Ek Ajnabee Haseena Se

Charisma is a word that tries to define something which is otherwise unfathomable.  It means compelling attractiveness or charm that can inspire devotion in others.  If ever, there was a star with Charisma on Hindi screen, it was Rajesh Khanna.

How else can one decode a phenomenon like him - average looks, good performer who could speak a lot with his eyes, broke through the accepted mould of a hero to create his own style, and then got confined within that. 

His fame was also like a comet that dazzled everyone with it for a while, and then disappeared as suddenly as it had arrived. During the brief period – relatively brief as compared to other superstars who followed him – that he shone through, his fan following was not only unprecedented but could always make even the later & bigger stars envious of it.

Apart from his charisma, another factor going for him was a troika that gave soulful songs for his screen avatars; songs which coupled with his crinkling eyes and a disarming smile could woo not only the actress on the screen but the entire female fan following to the extent that many of them were willing to lay their life for him.

The troika comprised of; yes, Kishore Kumar, Pancham & Anand Bakshi. In fact, even as his movies started faring badly, the songs created by these three continued charting new waves. Here is one such song, from Ajnabee, another movie by Shakti Samanta - whose Aradhana, Kati Patang & Amar Prem had ensured a golden run for Kaka earlier.

As a composition, with hardly any prelude, what make it interesting are those interludes – specially the first two, where Pancham mixes Santoor, Guitar & Sax so brilliantly. 

Kishore’s throaty rendition, the mischievous smile of Kaka & the subtle blushes of Zeenat, while he hints about their previous interaction, and all I can think of is the lost innocence of that era, where a serenade was an essential part of the life itself:

Woh Achanak Aa Gayee, 
Yun Nazar Ke Samane

Jaise Nikal Aaya Ghata Se Chand

Chehre Pe Zulfen Bikhari Huyi Thi,

Din Men Raat Ho Gayee

Jaan-e-man Jaan-e-jigar, 

Hota Main Shayar Agar

Kahta Ghazal Teri Adaaon Par

Maine Yeh Kaha To, Mujhse Khafa Woh

Jaan-e-hayat Ho Gayee

Ek Ajnabee Haseena Se

Yun Mulaqaat Ho Gayee
   

Kiski Sadaayen Mujh ko Bulaayen

(It is always difficult for a blogger to find out a perfect way to return to his blog - specially after such a long gap. The last strand is long forgotten; too brash a post may be frowned upon while too dull a post may not even make people realise that he is back. 

Fortunately for this blog, all that I have to do is select one of the gems from Pancham's vast repertoire and post it - and more often than not, it works.  

So, after all this verbosity to wake up all Pancham fans, here is a lilting tune from one of the flop movies of 1980s.)

Rajesh Khanna, the first ever superstar of Hindi Cinema, was at that point in his career by late 70s where nothing seemed to be going right for him. There were a string of flops and audience had unanimously decided to reject his romantic hero and accept the angry young man & anti hero - brought alive by Amitabh Bachchan.

Kaka needed an image makeover and perhaps that is why he chose a few movies which were an absolute anti-thesis to his established image. One such movie was Red Rose, a remake of a Tamil movie Sigappu Rojakkal that had originally Kamal Hasan & Sridevi in the lead roles.

The movie was directed by Bharati Raja, also the director of original Tamil movie, and had Kaka reprising Kamal hasan's character that had a hidden dark side - a sex-maniac preying on young females before killing them. 

Unfortunately, despite an interesting story line - quite misogynist in its treatment though - the movie remained trapped in the cliches of those times. As a result, it was befitting for the main character, if having a negative shade, to have no choice but to die in the end - in this case due to efforts of the heroine. 

However, just imagine, the interesting possibilities this movie could have had in the current age of sequels & dark-noir movies - with perhaps each new movie with the same hero & a different - may be tougher - heroine. 

The female lead in Red Rose was played by Poonam Dhillon - who celebrates her birthday today - for whom this was first major movie outside Yash Chopra productions, and she performed the interesting role with quite an ease. 

