An Evening with Melody Queen Mubarak Begum by Rafi Lovers Circle, Kolkata

Srigopal Shroty's tribute to Shailendra, Mohd Rafi & Mukesh

TODAY is Shailendra’s birthday, 30th august….it is coincidence when there are two friends, and something similar happens between them, which breaks the hearts…..Jaikishan and Shailendra….Jaikishan composed in 1971 ”maut aani hai aayegi ek din, jaan jaani hai jayegi ek din, aisi baaton se kya ghabarana, yehan kal kya ho kisne jana” and Shailendra wrote 5 years later ‘’sajan re jhooth mat balo, khuda ke paas jaana hai, na hathi hai na ghoda hai, vahan paidal hi jana hai”…..and see the irony, both went untimely, one after composing the song and another after writing the song….
Shailendra’s story is also like his many colleagues–from rag to riches….here comes the word ”genius” and it was not an easy go….it was like all sweating in rains…..then emerged the words from his pen ”raaten dason dishaon se kahengi apni kahaniya, geet hamare pyar ke dohrayengi jawaniyan”…yes when this came on the radio some 40 years back and now on tv after 53 years of its creation, the feet stops automatically and eyes on tv screen to see that grandeur created by his mentor Raj Kapoor and his colleagues Shankar Jaikishan with violins echoing the RIMJHIM of rains….then the mind goes to Shailendra to congratulate him on this immortal wordings ….Oh, but is he there? can we say ”happy birthday to you”? the question mark is the DESTINY.
Shailendra was poet by heart, who cud write ”dil pe marne wale marenge bhikhari, sach hai duniya walon ke ham hain ANARI”….He did not write these lines for Raj Kapoor, but for himself, otherwise he would not have ventured to produce ”teesari kasam”, despite persuation by Raj sahab and others who knew soft corner of his heart and his naive nature against producing a film, to avoid the project or let others take the production charge, secondly the name of the story by Renuji was coincidentally again heart-breaking ”MAARE GAYE GULFAM”…..nay, destiny wanted him near Jaikishan, in whose Gobind Mahal, he used to go daily at 10 am with cigarette in one hand….this was his routine….remember again his philosophy on the end of life in his own songs ”naiya teri majhdhar, hoshiyar”…”yaa gardish mein bhi aasman ka taara hoon”..”khamoshi ka yeh afsana reh jayega baad mere”,…… ”ke marke bhi kisikoyaad aayenge, kisi ke aansuon me muskerayenge”…….”der na karna kahin ye aas toot jaaye, saans choot haye”…”.ai mere dil kahin aur chal, gham ki duniya se dil bhar gaya, dhoondh le ab koi ghar naya”…..”tum se to patanga achchha hai jo hanste hue jal jata hai, voh pyar mein mit to jata hai per naam amar kar jaata hai”…..”bahut diya dene wale ne tujhko, aanchal hi na samaye to kya keejei”…..”jeena yehan marna yehan, iske siva jaana kahan”…..and ” ham to jaate apne gaon, sabko ram ram ram, apni ram ram ram…..”( A tribute with countless more songs from his pen)………

As versatile were S-J, so was the great singer Mohd Rafi, in hindi film music….he wud adapt to any type of song, serious, lori, light or other boisterous songs to be filmed on different heroes….therefore the image remains in mind of the hero who lip-synchronised his voice….he was God gifted singer and Shankar Jaikishan fully utilised his potential to the extent, that for them it was Rafi all around, besides Mukesh and Mannada.
I remember his lori in ‘beti bete’, ”aaj kak mein dhal gaya”, which he sang in so soft a voice that it was difficult for any singer to copy him….he excels Lata in voice, as she also sang the same lori in that film….how beautiful that time was when a song heavenly made was repeated in the male or female voice and that were Rafi and Lata. Rafi saab made many heroes immortal and when that song comes on radio, the hero’s image comes to mind….may be they are raj kapoor, dilip kumar, dev anand, rajendra kumar, bharat bhushan, pradeep kumar, mehmood, shammi kapoor, rajesh khanna, dharmendra, amitabh bachhan, rishi kapoor and many more. His tuning with S-J was great as recalls Shammi Kapoor….’’so distinct was his style when he sang for me….there were a number of songs which were not sung for me but i liked them very much…in fact i wud have loved to sing them! one of these is TERI PYARI PYARI SURAT KO. When Jaikishan composed the song, I said, ’stupid! u are giving that song to rajendra kumar to sing! next he is to sing it to B Saroja Devi! my god!”…”Then there was ‘baharon phool barsao mera mehboob aaya hai’. I wud say, my god, what are you doing, these are my songs! And there were other songs that were not made for me but came to me finally. For the film Suraj, there was a duet. Rafi sahab sang it, but Rajendra Kumar said, ‘nahin, it doesn’t go with this picture, I don’t like it’. Jaikishan was sitting at my place and we were having a drink. Jai said to me, ‘for the first time in my life, a song of mine was rejected’, ‘i said i would like to hear it’. It was lying in his car. he brought the song and i heard it and said ‘it’s mine! i have taken over’ I put it in Brahmchari. the song was -aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche har zabaan par- that was the song i took from Suraj. it was a superhit song! and Rafi sahab hadn’t sung that for me.” Generally Shammi Kapoor was present at the recording of his songs by Rafi Sahab, but when he was busy in shooting, he wud phone to Jaikishan to request Rafi sahab to sing the song ”like this…and like that” and when he heard it later, it was hundred percent of his imagination that Rafi sahab turned it to his style…

