Music Directors

Categories by music director.

Best of Mukesh by Roshan and Madan Mohan

A tribute to Mukesh on his 42nd death anniversary (22 July 1923 – 27 August 1976)

RRoshan-Madan Mohan-Mukeshoshan and Madan Mohan were in tandem in relation to Mukesh at least in one respect: Both used him very prominently in 1950 – Roshan in Bawre Nain, which was his second movie, in which Mukesh sang a solo, Teri duniya mein dil lagta nahi, and two duets, Mujhe sach sach bata (Rajkumari) and Khayalon mein kisi ke is tarah aya nahi karte (with Geeta Roy/Dutt); Madan Mohan in Aankhen, which was his debut movie, in which Mukesh sang a solo, Preet laga ke maine ye phal paya and a duet, Humse nain milana B.A. pass kar ke (with Shamshad Begum). The songs of Bawre Nain went on to become all-time great classics; those of Aankhen, too, are quite popular till this day. With such beginning, one would have expected them to use Mukesh consistently. But for inexplicable reasons, their trajectory diverged completely – while Roshan remained steady with Mukesh, giving him a large number of everlasting songs, Madan Mohan almost blocked him out of his radar screen, bringing him back in fits and starts after a gap of several years.

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The Master of Qawwali Roshan and some hidden qawwalis of Madan Mohan

Roshan & Madan MohanWhile Roshan and Madan Mohan generally proceeded in tandem, one or the other created a special niche for himself in some genre. Roshan became known as the undisputed master of qawwalis, whereas Madan Mohan became a byword for ghazals. The essential difference in the two forms is not one of content, but of singing style. Therefore, it would have been surprising if Madan Mohan had not composed any qawwalis. And a search does lead to some nice qawwalis by him. Of course, Roshan’s several qawwalis have achieved everlasting fame.

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Rafi’s best songs by Madan Mohan

A tribute to Rafi on his 38th death anniversary (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980)

Rafi-Madan MohanSix years ago to this day, I wrote on the best songs of Rafi by Roshan. Roshan for me was among the big four, with Naushad, SD Burman and OP Nayyar, who gave the best songs for Rafi. Later, I added a fifth seat for Shankar-Jaikshan at the high table. I also mentioned that next in line would be, what we may call, the middle group consisting of Chitragupta, Ravi and Madan Mohan and, thereafter, several others, including some unknown, forgotten composers who gave some unforgettable songs for Rafi. We have already discussed some in the series on Forgotten Composers, such as C Arjun’s Paas baitho tabiyat bahal jayegi, or Lachchiram’s Tu shokh kali main mast pawan and Sab jawan sab haseen. Thanks to DP Rangan doing the tandem post on Roshan-Madan Mohan, it is a coincidence that I am writing on Madan Mohan-Rafi combination after I have covered the Big Five.

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Sajjad Hussain, Bollywood’s Loss

Guest article by DP Rangan to pay tribute to Sajjad Hussain on his 23rd death anniversary (15 June 1917 – 21 July 1995)

(Sajjad Hussain has been acknowledged as an undisputed genius by all the stalwarts of film music. His name also became a byword for his short temper and his spats with his colleagues. This came in the way of a ‘successful’ career. But whatever he composed – about a hundred songs in 14 films – has achieved everlasting fame. DP Rangan has done some very in-depth research to come up with a worthy tribute to a composer, who was ‘difficult’ in more ways than one. Thank you Mr Rangan. – AK)

Sajjad HussainThe title was chosen to emphasize what invaluable contributions of film music of a genius was lost to film goers by the negative attitude of the industry towards a music director who refused to compromise on his principles and to kowtow to the directives of bigwigs in the industry and insisted his own ideas of music composition should prevail.