The movie's background score was a tailor made opportunity for Pancham and he excelled in that. However, there was limited scope for the songs, and yet the two songs that Pancham composed for the movie, have remained amongst some of his best compositions.  

The one showcased here remains amongst my favourite duets from 80s. It begins with the strings of Irani Santoor - played by Pt. Ulhas Bapat - and the instrument remains the back-bone of the song through-out. Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle bring in their expert & flawless rendition - you just need to listen to their variations while singing Adaayen & Sadaayen in the mukhda - bringing alive the romance that was penned by Nida Fazli.

Kiski Sadaayen Mujh ko Bulayen

Anjane Sapne Neenden Churaye
Teri Adaayen Jadu Jagaye
Dharti Sanware Mausam Sajaye

Deewana Karke Chhodoge / Ami Bole Tumay Dur Thako

Another night of Durga Pooja and here is another combination. This is one of the only two songs that Lata sang in Bangla for Pancham, but there are two reasons for me to showcase this combination today - for two persons whose birth anniversary falls on 1st October. It is interesting that these two not only shared their birthday, but also happen to play very important roles in Pancham's life as well as career.

One was Sachin Da, who obviously being the father, and also a genius music composer himself, imparted his creativity to his son. The years Pancham acted as an assistant to his father's movies, also perhaps gave him an opportunity to hone his own talent.

Originally this composition was one of the few tunes composed by RD for his debut album for Durga Pooja of 1965. The reason he made his debut, despite not being too comfortable, was because for some reason, Sachin da in that year chose to cut a pooja album only of the songs penned by his wife. Bangla lyricist Pulak Banerjee, who wanted an abum with Sachin da, finally chose two of the compositions of RD for that year's album. Both the songs were sung by Lata  and were instant hits, Both were used by Pancham in later years as the base for his Hindi compositions. One of the song was "Ami Bole Tumay Dur Thako", a very sweetish composition, that starts with just a few notes of Guitar, but has some very interesting interludes that uses Sax and other western instruments. You can hear it at the end of the post, but before that let me speak about that other person., who shares 1st October as birth anniversary with Sachin Da.

He was one of the most prolific lyricist & very sensitive poet of all times - Majrooh Sultanpuri. Majrooh was the one who introduced Pancham to Nasir Hussain, and thus started alongwith them a journey at Teesri Manzil in 1966 which en-route went on to enthrall the music lovers through a roller coaster ride right upto early 80s.

One of the movies Majrooh did with RD was Mere Jeevan Sathi - a movie that was released in 1972 at the height of Kaka's popularity and yet was perhaps his first major flop.

For one of the duets of the movie, Pancham used the basic tune of "Ami Bole Tumay.." but made it peppier, lengthened the prelude itself - which has tune of another song from the movie - chala jaata hoon -, added flamboyance to match the Guru shirt wearing Rajesh Khanna, and again used Sax, Trumpet & Guitar, alongwith lovely Bongo beats, added special touches like that of slowing down of tempo to end each stanza - and the song, alongwith other songs of the movie has remained an all time hit. It was one of the few exceptions of Hindi cinema where the music went on to become a super hit, despite movie being a flop.

Here is the compositions I am talking about:

First, Kishore & Lata, singing Deewana Karke Chhodoge...

...and here is the original Bangla version

Phir Bhi Mera Man Pyaasa

In the last post I wrote about the troika of Anand Bakshi, Pancham & Kishore creating special compositions for Rajesh Khanna starrers, and the effect that flute created in Main Shayar Badnam.Well, as they say, "Mauka bhi hai, dastoor bhi aur mausam bhi". In the season of rain, how could I not play this one - a gem of a composition, from Mehbooba, based on Raga Shivranjani, with such beautiful verse that meets Kishore at his best.

The song was to be used in the movie at two different occassions - once for the heroine and again for the hero. Since the movie was based on the theme of reincarnation, love and classical music & dance, Pancham used a confluence of Dholak & Flute, while complementing the chords of a Guitar - his favourite instrument. The composition also was challenging as it required the singer to display a wide vocal range, and yet having that thehraav for staying true to the notes.

