Chitalkar sings live

Youtube hs ben the source of many many pleasant surprises for me. How many many songs whose picturizations I never imagined I would see appeared there. Sometime back, I had shared my utter delight in seeing a clip of an old televiosion music show where C.Ramchandra sang his sholaa jo bhaDake. You can now imagine my state when I saw some very kind soul sharing BBC recordings of the same legend rendering unforgettable melodies in his own voice.Listening to it, we cant but feel huge regret that the man did not sing more in films. His voice has the dard that makes for happy listening. Of course, the compositions are all the ones we know well and made famous by other singers. But Chitalkarsaab gives the songs his own touch - you dont feel the songs lack anything when he sings them.

Anaarkali's mohobbat aesii dhaDan hai is one of Lata's most beautiful songs but see how CR deals with the song:

Very very nice indeed. Then he takes on aadhaa hai chandramaa from Navrang - and in my view, you cant listen to Mahendra Kapoor again after hearing Chitalkar's rendition:

CR of course was a fairly prolific singer in his own way. Albelaa was one soundtrack that he literally owner But apart from this magnificnt track, there was plenty for us CR fans to delight in. His fun songs in particular had an intoxicating quality about them. One of my favorites is this delight from Baarish.

A true legend !!

Who composed "saari duniyaa ko piichhe" ?

The kind of musical talent that abounded in the early 1950s is something that is extremely difficult to fathonm for those absorbed in today's music. Its very probable that music chroniclers and historians will tend to just pick at the surface, the composers who managed to hit it big, ignoring the multitudes who remained unknown but occassionally, a magic melody plays and you are totally overwelhmed by the music. You rush to the Geet Kosh to find details on the music maker. You expect to see Anil Biswas or Naushad or C.Ramchandra or S.D.Burman, but no - it is Basant Prakash or maybe V.Balsara or perhaps Mohammed Shafi.

I had a similar experience when I was first totally mesmerized by "saarii duniyaa ko piichhe chhoaDakar" from "Naadaan". The film did not ring a bell and I referred to that Holy Book of film music history, the Geet Kosh. I discovered it to be a Madhubala-Dev Anand starrer released in 1951 and that the music director was Chic Choclate! However, the fact that C.Rachandra was mentioned as a "music arranger" raised a lot of questions about who the real melody maker was. It is a rumor that that C.Ramchandra composed under multiple names, one of which was Chic Chocolate, However, in an interview years later when questioned on this, C.Ramchandra dismissed this rumor saying that Chic Chocolate was one of his assistants who also indulged in musical composition independently. Perhaps it is the fact he was CR's assistant accounts for the fact that his music is so-CRish, both the tunes as well as the orchestration. This is particularly true in case of his Lata meldies like "saarii duniyaa ko piichhe chhoDar" and "aeasaa kyaa qasuur kiyaa" from "Naadaan", "chandaa ko sitaaraa mile", "ham naino.n me laaye hai.n pyaar" and "koii dard hamaaraa kyaa samajhe" from "Rangeelee". The online reference site earthmusic.net adds further confusion by listing "saarii duniyaa ko piicche chhoDakar" twice - one crediting Chic Chocolate as the MD and the other C.Ramchandra.

So the mystery is still unsolved as to who created one of the greatest chorus-backed melodies ever for Lata in "Naadaan" - was it the master himself or was it his assistant? There may be three who could tell us - two of them (the MDs) have passed on and the third, the Lady no longer has a very reliable memory, paricularly when t comes to a man called C.Ramchandra.

Listen to this great song

"main apane dil kaa afsaanaa" - A gem

Genius is a lot about astonishing an audience. A musical genius is one who manages to create something that hits the listener out of the blue, whose notes seem to have been crafted on thin air. C.Ramchandra is definitely one such man.

