In due course the film is released. The superstar settles into his seat at the premier. The title credits start to roll and he sits up to take notice. Who is singing? And what a voice, this bass grunt and raspy feel is unheard of. Then as the film proceeds, the cabaret song comes on the screen. The cabaret queen serenading on the dance floor with a male extra. Again that rough, gravelly voice, a mix of baritone and tenor, playful, but with unconventional modulation conveying raw, almost animal-like intensity and emotion. Who is singing? For the rest of the film, this is the only question swirling in his mind.

At the end of the screening, while everyone tries to throng around the superstar to compliment him, he reaches out to the composer. He asks about the male voice in the title credits and the cabaret song. Who sang that? Whose voice is that?

The composer informs him that the owner of that voice was none other than himself.

“You must sing for me in one of my films,” the superstar requests.

“Sure,” the composer replies. “I promise. Sometime in the future I will compose a song and use my voice for you,” he assures.

That opportunity presents itself soon enough. One of the ten films the superstar is shooting in parallel has a sequence where the superstar must don a disguise and enter the villainous hideout. They must not recognize him. So why not give the superstar a different voice?

The composer informs the superstar that this song would be a perfect opportunity to use his own voice, instead of the usual and popular playback singer.

The superstar is excited. This seems like a reasonable situation. It would be a big departure. It would be unexpected for the audience who has grown accustomed to hearing the popular playback singer deliver one hit song after another for the superstar. It has been an amazing troika of a partnership - the superstar, the playback singer, and the composer.

The song is composed and rehearsals proceed. The superstar attends all the rehearsals, not waiting to show his presence for just the final recording.

At one of the rehearsals, the superstar feels unsure. Perhaps cronies hanging around him have planted the seeds of doubt.

Why mess with what’s been working? Why give the audience something different than they are used to? If even one song of his film is a dud, his superstar status might be in jeopardy. Why risk it? Why change? Just stick with the formula. Keep giving people what they want.

The superstar takes the composer to one side.

“I don’t think you should sing for me,” he tells the composer.

The composer is confused. The superstar had been so eager and excited to have his voice for playback. What happened all of a sudden?

He rubs his chin and thinks for a while.

“I understand you are feeling nervous. But look at the situation,” he tells the superstar. “You are not in your normal hero look. You are in disguise. So the audience will understand why you have a different voice.”

The superstar is still skeptical. But he doesn’t have a good reason and argument as to why he just wants to stick with the tried and tested.

“I don’t know how cine-goers will react. You don’t know how they will react. What if they find all this too quirky and bizarre?” The superstar pushes his case.

“Look, don’t worry,” the composer responds. He adds, “This is going to be an unconventional song and it is going to jolt your fans. Take it from me. It will become a cult song.”

The superstar relents seeing the conviction and confidence of the composer. And the composer is eventually proved right.

RD Burman composed and sang the song Duniya Mein Logon Ko for the film Apna Desh (1972), lyrics by Anand Bakshi. The film is a remake of a 1969 Telugu film and directed by CP Jambulingam. Rajesh Khanna, Mumtaz are in lead roles. The female playback is provided by Asha Bhosle.

RD used his raspy voice for the opening credits of The Train (1970) and also the song O Meri Jaan (duet with Asha Bhosle), which made many people take notice and ask who was singing in this unusual voice.

RD demonstrated complete control of the sur and taal despite his heavy palpations and voice modulation. Even though he sang in a gravelly husky voice the words were clearly pronounced.

It is said that fans went crazy when this song came on in theaters. Apna Desh was the first film to ever screen at Samrat Talkies in Goregaon, Mumbai.

The guitar portion of the song around 3:06 is sampled from the song Jingo by Santana around 0:58.

Watch Pancham da and Asha ji singing the song live on Doordarshan.

Singers: RD Burman, Asha Bhosle
Music: RD Burman
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
*ing: Rajesh Khanna, Mumtaz
Director: CP Jambulingam
Film: Apna Desh (1972)

The lead actor doesn’t waste any time. He reaches Bombay and immediately sets up meetings with various producers and directors.

Lead Actor: “Yeh gaana suniye, ismein kuch alag baat hai.” Listen to this song. There is something special about it. It is the 90s. The melody in the Hindi film industry has just made a comeback now, after the terrible 80s.

The filmmakers are not impressed. “Gaana toh achha hai, par yeh humare yahan nahi chalega. Yeh thoda zyada British pop sa lag raha hai.” The song is good, but it won’t work here. It sounds a bit too much like British pop. He repeatedly hears the same feedback. He keeps trying. But no luck.

6 years pass by.

The lead actor is now preparing for a new film. This time, the filmmaker is his own brother. It’s like a home production. The lead actor knows very well that this is the perfect moment.

Lead Actor: “Ab sahi waqt hai. Hum woh gaana apni film mein istemal karenge.” Now is the right time. We will use that song in our film.

Filmmaker: “Theek hai, agar tumhe lagta hai yeh chalega, toh hum composers aur lyricist se baat karte hain.” Okay, if you think this will work, then we will talk to the composers and the lyricist.

There are three sets of composers and lyricists for this film. No compromise when it comes to music. They know which composer will be well-suited for this song.

They meet with the duo-composers and the lyricist. The lead actor plays the song from the same CD he brought from London. They all love the tune. No changes there. The lyricist feels the words could use an update to match the film. It doesn’t take too long to make those changes. They call the original singer from London. He is already famous back in the UK now since the song was released as a single and has now achieved platinum status. He arrives in Bombay and completes the recording.

Next, the crew meets at Madh Island to shoot the music video. The lead actor is known for his incredible physique. He has spent years in the gym, and that has changed the image of the Bollywood hero. As a result, everyone feels pressured to have muscles these days to succeed as a hero.

On the set, the lead actor tries to put on the t-shirt required during the song. He has recently gained even more muscle due to a strict workout schedule.

The t-shirt clings to his body like it is part of it. Also, it is quite short. His belly button is exposed. “Yeh kya t-shirt hai! Yeh mujh par blouse jaisi lag rahi hai.” Look at this t-shirt! It looks like a blouse on me.

The entire crew is there, ready to shoot. Getting another custom-fitted t-shirt is next to impossible. The filmmaker has signs of worry on his face. "Hamare paas dusri t-shirt laane ka waqt nahi hai. Ab kya karein?" We don't have time to order another t-shirt. What do we do now?

The lead actor is not that worried. He is known to show off his body. “Ek kaam karte hain. Mein bina shirt ke shooting kar leta hoon.” Let’s do one thing. I will shoot the song without a shirt.

The filmmaker is not amused. Even though he is younger than the lead actor, he is worried about the audience. “Bina shirt ke? Pata nahi Indian audience ise kaise dekhegi.” Without a shirt? I don’t know how the Indian audience will react to this.

The elder brother inside the lead actor comes out. “Tu chinta mat kar bhai. Sab theek ho jayega. Log bilkul pasand karenge.” Don’t worry, brother. Everything will be fine. People will absolutely like it.

Kamaal Khan provided the male playback voice for the song O O Jaane Jaana in the film Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya. The music was composed by Jatin-Lalit, and the lyrics were written by Sameer. The film was produced and directed by Sohail Khan, and the lead actor was Salman Khan.

Salman Khan and Kamaal Khan knew each other through their social circles and had struck a deep friendship. On one of his visits, Kamaal Khan gave Salman Khan a recording of the original version of O O Jaane Jaana. Salman Khan loved it and wanted to use it in one of his upcoming films. He faced a lot of resistance from the filmmakers of that era due to the song sounding like British pop. While the Hindi film industry was rejecting the song, it was officially produced and released as an independent single in the UK in 1996. It became a massive hit there, which finally gave Salman Khan the proof of concept he needed to convince his brother, Sohail Khan, to use it in Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya.

This is the original version of the song that Kamaal Khan produced as a single.

The music for Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya was composed by Jatin–Lalit, Himesh Reshammiya, and Sajid–Wajid. The lyrics for all tracks by Jatin–Lalit were written by Sameer, the lyrics for Himesh Reshammiya’s tracks were written by Sudhakar Sharma, and the lyrics for Sajid–Wajid’s track was written by Iqbal Sabri. For the fast-paced song O O Jaane Jaana, Sohail and Salman Khan decided to go with Jatin-Lalit and Sameer.

There was also a wardrobe malfunction incident during the shoot when the t-shirt, which was custom-made for Salman Khan, did not fit him. With no quick alternative, Salman Khan convinced Sohail Khan that he should go shirtless. Thus started the era of Salman Khan, where he would appear shirtless frequently in his subsequent films and concerts.

At the 44th Filmfare Awards, Pyaar Kiya To Darna Kya received seven nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Sohail Khan), Best Actor (Salman Khan), and Best Supporting Actor (Arbaaz Khan). Kamaal Khan won the RD Burman Award for New Music Talent for O O Jaane Jaana.

Singer: Kamaal Khan
Music: Jatin-Lalit
Lyrics: Sameer
*ing: Salman Khan
Producer/Director: Sohail Khan
Film: Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya (1998)

A filmmaker from South India travels to Bombay with a script and a briefcase.

He meets the lead actor and makes him an offer that he can’t refuse. “Main aapko is film ke liye dhai lakh rupaye dena chahta hoon. Ye aapka signing amount hai.” I want to give you 2.5 lakh rupees as a signing amount for this film.

The lead actor is stunned. It is a massive amount of money. He feels good about his stardom. That dream house seems a lot closer now. Without reading a single page of the script, he takes the cash and pays the down payment for his dream home.

A few days later, the lead actor finds the script still sitting on the coffee table and finally decides to read it. His heart sinks. What are these animals doing? The plot feels outdated and totally out of sync with his Hindi film fan audience. Since this is a remake of a Tamil film, they have hired this young duo writer team to write the screenplay. They are just starting their career. The lead actor immediately reaches out to them.

“Agar maine yeh film ki, toh mera career khatam ho jayega.” If I do this film, my career will be over. He almost pleads with the writer team.

“Aur agar maine paise waapas kiye to ghar haath se nikal jayega.” And if I return the signing amount then I lose my dream house. He continues pleading.

The writers decide to give it a read. How bad can it be? They both read the script, and they can’t believe it. It is awful. This will be a suicide for the lead actor’s career. They all decide to go and meet the filmmaker.

The filmmaker loves animals, and they were in the original Tamil version. He insists that the animals have to stay in the film. The writing team stands their ground and wants to get rid of the animals to write a story for the budding superstar. The filmmaker shoots it down. That is a non-starter. The writers go back and start whispering their counteroffer.

“Humein hero ke saath chaar haathi manzoor hain, lekin baki sab badalna hoga.” We accept your hero and four elephants, but everything else must change. The writers put down their offer firmly.

The filmmaker agrees. The writers go back and rewrite the entire screenplay to make it emotional and modern for the Hindi-speaking audience. They make room for the elephants, too. Now, the film needs a soul. It needs music.

The lead actor goes to the studio to meet the duo of composers and the lyricist. They need a title song that captures the friendship between a man and his elephants.

The lead actor tells the lyricist. “Gana aisa hona chahiye jo sabko jhumne par majboor kar de.” The song should be such that it forces everyone to dance.

The lyricist writes simple but catchy words. The composers create a rhythm that matches the heavy, rhythmic footsteps of an elephant.

The singer is brought in to give the song its playful energy. He adds his signature style, making the song feel like a conversation between friends. Except the friends are animals here.

You can watch the actual video of the song here on YouTube.

Rajesh Khanna played the lead actor role in the film Haathi Mere Saathi. Anand Bakshi wrote the lyrics of the song Chal Chal Mere Saathi, Laxmikant Pyarelal composed the music, and Kishore Kumar provided the playback. Chinnappa Thevar wrote the story for the Tamil version of the film, Deiva Cheyal, and also produced the Hindi version of the film. Salim-Javed were the screenplay writers. This was their debut film.

Rajesh Khanna had quickly climbed the ladder of stardom with hits such as Aradhana and Do Raaste. As a result, all producers were reaching out to him, including the ones from the South. In order to entice him into their films, they were offering large signing amounts to lock him in their films.

Chinnappa Thevar, a producer from South, did the same and gave Rajesh Khanna 2.5 lakh rupees as a signing amount. Rajesh Khanna had his eye on Rajendra Kumar’s bungalow that was up for sale, but did not have sufficient cash on hand. This signing amount helped him to close on that house. Unfortunately, he did not read the script before doing this. Once he read the script, he realized how awful it was and did not match his persona as a romantic superstar. But it was too late since he had used up all the money and had no other option.

He reached out to Salim-Javed, who were starting their writing career with this film. They both agreed with Rajesh Khanna on the quality of the script. They were able to negotiate most parts with Chinnappa Thevar, except for a few elephants. They decided to make it a film about the friendship between the lead actor and his elephants. Based on this concept, Laxmikant Pyarelal worked with Anand Bakshi to create the title song.

The film’s music on HMV won a Silver Disc for its sales, making it the first-ever Indian gramophone record to do so.

Singer: Kishore Kumar
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
*ing: Rajesh Khanna, Tanuja
Producer: Chinnappa Thevar
Screenplay: Salim-Javed
Film: Haathi Mere Saathi (1971)

“Yeh labz theek nahi lag rahe hain,” says the composer. These words do not feel right.

The lyricist quickly writes down another version and shows it to him.

“Iske baare mein kya khayaal hai?” asks the lyricist. What about this one?

The composer shakes his head, signaling his disapproval. He is still not satisfied. Nothing is working out here in the studio. The composer tells everyone to pack up for the day. They both decide to leave the studio and head over to the composer’s house. The plan is to work late into the night. They iterate for hours, but the perfect tune is still out of reach.

By late evening of the next day, something sparks in the composer’s mind. For some reason, an old folk song keeps coming back. It is an old folk song from Uttar Pradesh. Born in Lucknow, this one is especially close to his heart. A song about love that screams defiance.

“Ek kaam karo. Iss lok geet ke alfaz aur dhun ko dhyan se suno.” the composer suggests. Do one thing. Listen carefully to the words and tune of this song.

The lyricist listens to the song. The spirit is there, but the words need to be polished. He adapts the simple folk language to match the dignity of a royal Mughal court. Finally, they have it.

“Ab yeh sahi hai,” says the composer after listening to the new lyrics. Now this is the right one.

They invite the female singer to the studio. She practices her lines, and the initial rehearsals sound amazing. The filmmaker enters the room from the back and listens quietly.

The composer and lyricist turn to the filmmaker and tacitly try to get his impression of what they just heard. “Gaana bahut accha hai, lekin…” the filmmaker takes a pause there. The song is very good, but…

The filmmaker has explained the situation, but he still knows something that the music team does not know yet. He goes into the details of the set. This song will be filmed in a magnificent Sheesh Mahal —a palace of mirrors which will be built inside a fort. In fact the set will be so spectacular that he wants this song to be recorded in Technicolor.

“Aap sab samajh hi gaye honge. Mujhe is gaane mein ek gehri goonj chahiye.” the filmmaker explains. You all must have understood by now. I want a deep echo in this.