Pancham's natural choice for female version was Lata. However, when it came to male version, Kishore Kumar flatly refused because not being trained in classical music, he found it difficult. I am sure Pancham could have gone to Rafi, but he did not. He insisted, and finally Kishore Kumar relented on one condition - that he will only practice and replicate whatever Lata will sing. This is what he finally did, practising for a week, listening to Lata's version.

Picturised in the rain, the song starts with a bit low key humming and guitar chords, just like a brief calm before the impending storm. That is what Kishore Kumar creates - a storm with this song. Even now, when I listen to this song, and the goosebumps that I get every-time he raises his pitch in between the stanza, making it sound so simple, it seems unbelievable that anyone else could have done better than Kishore da in this song.

And the verse! Sumitra Nandan Pant had written - "Viyogi Hoga Pahla Kavi, Aah Se Upja Hoga Gaan". It required a real empathy with emotions and mastery over language to come up with something like -

Ae Dil Deevane

Khel Hai Kya Jaane

Dard Bhara Yeh

Geet Kahan Se

In Hothon Pe Aaye

Door Kahin Le Jaaye

Bhool Gaya, Ya

Bhool Ke Bhi Hai

Mujhko Yaad Zara Sa.

Phir Bhi Mera Man Pyaasa

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

Diye Jalte Hain...

While talking about Aap Ki Kasam &  Bandhe Haath I touched upon the downfall of Rajesh Khanna on one hand & rise of Amitabh Bachchan on the other. As is the wont, these coincidences of life also led to all kind of talks about their animosity. 

Strange as it may sound, the audience never really knows the truth about such talks. the fact however is that much before the success or lack of it resulted in spoiling relationships, both had co-starred in roles that had depicted great friendships - amidst all trials & tribulations of the stories.

The first one was the all time Hrishi da classic - Anand and both had really done justice to not only their roles, but to the movie also. It must have been their chemistry together that made Hrishikesh Mukherjee cast them again in what went on to be amongst his best works  - Namak Haram.

Namak Haram was loosely based on Jean Anouilh's French play Becket, made into a movie in 1964 starring Richard Burton & Peter O'Toole. These roles, in Namak Haram, were reprised by RK and AB.

Though the movie worked around class clashes and labour struggle, (and seems to be as relevant & concurrent even now as it was in early 70s), with Hrishi Da as Director & Gulzar as the writer, there were enough opportunities for a musical score. All it needed was a genius that could create classics out of those.

Using some lovely and poetical verse crafted by Anand Bakshi, and the magical voice of Kishore Kumar, this is precisely what Pancham did. He wove a magic spell & created such compositions that even four decades later each of them is as memorable, as hummable and as fresh sounding as it was then.

And the pick of the songs was this one - mine & my wife's one of the most favourite songs. If the verse are profound, the musical treatment is scintillating & unique. The interludes has Guitar, Tabla & Flute, while the vocals work purely on reso-resso, Tabla and perhaps santoor - that too at the end of each line only. More than the instruments, the composition relies solely on Kishore Kumar, and his voice touches the soul deep within - even now. 

So here it is - Kishore Kumar's heart warming rendition as an ode to the friendship:

Jab Jis Waqt Kisi Ka

Yaar Judaa Hota Hai
Kuchh Na Poocho, Yaaron Dil Ka
Haal Bura Hota Hai
Del Pe Yaadon ke Jaise
Teer Chalte Hain

Is rang-roop pe dekho,

Hargiz naaz na karna

Jaan bhi maange yaar to de dena

Naraaz na karna

Rang ud jaate hain

Dhoop dhalte hain

Daulat aur Jawaani
Ek Din Kho Jaati Hai
Sach Kahta Hoon, Saari Duniya
Dushman Ho Jaati Hai
Umr Bhar Dost Lekin
Saath Chalte Hain

Diye Jalte Hain
Phool Khilte Hain
Badi Mushkil se Magar, Duniya Men
Dost Milte Hain

Woh Phir Nahin Aate

Aap Ki Kasam was quite a well made movie, with reasonably good performances from all the three lead performers. Rajesh Khanna, as an excessively jealous husband doubting his wife forever, and in the bargain ruining the entire relationship, portrayed the role amazingly well, though the movie was preceded by a number of flops.