The voice that has no end…still when we hear Mukesh, the golden era comes alive…even there are thousands of youngsters fans of his voice.
We have not found a replacment for him..The imitators are many. But the sound of music and magic made by the original Mukesh endures as never before. HIS SONGS SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES. There was something languorously lingering about Mukesh’s voice. Humulity was his hallmark…It left him with an open ear to all composers, may be Shankar Jaikishan, Anil Biswas or Kalyanji Anandji. He cud adjust to all.
THIS IS MY HUMBLE REMEMBRANCE ON HIS BIRTHDAY i.e.22 JULY.MUKESH DETRACTORS WERE MANY. THAT too many top composers like C Ramchandra did not tune with him at all. But then Anil Biswas was C Ramchandra’s mentor and Anil B iswas presented Mukesh at his sonorous best, starting with Saigal-style ”Dil jalta hai to jalne de”(in pehli nazar). What a surpassingly resonant experience it was to hear Mukesh in ”tal mile nadi ke jal mein” (anokhi raat-Roshan).
Not for nothing did Raj Kapoor pick MUKESH up as the voice reflecting his Atma. Take Raj K apoor playing DIWANA (opposite saira banu). Take in that movie, Jaikishan’s ”Ai sanam jisne tujhe chand si surat di hai” and Shankar’s ”ham to jaate apne gaon, sabko raam raam raam”. The two compositions belong to the two antithetic genres – to two composers diametrically different in their tuning outlook even in the face of going by the label of the inseparable Shankar-Jaikishan. Yet Mukesh’s approach was exactly as indicated by Shankar for ”ham to jaate apne gaon”, exactly as required by Jaikishan for ”Ai sanam jisne tujhe”…….to continue

TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN-47-MUKESH
Posted by: gopalshroti on: July 20, 2009
In: shankar jaikishan's contribution to hindi film music

When the Filmfare Best Playback Singer Award was first introduced in 1958, both male and female singers had to compete for the same award. The competition was thus doubly keen in the years 1958 and 1959. Lata won the award in 1958 for ‘Aaja re perdesi’-Madhumati-Salil Chaudhary number. Next year in 1959, the Award went to Mukesh, who put all rival voices, male and female in the shade with the runaway hit by Shankar Jaikishan, starring Raj Kapoor……?….song ‘Sab kuchh seekha hamne na seekhi hoshiari’ film Anari.
-There was a spell during which Lata did not sing for Shankar. Yet Mukesh managed to persuade Lata to sing for Shankar in ‘Sanyasi’. This is inspite of the fact that his duets with Lata in the film offerred him little scope as a singer. Pl recall the Lata-Mukesh ‘SANYASI’ duet with which Lata began singing for Shankar again?…..”Sun baal brahmchari main hoon kanya kunwari’.
-A Mukesh number composed by Shankar came to be an all time classic which was filmed on Dilip Kumar. But Dilip wanted Talat Myhmood to sing it, while Shankar wanted Mukesh, since he has composed the tune for his voice. At the toss of a coin it was decided Mukesh wud sing the song……song and the film?….’ye mera deewanapan hai ya muhabbat ka suroor’-Yahudi.
-Mukesh has gone on record as saying that most of the themes songs of the Shankar Jaikishan duo were composed by Shankar. Yet there were three theme songs filmed on Raj Kapoor and sung by Mukesh that were composed by Jaikishan….songs and films? …’Awara Hoon’(Awara), ‘Main aashiq hoon baharon ka’ (Aashiq), ‘Mere man ki ganga’ (Sangam)…….

