Chhaayaageet #114 - “Aapko ek gaana accha laga aur ab aap ussi gaane par poori film bana rahe ho.”
He is visiting Delhi with his father. It's the wedding of one of their distant relatives. It is very hard to keep up with his father’s network. This is what you get for being such a famous actor and filmmaker’s son. His father has had an amazing film career. But if you talk to him, it seems like he is just getting started. So much enthusiasm, so much passion.
The alcohol is flowing freely through the attendees. A music program is about to being. Alcohol and music make for a terrific combination. The notes just know how to hit their mark every time under the influence. The father recognizes the guy on the podium. He had composed and written the lyrics for a film they had done together. Gosh, it’s been almost 10 years!
The program begins. The song and the music are so captivating. The filmmaker is just in awe. He is applauding and shouting wah wah. The rest of the audience decides to follow his lead. Who wouldn’t want to follow the lead of the maestro?
The song performance is over. But the filmmaker is not satisfied. “Ek baar aur ho jaiye. Bahut badhiya gaana hai.” Let’s repeat the performance. It is a great song.
The singer has no grounds to refuse. It’s not just him. Anyone who is ever related or even remotely connected to the film industry would dare not refuse his request. The singer obliges. He sings the song again with added fervor. The applause continues. The wah wahs continue coming.
“Kiska gaana hai ye?” Whose song is this? The filmmaker is really curious about this song. “Ye mera gaana hai. Maine khud likha hai.” This is my song. I have written it myself. The singer responds back with pride. “Bas ye gaana mera ho gaya. Maine ye gaana tumse le liya.” That’s it. This song is mine now. I own this song. The filmmaker doesn't even wait to hear the response from the singer and leaves the wedding venue.
A few weeks pass by. The filmmaker calls his son. “Aaj shaam ko 5-7 logon ka khaana taiyaar rakhna.” Make sure we have dinner ready this evening for 5-7 people. The son gives him a tacit confirmation with a nod. He could have asked who, why, etc, but nobody in the family ever questions him.
That afternoon musical instruments start showing up. The tabla, sitar, harmonium, the works. In the evening the same singer shows up with his wife. The filmmaker himself gathers with his family to welcome their guests. “Main chahta hoon aap mere saare parivar ko wohi gaana sunaiye jo aapne Delhi mein gaya tha.” I would like you to sing to my family the same song that you had sung in Delhi.
The son has totally lost it this time. Father has heard this song a few times before and now he wants to hear the song again. But he stays calm. The singer obliges yet again.
“Jao andar se pachees hazaar ka check le aao inke liye.” Go and get a check for twenty-five thousand rupees for him. The filmmaker orders his son.
What?? Rs 25,000 for a song and what are we going to do with that? Is there a movie somewhere on the horizon? But who can dare ask? The son bites his lip and comes back with the money. “Ye lijiye pacchees hazaar. Maine ye gaana aap se khareed liya.” Accept twenty-five thousand rupees. I have bought this song from you.
A few weeks pass by. The son comes by to visit his father. “Sahib to baahar gaye apne Poona wale ghar mein.” Sahib has gone to his house in Poona. The caretaker at home informs the son. He wonders if he just went by himself. “Kya, akale gaye hai?” What, has he gone alone? “Nai, sahib. Woh uss din jo sahib gaana gaane aayte the, unke saath gaye hain.” The son suspects something is going on but he has no idea.
A few days later, the filmmaker calls his son over. “I have some exciting news to share. We finished composing for all the songs in the film.” The son is puzzled. Film? What film? He decides to pay him a visit.
“I am confused, Father. You mentioned on the phone about a film. What film is this? Does it have a name?” The son still has his puzzled look. “Oh, remember that song we heard in Delhi during the wedding? That gave me some ideas. I think you should produce this film.” The son is already recovering from the earlier shock and now he hears the news that he will be producing a film he knows nothing about.
“Kaunsi film hai? Iska naam kya hai? Story kya hai iski?” What is this film? What is the name? What is the story? The filmmaker refuses to acknowledge anything wrong. “Agle hafte main phir ja raha hoon Poona aur iss baar main film ki poori kahani aur film ka naam lekar lautunga.” Next week I am going back to Poona and this time I will come back with the name and story of the movie.
The son has never seen anything like this done in his entire film career. He tries to hold himself and finally blurts out. “Aapko ek gaana accha laga aur ab aap uss gaane par ek poori film bana rahe ho.” You liked one song and now you are making an entire movie about it.
Ravindra Jain composed the music and wrote the lyrics for the song Ek Radha Ek Meera in the film Ram Teri Ganga Maili. The playback was provided by Lata Mangeshkar. The film was directed by Raj Kapoor and produced by his son, Randhir Kapoor.
Raj Kapoor had worked with Ravindra Jain in 1975 in the film Do Jasoos. Since then Ravindra Jain decided to stay in touch with him to see that someday Raj Kapoor may use him as his composer. They happened to meet each other at a wedding of a common acquaintance in Delhi. This is where Raj Kapoor heard the song Ek Radha Ek Meera first time from Ravindra Jain. He also learned that the song was composed and written by Ravindra Jain. Raj Kapoor being a music connoisseur was quite fascinated by the song and impressed with Ravindra Jain. He urged Ravindra Jain to sing multiple times and eventually decided to buy the song from him. At that point, he had no idea when and where he would use this song.
He decided to go to his farmhouse in Poona to compose other songs for a film he had yet to come up with a name and story about it. He had all this in his head. The word Ganga in the title fascinated him since he had produced Jish Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai.
In one incident he narrated this story to Ravindra Jain while they were both in Poona. Raj Kapoor was in Calcutta for the filming of the song Mera Naam Raju on the banks of Ganga at Dakshineshwar Temple. He met a sadhu there who told him a story about Sri Ramkrishna Paramhansa and Totapuri, a saint from Rishikesh. The story – Ramkrishna Paramhansa met a saint from Rishikesh named Totapuri. They met at a point where the Ganga river was the filthiest and dirtiest. Looking at that, Totapuri Maharaj taunts Ramkrishna Paramhansa, “Ram, teri Ganga kitni maili hai”. And without getting disturbed by the statement, Ramkrishna replies steadily, “Maharaj, it is so natural. As she flows down from Gangotri to Rishikesh, Benaras and then here, she does nothing but washes away the sins of human beings.”
That story was the genesis of Ram Teri Ganga Maili. The character Ganga in the movie follows the same state as the river. She is pure in the mountains where she grows up but eventually gets abused by society and ends up in a situation where people blame her rather than the bad elements of society.
Immediately after hearing this incident, Ravindra Jain came up with the mukhda of the title song Ram Teri Ganga Maili Ho Gayi. This gave Raj Kapoor more insight into the final story that he wanted to direct. He also locked in the name of the film based on the mukhda. Raj Kapoor was in fact so impressed with Ravindra Jain’s "spur of the moment" composition, that he made the comment “Tum Shankar Jaikishan to ho hi par saath mein Shailendra bhi ho.” You are not only Shankar Jaikishan but also Shailendra.
Ram Teri bagged several awards that year. RK Films got the Filmfare Best Film, Raj Kapoor got the Best Director and Ravindra Jain got the Best Music Director.
Music: Ravindra Jain
Lyrics: Ravindra Jain
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
*ing: Mandakini
Director: Raj Kapoor
Producer: Randhir Kapoor
Film: Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985)