Of course, the movie had everything going for it, as far as its music was concerned. Another song of the movie, on a forlorn note, starts with the close-up of Rajesh Khanna, and the pain on his face can almost make one understand how closely he must have related to the lyrics – not only due to the story of the movie, but also of the turmoil he himself must have been going through with a number of flops.

While the lyrics, penned by Anand Bakshi, are simple & yet profound, it is the composition – based on Raag Bihaag –which is brilliant.

It begins with a beat – resembling a train journey – that remains constant through the song, with a number of instruments that keep adding the sound, before a very brief pause, and then the vocals start. As the song progresses, the structure & the instruments used in the composition also change – to denote the passage of time and the seasons.

There is a well created fusion of western as well as Indian instruments, with Santoor & Flute used judiciously to bring out the melody. Each of the interludes has such a distinct identity that it can be a part of an independent composition. Post each interlude, to bring the composition back to the main theme, ensuring that they are not perceived to be out of place is the hallmark of a genius. Of course, that is what Pancham was, and he was accompanied by another genius – Kishore Kumar – whose rendition ensured that the song has remained to be an all time classic – even after four decades.

Here it is:

Subah Aati Hai, Shaam Jaati Hai 

Waqt Chalataa Hi Rahataa Hai, Rukataa Nahi

Ek Pal Me Ye Aage Nikal Jaataa Hai

Aadami Theek Se Dekh Paataa Nahi

Aur Parade Ka Manzar Badal Jaataa Hai

Ek Baar Chale Jaate Hai Jo Din-Raat Subah-O-Shaam

Woh Phir Nahi Aate, Woh Phir Nahi Aate

Jai Jai Shiv Shankar

Lutf-e-Maye tujhse Kya Kahoon Nadaan

Hai Kambakht, Tune to Pee hi Nahin

Well, playing Holi without having a couple of glasses of Bhang - the drink favoured by no less than Lord Shiva himself, could be considered a sacrilege. And so would be not playing this song - another of Pancham's evergreen composition. This is from Aap ki Kasam of 1974, the movie where J Omprakash (Rakesh Roshan's father-in-law) turned from a producer to a director.

The movie itself was not a hit, rather proving to be just another step in superstar Rajesh Khanna's climbdown from stardom. The music however turned out to be super-hit with this bhang induced song & dance sequence ruling the chart for most of the year - ranking second on Binaca Geetmala's annual list of hits for that year. 

Rajesh Khanna had once mentioned in an interview that he had gone to a temple with Pancham. The clanging bells had a distinct sound and a peculiar rhythmic beat which caught Pancham’s attention, and were used by him in the beginning of the song. Of course, as the song moves on, the number of instruments keep getting added, reaching a finale, which has an unmatchable chaotic rhythm & energy to it.

There is another reason to listen to the finale of this song, an interesting story recently recounted by Mr. Annu Kapoor on his Big FM programme.

Apparently, due to the number of instruments used by Pancham for this song, the budget of the song recording had gone haywire - reaching a figure of 50000 - an astounding sum for a song recording in early 70s. Upset with this, Mr. J Omprakash, at the time of rehearsal kept complaining to Pancham & everyone else - "pachaas hazar kharch ho gaye, par mazaa nahin aaya". This constant barb naturally affected RD, and he shared his anguish with one of his best friends in the industry & the male singer of this song - Kishore Kumar. 

Of course, a friend in need is friend indeed. Kishore Kumar did not let the matter go unheeded. In the final version of the song, as the instruments are reaching a crescendo, you can hear him shouting - Bajao re Bajao imandari se bajao Pachas hazar kharch kiye hain. 

