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:

I Am Falling In Love With A Stranger

To dream of replacing Amitabh is much easier than actually doing it. It requires a combination of talent, self-belief & tenacity that few are capable of. 

Tenacity? Yes, excluding Anand - where his introvert Dr. Bhaskar Banerjee proved to be a perfect juxtaposition for Rajesh Khanna to walk away with all laurels, it was only after delivering a series of flops (which could have made anyone else decide to look for an alternate career) that Amitabh could get Zanjeer, his 13th movie, and the first role that started shaping him as a rebellious young man. 

Post Zanjeer, there were a number of good performances - like Abhimaan, Majbiir, Mili & Chupke Chupke. Yet, he was still a hero for the feel good small budget cinemas. Then came 1975 - the year in which his brooding performances in two mega budget movies and their super success finally put him on the road to being called Super Star. One was Sholay, and just before that, at the beginning of the year, was Yash Chopra's Deewar.

Pancham already had composed for a number of movies starring Amitabh but Deewar was different. Here, the role had no, absolutely no, possibility of a song for Amitabh. The movie however had an interesting night club scene just before Amitabh is on his way to meet - nonchalantly - a probable death. 

RD used the situation for an English number, penned by Pancham himself & sung by Ursula Vaz. The composition is interesting & in two parts. The first part - of a romantic ambiance where a very beautiful Parveen Babi gets introduced in the movie & strikes a conversation with Amitabh. The composition here is suitably centered around Bossa Nova & Jazz in a lilting slow tempo, with refrains from instruments that include Trumpet, Piano & Drums. However, half way through the sequence, the time for words get over, tempo changes & gives way to a composition to match the suspense the situation carries. 

The end result is superb & pleasant, as while Amitabh survives & finds a soulmate in Parveen, we get a very hummable number: I am falling in Love With A Stranger:

A Note: Since the movie sequence has the song only in background, I am putting up the song & the composition itself:
Please check this out.

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.