Almost every top singer of the day.. a treasure indeed !!

To round off the decade, the first and truly golden phase of Madan's career, is "Mohar" - another track with a number of singers together. Lata holds centre spot again with the unforgettable "tum ho saath raat bhii hasiin hai" and the pleasing duet with Rqfi "ae hamasafar bataa de". Hemantda was used very very rarely by Madan - "kho gayaa jaane kahaa.N" was perhaps his only solo for him which is one of Hemantda's well remembered songs. Talat makes it a track to treasure with the glittering "yaad jab aaye terii", a composition cast in the Sajjad style. When I first heard this melody, I assumed the composer to be Sajjad !

Madan had much greater successes perhaps in the next decade but in my opinion, the brilliance of these tracks and others in his first decade were far superior in terms of quality, diversity and fresheness.

"Yaasmeen" - a CR-Lata zenith !

C.Ramchandra is a name that is recalled by most even today, if only for the more popular "Anarkali" and "Albela" soundtracks. But for all the beauty of these tracks, I am most CR fans would vouch for "Yasmeen" as the defining Lata-CR soundtrack. While I generally consider "Sangeeta" a shade superior, when I hear the gentle despair of Lata in "ab vo raate.n kahaa.N", I am tempted - nay, convinced - to rate "Yaasmeen" higher. What a melody it is !! What genius ! What brilliant orchestration, composition and rendition. Simple poetry.. just plain awesome. I had the good fortune to get the video of this song recently. And seeing a ravishing Vyjantimala render the song does no harm at all to the whole musical experience.

CR saab - wherever you are in Heaven, I hope thats the sweetest spot there, for you deserve it so for enriching our lives with such great music. Thank you Sir !

Remembering Hansraj Behl

Hansraj Behl is one of those great composers of the golden age of Hindi film music who once was a well-known name but is now confined to the memory of a few music lovers. His musical genius shines through in a host of classic melodies from the late 40s through to the 60s. He has created something memorable with a number of leading singers of the day. He also has a substantial output in Punjabi cinema. His best compositions were however reserved for Lata though quantity wise, he has worked more with Asha and Madhubala Jhaveri. Amongst male singers, Rafi and Talat have sung many of the legend's memorable compositions.

Here are some of my favourite Hansrajji's creations :

haaye chandaa gaye parades(Lata/Chakori, 1949) : Lata at her sweetest, this is a song that never ceases to delight. The emotions of a young girl in love are so beautifully captured.

saajan kii oT leke(Lata & Rafi/Zeverat, 1949) : This has grown on me to become one of my favourite duets. There is such a vigour to the song, a life to it which is infectious. There is of course a strong Punjabi flavour which is not surprising.

dil e naashaad ko jiine kii(Lata/Chunariyaa, 1948) : This song has Ghulam Haider written all over it. Hansrajji was Masterji's (as Ghulam Haider was called) assistant for some time. A ghazal, this is one of Lata's earliest ghazals and she has rendred it beautifully.

dil meraa teraa diivaanaa(Talat & Madhubala Jhaveri/Apni Izzat, 1952) : An out-of-the world melody that ranks as amongst the finest duets of all time. Absolute melody.. a soft, gentle romantic air fills the air when you hear the singers hold sway. Madhubala Jhaveri is a delight to hear. Innocence and charm all over. Talat is just regal.. has there ever been more romantic a voice ? The other duet by the same singers from this film, pyaar kii rut dora.ngii saajan is equally magnificent.

kisii gariib kaa ghar baadashaah ne luuT litaa(Talat/Chunariyaa, 1948) : A typical Talat blue song.. melancholic and just honey to the ears !

jab raat nahii kaTatii(Lata/Changez Khan, 1956) : Another masterpiece from Lata. Lata's rendition, the orchestration just move you to tears. Soft, deeply moving.. they just dont make em like this any more ! Rafi's "mohobbat zindaa rahatii hai" from this film is much more popular and well-remembered. In contrast to the gentle lament of the Lata song, this is a powerful, forceful cry from the hero asking his love to come to him. Rafi's high-voltage, brilliant rendition makes it a song to be treasured for long.

