When you talk about a big star, it need not necessarily mean the hero/heroine of the film. In this article, we are going to speak of two famous actors of Hindi film industry who are mainly remembered as comedians, but during their hey days were as popular as the hero of the film. The two actors being referred to here are Johnny Walker and Mehmood. They have carved a niche for themselves in film history and will always be remembered for their entertaining act. Besides their roles, Johnny Walker and Mehmood have to their credit many hit songs picturised on them.

During their peak period, mainly in 1950s and 1960s, it was mandatory for a song to be pitcurised on them, even though they were comedians. Before starting off on Johnny Walker and Mehmood, it will only be appropriate for us to remember another great personality - Bhagwan, fondly referred to as Bhagwan Dada who had created history with his own film Albela starring himself with Geeta Bali, a film which was a massive hit in 1951. It is really very sad that he is not amongst us today, but Albela’s songs Bhagwan Dada are evergreen.
A trendsetter film, it was a real musical bonanza - hats off to C.Ramachandra and Rajendra Krishen for their masterpiece work. Bhagwan’s style of dancing became a craze and went on to become a sort of hallmark. What a variety of classics from Lata Mangeshkar and Chitalkar (C.R himself) - The romantic ‘Mere dil ki ghadi kare...’, the stylish ‘Bholi soorat dil ke khote...’ , the naughty ‘Shaam dhale khidki thale...’ , the foot tapping Shola jo Bhadke dil...’ , the pleasing lullaby Dheere se aajari...’. C.Ramachandra had utilised Mohmmadd Rafi for that breezy duet with Lata Mehfil mein mere kaun ye deewana...’

ANNA VS DADA

For the first film of S D Burman " Shikari "(1946) the orchestra was
conducted by C.Ramachandra(Anna). CR was an assistant to Anil Biswas before
becoming an independent Music director. CR even sang a song under SDB's
direction in his second film " Eight Days "(1946). Dada Burman had already
established himself as a folk singer in Calcutta before coming to Bombay. In
the film " Chalis Baba Ek Chor " the song " Teriya" has the voice of CR
saying " Do jan ausne do". RD Burman has also agreed that " orchestration
was never my father's strong point". For that matter even Hemant Kumar was
not strong in orchestration and depended on his assistant Ravi. Which brings
to the gut point .What does it matter whether orchestra is conducted by the
music director himself or by his assistant or a known friend.It is the
conception and delivery in the form of end product that matters. RD is
quoted as saying " Dada would take his appointed harmonizing place in the
music room,alongside the sound recordist and from there proceed to do the
"balancing " thru the mike. As Dada saw it, his job was to tell them "what"
to play , rather than "how" to play. Dada knew exactly what he wanted and
was totally capable of drawing out the "nuance of balance "sitting there in
the recordist's room."I am a composer not an arranger" MadanMohan once told
me. If some producer wanted me also to arrange the music, I would ask him to
get lost "And who shall say that Madan did not have a point there?
C.Ramachandra, Naushad, Vasant Desai, Salil Chowdhry, Jaikishen, O.P Nayyar,
Pyarelal, RD burman-these men may have preferred to do their orchestration
by being bang in the middle.But that fact by itself cannot give them an edge
over Dada Burman or Madan Mohan."
Raju Bharatan's article has further quoted Anil Biswas as saying that "Anna
has the range, and Dada the depth."He further adds "But then Dada's range in
later years was so phenomenal that the distinction seems debatable. Sajjad
Husain rates Dada and Dada alone as a genuine composer and all others as
"tunesmiths'

Sad Story Involving the Patriotic song

Mumbai, May 4: The Bombay High Court today appointed well-known
lyricist Sampoorna Singh Gulzar, popularly known as Gulzar, as a
mediator to settle dispute between daughter of late Kavi Pradeep and
music company Saregama Ltd, on royalty to be paid to Army Widow's Fund
for sale of music of patriotic song "Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon, Zara
Ankh Mein Bhar Lo Pani".


