It was on this day, 87 years back , the most complete composer of all time in the Indian film industry was born

Article : http://gopalshroti.wordpress.com/

Head-title : shashivh@yahoo.co.in

TODAY is Shankarji’s b’day-15th October….and hasrat, jaikishan, shankar, shailendra and raj capturing all, lest they run….yes, they went one by one…shailendra started the way to heaven, followed by jaikishan, shankar, raj kapoor, hasrat….their remains are there in all corners of India in the form of immortal songs.
Nehruji wished that his ashes be spread all over Himalayas and other mountains….but our panch-parmeshwar reached every nook and corner of not only India but many parts of the world thru their music…..agewise Shankar was second after Hasrat….THEN THE TRIO.
WE REMEMBER WITH GLORY, Shankarji, for what he gave to hindi film music which others cud not give…..To recall his birthday, i wud like to mention a hillarious incident when Shankarji had to keep his watch to ”Dhondu Bhelpuriwala” at choupatti, after eating Bhelpuri by all the four, S-J,S & H…incidentally, nobody had the money in their pockets, and everybody thought, that someone will pay for the Bhel…..By this time Barsaat had already released….They saw each other’s face..and ultimately, Shankarji had to take his old watch and handed over to Dhondu……
Then came the busy time… after Barsaat, came ”Nagina”..and by this time Shankaerji was the owner of a car….When after few month, he was passing the choupatti way, he remembered his watch he ransomed to Dhondu…. Shankarji offered the payment and asked the watch back….By this time he came to be known by the hindi film world…..Dhondu, on his part, recognizing Shankarji, said, ”Achchha to aap he Barsaat ke music director the”…and treated him like a guest, but refused to hand over the said watch…He said ”ham samjha lafanga log hoga…..woh ghadiyal to aapun zindagi bhar apne pas rakhega…aap hazar rupaiya bhi dega to wapas nahin dega”.
Later he came to know less as Dhondu bhel puri walla, but Shankarji’s watch walla……MUSIC CAME, MUSIC STAYED, MUSIC GONE BUT THE MUSIC SCORED BY SHANKAR JAIKISHAN IS THE GREATEST LEGACY OF THE HINDI FILM MUSIC, WHICH HAS COME TO STAY.
and WHAT ROMANTICISM, SHANKARJI HAS STARTED WITH ”PYAR HUA IQRAR HUA” in Shri 420, carried on to CHORI CHORI as ”yeh raat bheegi bheegi”, ”jehan main jaat hoon”, and Jai’s” Aaja sanam”, was followed by their disciple Dattaram in ‘Parvarish’-”masti bhara hai saman, aakhon mein aa ja”, by Kalyanji Anandji ”mere dil mein hai ek baat” and Madan Mohan ”vo chand muskaya, sitare sharmaaye, hamara bhi dil na machalane lage”…and may be more…as Shankarji’s romanticism stayed…..LONG LIVE S-J’s LEGACY

M U K E S H (Shri srigopal shroty's tribute on Mukesh's birthday)

shankar jaikishan's contribution to hindi film music

MUKESH

by: gopalshroti

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)…….

