Jaane Kahan Gaye Woh Log!
- In LifeStyle & Sports
- 10:38 AM, Apr 10, 2016
- Shwetank Bhushan
It seems that there is curse associated with being a genius. They fight against the popular tide and established hypocrisy. In that, they create jealousies and enmity even against their own will. Take for example the case of these very talented composers who never received their rightful dues from the film industry.
Anil Biswas:
One of the pioneers of Hindi film music, Anil-da is credited with introducing for the first time twelve pieces orchestral music and powerful choral effects into Indian Cinema. A master in western symphonic music was known for the Indian classical with folk elements. Born in Barisal (now in Bangladesh) at a young age of 14 he was already an accomplished musician but set his music aside in his teens to become a revolutionary against British colonial rule. After being repeatedly jailed, he fled to Calcutta and lived under a disguise to escape further arrest and composed music. He also sang and acted in those plays.
He attracted the attention of the film director Hiren Bose, who persuaded him in 1934 to move to Bombay. It was the period when playback singing was making its debut in Indian Cinema. Anil-da made his debut as a film composer, with Dharam ki Devi (1935) for which he also composed the background music, acted and sang the song, "Kuch Bhi Nahin Bharosa".
In a couple of years, he established himself as a musical force in the film industry with the release of Jagirdar (1937). In Roti (1942), an important element that he introduced was that of western orchestration, using indigenous instruments both in the songs as well as in their melodic interludes, a trend that soon caught on and paved the way for the musicals of Indian cinema.
But it was the success of the musical Kismat (1943) that saw Anilda's popularity reach its zenith. The patriotic overtones of the song दूर हटो दुनियावालों, हिन्दुस्तान हमारा हैं, became at once evident to contemporary audiences and immensely popular song in the mid-40s. You won't believe, but KISMAT's popularity record-run was broken only by Sholay in the seventies.
Anil-da composed some legendary songs in that era of Hindi music's evolution. The one that is close to my heart is Mukesh's debut song, "Dil Jalta Hai To Jalne De" (Pehli Nazar) that my dad used to hum very beautifully.
In fact, Anil Biswas launched the careers of many a superstar of his era. Apart from Mukesh and Sahir Ludhiyanvi (Doraha), by giving a break to Talat Mahmood (Arzoo, 1949), he gifted to the Indian film industry a golden voice. Anil-da's "Ai Dil Mujhe Aisi Jagah Ley Chal Jahan Koi Na Ho" turned Talat Mahmood into an icon. He also did the music for Dilip Kumar's first film Juar Bhata. Even Lataji admits that it was Anil Biswas who trained her for breathing control while recording the songs.
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Anil-da had a secret of turning a verse into a melody, and all his tunes were soulful. Due to the commercial dominance of aesthetics and culture and the changing trend of music in films, coupled with the tragic death of his younger brother and elder son in the year 1961. Anil-da left Bombay for Delhi and finally settled there.
In Delhi, he took charge as the Chief Producer (Sugam Sangeet) at AIR, Delhi in 1963 and served up to June 1975 (though with a break in between) when he was appointed the vice-chancellor of JNU for two years. He later scored music for Doordarshan's pioneering TV serial Hum-Log (1984) and many documentaries for the Films Divisions.
Anil da died in New Delhi on 31 May 2003 when maestro Naushad recalled: "Anil Biswas, my guru, is the first music director to have introduced the use of melody and counter-melody in his songs and his background score, and I and others have greatly benefited from his magical experimentations."
C Ramchandran:
This gentle giant's debut film as a music director was in Tamil films with Jayakkodi and Vanamohini. His first Hindi film as a composer was Bhagwan's Sukhi Jiwan (1942). The mood of these songs was mischief-laden and joyful. Ram's friend and poet Pradeep introduced him to Filmistan studio's owner-partner S Mukherji, and he was appointed its paid Music Director on the spot with a salary of Rs.1000. The same studio where Madan Mohan's father Rai Bahadur Chunilal was another partner.
When Shehnai (1947) was to be made, Filmistan invited Ghulam Hyder from Lahore. Ram felt insulted. However, Ghulam Hyder did not come and left the producers restless. Raibahadur Chunilal called C Ramchandran (CR) and asked him to do 2-3 songs of Shehnai till Ghulam Hyder came. CR boldly told the Boss: "Either it is the full film or nothing." Surprisingly, Chunilal instead of getting angry consulted S Mukherji and the film was given to CR. The rest is history.
Ram used the opportunity to showcase his musical genius and used several western instruments. His music had a superb mix of melody and rhythm. CR & Shamshad Begum sang that epic and zany, cool yet melodious song "Ana Meri Jaan Sunday Ke Sunday" with such finesse that even today the song has not lost its appeal. This film not only changed the trend but also marked the beginning of the GOLDEN ERA of Hindi Film music.
In 1955, he created his some of his best music. CR and the actor Bhagwan were very good friends. Once CR asked Bhagwan to plan and act in an entertaining film and he would give music as C. Ramchandra. Bhagwan jumped with joy, contacted Rajendra Krishna and immediately wrote Albela story. Lata was already "with" CR those days. ALBELA was a mega hit across the country. "Dheere Se Aaja Ri Nindiya" became a super hit song and after this, it became a trend to keep at least one Lori in the film. In fact, it was ALBELA that people started to dance to every song in the hall and to throw coins on the stage.