Har Khushi Se, Har Gam se Begaana Hota Hai....

"At the touch of love everyone becomes a poet..." Thus spoke Plato.

Well! Love not only creates poets, it also creates music. More so, when it comes to Hindi movies where a song has remained the perfect way to express one's love. Almost each movie, irrespective of its theme and mileu, has a love story going for it, creating a need for those love ballads. Bit it is not always only about verse. A good verse needs good composition to create that feeling of perpetual warmth in one's heart which only love can evoke.

Pancham, in tandem with some of the best lyricists of Hindi movies, created songs which have retained their freshness - even after so many years. One such song is a classic from the repertoire of that eternal loverboy of Indian Cinema - Rajesh Khanna!

The situation in the movie provided an opportunity to the lyricist Anand Bakshi to pen verse which make an attempt to define the love - an undefinable emotion otherwise - and its inevitability . Kishore brings to life the emotions in his rendition. And Pancham? He used one of the stock instruments in most of the movies of late 60s, a grand Piano, in a manner that spell-bounds the listener, forever. I never get tired listening to this song as Rajesh Khanna tries to explain to reluctant & reticent Asha Parekh:

Rahe koi sau pardon me, dare sharam se 

Nazar aji laakh churaaye, koi sanam se 

Aa hi jaataa hai jisape dil aanaa hotaa hai

Pyaar divaanaa hotaa hai, Mastaanaa hotaa hai

Har khushi se, Har gam se, Begaanaa hotaa hai

Maanga Hai Tumhe, Duniya Ke Liye...

Rajesh Khanna

He was the first star of Hindi cinema to attain a success that could be called nothing but Super-stardom. 

Starting with Aradhana in 1969, he gave a series of solo hits – almost 15 movies, over next 3 years. Such was his success that Dharmendra, playing himself in Hrishikesh Mukherji’s ‘Guddi’, had to say – Aaj kal to sab sirf Rajesh Khanna ke fan hote hain.. 

All his hit movies had one thing in common - great music. From Aradhana, where he started his journey on the road to success singing to his heroine in an open jeep - a SD movie but with major inputs from RD to RD's sollo works in The Train, Amar Prem & Kati Patang - each of the movie carried within itself songs that added to his charisma and style.

Interestingly, and sadly, his first major flop after these many hits also had RD at his best. Unlike other flop movies though, the soundtrack of the movie went on to become much bigger hit - forever. Each of the songs has a special quality that RD alone could have come up with - specially this one - an Anthem for all the guys in love & wanting to serenade their lady.

This is a song, whose tune haunted RD so much one night that he got up at Four in the morning & composed the tune. True to the quality of the tune are the verse - penned by Majrooh after the tune was created, sung by Kishore in his inimitable matchless style. 

So here is the song on Rajesh Khanna, as part of a series on his birth anniversary on Sunday,with him singing to - oh, so beautiful (no wonder, one of my most favourite actresses) - Tanuja, in Mere Jeevan Sathi:

Yun to akelaa hi aqsar, Gir ke sambhal sakataa hoon main

Tum jo pakad lo haath meraa, Duniyaa badal sakataa hoon main

Maagaa hai tumhe duniyaa ke liye

Ab kud hi sanam faisalaa kijiye

O Mere Dil Ke Chain...

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

Akaash Kane Deko..

With weekend, Pooja & Navratri celebrations are at its high - leaving not enough time for the posts.

Yet, would like to do a quick post:

This time one of the most popular numbers of RD, Kishore & Rajesh Khanna combination.

But first the Bangla composition - Akash Keno Dake - released around 1967, sung originally also by Kishore Kumar - the composition is a dead give-away of its Hindi version:

As I said, a dead give-away:

So here is the Hindi version - from movie Kati Patang. 

It might be my perspective or perhaps, Rajesh Khanna's performance, the theme of the movie & very very romantic lyrics, adding a different context to the song - but Kishore Kumar sounds much more soulful - as compared to the Bangla version. Even the composition & the structure seems to be having more punch, despite adhering to the basic tune - including the whistling.

