Over the holiday break in December 2020, I did a fair bit of driving around the Australian east coast. The drive from Sydney up to central Queensland is a long one – about 15 hours of driving time through some gorgeous scenery and gave me ample time to listen to Spotity and ruminate on Bollywood music, the music directors that made Hindi Film Music and some of their amazing compositions that stand the test of time. While driving early one morning from Gold Coast to Harvey Bay, I was listening to Talat singing for Shanker Jaikishen (SJ) and my thoughts turned to how this great singer dominated the early fifties before losing out to Rafi and Mukesh in the singing stakes. Then my mind wandered around to the great Music directors who used Talat effectively when he was at his tremulous soft silken peak in the early fifties after making his debut in Hindi cinema with Arzoo, 1950 singing ‘Ae Dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal‘ for his mentor Anil Biswas, pictured on a pensive Dilip Kumar. Picking some of Talat’s great songs is something I’m going to leave for my next blog because by then my mind had meandered to considering a definitive list of the greatest Hindi music directors ever – especially when one considers the era when melody was queen! While entering a petrol station in Sunshine Coast, I considered the idea of blogging on the top 5 best music directors in the history of Hindi Film Music and soon realised as I got back into my car to drive further north into Queensland; that it is a task not for the faint hearted. It’s tough, one needs to be brutal to reject more than choose; and dispassionate about the criteria to utilise for this exercise.
A discussion of this nature is easy with a Shanker Jaikishen (SJ). They were prolific (their 100th film Prince was released in 1968 a mere 19 years since their first), they dominated music industry like no one ever has done before or since (9 Filmfare awards in 20 years), they demonstrated incredible variety – from the pathos laden Daag, 1952 (with Talat!) to the classical Basant Bahar (1955). In between they kept pace (in fact created the pace) for the rumbustious Shammi, demonstrated their command over classical dance music; even Carnatic classical – the opening Thillana in Chori Chori, 1956 by ML Vasantakumaj is worth mentioning; and allied the soft and sentimental with vigorous violins and accordions to create something as unique as Andhe Jahan Ke Andhe Raaste (Patita, 1955) with its revolutionary counter melody strains.
Or the choice is easy with O P Nayyar as the one true consistent competition to SJ during the fifties till the mid-sixties and for whom SJ composed the Love Marriage (1959) Rafi solo, Teen Kanister Peet Peet Kar as a gentle dig to his ‘westernised’ inspiration for his music.
The discussion becomes more interesting when we consider a Sajjad, the tart mouthed genius whose tunes and impositions on the nuances of the voice made even the great Lata doubt her ability and prepare significantly more when called to render for him (witness Wo to chale gaye ae dil) from the same Sangdil, 1954 that featured the incredible Talat solo – Ye hawa ye raat ye chandni. Sajjad Husain did few films but left an indelible impression on the minds of music lovers. He created soothing melodies for posterity, which to this day lead music lovers into a world of melody and silken soft music. If you haven’t heard the songs of Sangdil, please do! And listen to Saiyyan, 1951 which happened to be a remake of the classic Duel in the Sun and featured amongst others this peppy Rafi number pictured on Sajjan (later famous as the Vetal in the serial Vikram aur Vetal in the 80s on Indian television). Hear Us paar is deewar and let me know if Sajjad could keep rhythmic pace with the great innovator Chitalkar Ramachandra himself!
And where do we place the little known Chitragupta – father of the better known (at least, to this generation of music aficionados) but arguably less talented musical duo Anand Milid who brought melody back into a parched musical scene with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in 1988. It’s quite an incredible data point – Chitragupta used the sonorous voice of India’s greatest male playback singer, Rafi; more often than anyone – bar Laxmikant Pyarelal (LP) and SJ, a whopping 225 times (379 and 330 to LP and SJ respectively). Much more than a Naushad (114 songs) with whom the popular imagination as a Rafi acolyte is often written. If you haven’t heard Rafi singing for Chitragupta hear this heart stealer from Oonche Log, 1965 a remake of the K.Balachander directed Tamil hit Major Chandrakant that gave the screen name of Rajnikant to a certain Sivaji Rao Gaekwad! Or this brilliant Rafi number pictured on Sunil Dutt (Main Chup Rahungi, 1962) to appreciate the melodic genius of Chitragupta.