haaye jiyaa roye(Lata/Milan, 1958) : Now, Lata has sung magnificent songs with the top composers of the day. This song is fit enough to be compared with any song she has sung. It is definitely one of her best songs and is for sure Hansraj Behl's finest composition. The pathos of the song can almost be touched. Its one of those perfect songs. The orchestra is suitably muted allowing Lata to hold forth. This masterpiece came at a time when the older line of composers were slowly being moved out and a few composers only remained in business into the next decade. This thrilling melody just proves that popularity and film's success dont necessarily define the composer's class.

nain dvaar se man me vo aake(Mukesh & Lata/Saawan, 1959) : Another memorable creation, with the duet sung by the lead singers at different paces and two pitches. Mukesh sings in a sad mood at a very low pitch and slow pace and Lata backed by chorus coneys the happier mood, sings at a much faster pace and at a high pitch. Transitions from one mood to another have been done brilliantly too. The film boasts of other memorable numbers also like Rafi-Shamshad duet "bhiigaa bhiigaa pyar kaa samaa" and Lata's "kanhaa chheDo baa.Nsurii".

jahaa.N Daal Daal me sone kii chhiDiyaa(Rafi/Changez Khan, 1964) : Arguably, the most famous and definitely my most favourite patriotic song of all time. The passionate patriotism in the song gives you gooseflesh. Rafi has rendered it as only he can. Magnificent !! Lata's "o diladaar o mere yaar" from this film is also a delightful piece which I heard for the first time recently and its on the top of my Most Played songs list in iTunes for this month :)


Those are some of Hansraj Behl's songs that I treasure. He remains an undersung composer who deserves to be recognized a lot more for his great creations. But then, when you think about it, the biggest achievement of an artist is the longevity of his art. How his creations are remembered in time. In that respect, he is a great achiever all right !!

O.P.Nayyar, the man, is with us no more..

Omkar Prasad Nayyar passed into history yesterday. He was one of those mavericks who created history. He brought a new freshness to film music. It was Nayyarsaab who lent new dimensions to Asha and Rafi. His music was a blend of the east and the west - folk, Indian classical, jazz and symphonies all fused to create the O.P.Nayyar brand of music.

Nayyarsaab was first noticed when he composed for C.H.Atma that unforgettable geet "priitam aan milo". He went on to create a host of classic songs with this singer in films like "Aasmaan" and "Dhaake ki malmal" as well outside films. In fact, Atma's "diyaa to jalaa sab raat re baalam" in "Dhaake ki malmal" remained one of Nayyarsaab's personal favourites. Its a song that immediately displays the unsung facet of O.P.Nayyar - the non-typical O.P.Nayyar. "Aasmaan" was his breakthrough film which had one unforgettable melody after another - Atma's "is bevafaa jahaa.N me", "sach samajh nahii aae" and "raat suhaanii ha.nsate taare", Geeta's "dekho jaaduu bhare more nain" and "pom pom pom baaje" and Rajkumari's magnificent "piyaa aa na sake more nainan me". Each song a treasure.

He created the Nayyar-sound, the very typical melodies which combined the usage of the saarang, the electric guitar and the harmonica, with Guru Dutt's "Aar paar" in 1954. "ye lo mai.n haarii piyaa", "sun sun sun zaalimaa", "mohobbat kar lo jii bhar lo" and the ever-touching "jaa jaa jaa bevafaa" were instant successes catipulating Nayyar into star-composers league. He followed it up with "Mr & Mrs 55" (1955) and C.I.D (1956). B.R.Chopra then roped in Nayyar to compose for "Nayaa daur". The film was a musical treat and showcased Nayyar's flair for Punjabi folk music. He created some of the most popular bhangras ever in "uDe jab jab zulfe.n terii" and "ye desh hai viir javaano.n kaa". Tune in next to the ever-popular "maa.Ng ke saath tumhaaraa" - one of Nayyarsaab's earliest "ghodaa-gaadi" songs. In the same film, he turned in one of the most moving devotional songs ever - "aanaa hai to aa raah me".

If you noticed, Asha Bhosle had crept into Nayyarsaab's music room by this time. The two combined first in "Mangu" and though Nayyarsaab used Geeta Dutt and Shamshad Begum occasionally later, he had fallen completely for Asha's vocals. The two created a treasure of compositions that stand out as amongst the best ever. In my books, Asha-OPN is the third best combo ever (Lata's combos with C.Ramchandra and Anil Biswas taking the first two).

