Ae Sakhi Raadhike / Bolo Ki Achhe

Once again it is the time of Durga Pooja. Living in Powai in these days is indeed a privilege with all the festivities around. Keeping with the festive spirit, like last year, once again I am using this as an opportunity to put across two songs of Pancham on each post - one Bangla & another Hindi; the similarity being the composition - with one inspiring the another.

Today being the birth anniversary of Hrishikesh Mukherjee, one of the most sensitive director of Hindi movies, it will be a befitting tribute to select a song from one of his movies. This one is from Jurmana, released in 1979. Sandwiched between Golmaal & Khubsoorat, Jurmana was less popular, (and hence was lucky of not having been remade in its modern, heartless, glamourised versions!) despite a stellar cast, good performances and some amazing compositions of Pancham.

In my last post, on Lata Mangeshkar's Birthday, I wrote about her singing some classical compositions under the baton of Pancham. One such gem is from Jurmana. The composition was based on Raag Kalavati, which he had earlier used successfully for the title qawwali of Hum Kisi Se Kam Nahin. 

Coming back to Jurmana - or rather the song I am presenting here. It is essentially a Lata solo, though begins with a cameo vocal by Manna Dey.  Once the song is on its way, & Lata takes over, the composition has Pancham using a host of Indian instruments, including Sitar and Santoor. Lata of course rises to this difficult & delectable composition and shows her absolute mastery over the genre. Before I move on, let us hear her rendering Ae Sakhi Radhike:

Gali-gali men Gokul ki yeh naam pukaare,

Shyaam pukaare baithi hai jamunaa kinaare, 

Kabhi mere kabhi tere ghar ko gai

Shyaam ko dhundhate aap hi kho gai

Ae sakhi Raadhike baavari ho gai

Lata's perfect rendition of this Hindi song is not surprising though. What is surprising is the Bangla composition, - Bolo ki Achhe - released in 1977. Here, the composition has lesser instruments, and hence used in more pronounced manner - with emphasis on flute & Sarangi. What makes it more special is finding the singer Pancham in altogether a different avataar, modulating his voice and flowing with each of the notes of the composition

So here it is - a Durga Pooja special for the fans of Pancham:

Dil To Lei Gava...

Aap ki Kasam was released in 1974, amidst the downward trend of Rajesh Khanna. On the other hand, just a year ago, Zanjeer had marked the beginning of a rising graph for Amitabh Bachchan. Zanjeer was his first major hit, after a series of 13 flops (excepting Bombay to Goa - which had an average run on the box office, when first released).

Just before Zanjeer, came a movie which was last of Amitabh’s series of initial flops. Bandhe Haath – written & produced by O P Ralhan, which had Amitabh in his first double role alongwith Mumtaz, Ajit & O P Ralhan. 

This was Pancham’s second movie with O P Ralhan. The first one was Hulchul, which had no song, but a few very interesting dance compositions. 

Bandhe Haath, as I said earlier, failed to make any impression at the box office. As happens with most of the flops, even its music really did not create any waves. In the bargain, some of Pancham’s brilliance failed to shine – at least for the time being.

It was much later that Bandhe Haath’s music got some recognition. Listening to the quality of these compositions, it still was not enough though.

Take for example this number, a dance composition with Mumtaz dancing her heart out to an effervescent medley of instruments with funky rhythm and rapid African beats – alongwith mouthing of some of inane words -  that under anyone else’s baton could have resulted in a chaos. However, with R D at the helm, it sounds cohesive as well as energetic – something like Caravan’s Daiyya Main Kahan Aa Phansi.

On screen while Amitabh tries his best to keep up with Mumtaz, off screen, it is Manna Dey & Mahendra Kappor playing a supporting role to an absolute in-form Asha Bhosle. And just as a trivia, the police inspector in the scene is character actor Ram Mohan, whom Pancham later lent his voice for, in that  classic from Kitaab – Dhanno ki Aankhon Men.   

However, why digress? It is time for Asha Bhosle & Mumtaz to step up the beats in Dil To Lei Gava..

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xlx4r8_dil-to-lai-gava-bandhe-haath-1973-asha-manna-day_music

Holi Re Holi..

Holi has been a festival closest to my heart. Something in the weather - just turning cold to warm - also brings out the warmth amongst ourselves, while making us drop all our pretensions and open up our heart. It is a festival that brings out bohemian of most of us. A festival like this, naturally also opened up the possibility for Pancham to unleash his creativity most effectively. No wonder he has a number of songs centered around Holi.

Beginning from Kati Patang to Sholay, I can remember at least six movies where Pancham had composed a song for Holi. Each of these have remained amongst the playlists for the Holi parties.

My favourite, of these, is from a movie - Paraya Dhan, released in 1971. The movie, starring Rakesh Rohan & a very beautiful Hema Malini, alongwith Balraj Sahni & Ajit was shot for a major part in the valley of Kullu. Its composition had a different flavour altogether, something like the sound from western curry classic meeting the music of the valley. The fusion was simply brilliant as most of the songs went on to become classics over the year.