This discussion on the GOATs perhaps become quite uncertain and complex when we consider a Laxmikant Pyarelal who despite dominating the music firmament post SJ, never really created a unique proposition but remained as a less-tuneful extension of SJ. Do we give them pride of place for their domination of the early/mid to late 1970s post the sad and untimely demise of Jaikishen in September 1971?
Where do we place the genius of Salil Chowdury who despite a penchant for ‘lifting’ western classical music (Itna na mujhse tu pyar from Chhaya, 1961 is a straight lift from Mozart 40th Symphony) was a trendsetter in his own right – witness the music of Bimal Roy’s Do Bhiga Zameen (1952) and Madhumati (1958).
And can we ignore the multi-faceted Roshan or the Hemant Kumar mentored Ravi Shankar Sharma who won two Filmfare awards (Gharana, 1962 with the Rafi heart stealer Husnawale tera jawab nahin beating SJ’s Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti hai and Naushad’s Gunga Jamuna and Khandaan 1966 beating SJ’s Arzoo) at the height of the SJ domination. Or the great Madan Mohan who redefined ghazals in Hindi film music besides bestowing on Lata some of her greatest tunes.
Finally, where do we place the enfant terribles of Hindi Film music – the irrepressible Chitalkar Ramachandra, the innovative R.D. Burman and the man who re-took Indian music to global heights – A.R. Rahman each of whom found a place in my earlier post on the most innovative music composers ever.
Enough of rumination, let me think who would be my first choice music directors.
#5 Naushad: The titan of Indian classical music, the man who almost defines Hindustani classical tradition in the Bollywood music industry, an institution who gave KL Saigal his last great musical (Shahjehan, 1946 where the the great Rafi played chorus to Saigal in Mere Sapnon ki rani, ruhi, ruhi), he is an easy choice to make and a difficult one to leave out. He defined Hindi music in the forties and early fifties; continued to be a great music director (but not very prolific) all through the sixties (his last great musical was probably the Dilip Kumar – Sanjeev Kumar starrer – Sunghursh, 1968 with those intensely romatic Rafi solos (Jab dil se dil takrata hai and Ishq Diwana Husn bhi ghayal). Naushad won the very first Filmfare award for music for the incredible Rafi number (yes, Lata did sing a couple of lines at the very end, but let’s perhaps ignore it for the moment?) from Baiju Bawra (Tu Ganga Ki mauj main jamuna ka dhara ).
Naushad was the music director for Hindi film’s first diamond jubilee – Rattan (1944). There are several interesting anecdotes about this movie and its iconic songs – one of them concerns Naushad’s wedding! Naushad’s father disapproved of music in general and had no idea about how big Naushad had become post Rattan. When Naushad’s marriage was fixed by his parents in his hometown of Lucknow, his dad mentioned to the bride’s family that his wastrel of a son was a tailor instead of something as disreputable as a musician! And to make the cycle complete, the wedding band played the songs of Rattan little knowing the man who composed those tunes was the one getting married! And in Padosan (1968) when Sunil Dutt is asked by Kishore Kumar the sings he knows, the only song he claims to know is O Janewala balamwa laut ke aa exhibiting the influence of Rattan a quarter of a century later!
He unfortunately became typecast as the musical icon for the Dilip Kumar movies by the fifties (despite a great pairing with Rajendra Kumar – witness Mere Mehboob, 1964 and Saathi, 1968 in which he worked with Mukesh after a break of 20 years after Andaaz, 1948) and when Dilip began losing his way, Naushad did too. But, in a long career from the mid-forties to the seventies; Naushad was the one fixed spot in an ever-changing Hindi Music universe; forever traditional, forever melody driven. forever classical and rather unfortunately, forever unchanging.