”Those who say he was ‘besura’ do not know their job as composers…This is film music, not Beethoven’s symphony. We are peoples’ composers and Mukesh was the people’s voice.” The music director who said that composed the ‘mera joota hai japani’ and ‘ramaiya vastavaiyya’ numbers of ’shri 420′, as also, ‘Dil ka haal sune dilwala’ and ‘Pyar hua iqrar hua’ numbers. In the first two numbers, this music director employed the voice of Mukesh for Raj Kapoor, and in the latter two songs the voice of Manna Dey for Raj Kapoor….who was the composer, Shankar or Jaikishan…..indeed Shankar. and in ‘Dil ka haal sune dilwala’ the ”chu-chu” in between when antara ends,was from the tongue of Jaikishan….However when Jaikishan actually came into the scene of Shri 420, all songs were recorded by Shankar….Jai on his part composed the emotional Nargis dream song: ”O jane wale mud ke zara dekhate jana, munh pher ke to chal diye mujhko no bhulana”….2. There was a song in Aah, sung by Mukesh but also filmed on him……yes it was ‘Chhoti si ye zindgani re, chaar din ki jawani teri’.3. Once Jaikishan composed a tune for Mukesh. The singer sang in such style that Jaikishan felt it should be filmed on himself on the screen…..the song and film…?….’Ai pyase dil bezubaan, tujh ko le jaoon kahan’-film Begunah (1957)banned within a week of its release due to some reasons…Thanks God, I saw Jai lip-moving on piano.4. This song was composed by Jaikishan immediately after the Nargis-Raj Kapoor team had broken up. There was a taunting tone in Hasrat’s lyric, written for a film in which Mala Sinha played Raj Kapoor’s heroine. There is no way of knowing whether Mukesh, who sang it for Raj Kapoor approved of the sentiments expressed in it, in the context of Nargis-Ral split…….which song and film?…….’kisi nargisi nazar ko dil denge hum’ for ‘Main nashe main hoon’(1959), a song in which the accent was on the word ‘nargisi’
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”…….
It was this firm commitment of his that made Mukesh such a favourite of Shankar Jaikishan….Shankar said that Mukesh alone cud give that special effect he needed in a theme-song like ”Dost dost na raha”….He further said that he certainly needed to work on Mukesh’s vocals, but the end effect wud be so telling that the listner came to discern there was a certain result that cud be got from Mukesh only.
It was Shankar who generally composed the title song or the theme song of a S-J film…..Therefore said Mukesh that he always made it a point to remain in Shankarji’s good books. From whom else cud he hope to get a ”Sajan re jhooth mat bolo”…..But does this mean Mukesh was any less keen when on the rare occasion, the title song done by Jaikishan….Not in the life….Take ”main aashiq hoon baharo ka”. this was done by Jaikishan. Do anybody find it less appealingly rendered by Mukesh for that reason?
Or take another ”bol radha bil sangam hoga ki nahin” . This was yet another title tune done by Jaikishan. And it was for a prestigious RK show like ‘Sangam’. Mukesh cud never think to differentiate with Shankar or Jaikishan. Shankar might have been his title-tune staple, his mainstay. Yet Mukesh kept his vibes going with Jaikishan too, for his tune he rendered in the beginning of their career, ”Awara hoon”. Mukesh humility excelled in dealing with other composers too. For example in other RK movie, RDB had to tune up on insistence of Raj Kapoor for Mukesh in Dharam Karam -”ek din bik jayega mati ke mol”…Dada Burman hardly took Mukesh, but when Kishore Kumar shied away to sing this song which was not on the lips of Dev Anand, the hero. Thus Mukesh came in with Dada’s warning that he wud cancel the number if he was not satisfied with the recording. This encouraged Mukesh to give the solo all he had….that is ”chal ri sajni ab kya soche” (Bambai ka babu)….still this falls most vibrantly on the ears….Why Mukesh was valid on Amitabh Bachchan in ”kabhi kabhi”-’main pal do pal ka shayar hoon’–is the poetry of Sahir enriched by the compositional artistry of Khayyam and in ”kabhi kabhi mere dil main khayal aata hai”….this was his humility, which rendered ‘’sawan ka mahina pawan kare sor” in Milan on Sunil Dutt (Laxmi-Pyare), and in Saraswatichandra ”chandan sa badan chanchal chitvan” (Kalyananji Anandji) and many more to recount.

COURTTESY: http://gopalshroti.wordpress.com/

SHANKER JAIKISHEN DISTINGUISHED THIS VARIETY WHILE COMPOSING THEIR SONGS

TRIBUTE TO SHANKAR JAIKISHAN…20–S-J & MUKESH

(Courtesy - http://gopalshroti.wordpress.com/)

S-J DID NOT FAVOUR ANY SINGER FOR PARTICULAR ACTOR/ACTRESSES…..THEY FAVOURED THE SONG TO BE TUNED TO FIT OCCASION……otherwise there wud have been every song of Mukesh for Raj Kapoor, Talat Mehmood for Dilip Kumar, Mannadey for Shammi Kapoor…….THEY DISTINGUISHED THIS VARIETY WHILE COMPOSING THEIR SONGS…..AND STILL SONG WAS IMPORTANT NOT THE HERO….THIS SUPREMACY THEY MAINTAINED….AND THE HEROS AND HEROINS WERE UNDER THEIR MESMERISM.

AS I MENTIONED EARLIER IN OTHER POSTS, AS SOON AS THE FILM WAS SIGNED BY S-J, THE PRODUCER/DIRECTOR GOT THE HERO/HEROIN ALSO SIGNED FOR THE FILM, BECAUSE THEY KNEW THAT UNDER S-J’S BATON, THEY WILL BE BIG HITS.

THEREFORE, I TAKE U TO THE DIFFERENT PLATFORM WITH S-J AND MUKESH, WITH THE FEW SONGS THEY COMPOSED FOR HIM…..TRY TO IDENTIFY:

1. IN ‘AAH’ THERE IS ONE MEMORABLE NUMBER SUNG BY MUKESH AND ALSO FILMED ON HIM…..GUESS? HERE IT IS ”CHHOTI SE YEH ZINDAGANI RE, CHAR DIN KI JAWANI TERI”.

