Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya and Bengali modern songs.

Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya and Bengali modern songs.

Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya was the one of the legendary classical singer of Bengal of the 50s and 60s, who showed his excellence in films songs, Bengali modern songs and shyamasangeet. He did not get the recognition he deserved as the major attention of the media was focused only towards Hemant Kumar, the romantic singer of Bengal, but along with Manobendra Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Akhilbondhu Ghosh, Satinath Mukherjee and others, Dhanonjoy’s classical touch inspired the composers to compose pure classical and semi-classical songs.

Dhanonjoy’s evergreen modern songs included “matite jonmo nilam” composed by Prabir Mojumdar, “kabir kheyale premomoy tumi samrat shahjahan” composed by himself, “jhanana jhanana baje” composed by Salil Choudhury, “ei jhir jhir jhir batashe” composed by Sudhin Dasgupta, “ruma jhuma jhum” composed by Rotu Mukherjee, “antabihin oi andharater” composed by Salil Choudhury, “shilpi moner bedona”, “tandra elo bolo jaagi kemon kore”, “chameli melona ankhi”, “bashorer deep aaj” to name a few. The song “matite jonmo nilam” was composed by Probir Mojumdar on the background of sacrifice made by Indians during the freedom movement. Dhananjoy Bhattacharya gave able expression in the song.

There were other impressive songs of Dhananjoy Bhattacharya including “hridoye mor rakto jhore”, “hai cholona” and “ogo guni bajao suni”. There were few Bengali version songs sung by Dhananjoy Bhattacharya based on the bollywood songs that were composed in films. Few of them include “shono go priyotama” which was based on Lata Mangeshkar’s epic song “ayega anewala” composed by Khemchand Prakash in the film Mahal. There were other songs like “sono sono kothati sono” based on the song “chori chori”. Dhananjoy Bhattacharya was sublime in songs based on somber mood like “bidae nite ki ele” and “kotodin dekha hoyni dujone”. His bass and classical elegance stands out in these evergreen songs.

Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya acted in Bengali films like Pasher Bari (which was remade in hindi with the title Parosan where Kishore Kumar played his role), nobo bidhan, etc. His brilliant songs in Bengali films included “jagannath swami gamanapathagami bhabatue” sung in the film Nilachole Mahaprobhu, composed by Raichand Boral, “jhir jhir jhir jhir jhir borosha” in the film Pasher Bari, composed by Salil Choudhury, “katharo aghate chinno paye rokto jhare” in Uttam Kumar’s film Sabar Upare, composed by Robin Chatterji, etc. He made major contribution in Uttam Kumar’s film Nabajanmo, Uttam Kumar’s film Shilpi, etc.

Besides, Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya had sung more than 200 shyama sangeet (devotional songs sung for Goddess Kali). Some of his legendary shyama sangeet included “e maya proponchomoy” in the Uttam Kumar’s film Share Chuattor, “gaya ganga prabashadi” in the film Rani Rashmoni, also major songs in the films Sadhok Bamakhepa and Joto Mot Tato Poth. His brother Pannalal Bhattacharya became a legend in the world of Shyama sangeet.

Dhanonjoy died in the early 1990s, after leaving a huge treasure of classical songs and still remains a king (samrat) in the minds of numerous music lovers in the country. His songs and works should be preserved and restored.

Salil Choudhury's Bengali and hindi version of songs.

Salil Choudhury’s Bengali and hindi version of songs.

Salil Choudhury was one of rare class of intellectual who embraced Bengali and films with his eternal treasure of music. His words and tunes matched one another in both the versions.In the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s he experimented with many songs made both for Bengali modern version and gave the same song with a different version in bollywood films.

His song “jhir jhir jhir jhir jhir borosa” sung by Dhananjoy Bhattacharya composed by Salil Choudhury in the film Pasher Bari who remade in hindi with the title “jhir jhir jhirjhir” sung by Lata Mangeshkar with equal brilliance. Dhananjoy Bhattacharya’s classical touch was balanced by Lata Mangeshkar with her own unique style.

Shyamal Mitra’s brilliant modern song “Jodi kichu amare sudhao” was remade with the title “dil tarpe tarpaye” sung by Rafi in the film Poonam Ki Raat. In Shyamal Mitra’s version Salil Choudhury used music for half part of the song, the rest was blank version. In Rafi’s version chorus was used at the back of Rafi’s solo. If Shyamal Mitra’s pitch was unparallel, Rafi’s romantic rendition with slight classical alaap was outstanding. It was Salil Choudhury’s sheer brilliance that he used the immortal singers in style.

Salil Choudhury’s song “ganga gangar tarange prano paddo bhasailam” sung by Sabita Choudhury in the film Ganga was remade in hindi by Manna Dey. The film Ganga was directed by Rajen Tarafdar and won many awards for its excellence. The rhythm of fishermen sailing in boats was synchronized by Salil Choudhury’s own orchestration. Salil Choudhury’s outstanding music was one of the reasons for the success of the film Ganga. The hindi version sung with the title “ganga” sung by Manna Dey. Manna Dey brought the folk flavor in style. The other song in film Ganga sung by Manna Dey titled “uthali pathali amar book” was remade in the hindi by Hemant Kumar with the title “ganga aye kahan se”. Manna Dey’s version had folk title “bhatiyali” embedded in it.

Salil Choudhury’s song “aye brishti jhepe” sung by Sandhya Mukherjee was remade in hindi titled “bhaiya re bhaiya” sung by Shusma Shresth and others. Salil Choudhury’s song “ei duniyay bhai” sung by Manna Dey and picturised on Bengali actor Chabi Biswas in the film Ekdin Ratre was remade in hindi with the title “humko samajh baithe” sung by Mukesh.

Salil Choudhury’s song “guru guru meghero mondrobahare” sung by Sabita Choudhury was remade as “o sanyasi” sung by Asha Bhosle and Yesudas. Shyamal Mitra’s song “ja jare ja ja pakhi” was remade in hindi by Mukesh with the title “door bahut abadi”. Sabita Choudhury’s song “jhilmil jhiler jole jhikimiki” sung by Sabita Choudhury was remade in hindi with the title “naam mera nimmo” sung by Lata, Manna Dey and Dwijen Mukherjee. The list can go on.

The greatness of Salil Choudhury lies in utilizing all the singing talents in Bengal and India as a whole. Singing talents in Bengal like Manobendra Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Dhananjoy Bhattacharya, Hemant Kumar, Shyamal Mitra, Sandhya Mukherjee, Sabita Choudhury were used as against the giants in Bollywood industry like Mohammad Rafi, Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Talat Mehmood, Yesu Das and others.