Chief Justice Dalveer Bhandari himself suggested that Gulzar be
appointed as a mediator to settle the matter and reach a specific
amount that the music company should pay to Army Widow's Fund as
royalty from sale of music of the song.


The court deferred till July the petition urging for payment of
royalty to the Centre for Welfare of Jawans and Widows, in keeping
with the commitment made by the music company to the author of the
song, late Pradeep.


Saregama Ltd told the court earlier that they were ready to pay a
lumpsum amount of Rs one lakh but the judges felt that it was too
little and suggested the music company to pay a substantial amount as
it was for a noble cause.


Hearing the petition filed by Mitul Pradeep, daughter of late Pradeep,
the court had earlier asked the Defence Ministry to file an affidavit
stating amount received by the Centre from Saregama.


Saregama told the Court that it had paid nearly Rs 55,000 to the
Central government in the past five years as royalty generated from
the sale of records and cassettes of the song. However, records prior
to 1988 had been destroyed, it said.


The PIL claimed that it had been agreed between Pradeep, music company
Saregama India and music composer C Ramachandra that the royalty
derived from the sale of cassettes and records of this song would go
to "disabled army personnel widows and orphans fund" of the Union
Government.


However, the music company had failed to give details about the
royalty paid by it to the government, the PIL said. (Agencies)

Imagine a filmmaker tackling a theme where the young hero discovers, much to his dismay, that his one-time beloved is now his mother -- she has married his father! And to think we are talking about a film that was made 45 years ago.

On a scale of ten, if ambition and a spirit of adventure (I would say, audacity) were the criteria, Sharada deserves at least 9, if not 10.

Undoubtedly, this big-star-studded, commercially successful film has its share of flaws --- a didactic comic track, a largely ho-hum music score and a tendency to steer clear from morally provocative pockets that the film throws up --- but the enormity of the director's vision and courage compels you to sidestep these flaws.

CREDITS
Producers Director Music Director Stars
Prasad Productions L V Prasad C Ramchandra Raj Kapoor,
Meena Kumari

The story begins in a nature-cure ashram where Mohan (Om Prakash), a confirmed alcoholic, is undergoing treatment under the supervision of committed ashram worker Sharada (Meena Kumari). Mohan's friend Shekhar (Raj Kapoor) is enamoured by Sharada and faithfully trots along behind her wherever she goes -- the kitchen, compound and dawakhaana too!

While establishing a romance between Sharada and Shekhar (destined to be mother and son in the reels yet to unroll), director Prasad pertinently steers clear of any physical intimacy between the lovers. Yet, the romantic portions are enjoyable, as Raj Kapoor enlivens them with Chaplinesque buffoonery, even resorting to an innocent-sounding devotional number, Jap jap jap re to convey his romantic intentions to Sharada.

The besotted Shekhar proposes to a surprised Sharada who promises to marry him when he returns from his business expedition to China.

Now, some rather contrived plot devices come into play for the story to arrive at its central theme. Shekhar meets with an accident and is presumed dead. His father (Raj Mehra), a widower faced with the daunting task of raising a brood of three young children, decides to marry again -- and the woman he chooses is Sharada! Unaware that she is marrying Shekhar's father, Sharada cedes to her father's desire for the match (why would a father want such a match?).

By now, Sharada's characterisation has been deftly and consistently built up as that of a champion at self-sacrifice (she works devotedly in the ashram) and self-depreciation (Mujhe meri tareef achchi nahee lagti).

Shekhar survives the accident and on learning of Sharada's marriage vociferously expresses his loathing at her betrayal. Unaware that she has married his father, he viciously curses her husband. Unable to bear the expletives showered on her 'swami,' an infuriated Sharada silences him with a resounding slap.

A shaken Shekhar returns home and discovers that Sharada is now his mother!

Famous songs from Sharada
Song Singers
Jap jap jap
jap re Mukesh
O chand jahan woh Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle
Ajure baju naju Asha Bhosle, Kamla Srivastav, Joe
Lehraye jeeya Asha Bhosle
Chahe zindagi se Manna Dey
Duniya ne mujhko Manna Dey
Joru ka ghulam Shamshad Begum, Asha Bhosle, Kamal Barot

In the film's most highly-charged moment, he falls at her feet, defeated and in despair. She ruffles his hair and blesses him.

