Thursday, December 08, 2005Peeke Chale
posted
by Deepak Jeswal on 09:09 AM
Tuesday, November 15, 2005Excited!
posted
by Deepak Jeswal on 08:54 AM
Saturday, August 06, 2005Madan Mohan – Chulbule Geet
posted
by Deepak Jeswal on 12:43 AM
Tuesday, April 05, 2005A Lost Jewel Teen kanastar peet peet kar Gala phaad kar chillana Yaar mere mat bura maan Yeh gaana hai na bajaana hai Teen kanastar... Naach ke badle kamar hilana Uchchal ke circus dikhlana Bhool hai teri tu samjha hai Duniya paagal khaana hai Teen kanastar... Udhar se le kar, Idhar jama kar, Kab tak kaam chalaoge Kiska raha zamana ek din Mehfil se uthh jaaoge Nakal ka dhanda chal nahin sakta Ik din toh pachhtana hai Yaar mere mat bura maan Yeh gaana hai na bajaana hai Teen kanastar... Bhool gaya tu Tansen ki Taan yehin par goonji thi Sur ke jaadoogar Baiju ki Shaan yehin par goonji thi Marke amar hai Sehgal usska Har koi deewana hai, har koi deewana hai, Yaar mere mat bura maan Yeh gaana hai na bajaana hai Teen kanastar… One of the brilliantly worded songs that still passes the test of times, the song is completely lost. Not even an extensive google search could come up with this one. The scathing lyrics that take a purposeful potshot at plagiarism are penned by Shailendra. It is set to a lip-smacking catchy tune by Shankar Jaikishan for the film Love Marriage (1959) and sung with gusto by the inimitable Mohd. Rafi. The film had a couple of hit songs like Dheere dheere chal chaand gagan mein (Lata and Rafi), Kahe jhoom jhoom raat yeh suhaani (Lata) and Hum jaan gaye sarkar (Lata). This 5:38 minute song has a two-minute prelude – an instrumental duel between the jazz / rock western sounds and the traditional slow eastern melody. Both the sets (with the western sounds being longer, leading to the jibe by the hero in the song) are a wonderful display of the duo’s expertise and versatility. Alongwith their trusted aides/assistants, Sebastian D’Souza and Dattaram Wadkar (the latter, independently scored the music for the film Parvarish – remember Mukesh’s Aansoon bhari hai yeh jeevan ke raahen and Lata-Manna De’s Masti bhara hai sama), the music director duo Shankar Jaikishan always came up with some sumptuous musical interludes. In this song also, the mercurial sitar pieces and the flowing orchestral riffs knock you off! In fact, this song was one of my initial introductions to the wonderful world of Shankar Jaikishan. Do try to get your hands on it. My guarantee, you will not regret it! Even for those who like the music that the song mocks will not be disappointed – it’s packed with enough pace and rhythm. ( Sorry for this back-to-back post in the same series, but had to present this song to all readers)
posted
by Deepak Jeswal on 12:35 AM
Saturday, April 02, 2005A Lost Anklet It has been some time since I posted something under my series The Lost Treasures. So, here I pick up another beautiful number that could not survive the tides of time, but nevertheless, is a delight to listen to. First the lyrics: Pyaar kya hota hai, samjhaye koie Banke gham-khaar to aaye koie Raasta kis liye hum poochhte hain Jab ki apni koie manzil hi nahin Ek thehre hue dariya ki tarah Zindagi mein koi hulchal hi nahin Meri soi hui paayal ki sadaa Na to jaage, na jagaye koie Pyaar kya hota hai… Subah se shaam bhi ho jaati hai Raat bhi aake guzar jaati hai Apne darwaaze pe aawaz koie Bhool kar bhi to nahi aati hai Hum jahan hai wahan ek muddat se Na koie aaye , na jaaye koie Pyaar kya hota hai… This beautiful gem is from the film Ek Kali Muskayee (which had the superhit number, Na tum bewafaa ho, na hum bewafaa hain), and is composed by Madan Mohan with the pain-lashed lyrics penned by Rajinder Kishen. The soul to the words is provided by the inimitable Lata Mangeshkar. From Kadar jaane na in Bhai Bhai to Tere liye in Veer Zaara, I am an undoubted fan of Madan Mohan’s compositions. For someone like me, who places a strong emphasis on the music put in between the antaras (sometimes at the cost of the lyrics also) and a tune that should sound natural (not forced), Madan Mohan’s music is manna from heaven, as it combines all the three ingredients in a perfect mix. Also, the ‘sound’ of the orchestra of Madan Mohan touches me a lot. (It is this fetish for the lush musical interludes which explains for my choice of Shankar Jaikishan, Nadeem Shravan and Uttam Singh as my other favorites). This song opens with a gentle flute prelude before Lata Mangeshkar’s vocals take over. Each line of the short mukhda is repeated twice in the tradition of a ghazal rendition. The first interlude is the most interesting music passage. The same tenor of flute follows the mukhda with a small break filled by quick three chimes of a jal-tarang (type of sound) that is immediately pursued by a supple orchestral combination of violins and flute in a very slow ascent – as slow and as even as milk rising on a boil. The antaras begin with minimal music, and the first two lines are repeated, with the second repetition supported by full tabla beats. In between the two repetitions there is a petite flute division. The tune in the antaras takes a sharp swing at the last two lines before sliding effortlessly into the mukhda. The lyrics beautifully capture loneliness with some excellent imagery – soyi hui paayal and raasta hum kis ke liye poochte hain are lovely metaphors. Also, the feeling is conveyed in a very straightforward, simple but nonetheless poetic manner. Lata Mangeshkar’s intonation is filled with immeasurable pathos, ache and weariness of living a lonely life. The frustration of constant questioning; the wait at the doorstep for the elusive guest; and the anger of watching the minutes tick by without any happening are all captured in her honey-sweet voice. Generally, most singers eat up the ‘h’ sound in the word ‘subah’ – but, trust Lataji to even catch hold of that tiny syllable. In all, this is a song that seeps into the heart and remains fossilized there forever. Madan Mohan For more details on Madan Mohan please click here - Madan Mohan : The Emperor of Gazals For those who think Madan Mohan could compose only 'serious' gazal-numa songs, let me break the myth by informing that the jovial Kishore Kumar number Zarurat hai zarurat hai (Manmauji - 1962) was his composition. And can anyone forget the easy banter of Chhadi re chhadi (Lata and Rafi/Mausam) ? I wil end this post with two more incidents: Once Madan Mohan was explaining a song to Asha Bhonsle when the songstress pointed out, a trifle disinterestedly, that this song is good, but if he could give the other one as well to her. Madan Mohan’s angry retort was – that song is for Lataji, and only for her, and no one can replace her for that other song. Lataji claims that only Madan Mohan was a composer who never deserted her ever! The second incident diplays his passion for perfection: Once during a recording of another song, when Madan Mohan realized that some musicians were playing out of ‘sur’, he got worked up that he walked towards the playing area in anger. There was a glass door in between; he was so angry that instead of opening the door, he broke the glass with his hand. Lataji recalls with horror that his hand was injured, the blood was flowing out, but Madan Mohan continued his tirade against the erring musicians – “besura bajate ho; sur ke saath be-imani kar rahe ho, sharam nahin aati”! This was the zeal and passion of this great man. After all this, the recording happened the same day, and the song went on to be a big hit – Naino mein badra chhaye, bijli si chamke haaye from Mera Saaya. It won the Sur Singar Sansad Award – 1966. I wonder if this kind of artistic fervor exists in today’s times!
posted
by Deepak Jeswal on 10:05 AM
Monday, December 20, 2004A Lost Pearl Continuing my series of “The Lost Treasures”, I am presenting a very interesting and volatile number that has been one of my favorites for quite some time now. The lyrics are: Meri aankhen hain aapki aankhen Jab bhi chaahe inhen rula lije Mera dil aapki amaanat hai Apna har gham yahan chhupa lije Aaap chup hai toh har khushi gum hai Khoya khoya sa kyun tabassum hai Mere hothon se muskura lije Kya hua jo andheri raahen hain Aaapke saath meri baahen hain Mai diya hun mujhe jala dije Aap tanha nahin zamane mein Main bhi shaamil hun is fasane mein Apna gham mera gham bana dije Written by Nida Fazli, the composition is by the acclaimed duo Shiv Kumar Sharma and Hari Prasad Chaurasia for Yash Chopra’s forgotten film Vijay. The song is picturised on Meenakshi Sheshadri (it is purely a coincidence that the second song I chose turned out to be from her film again!) And the vocals are by the evergreen Lata Mangeshkar (and that my second song in this series is hers is not a coincidence). As a commercial venture, Vijay was a damp squib at the box office. However, as a film, I enjoyed it thoroughly. A true blue multi-starrer, the film had an impressive array of lead and supporting star-cast: Rajesh Khanna, Hema Malini, Raj Babbar, Moushmi Chatterji, Rishi Kapoor, Anil Kapoor, Meenakshi Sheshadri, Sonam, Anupam Kher and Saeed Jaffrey. This was Sonam’s actual debut and is now, perhaps, known for her languid-stretch-on-the-beach in a skimpy bikini. Having a complex story line involving business rivalry, it was akin to reading a good Jeffrey Archer novel; Chopra used real-world business terms and mores and conventions to portray the situations. Though the songs of the film