Whatever it may be, the song remains one of the most popular songs of this combination. Here it goes for you all:
Ek ruthi hui, taqadir jaise koi
Khaamosh aise hai tu, tasveer jaise koi
Teri nazar, banke zubaan, 
Lekin tere paigaam diye jaaye

Gulabi Aankhen jo Teri Dekhi..

By the time "The Train" was released, for some reason RD had decided to use only Kishore Kumar's voice for Rajesh Khanna, largely.

Of course, from 1970 till Rafi died, RD & Rafi did work together on a number of movies and gave some amazing memorable numbers - but only 3 of these were for Rajesh Khanna.

We will come to those songs later - but as a response to a friend's humorous comment regarding romancing the spouse, there are a whole lot of gems of RD out there to facilitate the romance. If, however, I have to restrict my choice to this movie, then the obvious choice, would be this number - one of the last hits of Rafi-RD-RK combine.

The location is also ideal - Observation Post Garden in Aarey, now known as Chhota Kashmir. Despite a very Shammi Kapoor / Jitendra kind of choreography, the song has an appeal, due to its lyrics and foot-tapping rhythm. So here it goes:

Bura ye jaadu teri aankho kaa
Ye meraa qaatil ho gayaa
Sambhalo mujhko O mere Yaron,
Sambhalna Mushkil Ho Gaya
Gulaabi Aankhen Jo Tero Dekhi
Sharabi yeh Dil Ho Gaya

Kis Liye Maine Pyar Kiya

In 1969, Rajesh Khanna & Nanda starred together in the only songless movie by Yash Chopra - Ittefaq.

The Train, another suspense movie followed Ittefaq, and also did good business. Unlike Ittefaq, though, this movie had followed the song-and-dance formula of Hindi movies and RD did more than adequate justice to the plot & the situations.

Apart from the Meri Jaan Maine Kaha, which I shared yesterday, the movie also had a lovely Lata solo - one of her all time hits, which I would like to share here.

O Meri Jaan, Main Ne Kaha..

After Kati Patang, RD was soon to scale new heights with another Shakti Samant movie - Amar Prem.

Before that there was another movie though - another milestone in his career.

Those having spent their childhood in 70s in Mumbai would know that Sarvajanik Ganapati festival in mid 70s in Mumbai had a tradition - to exhibit movies all week long using 16mm projectors, huge boxes that would create a sound rising above the din of the streets, and white cloth - tied from one pole to another, as the screen.

That is how I had seen this movie first. Despite innumerable intervals that such screening had - essentially to facilitate the change over of reels, if the movie still managed to scare us, the credit was to the entire ambiance created through dark scenes, presence of that 70s mascor of evil - Shetty, and perfect use of background score. This was "The Train" - A Rajesh Khanna & Nanda starrer.

The movie had some chart-toppers, yet what made the movie special for RD's fans was this being the first time when he joined Asha for a duet. An exuberant cabaret number sung with gusto by Asha, that only, nay - ONLY Helen's vivacious dancing skills could have done justice to, is an absolute treat.

So here it goes:

Pyar Deewana Hot Hai..

There is a lot that has been written, said and explored about the combination of Gulzar & R D. I wonder why, the same importance has not been given to another combination - that of R D with Anand Bakshi.

In fact, for the statistically inclined, the number of movies which RD did with Anand Bakshi were almost 4 times of what RD & Gulzar did. Qualitatively also, the songs created by RD & AB together were as superlative, if not more.

For example, this song from Kati Patang. The musical arrangement consisted largely of Piano, with lovely prelude before Kishore makes this song his own:

Suno kisi shaayar ne ye, Kaha bahot khub
Manaa kare duniyaan lekin, mere mehaboob
Woh chhalak jaataa hai jo, paimaanaa hotaa hai
Har khushee se, har gam se, begaanaa hotaa hai....