Unlike the beatific acceptance Sharada displays, Shekhar is unable to accept their new relationship. He pines for his lost love even as he downs many pints of whiskey. Seeking to stop this spiral of self-destruction, Mohan appeals to Shekhar to accept Sharada as his mother. He reasons, "Yehi toh ek shabd hain jismein tumhara uddhar hain," but Shekhar is convinced, "Is si shabd mein meri maut hain."

Eventually, browbeaten by Sharada's threats to leave home, Shekhar surrenders and finally summons the courage to cry out, "Ma."

Shekhar also gives in to Sharada's wishes and marries Chanchal (Shyama, looking as crisp as an ice lettuce). But Chanchal's hackles are raised when a busybody squeals to her about Shekhar and Sharada's love story. Consumed with jealousy, Chanchal assumes that Shekhar and Sharada are lovers in the guise of mother and son, and threatens to expose the 'truth' to Shekhar's father unless Shekhar stops meeting Sharada.

This unhappy situation has to reach a cataclysm. A disgusted Shekhar flees home and becomes a vagabond. When he is found lying supine outside a temple, on the verge of death, Sharada embarks on a fast to death.

Acutely conscious of the fact that he is treading on egg shells, the director strikes a delicate balance between the idealised and almost superhuman response (as represented by Meena Kumari) and the human and more identifiable reactions (as represented by Raj Kapoor) to a moral crisis. It's never less than interesting to see how two people, when faced with a difficult situation, come to grips with it in dramatically different ways.

Prasad shows an endearing sympathy for human foibles even while constantly exalting the strength of virtue. However, he cops out in the climax --- it would have been interesting to see the reaction of Shekhar's father to the truth. Also, Chanchal's abrupt switchover from suspicious to supportive makes it seem as if the director was not sufficiently interested in her character's motivations.

Raj Kapoor, advantageously placed in a believable part as a person grappling with unfortunate truth, evokes pathos. Meena Kumari has to brace herself to meet the challenge of a larger-than-life role. With restraint as her major trump card, she succeeds in discouraging you from feeling that the stoic Sharada is silently craving aggrandizement.

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She is the rare actress who makes the depiction of pain seem exquisite.

Sidelights:

*After working for six years (1951-1956) at a stretch only with Nargis, this was Raj Kapoor's first film with another heroine. Raj and Meena did just one more film, Char Dil Chaar Raahein (1959), together.

*During shooting breaks, Raj Kapoor would record Meena Kumari's voice on a tape recorder to help her improve her voice modulation.

*Shyama and Raj Mehra won Filmfare's Best Supporting Actor and Actress award respectively. Meena Kumari was considered a strong contender that year but Nargis won the award for Mother India.

Music:

*C Ramchandra, the composer of such exquisite melodies in Anarkali, Albela and Azaad, is not in full form here -- perhaps because he was not working as extensively with his favourite Lata Mangeshkar. Still, the maestro came up with two hits -- Jap jap jap re and O chaand jahan tu jaye.

* Jap jap jap re also marked Mukesh's comeback. He had neglected his singing for an acting career that failed to pick up.

An article on "The" song dated 26.1.06

"Kya Log The Woh Deewane!"!"

As I watched the KG Marg from my studio apartment's balcony, a sea of humanity walked back from Rajpath, where they would have witnessed our Republic Day Parade a while ago. The radio was playing patriotic songs in my room. And my thoughts started wandering.

They went straight to My Favourite Patriotic Songs. Then took a left and reached "what about breakfast?" After keeping to it for a while, they did an abrupt U-turn, executed a sharp left and reminded me that Kaka would be here on Sunday. This immediately brought them to another hair-pin bend about nick names. How they persist! Kaka will be kaka, even at Rice University. Mallu will remain Mallu, even if he does make a movie in Hollywood. Nam-seven-dee-ee would always be that (and some other names) even when he becomes a grandfather. At this point there was a detour as my thoughts wandered off to look for Punjabi Women. It's a recurring theme, really. That's the deal with random thoughts, you never know where they would end up.