Tarun Banerjee had sung everlasting songs during golden age.

Tarun Banerjee had sung everlasting songs during golden age.

Singer Tarun Banerjee had sung everlasting songs during the golden age of Bengali music; that is the 50s and 60s. He had a deep voice with good pitch. His song “mor malanche bosonto nai” was very popular during the 60s. He was sublime in the song “champakoli go koto name dekechi tomae” composed by classical singer Manobendra Mukherjee. The song “konokchapa dhan” composed by Prabir Mojumdar and sung by Tarun Banerjee was equally popular.

He was excellent in the songs he had sung for poet and composer Salil Choudhury. One of his legendary songs included “eso kache eso, kono kotha bolo” which became immensely popular during the 60s. His song “ankhi cholocholiya keno gele choliya” composed by Nikhil Chatterji also became very popular during that period. His other hit songs during that period included “tolpar tolpar moner kotha”, “magnelia aar kamelia phool”, etc.

He also sang songs which were compositions made out of rhymes. One of the examples included “ek ekdin megh kore mon bole hariye jai”. He also sang the song “champa amar ogo jago” which was written by Salil Choudhury and composed by Sudhin Dasgupta. Very rarely the two highly talented lyricist and composer Salil Chodhury and Sudhin Dasgupta came together to compose the legendary songs. “champa amar ogo” was one of them.

He had sung songs which were in the form of ballads. Some of them included “modhumati jay boye jay”, “cholo Rina”, “kajol nodir jole”, “aar deri nei”, to mention a few. He equally sublime in other modern songs like “alta payer”, “elona se elona”, etc.

He also made valuable contribution in Bengali film music. His song “haridasher bulbulbhaja tatka taja khete moja” in the film Shriman Prithviraj was very popular. The song was composed by Hemant Kumar and the film was directed by eminent director Tarun Majumdar. It is not possible to highlight the contribution of Tarun Banerjee in Bengali modern songs in a small article, who had contributed during the 50s, 60s and 70s. His songs and films should be preserved and restored.

Salil Choudhury had composed gems for all the legendary singers of golden age.

Salil Choudhury had composed gems for all the legendary singers of golden age.

Salil Choudhury, genius of words and tunes had composed brilliant tunes for most of the giants of Bengali music in the 50s and 60s. He composed melodious song for Tarun Banerjee titled “eso kache boso” which had the rhythm of railways. The song “pallabini go sancharini” composed for Dijen Mukherjee remains one of the most striking modern songs he had sang during his life.

The song “ami parini bujhite parini” had classical touch and Salil Choudhury did justice by composing it for the best classical singer of the 50s Manobendra Mukherjee. He almost converted it into a ghazal. Admirers of Salil Choudhury who glorified his westernized creations would salute him for his classical creations of the standard of “Ami parini bujhite parini” sung by Manobendra Mukherjee. Salil Choudhury created equally brilliant song “jhanana jhanana baje” for legendary singer Dhananjoy Bhattacharya.

Salil Choudhury was unparallel in the song “jhilmil jhauer bone jhikimiki” composed for Sabita Choudhury. The words banged against each other and carried the music together. He was equally brilliant in the song “jaak dhuye jaak muche jaak” sung by Shyamal Mitra. Salil Choudhury even composed song for actor Biswajeet Chatterjee titled “jay jay din” which became big hit in the late 60s.

Salil Choudhury was amazing in the song “mon matal sanjh sakal” sung by Mukesh having a pensive mood attached with it. Sandhya Mukherjee’s “neel neel pakhi” composed by Salil Choudhury was another gem with brilliant orchestration. Salil Choudhury was brilliant in the song “guru guru megher mondro bahare” which had western chorus attached with the solo piece.

Salil Choudhury’s philosophical words were given expression in the song “path harabo bole pathe nemechi” by Hemanta Mukherjee. Besides Lata’s song “ki je kori” also had equally brilliant music and words of Salil Choudhury. In fact Salil Choudhury’s songs written and composed by himself remains as some of bengal’s greatest intellectually oriented songs having multi-dimensional effect.

After Rabindranath Tagore, Dwijendralal Roy, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Atul Prashad Sen, Rajanikanto Sen and others probably Salil Choudhury was the greatest individual musical talent that Bengal had given birth to whose contribution in bollywood films, Bengali films, Bengali modern songs and IPTA’s works remain priceless gems which can be cherished for gems.

Happy birthday to Mohammad Rafi.

Happy birthday to Mohammad Rafi.

The listeners of music all over the world wish happy birthday to Mohammad Rafi on 24th December, 2010. The noble soul had left his admirers 30 years ago. Yet he is alive in numerous everlasting hit songs which are heard and cherished for generations.

Very significantly he was associated with all the leading actors of bollywood industry in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s, which starts with Bharat Bhushan, Pradeep Kumar, Dilip Kumar, Rajender Kumar, Raj Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Joy Mukherjee, Biswajeet, Guru Dutt, and extends upto Big B, Rishi Kapoor, Sanjeev Kumar, Jeetender, etc. Even comedians like Johnny Walker, Mehmood were indebted to the maestro for his modification of the voice in favour of them which entertained the audience to a big extent.

Filmfare can start creating separate category of musical awards under different types of playback songs in the name of Mohammad Rafi.
There should be a filmfare Mohammad Rafi award for the best ghazal sung in a bollywood film in the respective year. Rafi had sung immortal ghazals in his everlasting career. In fact Rafi won the filmfare award for the best male playback singer in 1960 for the ghazal “chaudavi ka chand ho” composed by Ravi in the film Chaudavi Ka Chand. He sang other brilliant ghazals like “tumhari zul ke sayeme sham karlunga” composed by Madanmohan, “mere mehboob tujhe” composed by Naushad, “jane wo kaun hai” composed by Roshan, “unke khayal aye to” composed by Shankar Jaikishan, etc.
There should be a filmfare Mohammad Rafi award for the best qawalli sung in a bollywood film in the respective year. Rafi had made listeners spellbound with his rendition of landmark qawallies like “yeh ishq ishq” in the film Barsaat Ki Raat composed by Roshan Lal Nagrath, “parda hai parda” in the film Amar Akbar Anthony composed by Laxmikant Pyarellal, “hum kisi se kum nahi” in the film Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi composed by RD Burman, to name a few.
There should be a filmfare Mohammad Rafi award for the best western song sung in a bollywood film in the respective year. Rafi was phenomenal in the western songs “dil ke jharoke me” composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “nazneen bara rangeen hai wada tera” composed by OP Nayyar, “dil tarpe tarpaye” composed by Salil Choudhury, to name a few. The list just goes on.
There should be a filmfare Mohammad Rafi award for the best eastern classical song sung in a bollywood film in the respective year. Rafi had sung classical songs with excellence including “madhuban me radhika nachere” composed by Naushad, “aajahu na aye” composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “phir tere shahar me” composed by OP Nayyar,etc.

