Luck eluded them

The late 1940s through the early 1950s was a harsh period. It dealt cruelly with many many musical folks, Talented artistes who came with dreams of being among the constellation of stars in the musical sky of cinema. But there was room for only a few, so most faded or disappeared altogether. When you listen so the creation of some of those artistes today, you are filled with anguish that we could not get more music from them. Apparently, there were close to 100 music directors vying for survical. It was eventually the suvival of the luckiest. That is not to belittle those who survived. Not at all. How can one grudge the likes of Naushad and Sachind Dev Burman and Salil Chwodhury the success they achieved. They were truly great composers who deserved the success they received. But think of sapanaa ban saajan aaye- one of the greatest Lata melodies of all time. Lata is of course a phenomenon but who remembers Jamal Sen, the man who composed the song? The same Jamal Sen was the man behind one of the greatest soundtracks of our films – Daayeraa, a Nasir Khan-Meena Kumari film directed by Kamal Amrohi. Each song in that heavy, morose film is a treasure. Has there ever been a better bhajan in films than devataa tum ho meraa sahaaraa? I tell you- no. Not all the great bhajans that Lata or Asha sang can match the depth and beauty of this song. And whose was the glittering voice that rendered this song? Ah Destiny. That the voice behind this most magical of songs should remain unsung. Give it a listen:

Isnt that mgic? Mubarak Begum sang that song and at least for the conneisseurs, signed herself for eternal memory. But the crulety of fate becomes more evident when you listen to her other sublime renditions from the same film- suno more nainaa, diip ke sa.ng jaluu.N mai.n, jalii jo shammaa to.. each song worth going miles and miles to hear.. worth spending a trasure to own. Outstanding compositions and superb renditions.. its just not fair that Mubarakji was never utilized to any great extent further. Snehal Bhatkar provided her with one of the few real successes of her career in Hamaari yaad aayegi- kabhii tanhaaiyo.n me yuu.N. Again, a splendind song. But for me, Daayeraa remains her greatest achievemt and not even Lata could have provided the life that Mubarak provided to words of those songs.

And while on Daayeraa, it is also worth recalling the three superlative Talat solos that Jamal Sen created in this film- aa.Nsuu to nahii hai aa.Nkho.n me, aa bhii jaa merii duniyaa me koii nahii and ae chaa.Nd sitaaro.n. All of them sheer classics and rank among the finest solos of Talat. Ah Destiny..

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

Drunken songs in our films

An interesting genre of music in Indian films has been the drunken songs, songs picturized on inebriated actors. The list of such songs is pretty long because this genre has been in vogue almost from the beginning of film music. It usually demonstrated either the hero going through bad times and hence resorting to alchohol as a means of escape, or the nasty man or woman who is going to play the bad person. Bad persons and drinking go together obviously :)

One of the earliest example of such a song is piye jaa aur piye jaa rendered by K.L.Saigal for the film Pujaarin. Its a beautiful melody that aptly captures the state. Saigal's Devdaas is still considered by many to be the greatest version of Sarat Chandra's novel on screen. When you hear Saigal emoting dukh ke ab din biitat naahi, you cant help but agree with that.

Anaarkali's mohobbat me aese qadam Dagamagaaye was the song that brought this genre into prominence and remains one of the finest songs in this genre. Lata's depiction of the inebriated lover is unforgettable. Not far after this came the near-definitive drunken song. Talat's ae mere dil kahii.n aur chal immediately brings to mind a "high" Dilip Kumar walking through the village streets at night with a foolish grin on his face. This song perhaps endures as one the finest drunken songs ever. Interestingly, Talat never resorts to the drunken gimmicks in his singing. During his Jaimala presentation on Vividh Bharati, Talat mentions that while he has sung a lot of drunken songs, it is upto the actor to enact the song on screen. The singer is responsible for delivering the melody. But then, he did make an exception to some extent when singing kisako khabar thii kisako yakii.n thaa from Devdaas going on the same Dilip Kumar. And he rendered the song to perfection.