The sounds of Hindustan Hindustan (from the movie Border) and the narration by Kulbhushan Kharbanda brought me back to My Favourite Patriotic Songs. Unfortunately for me, before I started writing this post, I took a look at Desi Pundit, and found that someone named Minal has already written about it. She says:

There is not a single Indian I know who does not know the following songs by heart.
I do not agree with that. I think there are plenty of Indians - patriotic Indians - who would not know the lyrics to these songs by heart. But that's okay. As to the rest of her post, I would have to admit that she has written pretty much all that I wanted to write about, and then some more.

So, I will just restrict to saying a few words about just one song. Yes, most of you can guess which song it is going to be. Aye mere watan ke logon is that kind of a song.

Composed by C. Ramchandra and written by Pradeep, it was sung by Lata Mangeshkar. It was a non-film song which moved Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru to tears. Considering that it was 1962, it had to. To this date, this song remains one of the most powerful songs ever in Indian music's history. If you were to take away all the other songs of Lata Mangeshkar, she would still win hearts with just this one.

The song moves me to tears everytime I listen to it. Even today. If nothing else, it keeps me grounded and makes me appreciate the debt that I owe to countless nameless & faceless people.

Republic Day is not about our independence struggle and the lives lost to attain and keep this independence but still, it is about freedom. Freedom that is enshrined in the Constitution. A lot many of us (including me) do not think about independence, freedom, constitution and the nameless/faceless people very often. It is perhaps justified then that we do that a couple of times every year. If only to remind us of where we came from, and where we are headed.

Thi khoon se lath-path kaayaa
Phir bhi bandook uthaake
Das-das ko ek ne maaraa
Phir gir gaye hosh gavaa ke
Jab ant-samay aayaa to
Kah gaye ke ab marate hain
Khush rahanaa desh ke pyaaro
Ab ham to safar karate hain
Kya log the vo deevaane
Kya log the vo abhimaani
Jo shaheed...

Kya log the vo deewane, indeed.

An Article

The days of closeness between C. Ramchandra and Lata had long passed. Lata was not even singing for any of C. Ramchandra's tunes. It was a musical night on Breborn stadium in Bombay. India's vocal empress Lata Mangeshkar was going to sing the famous patriotic number Ae mere watan ke logo by Kavi Pradeep. Dilipkumar - the movie mughal - was at the dias. In his great theatrical style he introduced the audiance to the song. Not that there was any need for its introduction. But he told them about the birth of the song, told that Pradeep had penned it, dramatically explained how Panditji had wept when he had listened to it for the first time when it was performed on Lal Kila. He told everything except that the music to this legendary song was composed by C. Ramchandra. He conveniently forgot that part. When he arrived at the back stage C. Ramchandra charged at him with clenched fists and furiously asked why he did not mention his name. Dilipkumar put on a mask of total innocence and said that he never knew that Anna had composed that song. C. Ramchandra said, "Don't lie Yusuf! You knew it very well. But you were told not to mention it by that woman!". "No one dictates terms to Dilipkumar.", said the thespian with some smugness. And bang came the reply from the magician of Thumari -- "Those days are gone, Yusuf. There was a time when no one dared to dictate terms to C. Ramchandra also. Now they dictate to both of them."

Ramchandra Narhar Chitalkar (from Puntambe, Maharashtra) was a true Mard Maratha in the sense that whatever he did in his life he did it openly and without any attempts of concealment -- be it his love for scotch or his relations with Lata. As a composer he was an unprecedented genius. Probably only Naushad has enjoyed a similar overwhelming popularity that C. Ramchandra commanded among both - classes and masses. C. Ramchandra was the so-called fastest music director who could compose brilliant tunes in moments.

