In the first part of Shankar-Jaikishan’s duets, I covered the songs in which either Mukesh or Rafi sang with a female singer. They being the predominant singers, one would think that that post would cover most of the famous duets composed by them. But SJ were hugely talented and diversified, and played a key role in introducing or boosting the career of many singers. Subir Sen, who was among the top singers of Bengali songs, is mainly their gift to Hindi film music. Mukesh’s forays into acting and film production gave an opening for Manna Dey as the voice of Raj Kapoor, and SJ created some iconic duets like Pyar hua iqaraar hua, Aa ja sanam madhu chaandni mein hum, Ye raat bhigi bhigi etc. Even though SD Burman gave Manna Dey his first big hit Upar gagan vishal, and was his uncle KC Dey’s protégé, Manna Dey credited SJ more for giving him prominence. We have also seen that SJ used Talat Mahmood’s voice in at least nine films, more than most composers, though they may not be counted among the elite group who gave the best songs for him. They have used Hemant Kumar sparingly, but they managed to compose a couple of his greatest duets.
Shankar Jaikishan
Shankar-Jaikishan’s duets (1): Mukesh/Rafi with female singers
In the last calendar year I did a series of posts on Shankar-Jaikishan’s songs: singerwise for Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh, Rafi, Manna Dey, ‘Other singers’ and two posts on their dance songs – for Lata Mangeshkar and female dance duets. Several readers rightly remarked that SJ’s series would not be complete without covering their duets. That is true for all top MDs, but more so for SJ because they dominated the scene during the heydays of ‘Bollywood’ – when our films moved away from social issues of factory workers, farmer’s indebtedness and poverty to song and dance romance; when the heroes and heroines went to Kashmir and danced around flowers. We had not become affluent, but we went to cinema to suspend our disbelief and escape for three hours in darkness to the dream world of glamorous stars gallivanting on the screen.
Shankar-Jaikishan’s multi-faceted genius with ‘other’ singers
In my series on Shankar-Jaikishan, I have covered so far their best songs for his leading singers, Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh, Rafi and Manna Dey. SJ would be easily reckoned among the top five music directors for these major singers. Besides, I have also presented his best dance songs for Lata Mangeshkar and female dance duets. One measure of a music director’s versatility is the number of diverse singers for whom he gives their career-best songs. Take the case of SD Burman – there is no prominent singer for whom he has not composed some songs which would count among his or her best. As I come towards the close of the series, it is useful to take a look how Shankar-Jaikishan fare with other singers. SJ’s oeuvre is so huge that some more posts would be needed to give a fair coverage to their music. But I have been generally closing a series on a music director in the calendar year, and I have some other mandatory posts scheduled in the remaining part of the year. Therefore, I am presenting my final tribute to SJ with their songs for ‘other’ singers which give a glimpse of their multi-faceted talent.
Some great songs of Lata Mangeshkar by Shankar-Jaikishan
Lata Mangeshkar is a ubiquitous presence on SoY. Shankar-Jaikishan, being one of the most dominant and successful music directors, have also figured very prominently on this blog. Therefore, it is difficult to believe, but it is true, that I have not done a post on the best songs of this combination as I have done for my other favourite music directors Chitragupta, C Ramchandra, Roshan, SD Burman, Anil Biswas and Naushad. To be sure, her songs by SJ, too, have figured very prominently in different contexts, such as in the reviews of the best songs of 1949 (currently underway), 1951, 1953 and 1955. In the SJ series, too, this year I have done a post on a special class of their songs – Lata Mangeshkar’s dance songs by SJ. Also, she figures in all but one song in the post on S-J’s female dance duets. But with this combination’s over 450 songs of which over 300 are solos, even if we exclude all that has been covered earlier, we would be still left with dozens of Lata Mangeshkar’s songs which would figure among her greatest.
My favourite Rafi songs by Shankar-Jaikshan
A tribute to Rafi on his 36th death anniversary (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980)
Rafi is arguably the best male playback singer of Hindi films, and Shankar-Jaikishan are, by any yardstick, among the greatest music directors. In any case they have been commercially the most successful and dominant figure over two decades (1950s-60s). Therefore, one would expect that any compilation of Rafi’s greatest songs would have a good number of SJ compositions. However, when I think of the best of Rafi, SJ do not pop up in my mind instantly. At the top in my reckoning are Naushad, Roshan, SD Burman and OP Nayyar, followed by a platter of Madan Mohan, Ravi, Chitragupta and Khayyam; thereafter, an assortment of Ghulam Mohammad, Hansraj Bahal, Husnlal-Bhagatram, and even ‘Forgotten Composers’ such as C Arjun, Lachchiram, Iqbal Qureshi etc. Surely, SJ cannot be dismissed in such a peremptory manner. To make sure that I was not missing something, I went through the entire list of Rafi songs closely.