"Nayaa daur" fetched Nayyarsaab his first Filmfare award and he was on top of the music world. Then inexplicably, things started going awry. "Do Ustaad" and "Jaali note" flopped. And though "Tumsaa nahi dekha" was a success, it needed S.Mukherji's "Ek musaafir ek haseenaa" to resurrect Nayyarsaab's career. I rate this film as the best of O.P.Nayyar. This was music - classy and wonderful, yet so popular. Rafi and Asha were at their best. Have they ever sounded as romantic as in "aap yuu.N hii agar ham se milate rahe" ? Has Rafi sounded as romantic as he did in "mujhe dekh kar aap kaa muskuraanaa" ? What melodies !!

The 60s were the "chocolate" years of Hindi films - sweet romantic fluffy stories with little substance, sweet looking heros who couldnt act.. and all built on music. It was O.P.Nayyar's music that made stars out of non-actors like Biswajeet and Joy Mukherji. "pukaarataa chalaa huu.N mai.n" is what we remember Biswajeet for while "ba.ndaa paravar thaam lo jigar" is Joy Mukherji's definitive cinematic moment.

Compare what O.P.Nayyar composed for the ebullient Shammi Kapoor in "Tumsaa nahi dekhaa" and "Kashmir ki kali" with Shankar Jaikishan's songs for the same actor. While S-J thought Shammi was about loudness, OPN brought so much melody and softness to his songs while still being very ebullient. Which is why a "ye chaa.Nd saa roshan cheharaa" is so much more memorable than a "diivaane kaa naam to puuchho" which had Rafi just bellowing the lines.

However, the Nayyar wave was about to collapse. He broke off with Rafi in the late 60s and got Mahendra Kapoor to sing most of his songs. And finally, in 1972, Asha also broke away from him literally ending his career. It was an impact as huge as Lata's on C.Ramchandra. "chain se ham ko kabhii" was Asha's swan song for the great composer. We dont know if there is any deeper significance to those words, but the fact is that O.P.Nayyar was never the same without Asha.

So how will history remember Nayyarsaab ? As a composer par excellence ? As an arrogant man who bowed to none and had fights with a number of film makers ? As the creator of some of the most loved and popular melodies of all time ? Whatever it may be, there is no question that we owe Nayyarsaab lots of thnak-yous for bringing so much joy into our lives with his music. For that reason alone, he will remain a legend - never to be forgotten.


My 10 favorite O.P.Nayyar melodies (in no order) :

1. diyaa to jalaa sab raat re baalam (C.H.Atma / Dhaake ki malmal / 1956)
2. ae dil hai mushqil jiinaa yahaa.N (Md Rafi & Geeta Dutt / C.I.D / 1956)
3. Gariib jaan ke ham ko na tum (Md Rafi & Geeta Dutt / Chhoo mantar / 1957)
4. pyaar par bas to nahii hai (Talat Mahmood & Asha Bhosle / Sone ki chidiyaa / 1958)
5. dekho qasam se dekho qasam se (Md Rafi & Asha Bhosle / Tumsa nahi dekha / 1959)
6. aap yuu.N hii agar hamase (Md Rafi & Asha Bhosle / Ek musaafir ek haseenaa / 1962)
7. jaaiye aap kahaa.N jaaye.nge (Asha Bhosle / Mere sanam / 1964)
8. diivaanaa huaa baadal (Md Rafi & Asha Bhosle / Kashmir ki kali / 1964)
9. ba.ndaa paravar thaam lo jigar (Md Rafi / Phir wahi dil laya hoon / 1965)
10. chain se hamako kabhii (Asha Bhosle / Pran jaaye par vachan na jaaye / 1971)

Piano in Hindi film songs

The piano was one of the rather oft-used instruments in the Indian film melodies of the 1940s and 1950s. This may be attributed to Tagore's love of the piano which manifested itself in his Rabindra Sangeet and as most of the early pioneers in orchestration like R.C.Boral and Pankaj Mallick were Bengali, that might well be the source of the inspiration.

I love the sound of the piano and feel it adds so much melody and beauty to the song. Even a simple tune becomes more appealing when the dulcet tones of the piano are added to it. Piano found a prominent place in the orchestra of most music directors of the time. In those days when the Victorian British influence on Indian society was still heavy, the piano used to be a common instrument in most upper-class households and the various rich-poor romances of the time provided ample scope for the usage of the piano. Either the boy or the girl would exhibit their happiness or their pathos on the piano. A good thing.. what melodies were created using the piano !!