And which is the song that defines Naushad for me? A very difficult choice but if I’ve to pick one then has to be the Rafi classic from Kohinoor, pictured on Dilip with lyrics by Shaheel Badayuni! Hear Madhuban mein radhika naache set to Raag Hamir.
#4 C Ramachandra: if Naushad was the fixed spot in the changing universe, CR wielded the magical baton that made the universe dance to his boisterous beats right from 1947 when he composed the Zany Aana Meri Jaan in the P.L.Santoshi helmed Shahnai, 1947.
Just an interesting fact – P.L . Santoshi was the father of Raj Kumar Santoshi who gave us all those blockbusters in the nineties with Sunny Deol (Ghaya, Ghatak etc).
At the same time CR could deliver traditional classical based songs – witness Anarkali (1952) which, in my considered opinion was as good a musical as the magus-opus Mughan-e-Azam (1960), based on the same fictional story but made on a significantly smaller budget than the Mehboob Khan helmed version.
It’s a little-known fact that CR gave more songs for the emerging phenomenon of Rafi to sing in the forties than Naushad, the quality of songs Rafi sang in the forties for CR were vastly superior to the songs he sang for Naushad in the same decade. It was only in the fifties with the advent of Talat that Rafi fell off the CR composing favour – but even then; cometh the complex song, cometh the Rafi voice (Dekh were samsara ki haalat, Nastik 1954); Yeh Hasrat Thi Ke Is Duniya Mein Bas Do Kaam Kar Jaate (Nausherwan-e-Adil, 1957)!
Again, CR’s verve and mastery led him to be chosen for Lata’s non-film magnum opus – Ae mere watan ke logon, zara aankh mein bhar lo paani, sung by the diva at the Republic Day celebrations in 1963, a little over 8 weeks after the end of the brutal war with China; a song that is said to have moved Jawaharlal Nehru to tears!
For me, CR epitomised variety in his composing universe, other than SJ; no other music director has given such an incredible array of musical idioms; the zany Ina Mina Dika as a tandem double with Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle (Aasha, 1957, Kishore version, Asha version, the soulful Ye zindagi usiki hai (Anarkali, 1952), the wistful Kehke phi na aaye tum (Safar, 1946), the melancholic Hum Kitna Roye (Shin Shinaki Bubla Boo, 1952) and the incredible dance numbers in Azaad, 1956 (Appalam Chhappalam pictured on the electric heeled pair Sayee – Subbalakshmi) and the Tamil magnum opus Vanji Kottai Valipan, 1958 ( Kannum Kannum Kalanthu) – perhaps the finest dance number ever in the annals of Indian cinema; the funny Ek din Lahore ki thandi sadak par (Sagai 1951), the lilting Bechain Nazar Betaab jigar (Yasmeen 1955), the intensely romantic Kitna haseen hai mausam (Azaad 1956), the classical Kaise jaon Jamuna ke set in Raag Bhairavi (Devta, 1956); the list and variety is literally endless.
And what is the one song that typifies the quintessential CR? Try listening to the ode to the zany – Jap Jap Jap Re sung by Mukesh (only one of the two Mukesh songs rendered for CR my research could identify!) for Raj Kapoor in Sharada (1957). Typically zany, typically unique, typically uplifting, typically CR!
CR was an easy entry for me in this hallowed list!
#3 O P Nayyar: if CR wielded the magical baton that made the universe dance to his boisterous beats; OPN took the dancing to another level altogether setting the scene with India’s answer to Elvis Presley (a little less of the pelvis though given the distinct Indian Victorian sense of propriety) with Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1955) re-launching Shammi Kapoor after a series of flops.
OP was the sole competitor to SJ during the golden period of Bollywood music and the true trendsetter in the mid to late fifties. He was instrumental in launching and tapping into the great Asha with whom he had a live-in relationship for several years ending only with perhaps the finest Asha song ever sung for OP (Chain se humko kabhi aapne jeene na diya, Pran Jaye par vachan na jaye, 1974) which even the great Shanker praised as an incredible composition.