Rafi had been cherished in the minds of musiclovers all across the world. The singers of the present generation should learn from Rafi and improve their own style of singing.

Happy birthday to melody-queen Lata Mangeshkar.

Happy birthday to melody-queen Lata Mangeshkar.

The listeners of music in India and abroad wish happy birthday to Lata Mangeshkar, the melody queen on 27th September, 2010. She had remained a sensation even in her 80s.

Starting her journey from the early 40s, Lataji created an impression with the songs “ayega anewala” in the film Mahal, composed by Khemchand Prakash. The songs of the horror film were picturised on Madhubala who later became a legendary star of bollywood films. Lata faced the competition from eminent singers Noorjahan, Suraiya, Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle, Rajkumari, and others and emerged victorious in the 50s and 60s.

Her sweetness of voice compelled composers to give the best tunes ever created in Indian film history. Along with Rafi, Lata had the record of singing songs of almost all the composers of the golden age. Everlasting gems of Lata include “tu jaha jahan chalega” composed by Madanmohan, “duniya kare sawal” composed by Roshan, “hume tum mil gaye humdum” composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “phir teri kahani yaad aye” composed by Naushad, “ajare pardesi” composed by Salil Choudhury, “allah tero naam” composed by Jaidev, “piya tose naina lage re” composed by SD Burman, to name a few.

Lata had sung more than 30000 songs during her singing career which was more than 65 years long. She had sung for Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Nargis, Wahida Rehman, on one hand, and did sing for the new actresses of the 90s namely Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla, etc. Her patriotic songs “aye mere watan ke logon” brought tears even in the eyes of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Articles after articles can be devoted to the Indian nightingale, Lata who had remained an institution in different types of songs including Hindustani classical, folk songs, lift romantic songs, to name a few.

Lata Mangeshkar sung songs in more than 15 regional languages including Marathi, Bengali and others. She played a very significant role in Bengali film industry in the world of playback singing. Some of her hit songs included “jago” in Raj Kapoor’s film Ekdin Ratre, composed by Salil Choudhury, “aaj mon cheyeche ami hariye jabo” composed by Sudhin Dasgupta in Uttam Kumar’s film Shankhabela, to name a few.
Singers of the present age consider Lataji as their idol and try to emulate her style. Even reputed singers like Sonu Nigam feel privileged to get his son record his son at such tender age with evergreen legend Lata Mangeshkar.

The listeners of music all over the world expect Lataji to continue the great work that she started 70 years ago. Her works should be restored.

Kishore Kumar had been remembered on his birthday.

Kishore Kumar had been remembered on his birthday.

Kishore Kumar had been remembered on his birthday on 4th August, 2010. Kishore Kumar, the master entertainer had been one of the most colourful personalities of bollywood who just became more and more and more popular over the years, now it is almost 21 years after his demise. In respect of his acting performances hardly any actor even dared to imitate him as his improvisations were spontaneous. The part that is followed by numerous singers all over the country is his singing style.

When KK acted as hero in bollywood films he showed his acting capability even in playback singing like the song “c a t cat, cat mane billi” in the film Dilli Ka Thag. He brought out all the sounds of the animals that were named in the song. In the film Chalti Ka Naam Gari, in the song “paanch rupaiya bara ana” he imitated SD Burman and in every paragraph he had created a new style which justified the lyrics. In Half Ticket he showed the childishness in the song “chil chil chillake” composed by Salil Choudhury, which became very popular among children. He even sang the ladies version of the song “o sawariya” in the film Half Ticket, when he was teasing Pran during a song sequence.

All his innovations created history when he concentrated in playback singing only in the 70s. He made the audience realize that he was singing for Dev Anand, or Rajesh Khanna or Big B, to name a few. His songs “gata rahe mera dil” from Guide, “roop tera mastana” from Aradhana, “kuch to log kahenge” from Amar Prem, “tere mere Milan ki” from Abhimaan have created history over the years.

In the 80s, it was KK all the way, when he had no competitors. All his songs in Big B’s film Namakhalal, Sharaabi, became record hits. Even in Rishi Kapoor’s Sagar, his song “sagar kinare” had romantic appeal. Composers like RD Burman, Bappi Lahiri, Rajesh Roshan could not think about any composition without KK. He became the legend of legends and all the actors of the 70s and 80s are indebted for his colourful playback.

After his death Kumar Shanu, Abhijeet, Vinod Rathod, Babul Supriyo and other singers had established themselves by following his style of singing. It has not happened with any other playback singer of bollywood. His styles were very entertaining, romantic and filmic.

Articles after articles can be devoted to the master entertainer and it can be said that he had remained alive all over the years in his numerous films and thousands of songs. His films and songs should be preserved.

Mukesh is remembered on his birthday.

Mukesh is remembered on his birthday.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to legendary singer Mukesh on 22nd July, 2010 and remember his great works. Mukesh was probably the most popular singer of the 50s, 60s and 70s after Mohammad Rafi.

His nazal tune had huge amount of sensitiveness and he gave expression to brilliant composers of the golden age with the romantic voice. His combination with Showman Raj Kapoor was considered one of the golden combinations of the 40s, 50s, 60s.

His notable songs for Raj Kapoor included “awara hoon” from film Awara, composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “aaja re” from film Aah, composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “ramaiya vasta maiya” and “mera joota hai japani” from film Shree 420 composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “sab kuch sikha humne” and “kisiki muskurahaton pe ho nisar” from film Anari, composed by SJ, etc. The list can go on. Shankar Jaikishan stormed bollywood films with their everlasting tunes for more than 25 years, and wherever they were associated with Raj Kapoor, Mukesh sang the songs of his lifetime. The combination gave everlasting hits in films like Barsaat, Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, Sangam, Ek Dil Sau Afsana, Around the World, Diwana, Teesri Kasam, Mera Naam Joker, to name a few.

In non-Raj Kapoor films also Mukesh did a superlative job. His performance in Dilip Kumar’s Madhumati, composed by Salil Choudhury, Manoj Kumar’s Hariyali Aur Raasta composed by Shankar Jaikishan, Rajender Kumar’s Saathi composed by Naushad, Manoj Kumar’s Pathar Ke Sanam composed by LP, require special mention. Some of the notable songs of Mukesh which had remained immortal in those films included “dil tarap tarap ke kehrahahe aabhi ja”, “ifteda-e-ishq me”, “mera pyar bhi tuhe”, “tauba yeh matwali chal”, etc.

