Music Directors

Categories by music director.

Hemant Kumar’s duets with ‘other’ singers

A tribute to Hemant Kumar on his 99th birth anniversary (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989)

Hemant Kuma-Asha Bhosle-Geeta Dutt

I had written on the best duets of Hemant Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar in my first year of blogging. Then I had said: “Hemant Kumar in his voice brought the beauty of Bengal and melody of Rabindra Sangeet. When he joined with Lata Mangeshkar the effect was magical. Easily the best duets of Hindi films are of Hemant-Lata”. I further described these duets as the ultimate in melody. Now Songs of Yore has entered the tenth year, and Hemant Kumar would have entered his centenary year today. All this while I have been struck by the beauty of his fascinating duets with ‘other’ singers like Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle, and was looking for some opportunity to write a post on them. While Lata Mangeshkar personified melody and sweetness with Hemant Kumar, the ‘other’ singers brought their own unique verve and joy, and combining with his deep melodious voice created a different kind of charming effect.

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The silent giant-killer and the man of many-splendoured talents: Ravi

A tribute to the music director Ravi on his 7th death anniversary (3 March 1926-7 March 2012)

Ravi

How do you describe Ravi winning the Filmfare Award for the Best Music Director for the film Gharana (1961)? This was the year in which the giants of Hindi film music, Naushad (Ganga Jamuna) and Shankar-Jaikishan (Aas Ka Panchhi, Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai, Junglee and Sasural) were at the peak of their career. The year also had superlative scores by C Ramchandra (Stree), Ghulam Mohammad (Shama), Jaidev (Hum Dono), Khayyam (Shola Aur Shabnam) and Salil Chowdhury (Chardiwari, Kabuliwala, Maya and Mem Didi). A silent giant-killer! Though I don’t consider this as a marker of Ravi’s talent. Nor even his second Filmfare Award for Khandan (1965), when compared with SD Burman’s Guide, Roshan’s Bedaagh, Bheegi Raat and Nai Umar Ki Nai Fasal, Khayyam’s Mohabbat Isko Kahte Hain, Kalyanji-Anandji’s Himalay Ki God Mein, Jauhar Mehmood in Goa, Purnima and Saheli, and OP Nayyar’s Mere Sanam. Not to mention Shankar-Jaikishan’s hit-factory with Arzoo, Gumnam and Jaanwar. His own Waqt (1965) had far superior music in the year. Ravi was a many-splendoured genius, not because of these two Filmfare Awards, but despite them, composing several iconic songs for different situations, singers, moods and genres. After my series on the greats like Anil Biswas, Naushad, SD Burman, C Ramchandra, Shankar-Jaikishan, OP Nayyar, Roshan and Madan Mohan, if I had asked you who comes next, Ravi’s name would pop up at the top.

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Greatness in the shadow of the giants: Pandit Shyam Sundar

Shyam SundarAt the historical concert on the occasion of Noorjehan’s return to Bombay after 35 years, in 1982, Saajan ki galiyan chood chale was Lata Mangeshkar’s reply to her Didi’s Aawaaz de kahan hain. It was difficult to say which song excelled the other. No list of the best songs of Lata Mangeshkar is complete without Saajan ki galiyan chhod chale (Bazaar, 1949) and Baharein phir bhi ayengi magar hum tum juda honge (Lahore,1949), both composed by Shyam Sundar. These songs were integral to creating Lata Mangeshkar Tsunami, along with the songs from Barsaat (Shankar-Jaikishan), Andaaz, Dulari (Naushad), Patanga (C Ramchandra), Ek Thi Ladki (Vinod), Laadli (Anil Biswas), Badi Bahan (Husnlal-Bhagatram) and Mahal (Khemchand Prakash), in 1949.

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Remembering my father and the legend Madan Mohan

Guest article by Sangeeta Gupta, daughter of Madan Mohan, wishing Merry Christmas to the readers

(Sangeeta Gupta discovered ‘Songs of Yore’ like any other person who stumbles upon this blog while searching for something relating to old film music, and started commenting like any other reader, without wearing her identity on her sleeve. Arvinder Sharma informed me that she is the daughter of Madan Mohan. Since SoY was carrying a tandem series on Roshan-Madan Mohan, I approached her for writing a guest article on her father, as a finale to the series, with his songs for ‘other’ singers. As unassuming as she is on the blog, she accepted my request without any fuss or airs, even though she was not in good health.

Sangeetaji is the eldest among the three siblings, her two younger brothers being Sanjeev and Sameer Kohli. She is a homemaker, she has been away from Bombay for 36 years (she lives in Jaipur). She is a passionate listener of the music of all composers, especially semi-classical songs and ghazals. I thank Sangeetaji for concluding the tandem series on Roshan-Madan Mohan, with her personal reminiscences of Madan Mohan. Since I have covered major singers separately, she very kindly agreed to mention songs by ‘other’ singers. Thank You, Sangeetaji. – AK)

Madan MohanI have been an admirer of ‘Songs of Yore’ ever since I discovered it. The blog shows respect to all the artistes, and does not indulge in bringing down one to bring up another. This is the quality which made me read it regularly, especially whenever I was looking for some reference link to a song or topic. My heartfelt congratulations to AKji and wish that he continue with his efforts and endeavours. It is my pleasure to write for this blog about my father, who was a legend in his lifetime.