OP from the mid fifties onwards gave a series of blockbusters rivalled only by his stubbornness! He never composed for Lata – which is a well-known fact – but a little less known fact is his refusal to work with Sahir Ludhianvi (& by extension BR Chopra) even after the super success of the Filmfare award winning score in Naya Daur (1957). The story goes that he heard Sahir disparagingly refer to SD Burman after the success of Pyaasa (1957) as he felt the success was due to Sahir’s urdu poetry and not due to SD’s composing acumen; and OP evidently mentioned that if Sahir cannot respect his fellow music composer SD, how can he be expected to be respected! Idiosyncratic, rebellious, egoistic, firm…lots of epithets but none really defined the individualistic OP!
OP’s control over the musical idiom was complete and perhaps no one experimented with singers like he did – including never utilising the voice of Lata Mangeshkar at a time when she was numero uno (perhaps all the way up to numero centenar!). He used Shamshad Begum especially during the early fifties, Geeta Dutt during the early to mid-fifties, Mahendra Kapoor as a Rafi clone in the late sixties when he fell out with the genial singer and used Ustad Amir Khan to sing Raag Lalit as the title of Raagini (1958). But his music will always be associated with the verve in Asha’s voice, the lilt in Geeta’s and the mischief in Rafi’s.
The other interesting aspect of OP was his remarkable use of musical instruments. Other than SJ, the only other composer I often hear something new even with a song I have heard several times. As an example, consider his use of the Sarangi. The poor sarangi usually has a rather limiting role often as mournful accompaniment to melancholic songs in Indian cinema. OP Nayyar took the sarangi out of the confines of pathos and melancholy and brought in into the realm of the peppy and boisterous. OP gave it a feel-good melody, a fast pace; I could suddenly realise the joyfulness in the sarangi; just hear ‘Yeh Kya Kar Dala Tune’ (Howrah Bridge, 1958). Or consider the innovative use of the santoor in Jayia aap kahan jayenga (Mere Sanam 1965, one of the many remakes of Roman Holiday!). But in my opinion; OP’s abiding contribution to film music and the use of instruments was the use of the Spanish percussion instrument – Castanet. On one my numerous visits to Spain, I once played Lakhon Hain nigaho mein (Phir wohi dil laya hoon, 1964) and my predominantly Spanish speaking friends pounced on the use of the Castanet! They felt it was amongst the most lilting music they had ever heard!
So, what is the one OP song that defines the man – his rebelliousness, his innovation and his simplistic approach to creating great music. Lots of choices ranging from the sonorous Rafi rendering Sahir’s Aana hai to aa raah mein (Naya Daur 1957) to Mahendra Kumar doing his best Rafi impersonation in Lakho hai yahan dilwale (Kismat 1968); from Geeta’s melancholic Ae Dil Ae Diwane (Baaz, 1952) to Shamshad & Kishore romantic Mere Needon mein tum (Naya Andaz, 1956)…the list is vast and diverse. But for me; if I have to pick one number; it is Talat crooning (playing the anti-hero on screen too!) Pyar bas to nahin hai mera lekin (Sone ki chidiya, 1958). Like OP and his idiosyncrasies, it is everything the usual OP signature is not – no dholaks, no castanets, no table rhythms…just pure melody and romance with the occasional Asha interjections. Brilliant. And yes it is a tandem with the Asha version too, this was removed from the film though!
#2 S.D.Burman: SD was a genius and I shall start with with an extract from SD Burman’s biography by Khagesh Dev Burman: “In a musical performance (circa 1937 in Calcutta), Sachin was listed to perform after Saigal. Saigal had to sing a few more songs than scheduled on popular demand. He had to ignore further requests in order to keep his next appointment for which the organizers had already arrived. Almost at the gate, Saigal came to a sudden halt and stood like a statue. Sachin had started singing ‘Ami chhinu eka’. It had not been recorded as yet. Overwhelmed, Saigal sat down in a chair. He was dumbfounded. Was it not his song! It was he who had rendered the tune in Khambaj for the first time in ‘Kaun bujhave Rama tapat mera man ki’, a thumri. But in Sachin’s voice, the intoxicating tune had been transformed completely. A feeling of solitude and loneliness filled the hearts of the audience. They were swept away on the waves of the anguish-laden melody – surpassing the tune, beyond the dictates of Khambaj – a mix of thumri and folk, which rose, reached a crescendo and then fell only to rise again. Saigal sat mesmerized till the song ended. He came to senses at the cry of joy from the audience. Such was the magic of Sachin’s style, the enchantment of his tune. “
But here we are not to discuss SD the singer but SD the musician and the genius of SD was how he cast the Bengali pathos laden strains of Ami Chinu Eka to Teri Bin Sooni in the sonorous voice of Rafi (with more than a little help from Lata)!