The composer realizes that a standard studio recording will sound too flat for a song that needs a massive, open palace. The technology that he has in the recording room is very basic and cannot produce what the filmmaker wants.

He starts looking around. The only option is to break the walls of the studio and expand. Then it strikes him. Of course. He goes to another adjoining room that has these shiny tiles. That should reflect some of the sound. He calls the singer over to that room.

“Zara yahan do linen gaakar sunao.” The singer obliges. There is definitely reverberation. The composer looks pleased. He rushes to a few more rooms as he needs varying degrees of reverberation throughout the song. All rooms produce a different variant of the depth needed.

“Aapko alag alag kamron mein gaana hoga.” the composer tells the singer. You will have to sing in different rooms. “Wahan se awaaz goonj kar aayegi,” the composer says as he adjusts the microphone. The sound will echo back from there.

The singer performs the song from a distance, her voice bouncing off the walls to create the grand echo that defines the character’s love for the prince as well as her rebellion against the emperor.

Naushad composed the song Jab Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya for the film Mughal-E-Azam. The lyrics were written by Shakeel Badayuni and the film was produced/directed by K. Asif. The playback was provided by Lata Mangeshkar and the song was picturized on Madhubala as Anarkali. During the song, Prithviraj Kapoor as Shahenshah Akbar and Dilip Kumar as Shehzaada Salim are in the court as Madhubala performs her dance routine.

K. Asif wanted to recreate the Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors) at Lahore Fort. At a time when entire films were made for less than ₹10 lakhs, this single set cost an estimated ₹15 lakhs. There was a technical challenge with the set. The set was made of thousands of small mirrors imported from Belgium. When the crew first tried to light it, the mirrors reflected the studio lights so intensely that they blinded the cameras and created hot spots. To capture the shimmering effect without overexposing the shot, the cinematographer, R.D. Mathur, spent days experimenting. He eventually decided to use strips of cloth to bounce and soften the light, and also used thin wax coatings on some mirrors to manage the glare.

Shakeel Badayuni wrote and discarded several drafts before arriving at the final lyrics. Naushad picked a folk song Prem Kiya, Kya Chori Kari Hai which was popular in Uttar Pradesh and decided to use its tune. Shakeel Badayuni transformed the lyrics into a defiant song of rebellion against the Emperor. In order to create the effect of an echoing voice, Naushad used different rooms with reflective tiles to achieve that. Something that is taken for granted in today’s world by the composers using the latest technology during recording.

K. Asif filmed one reel of Mughal-e-Azam, including the song Pyar Kiya To Darna Kya, in Technicolor. Impressed by the result, he filmed three more reels in Technicolor, near the story’s climax. After seeing them, he sought a complete re-shoot in Technicolor, but financiers refused. K. Asif subsequently released Mughal-e-Azam partially coloured, although he still hoped to see the full film in color.

This is Lata Mangeshkar singing the same song in a concert.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Music: Naushad
Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni
*ing: Madhubala, Dilip Kumar, Prithviraj Kapoor
Producer/Director: K. Asif
Film: Mughal-e-Azam (1960)

The female singer is also there at the rehearsals. She makes a request to the arranger: “Dada, ye gaana please add kijiye, Piya Tose Naina Laage Re. Mujhe ye gaana bahot pasand hai.” Dada, please add this song, Piya Tose Naina Laage Re. I like this song a lot.

The arranger is not happy with this request. He makes it known: “Aisa kaisa add kijiye. Abhi iska notation aur music bhi nahin hai.” How can we just add it. We don’t have the notation and music for this song.

The young chap playing the octopad is watching this interaction. The composer is also watching it from the corner of his eye to see what happens.

The young chap jumps in: “Dada, mein music bataoon? Mere ko poora music maloom hai.” Dada, shall I tell the music? I know the whole music by heart.

The arranger is surprised. “Tere ko poora music maloom hai is gaane ka?” Do you know the entire music of this song?

The young chap nods in affirmation. The song is a classical song with the tabla as the main instrument. He asks for permission to play the tabla.

The composer is now perked up to see what this young chap is going to do. Without letting anyone know that he is taking interest in the proceedings, he pays attention.

The young man sings the entire music, playing the tabla along as appropriate, right from the mukhda, to the interlude music, to the antaras, including the chorus, all the way to the conclusion of the song, in proper rhythm. He also interjects to tell them which instrument is playing what.

The arranger is flabbergasted. So is the composer. In the next few minutes the arranger quickly scribbles the notation for the song. The keyboard player quickly takes down the notes for his piece in the song.

The composer is stunned. This young guy who plays the octopad can play classical on the tabla as well, and on top of that he knows the detailed music of the song! He shares his surprise: “Ae tu tabla bhi bajata hai?” Hey you play the tabla as well?

The young chap touches his ears and replies: “Dada mein seekha hoon Ustad Allah Rakha sahab se. Mein unka shagird hoon." Dada, I have learnt from Ustad Alla Rakha sir. I am his disciple.

After they rehearse a few more songs from the concert list, the female singer makes another request: “Dada ek aur gaana lete hain, Tune O Rangeele Kaisa Jaadu Kiya. Didi ka gaana hai. Mujhe bahot pasand hai.” Dada let’s take one more song, Tune O Rangeele Kaisa Jaadu Kiya. This is Didi’s song. I like this song very much.

Again, the arranger is displeased. “Iska bhi music nahin hai. Aisa tum achanak kaisa bolta hai?” The music of this song is also not ready. How can you say this suddenly?

But this time the arranger looks at the young chap. The young chap knows the question not asked and replies, “Iska bhi music by heart hai mereko, prelude music, interlude music, sab kuch.” I know the music of this song also by heart, prelude music, interlude music, everything.

Hearing this the arranger is angered. “Isko to sab kuch kaise maaloom hai?” How come this guy knows everything? The arranger has a preset list of songs that they have decided. Now that list is being thrown to the wind, and this guy seems to know the music of all songs, making it too easy to disturb his list.

So the young guy tells the entire music of this song as well, including the harmony.

The composer is at a loss of words. He somehow manages to ask: “Mera aur mere Baba ka sab gaana tumko yaad hai?” You know the music for all of my and my father’s songs?

The young man replies: “Dada, bachpan se leke aaj tak sirf aap ka hi music suna hai. Aur mere khoon mein aapke gaane daudte hain.” Dada, right from childhood I have only listened to your songs. And your music runs in my blood.

The composer is in disbelief: “Accha? Music bhi by heart hai aur rhythm bhi by heart hai?” Is that so? You know the music and also the rhythm by heart?

The young man nods affirmatively. The composer is overjoyed to hear this. He realizes this young man is a special talent. From that day onwards, the young man gains entry into the composer’s small core team of special musicians. The composer starts having a soft corner for the young man as someone who knows his style and knows everything about all his songs.

Fast forward many years. The composer has fallen on hard times in the industry. Time has passed him by. Work is down to a drip. A film has come his way. He is determined to give his best to this film. The filmmaker is very exacting in his requirements for music. He has rejected many of his tunes for songs of the film.

The composer and his team are in the midst of rehearsals and recording for one particular song that is going to be recorded.

The entire morning shift is spent in rehearsals. A lunch break is announced. The musicians leave to grab a bite. The composer, the arranger, the young man, and the recordist at the studio wait back to do some last remaining touches on the arranging.

Before the final recording, they decide on the placement of the instruments. This tabla will be on one side. That tabla will be on the back on this side. One is high pitched and the other is low pitched. These two tablas are going to play a special sound in the song. A stick is going to be hit on the surface of the tabla to create a reverberating sound. Two other tablas that will be played by hand will be in the back.

The placement of all the instruments is decided painstakingly to the composer’s satisfaction. After completing all this, they decide to step out for lunch.

The filmmaker is a few steps in front of them. The young man says to the composer: “Dada ye gaana, aapne to pura gaana udhar ka de diya.” Dada, about this song, you have taken this completely from another song.

The composer doesn’t know what the young man is talking about. He asks, “Kaunsa gaana?” Which song?

The young man sings part of the other song, “Heera To Pehle Hi Kisi Aur Ka Ho Chuka”, and then sings the refrain of this song.

The composer is not surprised this young guy knows. After all he knows everything about all his songs. But he reprimands him in jest so that the filmmaker does not hear, “Chup baith, bahot mushkil se ye gaana pass hua hai. Saale marwa dega tu mereko.” Keep quiet, this song has gotten approved with great difficulty. You will get me killed.

RD Burman composed the song, Kyon Naye Lag Rahe, and the music for his grand finale, 1942: A Love Story (1994), directed and produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and starring Manisha Koirala and Anil Kapoor in lead roles. The lyrics are written by Javed Akhtar. The song is sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy.

The tune of Kyon Naye Lag Rahe is directly taken from RD’s other song Panna Ki Tamanna from the film Heera Panna starring Dev Anand and Zeenat Aman.

If you listen to the song Kyon Naye Lag Rahe, you will hear a ‘trrrrrrr’ reverberating sound before “Chupke Se”. It is made by playing a stick on a tabla. Only RD!

Nitin Shankar was RD’s percussionist and played instruments such as the octopad, tabla, and dholak. He was one of the rhythm arrangers for Sholay. He was part of RD’s core team of musicians. Shankar has worked as a rhythm arranger on many superhit films such as Baazigar, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Devdas, Veer-Zaara, Black, Omkara, Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani, among many others.

The newfound appreciation that RD gained for Nitin Shankar was when they were rehearsing for the live concert tour of South Africa. Kavita Krishnamurthy sang the female numbers. Manohari Singh was RD’s primary arranger.

Music: RD Burman
Arrangers: Manohari Singh, Nitin Shankar
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Singer: Kavita Krishnamurthy
*ing: Manisha Koirala
Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Film: 1942: A Love Story

The lights at the Filmfare stage are blinding. The composer is slowly climbing the steps. One after another. Ok, so this is how the audience looks like from the other side when you stand on the podium. The composer accepts the award, turns around, and reaches for the microphone. He is soaking in the moment. This has been quite a journey.

“Ye bees seediyan chadhne ke liye, mujhe bees saal lag gaye.” It took me 20 years to climb these 20 steps.

Twenty steps. Twenty years.

The applause begins, but he is no longer there. He drifts back to the evening it all began.

Juhu Beach, 1992

The Silver Disc function at the Juhu Centaur Hotel is winding down. All the music greats are there, and the best among them are being felicitated. The composer stands at the edge of the room, watching. He is newly married. His father, the great composer at one point, is now without work. Legacy does not pay bills. The composer has done some great work in the past, but the music in the 90s is very different. It is a dry spell for him.

He notices one of the producers is walking towards him. Not just a producer but also a music mogul. He puts his hand on the composer’s shoulder and begins to speak. He has a new film in the works. A new male and female actor. A thriller. A bit dark with the lead actor being the antihero. Unlike anything Bollywood has seen.

“Kya meri film ka music doge?” the producer asks. Will you compose music for my film?

The composer has a puzzled look. He has enough connections in the industry to know that there is already a composer selected. In fact, they are the hottest duo composers of that era. One hit after another.

“Maine suna hai ki aapne kissi aur music director ko sign kar liya hai.” I have heard that you have signed someone else as a composer. The composer wants to confirm before he says yes or no.

The producer is expecting this question. “Haan, kiya to tha par unke saath kuch jama nahin. Ye film thodi hatkar hai aur tumhare jaisa hi koi composer chhaiye.” Yes, we did sign someone, but it didn’t work out. This is a different kind of film, and we need a composer like you.

“Theek hai. Aisi baat hai to main tayyar hoon.” If that’s the case then I am ready. The composer wants to hide his giddiness. It’s been so long since he has done any meaningful work, and now this opportunity, and that too working with this music mogul.

The composer decides to leave and break the news to his wife quickly. He looks at the front gate of the hotel, and there is quite a big crowd there. That reminds him of the traffic on Juhu Tara Road at this hour. His apartment is just 20 minutes away. But can you even get an auto at this time, and how long will it take him? He looks on the other side. Just a wall and a beach behind. He could just run along the beach. He decides to do that. A quick jump over the wall. He lands on the sand.

The Arabian Sea is spread out before him. The night wind hits his face. He starts walking, almost running, towards home. The title of the film has been bothering him a bit. There will be a need for a title song composition. He assumes. But the word. It has three syllables. Not friendly enough for a melody.

He begins playing in his head. Not a melody yet. Just the word. A single word in a rhythmic form. He says it in different tones. Another part of his brain is playing the dholak or the virtual beats as he mutters the word. Slowly, the melody starts taking shape. He is humming now, loudly, not caring who hears him on this empty beach. He is composing a song while running on the beach for a film story he has not yet read, for an actor and actress he has barely met.

He reaches home. His wife opens the door. Before she can speak, he says, “Ek nayi film mili hai.” I just got a new film.

He can’t even look at her straight, his eyes hunting for the harmonium. Finally, he sees it. The maid must have moved it from its regular spot while cleaning. He sits down and begins to play.

A few days later, the composer sits across from the producer and the duo-directors. He plays them the composition. The same melody that came to him on the beach.

The two directors exchange a look. The kind of look that passes between two people who have been working together long enough to speak without words. The producer says nothing for a moment. And then he smiles. He knows he did the right thing.

39th Filmfare Awards, 1994

The applause dies down. The composer looks content. He is on top of the world.

Anu Malik composed the song Baazigar O Baazigar and the rest of the songs for the film Baazigar. The film was produced by Ratan Jain and directed by Abbas-Mustan. The lyrics were penned by Nawab Arzoo. The playback was provided by Alka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu. The song was picturized on Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol.

Deepak Tijori initially proposed to Abbas-Mustan to make a Hindi remake of the English film A Kiss Before Dying. He had hopes that they would cast him, but Abbas-Mustan had other ideas. Abbas-Mustan went to every big hero of the time - Aamir Khan, Salman Khan, and Akshay Kumar, but all said no. They couldn’t risk their hero or romantic images. They narrated the story to Shah Rukh Khan and expected him to come back after a few days, but he agreed immediately.

Initially, Nadeem-Shravan were brought in as the composer after their big hits with Ashiqui, Saajan, and Dil Hai Ke Maanta Nahin. But they had an issue about doing this film with Kajol due to some prior differences. Abbas-Mustan had already decided on Kajol, so instead they decided to replace the composer. This is where Ratan Jain, one of the founders of Venus Music, who was also the producer of the film, reached out to Anu Malik.

Anu Malik’s career was going up and down like a roller coaster, and at that point was at its lowest point. He was struggling to get films as a composer due to the popularity of the new style of music that Nadeem-Shravan and Anand-Milind were able to deliver.

The mukhda of the song Baazigar O Baazigar was composed while Anu Malik was walking back home through the beach route. He had an issue with the word Baazigar since it was hard to use as a word in a melodies but managed to come up with a composition that enthralled both Abbas-Mustan and Ratan Jain.

Anu Malik won his first Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for Baazigar.

This is Alka Yagnik and Kumar Sanu singing the song in a live concert.

Lyrics: Nawaab Arzoo
Music: Anu Malik
*ing: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol
Singers: Alka Yagnik, Kumar Sanu
Director: Abbas-Mustan
Producer: Ratan Jain
Film: Baazigar (1993)

With such a stellar and massive starcast on board, the pressure starts to build with every passing day of the film’s planning. The word has spread that this might be the biggest star cast ever assembled. A casting coup of sorts. And how did the young filmmaker pull this off?