He died in 1976, and ended the era relating to soft romantic songs. His journay from the film Nirdosh in 1941 to Amar Akbar Anthony in 1977, remained unblemish. In 1974, he received national award for best singer for the song “kai baar yun hi dekha hai” from the film Rajnigandha, composed by Salil Choudhury. Besides he received filmfare awards for his best performance in films like Anari, Pehchan, Beimaan, Kabhi Kabhi. Even in the 70s, when slow music gradually lost its predominance, Mukesh’s songs in somber mood like “mai pal do pal ka shayar hoon” and “kabhi kabhi mere dil me” composed by Khayyam and written by Sahir Ludhiyanvi created a permanent place in the hearts of millions of musiclovers.

Articles after articles can be devoted on the successful combination of Mukesh with Shankar Jaikishan, Salil Choudhury, Naushad, Roshan, and others. His films and songs should be preserved.

Dhananjoy Bhattacharya remained unwept unsung.

Dhananjoy Bhattacharya remained unwept unsung.

Dhananjoy Bhattacharya was one of the classic-best singers of the 50s and the 60s. He was used by most of the leading composers of Bengali films, like Salil Choudhury, Anil Bagchi, Robin Chatterji and other stalwarts.

Dhananjoy Bhattacharya sang the sung “jhir jhir jhir jhir jhir jhir borosa, hay kigo horosha” in the film Pasher Bari. Later the film Pasher Bari was remade in hindi with the name Parosan where Mehmood and Kishore Kumar played cameos. Dhananjoy Bhattacharya also acted in the film Pasher Bari in the role which was later played by Kishore Kumar in Parosan.

Raichand Boral used Dhananjoy Bhattacharya in the film Nilachale Mahaprabhu based on the life of Chaitanya Deb. His song “hari haraye nomokrishna” and “jagannath jagathbandhu” was as brilliant as Manobendra Mukherjee’s “jagannath jagatbandhu”. Anil Bagchi used him in the film Rani Rashmoni in the song “gaya ganga”.

Dhananjoy Bhattacharya continued his dream run with the song “kataro agathe chino paye rakta jhare” in Uttam Kumar’s film Sabar Upare and “bondhure” in Uttam Kumar’s Shilpi which were composed by Robin Chatterji. Shyamal Mitra used Dhananjoy in Uttam Kumar’s film Bhranti Bilas in the song “ahalya”. From the 60s and 70s he devoted time in singing shyamasangeet, the songs for Goddess Kali.

His modern songs in Bengali were sensation by every musical standard. His classically oriented songs and western songs like “jhanana jhanana baje” composed by Salil Choudhury, ““matite jonmo nilam” composed by Prabir Mojumdar, “kabir kheyale premomoy tumi samrat shahjahan” composed by himself, “ogo suchorita” composed by Sudhin Dasgupta, “ei jhir jhir jhir batashe” composed by Sudhin Dasgupta, “ruma jhuma jhum” composed by Rotu Mukherjee, “antabihin oi andharater” composed by Salil Choudhury, “shilpi moner bedona”, “tandra elo bolo jaagi kemon kore”, “chameli melona ankhi”, “bashorer deep aaj”, “Jodi bhule jao more”, to name a few.

He also sang the Bengali version of the song “ayega anewala” sung by Lata in the film Mahal, composed by Khemchand Prakash with the Bengali title “sono go”. He was indispensable figure both in films as well as Bengali modern songs. His songs in Uttam Kumar’s film Nabajanma, religious film Sadhok Bamakhepa, Jotomoth Tatapath require special mention.

Inspite of having huge classical gharana and control, he had remained an unsung singer. But other than Manna Dey and Manobendra Mukherjee, no other Bengali singer had the range and variety of singing like Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya. His songs and films should be preserved.

Remembering Salil Choudhury.

Remembering Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudhury, noted scholar, poet, composer and literary giant was remembered on his birthday on 19th November, 2009. As he was a versatile scholar, his scholarly attributes were reflected in his creations. He was both the lyricist and the composer and numerous songs sung by legendary singers over 50 years.

His creation “ami parini bujhite parini” and “tumi jaante” for Manobendra Mukherjee were created with two different andaz, one having classical orientation while the other having westernized treatment. His creation “jhanana jhanana baje” and “antabihin oi andharater shesh” for Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya showed his class in handling classical singers.

On the other hand his strength in folk songs were evident in his song “sunayoni sunayoni” sung by Nirmalendu Choudhury and Sabita Choudhury. Nirmalendu became famous all across the world with his folk numbers. Salil Chouhdury huge experiment with Shymal Mitra in songs like “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, “aha oi ankabanka poth jai shudure”, “dur nai beshi dur oi”, “ja jare ja ja pakhi”, to name a few. In “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, Salil Choudhury’s orchestration was unique, half of the song was blank verse while the other half had musical treatment.

Salil Choudhury created a gem with the song “nil nil pakhi” for Sandhya Mukherjee. Besides, bengal’s literary community were astonished with Salil Choudhury conversion of famous poetry “ujjal ek jhak paira” sung by Sandhya Mukherjee into song. The poet’s feelings were translated into musical tune by sheer brilliance of Salil Choudhury. Other examples of converting legendary poems into songs include “runner” written by Shukanto Bhattacharya and “palki chole” written by Satyendranath Dutta which were sung by Hemanta Mukherjee which both became history. In “runner” the march of the postman on foot from remote corners of village was given adequate expression by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudhury’s national fame allowed him to do numerous experiments with bollywood singers like Mukesh and Lata. Articles after articles can be devoted to Lata Salil Choudhury creations in Bengali. Mukesh also sung hit song “jhum jhum pakshi nachona” composed by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudury created his masterpieces in Bengali films as well like Shyamal Mitra’s song “onek ghuriya sheshe” in Hrithik Ghatak’s film Bari Theke Paliye, Nirmalendu Choudhury’s song “sojoni o sojoni” and Manna Dey’s “uthali pathali amar buuk” in Rajen Tarafdar’s film Ganga. Besides his song “he bhai re bhai” and “baje go beena” sung by Manna Dey in the film Marjina Abdulla made the listeners speechless. Even Lata’s song “bujhbe na keu bujhbena” was equally popular.

Bimal Roy’s film Do Bigha Zameen was based on Salil Choudhury’s literature. His music in the films Do Bigha Zameen, Madhumati, Musafir, Parakh, Jagte Raho, Anand, Maya, Rajnigandha, etc., stand out as landmarks in Indian film history. He received filmfare award for brilliant performance in the film Madhumati. All the songs in the film including Lata’s “aja re”, “ghari ghari”, Rafi’s “tute hue khwabonme”, “jangal me mor nacha”, Mukesh’s “dil tarap tarap ke”, “suhana safar aur mausam hasin” touched the souls of numerous Indians in the late 50s.