SD’s command on Indian folk and Hindustani classical music was complete – just think of the the classy Manna Day singing for Dev Anand as Tak dhum tak dhum baje from Bambai Ka Babu (1960), written to tune by Majrooh Sultanpuri (after SD’s refusal to ever work with Sahir despite the massive Pyaasa success) and hear the original folk number Tak dhoom tak dhoom baje Bangladesher dhol. Or the thumri and folk laden Alo chhaya dola set to dance tune as Pawan diwani on the beauteous Vyjayanthimala in Dr Vidya, 1962. Or the magnificent Rabindrasangeet jodi tare nai chini go seki set to tune as Tere mere milan ki ye raina (Abhimaan, 1973). The examples of artfully using the rich Indian folk music and transforming into a Bollywood special was SD’s greatest contribution to Indian cinema, making many aware of traditional art forms and their various musical instruments
That and encouraging and bringing the genius of Kishore Kumar the singer; to our midst.
Kishore may have actually made his solo singing debut for Dev Anand in the Khemchand Prakash helmed song Marne ki duaen kya mangun (Ziddi 1948) – but it was really SD who tapped the genius in Kishore’s voice giving him hits after hits in the fifties starting from Mere Labon pe (Baazi, 1951) and AVM’s Bahar -1951 Qusoor Aapka, huzoor aapka (picturised on Karan Devan; this movie saw the introduction of Vyjayanthimala), continuing with Munimji, 1955 (Jeevan ke safari mein rahi,), Taxi Driver, 1954 (Chahe koi khush ho,) and many more all the way till SD’s last film Mili, 1975 (with the great Kishore solos Badi Sooni sooni hai and and Aye tum yaad mujhe). Taxi Driver won SD one of his two Filmfare awards – this one for the Talat crooned Jayen to Jayen kahan at a time when the award was given for an individual song, not for the movie. His second award came a full two decades later for Abhimaan (1973) attesting to the fact that he never lost his touch till the very last in 1975. In fact SD used Kishore for a duet in his very first Bollywood film (O Rangeela, Shikari – 1946).
SD was an incredibly versatile and talented musician and while his partnership with the Navketan productions was legendary, it was his ability to pick the right singer for the right tune was quite simply the best that ever was. Whether it was on Dev Anand in Teen Devian (1965) or for Solva Saal (1965) Rafi – by SD’s own admission, the best singer ever in Hindi film cinema – had to compete for vocal superiority with Kishore and Hemant respectively. And when Hemant’s voice was just slightly deteriorating, he dropped him like a hot potato after lavishing a dozen of the finest creations on him starting from Jaal (1952, Ye raat, ye chandni phir kahan) to Baat Ek Raat Ki (Na tum hamen jaanon) where again Hemant competed with Rafi (Akela hoon main – besides 4 duets)! Even in Guide (1965), Kishore found space with the Late duet (Gata rahe mera dil ) while Rafi got the lion’s share of the male vocal spoils (the philosophic Dil dhal jaaye, the melancholic kya se kya ho gaya and the romantic Tere mere sapne). Even the great Rafi was rarely used post the late sixties – the last SD-Dev song was for Gambler (1971) – Mera Man tera pyaasa by which time SD felt that Kishore’s voice matched and perhaps exceeded Rafi in its tonal quality.