I spent most of today listening to "main apane dil kaa afsaanaa sunaa luu.n phir chale jaanaa". What a creation it is. When you hear such compositions, you are astonished that this man crafted his tunes after getting the lyrics. What perfect harmony exists between the lyrics and the composition. Not one filler.. every word has been carefully crafted to a melody. The opening line:

<code>
mai.n apane dil kaa afsanaa sunaa luu.N phir chale jaanaa
</code>

doesnt seem to offer many oppurtunities for innovation. But by pproviding a sudden downward murki at <i>phir chale jaanaa</i>, CR creates a completely different mood altogether. The melancholy is doubled.. sadness suddenly seems to flood out. The lament of the character turns into a cry.. what images this simple murki provides. Thats genius for you. Of course, one need hardly  mention that Lata's rendition is simply perfect !!

Chitalkar.. a singer of a kind

Chitalkar Ramchandra was one of ttowering cinema personalities of his time - well built with the style of a leading man. It was difficult to believe that this man indulged in music and crafted some of the most heart-searing melodies of all-time. He is of course famously known as C.Ramchandra. While this name may ring a bell even for the modern generation,  the first name "Chitalkar" may not be as familiar. Not unless the person has dived at least a little into the ocean of old music. While Annasaab (as the man was fondly called) could sing pretty well, his musical obligations forced him to focus primarily on his composing skills. His singing hence took a back seat. But even with the limited time, he has sung some of the most well-remembered songs of Indian  films. In fact, he was good enough a singer to be used as a playback singer by other leading composers of the time like Anil Biswas, S.D.Burman and Roshan !! Lets take a peek into some of my personal favorites of Chitalkar the singer.

Albelaa, 1951 - Albelaa deserves a header all to itself here because this was where the singer and composer together hit their peak. The songs were the craze of the times, and continues to remain enduringly popular even amongst the youngsters. C.Ramchandra decided to make himself the voice of the hero Bhagvan in the film, and with Lata created some of the most popular songs ever - sholaa jo bhaDake, bholii suurat dil ke khoTe, diivaanaa paravaanaa, dhiire se aajaa rii akhiyan me and going solo in qismat kii havaa kabhii naram kabhii garam.

When I say that he vocalized for the hero in the film, dont think this was an isolated instance. In fact, Chitalkar is one of those few singers who playbacked for the three superstars of the time - the crazy, fun-filled mombaasaa on Raj Kapoor in Sargam, the zamaane-kaa daane daane pe likhaa hai and the soulful phir vahii chaa.Nd vahii Gam on Dev Anand in Baarish and perhaps most famously, rendering so stylishly kitanaa hasii.n hai mausam for Dilip Kumar in Aazaad. Most listeners take this to be a Talat rendition. In fact, Dilipsaab wanted this to be renndered by Talatsaab who couldnt make it to the recording. Chitalkar stepped in and sang it giving it the necessary Talat touch. Its one of the most successful C.Ramchandra compositions ever.

There is no doubt that Chitalkar's prime forte were the songs of fun where the singers needed to be as uninhibited and energetic as possible. It is wondrous to note that an otherwise serious Lata rendered some of CR's craziest songs with the man himself. baabaDii buubaDii baabaDii bam in Hangaamaa, yaar vaii vaii and mombasaa in Sargam, are baabaa in Shin shinaa ki booblaa boo, jhukatii hai duniyaa in Sagaai, dil kaa ye i.njan siiTiyaa.N maare from Ustad Pedro, o chaai machhuaa from Naadaan and so many more. Mohammed Rafi also joined Chitalkar in many a fun songs as baap baDaa naa bhaiyyaa,

But in equal measure has Chitalkar numerous classy romantic numbers - mostly duets with Lata. vo hamase chup hai.n from Sargam, ae aa.Nkh ab naa ronaa and lagaa hai kuchh aesaa nishaanaa kisii kaa from Sipahiyaa, chalii bhii aa ki teraa i.ntazaar kab se hai from Shatranj, jhuum jhuum jhuum jhuum rahii pyaar kii duniyaa from Hangaamaa, kahate hai.n pyaar kisako and phir vahii chaa.Nd vahii Gam from Baarish, and to round off with Albelaa, shaam Dhale khiDakii tale and mere dil kii ghaDii kare Tik Tik Tik.

What melodies these are !! Such a repertoire would make the best singers proud ! But then, C.Ramchandra did not expand his singing abilities much. As a result, once he slid as a composer, his singing also faded away. But his songs continue to delight us till this day..