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Roshan & Madan Mohan: Twin Towers of Rhapsody

Guest article by DP Rangan, with annotation by Subodh Agrawal, as a joint tribute to Roshan on his 101st birth anniversary (14 July 1917 – 16 November 1967) and to Madan Mohan on his 43rd death anniversary (25 June 1924 – 14 July 1975)

(Subodh Agrawal once said that we often think of music directors in tandem: RC Boral & Pankaj Mullick; Naushad & C Ramchandra; Shankar-Jaikishan & OP Nayyar; Khayyam & Jaidev and so on. They had either similar musical sensibilities, or they were the dominant players at some point of time, or they had something else in common. Roshan & Madan Mohan stand out in tandem in many ways: Punjab origin; their classical-based, melodious music far from the ‘Punjab School’; both acclaimed for high quality of their music, but commercial success not commensurate with their quality. One earned fame as the King of Qawwalis; the other, King of Ghazals. After the special series on the stalwarts Anil Biswas, SD Burman, Naushad, C Ramchandra, Shankar-Jaikishan and OP Nayyar, I had planned to write on Roshan-MM in tandem, when DP Rangan wrote to me that he wanted to do a post on Madan Mohan. I passed on my idea of the tandem post with focus on their classical-based songs. That brought in Subodh to a subject that belonged to him in the first place. It is befitting that this post is being written by two guest writers in tandem: One highly motivated to take up any challenge; and the other, learned in classical music with the ability to explain it in a fluent style. Thanks a lot Mr Rangan and Subodh for this excellent post as a joint tribute to the two highly respected music directors. – AK)

Roshan & Madan MohanWhile woolgathering I often relapse into old memories reliving the moments when songs used to blare from transistors, a technology gift from Japan, making it possible to carry music with us on the go. I was particularly mesmerized by songs based on classical music, Hindustani and Carnatic. In the initial years after birth of talkies circa 1931, music directors used to rely on classical music for setting tunes in films and branched into other genres as ghazal, light songs, qawwali etc. in subsequent years. Many of Saigal’s film songs were microcosms of classic music, like Baalam aaye (Devdas), Babul mora (Street Singer), Hat gayi lo kaari ghata (Lagan). The contemporary situation in Kollywood was practically the same. Classical music-inspired film music pieces will hold sway over years and grow in value over ages as there will be no dearth of music lovers to lap it up.

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Greatness in the shadow of the giants: Bulo C Rani

A tribute to Bulo C Rani on his 25th death anniversary (6 May 1920 – 24 May 1993)

Bulo C RaniMy first reaction to Bulo C Rani when I heard Humein to loot liya mil ke husnwaalon ne was, how a lady could create such a masculine qawwali. The next marker by which I recognised Bulo C Rani was Ghunghat ke pat khol re tohe piya piya milenge and other delicate bhajans from Jogan (1950), sung so plaintively by Geeta Roy (Dutt). These were more like being composed by a lady with a sonorous name like Bulo C Rani, who could empathise with a character like Meerabai. Gradually, I became aware of the tremendous variety in singers and type of songs composed by this music director. It was much later that I came to know that he was a Sindhi gentleman by the name Bulo Chandiram Ramchandani.

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Best songs of 1948: Final Wrap Up 4

And the Songs of Yore Award for the Best Music Director goes to?

Naushad_C Ramchandra_Ghulam Haider_Husnlal-BhagatramI start with wishing the readers  Merry Christmas. After the Overview post and the three category-wise wrap ups – Wrap Up 1 for the best male solos, Wrap Up 2 for the best female solos, and Wrap Up 3 for the best duets – we now have a fairly good idea of who the dominant music directors were. Naushad with all his songs in Anokhi Ada and Mela – totalling about two dozen – being super hits, is undoubtedly top of the pack. Anil Biswas in Anokha Pyar, Gajre and Veena; C Ramchandra in Nadiya Ke Paar and Khidki; Husnlal-Bhagatram in Pyar Ki Jeet; Ghulam Haider in Shaheed; Ram Ganguly in Aag; and Khemchand Prakash in Ziddi gave some everlasting songs. The underrated genius, Ghulam Mohammad never fails to create outstanding songs, and he did so in Grihasthi and Pugree. There were others, too, whose one or two songs featured in the best lists.