Other notable songs of Salil Choudhury in bollywood films include “tasveer teri dil me” from Maya, “zindagi kaisi hai paheli hai”, “kahin dur jab din dhal jaye” from Anand, “rajnigandha” from Rajnigandha, “jago mohan pyare” from Jagte Raho, to name a few.

Bengal and India was as a whole was indebted to a maestro like Salil Choudhury and several researches can be undertaken for finding out the history behind his creations. One article is not enough to reiterate the immortal works of the giant creator. The creations should be preserved and restored.

Remembering Shyamal Mitra on his death anniversary.

Remembering Shyamal Mitra on his death anniversary.

Music lovers all across India remember Shyamal Mitra on his death anniversary on 15th November, 2009. Shyamal Mitra was the one of the leading singers of Bengal during the golden age and for 40 years dominated the world of modern songs and film music along with Manobendra Mukherjee, Manna Dey and Hemant Kumar. His nasal tune, emotional base, high pitch and effortless stretch of voice had remained immortal over the last 50 years. His first song “sriti tumi bedona” was composed by his guru Sudhirlal Chakravarty in the early 50s.

From that time onwards his nasal tune suited songs related to pathos and songs like “emono din aaste pare”, “jodi dako opar theke”, “ei sundar prithibi chere mono jete nahi chay” flabbergasted the Bengali audience. Satinath Mukherjee, a leading classical singer of the 60s loved Shyamal Mitra and his composition for him titled “eto alo aar eto hasi gaan” became super hit.

At that time Robin Chatterji, the leading composer of Bengali film music used Shyamal Mitra to sing film songs for Uttam Kumar, the greatest superstar of Bengal, and his songs “amar sapne dekha rajkonya” in the film Sagarika, 1956, “o mon kokhon shuru kokhon je shesh” in the film Kamal Lata, 1969, touched the souls of numerous listeners. Robin Chatterji experimented in the film Deeper Naam Tiya Rong with Portuguese folk music and the songs sung by Shaymal Mitra titled “o amar saat rajari dhaan” and “phiriti basakar kuye giya dishe” made the listeners speechless. The intonation of songs was in rural accent where Shyamal Mitra made an everlasting impact in the minds of the listeners.

Salil Choudhury was moved by the romantic appeal of Shyamal Mitra and used him in Dilip Kumar’s film Musafir with the song “ek aye ek jaye”. His basic discs sung by Shyamal Mitra include “aha oi ankabanka poth” which was remade in hindi titled “aha rimjhim ke” sung by Talat Mehmood, “jodi kichu amare shudhao”, “ja jare ja ja pakhi”, “dur nail beshi dur oi sajano sajano bokul baner dhare”, etc. By mid-60s Shyamal Mitra became a leading music composer and his composition for Manobendra Mukherjee and himself tilted “dole dodul dole jhulona” in Uttam Kumar’s film Deya Neya in 1963 became super hit.

The notable films where his music was impressive include Bon Palashir Padabali, Raj Konya, Bhranti Bilas, Amanush, Ananda Ashram, etc. Some of the notable songs in Bon Palashir Padabali included “aha mori mori”, “dekhuk para porshite”, “udash bayul”, etc. His song “dil aisa kisi ne mera tora” sung by Kishore Kumar in the hindi film Amanush gave him filmfare award for the best singer. His composition for Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle in the film Anand Ashram titled “sara pyar tumhara” became super hit with the excellent lips of Uttam Kumar and Sharmila Tagore.
My father, Ex-Chief Public Prosecutor Chitta Ranjan Chatterji, interviewed Shyamal Mitra in Scottish Church College in 1956, where he participated in a cultural night along with Manobendra Mukherjee and Satinath Mukherjee. Shyamal Mitra reiterated the contribution of Deep Narayan Bitholia in All India Radio who had composed songs under the head of Romyogeeti. His romantic stretch of voice in the song “boujhiuri go” had created a lasting impression in the minds of the listeners. Mr. Chitta Ranjan Chatterji was astonished with the humbleness of Shyamal Mitra who was down to earth and respectful towards his predecessors like Sudhirlal Chakaravarty and Satinath Mukherjee.

Shyamal Mitra’s brother Salil Mitra in TV interview emphasized Shaymal Mitra’s sense of respect towards legendary composer Robin Chatterji. While the shooting of the film Kamallata were taking place in bagan bari in rural West Bengal, Shyamal Mitra was playing badminton with Uttam Kumar. When Robin Chatterji heard his recording of the song “o mon kokhon shuru” he was unsatisfied and questioned Shaymal Mitra’s result of diksha in Naihati as the song lacked emotions in Bengali called “abeg”. Shyamal Mitra returned back and brought out the devotional andaz of his lifetime and Robin Chatterji gifted a perfume as a token of appreciation for the committed singer of Bengal.

His notable folk songs and romantic songs in basic discs include “o shimul bon”, “sediner sona jhora sondha”, “keno dako tumi more”, “keno tumi phire ele”, “kar monjiro baje”, etc. As composer he had composed evergreen songs for Manobendra Mukherjee like “o amar patralekha”, Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya “dole shal piyalir bon”, Sandhya Mukherjee “ami to tomari kache royechi” etc.

His voice suited Uttam Kumar a lot and his songs in the film Sokher Chor, Bhranti Bilas, Rajodrohi, Andha Atit had been landmarks in Bengali film history. He died in the mid-80s after becoming a legend along with Hemanta Kumar, Manobendra Mukherjee and Manna Dey and it is not possible to highlight his achievements in a small article. His songs and films should be restored.

Happy birthday to melody-queen Lata Mangeshkar.

Happy birthday to melody-queen Lata Mangeshkar.

The listeners of music in India and abroad wish happy birthday to Lata Mangeshkar, the melody queen on 27th September, 2009. She had turned 80 years of age.

Starting her journey from the early 40s, Lataji created an impression with the songs “ayega anewala” in the film Mahal, composed by Khemchand Prakash. The songs of the horror film were picturised on Madhubala who later became a legendary star of bollywood films. Lata faced the competition from eminent singers Noorjahan, Suraiya, Shamshad Begum, Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle, Rajkumari, and others and emerged victorious in the 50s and 60s.