were not up to the quintessential Chopra level, there were some good ones like Baadal pe chalke aa (Lata and Suresh Wadkar) , Zindagi har kadam pyaar ki daastaan ( Lata, Vinod Rathod, Suresh Wadkar) and of course the one mentioned above. As ever, Lata Mangeshkar sung most of the songs, but there were a couple by Asha Bhonsle also, including the tedious title song and the raunchy Rakhna atthani sambhal ke (whatever that means!). The above mentioned song is a Lata Mangeshkar solo. In the film, it comes at a very awkward juncture, and in reality, could have been deleted without causing any harm to the story. Meenakshi sings this song as her unflinching support to Anil Kapoor, after he falls out with his estranged brother Rishi Kapoor. The song is unique in its style and composition…it combines soft lyrics with some vigorous music in between, juxtaposing the tenderness of the romance with the overall harshness of the situation. I don't think I need to comment on the excellent lyrics as one can judge them by just reading that it talks of undying love, but in a very special and matter-of-fact manner. The song begins with a spurt of violins and trumpets and bugles (a lovely shot of the heroine running looking around for her lover, who is standing sadly, ruminating on the events that have happened) and settles into a poignant but fast-paced tune; the background beats are marvelous. The interludes are again strong with some mridangam and classical style music sewn in seamlessly. To go with the mood, Lataji sounds hurt and sad and weaves in the slight frustration of the character, who wants to help, but is finding no means to do so. At again a very high pitch, Lata retains her sweetness without getting breathless. To me, if a woman implores in such a lovely voice, I would accept her love anyways, even if the face accompanying it as bland as Meenakshi Sheshadri’s. To end, I will quote another lyricist: Chaar nagme ho ik saaz ho Ek meethi si aawaaz ho Is safar ke liye ho bahut Ek meharbaan ho hamraaz ho Phir to jannat se badhkar hai duniya Aur khushiyon bhari zindagani What else does man need, indeed!
posted
by Deepak Jeswal on 09:13 AM
Sunday, November 07, 2004A Lost Gem If I start compiling a list of good songs that could not pass the test of the charts, and are now lost beneath the weight of time, it would be too long and futile an effort, more so for this blog. However, I will try to capture a few of my favorite songs and present them here, off and on, and compile them under one category of posts “Lost Treasures” To start off, the following is a song that I love to listen to, for its lyrics as well as a lovely tune: Kab talak shama jali, yaad naheen Sham-e-gham kaise dhali, yaad naheen Is qadar yaad hai apne the sabhi Kisne kya chaal chali, yaad naheen Hum zamane mein kuch aise bhutkay Ab to unki bhi gali yaad naheen Abr tha, jaam tha, per aap na thay Woh ghadi kaise tali yaad naheen Kat gayi umer kisi tereh "Qateel" Woh buri thee keh bhali yaad naheen Kab talak shama jali, yaad naheen Sham-e-gham kaise dhali, yaad naheen I am sorry a translation of the same would render the song useless; the lyrics use very Indian/Urdu/Subcontinent imageries. I cannot translate the song as 'Till when did the candle/lamp burn...'; it would be a travesty. For the non-Hindi readers, let me just mention the song is a question from a man who tries to recall how and when his sorrow-soaked night ended in his intoxication. He reminisces that he had all the loved ones besides him at one point of time, but which of them betrayed him is unknown to him. Lost in the worldly pursuits, his mind is so clouded, he cannot even recall his beloved's address now. In any case, this pain-lashed night had everything romantic (the wine, the clouds), except her, hence he shudders at the thought of remembering how those unbearable moments would have passed; in the end, he feels that he has more or less lived his life-whether the life treated him fair or foul, he neither remembers, nor he cares. This is from the flop debut film of Meenakshi Sheshadri , Painter Babu.