As the music is being discussed, the music composer duo start to wonder how will they pull off some of the songs, which practically have every leading actor and actress singing. The lyricist is also in a quandary. How will he write for such a generationally and demographically diverse group of characters all singing a few lines in the song?

The filmmaker has no time to waste. Either you are delivering what he wants or you are out. For a young filmmaker, this takes guts. He sees the hesitation in the music department, and makes changes. The music composer duo is still on board to compose a few songs. But he brings in new composers to do a song or two.

Meanwhile, the biggest superstar invites the lyricist for a meeting.

“Bhaiya, ek kaam kariye, ye gaana jo hai na, aap solo likh dijiye,” he instructs the lyricist. Brother, do one thing, this song, you write it as a solo.

It is a simple, polite request. But coming from the biggest superstar, the lyricist knows it is more than a simple request.

The lyricist is confused. The brief he has gotten from the filmmaker is quite different. He shares his understanding of the song.

“Arre dada, lekin ismein to usne bola ki itne log gayenge,” the lyricist replies. But sir, he has told me that there will be many people singing in this song.

The superstar dismisses the lyricist’s response.

“Arre nahin nahin. Us sasure ko mein theek karta hoon. Aap solo likh dijiye. Mein usko convince karunga.” The superstar insists. Oh no no. I will set him straight (referring to the filmmaker). You write it as a solo. I will convince him.

The lyricist is left with no choice but to agree.

“Theek hai, sir, “ he replies. Yes, sir.

The lyricist comes back home, and over the next day or two, he writes the song as a solo song for the superstar.

Everyone gets together for the music sitting, the lyricist, the superstar, the filmmaker, and the new music composer.

The composer starts playing the tune that he has composed for the song. The lyricist narrates the lyrics to the tune. The filmmaker is confused. This is supposed to be a multi-starrer song, with two superstars, two heroines. When and how did this turn into a solo song? He turns to the lyricist and asks:

“Sahab ye kya hai? Maine aap ko bola is gaane mein kaun kaun hai aur sab gayenge.” Sir what is this? I have told you who all are in this song and they’re all singing.

The lyricist looks at the veteran superstar. He is quiet. The lyricist wonders why isn’t the superstar saying something and trying to convince the filmmaker as he had promised.

The lyricist decides to spill the beans. He gives an honest answer to the filmmaker.

“Dada ne bola ki ismein inko solo gaana karna hai.” Sir said that he would like to have this as a solo song.

The filmmaker realizes where this is coming from. He laughs as he looks at the superstar. He turns to the superstar and says:

“Uncle, aap ko pataa hai na is picture mein aap ka role kya hai?” Uncle, you do know what your role is in this film, right?

The superstar assures the filmmaker:

“Janab, kya baat kar rahe ho. Mujhe bilkul pataa hai.” Sir, what are you saying? I know very well.

The filmmaker now tries to convince the superstar why this should not be a solo song.

“Uncle, mein aap ko ek visual deta hoon. Agar aap mujhe convince kar do, to mein yeh gaana solo kar doonga.” Uncle, let me give you a visual. If you convince me, I will make this song as your solo.

The superstar is ready to listen to the filmmaker.

“Bol, kya hai?” Tell me, what is it?

The filmmaker weaves his narrative.

“Uncle, aap ka ismein role hai, you are a tycoon. Itna bada businessman hai. Itna rich aadmi hai. Aap imagine kariye ki Dhirubhai Ambani ne ek party di hai. Usmein Bajaj bhi aaye hain. Tata bhi aaye. Saari duniya aayi hai. Aur pataa chala Dhirubhai Ambani beech mein khade hoke naach rahe hain aur sab log dekh rahe hain. Kaisa lagega visually?” Uncle, your role in this (film), you are a tycoon. Such a big businessman. Such a rich man. Now imagine that Dhirubhai Ambani is hosting a party. The Bajajs have come. The Tatas have come. The whole world has come. And you find out Dhirubhai Ambani is standing in the center and dancing and everyone is watching. How will it look visually?

The superstar sees the point. He replies:

“Haan yaar, kuch ajeeb lag raha hai.” Yes, my friend, it feels a bit strange.

Turning to the lyricist, the superstar says:

“Panditji, ek kaam kariye, solo ko hataiye. Ye jo bol raha hai vaisa hi kariye.” Sir, do one thing, remove the solo. Do it as he wants.

The lyricist is happy to have the dilemma resolved, but realizes he now has to rewrite the whole song, and this time write for every character that’s going to be singing in it.

He admires the filmmaker’s conviction. This young man knows exactly what he wants in his film and it doesn’t matter who is sitting across from him. The lyricist decides from then on to not listen to anybody and just follow the filmmaker’s conviction for all the songs in the film.

Sameer wrote the lyrics of Say Shava Shava in Karan Johar’s Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001), music by Aadesh Shrivastava. Sameer wrote the lyrics of all the songs, except for Suraj Hua Maddham, which was written by Anil Pandey.

K3G was Karan Johar’s second directorial venture after the resounding success of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai. He retained the same team, but also added Amitabh Bachchan, Jaya Bachchan, Hrithik Roshan and Kareena Kapoor, in addition to the existing star cast of Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol and Rani Mukerji.

Jatin-Lalit composed the music for the film, including the title song, Bole Chudiyan, and Yeh Ladka Hai Allah. Sandesh Shandilya composed the songs Suraj Hua Maddham, You Are My Sonia, Deewana Hai Dekho, and Soul of K3G.

K3G was the most expensive film of that time, made at a budget of 300-400 million Rupees. It became one of the highest grossing films of Hindi cinema, with Karan Johar and the film receiving a lot of praise for it’s production values and performances. The music of the film was also very popular and much appreciated.

The film won Filmfare Awards for Best Actress (Kajol), Best Supporting Actress (Jaya Bachchan), Best Scene of the Year, Best Dialogue (Karan Johar), Best Art Direction (Sharmishta Roy), and a host of nominations.

Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji performing this song live in concert:

Lyrics: Sameer
Music: Aadesh Srivastava
*ing: Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan, Rani Mukerji, Kajol
Singers: Amitabh Bachchan, Sudesh Bhonsle, Udit Narayan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Alka Yagnik, Aadesh Srivastava
Director: Karan Johar
Film: Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)

He immediately invites the lyricist to come and see the footage. They both worked very hard on these lyrics, even including the filmmaker’s favorite word for “beloved.” Very uncommon word.

“Dekhiye yeh scene kitna kamaal ka shoot hua hai,” the filmmaker says with a smile. Look at how wonderfully this scene has turned out.

The lyricist watches the screen and listens to the voice coming through the speakers. It’s his words after all. The filmmaker is expecting him to jump up in joy. But the lyricist’s expression is serious.

“Gaana achha hai, lekin ek bahut badi problem hai,” the lyricist remarks. The song is good, but there is a very big problem.

The filmmaker is surprised. “Kya problem hai?” What is the problem?

The lyricist points to the screen. “Sukhwinder Singh isi film mein ek doosre actor ke liye ga chuke hain. Agar woh yahan lead actor ke liye gayenge, toh audience confuse ho jayegi.” Sukhwinder Singh has already sung for another actor in this same film. If he sings for the lead actor here, the audience will get confused.

The filmmaker realizes the mistake. It is true. A singer’s voice is the identity of a character. He agrees that they need a change.

He reaches out to the composer and explains the situation.

“Humein koi doosri awaaz chahiye is gaane ke liye,” the filmmaker tells the composer. We need another voice for this song.

The composer understands. A few days later, he calls the filmmaker to the studio. He has recorded the song with several different singers to find the perfect match. The filmmaker listens to every version carefully. He likes the singers, but something is missing.

“Sab ne theek hi gaya hai. Aur mere pasandida labz mein woh mazaa nahi aa rahi,” the filmmaker says, feeling a bit disappointed. Everyone has sung ok. Also, that special feeling is missing in my favorite word.

The composer thinks for a moment. He has one last idea. “Mere paas ek aur singer hai. Woh classical music jaanta hai, lekin uski awaaz bahut naazuk hai.” I have one more singer. He knows classical music, but there is a lot of softness in his voice.

The composer brings in the new singer. He records the song one last time for the filmmaker.

When the filmmaker hears the new recording, his eyes light up. The new singer breathes life into the melody. “Iski awaaz to bahut roohani hai.” the filmmaker says happily. His voice is very divine.

The composer feels good about what he has been able to achieve. “Magar ek cheez hai.” But there is one thing. The filmmaker still has one question. “Ye singer bhi woh labz theek se keh nahin paaya.” Even this singer couldn’t get that word right.

The composer is technically astute. “Ek kaam karte hain. Mein pichli recording se woh labz nikaal kar iss mein daal doonga.” Let’s do one thing. I can take the word from the previous recording and merge it with this one. The filmmaker has no idea what the composer just said, but he is happy when he hears the final recording.

Hariharan and Sukhwinder Singh sang the song Nahi Saamne Tu in the film Taal. The song was written by Anand Bakshi and composed by AR Rahman. Taal was produced and directed by Subhash Ghai. The song was picturized on Akshaye Khanna and Aishwarya Rai.

Subhash Ghai and Anand Bakshi worked on the lyrics of the song, but Subhash Ghai was the one who proposed the word “Priyesi” to be sung in an alaap style in the song. AR Rahman recorded the song in Sukhwinder Singh’s voice, unaware that he just recorded Ramta Jogi for the same movie, but as a playback for Anil Kapoor. Anand Bakshi was aware of this and was very particular about the overall context in the film. When he found out, he told Subhash Ghai that this would not work and that they needed a different singer.

AR Rahman went back and tried 5-6 other singers and had them record the song with the Priyesi alaap. But none of them impressed Subhash Ghai. Finally, AR Rahman decided to use Hariharan since he was a classical singer with a soft voice. Subhash Ghai loved his tonal quality for the song, but nobody came close to Sukhwinder’s rendition of Priyesi. Rahman, being a technical composer, decided to splice Sukhwinder’s part from the previous recording and merge it with Hariharan’s version of the song.

Subhash Ghai has claimed publicly that Nahin Saaamne Tu is his favorite song ever. Taal did well at the Filmfare Awards. AR Rahman won Best Music Director, Anand Bakshi won Best Lyricist for Ishq Bina, and Sukhwinder Singh got nominated for Best Male Playback Singer for Ramta Jogi.

Here is Hariharan singing this song at a concert.

Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: AR Rahman
Singers: Hariharan, Sukhwinder Singh
*ing: Akshaye Khanna, Aishwarya Rai
Producer/Director: Subhash Ghai
Film: Taal (1999)

He finds him living in a state of poverty in Patna. That’s not fair. How can someone like him be treated like this? Without hesitation, the lead actor brings him to Bombay to serve as an advisor for the film. They both work on the story together.

With the story finally ready, he approaches the filmmaker, an old friend of the lead actor. The lead actor says to the filmmaker, “Yeh kahani mere dil ke bahut kareeb hai. Saari duniya ko iske baare mein pata chalna chhaiye.” This story is very close to my heart. The entire world needs to know about it.

The filmmaker reads the script and is impressed. It is a no-brainer for him. He decides to produce the film.

As they begin discussing the cast, the conversation quickly turns to the music. The filmmaker is fond of the popular composers of the era. He suggests the biggest names in the industry. “Sangeet ke liye Shankar-Jaikishan, Ravi ya OP Nayyar ko lete hain. Film pakka hit hogi,” For the music, let’s take Shankar-Jaikishan, Ravi, or OP Nayyar. The film will definitely be a hit, the filmmaker suggests.

The lead actor has other ideas. He has a specific person in mind. He has heard his music in the past, especially the patriotic songs. He brings up his name instead of the other popular composers.

The filmmaker is taken aback. He didn’t even know this guy as a composer. “Woh? Woh to ek geetkar hai. Woh sangeet kaise de sakta hai?” That guy? That guy is a lyricist. How can he compose the music?

The lead actor corrects him. “Mein maanta hoon usne gaane zyaada likhen hai aur sangeet kum diya hai par iss film ka sangeet wohi de sakta hai.” I know that even though he has written more songs than he has composed, his music is exactly what the film needs.

“Theek hai. Usse kuch gaane compose karwa lenge.” Thats fine. We will have a few songs composed by him. The filmmaker is ready to compromise.

“Saaare gaane wohi compose karega. Warna mein ye film nahin karoonga.” He will compose all the songs. Else I am not doing this film. The lead actor lays it out firmly.

Realizing his friend will neither act nor write the film, the filmmaker agrees.

Together, they go to the house of the composer.

“Hum ek krantikari par film bana rahe hain aur aapko geet likhne hain.” We are making a film on a revolutionary, and you have to write the songs. The lead actor tells him.

“Zaroor, yeh toh mera saubhagya hai,” Sure, this is my good fortune, the composer replies, assuming he is only being hired for his lyrics.

But the lead actor smiles and corrects him. “Aap sirf geet nahi likhenge, aap sangeet bhi denge.” You will not just write the songs, you will also give the music.

The composer panics a bit at the sudden responsibility of handling the entire soundtrack. “Mujhe iss baare mein thoda sochna padega,” I will have to think a little about this, he says hesitantly.

The lead actor looks him in the eye, knowing this is the only way to capture the soul of the revolution. “Agar aap sangeet nahi doge, hum yeh film nahi banayenge.” If you don’t compose the music, we won’t make this film.

With that weight on his shoulders, the composer agrees.

The composer sits before his harmonium, his brow furrowed in deep thought. He is struggling with the most crucial part of the film: the climax, where the three revolutionaries are led to the gallows. He wants the music to capture the gravity of the moment, but he is afraid of making it too mournful.

“Main is dukh ki ghadi ko sangeet mein kaise dikhaun? How do I show this sadness in the music? the composer says, looking troubled.

He turns to the advisor, the man who lived through those days. The advisor slowly closes his eyes, transporting himself back to the cold stone walls of the jail. A faint smile plays on his lips as the memory returns.

“Wahan dukh nahi thha,” the advisor whispers. “Jab woh phansi ki taraf badh rahe thhe, toh unke chehron par sirf khushi thhi.” There was no sadness there. When they were moving towards the gallows, there was only happiness on their faces.

The lead actor and the composer lean in, trying to grasp every word he mutters. The advisor continues, describing how the three friends walked with their heads held high, chanting a poem that compared their sacrifice to their wedding with death.

The imagery strikes the composer, and he realizes that the song shouldn’t be a funeral march, but a victory anthem.

Prem Dhawan composed the music and wrote the lyrics for all the songs in the film Shaheed (1965), including the patriotic song O Mera Rang De Basanti Chola. Manoj Kumar was the lead actor and also one of the story writers of the film. The playback for the song was provided by Mukesh, Mahendra Kapoor, and Rajendra Mehta. The song was picturized on Manoj Kumar, Prem Chopra, and Anant Marathe. Kewal Kashyap was the producer of the film.