Perhaps CR's biggest success as a composer was Anarkali (1953). CR was most commonly associated with lyricists Rajendra Krishan. But In Anarkali, he worked with three lyricists, Krishan, Shailendra, and Hasrat Jaipuri. The songs that he composed for this movie are even today legendary. Like, "Yeh Zindagi Usiki Hai", "Jaag Dard-e-Ishq Jaag" went on to become huge hits and were highly acclaimed as masterpieces. ANARKALI became an all-time hit and the movie perhaps saw the famed composer-singer combine of CR and Lata at their best together.
Listen:
Not many folks know but the immortal patriotic song written by Pradeep and sung by Lata, "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon" had its tune composed by none other than C Ramchandra. There is a saying that when Pradeep first translated Iqbaal's "Sare Jahan Se Achha" in Hindi, it was first composed by CR, later adopted by Pandit Ravishankar.
Before we conclude on CR's music we, can not forget to talk about Lata Mangeshkar's divine voice and their chemistry. If one takes a dip into CR's honey-pot of music, it is filled with only four magical letters, LATA, the divine potion! And what sweet, heady, incredibly simple yet hummable songs this duo has created. I am a hopeless addict of CR–LATA combination.
He worked with ASHA too. CR's compositions in V. Shantaram's Navrang, 'Adha Hai Chandramana Raat Aadhi', 'Tu Chhupi Hai Kahan', & 'Are Ja Re Hat Natkhat' were popular masterpieces. But his soured personal and professional relationship with Lata contributed to his downfall. Without LATA, the 'soul' that made his music come alive, CR lost interest in composing music.
After Rootha Na Karo (1970), he didn't compose for Hindi films. His movies made money. He was famous and wealthy, yet he was never given any award of national repute. Last few years of his life he spent quietly. On January 5, 1982 - a week before his sixty-fourth birthday he left this world.
Madan Mohan:
Another composer from the Golden Era, Madan Mohan, son of the Hindi cinema mogul, Rai Bahadur Chunilal, will be remembered for the ghazals he composed for the film industry. During World War II, Madan Mohan (MM) joined the British Indian Army after he was selected and got commissioned in the army. But Madan Mohan's inner voice told him to do something else, and he left the army.
MM assisted S. D. Burman and C. Ramachandra for a short period. He scored his first big break with the film Aankhen (1950). But his first hit score was Bhai-Bhai (1956) and it came six years and 15 films after he made his debut.
Then MM came out with a huge musical blockbuster Dekh Kabira Roya (1957) in which the maestro Manna Dey gave his voice to one of the greatest classical songs ever composed "Kaun Aya Mere Man Ke Dware". In the same movie, he used Talat Mehmood's voice for the superhit song "Hum Se Aya Na Gaya, Tumse Bulaaya Na Gaya".
But in Adalat, he perfected the genre that he is best known for – the filmi ghazal with 'Yun Hasraton Ke Daag,' 'Ja Ja Re Ja Sajna' and 'Unko Yeh Shikayat Hai'. He was at his prime now with "Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha" (Anpadh, 1962), "Lag Ja Gale Ki Fir Wo" & "Naina Barse" (Woh Kaun Thi, 1964) and "Tu Jahan Jahan Chalega" & "Jhumka Gira Re" (Mera Saaya, 1966) under his belt.
Praising the classic "Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha", Naushad Ali said: "let me have this ghazal and take all my compositions in return". One of Madan's most famous films was Chetan Anand's Haqeeqat (1964). In that movie he worked with Mohammed Rafi for the songs "Kar Chale Hum Fida" and in the same movie had Rafi, Manna De, Talat, and Bhupinder singing "Hoke Majboor Mujhe Usne Bulaya Hoga", together.
MM also used Kishore Kumar's voice very successfully. Who can forget the naughty number "Zarurat Hai, Zarurat Hai" (Manmauji, 1962). His unforgettable compositions "Ye Duniya Ye Mehfil" & "Milo Na Tum To Hum Ghabrayen" (Heer-Ranjha, 1970) are among my top favorites.
Lata called Madan Mohan Ghazlon Ka Shahzada. She sang 210 songs in 68 movies for Madan's music (168 solos and 42 duets). MM's songs sung by Lata have a certain magic and sweetness to them. People say this was the result of C Ramachandra's influence on him.
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During his entire musical career, he had to live under the giant shadow of Stalwarts like Shankar-Jaikishen (associated with Raj Kapoor), S.D. Burman (associated with Dev Anand's Navketan Productions), Naushad (associated with Dilip Kumar). In summary, only those films came to Madan Mohan, which was not associated with these top banners.
His music earned respect from peers and won critical acclaim. But Madan remained disillusioned. The fact that his films did not quite succeed at the box office, his music did not win any awards, critical acclaim notwithstanding, were considered the contributing factors. That changed with Dastak (1970) which won him the National Film Award for Best Music Direction. Madan felt that the award had come too late.
It was the success of songs like "Husn Hazir Hai" & "Is Reshmi Pazeb Ki" (Laila-Majnu, 1976) & Bhupinder's solo 'Dil Dhoondhta Hai" & Lata's cracking "Chhadi Re Chhadi" (Mausam, 1975) that had eluded Madan Mohan all his career. Sadly, he did not live to witness it.
He took to heavy drinking and died on July 14th, 1975 of liver cirrhosis without getting due credit during his lifetime. Madan's son Sanjeev Kohli recreated his compositions for Veer-Zaara (2004), almost three decades after his death.
It pains, especially when one finds exceedingly mediocre music directors, in these days and age, receiving numerous accolades. But the true music lovers have not forgotten these legends and they never will.
Expect a few more dynamic composers in the next part.
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