Her sweetness of voice compelled composers to give the best tunes ever created in Indian film history. Along with Rafi, Lata had the record of singing songs of almost all the composers of the golden age. Everlasting gems of Lata include “tu jaha jahan chalega” composed by Madanmohan, “duniya kare sawal” composed by Roshan, “hume tum mil gaye humdum” composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “phir teri kahani yaad aye” composed by Naushad, “ajare pardesi” composed by Salil Choudhury, “allah tero naam” composed by Jaidev, “piya tose naina lage re” composed by SD Burman, to name a few.

Lata had sung more than 30000 songs during her singing career which was more than 65 years long. She had sung for Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Nargis, Wahida Rehman, on one hand, and did sing for the new actresses of the 90s namely Madhuri Dixit, Juhi Chawla, etc. Her patriotic songs “aye mere watan ke logon” brought tears even in the eyes of Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

Lata Mangeshkar sung songs in more than 15 regional languages including Marathi, Bengali and others. She played a very significant role in Bengali film industry in the world of playback singing. Some of her hit songs included “jago” in Raj Kapoor’s film Ekdin Ratre, composed by Salil Choudhury, “aaj mon cheyeche ami hariye jabo” composed by Sudhin Dasgupta in Uttam Kumar’s film Shankhabela, to name a few.
Singers of the present age consider Lataji as their idol and try to emulate her style. The listeners of music all over the world expect Lataji to continue the great work that she started 70 years ago. Her works should be restored.

Mukesh is remembered on his birthday.

Mukesh is remembered on his birthday.

The viewers of bollywood films wish happy birthday to legendary singer Mukesh on 22nd July, 2009 and remember his great works. Mukesh was probably the most popular singer of the 50s, 60s an 70s after Mohammad Rafi.

His nazal tune had huge amount of sensitiveness and he gave expression to brilliant composers of the golden age with the romantic voice. His combination with Showman Raj Kapoor was considered one of the golden combinations of the 40s, 50s, 60s.

His notable songs for Raj Kapoor included “awara hoon” from film Awara, composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “aaja re” from film Aah, composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “ramaiya vasta maiya” from film Shree 420 composed by Shankar Jaikishan, “sab kuch sikha humne” from film Anari, composed by SJ, etc. The list can go on. Shankar Jaikishan stormed bollywood films with their everlasting tunes for more than 25 years, and wherever they were associated with Raj Kapoor, Mukesh sang the songs of his lifetime. The combination gave everlasting hits in films like Barsaat, Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, Sangam, Ek Dil Sau Afsana, Around the World, Diwana, Teesri Kasam, Mera Naam Joker, to name a few.

In non-Raj Kapoor films also Mukesh did a superlative job. His performance in Dilip Kumar’s Madhumati, composed by Salil Choudhury, Manoj Kumar’s Hariyali Aur Raasta composed by Shankar Jaikishan, Rajender Kumar’s Saathi composed by Naushad, Manoj Kumar’s Pathar Ke Sanam composed by LP, require special mention.

He died in 1976, and ended the era relating to soft romantic songs. His journay from the film Nirdosh in 1941 to Amar Akbar Anthony in 1977, remained unblemish. In 1974, he received national award for best singer for the song “kai baar yun hi dekha hai” from the film Rajnigandha, composed by Salil Choudhury. Besides he received filmfare awards for his best performance in films like Anari, Pehchan, Beimaan, Kabhi Kabhi.

Articles after articles can be devoted on the successful combination of Mukesh with Shankar Jaikishan, Salil Choudhury, Naushad, Roshan, and others. His films and songs should be preserved.

Salil Choudhury and Bengali modern songs.

Salil Choudhury and Bengali modern songs.

Salil Choudhury was one of the most gifted creators of Bengali modern songs during the golden age. As he was a versatile scholar, his scholarly attributes were reflected in his creations. He was both the lyricist and the composer and numerous songs sung by legendary singers over 50 years.

His creation “ami parini bujhite parini” and “tumi jaante” for Manobendra Mukherjee were created with two different andaz, one having classical orientation while the other having westernized treatment. His creation “jhanana jhanana baje” and “antabihin oi andharater shesh” for Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya showed his class in handling classical singers.

On the other hand his base in folk songs were evident in his song “sunayoni sunayoni” sung by Nirmalendu Choudhury and Sabita Choudhury. Nirmalendu became famous all across the world with his folk numbers. Salil Chouhdury huge experiment with Shymal Mitra in songs like “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, “aha oi ankabanka poth jai shudure”, “dur nai beshi dur oi”, “ja jare ja ja pakhi”, to name a few. In “jadi kichu amare shudhao”, Salil Choudhury’s orchestration was unique, half of the song was blank verse while the other half had musical treatment.

Salil Choudhury created a gem with the song “nil nil pakhi” for Sandhya Mukherjee. Besides, bengal’s literary community were astonished with Salil Choudhury conversion of famous poetry “ujjal ek jhak paira” sung by Sandhya Mukherjee into song. The poet’s feelings were translated into musical tune by sheer brilliance of Salil Choudhury. Other examples of converting legendary poems into songs include “runner” written by Shukanto Bhattacharya and “palki chole” written by Satyendranath Dutta which were sung by Hemanta Mukherjee which both became history. In “runner” the march of the postman on foot from remote corners of village was given adequate expression by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudhury’s national fame allowed him to do numerous experiments with bollywood singers like Mukesh and Lata. Articles after articles can be devoted to Lata Salil Choudhury creations in Bengali. Mukesh also sung hit song “jhum jhum pakshi nachona” composed by Salil Choudhury.

Salil Choudury created his masterpieces in Bengali films as well like Shyamal Mitra’s song “onek ghuriya sheshe” in Hrithik Ghatak’s film Bari Theke Paliye, Nirmalendu Choudhury’s song “sojoni o sojoni” and Manna Dey’s “uthali pathali amar buuk” in Rajen Tarafdar’s film Ganga. Besides his song “he bhai re bhai” and “baje go beena” sung by Manna Dey in the film Marjina Abdulla made the listeners speechless. Even Lata’s song “bujhbe na keu bujhbena” was equally popular.

Bengal and India was as a whole was indebted to a maestro like Salil Choudhury and several researches can be undertaken for finding out the history behind his creations. The creations should be preserved and restored.

Salil Choudhury extracted the best out of Lata in Bengali modern songs.

Salil Choudhury extracted the best out of Lata in Bengali modern songs.

Salil Choudhury extracted the best music out of Lata Mangeshkar and their combination had created evergreen gems which are cherished over the years. In 1959, Salil Choudhury’s composition for Lata “jare jare ure jare pakhi” created sensation in Bengal.

Lata’s melodious voice enchanted the viewers and the east –west blend of Salil Choudhury as usual created new dimension in Bengali modern songs. The other 1959 creation included “na jeona. In 1960, Salil Choudhury composed “o banshi hai” and “ogo aar kichu to nai”. Those songs captured the romantic andaz of Lata.

