Chhaayaageet #115 - “Dekhiye itni popular voice mere liye introduce ki gayi hai, to aap bhi ok kar dijiye.”
“See, such a popular voice has been introduced for me, you also approve it.”
He is a star son. Coming off his first film, a launch vehicle directed and produced by his father, he has tasted stardom. Everyone is raving about the film, the music, and to top it off, he has also received the Filmfare award for Best Actor. Naturally he is on a high.
He is a star son. He also knows the important role the songs of a film play in extending the stardom. His father had a specific singer provide playback consistently over the years. An actor and his voice become inseparable. He has seen this play out time and again with every superstar of every era, including his father, his uncle, and others.
Now that his first film is a raging success, with a new voice that his father had found and approved for him, the son is keen to continue his association with the same singer. It’s as if he’s found his voice.
As he evaluates scripts and offers for his second film, he has the same request for every filmmaker. Could they also sign the same playback singer?
His second film is on the floors. The role is a bit of a departure from the romantic lover boy hero of the first film. A new music composer to work with. The music composer knows all about star son dynamics. He knows all about the hit songs from the star son’s first film.
The composer takes it up as a personal challenge to himself.
“Mujhe bhi tumhe ek hit gaana dena hai is film mein”, the composer remarks. I also want to give you one hit song in this film.
The star son sees this as an opportunity to put in a plug for his new singing voice and the new singer.
“Dekhiye itni popular voice mere liye introduce ki gayi hai, to aap bhi ok kar dijiye.” See, such a popular voice has been introduced for me, you also approve it.
The composer is unmoved.
“Nahin ye gaana woh nahin gaa sakega. Ye gaana to Kishore da ko hi dena padega”, No, your new singer won’t be able to sing this song. I have to give this song to Kishore da.
“Aise kaise ho sakta hai? Kishore da itne senior artist hain. Woh to Dev Saab ki playback aawaz hain. Dev Saab mere father ki umr ke hain, to mein unki aawaz mein kaise gaa sakta hoon?”, the star son registers his protest. How can this be? Kishore da is a very senior artist. He gives playback to Dev Saab. And Dev Saab is my father’s age. Then how can I sing in his voice?
“Dekho ye gaana agar koi gaayega to Kishore Kumar hi gaayega, nahin to koi nahin gaayega”, the composer puts it firmly. See, if anyone is to sing this song, it can only be Kishore Kumar, or else no one will sing this song.
“Zaroor”, the star son relents. Of course.
The song is recorded. Now it’s time for the shoot. The location is Chitradurg Fort in Karnataka. The star son and the heroine are ready on location.
The heroine is wearing a spotless white dress. He is wearing a contrasting dark checquered shirt with a black pant. He likes to style himself. He was proud of his choice in picking this pant in a shop in Beirut.
The costume person notices something odd. After the shoot is over, he walks over to the star son.
“Sir ye pant kahan se laaye?”, he asks. Sir, where did you get this pant from?
“Yaar ye Beirut mein mili mujhe, badi achhi lagi”, the star son replies with a beaming look. Pal, I found this beauty in a shop in Beirut.
“Sir, ye ladies pant hai. Iski chain aage hone ki bajay side mein hai”, the costume person informs him. Sir, this is a ladies pant. It’s zip is not in the front, it is on the side.
The star son realizes his fashion faux pas.
Zehreela Insaan (1974) was Rishi Kapoor’s second film and his next after the huge success of Bobby, directed by Puttana Kanagal who also made the original Kannada version, music by RD Burman, lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri.
O hansini was the first ever song that Kishore Kumar sang for Rishi Kapoor, upon composer RD Burman’s insistence, and despite Rishi’s requests for having Shailendra Singh for playback. The combination of Rishi Kapoor and Kishore Kumar resulted in innumerable popular hit songs over the years.
Zehreela Insaan was a flop at the box office. Rishi Kapoor regretted taking on a different role after Bobby and realized he should stick to his lover boy image.
After the success of Bobby’s music, RD Burman took it upon himself to give at least one hit song for Rishi Kapoor. He more than met that challenge with O hansini, the song that has endured in popularity over the decades as one of Kishore Kumar’s best songs.
Music: RD Burman
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Singer: Kishore Kumar
*ing: Rishi Kapoor, Moushumi Chatterjee
Director: Puttana Kanagal
Film: Zehreela Insaan (1974)