Manoj Kumar was deeply fascinated by the life of Bhagat Singh, but he didn’t want to rely on plain textbook accounts. He felt a responsibility to capture the true story and tell it to the entire world. To do this, he knew he needed a firsthand witness. That’s the reason he reached out to Batukeshwar Dutt, Bhagat Singh’s close comrade and the man who stood beside him during the Central Assembly bombing. Once he found him in Patna, he convinced him to come to Bombay as an advisor to the film. It took Manoj Kumar four years to do all the research before he decided it could be made into a film.

He reached out to his close friend, Kewal Kashyap, to produce it, who readily agreed to do it. For the composer selection, Kewal Kashyap wanted to go with the mainstream composers of the time to derisk the film and increase the chances of a hit just based on music. Manoj Kumar wanted someone who had dealt with patriotic songs and also served as a freedom fighter. Prem Dhawan fit the bill on all those points. Prem Dhawan was and is probably the only lyricist, composer, and choreographer all packaged in one person. After a big argument, Kewal Kashyap agreed to take Prem Dhawan.

Being the same person who wrote and composed the songs, Prem Dhawan could iterate very fast on different suggestions that he got from Batukeshwar Dutt and Manoj Kumar. He also used words from poetry that Bhagat Singh, Rajguru, and Sukhdev used while they were in jail. The climax moment in the film is when all three are being led to the gallows. Only Batukeshwar Dutt knew how three of them felt as they walked towards their death. Prem Dhawan took his feedback and wrote a timeless anthem.

At the 13th National Film Awards, Shaheed was the most celebrated film, sweeping three major awards. Kewal Kashyap received the award for the Best Feature Film in Hindi. The award for Best Screenplay was shared by Din Dayal Sharma and Batukeshwar Dutt. While they were the credited writers in the film, this award was a huge personal victory for Manoj Kumar, who had done the bulk of the research and writing. He refused to put his name out as one of the writers. Prem Dhawan did not win any awards for Shaheed but was honored with the Padma Shri in 1970 for his immense contribution to patriotic music.

This is the slow version of the song.

Lyrics: Prem Dhawan
Music: Prem Dhawan
Singers: Mukesh, Mahendra Kapoor, Rajendra Mehta
*ing: Manoj Kumar, Prem Chopra, Anant Marathe
Producer: Kewal Kashyap
Film: Shaheed (1965)

The composition creates the atmosphere before the melody. The start of the song is a steady, almost lazy blues rhythm that refuses to hurry. The restraint carries an undercurrent of anticipation.

The filmmaker has explained the song situation in detail. It is a song in a bar and is performed by the resident singer/dancer at an upscale restaurant. The song starts with a few couples grooving slowly to the music. The clock strikes midnight. The dance floor is cleared. The dancer slowly gets up from her barstool, too inebriated to find her footing, but as the music picks up she finds her groove.

The lyricist is quietly observing the proceedings. The female singer and the composer are in a conversation. She is registering a complaint, “Aap aise gaane mujhe hi kyon dete ho? Didi ko kyon nahin dete?” Why do you give me such songs? Why don’t you give Didi (elder sister) such songs?

The composer is busy. He notes her faux complaint, and replies, “Aap jaanti nahin hain iss gaane ka kya hone wala hai.” You don’t know what is going to happen with this song.

The singer is not convinced. She mutters, as if speaking with herself, “Kya hone wala hai? Kuchh nahin hone wala hai. Koi nahin bataa saktaa.” What is going to happen? Nothing is going to happen. No one can predict.

The composer calls for another rehearsal. He is vocalizing the undercurrent of anticipation and tension himself with exhalations, sighs and breath. It blurs the line between rhythm and intimacy. The sounds are not just ornamental. They set the emotional temperature of the song, longing stretched to the point of aching. Breath becomes timekeeping beats, and mood-setting provocation all at once. The song feels less like a performance and more like an atmosphere.

The singer is in her element. The musical arrangement is deliberately designed to not overpower her vocals.

The lyricist is quietly watching everything. But somewhere deep down he is unsettled. He has had a complicated, often uneasy relationship with authority. His words have repeatedly brought him into conflict with the system. He had been jailed for refusing to dilute his verses. Even in his extensive career in Hindi cinema, the pressure to change words had never really gone away. He had complied at times, but not without inner resistance. Each forced change is a small negotiation with power.

But today the unease is different. He believes words are not just strung together to create phrases, but they come together to create consequences, be they political, cultural or personal. Today he is struggling with the personal consequences of his words. Today he is negotiating with the power of conscience within.

Even amidst the music in the studio, his mind takes him back to an early mushaira, a formal gathering of poets rooted in the Urdu-Persian tradition where poetry is recited. He had recited a verse that had come to him from deep within his heart, and other poets at the mushaira had insisted that he change one word. He had given in. A single word had radically altered the emotional tone of the verse.

A lot of thoughts rush to him. Finally he makes up his mind. The rehearsals are complete. The composer is calling for a take. The female singer is about to enter the singer’s booth. He must do something. Now. Before it is too late.

He walks up to the singer with folded hands, “Beta, mein jaa raha hoon.” Child, I am leaving.

She is confused, unsure why he is saying this. He has always been there at the recordings of all his songs.

He continues, “Beta, maine bada ganda gaana likha hai.” Child, I have written a very vulgar song.

She stays silent. He continues, glancing towards the filmmaker, “Aur woh nahin maanega. Labz badalne nahin dega.” He won’t listen. He won’t let me change the words.

She asks, “Lekin gaana to ab ban gaya hai. Aap kyon jaa rahe hain?” But the song is now complete. Why are you leaving?

He explains, “Meri do betiyan hain. Badi hokar woh ye gaana gayengi to mujhe kaisa lagega?” I have two daughters. When they grow up and sing this song, how will I feel?

She understands, and nods, as she says, “Lekin mujhe to abhi gaana padega.” But I will have to sing it.

The lyricist leaves the studio before the song is recorded.

Majrooh Sultanpuri wrote the lyrics of the hit song Piya Tu Ab To Aaja from Caravan (1971), directed by Nasir Hussain, with music by RD Burman and playback by Asha Bhosle and RD Burman. The song is filmed on Helen.

Piya Tu Ab To Aaja is an iconic song that is widely regarded as one of the quintessential cabaret songs of Hindi cinema. It is a highly suggestive song with Asha Bhosle and RD Burman creating an emotionally charged atmosphere with their vocals.

Majrooh Sultanpuri left the song before it was recorded in the take. He could not bring himself to accept that he had written this song, and he felt that it was too late to do anything about it.

Early in his life at a mushaira, he had penned the verse:

Main akela hi chala tha jaanib-e-manzil magar
Gair saath aate gaye aur caravan banta gaya

The other poets insisted he change the word “Gair” to “Log” and that’s what the last line became famous as: Log saath aate gaye aur caravan banta gaya

The original line with the word “Gair” conveys the poet to be a loner by choice. After changing the word to “Log”, it becomes more positive.

Asha Bhosle won the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer for this song. RD Burman was nominated for Best Music Director award for the film, and Aruna Irani was nominated for Best Supporting Actress.

Listen to Asha ji performing this song live with Govinda providing the male vocals:

Asha Bhosle also recorded a new version in 2003 for the Kronos Quartet album, You’ve Stolen My Heart: Songs from RD Burman’s Bollywood.

Listen to the new version:

Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Music: RD Burman
Singers: Asha Bhosle, RD Burman
*ing: Helen
Director: Nasir Hussain
Film: Caravan (1971)

So naturally, the young lyricist thinks how great would it be for him to write a hit number for the superstar, just like his father. But when he is trying to make his mark in the industry as a lyricist, the superstar isn’t very active. He has taken a sabbatical from films, and there are speculations that he has retired.

One day the lyricist picks up the newspaper and reads that the superstar is making a comeback after five years, and the article carries an announcement of his comeback film and the name of the filmmaker. He starts day-dreaming again - how fortunate would he be if somehow he gets this film?

In a few days a duo of music composer brothers calls the lyricist and invites him to write the lyrics for the same film. When you want something with an intense fervor the universe conspires to give it to you. The lyricist is very excited to know that he will be writing lyrics for the biggest superstar.

Separately, in Punjab, in the North of India, a young singer is also day-dreaming. He has just started to make a name for himself in the Bhangra pop genre. His albums have broken records and won him several awards. His stage shows are all the rage. His diary cannot keep up with all the people who want to invite him to sing at events and weddings.

One day the singer’s friend says to him: “Yaar Paaji, Bombay mein kaam kab karenge?” Dear Sir, when will you do work in Bombay?

The singer replies: “Jab Paaji bulayenge to karenge.” When someone big (Sir) calls then we will go.

The friend asks: “Kaun? Dharam Paaji?,” referring to Dharmendra. Who? Dharam sir?

The singer clarifies: “Na. Amitabh Paaji.” No. Amitabh Sir.

The friend laughs. He says: “Yaar Paaji, dimaag kharab ho gaya. Ab ek hi gaana hit hua aur woh phone karenge?” Dear Sir, have you gone mad? Your one song has just now become a hit, and he will call you?

The singer insists: “Woh karenge to hi chalenge”. If he calls only then I will go.

The friend continues to give the singer a hard time: “Paaji woh kyon karenge?” Sir, why will he call?

Meanwhile, back in Bombay, the music sittings start with a lot of excitement for the superstar’s launch film. The superstar is very much involved in the music compositions and attends all the sessions regularly. He wants to leave no stone unturned for his comeback venture.

One day, during a music sitting, the superstar mentions to the team that he has a desire to do a song with a sensational Bhangra pop singer, who he had happened to hear in a wedding. Everyone likes the suggestion.

The superstar immediately takes his phone out and asks his secretary to dial the singer’s number.

The singer picks up the phone. It had been about a month since his conversation with his friend. From the other end, the familiar trademark baritone voice of the superstar booms: “Hello, mein Amitabh Bachchan bol raha hoon.” Hello, I am Amitabh Bachchan speaking.

Hearing the voice, the singer feels like he might faint. He feels the ground slipping beneath him. But he recovers himself, and replies: “Paaji, kabhi aise kisi ko direct mat bola karo ki mein Amitabh Bachchan bol raha hoon.” Sir, please don’t say directly to anyone that I am Amitabh Bachchan speaking.

The singer continues: “Mein hoon isliye sirf chakkar aa gaya oar koi hota to heart attack aa jaata.” Because it is me I only felt like I might faint, someone else might get a heart attack.

The superstar laughs at the singer’s quick humor. He replies: “Ji mein aap ke saath kaam karna chahta hoon. Mera secretary aap se baat karega.” Sir I would like to work with you. My secretary will talk with you.

The secretary takes over the call and says to the singer: “Aap ek kaam karo. Bas kal ki flight leke aa jao Bumbai.” Do one thing. Just get on a flight tomorrow and come to Bombay.

The singer hears the demand and responds: “Yaar maafi chahta hoon, mein kal nahin aa sakta. Teen mahine baad mere paas date hai. Mein tab aaunga.” Friend, I am very sorry, I cannot come tomorrow. I have the next date after three months. I will come then.

There is a pause. The superstar is back on the line. He booms: “Aap kal nahin aa rahe?” Are you not coming tomorrow?

The singer holds his ground: “Maaf karna. Mein aap ko bahot pyar karta hoon. Bachpan se aap ko dekhte aa rahe hain. Lekin Sir, mera na teen mahine bilkul book hoon, roz lagataar.” Please forgive me. I love you very much. I have been watching you since childhood. But Sir, I am completely booked for three months, every day consecutively.

The superstar thinks and says: “Aisa karo apni booking wali diary bhej do, dekhte hain book hai ke nahin.” Why don’t you send your booking diary, we can see if you are booked or not.

The singer agrees: “Theek hai ji.” That’s alright, Sir.

After confirming dates, a date three months later is booked. The singer sees the appointment written down in his diary with a glint in his eye. When you want something with an intense fervor the universe conspires to give it to you.

On the appointed day after three months, the singer walks in with his entourage into the music room of the composers. The lyricist is surprised to see that the singer has come with his secretary, guards, managers. He is used to the superstar’s entourage being present for important meetings. But who is this singer, the lyricist wonders.

Introductions are made. The superstar himself makes the introductions. He introduces the lyricist by name. From the name he thinks this must be some big builder. The singer meets the lyricist with a lot of respect: “Sir aapka to bahot naam suna hai. Jab bhi Bumbai aa jaata hoon to aap ke hi naam ki buildingein dikhti hain.” Sir I have heard your name a lot. Whenever I come to Bombay, I see buildings with your name.

The lyricist clarifies he is not a builder. He is a song writer.

The singer thinks in his mind: “To isse kya milna?” Then why am I meeting him? But he presents a pleasant face and says: “Chalo koi baat nahin, Sir, bahot achha laga.” Ok, not a big deal, Sir, it is a pleasure.

As the music sitting begins, the singer asks: “Chalo ji kya baat karenge? Kaisa wala gaana chahiye aap ko mujhse?” What are we here to discuss? What kind of song do you want me to make?

Before anyone could reply, the superstar takes over, and says to the singer: “Paaji, ye to aap waala dance gaana hai to behtar hoga aap hi bataiye hum kya karein.” Brother, this is certainly going to be your kind of dance number so it’s better that you suggest what we should do.

Suddenly a thought pops into the singer’s mind. He shares: “Paaji, mein chhe mahinon se mere stage shows mein ek cheez gaata hoon. Aur mere dimaag mein ye feel hota hai ki aap gaa rahe ho saath mein.” Sir, for the last six months I sing a phrase on stage, and I get the feeling that you are singing it with me.

The superstar requests him to sing it, to which the singer obliges. The superstar likes it very much.

The singer is happy to see the reaction. He points to the lyricist and says: “Agar ye sahab is line ko gaane mein convert kar dein to hum iska ek dance number bana denge. Mujhe yakeen hai yeh sure-shot hit hoga.” If this Sir can convert this line into a song then we can compose it as a dance number. I’m sure this will be a sure-shot hit.

Everyone is surprised to see the confidence with which the singer utters his statements, unfazed in front of the biggest superstar.

The lyricist requests the singer to sing the line a couple of times. With the singer’s voice in his ears, the lyricist closes his eyes in search of words. He keeps humming. Everyone is quiet. They respect that a process is unfolding. The lyricist opens his eyes and has the complete line on his lips. It is a line that one of his writer friends used to playfully say it to him.

The lyricist shares the line with everyone and says, “Mujhe laga iss line ko Paaji ki line ke saath connect karein to bahot achha lagega.” I thought if I connected this line to Sir’s line, it would sound great.

The lyricist sings both the lines together for everyone. Everybody jumps in excitement and praises the joined couplet. The superstar and the singer both run and hug him. What a moment for the young lyricist!

The composers immediately compose the song on the harmonium. Everyone is very satisfied with the song. It is already sounding like a hit dance number.

The superstar is familiar with a recent hit Bhangra pop number of the singer. He requests the singer, referring to the number: “Paaji jo marji karo, ismein aapka ye gaana hona chahiye. Mujhe aap ke saath usmein act karna hai. Mein uss gaane ka fan hoon. Woh gaana sar chadh ke bol raha hai poore Hindustan pe.” Sir, do what you may, but this song of yours needs to be in our song. I want to act with you on that song. I am a big fan of that song. It is being applauded by the whole of India.