In 1961, Salil Choudhury came out with Sri Lankan folk song in his creation for Lata titled “saat bhai chompa jagore”. The other song in that year “ki je kori, dure jete hai” was another creation in a somber mood. In 1963, Salil Choudhury’s creations “keno kichu kotha bolona”, “o tui nayano pakhi” were everlasting hits and had not lost their appeal even today.

In 1967, Salil Choudhury created “ke jabi aye” and “nishidin nishidin baje” in a unique style. Till this period Salil Choudhury’s orchestration used to include light orchestration. The song “Jodi baron koro” had such a brilliant interlude where Salil Choudhury showed his excellence in the part “birohini udashi” where Lata was matchless. “o jhar jhar jharna” was a fast number composed in the same year.

In 1969 only, Salil Choudhury created two gems “na mono lagena” and “ore o mon moyna”. The early 70s brought out Salil Choudhury’s experiments with the notations of piano, like “pa ma garesa’ sung by Lata. Lata also sang “o projapoti projapoti pakhna melo”. Another Salil Choudhury’s masterpiece included “antabiheen katena ar jeno” and “kichu to chahini aami” in 1972.

Salil Choudhury’ s “o mor moyna go” in 1975 for Lata, showed his jugglery with the guitar. The other song “jhilik jhilik jhinuk khuje pelam” was innovative too.

Some of the other masterpieces included “aaj noi gungun gunjon preme” and “aaj tobe eituku thak”. Salil Choudhury was solely responsible for Lata’s dominance in Bengali modern songs, although media had brought other names whose contributions are negligible in comparison to Salil Choudhury. In fact the Indian audience was not matured enough to appreciate Salil Choudhury’s experiments including calypso, Hungarian folk, etc. Otherwise he would have been ranked as one of legend of legends like Shankar Jaikishan. The songs of Lata and Salil Choudhury should be restored.

Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya - the legendary classical singer of bengal.

Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya – the legendary classical singer of Bengal.

Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya was the one of the legendary classical singer of Bengal of the 50s and 60s, who showed his excellence in films songs, Bengali modern songs and shyamasangeet. He did not get the recognition he deserved as the major attention of the media was focused only towards Hemant Kumar, the romantic singer of Bengal, but along with Manobendra Mukherjee, Manna Dey, Akhilbondhu Ghosh, Satinath Mukherjee and others, Dhanonjoy’s classical touch inspired the composers to compose pure classical and semi-classical songs.

Dhanonjoy’s evergreen modern songs included “matite jonmo nilam” composed by Prabir Mojumdar, “kabir kheyale premomoy tumi samrat shahjahan” composed by himself, “jhanana jhanana baje” composed by Salil Choudhury, “ei jhir jhir jhir batashe” composed by Sudhin Dasgupta, “ruma jhuma jhum” composed by Rotu Mukherjee, “antabihin oi andharater” composed by Salil Choudhury, “shilpi moner bedona”, “tandra elo bolo jaagi kemon kore”, “chameli melona ankhi”, “bashorer deep aaj” to name a few.

Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya acted in Bengali films like Pasher Bari (which was remade in hindi with the title Parosan where Kishore Kumar played his role), nobo bidhan, etc. His brilliant songs in Bengali films included “jagannath swami gamanapathagami bhabatue” sung in the film Nilachole Mahaprobhu, composed by Raichand Boral, “jhir jhir jhir jhir jhir borosha” in the film Pasher Bari, composed by Salil Choudhury, “katharo aghate chinno paye rokto jhare” in Uttam Kumar’s film Sabar Upare, composed by Robin Chatterji, etc. He made major contribution in Uttam Kumar’s film Nabajanmo, Uttam Kumar’s film Shilpi, etc.

Besides, Dhanonjoy Bhattacharya had sung more than 200 shyama sangeet (devotional songs sung for Goddess Kali). Some of his legendary shyama sangeet included “e maya proponchomoy” in the Uttam Kumar’s film Share Chuattor, “gaya ganga prabashadi” in the film Rani Rashmoni, also major songs in the films Sadhok Bamakhepa and Joto Mot Tato Poth. His brother Pannalal Bhattacharya became a legend in the world of Shyama sangeet.

Dhanonjoy died in the early 1990s, after leaving a huge treasure of classical songs and still remains a king (samrat) in the minds of numerous music lovers in the country.

Films like Madhumati are creative works of art.

Films like Madhumati are creative works of art.
Films like Madhumati are creative works which had not become obsolete even with passage of time. Bimal Roy had experimented with the subject of re-incarnation which most sections of the people don’t believe in. But the strong performance of Dilip Kumar, Vaijayantimala, powerful direction of Bimal Roy, brilliant music of Salil Choudhury had made the views spellbound in 1958 and the film still remains as one of the classic creations of all times.

Dilip Kumar in his second birth had come to the same palace where he met Pran, the prince of the palace in his last birth. He told the story of his last birth to Tarun Bose. He was a forest officer, and worked within the estate of Pran, the ruler of the place. He entered into an affair with Vaijayantimala and convinced his father Jayant about the marriage. But when he went out of the city for official work, Pran brought Vaijayantimala in his palace, and she jumped from the roof and committed suicide.

Very significantly Dilip Kumar met another girl in the same place having similarity with Vaijayantimala. He asked her to cooperate with him and the police and create the same situation relating to murder before Pran so that he would confess about his guilt. The plan was made but the soul of Vaijayantimala told the story and Pran confessed his guilt even before the girl having similarity with Vaijayantimala could arrive in the palace. The soul of Vaijayantimala took Dilip Kumar to the roof and he slipped from the rooftop and died. Johnny Walker, the servant of Dilip Kumar and a local villager helped him all along the previous life.

In the second birth, again Vaijayantimala was married to Dilip Kumar. He heard about a railway accident and being worried went to search for his wife. He found his wife and child still arrive where the film ended. Although the story could not be believed by big section of the viewers, it entertained everyone. The songs “aja re pardesi”, “ghari ghari mera dil dharke”, “daiya re daiya re”, sung by Lata, “jangal me mor nacha”, “tute hue khwabon ne”, sung by Rafi, “suhana safar”, “dil tarap tarap ke” sung by Mukesh, stormed bollywood films for more than a decade. Salil Choudhury received the filmfare award for the best composer for his immortal composition in the film Madhumati.

One of the amazing factors of Bimal Roy’s classic lied in the romantic presentation of the film in the midst of glamourous locations. Although it was a black and white film, the shooting was mainly done outside the studio and vey romantic landscape with hills and waterfalls were shown in the film. The music was ably picturised and the popularity of Dilip Kumar and Vaijayntimala helped the director in getting the box-office support.