Shankar Jaikishan – The most versatile Musical Giant of the Last Century

This article is written by Mr. Souvik Chatterji, Master of Law, Warwick University, UK, Master of Law Case, Western Reserve University, USA.

Shankar Jaikishan are probably the most versatile music –duos that hailed the music of Bollywood during the Golden Age of Indian Cinema, the 40s, 50s and 60s. The golden era of Indian film music can be associated with the musical giants of different capabilities and specialisations. The Legends include Roshan- the king of melody, Madanmohan- the shahenzah of ghazals, Naushad- the Genius of Hindustani classical ragas with a blend of Lucknow Gharana, Salil Chowdhury –the Master of Westernised chorus with Eastern folk and poetic excellence, O. P. Nayyar – the Master of Westernised Tunes with Eastern flavour, Jaidev – the Legend of Urbanised Folk and Rural tunes, and many other Classical composers who have become immortal with their everlasting tunes. 1 Shankar Jaikishan emerged in that arena with a range of tunes and compositions which could not be categorised under a single head. There were folk songs like “chalat Musafir” sung by Manna dey in “Teesri Kasam”( 1966) to ghazals like “Chalke Teri Aankhose sharab aur ziada” sung by Mohammad Rafi in “Aarzoo”(1965). There were rock and roll compositions like “aajkal tere mere pyarke charche har zabanpar” in Brahmchari(1967) to pure classical composition like “Sur na saje kya gayun mai” in “Basant Bahar”(1957).
They had composed music in almost 200 films in a tenure of around 22 years. So great was the impact of their creative genius that it had a lasting impact on the music of the Hindi films. Shankar-Jaikishan understood the taste of the masses, were able to cater to them, as well as moulded their tastes. No wonder then that during their tenure as music directors, they were exceedingly popular and 75 per cent of the films for which their scores were everlasting hits - many have celebrated silver jubilees.
They were probably the only musical pair, who have given music to all the leading giants who had glorified the silver screen during the 1940, 1950s, and 1960s. They have given music to Dilip Kumar in Yahudi, 1958, Rajender Kumar in Suraj, 1966, Bharat Bhushan in Basant Bahar, 1957, Balraj Sahani in Seema, 1956, Pradeep Kumar in Raat Aur Din, 1966, Dev Anand in Asli Nakli, 1961, Manoj Kumar in Hariyali Aur Raasta, 1962, Shammi Kapoor in Professor, 1962, Shashi Kapoor in Kanyadan, 1969, Biswajeet in April Fool,1964, Joy Mukherjee in Love in Tokyo, 1965, Dharmender in Pyar hi Pyar, 1968, Jeetender in Mere Huzur, 1967, RajKumar in Lal Patthar, 1971.
The team of Shankar Jaikishan consisted of Shankarsingh Raghuwanshi and Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal. Shankar (October 15, 1922 - 1987) was born in Punjab and trained under the famous Husnlal Bhagatram. He later settled down in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. Jaikishan (1929 - 1971) hails from Panchal, Gujarat, India. Before the duo met, Jaikishan worked as a carpenter. Their career started as music directors for Raj Kapoor’s 1949 film Barsaat. Songs like “Jiya beqaraar hai” and “Barsaat mein humse mile tum” became a rage. Barsaat was also the starting point of the pair’s long and successful association with the R.K.Banner. Hit music in films like Aah and Awaara followed in the early 1950s. The song “Ghar aaya mera pardesi” went on to become a benchmark for dream-sequence songs. Their music for most R.K.films was considered a huge success, but two films stand out, Shree 420 and Sangam. The songs “Pyaar hua ikraar hua” and “Ramaiyyaa vasta vaiyya” from Shree 420 and “Dost dost na raha” and “Har dil jo pyaar karega” from Sangam were popular favorites.
They were honored with the maximum number (nine) of Filmfare awards in the Indian film industry. In 1968, Shankar Jaikishan released an album, “Raga Jazz Style : Shankar Jaikishan with Rais Khan.” Shankar Jaikishan made a great impact on film music from the start. Their tunes range from pure classical Indian themes to more westernised tunes. They had a distinct style, which was adaptable to different stars and films. In the West, they are best known for the song “Jaan Pechan Ho“, which originally appeared in the 1965 film Gumnaam. The musical number was replayed in the American film Ghost World and helped to catapult the popularity of Indian film music in America.
However, according to Raj Kapoor, the pair’s most notable score came in the film “Mera Naam Joker” in 1970 which has landmark songs like “Jaane kahan gaye woh din“, “Jeena yahan marna yahan“, and “Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo“. Arguably, the background musical scores of “Sangam” and “Mera Naam Joker” are considered to be among the best ever in the history of Hindi film music. Of the two, Shankar’s speciality was dance-based compositions, whereas Jaikishan’s forte was the background musical score. Both of them preferred Raaga Bhairavi over other strains of classical music. Shankar Jaikishan created few classical oriented tunes fit for the Golden voice of Mohammad Rafi. In the film “ Lal patthar”(1971), Shankar Jaikishan had composed for Rafi “unke khayal aye to ate chaale gaye” in raag gara. There the nostalgic mood of badshah was presented by Rafi. Other quality creations of Shankar Jaikishan included “ Aji ruth kar ab kahan jaiyega” in raag desh in Aarzoo(1966) starring Rajenderkumar, “ Khudabhi asma se jab zamin par dekhta hoga” in the film ‘Dharti,' “mujhko apne gale lagalo ai mere humrahi” ( Humrahi, 1962) “surahidar gardan koel si hai awaz” in the film “ Aman”. The lyrics were written by Hasrat Jaipuri.
One of the other shades of the character of the Legendary duo was that they had encouraged a number of singers both male and female, at an era when the other Music Directors preferred only Rafi and Lata. They have composed songs for Subir Sen, “ Dil mera ek aas ka panchi” in the film Aas ka panchi,1960, Suman Kalyanpur , “Dil ek mandir hai,” in the film Dil Ek Mandir,1963, Manna Dey, “Yeh Raat Bheegi Bheegi” in the film Chori Chori,1956, Asha Bhosle, “Mur Murke na dekh Mur Mur ke” in the film Shri 420,1955, Sharda, “Titli Uri” in the film Suraj,1966, Mukesh, “Yeh mera diwanapan hai” in the film Yahudi,1958, Talat Mehmood, “Koi nahi mera is duniya mai” in the film Daag, 1955, Kishore Kumar, “Zindagi ek safar hai suhana” in the film Andaz, 1971. The songs were complimented with brilliant orchestration which had added lights to the composition of the giant.
The other aspect of their creation include blending the Indian flavour with the foreign tunes wherever the films were picturised. Best examples can be the song “Sayonara sayonara” in the film “Love in Tokyo”, 1965, had Japanese orchestration, the other being “Raat ke humsafar” in the film “An Evening Paris”,1967, had French flavour. Besides their use of few instruments showed the class of their own, Accordion in “Sub kuch sikha Humne na siki hoshiari” in the film Anari,1959, Saxophone in “Ai sanam jis ne tujhe chand sa surat di hai” in the film Diwana, 1967, Synthesized Harmonium played by V. Balsara in “Awara Hoon” in the film Awara, 1951.5
One of the reasons why Shankar Jaikishan did not get the acknowledgment of providing immortal tunes in that era is because it could not be identified as which song is composed by Shankar and which song is composed by Jaikishan. Otherwise Naushad was awarded with Dada Saheb Phalke for his brilliant contribution to Indian music, Majrooh Sultanpuri also received the same award in the lyricist category, Shankar- Jaikishan was deprived of that honour. The other reason may be that they had worked with Raj Kapoor for the longest period and most of the credit of the unforgettable tunes were taken away by Raj Kapoor himself. An archive should be created for the rich and classical creations of Shankar Jaikishan where the works can be preserved for future generations to take inspiration from.