2. JAIKISHAN COMPOSED A TUNE FOR MUKESH. MUKESH SANG IT WITH SUCH STYLE THAT JAIKISHAN FELT THAT IT SHD BE FILMED ON HIMSELF ON THE SCREEN?………WHICH WAS THAT………IN ‘BEGUNAH’…..”AI PYASE DIL BEZUBAN, DARD HAI TERI DASTAN, AAG KO AAG MEIN DHAL KE, KAB TAK JEE BEHLAYEGA….AI PYASE…..”

3. THIS SONG WAS COMPOSED BY JAIKISHAN, AFTER THE RAJ-NARGIS BREAK UP. ….THERE WAS A TAUNTING TONE TO HASRAT’ S LYRIC, WRITTEN FOR A FILM IN WHICH MALA SINHA PLAYED AGAINST RAJ KAPOOR…..AND EVEN WHEN MUKESH SANG IT HE WAS UNAWARE OF THE SENTIMENTS EXPRESSED IN IT FOR RAJ-NARGIS BREAK-UP…BUT RAJ HAD TO SING IT ON SCREEN….. GUESS?………………………………………HERE IT IS ”’KISI NARGISI NAZAR KO DIL DENGE HAM, KALI ZULF KE SAAYE MEIN DUM LENGE HUM…….”’

4. MUKESH BELIEVED THAT MOST OF THE THEME SONG OF THE FILM WERE COMPOSED BY SHANKAR…….STILL THERE were THREE THEME SONGS FILMED ON RAJ KAPOOR AND SUNG BY MUKESH, WERE THE COMPOSITION BY JAIKISHAN……..REMEMBER?……DIFFICULT………..LET US SEE ”’AWARA HOON”(AWARA), MAIN AASHIQ HOON BAHARON KA..(AASHIQ)…& ”MERE MAN KI GANGA….”(SANGAM).

5. IN 1958, FILMFARE AWARD WAS ANNOUNCED FOR ONE PLAYBACK SINGER, EITHER MALE OR FEMALE….AND LATER IT WENT MALE AND FEMALE INDIVIDUALY…….IN 1958, IT WENT TO LATA FOR ”AAJA RE PARDESI….” IN MADHUMATI……BUT IN 1959 THE AWARD WENT TO MUKESH, WHO PUT ALL RIVAL VOICES, MALE AND FEMALE, IN THE SHADE WITH A RUNAWAY HIT SANG BY RAJ KAPOOR ON SCREEN………COULD U GUESS, YES IT IS EASY……”SAB KUCHH SEEKHA HAMNE NA SEEKHI HOSHIARI…SACH HAI DUNIAWALON KE HAM HAIN ANARI”.

6. IT HAPPENED, THAT LATA WILL NOT SING FOR SHANKAR (BOTH HAD DIFFERENT MOODS), BUT MUKESH PERSUADED LATA TO SING FOR SHANKAR IN ”SANYASI”……WHICH WAS THE DUET LATA SANG WITH MUKESH?……..GUESS…..NO……YES–”SUN BAL BRAHMACHARI, MAIN HOON KANYA KUNWARI….”’

7. A MUKESH NUMBER COMPOSED BY SHANKAR CAME TO BE RANKED AS AN ALL-TIME CLASSIC. IT WAS FILMED ON DILIP KUMAR……BUT DILIP KUMAR WANTED TALAT MEHMOOD TO SING IT…..WHILE SHANKAR WANTED MUKESH BECAUSE SHANKAR COMPOSED THIS KEEPING IN MIND THE VOICE OF MUKESH…….AS IT IS KNOWN, THAT MUKESH WAS GOING DOWN LOW AT THAT TIME AND AT THE TOSS OF A COIN THE SONG WENT INTO MUKESH’S POCKET………EASY TO GUESS…”.’.YE MERA DEEWANAPAN HAI, YA MUHABBAT KA SUROOR, TU NA PEHCHANE TO HAI YE TERI NAZRON KA QUSOOR..”’(YEHOODI)

…..AND IT IS SAID THAT THIS BECAME A LUCKY SONG FOR MUKESH FOR TIME TO COME.

THIS IS THE EXTRACT OF MY FIRST PARA…& THERE ARE MORE EXAMPLES OF THE DUO EXPLOITING THE SITUATION IN THEIR FAVOUR….AND MAKING THE FILM A GREAT HIT(MAY BE WITH A WEAK STORY) BY THEIR STRONG AND MELODIOUS SONGS, WHICH WENT TO THE HISTORY AS GOLD COINS………TO CONTINUE………gshroti@in.com……….