New directors can learn a lot from the classic creation of Bimal Roy which still can haunt the viewers with romantic appeal.

The use of folk songs in bollywood films

The use of folk songs in bollywood films.

Folk songs which had originated from the rural areas and villages of different parts of India had been one of the indispensable source of music for more than 500 years. The leading composers of bollywood films had used the folks songs in successful films and popularized them.

Shankar Jaikishan’s composition “ramaiya vasta maiyya” in Raj Kapoor’s successful film Shree 420, was based on marathi folk song. Naushad had experimented with bhojpuri folk song in the film Ganga Jumna. Rafi’s hit song “nain lad jaihe woh manwama kasak oi bekari”, and Lata’s hit song “dhundo dhundo re sajna” was based on the folk songs of Bihar and Hindi high belt. Dilip Kumar and Vaijayantimala had given quality lips in the film.

SD Burman had a very colourful background in respect of his own basic discs which were based on folk songs of Tripura and East Bengal (modern Bangladesh), including “paddar dheu re”, “jhilmil jhilmil jhiler jole”, “bangladesher dhol”, “mono dilo na bodhu”, etc., and he used to be addressed as Sachin Karta ( the head of Hindu Undivided Family). The major folk songs used by SD Burman in bollywood films include “jane kya tune kaha” sung by Geeta Dutt in Pyasa, “dil ka bhanwar kare pukar” sung by Rafi in the film Tere Ghar Ke Samne, “o janewale ho sake to”, sung by Mukesh in the film Bandini, “mitwa” sung by Talat Mehmood, in the film Devdas. The list is very long and articles after articles can be devoted on his work.

Salil Choudhury had merged Assamese Bihu folk music with westernized folks. His notable songs include Lata’s “daiya re daiya re jangal papi bichua” in Madhumati, “zindagi kaisi hai peheli” sung by Manna Dey in the film Anand, “ai mere pyare watan” sung by Manna Dey in the film Kabuliwala, “janeman janeman” sung by Yeshu Das in the film Choti Si Baat, “tasveer teri dil me” sung by Rafi and Lata in the film Maya, “ganga aye kahan se” sung by Hemant Kumar, to mention a few. Salil Choudhury’s westernized creations stormed bollywood films to such an extent that his folk songs got unnoticed.

Shankar Jaikishan had used folk songs and blended western music in many films. His notable creations include “aa aab laut chale” sung by Mukesh and Lata in the film Jis Desh Me Ganga Behti Hai, “chalet musafir” sung by Manna Dey in the film Teesri Kasam, “dil ka haal sunewala” sung by Manna Dey in the film Shree 420, to name a few.

Roshan, Madanmohan, Laxmikant Pyarellal, Khayyam, Jaidev, etc., also used folk songs to a big extent in bollywood films. Some of the other landmark folk songs include “ohre taal mile nadi ke jal me” sung by Mukesh,

Laxmikant Pyarellal v. RD Burman in the 70s.

Laxmikant Pyarellal v. RD Burman in the 70s.

There is a big debate about who dominated bollywood music in the 70s, was it Laxmikant Pyarellal or was it RD Burman? Before dealing with the debate a brief introduction is necessary about the status of composers in the early 70s. Composers like Jaikishan, Roshan, Madanmohan, SD Burman, died in the late 60s or early 70s. Composers like OP Nayyar, Salil Choudhury, Naushad, Vasant Desai, Ghulam Mohammad, C. Ramchandran either left films or faded away from the industry.

So there was three-fold competition between RD Burman, LP and Kalyanji Anandji. Some of the films of KA were hits, others received critical acclaimation. There major films included Dev Anand’s Johnny Mera Naam, Dilip Kumar’s Gopi, Big B’s Zanjeer, Don, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Firoz Khan’s Dharmatma, to name a few. But the young actors were inclined to both LP and RD Burman.

The other factor that counted in the industry was that Kishore Kumar created a big competition for Mohammad Rafi who dominated bollywood films in the 60s and 70s. Firstly Rajesh Khanna’s films had the music of both RD Burman and LP. On one hand RD Burman’s music in films like Kati Patang, Amar Prem, Mere Jeevan Saathi, Aap Ki Kasam, stormed bollywood, on the other hand LP contributed with his music in Rajesh Khanna’s films like Aan Milo Sajna, Roti, Hathi Mere Saathi, etc.

With the appearance of Rishi Kapoor in bollywood films again musical films got predominance in the mid-70s. On one hand LP introduced new singers in the industry like Shailendra Singh and created a partnership with Rishi Kapoor which started with Bobby and went on in films like Badalte Rishte, Sargam, Karz, Amar Akbar Anthony, etc. RD Burman also contributed heavily in Rishi Kapoor’s films like Khel Khel Me, Zamane Ko Dikhana Hai, Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahi, to name a few. Very significantly both Rafi and Kishore were used by RD and LP successfully.

Both RD Burman and LP contributed equally in Big B’s films. While LP contributed in films like Ek Nazar, Amar Akbar Anthony, Suhaag, Naseeb, etc., RD Burman contributed in films like Dewaar, Sholay, Shaan, etc.

Even in the films of Dharmender both LP and RD Burman contributed a lot. LP gave music in films like Jeevan Mrityu, Aya Sawaan Jhumke, Izzat, Loafer, etc., while RD Burman contributed in films like Yaadon Ki Baraat, Jheel Ke Us Paar, Burning Train, etc.

LP contributed more than RD Burman in films of Jeetender. The list starts with Farz and includes Banphool, Badalte Rishte, Jeegri Dost, Humjoli, Aasha, etc. RD Burman also made notable contribution in Jeetender’s films like Karwa, Burning Train, Parichay, Khusbu, Kinaara.

LP had composed music in other significant films like Manoj Kumar’s Shor, Sanjeev Kumar’s Khilouna, Rajender Kumar’s Gora Aur Kala, Aap Aye Bahar Aye, while RD Burman was sublime in Dev Anand’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna, Sanjeev Kumar’s Aandhi, Uttam Kumar’s Kitaab.

It is difficult to infer who actually had an edge in music composition in bollywood films in the 70s, whether RD Burman or LP, it can be said that RD Burman had gained popularity many years after his death as many of his songs are still sung by modern bollywood singers like Kumar Shanu, Abhijeet, Vinod Rathod, Babul Supriyo, who had imitated Kishore Kumar to create their fanbase in bollywood. LP was only used by the industry for more than 35 years, and just like Shankar Jaikishan, always had remained unwept, unsung, unlamented, unrecognized.