For someone as incredibly talented as SD, it took him a full decade since he made his Bollywood debut in Shikari (1946) to reaching the top most echelon joining CR, Naushad, OP and SJ with Pyaasa (1957) but through the fifties and sixties he gave consistently great music ranging from the intensely romantic Khoya Khoya Chand(Kala Bazaar, 1960 ) to the wistful Tu Kahan Ye Bata (Tere Ghar Ke saamne, 1963), from the classyPiya Tose Naina lage re(Guide, 1965) to the classicalNache man more magan (Meri Surat Teri Ankhen, 1963 where the great tabla maestro Shamta Prasad himself played to SD’s direction), from the dreamy Hum Bekhudi mein tumko pukare (Kala Pani,1958) to the dramaticDil Aaj Shayar Hai (Gambler 1970) from the pithy Ankhon mein kya ji (Nau Do gyarah 1957, starring the real life newly married pair of Dev Anand and Kalpana) to the philosophical Sahir penned Ye duniya agar mil phi jaaye to kya hai (Pyaasa, 1957).
SD fell out with Lata in the late fifties during the making of Sitaron Se Aage (1958) – with its magnificent Lata thumri song starting with a beautiful sitar Pag Thumak Chalat Bal khaye and the two fabulous Rafi solos (Zara Ruk Ja Pyare, Sambhalke, Yeh Duniya Hai both pictured on the inimitable Johnny Walker). In the same movie, SD used Asha’s vocals for three solos (Roye Jiya, Aan Milo, Chanda Ki Chandni, Aaj Kal Parson)and then proceeded to lavish some incredible compositions on Asha in the Nargis starrer Lajwanti and I rate one of them (Koi Aaya Dhadkan kehti hai) as one of the best Asha songs ever and the lullaby – Chanda Mama, Mere Dwar Aana, Leke Kirnon Ke Haar Aana (an Asha duet with Manna Dey) is sung to this day in the Hindi speaking heartland to children!
But come Guide (1965), come Lata and SD used his son RD to make peace with the Diva. Typical SD – he just knew how to get the right singer! After all it was a case of Piya Tose Naina lage re can easily mean Piya Tose Gaana aaye re! The variety, the longevity (til his last days he never lost his touch – just listen to Abhimaan 1973 or Talash 1969 with the great Manna Dey sung Tere Naina Talaash karen set to Raag Asavari) and the range of SD makes him an easy one to enter this hallowed list.
How does one summarise SD’s repertoire in one song? It ranges from Geeta Dutt’s first solo hit in Do Bhai (1947) and Ashok Kumar singing in his nasal twang in Shikari to Manhar Udhas crooning for Amitabh Bachchan in Abhimaan. The number of years of delivering consistently great music is SD’s greatest claim to fame as his position as Number 2 in this list of mine, which makes is so difficult to pick one of his songs to represent the great man. A great deal of thought later I plonk for the atmospheric Apni to har aah ek toofan hai (Kala Bazar) – a Rafi classic if there was one, at once soothing and serene, romantic and restrained, subtle and scandalous – the sheer mischief! Imagine flirting with the girl in front of her parents And this is a Vijay ‘Goldie’ Anand classic too – the picturisation of this song makes everyone recognise the genius of Goldie and his status as amongst the two best song-takers of all times, Raj Kapoor being the other.
#1 Shankar Jaikishen:
I started the epistle on the second best of all times with an extract – I start the epistle on the best with a video of the second best speaking about the best of all times. It is fair to say that without SJ, Indian film music as we know today would not exist. They made their entry in the grandest style possible with Barsaat (1949) as the musical marvel breathtaking in its originality, melody, rhythm and commercial success; leading Mehboob Khan telling his Andaaz (released a few weeks prior to Barsaat) music director Naushad ‘Andaaz Barsaat mein beh gaya!’. Literally it meant that the music of Barsaat – itself meaning rain – swept away his Andaaz!
