Jeena to Hai, Par Ae Dil Kahan..

Sometimes, I really wonder what makes a movie song really hit – good lyrics, great composition, flawless rendition or the way it is presented on-screen?

I am sure there is no clear answer to it. Yes, verse, vocals & composition are a must, but somehow, I have observed that a movie being a visual medium, its picturisation, the actors involved & finally the success of the movie make a bigger difference. This held true at least for the movies produced till late 70s, where in the absence of a 24x7 television, and lack of easy availability of music other than radio (Record players were not so common then!), in case a movie did not fare well, there was hardly any scope for the music to survive. Of course, there were exceptions where the good music became popular, despite dismal performance of a movie, due to sheer star power of the performers; but as I said, these were exceptions.

What else could have been a reason for the song that I am presenting today not to be rated amongst the evergreen classics from Pancham-Kishore?

No, it is not an exaggeration. Since the time I have heard this song a couple of weeks ago, I have been absolutely mesmerised - reeling under its spell.

This one, as promised earlier, is from Paanch Dushman. Yes, the same one which was first released in 1973, and later as Daulat ke Dushman in 1983. 1973 was the same year where Kishore & Pancham combination was on an upswing – what with super-hits like Tera Mujhse Hai Pahle Ka Naata Koi, Kiska Rasta Dekhe, Diye Jalte Hain & Main Shayar Badnam – just to name a few. Yes, amongst their own repertoire, 1973 was a tough act to beat. I am sure, among those sterling releases, a movie like Paanch Dushman with only villains being the noteworthy performers, it would have been perfectly justified, had Pancham not bothered to be at his usual self. However, such was never the case with him.

He still gave his best and the result is this composition. It begins with the notes derived from “The Sound of Silence” of Simon & Garfunkel, and then charts a course which has Kishore Kumar giving a no-holds-barred rendition – changing scales & pitch so effortlessly - that coupled with the very subtle notes of flute & guitar, brings out the melancholic mood of the situation in the movie. Majrooh, of course one of the mentors of Pancham, ensures to add depth with his verse – bringing me back to the question – why is this song not amongst Kishore & Pancham’s all-time bests?

Perhaps Majrooh’s verse were also wondering about this:

Naaraaz koi, Na koi Meherbaan
Naa kahin koi Bijali, Naa koi Aashiaan
Are baithun to, Nahin milti hain Zameen
Main Udana chaahun to, Hai door Aasmaan
Jeena to hai, Par aye dil kahaan

Listen to this yourself, and I am sure you will agree with me.

Jaana Hai Humen To Jahan Karaar Mile

Movies that take a long time to make are innumerable and they do tend to fare miserably. Adhura Aadmi was not an exception. However, rarely does one come across a movie that gets released twice – under different titles. Pancham had this distinction too.

In 1973, a Mumbai based builder, enamoured with the cinema & related glamour produced a movie that was supposed to be anti-smuggling. Unlike a multi – heroes, this was a movie with multi-villains - five to be precise and all top notch in early 70s: Pran, Manmohan, Prem Chopra, Shatrughan Sinha & Vinod Khanna – all pitted against one hero – who alone graced the posters of the movie. Movie was aptly titled Paanch Dushman. The movie tanked, and tanked big time.

Not to be deterred though, and perhaps because of the misplaced notion of being ahead of the time, the producer re-released the movie in 1982-83, this time with a new title – Daulat Ke Dushman. A few of the dynamics though had changed in the intervening years, and hence Vinod Khanna & Shatrughan Sinha got the top-most billing this time. Well, the change of name of the movie or the billboards did not alter its fate – justifying that Shakespeare was right when he wrote - What’s in a name?

Oh, yes, a few more trivia that I should have mentioned, the producer of the movie also decided to cast himself as the hero. Perhaps his success in his other business interests - involving construction & hospitality – did make him feel eligible enough to take on these 5 stalwarts actors. After all he also owned one of the key & an iconic hotel of its time in Mumbai . This was Manu Narang – also known as Manohar Lal Narang who owned Ambassador Hotel at Churchgate – the first one to have a revolving restaurant in the country.

Getting back to the movie, it had two lovely compositions of Pancham – a Kishore Kumar Solo & a duet featuring Kishore- Lata.

Let me play today the duet because once you see the performance of the lead actors, you will understand the reason why even Pancham’s music could not help it survive – neither first time nor in its re-christened avatar.

However, the song is an absolute gem with verse by Majrooh. Listen to it here:

Kuch Bhi Kar Lo..

Once upon a time, there existed a perfect world: A world where romance overshadowed all other emotions; a world where the hero remained young & energetic ever; a world where the lovely & beautiful heroines sang in a voice that sounded freshly in love, always!

Once upon a time, there existed Hindi movie world comprising of Yash Chopra, Dev Anand & Lata Mangeshkar . And then there was Pancham – with a remarkable capability to create such compositions which have remained young forever.

I began the week with a flurry of songs from Lata-RD combination. As the week is about to get over, it is becoming special - for the Hindi movie buffs - more so for those who are die-hard romantics.

A week which had us celebrating the birth anniversary of the youthful Dev Anand on 26^th,  of the king of Romance Yash Chopra today on 27^th and birthday of the queen of melody Lata Mangeshkar, tomorrow on 28th.

Here, at Celebrations with  Pancham, the best tribute to all of them would be this love-song from the movie Joshila.

Produced by Gulshan Rai, the movie had two young & beautiful actresses - Rakhee & Hema Malini - starring with not-so young - yet very, very, energetic Dev Anand - acting for the only time under the baton of Yash Chopra. If at all, all these creative minds together were not enough - the movie also had Sahir Ludhianvi penning the lyrics for the first time for RD's compositions.

This composition carries the hallmark of what Pancham was capable of - especially with vocal harmonization between Lata & Kishore while the beats continue to change.

It also brings out the flavor of a Yash Chopra romance, with his cinematographer Fali Mistry capturing the snow-capped mountains, lush green carpeted earth, lovely blue sky – and creating a visual of that world where the God was in heaven, everything was picture perfect & and the romance reigned supreme.