"Sagaai" - an under-appreciated gem

When talking of C.Ramchandra and his great soundtracks, "Sagaai" gets usually overlooked. If so, its more to do with the utter luminousness of tracks like "Yasmeen", "Parchhaain" and "Albelaa" than with any deficiency with "Sagaai", for on repeated listens, I find myself becoming more and more enthralled with the quality of the soundtrack. This is a soundtrack worth treasuring. It has the usual CR-Lata heavenlies but also showcases, IMO, Rafi at his melodious best !! My favorites from this track :

i) o baabuu kaise dil pe kare.n kaabuu batalaaye jaa : This film followed the runaway success of Samaadhi which boasted of gore gore o baa.Nke chhore. CR has obviously tried to repeat the success of the song here using the same singers - and IMO, he succeeds brilliantly !! Its a total fun song where both Lata and Ameerbai sound wonderful. Where I occasionally skip gore gore o baa.Nke chhore, I never do o baabuu. Its a much livelier song..

ii) aa.Nkho.n se jo bhii aa.Nsuu bahegaa
iii) dil kii kahaanii kahanaa to chaahe.n
No track of CR can be complete with some Lata beauties and what beauties these are !! A slightly nasal tinge to Lata's voice make these songs extra sweet. Amongst the best of this great combo..

iv) udhar se tum chale aur ham idhar se : I saved my favorite for the last. Oh, what a song this is !! I can never ever tire of hearing this. Rafi was meant to sing like this. What flair, what melody and what style he brings into a simple and effortless rendition. Yes, Lata is sweet as ever but to me, its Rafi's singing that makes this song ultra-special to me. I might have no hesitation in nominating this as the best ever Lata-Rafi duet. CR managed to keep Rafi under restraint and hence got some of his best renditions.

The song has other nice songs too - a pleasing Lata-Talat duet mohobbat me aese zamaane bhii aaye, a bunch of fun songs, Lata's o DaDDiijii and her chorus backed triplet with Chitalkar and Rafi, jhukatii hai duniyaa jhukaane vaalaa chaahiye. Overall, an evergreen gem of a soundtrack.

The CR series - held up a bit

I switched jobs last week and going to my new office this week so time has been too insufficient to do sufficent justice to the musical flights of C.Ramchandra during the 1951-55 period I had started. However, I have created a complete list of songs that CR composed during this period - derived of course from the Geet Kosh. I will share this document as well in my next post when I get to expanding on the memorable melodies that this great man created in 1952.

Till then, adieu.

C.Ramchandra - A tribute

Jan 5th was C.Ramchandra's 26th death anniversary. I had wanted to start a run through the musical legend's compositions a little earlier so that at least a start is made by that time. But unfortunately, I got a little busy in other things and I am able to provide a first instalment of my series almost a week after the aniversary. However, that in no way diminishes the intent of the series which is to focus on Annasaab's career through his zenith years of the early 1950s.

What is unique about Annasaab is that while the other leading composers of the day like Naushad only worked with big banners, C.Ramchandra lent his musical talents to all kinds of films - be it for bigger directors like V.Shantaram or for B-grade stunt films of Sheikh Mukhtar. The quality of his music is consistently great regardless of the directors or the stars. His music was the prime reason for the success of films like Albelaa and Khazaanaa.

Lets start looking at the music that C.Ramchandra delivered during his peak years between 1951 and 1955. Each article takes one year at a time and looks at each film he composed during that year and the melodies therein. I hope it is of interest to you :)

1951
Naushad, C.Ramchandra and Husnlal Bhagatram ruled the box office with Anil Biswas the undisputed Emperor who had relinquished the race. C.Ramchandra staked his claims as the Numero Uno in no uncertain as he delivered three stellar soundtracks during the year, one of them becoming a definitive soundtrack of the period. His tuning with Lata Mangeshkar scaled higher peaks. Talat Mahmood entered his musical realm for the first time while he himself had a hugely successful year as a singer. So all in all, 1951 was a very happy year indeed for C.Ramchandra.

Albelaa- There is very little introduction required to this soundtrack. 57 years later, the songs of the film still resound across the country. The marriage bandwallahs still use these songs extensively, feet start dancing of their own accord as the charming Lata & Chitalkar duets play out. The soundtrack also acts as a showcase of all C.Ramchandra's music. There are the fun songs, the sweet, romantic Lata melodies, and the pleasing romantic duets.