Barsaat was a truly watershed moment in the annals of Indian film music. For the first time, the economic power of film music became evident, it featured the first cabaret, established Lata as the most significant singer (male or female) in Indian cinema, sad songs got a lilt and rhythm, the violin replaced the sitar as the language of love (hear the amazing take on the Hungarian Rhapsody)and created the phenomenon of Shankar Jaikishen who dominated the Hindi film music firmament like no one ever did, before or after.
Barsaat established RK films as arguably India’s all time biggest studio, gave its biggest romantic movie couple in Raj & Nargis, created music as enabling cinematic content instead of a backdrop and for the first time Indian music became global with Raj and Nargis mobbed from Beirut to Moscow. In summary, post-Barsaat musical narratives within melodramas and the deployment of sound and music—including songs—were transformed. as Madhuja Mukherjee writes in The Architecture of Songs and Music
The range, versatility, sustained class, the elegance of their compositions, their adept mixing of genres & styles, the innovative approach to composition from musical idioms to background music and their ability to make little known movies a commercial success make SJ the numero uno in the history of Indian film music. No one came anywhere close to them – they were the Amitabh Bachchan of Hindi film music. Whether they were giving music for Raj Kapoor or his brother Shammi, for little known Nasir Khan (the younger brother of Dilip Kumar) or for the beauteous Bina Rai making her debut in Nagina 1951 , SJ gave it all. In tandem with their favourite lyricists, Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipur; they transformed Hindi film music and their hits kept on coming firmly establishing them as the most sought after music directors in a short span of 3-4 years. At their peak, they were often paid more than the lead actors! Their first and only movie without lyrics from either Shailendra or Hasrat (College Girl 1959) resulted in Shailendra penning a short note to Shanker (Chhoti Si ye duniya/pehchane raste hain/kabhi to mileage/tp poochenge haal) which SJ promptly turned into a super hit song (the Late Kishore tandem from Rangoli 1962)!
They composed every genre of music under the sun and when there was a strike in the late sixties they composed jazz – in their own inimitable style – calling it Raga Jazz Style!.
SJ composed the finest rock and roll song in the annals of Indian cinema (the original for the Raja Nawathe produced Gumnaam which was a take on Agatha Christie’s And Then there were none and listen to this – sung by a Belgian band at a concert in Salvador, Brazil in 2017!). 55 years later this song till makes one shake a leg or two! Even folks like me blessed with two left feet!
They composed one of the only two songs composed in Raag Madhuvanti sung by Mohammad Rafi and Krishna Rao Chonkar putting paid to Anil Biswas’ comment on their lack of classical pedigree when Basant Bahar which he was supposed to compose music for; was instead given to SJ at the behest of the financiers. And how well did they answer Anil’s tart comment in Basant Bahar! They got Pannalal Ghosh to play the flute in Main piya teri to their tunes and their metre in Raag Bhairavi; put the two greatest classically trained singers Manna Dey (Sur Na saje in Raag Pilu; Bhay Bhanjana Vandana sun hamari – Raag Miyan Malhar) and Rafi (Duniya na bhaaye mohe ab to bulaa le – Raag Todi & Badi der bhayi badi der bhayi – Raag Pilu) through their musical paces and got Manna to sing and win against the redoubtable Bhimsen Joshi in the final climax competition (Ketaki ghulab joohi champak ban – Raag Basant)! Not to be left behind, they got Lata to sing in Raag Jhinjothi the evocative Jaa jaa re jaa baalamwaa besides pairing with Manna for the Bhairavi based Nain mile chain kahaan!
They created the musical pace with Shammi Kapoor as India’s less pelvic thrusting answer to Elvis composing for him the zany Aiyiya Succu Succu (Junglee, 1961 mistakenly said to be copied from the Argentinian Albetro Cortez’s classic Sucu Sucu) to the melancholic Is rang Badalti duniya ko (Rajkumar, 1965); from the romantic Aye Gulbadan (Professor 1961) to the wistful Dil Ke Jharoke main (Brahmachari 1968); their range was nonpareil.
SJ were the first to use orchestration as the core to their music – a 100 piece orchestra no less! Listen to the orchestration in a melancholic number like Chhod gaye baalam (Barsaat, 1949) or the breezy Dheere chal ye bheegi hawa (Budtameez, 1961); the SJ imprimatur is evident in its evocative orchestration.