I am not sure when was the first time piano was used in films. But I recall "rut hai suhaanii" from "Street singer" composed by R.C.Boral which had some lovely piano tones. Then there are a host of Pankaj Mallick songs which have a strong piano base. But in Bombay, I think it is safe to attribute much of the popularity of the piano to Anil Biswas.

It is for no reason that Anilda is called the pioneer of the orchestra in Hindi films. Recall the glorious "ek duniyaa basaa le" from "Basant" ? What an outstanding song and something that enthralls even today. The years that followed saw Anilda create plenty of magnificent songs on the piano including arguably the finest ever song on the piano - Lata's "man me kisii kii priit basaale". But thats not to be little the magnificent "tumhaare bulaane ko jii chaahataa hai" from "Laadli" and Mukesh's "ae jaan_e_jigar dil me samaane aajaa" from "Aaraam" again. Both these are right up there in the "greatest evers" list as well. Meena Kapoor's "bhiigii bhiigii raat aaii" is also very special. Talat's "jiivan hai madhuban" from "Jaasoos" is also pleasing.

Naushad Ali achieved his first success with songs based on UP folk songs in "Rattan". His piano songs in "Andaaz" - four in all and all rendered by Mukesh - were big hits. But to my mind, only "ham aaj kahii.n dil kho baiThe" as a real piano melody and is my favourite song from the film. And who can forget the memorable Talat-Shamshad duet "milate hii aa.Nkhe.n dil huaa" from "Baabul" ? However, to me, Naushad's piano melodies dont have the finesse and "class" which Anilda's songs had. Of course, there are exceptions - Rafi's "ae husn zaraa jaag" from "Mere mehboob" for example.

The piano melody that stands out in my mind as being the one closest to matching Anilda's magic is Roshan's "Anhonee" masterpiece for Talat in "mai.n dil huu.N ek aramaan bharaa". One of Talat's most popular songs, Roshan's usage of the piano is masterly. There are however not too many other piano songs Roshan has composed. Madan Mohan also does not have too many piano songs - "ham pyaar me jalane vaalo.n ko" from "Jailor" starts with piano pieces but finally has little to do with the piano.

S.D.Burman is not highly regarded for his orchestration - and I cant recall any memorable piano melodies from him. Shankar Jaikishan however has a few but the most beautiful piano piece was the prelude to "miTTii se khelate ho baar baar kis liye" from "Patita". Just beautiful ! Then the beautiful "aa jaao taDapate hai.n aramaa.N". But again, this is not really a piano song - the instrument only preludes the song and doesnt play much of a role thereafter.

Khayyam has composed a few exquisite melodies on the piano - "jiit hii le.nge baazii ham tum" is one of the greatest duets of all-time and the usage of the piano there illustrates what I said about the piano enhancing the song. A superb composition, beautiful renditions and then the piano.. superb. The other superb piano piece worth treasuring is Talat's soft-as-a-whisper romantic "gar terii navaazish ho jaaye" from "Gulbahaar". Another brilliant, waltz-like composition, brilliantly rendered.. and the piano WOW ! And I must mention Talat's non-film "kyaa itanaa bhii adhikaar nahii" which again has awesome piano notes. "Shagoon" had "tum apanaa ra.njho Gam" which is another winner.

Typically, Sajjad Husain presented a very different kind of piano presentation in "Sangdil" for Talat - "kahaa.N ho kahaa.N mere". Here the piano, in contrast to the usual gentleness, is almost raging here mirroring the despair of Dilip Kumar on screen. Its an outstanding song..

O.P.Nayyar composed for Rafi "aap ke hasiin rukh pe" in "Bahaaren phir bhi aayegi" and "puuchho na hame hamn un ke liye" for Asha Bhosle in "Mitti me sona" - both of which are all-time classics. Ravi's "chalo ek baar phir se" in "Gumraah" in Mahendra Kapoor's voice is one of his bests.

One of the last times we saw the piano used on screen was in "Kati patang" where Kishore Kumar croons "pyaar diivaanaa hotaa hai". But the tone had become louder and somehow, the old gentleness of the piano was missing. And by the mid-1970s, the piano had faded away completely from the movies. Today, we hardly ever get to hear original instruments on screen, most sounds are synthesized. And so is sadly the piano. The image of a hero or a heroine behind the piano will almost forever be an abiding image of the 1950s and 60s.