Ae Meri Topi Palat Ke Aa..

Can RD & Kishore's combination ever be enough? No!

So, please forgive me if I got stuck in this groove for last 2-3 days around Kishore Kumar's birth anniversary. However, now is the time to move on to other facets of Pancham's music. Yet before that one question: Which was the first song where Kishore sang on Pancham's tune?

Of course, every one knows the answer - Jaago Sone walon, Suno Meri Kahani - from Bhoot Bangla - Pancham's second movie as a music director. This is incorrect though, if we go by what Pancham himself told in an interview to Filmfare.

In 1951, at the age of 12 years, while speaking to his father during Sachin Dev Burman's visit to Calcutta, he made Sachin da hear a few tunes that he had composed by then. A couple of years later, while listening to a song, he suddenly realised - "My God, that's my tune". He wrote to his father, who admitted that yes, the song was based on Pancham's tune. 

This was the song,  picturised on Dev Ananad and sung by Kishore Kumar for Funtoosh - a Navketan movie released in 1956, directed by Chetan Anand. 

The interesting part is to find Sahir in a very different kind of mood when he writes:

Ae meri humjoli

Tu bhi gair ki ho li

Tu bhi de gayi dhakka, 

Auron ke sang ghoome

Ithalaye aur jhoome

Dekhun main bhaunchakka

Ae meri dilbar, Idhar Nazar Kar

Na ja bichad kar na ja

Does it not sound almost like a precursor to Champi tel Maalish? Interestingly, that is another song where the original tune is now being credited to Pancham. Well, more about that later. For the time being enjoy Ae Meri Topi Palat ke Aa..