The finest dance numbers in Bollywood music were composed by SJ (yes superior in quantity if not in quality anything the great CR composed) – often composed by the Kathak trained Shanker who once had the temerity to recommend changes to some steps to Vyjayantimala – herself amongst the finest of classical dancers while dancing to Jao re jogi tum jao re (Amrapali, 1967). Take this amazing dance-off music in the same film, can we think of anything more ‘dance-worthy?’. For Chori Chori 1955 – a take off from Frank Capra’s It Happened one night; SJ composed one of the finest Lata-Asha duets ever – Man Bhavan ke ghar jaye gori besides composing the Czech motif based Jahan Main Jaati Hoon
It often written that Raj Kapoor was the reason for the success of SJ but the truth is far more layered than that. They received only one of their nine Filmfare awards for an RK film (Mega Naam Joker; 1971 – the last collaboration), they didnt win it when RK Productions was at its musical & commercial peak – Shri 420, Jis desh mein Ganga behti hai, Sangam). Their sweetest music was composed for everyone – just listen to Chandrama Madhbhara (Patrani1956) and let me know if there is a silkier song ever composed! Or listen to Lata crooning Mohabbat ki dastan aaj suno for Helen making her cinematic debut ( for the Kishore Sahu – Bina Rai starrer Mayurpankh, 1954). Yes, indeed RK saw the potential in SJ and gave the young men their break but SJ had the talent, dedication and commitment to grab it with both hands and create music the like of which had never been heard before! If anything RK owes SJ a lot more considering the global phenomenon RK became – especially in West Asia and Eastern Europe where they all actually thought RK was singing the songs – not merely lip syncing to them!
SJ innovated constantly giving less talented singers like Subir Sen key songs to sing at pivotal moments in the movies (even for the ebullient Shammi in Boyfriend 1961 & for Rajendra Kumar in Aas ka panchi 1963) introduced the concept of counter melodies (Patita 1955); used Manna Dey – till then the purveyor of patriotic and classical songs – as a romantic foil to Lata (Chori Chori, Shree 420, Baghi Sipahi and many others) created the first cabaret, composed a song in two completely separate genres (the rumbustious Mukesh rendered Patli Kamar hai & the Lata singing Bichad gayi main ghayal hirani, the first dream sequence (10+ mins of pure listening pleasure) and started the trend of asking lyricists writing to their tunes!
In summary, SJ made Indian film music the global force it has now become. And choosing the one song thus becomes such a difficult choice! How do we choose between the playful Ille bell aa re (Kali Ghata) the classical Man mohana Bade Jhoote in Raag Jaijavanti (Seema 1955), the romantic Baharon Phool barsao (rated by a BBC pool in 2019 as the finest Bollywood song ever and copied by Jem – Come on Closer) , the intense Dost Dost na raha (Sangam 1965), the orchestra laden Andaz mera mastana (with its 2 min+ music at the start of the song – Dil Apna Preet Parayi, 1961), the silken two sided Lata sung Aayi aayi raat suhani, the frolicsome Kishore keeping pace with Nakhare wali, dekhne mein wo hai (New Delhi 1956) – the choice is immense. SJ’s songs have stood the test of time more than any composer ever and their compositions like Awara and Shri 420 are sung by kids across the length of breadth of India – the accordion motif in Awara instantly as recognisable as the National Anthem. And not just in the Indian subcontinent – several years ago I met a cab driver in Menlo Park, California who sang the entire song in his Russian accent and here is a video of two Caucasian men playing this in Toronto!
So the one song for me amidst this galaxy of remarkable songs is this amazing Pyar Hua Ikrar hua (Shree 420) with the brilliant RK picturisation as India’s finest song taker coming to the fore as ‘Hum na rahenge tum n rahoge; Phir bhi rahengi nishaniyan’ as three kids from the Kapoor family walk in their raincoats through the rain!
SJ is an easy choice for the greatest ever!
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