An obviously drunk Motilal with a garland around his neck wandering across the dark streets of Calcutta singing zi.ndagii khvaab hai is another abiding image of a drunken song in our films. But all these great singers - Lata, Talat or Mukesh - did not sing the song as a drunkard. Occassional edges here or there,, that was all. It was Mohd Rafi who really brought into fashion a playback singer singing as a drunkard, this despite the fact that he was a tee-totaller. The string of songs he did for comedian Johnny Walker - like ham tum se kahataa hai shaadii or dekhataa chalaa gayaa - were huge hits of their time.

The 1960s were much more liberal times than the 50s and Rafi ruled the roost during that decade. mujhe duniyaavaalo.n sharaabii na samajho, saavan ke mahiine me, mai.n ne pii sharaab, chhalakaaye jaam etc. were some Rafi popular songs during this time. One of the most unforgettable depictions of a drunkard on screen was by Meena Kumari in Saabib biwi aur gulaam - and Geeta Dutt's na jaao saiyaa.N chhuDaake baiyaa.N remains one of her enduring melodies. Asha's ham hai.n nashe me is one of my favorite nashaa songs - I am not sure if this is a "drunken" song or just a "nashaa" song. In any case, its a truly beautiful melody.

Subsequent decades have continued to keep this genre in vogue, though the quality keep in sync with the overall musical quality of the times. Today however, this genre is almost obsolete primarily because drinking has lost its age-old implications. Drinking wine is no longer looked on as a "bad" habit. Its notmal to drink now. So cinematically, it conveys nothing. The era of drunken songs is indeed behind us now.

The genre in Tamil films in my next post...

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.

iTunes track busters

Starting this week, every fortnight I will be posting the top 10 songs in my iTunes music play list sorted by play count - meaning the songs most often played during that fortnight. Interesting.. yeah..

So here is the list on 15 Oct 2006 :


1. man me kisii kii priit basaa le (Lata Mangeshkar / Anil Biswas /Aaraam / 59)
2. naa umiid hoke bhii (Lata Mangeshkar / C.Ramchandra / Sangeetaa / 53)
3. jogii re..tuu sach batalaa mujhe jogii (Lata Mangeshkar / Jaidev / Joru Ka Bhai / 52)
4. aa ga_ii.n fir se bahaare.n aa ga_ii.n (Talat / Khayyaam / Non Film / 49)
5. ro ro biitaa jiivan saaraa (78 RPM version)(Talat / Khayyaam / Non Film / 48)
6. bigad ga_ii kyo.n merii taqadiir banate banate (Lata Mangeshkar / C.Ramchandra / Saudaagar / 47)
7. kaun kahataa hai tujhe (Talat Mahmood / Khayyaam / Non Film / 47)
8. mere fuulo.n me chhipii hai javaanii (Lata Mangeshkar / Anil Biswas / Anokhaa Pyaar/ 43)
9. dil kii duniyaa basaa gayaa hai kaun (Talat Mahmood / Non Film / 43)
10. jab se milii hai nazar dil hai meraa (Lata Mangeshkar / C.Ramchandra / Sangeetaa / 42)
11. udhar se tum chale aur ham idhar se (Mohd Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar / C.Ramchandra / Sagaai / 42)
12. man kare yaad vo din ( Kishore Kumar / Salil Chowdhury / Aakhri badlaa / 41)
13. CheD gayo mohe sapane me (Lata Mangeshkar / C.Ramchandra / Jhaanjhar / 39)
14. meraa pyaar mujhe lauTaa do (Talat Mahmood / Non Film / 39)
15. o aasamaan vaale shiqavaa hai zi.ndagii kaa (Lata Mangeshkar / C.Ramchandra / Anaarkali / 37)
16. terii galii me koii diivaanaa (Lata Mangeshkar / C.Ramchandra / Sangeetaa / 37)
17. kise maaluum thaa ek din (Talat Mahmood & Lata Mangeshkar / C.Ramchandra / Saaqi / 37)
18. sitaaro.n chaa.Nd se kahado (Lata Mangeshkar / Anil Biswas / Badi bahoo / 36)
19. ye jhilamil karate hue diye ( Talat Mahmood / Roshan /Anhone / 36)
20. ae andaliib_e_zaar jaane ko hai bahaar (Talat Mahmood / Non Film / 36)


I think most of these songs would turn up again in the next list this month end. But again, who knows..