The singer is pleased to hear this and says: “Bilkul fix kar denge Paaji.” We will definitely fix it, Sir.

As the team continues to work on the song in the sitting, everyone notices that the singer’s secretary is very anxious. After every 15-20 minutes, she would come to the singer and whisper something in private. It seemed like a serious conversation.

The superstar cannot hold himself back and asks why she is coming back and forth and interrupting the music session. The superstar’s manager takes the superstar to the side and briefs him: “Paaji producers se iss gaane ke liye 45 lakh ki fees maang rahe hain.” The singer is asking the producers for 45 lakh (4.5 million) rupees as his fees for this song.

The superstar is stunned to hear this big an amount for just one dance number in the film. He is angered by this demand and asks the singer to clarify the reason for his huge fees.

In a no-fuss manner, the superstar explains: “Dekhiye Paaji, aap ko 10-12 karod ki publicity milne waali hai jab log aap ko Amitabh Bachchan ke saath naachte gaate dekhenge. Aap apne manager se kahiye ki un 10-12 karod mein se 45 lakh fees rakh lein aur baki ke mujhe bhej dijiye aap ke saath video mein nachne ke liye. Baat yahin khatm karte hain. Hum kisi aur ko dhoond lenge.” Look Brother, you’re going to get huge publicity worth 10-12 crores of rupees after you are seen in a film singing and dancing with Amitabh Bachchan. Ask your manager to deduct 45 lakh from the 10-12 crores and send the rest of the money to me for appearing with you in the video. Let’s finish the matter here itself. We’ll find someone else.

The music room goes quiet. You could hear a pin drop. The filmmaker holds his head in his hands. The lyricist gets the feeling that this song might not materialize. After all has any creativity survived the egos of big people?

The singer pauses and thinks. He has huge respect for the superstar. He walks up to him with folded hands and says: “Paaji maaf kijiye. Saari baat bhool jaiye. Mein aapke liye ye gaana muft mein karne ke liye tayar hoon, Paaji.” Sir, please forgive me. Let’s forget the whole matter. I’m ready to do the number for you free of cost, Sir.

Fast forward to the shoot of the dance number. Dates are locked in. The day before the filmmaker and the singer meet: “To kal aap 7 baje pahunch jaiye.” So you reach there tomorrow at 7am.

The singer is perplexed, “Mein itni jaldi aa kar kya karunga?” What will I do there so early?

The filmmaker clarifies, “Bachchan sahab pahunch jayenge.” Mr. Bachchan will have already reached.

The singer knows the superstar is known to be very punctual and reaches anywhere earlier than the designated time, come what may.

The singer folds his hands and says: “Paaji, please, unko to neend nahin aati, lekin mujhe to aati hai. 7 baje uth jaunga to mera munh aur sujha hoga. Mein das baje se pehle nahin aa sakta.” Sir, please, he (Mr. Bachchan) doesn’t sleep, but I sleep. If I wake up at 7 my face will be even more swollen. I cannot come before 10am.

They change the call time to 10am to suit the singer.

Someone asks the singer if he will be nervous to shoot with Mr. Bachchan. The singer replies that he has also acquired enough popularity in the world that he is not afraid. In fact, he was feeling very confident to perform with Mr. Bachchan.

The first and the second day’s shoot of the song goes very well. On the third day, the singer is not able to perform a specific step. He is repeatedly making mistakes and swirling himself around when he doesn’t need to.

The superstar asks him, “Kya hua?” What happened?

The singer is sheepish about his mistakes and confesses, “Thodi ghabrahat si ho rahi hai.” I am feeling a little afraid.

The superstar doesn’t understand the reason for this. He asks, “Do din to nikal gaye tab ab kyon ghabrahat ho rahi hai? Mere saath to bahot logon ne kaam kiya hai.” Two days have already gone so why are you feeling afraid now? Many people have worked with me.

The singer continues, “Paaji aap Mount Everest ho. Aap ke saath jinhone kam kiya hai, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Rishi Kapoor. Ye Everest ke aas paas ki chotiyan hain. Mein to kuch bhi nahin hoon. Ek singer hoon bas to thodisi ghabrahat ho rahi hai.” Sir you are Mount Everest. And those who have worked with you, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Rishi Kapoor. They are the other peaks near Everest. I am nothing. I am just a singer so I am feeling afraid.

The superstar comes up with a solution, “To ek kaam karte hain. Is jagah gaane mein, mein aapka haath pakad loonga. Aur aise step karenge. Jab tak maine aap ka haath pakda hai, tab tak aap ghoomna mat.” So let’s do this. At this point in the song, I will hold your hand. And we will do these dance steps. As long as I am holding your hand, you will not swirl around.

The rest of the song is completed over the next 7 days.

Daler Mehndi performed the song Na Na Na Na Re along with Amitabh Bachchan in the film Mrityudata (1997), produced under the ABCL banner and directed by Mehul Kumar, with lyrics by Sameer, and music by Anand-Milind. Sudesh Bhosle provided the playback vocals for Amitabh Bachchan.

Daler Mehdni became a Bhangra and pop sensation after his first solo album Bolo Ta Ra Ra became a massive hit and sold 20 million copies. He followed that up with his second album Dardi Rab Rab, which surpassed the sales of his first album. Amitabh wanted the song Dardi Rab Rab also to be factored into the film song.

Mrityudata was Amitabh’s comeback film but bombed at the box office. However, the song Na Na Na Na Re became a big hit. People would throw coins at the screen whenever this song would come on. Daler Mehndi was very much applauded for this number.

Sameer was used to write the hook lines for all his songs, however, this one was provided by Daler Mehndi. Sameer then took over and wrote the rest of the lines to everyone’s applause and liking.

At 4:23 in the song you can see Amitabh extending his hand to hold Daler Mehndi’s as they perform the dance steps.

Watch Daler Mehndi’s hit song Dardi Rab Rab:

Watch Daler Mehndi perform this song live:

Watch Sudesh Bhosle perform this song live:

*ing: Amitabh Bachchan, Daler Mehndi
Lyrics: Sameer, Daler Mehndi
Music: Anand-Milind
Singers: Daler Mehndi, Sudesh Bhonsle
Director: Mehul Kumar
Film: Mrityudata (1997)

One of her music teachers happens to walk by. He specializes in playing the Sarangi, but a maestro overall when it comes to music. And next to him is another gentleman.

The teacher stops and points at the singer. “Aao mein tumhe mere kuch students se milata hoon.” Come, let me introduce you to my students. Both of them walk closer to where the girls are sitting.

“Inse miliye. Ye film industry ke bahut bade sangeetkar hain. Aur ye humare NCPA ki students hain aur dono bahut accha gaana gaati hain.” Meet with him. He is a big composer in the film industry. And these are our NCPA students, and both of them sing very well. The teacher drives the introductions.

The girls almost blush at hearing this. Of course, they know him. He is one of the great composers in the industry. The composer is eager to hear a singing voice.

The composer turns to the singer. “Kuch sunaiye aap.” Sing something.

She sings a few lines. Her voice is plain, deep, and carries a strange kind of sadness. The composer doesn’t say much, just nods and leaves.

A few months later, the singer is at her desk at the radio station when the phone rings. It’s the same composer on the other side. He wants her to come and see him at the music studio.

When she arrives, she sees the composer is sitting with another gentleman. He is introduced as the filmmaker. They are both working on his upcoming film. The film is about a man struggling to survive as a taxi driver in the bustle of Bombay, and his wife is left behind in their quiet village to endure a long and lonely wait.

“Ek gaana hai jisme humein gaon ki khamoshi chahiye. Ye gaana sheher ke shor ko pukaar raha hai.“ This song is about the quietness of the village. This song is speaking to the noise of the city. The filmmaker sets the context of the song.

The composer goes through the song for the singer on his harmonium. The music is thin and delicate, while the vocals are front and center. The singer is really excited since this song will position her voice and tonal quality. But she needs work. They all agree to a schedule. Every day, the filmmaker will drive to the singer’s house, pick her up, and take her to the studio for rehearsals.

The rehearsals begin. The initial meetings are quite difficult. The lyrics have been written by a poet from Hyderabad who is a Marxist revolutionary. There are hardcore Urdu words used in the song that the composer has issues with. He took it up himself with the lyricist, but how do you argue with an idealist who does not write for money. He refuses to change even a single word.

The singer, though born in Bombay, comes from a traditional Bengali family. Urdu words are not something she has learnt to speak. She has come across a few of them in film songs. A few Urdu words have a heavy sound that requires the singer to blow air out of her mouth using her tongue or with her lips. Every time that happens, the microphone makes a loud thumping sound. This happens a few times. The entire music crew watching this is confused. They are not used to this.

The composer is also frustrated but stays patient. “Makhdoom saheb ke alfaaz bahut wazandar hain, inhein badla nahi ja sakta.” Makhdoom saheb’s words are heavy and cannot be changed. He says, shaking his head.

The composer comes up with a plan. He stands next to the singer and shows her how to move. “Jab yeh bhari alfaaz aayein, toh mic se thoda peeche hatt jaana,” When these heavy words come, just move back from the mic a little, he tells her.

She practices this over several days, leaning in for the soft parts and swaying away whenever the heavy air needs to escape her lips. It felt more like a dance than a recording.

Finally, it is the day of the recording. The studio is small and crowded. In the corner sits the lead actress.

When the singer finishes, the room is completely still. The lead actress gets up from her chair. Her eyes are wet. She walks straight to the singer and wraps her in a big hug.

“Aapne kitne acche expression ke saath gaaya hai!” You have sung this with such incredible expression! The lead actress says to her, holding her shoulders. The singer offers a light smile.

Chhaya Ganguly sang her debut song Aap ki Yaad Aati Rahi for the film Gaman (1978). The song is composed by Jaidev, and the lyrics are written by Makhdoom Mohiuddin. The film is produced and directed by Muzaffar Ali. In the film, the song plays in the background and is filmed on Farooq Shaikh and Smita Patil.

Chhaya Ganguly got her break for the film Gaman while she was at NCPA (National Centre for the Performing Arts). She joined there after finishing college and also worked at All India Radio. She was good friends with Kavita Krishnamurthy over at the NCPA. That’s where their teacher, Pandit Ram Narayan, introduced her to his friend, Jaidev. On hearing her voice, Jaidev knew that her tonal quality would really fit the song that he had recently composed for Gaman.

The song lyrics are part of an earlier collection that Makhdoom Mohiuddin had published in 1966. The collection is very well received and is popular in the Urdu circles. Makhdoom was a Marxist idealist and had also received the Sahitya Akademi award for this collection. He was adamant and refused to change even a single word to tone down the use of Urdu words that are not suitable for playback. No amount of money could persuade him to change his poetry.

The lyrics had several words that had the “Pa”, “Pha”, or “Tha” sounds that require the speaker to blow air as they are pronounced. For example, “thar tharathi rahi” in the song. Chhaya had a lot of problems initially due to lack of playback experience. Jaidev taught her to manage the distance from the mic to minimize the sound made by the released breath.

Smita Patil, the film’s lead actress, was there during the recording of the song. She was very pleased to hear Chhaya’s voice and showered her with compliments.

Chhaya Ganguly won the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer and was nominated for the Filmfare Award for Best Female Playback Singer. Jaidev won the National Film Award for Best Music Director, and Muzaffar Ali won the National Film Award – Special Mention (feature film) for Gaman.

Chhaya Ganguly’s career did not progress further despite winning the National Award for her debut song. After a long break, she returned in 1990 and sang the title track for Amol Palekar’s film Thodasa Roomani Ho Jayen. During this time, she went back to her full-time job at All India Radio and retired in 2012.

This is Chhaya Ganguly singing the song in a live performance.

Singer: Chhaya Ganguly
Music: Jaidev
Lyrics: Makhdoom Mohiuddin
*ing: Farooq Shaikh, Smita Patil
Director: Muzaffar Ali
Film: Gaman (1978)

A 17 year old boy from Benares has come to Mumbai to take part in this competition. He plays the flute, and has been learning under the guidance of his father, a homeopathic doctor, oil painter, and amateur flautist who has taken lessons from the esteemed Pandit Pannalal Ghosh.

Youth is a funny thing. It does not fear failure. You do not play to arrive somewhere, but play because the breath must move somewhere to bring the notes that have been playing within you long before they find their way out. Effort is pure, innocent. Applause is just incidental. Somewhere along the way mastery arrives quietly, almost surprised to find you were never trying to claim it. It does not care if you are old enough to bear its weight.

The 17 year old flautist wins the first prize as an instrumentalist in the All India Radio music competition. A noted film music composer is one of the judges. He tells somebody, “Arre woh ladka jo bajaya hai usko jara bulao mere paas.” That boy who just played, call him to me.

The young boy presents himself before the composer. The composer asks, “Arre kabhi film mein bajaya?” Have you ever played in films?

“Nahin,” the young boy answers. No.

“Kal Radio James Studio mein aa jaa,” the composer instructs. Come tomorrow to Radio James Studio.

“Mere paas sab bansuri nahin hai,” the boy looks down at the composer’s feet and answers. I don’t have all the flutes.

“Woh sab theek ho jayega,” the composer assures. All that will be taken care of.

The young boy does as asked, and shows up the next day at Radio James Studio. He is asked to play a flute piece for a song that is being worked on. It is an extremely difficult piece. To play flute in film music you need to have 24 flutes. He doesn’t have the money to even buy so many. He is given three flutes to play.

He says a silent prayer in his mind, changes the scale and makes a personal best effort.

The notes from the instrument reach the ears of the lead singer. He turns around to see who is playing, and is speechless to see a 17 year old wisp of a boy playing magic.

He says to the boy in Bangla, “Kōthāẏa thākēna?” Where do you stay?

The boy responds, “Āmi ēkajanēra rānnāgharē pēẏiṁ gēsṭa hisēbē thāki, śudhu sēkhānē’i ghumā’i.” I stay as a paying guest in someone’s kitchen, just sleep there.

The singer cannot contain his excitement at discovering magical talent. “Pancham ke liye tujhe bajana padega.” You will have to play for Pancham.

Another musician, affectionately known in the industry as “Dukhi Babu”, has also taken note of the young boy and heard the words of the singer. He also hails from Calcutta and is a distinguished musician and composer from the esteemed Tagore family. He plays rare instruments like the Dilruba, Taar Shehnai and has played with the stalwarts from Satyajit Ray to SD Burman. The boy, of course, knows none of this.

Dukhi Babu approaches the young boy. He is overcome with affection. He tells the young boy, “Mera beta mujhe theek se dekhbhaal nahin karta. Mein ek hotel mein rahta hoon.” My son does not look after me well. I stay in a hotel.

“Tum kal aao mere paas. Pancham ke wahan le jaoonga,” Dukhi Babu continues. You come to me tomorrow. I will take you to Pancham.

The boy, of course, knows Pancham. Who doesn’t know Pancham?

