The Hindu Business Line : Hum… hamare filmi geet browser’s corner

It’s a book that will want you to head straight for your collection of immortal melodies from Hindi films, or reach out for your iPod if you have the lilting, swinging, melodious Rafi, Mukesh, Kishore, Geeta Dutt songs on it. Be prepared for a heavy dose of nostalgia as you leaf through Ganesh Anantharaman’s Bollywood Melodies: A history of the Hindi film song (Penguin), which evaluates the work of 50-odd composers, singers and lyricists R 12; from Saigal to Sonu Nigam, Naushad and A.R. Rahman.

Its a tribute to the magic of an industry that gave us talented singers like Mohamed Rafi, Mukesh, Talat Mehmood, Geeta Dutt, Kishore Kumar, Shamshad Begum and, of course, Lata Mangeshkar. A generation that rocks to re-mixes of evergreen melodies such as Mere piya gaye Rangoon (Patanga) won’t even know the name of Shamshad Begum. But Anantharaman describes her as the “first superstar of playback” and recalls that much before Lata had entered the fray, Shamshad had producers/composers vying for her dates,”; all for a grand sum of Rs 1,000 per song!”

Her full-throated and spirited voice in songs such as Leke pehla pehla pyar (CID, 1956) or Kajra mohabbat wala, akhiyo me aisa dala (Kismet, 1968) made her immortal, and the latter song can give the Aishwarya-filmed Kajrare kajrare a run for its money in the wildest of discos today.

But the rise of each new artiste or composer means the sun setting over the career of another, and hence Raj Kapoor’s row with Ram Ganguly meant the entry of Shankar-Jaikishen for his next film, Barsaat, and they brought in Lata. “Shamshad’s end began (late 1940s) the same year she achieved her best.”

The Rafi magic

Interestingly, while singing sensations like Rafi launched the careers of many composers, their own fortunes waxed and waned with those of stars, as their voices were closely associated with the top actors of Hindi cinema. While Rafi was identified as the voice of Guru Dutt, Dilip Kumar and Shammi Kapoor among others, Mukesh was the unchallenged voice for Raj Kapoor and Kishore later got identified with a superstar like Rajesh Khanna.

The career of the man who gave us melodies such as Janey woh kaisey log the, Yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaye tau kya hai (Pyasa), and O duniya ke rakhwale (Baiju Bawra), and who was the favourite singer of composers such as Naushad and O.P. Nayyar, took a big dive after being hit hard by the ascent of Kishore Kumar with Aradhana. Ironically, in this film Rafi too had given hits like Gunguna rahey hai bahnwarey and Baago mei bahar hei, but they were no match for the success of the much more racy Mere sapno ki rani kab aayegi tu and the erotic Roop tera mastana.

But before his popularity was challenged by Kishore, Rafi had “created superstars out of ordinary actors with his vocal virtuosity. In those musically rich decades, no hero could do without Rafi hits. Rajendra Kumar was one such actor who “piggybacked to stardom” on Rafi’s voice with hit numbers and films such as Jeevan mein piya tera saath rahey (Goonj uthi shenai, 1959) and Mere mehboob tujhe (Mere Mehboob, 1963). He did make a comeback in the 1970s and “when death came unexpectedly in July 1980, Rafi was well on his way for what seemed a long second innings.”

Initially Kishore had to compete with biggies such as Mukesh and Talat Mehmood, and for the first few years of his career he was reduced to playing light-hearted, comic roles in films. It comes as a surprise to know that “such was the aversion to his voice in the early 1950s that Kishore had to beg and plead with Salil Choudhury to let him sing the duet Chota sa ghar hoga for the film Naukri, where he was the hero!”

Anantharaman tells us that “only Sachin Dev Burman dared to cast Kishore Kumar as playback for Dev Anand, having heard him hum in the bathroom once while visiting his brother Ashok Kumar. The combination brought us immortal melodies such as Jeevan ke safar mein rahi (Munimjee, 1955) and Dukhi man merey (Funtoosh), both for Dev Anand. Maana janab ne pukara nahi and Chhod do anchal followed, and the rest is history.

Undisputed melody queen

It is in tracing the six-decade-long career of Lata Mangeshkar that the author admits to developing cold feet. “I find myself riddled with doubts and anxieties. What can I say that hasn’t been said before?” Could he do justice to the longest career in film music in just one chapter? Finally, he decided to confine himself to writing about only those songs of Lata that “were defining moments in her career and the history of playback.”

This journey takes you through Uthayeja unkey sitam, Aayega aanewala, Mohe bhool gaye saanwariya, Aaja re pardesi. We also learn about the battle Lata fought with Filmfare, by boycotting its awards function for years, to create a separate category of awards for singers; and when that was done she walked away with the first trophy with Aaja re pardesi.

When sitar maestro Ravi Shankar composed music for Anuradha (1960), she sang four superb solos in the film, including Kaise din beetey. The author quotes what a legend like Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan has said lovingly of Lata: Kambakht kabhi besuri nahi hoti, an expression almost impossible to translate in English. But devotees of M.S. Subbalakshmi will not forgive Lata when they learn that for Hum Dono, composer Jaidev was all set to invite MS to render the all-time favourite bhajan Allah tero naam. When Lata heard about this “she sent a discreet word to Jaidev that she would be happy to record it for him. In her words it sounds transcendental, making you believe no one, not even MS, could have brought you as close to the sublime in yourself. But the episode also proves that Lata was only human”. Can one be more charitable than that?

Anantharaman also takes you through the “sexy-sultry voice” of Geeta Dutt (Ae lo main hari piya, Babuji dheerey chalna); the “melancholy, sonorous, vulnerable voice of the anguished lover” that Mukesh gave to melodies like Dil jalta hain toh jalney de. Saigal, hearing him in 1945, hailed him as “the emperor of pain”.

This book is a must-read for all those who love the soul-lifting, heartrending melodies of an era gone by. For the bathroom-singers though, a bit of advice: Make sure you don’t have too much company when you go through its pages… cause it’s impossible not to burst into song as the pages bring to life melodies such as Geeta Dutt’s Jaane kya tuney kahi or Waqt ney kiya kya hasin sitam!

More Stories on : Books | Browser's Corner

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Opportunity to serve

Hum… hamare filmi geet browser’s corner