C. Ramchandra was great in himself and his talents knew no bounds when he paired up with Lata to produce some pearls in the ocean of Indian Film Music. When he composed the awesome lori -- Dheere se aaja re ankhiyano mein (AAlbela) with her, even the demons were soothed to sleep. Not going into the much talked about controversy of his relationship with Lata, let us experience some divine moments in the songs that they did together. C. Ramchandra composed two brilliant Thumaris for Lata - Katate hai dukh mein ye din (Parchhaai) and Tum kya jaano, tumhari yaad mein (Shin Shinaki Bubala Boo). If you are missing even one of these in your collection then you cannot really claim for its completeness. The list of such gems is a long one. Aankhon mein sama jao, is dil mein raha karana (Yasmin) is one more of these. Anna has managed to create a fantastic effect in this song with minimum of instruments leaving most to Lata's magical voice. And Lata does it to perfection. Koi kisi ka deewaana na bane (Sargam), Yeh zindagi usi ki hai jo kisi ka ho gaya (Anarkali), Ae pyar teri dunaya se hum (Jhanjar), Wafaaon ka majboor daman bichha kar dua kar gume dil khuda se dua kar (Anarkali), and the one in which, according to Majrooh, C. Ramchandra has given a lesson to the composers how to compose a ghazal -- Muhobbat aisi dhadkan hai jo samjhayi nahi jati (Anarkali) - each of this compositions is a master piece.

And yet if I look at the list I find almost all of the finest ones missing from it. For example, what about Ab woh raate kahan ab woh baate kahan (Yasmin), Jo mujhe bhula ke chale gaye (Sangeeta), Mujh se mat poochh mere ishq mein kya rakha hai (Anarkali), Dekho ji bahar aayi (Azad), Jo dil ko jalaye sataye dukhaye aisi muhobbat se hum baaj aaye (Nirala) and Mujh pe iljaam-e-bewafaai hai (Yasmin). How can this list be complete without adding even one of these. And then there are the unforgettable ones from the duo - Ae chand pyar mera tujh se ye kah raha hai (Khazana), Muhobbat mein aise jamane bhi aaye (Sagaai), Aa ja ab to aa ja (Anarkali), Tere dar se khushi mangi magar gum de diya tu ne (Hungama), Tere phoolon se bhi pyar (Nastik), Kali kali ratiyan yaad sataye (Ghungaroo), Dil se bhula do tum humen (Patanga) and Dil ki duniya basa ke sawariyan (Sangeeta).

C. Ramchandra was a handsome fellow. Even more so when one looks at him from the eyes of a awestruck worshiper of his musical genius. He himself had some faculty of singing as well - which he exploited in many songs with Lata. Mere dil ki ghadi kare tik tik tik, Sham dhale khidaki tale tum siti bajana chhod do, Shola jo bhadake dil mera dhadake (All from Albela), Kitana hansi hai mausam kitna hansi safar hai (Azad) and Woh hum se chup hai hum un se chup hai (Sargam). But one wonders if he himself was not really his first choice when it came to male playback. The credit of that position undoubtedly goes to Talat. Though C. Ramchandra made some finest of his compositions for Hemant Kumar, he knew very well that only Talat could have done justice to so soulful a ghazal like Muhobbat hi na jo samajhe woh jaalim pyar kya jane. This master piece from Parchhaai which was written by Anjaan is, indeed, a song Talat fans would rate in his top few. C. Ramchandra has excelled himself in all respects in this song. Talat sang a few excellent duets with Lata for C. Ramchandra- Apani kaho kuchh meri suno kya dil ka lagana bhool gaye (Again Parchhaai), Tere raaste pe maine ek ghar bana liya hai (Kavi), Tum apani yaad bhi dil se bhula jaate to acchha tha (Yasmin), Gaya andhera hua ujaala (Subah ka Tara), and Kise maloom tha ek din muhobbat bejuban hogi (Saqi). His other solos like Bechain nazar betaab jigar ye dil hai kisi ka deewana (Yasmin) and Apani nakaami se mujh ko kaam hai (Subah ka Tara) are undoubtedly the ones that music lovers will find indispensible.