Dukhi Babu keeps going, “Kya bajaya aaj. Pancham ko bansuri player ki zaroorat hai.” What you have played today. Pancham needs a bansuri player.

The young boy looks at Dukhi Babu’s feet as he continues to listen. Dukhi Babu shares more, “Hariprasad Chaurasia to abhi LP ke wahan bajate hain. Unke paas itna time nahin hai. Ek aur genius dena hai Pancham ko jo Hariprasad ji ka jagah le sake.” Hariprasad Chaurasia is now playing with LP. He doesn’t have much time now. We have to find another genius for Pancham who can take the place of Hariprasad ji.

Youth is a funny thing. It doesn’t get shocked or awed. It listens without shrinking. It meets legends as people, not pedestals. Praise just passes through it, just noticed, not held on to. Comparisons don’t make a dent, because becoming has not yet ossified into being. Youth simply shows up, unburdened by the weight of who came before or the impossible task of replacing them. It is only when we get older that we tremble simply by hearing names. Youth is a funny thing.

The next day the young boy meets Dukhi Babu at Mansoravar Hotel near Bandra. Together they go to Film Center, Pancham’s studio in Tardeo.

Stepping inside Film Center, the boy just takes in the scene. He has never seen anything like this before. Pancham’s orchestra is a sight to behold - 60 to 70 violins, 10 to 15 violas, 4 to 5 cellos, double bass, guitars, synthesizers, percussion, drums, tablas, flute section.

Seeing this massive set up, the young boy is unnerved and is overcome with fear. Where has he come? He glances around, and as if that ensemble was not overwhelming enough, he sees the divine voice Herself sitting behind the glass door, with a piece of paper in hand, memorizing the lyrics of a song. Where has he come?

Dukhi Babu beckons Pancham to come to him. “Aye Pancham, dekh, leke aaya hoon tere liye genius.” Hey Pancham, see, I have brought you a genius.

The young boy looks at Dukhi Babu with a renewed sense of wonder. Who is this man, who hails Pancham as if they are pals, without the customary “ji” that is reserved for someone elder or someone worthy of being accorded respect? He must also be someone big, the boy thinks.

Dukhi Babu looks at the boy and realizes what’s going on his mind. He reveals, “Yeh to mera beta hai Pancham. Iska baap ka shaadi maine karvaya hai.” Pancham is like my son. I have arranged the marriage of his father.

The boy is numbed. This man, Dukhi Babu, has arranged the marriage of the esteemed Sachin Dev Burman, Pancham’s father?! Where has he come?

Pancham joins Dukhi Babu and the young boy. He looks the boy up and down. He knows if Dukhi Babu hails this young lad as a genius, there must be something.

He asks the boy three questions.

“Tumne kabhi background music bajaya?” Have you ever played background music?

“Nahin,” the boy replies. No.

“Music notation likhne aata hai? Likh sakte ho?” Do you know to write music notation? Can you write?

“Haan,” the boy replies. Yes.

“Tumko Raag Khamaaj aata hai?” Do you know Raag Khamaaj?

“Haan,” the boy replies. Yes.

“Bajaa ke sunao,” Pancham commands. Let me hear it.

The boy picks up his flute, closes his eyes, and plays the alaap of Pancham’s song Kuchh To Log Kahenge.

After playing, he opens his eyes, and looks up at Pancham.

Pancham has tears welling up in his eyes. With tears streaming down his cheeks, he keeps staring at the boy. A long second passes with no one saying anything. The boy looks down at Pancham’s feet. Without moving his gaze from the boy, Pancham asks, “Dukhi Da, kahan se leke aaye ye heera?” Dukhi Da, from where did you bring this diamond?

Pancham continues to the young boy, “Abhi ek gaana record ho raha hai yahan. Uske shuru ka piece tu baja.” Now a song is going to be recorded here. You play the piece in the beginning of the song.

After the recording it doesn’t take long for word of mouth to spread in the industry, “Industry mein ek naya ladka aaya hai. Usne ye piece bajaya hai.” A new boy has come into the industry. He has played this piece.

A 17 year old Pandit Ronu Majumdar played the opening flute piece in the song, Yaad Aa Rahi Hai, in the film, Love Story (1981), directed by Rahul Rawail, produced by Rajendra Kumar, starring debutants Kumar Gaurav and Vijayta Pandit in lead roles. The lyrics of the song are written by Anand Bakshi, with music by RD Burman. The song is sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Amit Kumar.

It was Ravindra Jain who heard Ronu Majumdar play in 1980 at the All India Radio music competition and had him play in his studio. This is where Kishore Kumar noticed the young boy and remarked that he needs to play for Pancham.

Dakshina Mohan Tagore, also known as Dukhi Babu, took the initiative to introduce the 17 year old Majumdar to Pancham, and the rest, as they say, is history. Pandit Ronu Majumar played in Pancham’s ensemble and was part of every song right until Kuch Na Kaho from 1942: A Love Story, which was Pancham’s swansong and grand finale.

The song, Yaad Aa Rahi Hai, was originally to be sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar. However, Kishore Kumar had pledged that he would never sing for Rajendra Kumar. We will leave that story for another day. That was the reason Amit Kumar came to sing playback for Kumar Gaurav, and won the Filmfare Award for Best Male Playback Singer for this song.

Love Story was declared a box office blockbuster. RD Burman was nominated for Best Music Director (Khayyam won for Umrao Jaan). Anand Bakshi was nominated for Best Lyricist (Yaad Aa Rahi Hai, he won for Tere Mere Beech Mein from Ek Duje Ke Liye). Amjad Khan was nominated for Best Supporting Actor (he won for Yaarana).

Watch Amit Kumar render a soulful live performance of Yaad Aa Rahi Hai.

Flute: Pandit Ronu Majumdar
Music: RD Burman
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Amit Kumar
*ing: Kumar Gaurav, Vijayta Pandit
Director: Rahul Rawail
Producer: Rajendra Kumar
Film: Love Story (1981)

On such a meeting with this filmmaker, they had played their stock of songs to him. The filmmaker had loved them. That’s how they have become part of this film.

The filmmaker has selected some of the stock songs. Other songs are being composed according to the situations in the film.

One day, the filmmaker calls the lyricist over for lunch. Over lunch the filmmaker asks, “Aur kuch likha hai jo ab tak sunaya nahin hai?” Have you written something else that you haven’t made me listen to yet?

The lyricist recalls a romantic song. He shares the lyrics of the song with the filmmaker. The filmmaker is excited to hear it, “Arre iske liye to situation hai apne paas.” We have a situation for this song.

The musician has already composed the tune for this song. When the musician hears of this, he is also happy. One more stock song is now added to the film.

He has a particular singer in mind to sing the male portion of the song. It will not be an easy song to sing. It has to be sung with a lot of feeling and softness.

He calls the singer, “Dekhiye, ek gaana hai. Bahot time se mein target kar raha hoon ki ye gaana tu gayega. Aap sitting ke liye aayenge to sunayenge.” See, there’s this song. For a long time, I have been targeting you to be the one to sing it. I will play it for you when you come to the sitting.

In a few days, the singer and the musician come together at a sitting of another song. The musician introduces the love song to the singer, “Dekhiye, thoda dhyan dena padega. Yeh gaana passion wala gaana hai. Bahot hi romantic gaana hai. To aap mere liye thoda time rakhna.” See, you will have to give me your attention. This song has a lot of passion. It is a very romantic song. So you will have to keep some time for me.

The singer agrees to do as many rehearsals as the musician wants, “Haan haan, jitna time lagega tum kar lena.” Yes yes, I will give you as much time as you need.

A date is fixed for the singer to come to the studio for rehearsals. The musician has blocked the studio for a good chunk of time. Today they will only do rehearsals. He has another time slot blocked the next day also, potentially for more rehearsals. If all goes well, he might then block another slot for the actual recording.

The musician does not want to rush this at all. He wants to do justice to the song. The lyrics are beautiful. The composition is equally melodious. Now the singing has to be just perfect. He will leave no stone unturned to make everything come out perfectly.

The musician looks at his watch. The male singer should be here any minute now. All the musicians are ready. But they will not be called to action for some time. Once the singer arrives, he anticipates a good hour or more just for rehearsals. It is a duet. The female singer is also in the studio for the rehearsals.

The male singer arrives. Pleasantries are exchanged.

They do the rehearsals.

They decide to do a take and record.

They like the take.

The male singer leaves.

The musician doesn’t realize what transpired. He looks at his watch. His face registers disbelief. What? He looks at his watch again. How is it possible? He asks a few others for the time. Did his watch stop working? Is he in a time warp?

The male singer came, did the rehearsals, recorded the song, and left. And only 20 minutes have elapsed? How is it possible?

Kumar Sanu and Kavita Krishnamurthy sang the duet, Aankhon Ki Gustakhiyan, in the film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, lyrics by Mehboob, and music by Ismail Darbar. Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai play the lead roles in the film.

Ismail Darbar started out as a violinist for Laxmikant Pyarelal, Kalyanji Anandji, Bappi Lahiri, Rajesh Roshan, Anand-Milind, Jatin-Lalit, Nadeem-Shravan, and AR Rahman. He teamed up with Mehboob, who had a pet shop family business. Ismail Darbar and Mehboob composed Chand chupa badal mein, Tadap tadap, Aankhon Ki Gustakhiyan and the title track of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, among many other songs, during their days of struggle and marathon sessions working together in Mehboob’s pet shop.

The film was a commercial blockbuster and emerged as one of the highest-grossing Indian films of the year. The soundtrack of the film was the third highest-selling album of the year.

Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam won a bevy of Filmfare Awards: Best Film, Best Director (Sanjay Leela Bhansali), Best Actress (Aishwarya Rai), RD Burman Award (Ismail Darbar), Best Background Score (Anjan Biswas), Best Male Playback Singer (Udit Narayan for Chand Chupa Badal Mein), Best Choreography (Saroj Khan for Nimbooda), Best Art Direction (Nitin Desai), and nominations for Best Actor (Ajay Devgn, Salman Khan), Best Music Director (Ismail Darbar), Best Lyricist (Mehboob for Aankhon Ki Gustakhiyan and Tadap Tadap), Best Male Playback Singer (KK for Tadap Tadap, Kumar Sanu for Aankhon Ki Gustakhiyan), Best Female Playback Singer (Alka Yagnik for Chand Chupa Badal Mein, Kavita Krishnamurthy for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Kavita Krishnamurthy for Nimbooda).

Lyrics: Mehboob
Music: Ismail Darbar
Singer: Kumar Sanu, Kavita Krishnamurthy
*ing: Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Film: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)

However, tragedy strikes mid-production.

The film with the duo composer team loses the junior composer. The senior composer is completely heartbroken. He is left with no desires. Finishing the film is the last thing on his mind.

The filmmaker pays him a visit at this Marine Drive residence and offers his condolences. The senior composer knows what’s on the filmmaker’s mind. “Main ye film nahin kar sakta hoon ab. Par main poori koshish karoonga ki iss film ko ek kabil composer mil jaye. Mera ek dost composer hai, chalo uske ghar chalte hain. Aapne ek film ki hai usske saath.” I cannot do this film by myself. But I will try to help you hand over this film to a capable composer. I have a composer friend in mind. You have worked with him in one of your previous films.

He asks his driver to take the car out. They start driving towards the new composer’s home in Santa Cruz. The entire drive, the silence is heavy. The evening traffic does not help and prolongs the somberness.

They both enter the house. There are no loud greetings. Everyone is mourning the absence of a maestro.

“Aapko shayad pata ho hum kyun aaye hain.” You might have realized why we have come. The Senior Composer says, his voice cracking slightly.

The new composer nods slowly. He knows it. Very few words are spoken, and he agrees to do the film. For him, this isn’t just a job or a career move. It feels like a sacred obligation.

The filmmaker is sad but a bit relieved that he has someone to finish the composition. They agree to meet next at the recording studio. Something else is bothering him. Given the solemnity of the moment, he forgot to ask the composer his price.

The composer shows up at the recording studio. The filmmaker is already there waiting for him. “Ek baat karni thi aapse. Aap kitne paise loge iss film ke?” I wanted to talk to you about one thing. How much would you charge for this film?

The composer hadn’t given any thought to this yet. All of it happened so suddenly. Plus, the film is partially done. He decides to throw it back to the filmmaker. “Aap mujhe wohi dijiye jo aapne mere swargwasi dost ke saath tai kiya tha.” You give me the same that you had agreed to pay my late friend.

The filmmaker is in a bind now. “Maine to sirf ek rakam tai ki thi aur woh main bade sangeetkar ko deta tha. Chhote sangeetkar ko main alag se kuch nahin deta tha.” I had agreed to one amount with the senior composer. I wasn’t giving anything separate to the junior composer.

The composer drops his eyes and takes a deep breath. This is his moment to rise up above the mundane. “Agar aisa hai to, main bhi iss film ke liye ek paisa nahin loonga.” If that is the case, then I will also not charge a single paisa for this film.

The filmmaker doesn’t agree but feels it’s not worth pushing. Time to get on with the upcoming composition. “Ye gaana do doston ke baare mein hai. Isski dhun thodi dheemi chhaiye. Tumhari pichli filmon ki dhun se alag hai thodi.” This song is about two friends. The tune needs to be a bit slower. It needs to be different from your previous tunes.

The composer is known for producing compositions on a dime. “Aap fikar mat kijiye. Main ek aur film kar raha hoon jiska sangeet kaafi milta julta hai. Main aisi hi koi dhun iss gaane ke liye banaaonga.” Don’t worry. I am doing another film whose music is similar to this film. I will compose something similar.

The composition gets completed, and the song is recorded.

The day of the shoot arrives. The lead actor is supposed to be singing with the supporting actor. The latter is just sitting there listening to him. The first take is still in the works when the filmmaker shouts, “CUT.”

“Mazaa nahi aa raha hai,” I’m not enjoying this, the Filmmaker mumbles, pacing the floor. “Kuch toh kami hai.” Something is missing. He feels the scene is too stagnant with one character singing and the other just sitting there smiling and listening to his song.

He notices a bulky, strange object near the lead actor’s chair. It is a massive video camera, a rare luxury that the lead actor recently brought back from one of his trips abroad.

The Filmmaker’s eyes light up. “Yeh kya hai? Isse istemaal karte hain!” What is this? Let’s use it!

He hands the heavy camera to the supporting actor. “Tum gaana sunte hue isse shoot karo. Lead actor ke peeche peeche ghoomo.” You shoot with this while listening to the song. Move around behind the Superstar.

Suddenly, the frame comes alive with the new prop. The lead actor sings with his unique expressions, and the supporting actor circles him with the camera, creating an engaging atmosphere.