(1983); sung by the evergreen Lata Mangeshkar with Mahendra Kapoor. Although essentially a ghazal, the song was composed and picturized as a mujra on Aruna Irani and Rajeev Goswami. The ghazal is penned by the Pakistani poet Qateel Shifai (one of his rare ones at that time; though, later Mahesh Bhatt did use his poetry a lot; to the uninitiated Pankaj Udhas’s famous Chandi jaisa rang hai tera is written by Shifai). He died in Lahore in 2001. A google search reveals that the lines "is qadar yaad hai" might not be there in the original ghazal, but I am not sure, as often the searches can be semi-comprehensive. I find the song particularly interesting for its amazing grace and rhythm and a tune that is very hummable. The tune is not contrived, and the words are not stretched or moulded as often they are in some songs/ghazals; in brief, the tune has a natural flow. There is a mild qawalli touch too in as much as the repetition of lines in the antaras. Important to point out that Kapoor and Lata sing the lines one after the other; in the picturization, Goswami is leading the song, and the girl (the nautch-girl, mujrewaali) follows him. The song uses all the traditional mujra instruments like saarangi and harmonium, but is not raunchy or ribald. It is not overtly sad also; though it has a regretful tinge to it. I recall hearing the song first time sometime in the early eighties on Vividh Bharti, and getting hooked on it there and then; years later, I collected it through www.hamaracd.com. One significantly interesting piece is Lata’s ‘la-la-la’ bit followed by harmonium riffs in three-four quick but rising succession; this comes before the third antara. The musical arrangements are impeccable. Alas, this song is almost nearly lost now, forever. Even in a google search, one can find other numbers from this film easily, but this one is tough one to locate. The composition was by Uttam Jagdish (their first, actually). The unsung duo also composed some wonderful music in Waaris ( Husn ki waadiyon mein, Mere pyaar ki umar ho itni sanam), Clerk ( Neelam ghar mein humne, Aaj 15 Agast Hai – the latter a favorite of Doordarshan Chitrahaar on-well, no prizes for guessing which occasion) and Ricky (Ruk ruk Ricky sunta jaa). After his partner’s untimely demise, Uttam Singh branched out on his own and gave Yash Chopra’s musical bumper hit Dil To Paagal Hai, alongwith some flop but interesting songs like the tender Pyaar ko ho jaane do (Lata and Sanu ), the remorseful but superlative Chithi na koie sandesh ( Lata and Jagjit in two different versions; Dushman), the romantic Dekhen bhi to kya dekhen (Lata and Udit; Farz) and the fluffy Hum tum pe marte hain (Lata-Udit; HTPMH). Uttam Singh also composed the music for Lata Mangeshkar’s hit Sai Baba devotional album Om Sai Ram (which included bhajans written by Manoj Kumar). His simplicity of tunes with some lip smacking musical arrangements and interludes did not however find many takers in the hip-hop brigade that swooped on the musical scene.(His orchestration is legendary in the music circles) Also, the self effacing man that he is, he has not pushed hard enough. Attired always in a white kurta pyjama, that has become his trademark of sorts, Singh did find some extended glory when his songs of Gadar went on to smash the records; but, unfortunately, he has been unable to once again cash on its success. His music for last year's ill fated Pinjar was quite interesting and varied that captured the essence of the film perfectly especially the qawwali, Darda marya mahiya , Sadhna-Kavita-Udit's joie-de-vivre laced Shava ni shava, Jagjit Singh's poignant Haath chhoote bhi to rishte nahin chhoota karte and Roop Rathod's pensive Vatna ve. The music did make a small blip on the charts with the popular Punjabi folk based Maar udadi; unfortunately, the film failed him and his music. A proficient violinist, Uttam Singh was the music arranger for many hit directors (including Illayaraja, Naushad and the qawwal Shankar Shambhu; he also played the violin for the music of SD Burman, RD Burman and Madan Mohan), but his most famous association is with Raamlaxman (especially, for the composer’s two mega-hits Maine Pyaar Kiya and Hum Aapke Hain Kaun). Despite his own daughter, Preeti Uttam, being a competent singer, Uttam Singh has never pushed her in the industry. His large body of work remains with his diva and inspiration, Lata Mangeshkar. In Gadar, Preeti did sing, but again, not the most famous number Ud jaa kale kanwan. Preeti’s awesome voice control in the same film’s Hum juda ho gaye ( esp in the antaras) was quite a revelation. The father-daughter duo’s sole non-film collaboration Sur (released on Times Music) was sadly too classical for the general public to understand. The bhajan Saras saras was effusive and evocative. Musically, Painter Babu did not have anything much to offer apart from this lovely song, though Lata Mangeshkar’s divine vocals were the mainstay in all the songs like Painter babu, I love you,Humka lechal yaara thandi thandi nahar ke kinare and O mere sajan barsaat mein aa. The film also had an atrocity that went Yaar ladki shaandaar hai (sung by an obviously uncomfortable Mahendra Kapoor). But, one must hear Kab talak shama jali. It is truly a masterpiece.
posted
by Deepak Jeswal on 01:43 PM
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