While Talat did justice to every song C. Ramchandra could give him after dedicating all his time to Lata, I do not think Hemant Kumar fell short in any respect. If Hemant Kumar was good singer, he was a far far better Music Director. But he did wonders when he sang under the masterful guidance of C. Ramchandra. He sang a very beautiful song Badali mein chhupe chand ne kuchh mujh se kaha hai in Shatranj. Gagan jhanjhana raha (Nastik) will be another number the critics would find notable by Hemant Kumar. C. Ramchandra stayed away from Rafi in most of the films for whatever reasons. But Rafi has a nice duet with Lata on his account owing to C. Ramchandra in Nausherwan-e-Adil. The song was Bhool jaye saare gum, doob jaye pyar mein.

C. Ramchandra was accused of setting the trend of occidental music into Hindi films. But then the trend has enjoyed its own popularity. Moreover, who else would have done that better than he did. The foot-tapping songs Gore gore, o baake chhore (Samadhi - Lata with Shamshaad) and Deewana parwaana, shama pe aaya (Albela -Lata with Chitalkar) are certainly enjoyable ones though one cannot regard them as immortal creations. Then there was the one which really set the popularity rolling for C. Ramchandra - Aana meri jaan meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday (Shahanai).

C. Ramchandra was admitted to KEM hospital in Mumbai on 22nd December 1981 owing to his long standing ulcer problems. He breathed last on 5th January 1982. The great music director who could suggest someone like S.D.Burman the superlative humming at the beginning of his fantastic Lata solo Thandi hawaein, lehara ke aaye (Naujavan) left a permanent vacuum in the world of melody. He will but outlive the death through his amazing melodies that had the tact of talking straight to ones heart

geocities.com

'Sangeetkar C Ramchandra Chowk' is at the famous Shivaji Park at Dadar. This chowk is on the northern end of Shivaji Park.

Some make it, others don't. He was in the former category. Unfortunately his success story was cut short by circumstances and the fame and glory slowly faded away. Today his contribution is all but forgotten but the history will never fail to recognize its significance.

This could be the perfect epitaph for many a talented artist - most certainly for the man called C. Ramchandra.



Early Life and career

When a railway worker Narhari Chitalkar living in Puntambe - a small town in Maharashtra - got a son on January 12, 1918 and named him Ramchandra, little did he know that his son would never be called by the plain and simple name 'R.N. Chitalkar'! From the early age young Ramchandra was fascinated by music and drama. He left for Kolhapur after leaving the school in ninth standard and tried his hand at acting. At the age of seventeen he bagged a hero's role in 'Naganand'- a film which bombed heavily at the box-office. After this early setback he moved on to Bombay. His training in classical music from Shankar Rao Sapre came in handy to bag a job as a music assistant in Minerva Movietone where he started working with the then leading music directors Mir Sahib and Bundu Khan. Soon, thanks to his ability to write notations of the tunes, he became an important cog in the wheel.



Bhagwan - a leading comedian and film maker of that era - spotted Ramchandra's musical talent and offered him his film 'Sukhi Jeevan' as a composer. That year was 1942. At the age of twenty four a glittering career was about to begin. The promise turned into reality with hit soundtracks like 'Lalkar', 'Safar', 'Samrat Chandragupta' and 'Bhaktaraj'. It was during the making of 'Bhaktaraj' he was re-christened 'C.Ramchandra' by the film's producer Jayant Desai. This screen name was to stick permanently. Only when he would sing his own songs the records labeled him as Chitalkar. So as a composer he was C.Ramchandra, as a singer he was Chitalkar and to the near and dear ones he was simply Anna!



Ascent into greatness


The first spark of his talent was in 'Shehnai'(1947) where he literally rock 'n rolled the film music by that immortal trail blazer Meri jaan, meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday aana. The echoes of this song sung by himself along with Meena Kapoor can be heard till today through that egg- ad jingle 'Sunday ko unde khaana'! In a way he can be credited (and discredited!) for the entry of Western Rock ’n Roll Music into Hindi film music. But I am sure he wouldn't have dreamt in his worst nightmares that the funny genie released by him would turn into a demon devouring the very Indian core of Hindi film music!