Watch the song on YouTube

RD Burman composed the music for the song Diye Jalte Hain as well as the rest of the songs in the film Namak Haram. The film was directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, produced by Rajaram Satish Wagle, and the songs were written by Anand Bakshi. The playback for the song Diye Jalte Hain was provided by Kishore Kumar, and the song featured both Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan on the screen.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee was working on two films, Anand and Namak Haram at that time. Both had Rajesh Khanna and Amitabh Bachchan in the lead and supporting cast. Most of the crew were also shared between the two films, except the music teams. Shankar Jaikishan was initially assigned to compose for Namak Haram, but unfortunately, Jaikishan passed away during the making of the film. Shankar was devastated and requested RD Burman to step in as the composer. At this point, Hrishikesh Mukherjee had only worked with RD Burman in the film, Buddha Mil Gaya, and wasn’t completely sure if RD Burman would be the right choice for the slow tunes he needed in Namak Haram. Also, when it came to payment, RD Burman refused to take any money since Jaikishan was not being paid directly anyway, and he was stepping in because Jaikishan was no longer there. RD Burman was also composing for Amar Prem at that time and used similar tunes in Namak Haram. There are underlying subtleties between Diye Jalte Hain and Chingari Koi Badhke if you listen to them carefully.

Hrishikesh Mukherjee was fascinated with the consumer-grade video camera that Rajesh Khanna once brought to the sets. It was quite massive back in the days and resembled what they used to shoot astronauts in space. He decided to use it as a prop to make the scene much more lively. This is typical of Hrishikeshji, where he would have a character singing with the rest of the cast sitting and listening, but with some twist to it. We have seen that with Ab Ke Sajan Saawan Mein in the film Chupke Chupke.

Namak Haram was unfortunately the last time we would see the pairing of an existing superstar, Rajesh Khanna, with an upcoming superstar, Amitabh Bachchan. Rajesh Khanna influenced Hrishikeshji to change the ending, where his character passes away in the end. He had seen the impact of such endings in his other films, such as Anand and Safar. When Amitabh found out about this, he was furious since the original ending had been envisioned differently by Gulzar in Amitabh’s favor. This created a distance between the two superstars.

Amitabh Bachchan won the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor in the film Namak Haram.

Singer: Kishore Kumar
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: RD Burman
*ing: Rajesh Khanna, Amitabh Bachchan
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee
Producer: Rajaran Satish Wagle
Film: Namak Haram (1973)

It is very important to establish the language of the film and also incorporate it into the songs. That’s the logic of working on the songs in parallel with the script. To the filmmaker the songs are just an extension of the film.

The director and producer have a brief for the lyricist for one of the songs. It’s a song about a friend, the hero. The hero will not yet have made an appearance on the screen. The emotional arc of the film also will not yet have been established. None of the characters will have been established yet. But this has to be an emotional song about a friend.

The lyricist racks his brains. He thinks back to all his mentors and friends. He imagines this as a comparison song, to highlight how the friend is different and stands out.

After a few days the lyricist is happy with his words for the “friend song”. The composer starts working on the tune. He composes this in the low and high range. As the other songs are being worked on along with the script, they audition six singers for the “friend song”. However, none of the voices pan out.

They wonder if they might have to shelve this song if they don’t find a good voice for it. It is a background song, so it won’t hurt the film if they have to shelve it.

Today a different song is being recorded in the studio. It is a song with the three friends fooling around on the college campus. It will be a male duet with two of the leading singers. One of the singers is in the studio to record his portions of the song.

The singer is a little worried about how this recording might go. He is suffering from some nodule growth inside his throat that is randomly affecting his singing. His voice might start to break and his throat might start scratching randomly. Thankfully, none of that happens today. As the singer comes out of the recording studio, he is relieved that this recording went over without a hitch.

The composer turns to him and says, “Ye ek part hai doosre gaane ka. Pataa nahin yeh gaana rakhenge ya nahin rakhenge. Isko zara gaa ke dekh na.” This is the stanza of another song. We don’t know if we’ll keep this song. Just try singing this.

It is the “friend song”. The composer tells him the tune and how to sing it and asks him to sing the low range.

The singer rehearses for a bit and sings it. His throat doesn’t throw any tantrums.

The singer is curious about the high range of the song. He asks, “Iska kya hoga?” What about this?

The composer replies, “Thoda high notes hain. Woh ek baul type ka hai. Teen chaar singers se gawayenge.” There are a few high notes. They are similar to the baul style of song. We might get this sung from three or four singers.

The composer doesn’t reveal that he has reserved those high notes for himself to sing. So he is a bit vague forthcoming with the details.

Meanwhile the director has been listening in on this interaction. He has heard the singer sing a few lines in the low range.

The director asks the singer, “Arre woh upar wala bhi kar de.” Go ahead and sing the high range.

The singer looks at the composer, silently just raising his eyebrows as if to say, “Kya karun? Gaaun?” What should I do? Should I sing?

The composer has no choice. He nods and mutters under his breath. “Haan ab bol rahe hain to kar de abhi mein kya karun.” Yes since he is saying go ahead, what can I do.

The singer sings the high range of the song. The filmmaker likes it a lot.

The singer realizes there is some humming in the song. He asks, “Humming bhi kar doon?” Should I do the humming as well?

The exasperated composer jokingly complains, “Arre yaar kuch to rakh de mere liye. Tu aa ke pura gaana ga raha hai.” My friend keep at least something for me. You are now singing the whole song.

The director and composer are happy that on the seventh attempt they finally find a voice for the “friend song”. The singer is happy to get to sing another song in the film, but he doesn’t have any high hopes from this song. After all it is in the background. The main hero isn’t on the screen for this song. It is mostly the other characters singing for their hero friend.

The singer has his hopes pinned on the first song he recorded, the one that is a male duet and filmed on the college campus on main hero and his friends. It is a high-energy fun song that will feature the main hero. The singer knows this will be the super-hit song of the film.

After the script is finally ready and the songs are all composed and recorded, the music CD is sent around for people to listen to. The singer is disappointed that his portions of the college campus song have been cut. Now he is only just part of the chorus, while the other male singer has the entire song to himself.

The singer complains to the composer, “Yaar dada kya kar diya yaar. Mera to kuch hai hi nahin is gaane mein. Aur mere ko aisa gaana de diya ekdum background wala. Aur masti wala campus wala gaana chala gaya.” My friend, there’s nothing of me in this song. And you have given me a song that will be played in the background. And I lost the fun campus song.

The composer assures the singer, “Tu ruk. Film aayegi phir dekhna tere gaane ka impact kya hoga.” You wait. When the film comes you will see the impact of your song.

The singer doesn’t believe it. He continues to share his displeasure, “Kya aap bhi mera dil rakhne ke liye bol rahe ho.” You are just saying this to pacify me.

Little did the singer know that his background song would become a massive hit.

Shaan sang Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh in the film 3 Idiots (2009), directed by Raj Kumar Hirani, produced by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, music by Shantanu Moitra, and lyrics by Swanand Kirkire.

The song is filmed as a background track on the characters of R Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, and Omi Vaidya, as they drive in search of their friend played by Aamir Khan as the hero of the film.

3 Idiots was released to widespread critical acclaim. It is considered to be among the greatest Indian films ever made.

All the songs became extremely popular and continue to be to this day. Swanand Kirkire wrote them with the inspiration of college days and to appeal to the youth.

Shaan had recorded his portion of the song Aal Izz Well, when that song was envisioned as all three friends singing equal parts in the song. However, it was changed to be primarily a song for Aamir Khan, with Madhavan and Sharman Joshi’s characters providing chorus. As a result, Shaan’s portions of this song were edited out.

Shaan later found out that the nodule growth in his throat did not affect him when he sang the low and high ranges of notes. The song Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh coincidentally alternated in the low and high range.

3 Idiots won Filmfare Awards in many categories: Best Film (Vidhu Vinod Chopra), Best Director (Rajkumar Hirani), Best Dialogue and Best Story (Abhijat Joshi, Rajkumar Hirani), Best Screenplay (Abhijat Joshi, Rajkumar Hirani, Vidhu Vinod Chopra), Best Supporting Actor (Boman Irani won, Madhavan, Sharman Joshi also nominated), Best Actor (Aamir Khan), Best Actress (Kareena Kapoor), Best Playback Singer - Female (Shreya Ghoshal for Zoobi Doobi).

Shaan performing Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh live in concert in London.

Singer: Shaan, Shantanu Moitra
Lyrics: Swanand Kirkire
Music: Shantanu Moitra
*ing: R Madhavan, Sharman Joshi, Omi Vaidya
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Producer: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Film: 3 Idiots (2009)

This is even more challenging when the new song writer wants to escape his illustrious song writer father’s shadow. But the young man believes in himself, and also believes that ultimately his talent will shine through. So he didn’t pay any attention to the talk about nepotism and instead concentrated on his work. One day his success will be attributed to his talent, and not to his father’s.

But the trend in the industry is to not mess with a winning formula.

The lead actor of the film has just come off a super hit musical. When his new film is announced, everyone expects the same team of composers and a veteran lyricist to come together.

The young song writer has done some work with the composers and even written a few songs for them. But as a relatively unknown song writer he has no chance to write anything for the new film the composers are going to start working on.

The lead actor is so influential that even the filmmaker had to renege on his first choice of composers and relent to the actor’s pressure.

The filmmaker has arranged a sitting with the composers and a veteran lyricist to start working on composing songs. The composers propose that the filmmaker listen to some of their stock songs, and if he didn’t like them, they would work with the veteran lyricist.

The young song writer tags along to the sitting. It happens without the veteran lyricist.

The composers present their stock songs to the filmmaker with great excitement.

The filmmaker selects two songs as promising candidates. The filmmaker enquires who has written the lyrics. The composers point to the young song writer.

The filmmaker is in a quandary. Everyone knows the challenge he is facing - How to go ahead with an unknown song writer over an industry legend? Wouldn’t this offend the veteran lyricist? And most importantly, who will take on the mammoth task of convincing the lead actor to give this young unknown song writer an opportunity?

The filmmaker tries to come up with some feedback for the two songs.

“Yeh do gaane achhe hain, lekin woh hi ghise peete jazbaat hain. Gaane mein kuch nayapan nahin hai.” I like these two songs, but the words are too cliched. There is no newness in the song.

The filmmaker continues telling the young song writer: “Aap is gaane par aur kaam karo. Is mein kuch nayapan lao. Phir mein hero ko manane ki koshish karunga, nahin to hum Majrooh sahab ke saath aage badhenge.” You keep working on these songs. Bring some newness them. Then I will try to convince the hero, otherwise we will go forward with Majrooh Sir as planned.

The young song writer is encouraged. At least someone liked his songs. He starts reworking the words immediately.

He writes 15-20 new mukhdas but the composers reject each one of them outright. The new lines do not flow with the music.

The young song writer is at his wits’ end. He pleads the composers to talk with the filmmaker that the song is great in its original form itself. The composers are not too pleased about this. They don’t want to go back to the filmmaker, especially when he has asked them to rework the song.

But the young song writer keeps persisting. Finally, the composers relent and invite the filmmaker back to listen again.

The filmmaker arrives. He is under the impression that he is going to get to hear something new. But he realizes that they are playing the same song he heard earlier without any changes. He loses his cool. He chides the young song writer for refusing to take feedback.

The composers intervene and convince the filmmaker that the original words fit the tune perfectly. They are confident this will be a great song.

The filmmaker accepts their explanation. He tells the team to go ahead and record the song. But he warns them that the final decision will still be up to the hero.

The song is duly recorded. It is a duet. Everyone is convinced of its success. Even the filmmaker has now come around. He is also equally convinced and is now determined not to be swayed by anybody else’s opinion.

The hero is also convinced after listening to the track. The young song writer is given the job to write the lyrics for all songs of the film.

Sameer wrote the lyrics of Mujhe Neend Na Aaye for Dil (1990), music by Anand-Milind, directed by Indra Kumar, with Aamir Khan and Madhuri Dixit in lead roles. The song is sung by Udit Narayan and Anuradha Paudwal.

Aamir Khan had come off the success of his blockbuster film Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), and wanted to bring together the team of Anand-Milind and Majrooh Sultanpuri for Dil. Indra Kumar wanted Nadeem-Shravan to compose the music however he had to relent in front of Aamir’s pressure for Anand-Milind.

Sameer was struggling to find his footing, and also escape the shadows of his veteran lyricist father, Anjaan.

Dil became a musical hit and the songs became extremely popular. The film was nominated for a number of Filmfare Awards: Best Film (Indra Kumar), Best Actor (Aamir Khan), Best Actress (Madhuri Dixit won), Best Supporting Actor (Anupam Kher), Best Music Director (Anand-Milind), Best Lyricist (Sameer for Mujhe Neend Na Aaye), Best Male Playback Singer (Suresh Wadkar for O Priyaa Priyaa), Best Female Playback Singer (Anuradha Paudwal for Mujhe Neend Na Aaye).

Lyrics: Sameer
Music: Anand-Milind
Singers: Udit Narayan, Anuradha Paudwal
*ing: Aamir Khan, Madhuri Dixit
Director: Indra Kumar
Film: Dil (1990)

“Ek aisi film chahiye jo aam janta ke dilon ko choo jaye,” We need a film that speaks directly to that global audience, the lead actor insists. He wants to maintain his image as a common man.

The filmmaker smiles. “Mere dimaag kuch chal raha hai. Maine abhi haal hi mein Fyodor Dostoevsky ki novel, Crime and Punishment, padhi hai. Uska kirdaar tum jo chahte ho usse milta julta hai.” I have something on my mind. I recently read Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel, Crime and Punishment. The character in that novel matches what you are looking for.

The lead actor likes it. “Wah, ek classic Russian novel par film. Soviet Union wale bhi bahut pasand karenge.” Great, a film on a Russian novel. The people of the Soviet Union will also appreciate it.

The discussion shifts quickly to the musical score. They both agree on the lyricist. He is one of the few in the film industry who insists on writing lyrics first and then the tune. His pen also has a sarcastic side. He uses his poetry to deliver a sharp critique of the political and economic reality of newly independent India. It’s been a decade since independence, but the common man hasn’t really felt the benefits of Nehruvian policies. Who better than him to write the lyrics. They invite the lyricist to the next meeting.

The songs and music have been the hallmark of all of the lead actor’s previous hits. He doesn’t want to change anything on that front. “Sangeetkar to wohi hona chahiye. Woh mera lucky charm hai.” It will be the same composer. He is my lucky charm.

The lyricist, a man committed to high standards when it comes to social issues, immediately objects. “Sir, yeh film baaki filmon se alag hai. Iske liye ek nayi soch chahiye. Mere zehan mein ek sangeetkar hai jo iss film ke saath insaaf karega.” This film is different. It requires a new style. I know of a composer who will do justice to the music.

The lead actor looks unconvinced. “Par mein kaise maan loon ki meri audience ye naya sangeetkar pasand karegi.” I am not convinced that my audience will appreciate this new composer.

The lyricist stands his ground. “Hamein woh shakhs chahiye jisne Crime and Punishment ko na sirf padha ho par samjha ho.” We need that person who has not just read Crime and Punishment but also understood it.

The lead actor is hesitant to break his successful partnership, but he respects the lyricist’s viewpoint. He decides to compromise. “Theek hai, ek shart par. Agar uski dhun mein dum hua, toh woh sangeet dega.” Alright, on one condition. If his tune has power, then he will compose the music.

The lyricist decides to visit the composer. The composer and the lyricist go back. There has been mutual respect between them, and their boundaries are well defined. The composer doesn’t force his tunes on the lyricist, and this allows the lyricist to let his poetry flow. Also, both are Punjabi Muslims from Punjab. That bond is really special.

