Chhaayaageet #138 - "I have not been able to sleep the entire night."
December 1979, Feroze Shah Kotla Maidan, Delhi. India and Pakistan have played a Test match that has ended in a draw. For five days it was a see-saw affair and India had come within 24 runs of the target on the last day when play ended.
After the Test, a reception is held for the visiting team, with celebrities from the film world also in attendance. All eyes are on the Pakistani fast bowler, Sikandar Bakht, affectionately known as "Sikku bhai". He had taken 11 wickets in the match, 8 of them in the first innings.
Sikku bhai has a song on his lips. No one quite knows what song he is humming, but it does not escape the music composer duo's ears. He is humming their song! It has not even been released yet. The film's shooting is still in progress and it won't be released for at least another year. So how does this guy know their song?
They corner him with questions. Sikku bhai bowls them a bouncer, "Aap ka gaana to sarhad ke paar pahunch gaya. Aur itna hi nahin, kafi mashhoor bhi ho raha hai". Your song has crossed the border. And not only that, it is becoming quite popular too.
And how could it not be. They recall those days in the studio. They are wrapping up the day's business with the star actor and the filmmaker. Conversation turns to a song that is scheduled to be recorded the following day. They remind the star actor, "We have a request to make. The recording is scheduled at 1 'o clock. Please make sure to come on time. Sahab is very punctual and he will be here on the dot."
Sahab is a revered reference to the singer, who is so punctual that it is said the musicians set their watches by his arrival. The actor has this reputation too. Yet, the composers feel doubly important to let the actor know to come on time, just to be sure.
The following day, the actor and the singer both show up almost simultaneously in the studio at 12:30 pm sharp. No one is surprised by this. Pleasantries and greetings are exchanged. There is tremendous mutual respect and admiration.
The singer notices something amiss about the star actor. His eyes are bloodshot. He has a nervous energy about him. He looks tired and depleted.
"You don't look so well. Is everything alright?", he asks the actor.
"Sahab, mein dus saal ka tha tab se aap ke gaane sun raha hoon. Aur aaj aap ke saath gaane ka mauka mila hai, to raat bhar so nahin paaya hoon", the actor sheepishly discloses the reason for his haggard look. I have been listening to your songs since I was ten. Today, when I have the opportunity to sing with you, I have not been able to sleep the entire night.
"Dost, neend ne to mujhe bhi chhod diya, kyon ki aaj mujhe ek bahot bade superstar ke saath gaana hai", the singer shares his mind. Friend, sleep has left me as well, because today I have to sing with a much bigger superstar.
Upon hearing this, the star actor falls to the singer's feet. The singer pulls him up and hugs him. Such warmth.
A few rounds of rehearsals ensue, and the song is recorded.
The singer reaches home, and excitedly calls his entire family to the living room. Unable to contain his excitement, he asks, "Maalum hai aaj kya hua?" Do you know what happened today?
The family gathers around. The kids know their father to be a very soft spoken man. They are surprised to hear him speak so loudly and that heightens their curiosity. "Kya hua Abba?", they ask. What happened father?
"Aaj maine Amitabh Bachchan ke saath gaana gaaya hai", he beams. Today, I sang with Amitabh Bachchan. The humility and modesty of this gem of a man, forgetting that he is no less of a superstar himself.
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Mohammad Rafi and Amitabh Bachchan sang the duet Chal chal mere bhai, in Manmohan Desai's Naseeb (1981), music by Laxmikant Pyarelal and lyrics by Anand Bakshi. Rafi Sahab gave his voice to Rishi Kapoor.
Naseeb was Desai's grand entertainer and most expensive film. It was a superhit at the box office. Until 1984 there were only 13 films that were super earners, making more than one crore of business in each territory. 9 of them were Amitabh's, Naseeb being one of them. It was a typical Manmohan Desai genre of masala film.
Mohammad Rafi Sahab and Amitabh Bachchan had immense respect and admiration for each other. That day when Rafi Sahab went home after the recording, and shared with his family that he had recorded a song with Amitabh Bachchan, his kids peppered him with questions. His son asked, "How tall is he and what did he wear?" Before Rafi Sahab could answer, his daughter asked, "Is he really handsome?" Rafi Sahab spent a good amount of time singing praises for Amitabh Bachchan, without paying heed to the fact that he himself was a legend, whom Amitabh revered.
Rafi Sahab was Manmohan Desai's favorite singer. In the early 70s when the Rajesh Khanna-Kishore Kumar combination ascended, the trade magazines had started proclaiming the end of Rafi. Rafi Sahab himself had contemplated retirement and wondered if overnight he had become less of a singer. However, he made a comeback in the second half of the 70s, singing all of Rishi Kapoor's songs in Laila Majnu, Hum Kisise Kum Nahin, and Amar, Akbar, Anthony. Manmohan Desai insisted Rafi give playback to Amitabh for the song John, Johnny, Janardhan in Naseeb, and all of Amitabh's songs in Suhaag. Rafi Sahab was to sing all of Amitabh's songs in Coolie, if not for his untimely demise on 31st July, 1980. Legends live on.
Singers: Mohammad Rafi, Amitabh Bachchan
*ing: Amitabh Bachchan, Rishi Kapoor
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Directed by: Manmohan Desai
Film: Naseeb (1981)