Its well known that C.Ramchandra was inspired immensely by Benny Goldman's music and used that form in many of his songs and most successfully in Albelaa. His duets with Lata, diivaanaa ye paravaanaa and sholaa jo bhaDake are both such inspirations. . mere dil ki ghaDii kare Tik Tik Tik and shaam Dhale khiDakii tale are amongst the most popular duets ever, while the now-mandatory Lata solos took the forms of such beauties as dil dhaDake nazar sharamaaye to samajho pyaar ho gayaa and balamaa baDaa naadaan re and that lullaby-of-lullabies dhiire se aajaa rii akhiyan me. Add to those the pure Chitalkar fun in o beTaajii qismar kii havaa kabhii naram and bholii suurat dil ke khoTe. All in all, truly one of all-time great soundtracks.

List of songs :
Gazab kii nii.nd..mahafil me merii kaun ye (Mohd Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar)
dhiire se aajaa rii akhiyan me (1) (Lata Mangeshkar)
diivaanaa paravaanaa shamaa pe aake (Chitalkar & Lata Mangeshkar)
hasiino.n se muhobbat kaa (Chitalkar)
kabhii kaalii ratiyaa.N...o beTaajii qismat kii (Chitalkar)
mere dil kii ghaDii kare Tik Tik Tik (Chitalkar & Lata Mangeshkar)
dil dhaDakae nazar sharamaaye (Lata Mangeshkar)
shaam Dhale khiDakii tale (Chitalkar & Lata Mangeshkar)
balamaa baDaa naadaan re (Lata Mangeshkar)
bholii suurat dil ke khoTe (Chitalkar & Lata Mangeshkar)
dhiire se aajaa rii akhiyan me (2) (Chitalkar & Lata Mangeshkar)
sholaa jo bhaDake dil meraa dhaDake (Chitalkar & Lata Mangeshkar)


Khazaanaa : This Madhubala-Nisar Khan starrer was an amazing cascade of melodies. CR didnt need big banners to inspire him. Always open to experimentation, he used a lot of African folk music sound in the film.

muhabbat pe itanii javaanii na hotii (Lata Mangeshkar) : A typical Lata-CR melody. Focus on just the sweetness of Lata's voice bringing out the coyness of the character.
bam biyaanaa..do diivaano.n ka afsaanaa (Chitalkar & Lata Mangeshkar) : Starts with the sounds of African tribal drums then eases to a typical Lata duet. A very pleasing one at that.
soii soii chaa.Ndanii hai(Lata Mangeshkar) : One of the contenders for the top-10 Lata-CR melodies. A charming, melodious, romantic number. Lata doesnt sound this sweet with any other composer :)
baabaDii buubaDii bam bam bam (Chitalkar & Lata Mangeshkar) : A rock-and-roll style song well before the advent of rock and roll. This is one of my very favorite CR songs because of the sheer energy it exudes but its not noisy at all. Its all about the beats and not the volume. A sheer joy.
dhiire dhiire Gam kaa zamaanaa gayaa (Lata Mangeshkar) : Pleasing chorus backed Lata melody
mujhe tumase bahut hai pyaar (Mohd Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar) : CR always does the Rafi-Lata duets very well. I always get the feeling that he has ordered Rafi not to vent "too much emotions" in his songs which is why perhaps Rafi sounds so restrained and hence unjarring in CR's songs :) While the "Sagaai" duet remains my Rafi favorite melody with CR, this is not too far behind.
ae chaa.Nd pyaar meraa tujhase ye (Lata Mangeshkar) : An absolute stunner. CR was a master at orchestrating his songs and the thrilling violin pieces in the song are worth travelling miles to hear. The way the violin moves after Lata sings "tum bevafaa na honaa" is so wonderful. An easy walk-in to my top 10 CR-Lata list.
zambo chii kolaa..kar de zaraa ishaaraa (Lata Mangeshkar) : One would hardly expect a sad melody when hearing the prelude music to the song. But it turns out to another charming piece.

More to come...

"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 !