Shankar-Jaikishan’s songs for Mukesh
A tribute on Mukesh’s 93rd birth anniversary (22 July 1923 – 27 August 1976)
Mukesh debuted as (actor-)singer in 1941 with Nirdosh, i.e. 8 years before Shankar-Jaikishan’s debut in 1949 with RK Films’ Barsaat. After some initial struggle, Mukesh got a chance to work with the music titan of the era, Anil Biswas, courtesy his relation Motilal’s recommendation. Dil jalta hai to jalne de from Pehli Nazar (1945) created a sensation making Mukesh one of the leading singers of the time. Three big films with the successor stalwart, Naushad, in 1948-49 – Mela, Anokhi Ada and Andaaz – further boosted the popularity of Mukesh. Thus, when he first sang for SJ in their debut film, he had already achieved fame for his sweet, mellifluous voice. But this association proved to be the most important factor in the later career of Mukesh.
Shankar-Jaikishan’s female dance duets
My post on Shankar-Jaikishan’s dance songs for Lata Mangeshkar generated a great deal of enthusiasm. I think the readers were with me that these songs are of exceptional quality and their orchestration and picturisation are very unique to SJ. KS Bhatiaji who has a great liking for SJ, matching mine for Naushad, suggested that their female duets and the standard male-female duets, too, have outstanding dances, and asked whether I had any plans of writing on them. On female dance duets, I am entirely with him, because a large number of songs pop up in my mind, which are absolutely melodious, and their dance rhythm is equally pleasing. The songs I refer to are not the ones in which you have to storm up the floor, but your heart and the whole being sways to joy in bliss – the feeling of Jhoome jhoome dil mera.
Manna Dey’s songs by Shankar-Jaikishan
A tribute to Manna Dey (1 May 1919 – 24 October 2013) on his 97th birth anniversary
Mumbaikar8 has rightly pointed out that Manna Dey has not yet got the importance on SoY he deserves. That in a way is also a reflection of his career. Recognised as an unparalleled singer of classical songs, he sang songs ranging from classical to romantic to comic, from devotional to patriotic to qawwalis which became synonymous with his voice. Yet his voice could not be identified with any top hero on a sustained basis, unlike Mukesh for Raj Kapoor, Rafi/Talat Mahmood for Dilip Kumar or Kishore Kumar for Dev Anand. Along the way, Rafi, with his range and fluidity, became the voice for almost every major hero, which mantle was taken by Kishore Kumar post-70s. In this marketplace, Manna Dey somehow became typecast as a niche singer. Yet, in this not a very happy scenario for him, if Manna Dey was especially beholden to any music director for doing the most for his career, it was Shankar-Jaikishan.
Shankar-Jaikishan’s dance songs for Lata Mangeshkar
(DP Rangan recently asked me who would be the music director of 2016. Obviously, he presumed there would be one, because I celebrated 2015 as the Year of Naushad (with C Ramchandra in tandem), and the year before that as the Year of Anil Biswas. Concurrently, I also covered SD Burman extensively, but that happened organically. Next in line, no one deserves this honour more than Shankar-Jaikishan, who were arguably the most successful music director(s) ever, and among the most dominant figures on the music scene for about two decades. I start my tribute to SJ with a special niche of their songs for Lata Mangeshkar which has been my great favourite, and which would make your heart dance. Thank you Mr. Rangan, for the timely reminder. – AK)
Shankar-Jaikishan have come in for some unkind comments on Songs of Yore, not so much for the decline in their music in the later years – everyone has a sunset – but for some of their astonishing Filmfare Awards. When they composed Jai bolo beimaan ki, no one would have realized they meant it literally, and would pull it over Pakeezah. They had achieved a similar feat with Pehchaan. This was no less brazen than their Dil Apna Aur Preet Paraayee victory over Mughal-e-Azam, or Suraj over Guide. Yet, even if we delete all of this, and all that is considered loud and unmusical, what is left is still enormous in scale, and of outstanding quality. Shankar-Jaikishan are by any yardstick among the greatest music directors, and arguably the most successful ever. When I think of them, I remember a very nice line from a story of Nirmal Verma – कुछ झूठ अनावश्यक होते हैं. Siddharth put it very aptly that Beimaan is not their only Pehchaan. One very important part of their identity is their songs for Lata Mangeshkar, and I start my tribute to them with a very special sub-set of their songs for her, which is very dear to me.
Best songs of 1953: Final Wrap Up 4
The Songs of Yore Award for the Best Music Director goes to?
Canasya asked in one of the posts in this series, what was the avowed objective of these posts? Jignesh mentioned that SoY Awards have surpassed the fame of Filmfare Awards (I like that 
). Filmfare is indeed a reference point, because this series started last year on some readers’ suggestions that I do a year-wise review of the best songs of pre-Filmfare years. The somewhat presumptuous title and style of writing is all for enjoyment. But music is a serious thing, and the discussions have become deeply involved, the comments both in quantity and quality have increased significantly compared to the last year. So to answer Canasya’s question – some like-minded people, most of whom know each other only in the cyberspace and who are deeply passionate about music, are together embarking on this wonderful voyage of reminiscing about and rediscovering old film music. The survey article together with Wrap Up 1 on the best male playback singer, Wrap Up 2 on the best female playback singer and Wrap Up 3 on the best duets and the present final Wrap Up together represent probably the most unique and comprehensive discussion of the entire music of a particular year. The Final Wrap Up is based on the previous posts and the readers’ comments, naturally, and seeks to focus on the best music director(s) of the year.