Thursday, July 24, 2014

Toota Khaali Jaam..

Armed forces & poetry rarely go together but he had the distinction of having been part of both. In the pre-partition days, he began his career in navy while post partition he joined army. These, for him, were only the stop-gap arrangements, as his passion lied in poetry & Hindi movies.

He did come to Bombay in between his two stints with forces, but could not succeed. He finally bid adieu to Army forever, and decided to take head-on the challenge of writing for Hindi movies.

It took some time for people to recognize his creativity, but thereafter he went on to become one of the most prolific song writers - writing across four decades for diverse generations - from Jab Jab Phool Khile to Bobby to Sholay to DDLJ - he was in fact part of the biggest blockbusters of Hindi cinema. Without compromising on aesthetics & creativity, he yet managed to strike a chord with the changing mood of the audience. Interestingly, while he was nominated record 40 times for Filmfare, he won it only 4 times.

Anand Bakshi – one of the most popular lyricists, whose birth anniversary was last week on 21st July.

He first teamed up with Pancham for Teesra Kaun. Something was missing though till a few movies later Kishore Kumar joined them for Kati Patang. The troika of magicians was complete which, through their craft & creativity casted a spell that the music aficionados are still intoxicated with, even after so many years.

This team created a number of excellent songs together but there was something special about what they created for the heartthrob of millions of girls in early 70s – Rajesh Khanna. Kati Patang, Amar Prem, Ajnabee, Apna Desh, Mehbooba, Namak Haram, Humshakal and many more, and each one with some of their best efforts. My favourite though is this one - profound verse about life through the eyes of a poet on his final journey – written in a bit of a haiku style, with last line of each stanza adding more depth.

The music is minimalist with that unmistakable Pancham touch, with emphasis on flute. Listen to that brief flute piece just before the last line of each stanza, and you will know what I mean. And of course, there was Kishore Kumar, going full throaty taking your soul deeper into the melancholy. Listen to it now:

Mere ghar se tumko kuchh saamaan milega

Deewaane shaayar kaa ek divaan milega
Aur ek cheez milegee 
Toota khaali Jaam


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