“Oye yaar, ki haal chaal hai. Tere naal ek film di gal karni si. Mera khayaal hai tu Crime and Punishment kitaab padhi haigi.” How are you? I want to talk to you about a film. I think you have read Crime and Punishment. The lyricist has a strong Punjabi accent.

“Hanji, badi wadiya kitaab si. Main character da dard bahut mehsoos honda.” Yes, very nice novel. I could feel the pain of the main character.

The lyricist explains that it is still not a done deal, and the composer needs to prove himself. “Bas wohi dard chaida gaane wich. Imtihaan lai tayyar hain?” We need the same pain in the song. Are you ready for the challenge?

The composer gets cracking on the tunes. Soon, he has about five tunes composed for one of the key songs, which is also the title song. He seeks out the lyricist, and a date is fixed with the filmmaker and the lead actor.

The composer arrives at the studio. He sits before the filmmaker, the lead actor, and the lyricist, and plays five distinct compositions. Each melody captures the film’s philosophical darkness and eventual glimmer of hope. Since the lyrics have already been written, singing them in the tune has a much deeper impact on the group.

The composer finishes, and the room falls silent. The lead actor, deeply moved by the tunes, looks at the new composer with admiration. He nods slowly and gives his approval: “Saari tunes ka jawaab nahin.” All tunes are outstanding.

Khayyam composed the music for the song Woh Subah Kabhi To Aayegi and the rest of the songs in the film Phir Subah Hogi (1958). The lyrics are written by Sahir Ludhianvi, and the film is directed by Ramesh Saigal. The playback is provided by Mukesh and Asha Bhosle. Raj Kapoor and Mala Sinha are the lead actors in the film and this song.

Ramesh Saigal wanted to work with Raj Kapoor and continue to deliver a great story of a common man based on Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel Crime and Punishment. Raj Kapoor had several hits on similar themes, such as Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955). A common factor in those films was the melodious music by Shankar Jaikishan. The music appealed not just to the local audience but was also hugely popular in the Soviet Union.

When Raj Kapoor heard about the plot of this film, he assumed that Shankar Jaikishan would be the composer. The lyricist, Sahir Ludhianvi, felt that Khayyam may provide a better option for the dark and melancholy music required for this film. The music was quite different from Raj Kapoor’s previous movies. The film reflected the common man’s growing disillusionment with the unfulfilled promises of economic and social justice in newly independent India.

Raj Kapoor agreed to listen to Khayyam’s tunes before making the final decision. When he heard the tunes, it didn’t take him too long to provide his approval.

Another song from the same film, Chin-O-Arab Hamara, Hindustan Hamara, Rehne Ko Ghar Nahin Hain, Sara Jahan Hamara, became very popular yet controversial. It came close to being banned since it was a direct attack on Nehruvian politics.

Composer: Khayyam
Lyricist: Sahir Ludhianvi
Singer(s): Mukesh, Asha Bhosle
*ing: Raj Kapoor, Mala Sinha
Director: Ramesh Saigal
Film: Phir Subah Hogi (1958)

He has a notebook with him. He tears few pages of paper from the notebook and gives everyone a couple of blank pages. He asks them to find a pen.

“Mein jo bolta hoon woh likho,” he instructs. Write down what I tell you. The lyricist has taken on the persona of a school teacher.

The filmmaker, his son who is going to direct this film, the composers, a few senior musicians, and a few senior members of the production house, all are unsure about this exercise. But they fall in line like obedient students in the classroom. Everyone finds a table, or a corner of the room with something to write on.

The lyricist begins. He starts reciting the lyrics of the song - first the mukhada, and then one antara after another.

The students look at him as they listen closely and start writing down the verses on their individual pieces of paper. This should be a quick exercise. After all, how many stanzas will the song have? Two, may be three? Why the fuss?

The lyricist has something else in mind. He recites two stanzas. They are long stanzas as the song is a duet. He now moves to the third stanza. The students look at each other. They are not used to writing anything.

But they have no choice. As the lyricist orates, the crew keeps writing. They need extra pages. Their hands hurt. But there is no stopping.

Everyone has a giant question mark on their mind. Has the lyricist lost his mind? Why does this song have so many stanzas? Who writes like this? And why is he making them write all this? He is the one getting paid to write, not them.

Over an hour goes by. They are still writing. They are now up to 20 stanzas. The lyricist turns the page. Number 21, he announces. The rest of the team is in disbelief. What the what?! 21 stanzas?! Are they going to do just this much in today’s sitting? Is this going to end? Or are there more?

Number 22, the lyricist announces.
Number 23.
Number 24.
Number 25.

After reciting the 25th stanza, the lyricist closes his notebook. He looks at them. His students have blank expressions on their faces. Any questions they had in their minds have evaporated. They just want this to end, and thankfully, now it has.

But the lyricist is still not done. In proper school teacher fashion, he tells them, “Ab aap sab ne jo likha hai woh mann mein padhiye. Koi kisise baat nahin karega.” Now look at everything you have written and read it in your mind. There is no talking with each other.

The lyricist continues, “In mein se koi bhi do antare chun lo, jo bhi aap ko pasand ho.” Select any two stanzas that you like.

The students cannot believe this exercise is not yet over. Obediently, they put their heads down, and start reading through the pages they have written. If they’d known they’d have to read their own handwriting, they’d have written more legibly.

Two hours go by. Selecting two stanzas of their liking seems to be harder than they’d anticipated. Every stanza, every line is so thoughtfully put together. They just cannot figure out which two stanzas to select. They keep reading and re-reading over and over again, flipping the pages back and forth, as they evaluate the stanzas in their mind.

Finally the filmmaker’s son raises his hand.

“Ab aap hi bataiye. Yeh to bahot mushkil hai,” the filmmaker’s son says exasperatingly. Please tell us. This is very difficult.

The lyricist is ready for this request. He puts the piece of paper in his hand in front of them.

“Yeh do antare rakho,” he says. Keep these two stanzas.

The song is finalized over a few more sittings. Everything is now in place. At the final sitting, the filmmaker approaches the lyricist and says something in Punjabi.

Filmmaker: “Woh munda aanda hai…phir shuru karanda hai.” The boy enters…then he gets started. “Mainu hero di entry nahin mil rahi.” I am not finding the hero’s entry.

The filmmaker has a problem. The song starts off with the hero singing an aalaap but the filmmaker hasn’t figured out how the hero enters the scene.

The lyricist looks at the cigarette in his hand. He brings it to his lips. He has a peculiar style of holding it, between his third and fourth fingers. He takes a long drag and looks into the distance.

The filmmaker keeps staring at his face, patiently, hoping for an answer.

After some time, the lyricist pulls his shorts up. He would always show up wearing shorts. He starts singing.

A beaming smile crosses the filmmaker’s face. The lyricist’s brainwave of having the female and male chorus sing a few lines would be a perfect way for the hero to be brought into the scene and start singing his alaap after the chorus.

Fast forward to the recording in the studio, Western Outdoor.

The male singer is rehearsing. Just then the female singer walks into the studio. Seeing her he stops dead in his tracks. He goes forward and touches her feet. He is excited to sing in front of her. Who wouldn’t be? But at the same time he is also nervous. Who wouldn’t be?

“Aap gaiye,” she tells him. You can go on and sing.

“Aap hain to aap ke saamne kaise gaa sakta hoon?” He responds nervously. How can I sing in front of you?

“Yeh duet mein hi gaane wali hoon aap ke saath. Lekin aaj mein sirf aap ko sunne ke liye aayi hoon ki aap kaise gaate hain,” she tries to explain. I am the one who will sing this duet with you. But today I have come to listen to you and know how you sing.

She calms the male singer, and after a few rehearsals, they record the duet.

Anand Bakshi wrote the lyrics of the song, Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna, for the blockbuster film, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (DDLJ) (1995), written and directed by Aditya Chopra, and produced by Yash Chopra and YRF Studios. The music is composed by Jatin-Lalit. The song is sung by Udit Narayan and Lata Mangeshkar. Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol feature in lead roles.

DDLJ became one of the highest grossing films of 1995, and one of the most successful films of all time in the history of Indian cinema.

Aditya Chopra worked on the story of DDLJ for three years. He approached Yash ji to direct it, but Yash ji declined and asked Aditya to direct it himself.

DDLJ was Jatin-Lalit’s first film with YRF Studios. They were introduced to Yash ji by Asha Bhosle. When Yash ji asked them to sing some of their tunes, Jatin-Lalit sang the tune of Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna, which Yash ji liked very much.

The soundtrack of DDLJ became the best-selling soundtrack of Hindi cinema.

The film also won a bevy of Filmfare Awards: Best Film (Yash Chopra), Best Director (Aditya Chopra), Best Actor (Shah Rukh Khan), Best Actress (Kajol), Best Male Playback Singer (Udit Narayan for Mehndi Laga Ke Rakhna), Best Supporting Actress (Farida Jalal), Best Comedian (Anupam Kher), Best Lyricist (Anand Bakshi for Tujhe Dekha To), Best Screenplay (Aditya Chopra), Best Dialogue (Aditya Chopra, Javed Siddiqui).

Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: Jatin-Lalit
Singers: Udit Narayan, Lata Mangeshkar
*ing: Shah Rukh Khan, Kajol
Director: Aditya Chopra
Producer: Yash Chopra
Film: Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge (1995)

For some reason, he is haunted by the image of a handful of soldiers holding their ground against the enemy in the freezing cold of Ladakh. He decides that he must make a film. But not just any film. It needs to be a document of reality. He decides to call it what it is.

He secures government permission to shoot at the same location in Ladakh. The same harsh and unforgiving terrain where the actual blood was shed.

To give a voice to the film, he turns to a lyricist, a man known for his revolutionary and leftist ideas.

The filmmaker visits the lyricist in Janki Kutir near Juhu. “Mein chahta hoon ki aap meri film ke gaane likhen.” I would like you to write the songs for my film.

The lyricist hears the request from the filmmaker and smiles slightly. “Log kehte hain ki mein accha likhta hoon par mere sitaare gardish mein hai. Soch lijiye.” People say that I write well, but I am jinxed.

The filmmaker gets the irony of his statement and is ready with a witty rebuttal. “Log mere baare mein bhi yehi kehte hai, shaayad hum dono ki kismat saath judne se sitaare bhi theek ho jaayen.” People say the same about me; perhaps if we two negatives come together, it will make a positive impact. The lyricist smiles again and provides his tacit agreement.

All three of them, including the composer, sit in a smoke-filled room in the recording studio. They are now working on the final song. The composer has already crafted a haunting melody. Now, the lyricist must provide the words. He writes lines that are not mere poetry, but a dying soldier’s final testament to his countrymen. Something that will shake anyone watching the film to their core.

The recording of the song takes place. Most of the sound crew is wiping their tears with their handkerchiefs. The filmmaker and the lyricist quickly realize that this song is what will bring everything together.

The lyricist has his own view. “Humein ye gaana aakhir mein rakhna chahiye. Film ke khatam hone se pehle.” We should keep this song towards the end. Just before the film ends.

The filmmaker frowns, shaking his head. “Agar humne isse end mein daala, toh hall khaali milega. Jab film khatam hone wali hoti hai to log bhagte hain last train ya bus pakadne.” If we keep the song towards the end, then the theatre hall will be empty. Typically, when a film ends, the audience rushes to the exit to catch the last train or bus.

The lyricist stands his ground. “Nahi, ye faujiyon ka aakhri salaam hai. Ye film ke aakhir mein hi aana chahiye.” No, this is the final salute of the soldiers. It must come only just before the ending.

The filmmaker sighs, rubbing his head. He knows the habits of the Indian audience. They are restless. As soon as the hero dies or the villain is defeated, they rush for the exits.

The filmmaker tries again. “Tum samajh nahi rahe ho. Jazbaat se nahin dimaag se kaam lo.” You don’t understand. Use your brains instead of emotion.

The room goes quiet. The lyricist picks up the paper with the lyrics and looks the filmmaker in the eye with absolute conviction. He knows that this is not just a song but a transfer of responsibility from the dying soldier to the living audience. “Jab ye bol gunjenge, toh koi bhi apni kursi chhod ke nahi jayega. Aap dekhna woh iss gaane ke liye, aur apne desh ke liye, khade ho jayenge.” When these words echo, nobody will leave their chairs. They just won’t stop for this song, and for their country, they will stand up in respect.

Reluctantly, the filmmaker agrees. Months later, at the premiere, as the screen fades and the voice of the singer begins, the filmmaker looks around nervously in the theatre. The lyricist was right. The audience does not rush. Tears stream down the faces in the darkness. And as if pulled by an invisible thread of patriotism, the entire theatre rises to its feet, standing in solemn silence until the last note of the song.

Kaifi Azmi wrote the lyrics of the song Ab Tumhare Hawaale Watan Saathiyon in the film Haqeeqat. The film was written, produced, and directed by Chetan Anand, and the music was composed by Madan Mohan. The playback of the song was provided by Mohammed Rafi. The song plays in the background with Dharmendra and Priya Rajvansh on the screen.

Kaifi Azmi’s entry into the film industry was driven less by a desire for glamor and more as a means of survival. He was a dedicated member of the Communist Party and initially wrote for the party’s journals. However, when the party was banned and funding dried up, he turned to the film industry to support his family. He got a few breaks in the early 1950s, but for the rest of the decade, he struggled to find a stable footing. This changed when Chetan Anand approached him for Haqeeqat. When Kaifi Azmi warned him that his presence might jinx the project, Anand famously responded that since he too was considered unlucky and perhaps two negatives would make a positive.

The film was made with government and army assistance. Parts of the film were shot on location in Ladakh, thus becoming the first Hindi film to be shot there. The left-leaning artists of the Indian People’s Theatre Association did not charge for their work on the film. This included director Chetan Anand, Noel Corke (Assistant Director), actor Balraj Sahni, Kaifi Azmi, and actress Shaukat Azmi.

During the shooting for Haqeeqat, Dharmendra and his co-star, Sanjay Khan, often returned to camp late at night. One particularly cold evening, feeling brave after having a few drinks, they mistakenly walked into a highly restricted military zone. An Indian sentry immediately spotted the two figures in the dark. Thinking they were spies or intruders, the sentry quickly aimed his rifle directly at them. The actors instantly froze in their tracks. It took some explanations from army personnel nearby to convince the soldier that the two men were just film stars who wandered into the restricted zone in an inebriated state.

The music of Haqeeqat begins with lively romantic tunes and moves to more epic war and sad tunes. The song Ab Tumhare Hawaale Watan Saathiyon has become synonymous with patriotism in India. This song, over five minutes long, comes at the end of the film with visuals of dead Indian soldiers all over the landscape. The song Ho ke Majboor went on to inspire Sandese Aate Hai from the film Border, written by Kaifi Azmi’s son-in-law, Javed Akhtar.

Lyrics: Kaifi Azmi
Music: Madan Mohan
Singers: Mohammed Rafi
*ing: Dharmendra, Priya Rajvansh
Producer/Director/Writer: Chetan Anand
Film: Haqeeqat (1964)