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Rafi’s best duets by Madan Mohan

Madan Mohan-RafiThe best songs of Rafi for any music director would include a number of duets. So it is for Madan Mohan, despite the fact that his solos for Rafi are significantly more than the duets. That is an exception to the general trend of duets being far more in number than male solos. Since we are doing a tandem series on Roshan and Madan Mohan, we have seen in the case of Roshan that his duets for Rafi are far more than his solos. In the case of Madan Mohan-Rafi, out of a total of 168 songs, solos are more than 90, and duets are about 75. But the sheer number of duets makes a post on this necessary to enjoy the full charm of their association.

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Roshan’s songs for ‘other’ singers

A tribute to Roshan on his 51st death anniversary (14 July 1917-16 November 1967)

RoshanDP Rangan started a tandem series on Madan Mohan-Roshan on July 14 which, in a unique coincidence, happened to be the birth anniversary of one, and the death anniversary of the other. I have since written a number of posts on their association with their main singers Rafi, Mukesh, Talat Mahmood, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, and their qawwalis. As the year end approaches, it is time to pay a final tribute to Roshan on his 51st death anniversary with his songs for ‘other’ singers. Later, I plan to end the year with a similar tribute to Madan Mohan with his ‘other singers’.

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Rafi’s duets by Roshan

Rafi with RoshanMy post on Rafi’s solos by Roshan appeared more than six years ago, several years before I started the series on the stalwart music directors. And the reason was simple: Roshan ranked among the top in my reckoning for Rafi songs, along with Naushad, SD Burman and OP Nayyar. Duets have no less importance in creating this imprint on my mind. It just so happened that I am coming back to the duets of this combination after six years when DP Rangan set off a tandem series on Roshan and Madan Mohan.

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Madan Mohan’s tuning with Lata Mangeshkar

Wishing Lata Mangeshkar a very happy 89th birthday (b. 28 September 1929)

Madan Mohan-Lata MangeshkarAmong all the music director-singer combinations Madan Mohan-Lata Mangeshkar ranks among the very top. This article by Anirudh Bhattacharjee and Srijit Mukherji quotes OP Nayyar as having once said, “It is difficult to figure out whether Madan Mohan was made for Lata Mangeshkar or vice versa.” We have all heard of Naushad’s ultimate tribute to Madan Mohan that he was willing to offer his entire work for two ghazals of Anpadh (Aapki nazron ne samjha; Hai isi mein pyar ki aabroo). Even allowing for Naushad’s Lakhanavi nafasat, and the fact that he said it in his obituary, it is undisputed that he was held in very high esteem for the quality of his music by his peers and music maestros, besides the listeners. It is said that Begum Akhtar was so impressed by the tune of Kadar jaane na (Bhai Bhai) that she called him once, when she was feeling low, and asked him to sing it for fifteen minutes on telephone. We may recall that Madan Mohan was himself a very good singer and he was very close to Begum Akhtar from his AIR days.

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King of Ghazal Talat Mahmood with Ghazal Maestros Madan Mohan and Roshan

Roshan-Madan Mohan-Talat MahmoodDP Rangan set-off a tandem series on Roshan-Madan Mohan with their classical-based songs. I have since written on their songs for Rafi (Madan Mohan’s; Roshan-Rafi covered earlier); Qawwalis; Mukesh; and Asha Bhosle. Several readers requested that I write on their ghazals. Since I am covering them generally by singers, ghazal would have been an overlapping category. Fortunately, Talat Mahmood, widely regarded as a legend in ghazal singing, was an important singer for both Madan Mohan and Roshan, and he is yet to be covered. Therefore, a tandem post also gives us an opportunity to look at their prowess for ghazal composition for this singer gifted with a silky-smooth voice. I would be flexible in the definition of the genre, and would also include songs that may not be strictly ghazal as per the rules of structure and meter.

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Roshan aur Madan Mohan ki Asha

Greeting Asha Bhosle on her 85th birthday (b. 8 September 1933) with her best songs by Roshan and Madan Mohan

Roshan-Madan Mohan-Asha BhosleIn Lata Mangeshkar era, music directors could be divided into two groups: Those who were like their wings chopped-off without her; and those who equally wanted her, but could survive even without her. (OP Nayyar was in a class of his own.) The first group had some of the greatest names, such as Naushad, C Ramchandra and Shankar-Jaikishan. I have earlier said they probably used Asha Bhosle ‘reluctantly’. But another Master, SD Burman, could not only survive a long hiatus with Lata Mangeshkar, but also produce some of the best music with Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt. Roshan and Madan Mohan were among the privileged few who, as per the popular literature, didn’t ever face the ire of the Empress. Though their Lata Mangeshkar songs far outweigh Asha Bhosle’s in quality and stature, and possibly in numbers, they have used Asha Bhosle very prominently to create some of her and their best songs. DP Rangan has set off a series on these two great composers in tandem. We can add another commonality between them: their willing and voluntary use of Asha Bhosle.

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