The fifties saw him emerge as one of the leading lights of Hindi film music. His music in films like 'Nastik', 'Shagufa', ‘Sangeeta’, ‘Kaarigar’, ‘Khazana’, 'Yasmin', ‘Teerandaz’, 'Shinshinaki bublaboo', 'Parchhai' and 'Yasmin' is still remembered fondly by nostalgic music lovers. But for the common listeners his introduction is through his more popular soundtracks - 'Anarkali', 'Albela', 'Aazad' and 'Navrang'.



Innovative Music



His music had a superb mix of melody and rhythm. Exceptional blending of piano, violins, tabla, dholak and khanjiri gave unique freshness and liveliness to his tunes. If Kishore's Ina mina dika and Asha's Mister John o Baba Khan showed his trendiness then Talat's Mohabbat hi na jo samajhe or Rafi's Yeh hasrat thi vouched for his mastery over emotional stuff. But his musical association with Lata Mangeshkar was something really special. Their songs are in a league of their own. Even if you haven’t heard hidden gems like Ab woh raaten kahan, Jo mujhe bhulake chale gaye, Bheeni bheeni hai or Tum kya jaano, just take the well-known popular songs like Mohabbat aisi dhadkan hai, Radha na bole re, Dheere se aaja ri ankhiyan mein or Kaise aaoon Jamuna ke teer and the terrific chemistry that they shared is all too apparent!



Even today's audiences go gaga over 'Albela's Lata - Chitalkar duets Shaam dhale khidki tale, Shola jo bhadke and Bholi surat dil ke khotey. Over all these years theatre screens showing these songs have never failed to be showered with coins thrown by the frenzied fans. The jazzy rhythm of this Bholi surat was played by a toilet- cleaner on a tin pot. Can you believe it?



He did many such unbelievable things - like adapting from a Marathi naatya- geet (Murtimant bheeti ubhi) the evergreen 'Anarkali' classic Yeh zindaghi usiki hai, converting another naatyageet (Sukhvi Tula) into the Parchhai- delight Naina Lagake Dukh De Gayo, using the maddham from an Islamic qawwali to create that bewitching beauty Dil ki duniya basa ke saawariya and composing the entire soundtrack of 'Azaad' studded with sparkling songs like Jaari jaari o kaari badariya, Dekho ji bahar aayi, Kitni jawan hai raat, Kitna haseen hai mausam and Aplam chaplam in just seven days! Lata reckoned him to be the fastest composer she ever came across.




Sixties and later





(The Trio That Made Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon-

Kavi Pradeep, Lata Mangeshkar, C.Ramchandra)



His finest hour came through his non- film composition Aye mere watan ke logon. Composed for an army welfare programme after the Indo - China war (1962) and sung by Lata, this emotional patriotic number even moved the then Prime Minister Pt. Nehru to tears. Such was the impact of this song on Nehru that he embraced the composer on stage!



But soon after that heady success, slowly but surely he lost his ground to the newcomers. His soured personal and professional relationship with Lata definitely contributed to his downfall as he could never really find the same magic with other playback singers. The few soundtracks in this period (Bahurani, Stree and Jitne Door Utne Paas) where he got Lata’s vocals back again, he came up with superb compositions like Main jaagun saari rain, Jhilmil jhilmil, O nirdayi preetam and Humne apna tumhen samjha.



But the decline in the quality of his music was all too evident in most of his 'sans Lata' soundtracks. 'Navrang' was perhaps the only soundtrack where he could shake off his Lata-fixation and succeeded with Asha – Mahendra Kapoor combine. Songs Aadha hai chandrama, Are jaare hat natkhat and Tu chhupi hai kahan had the same spark as before.



After 'Rootha na karo' (1970), he didn't compose for Hindi films. Last few years of his life were spent in composing music for non-film songs. On January 5, 1982 - a week before his sixty-fourth birthday he left this world.



Now only memories remain!

Dada what great article read it the other day when you posted read it again today fascinating article.