For example, this Holi song, lyrics for which were written by Anand Bakshi. It has a rhythm that is unlike a normal Holi song. Even the instruments are not really the traditional instruments.Asha Bhosle & Manna Dey add their brilliant vocal rendition to the composition. The result is a song which conveys the mood of this festival of colours in a perfect manner.

Wishing you a very happy Holi, as you listen to this gem from Pancham:

Gori Tori Painjaniyaa

Hi All..back again after a brief break...

During this break, the country lost one of its finest & most versatile singers...and last of the male playback legends... Manna Dey! 

Manna Dey, had started his career as an assistant to SD Burman, and sang his first song for him. Quite possibly, that was one of the reasons, RD & him had a special bond. 

While RD's preferred singer seemed to be Kishore, it was Manna Dey, he banked more upon - specially when it came to bringing a variety - either for the composition or purely for balancing the movie's second male voice requirement.

As a result, he utilised Manna Dey's voice for a range of actors - from Mehmood, Pran & Om Prakash to Dharmendra & Rajesh Khanna. The versatile performer that Manna Dey was, he never sounded out of place for any one of them - be it Buddha Mila Gaya's Aayo Kahan se or Padosan's Saawariya or Seeta Aur Geeta's Zindagi Hai Khel.... 

However, my most favourite song of this duo is this one, where RD created a composition that perhaps Manna Dey alone could have done justice to.

Picturised on Rajesh Khanna, this is a classical raga based composition, a medley of Kaamod and Malhar. 

The song has RD creating magic with a fusion of Indian as well as western instruments. Apart from the traditional instruments, one can distinctly hear Veena & Pakhavaz as well as Violin. Since, it was a classical dance composition, the choreography was done by another legend - Gopi Krishna, who set the moves for Hema Malini. This confluence of talent also got something unusual from the lyricist Anand Bakshi also. As a result was created a song which is not only classical in composition, but also a classic by itself.

Here it is..

Ghar se nikalti hai tu, 

Girati sambhalti hai tu
Kuchh aise chalti hai tu
Thumak thumak ke 

Ghaayal jaise koyi hiraniya
Gori tori paijaniya

Kitna Pyaara Geet Hai..Yeh Goya ke Chunanche..

"To me, Pancham was an enthusiastic chef who enjoyed the unexplored exotica; and not just an efficient cook. Pancham's primary identity was that of an exceptionally gifted musician..."

Thus wrote Shammi Kapoor - the original rock star - about RD.

It is Shammi Kapoor’s birth anniversary today. Shammi Kapoor, whose Teesri Manzil - that RD composed five years after making his debut - not only catapulted RD in a different league altogether, but also was instrumental in creating a team which provided scintillating score for almost 2 decades - that of Nasir Hussain, Majrooh & RD!

Unfortunately, post Teesri Manzil, there was no movie that had Shammi Kapoor as a hero & RD as a composer. However, so impressed was Shammi with RD, that for his two directorial ventures, Manoranjan & Bundal Baaz, RD was the obvious choice.

Manoranjan, incidentally, was one of the only unapologetic comedy about prostitutes - which did not sermonise. About a romance between a prostitute - Zeenat Aman and a constable - Sanjeev Kumar, the movie, due to the prevalent attitudes and Adults only tag did not do really too well. To some extent, this also affected the popularity of its music - despite RD being in one of his best elements.

There were a couple of amazing melodies, specially one by Lata Mangeshkar. However, for today, as a tribute to Shammi Kapoor, right song to feature would be this one – which apart from Lata & Kishore, also had Manna Dey, rendering his voice for Shammi Kapoor. 

The composition, like the movie, also has a joie-de-vivre with superb emphasis on the percussion all through out - specially during the stanzas where the song picks up each time after a brief pause. Add to that the class of the performers off & on the screen, and yet the song has remained under-appreciated - just like the movie itself. 

For a Pancham fan, this is an absolute delight though, specially when you realise that this was RD's & Shammi Kapoor's last hit together.

Aayo Kahan Se Ghanshyam...

Buddha Mil Gaya - a 1971 classic thriller-comedy directed by Hrisihikesh Mukherjee saw Majrooh & RD combining to provide another musical treat. Of course RD could not resist using Kishore again, for the romantic numbers - this time for Navin Nishchal.

The movie was a whodunit with well shot sequences of murders that actually managed to scare the audience. Since a good thriller is one which should keep the audience on a roller coaster ride, each of these homicides were followed by a song sequence. In order to soothe the frayed nerves of the audience, a bhajan which runs like a strand through the movie was a perfect idea and suited the movie.

RD composed the bhajan in Raga Khamaaj and used Manna Dey's voice for Om Prakash - the main protagonist & the key suspect in the movie. Majrooh, while penning the verse, also managed to provide a hidden meaning to otherwise a simple bhajan, thus deepening the mystery that lies behind the character portrayed by Om Prakash.

Main naa kahu kachhu mose naa rutho
Tum kud apne jiyara se puchho
Bitee kaha pe kal sham,
Aayo Kahan se Ghanshyam