My father Chitta Ranjan Chatterji, Ex chief Public Prosecutor, Bankshall Court,( CMM Court), Kolkata had solved a case relating to Music Rackett in HMV in the early 1980s. The Zonal manager of HMV, Mr. SriDaure gave him a present of HMV discs of film “diwana-composed by Shankar Jaikishan” and Disc of “ Pakiza- composed by Ghulam mohammad”. Mr. Sri Daure was involved with numerous immortal recordings of HMV and he mentioned that there was a song in Diwana, titled “ tumhare bhi jai jai, humare bhi jai jai, na tum hare, na hum hare”. The song was picturised with Raj kapoor staying in the railway station and Saira Banu travelling in a train. The song beat that was composed by Shankar-Jaikishan synchronised the actual sound of the movement of the train. It was only possible from Shankar-Jaikishan. It was reported in AnandaBazar Patrika, the Bengali Newspaper under the column of Ashis Ghosh.

COURTESY : http://www.mohdrafi.com/meri-awaaz-suno/shankar-jaikishan-most-versatile-music-giant.html

मैं श्री सौविक चटर्जी का हार्दिक आभारी हूँ जिन्होंने मुझे अपने उपरोक्त लेख को आप लोगों की सेवा में पेश करने की अनुमति दी - सुदर्शन पाण्डेय