Kaanp Rahi Main...

Namak Haram was released in 1973. This was indeed a good year for Pancham - with 19 releases. His compositions for the movies like Yaadon ki Baraat, Aa Gale Lag Ja, Namak Haram, Heera Panna & Anamika were instant hits & remained chart-toppers forever. On the other hand there were movies like Bandhe Haath where it took a long passage of time before its music got appreciated.

There were also mixed fares like Joshila - produced by Gulshan Rai (whose first production was Johny Mera Naam and whose son Rajiv Rai went on to make movies like Gupt & Mohra) and directed by Yash Chopra. The movie had that rare combination of Sahir & Pancham, yet except Kishore Kumar's outstanding rendition of "Kiska Rasta Dekhe", none of the songs really got the due recognition.

For example, this cabaret number, picturised on Padma Khanna. With a long prelude and longer interludes, the song is remarkable for its varying pace of composition as well as the vocal - which were rendered by Asha Bhosle. Listening to the number, one really wonders the reason for its not getting the kind of popularity which some of his other cabaret compositions could garner. Perhaps, again the reason could be that the movie itself turned out to be a dud - despite having Dev Anand, Hema & Rakhee as the lead cast.

Anyways, here is the number. I recommend that you must listen to it with earphones, to really enjoy the jamming of instruments in this not so often heard composition of Pancham:

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.