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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