Chhaayaageet #163 - "Arre ye kya kar diya aapne? Kal to recording hai."
The lyricist walks into the music studio and sees the composer and the filmmaker in deep conversation. They are talking about the same tune, which the composer had given to the lyricist last time.
"Is tune ko dhyan se sunna", the composer had told the lyricist. Listen to this tune carefully. "Yeh ek romantic song situation hai", the composer had added further. This is a romantic song situation.
The composer sees the lyricist walking in and has a smile on his face. Surely he must have come with the lyrics. "Dikhaiye kya likha hai", the composer says to the lyricist. Let me see what you have written. The lyricist has an embarrassed expression on his face. The lyricist had stayed up the whole night listening to the tune from the composer. However, it had been in vain. Unsure of what to say, he just stands there.
Finally he says, "Mere paas achhi khabar hai aur buri khabar hai. Aap sabse pehle kya sunna chahenge." I have good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?
There is silence in the studio. The composer realizes and asks the lyricist, "Kya hua? Aapne gaana nahin likha?" What happened? You didn't write the song?
"Achhi khabar yeh hai ki maine gaana to likh liya hai...", the lyricist reveals. The good news is that I have written the song...The composer doesn't wait for the lyricist to complete the sentence. He eagerly asks for the piece of paper with the lyrics.
"Dada, aapne buri khabar to suni hi nahin", the lyricist adds. Dada, you have not heard the bad news.
"Achha theek hai. To buri khabar kya hai?", the composer says with a smile. Ok, then what is the bad news?
"Buri khabar yeh hai ki maine gaana aap ki tune par nahin likha hai", the lyricist confesses. The bad news is that the song I have written is not on your tune.
The composer shows his displeasure. "Arre ye kya kar diya aapne? Kal to recording hai. Sab tayari ho gayi hai. Kya kar rahe ho?" What have you done? The recording is tomorrow. Everything is ready. What are you doing?
"Mujhe maza nahin aa raha tha. Jo linein mein likhna chahta tha woh aap ki tune ki meter mein fit hi nahin ho rahin thi", the lyricist clarifies. I was not having fun. The words I wanted to write were just not fitting the meter of your tune.
No one knows what to say. The filmmaker has been watching their exchanges quietly. He breaks the silence.
"Ek baar dekh to lo Dada. Gaane ke bol achhe lag rahe hain", the filmmaker suggests. At least take a look Dada. The words of the song seem nice.
"Aap samajh nahin rahe hain", the composer still displeased. You are not understanding. The composer shares with everyone that the playback singer has already been given the tune and he has been familiarizing himself with it, rehearsing it.
"Kishoreda kal is gaane ko record karne aa rahe hain. Woh kal studio mein aayenge to mein unhe kya doonga? Kishore da aaj kal bahot busy hain'", the composer adds. Kishore da is coming tomorrow to record this song. When he comes to the studio tomorrow, what will I give him? Kishore da is very busy these days.
After sharing all this, the composer moves his fingers through his hair and dejectedly sits down on the chair, wondering what to do. No one knows what to do. How to come out of this situation?
The lyricist looks at the filmmaker. The filmmaker looks back at him. The filmmaker takes the piece of paper from the lyricist and starts to read the words of the song. He reads the first two lines of the song. Suddenly they see movement in the chair. The composer has sat up, having taken notice of what the filmmaker is reading.
The composer asks for the piece of paper from the filmmaker. He picks up his notebook, and starts to write the words on the paper into his notebook. Nobody can understand what is going on. Why is the composer copying the same words and rewriting them? The lyricist wonders if the composer is changing some words. He takes a closer look over the composer's shoulder. The words are appearing ditto into the pages of the notebook. Why is he doing this? The lyricist also finds the composer humming something as he is writing.
"Chaliye gaana likhaiye", the composer tells the lyricist. Come on, dictate the song to me.
After writing down the entire song into his notebook, the composer looks up at the lyricist and filmmaker beaming, and exclaims, "Ho gaya music ready." The music is ready. The composer pulls up his harmonium and starts to sing the new tune to the lyricist's song.
The next day when the playback singer comes to the studio, the composer narrates the entire incident of the previous day to him. The singer laughs out loud, and assures the composer saying, "Koi baat nahin. Mujhe ek cup chai do. Mein gaana aur dhun dono seekh loonga aur record kar lenge." Its alright. Bring me one cup of tea. I will learn both the song and the tune and we will record.
After only one cup of tea, the singer is ready to record, and the song is okayed in one take.
RD Burman composed the music of Saagar (1985), directed by Ramesh Sippy. Javed Akhtar wrote the lyrics of Chehra hai ya chaand khila hai and other songs. The song is filmed on Rishi Kapoor and Dimple Kapadia, with playback by Kishore Kumar.
Javed Akhtar wanted to write the line "saagar jaisi aankhon wali yeh to bata tera naam hai kya" but he could not fit it into the meter of the tune that Pancham da had given him, so he thought of the romantic situation and wrote an entirely separate song. The genius of Pancham that he composed the tune as he was copying it down in his notebook!
Saagar was the biggest commercial blockbuster and highest grossing film of the year. The film garnered major praise for its soundtrack and performances of the lead actors. At the Filmfare Awards, Saagar was nominated for 10 awards - Best Film (GP Sippy), Best Director (Ramesh Sippy), Best Actress (Dimple Kapadia won), Best Actor (Kamal Hassan won), Best Supporting Actor (Kamal Hassan), Best Supporting Actress (Madhur Jaffrey), Best Music Director (RD Burman), Best Lyricist (Javed Akhtar for Sagar kinare), Best Male Playback Singer (Kishore Kumar won for Saagar kinare), Best Cinematography (SM Anwar won).
Music: RD Burman
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Singer: Kishore Kumar
*ing: Rishi Kapoor, Dimple Kapadia
Director: Ramesh Sippy
Film: Saagar (1985)