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OP Nayyar unlike OP Nayyar

Guest article by Ravindra Kelkar

(OP Nayyar lived life king size. Even when he was in financial difficulty in his later years, he was immaculately dressed and had a regal bearing; there was no dent in his famous pride – he refused the Lata Mangeshkar Award for music, which carried a substantial cash award for those days, when he was in need; he never cared for winning friends and impressing people. His music was as much in-your-face – the infectious rhythm and joy was recognizable from miles. It was impossible for such a person to be unlike him.

Ravindra Kelkar started his series on OP Nayyar with an overview of three phases of his career. After covering his peerless combination with Geeta Dutt, his influence on other music directors, and his duets in two parts, he brings the curtain down on the OPN series with his sixth and the last article – befittingly with his unique songs which are very different from his characteristic style.

This theme was first suggested to me by a reader Mukund Gadgil a few years ago, who also sent me a draft article. I made some suggestions with regard to the write-up and the song selection to fit with the general style of SoY, but I did not get any response from him. I tried a couple of times later to establish contact with him, but didn’t succeed. When Mr Kelkar came on board to write the series, I suggested the theme to him. The write-up is entirely his. I suggested some songs which fitted the theme according to me, and I am happy to note that most of those songs have been included. I thank Mr Kelkar for his highly acclaimed series, and this excellent concluding article. I also take this opportunity to thank Mr Gadgil for the theme idea. This may be the last on OP Nayyar, but I trust this is not the last of Mr Kelkar. Hopefully, we will have more from him on other themes. – AK)

OP NayyarThis is the last post on OP (did I hear a collective sigh of relief?) and this interesting theme was suggested by AK. Before, we get into it, let us take a summarized look on OP’s career highlights.

 

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Duets of OP Nayyar: Part 2

Guest article by Ravindra Kelkar

(Of the 223 total duets composed by OP Nayyar, the most conspicuous are male-female duets in which the male voice is Rafi and the female voice, either Geeta Dutt or Shamshad Begum or Asha Bhosle. These are 119 in number, and were the subject matter of Ravindra Kelkar’s last post on OP Nayyar’s duets. That leaves 104 duets, including 60 ‘other’ MF duets – Rafi with other female singers, and male singer other than Rafi – and 44 duets of mixed type, i.e. male-male, female-female or more than two singers. Thus, in spite of the smaller number, these 104 duets present immense variety. With this second part of the two-part post on OP Nayyar’s duets, Mr Kelkar completes the comprehensive review of OP Nayyar’s duets. Thank you, Mr Kelkar for your painstaking effort. – AK)

OP NayyarIn part 1 we listened to Rafi-Geeta Dutt, Rafi-Shamshad Begum and Rafi-Asha Bhosle duets. Now let us listen to some other combinations.

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Duets of OP Nayyar: Part 1

Guest article by Ravindra Kelkar

(SoY readers would recall that Ravindra Kelkar has been making valuable contributions on OP Nayyar through his guest articles and, thus, filling up a gap in SoY. He has contributed three articles so far: ‘Three distinct phases of OP Nayyar’; OP Nayyar-Geeta Dutt: A peerless combination’; and OP Nayyar’s influence on other music directors. As we inch towards the conclusion of the series, Mr Kelkar covers OP Nayyar’s duets in two parts. The first part is on his most conspicuous duets in which Rafi is the male voice, combining with his three most important female singers – Geeta Dutt, Shamshad Begum and Asha Bhosle, in chronological order.

Mr Kelkar observes OPN was among the four best music directors in composing duets. His choice of musical instruments, his rhythm and special features like either the male or the female singer entering late in the song, giving it an effect of solo, make OPN unique. The romanticism in his duets was a reflection of his fascination with women, observes Mr Kelkar. Thank you Mr Kelkar for another excellent piece. – AK)

OP NayyarI consider C Ramachandra, SD Burman, Shankar Jaikishan and OP Nayyar as the four best music directors (MDs) in composing duets. Of course, all other MDs have composed outstanding duets, but the sheer numbers and variety make these four MDs stand apart.

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