Chhaayaageet #18 - "Besura bajate ho? Sur ke saath beimaani karte ho? Sharam nahin aati?"
"You play off key? You are being dishonest with music? Are you not embarrassed?"
They have been in that recording room for many hours. Trying to get the song right. One rehearsal after another. There have been many starts and stops.
The musicians and singer are tired. But the composer is unrelenting.
What seems to be the problem, you ask? The music is off key.
Off key???!!!
How could they be off key?!! After all they are talented musicians, masters of their craft. Some of them would go on to be recognized later in their careers as maestros themselves.
But here and now, they are at the mercy of a perfectionist taskmaster.
Have you ever felt the warning signs of impending wrath? That's the atmosphere in the recording room. Patience is wearing thin.
He needs the instruments to be finely tuned. And whatever the musicians are doing is just not cutting it.
The singer glances at the composer's face as she rehearses in front of the mic. He is getting redder and angrier. She asks for a break and steps out of the recording room for a bit. He insists the musicians keep playing.
"You need to tune it even finer", he demands.
They are trying. What does he want? This is crazy.
"Even finer", now he is adamant.
To the untrained ear, it would sound heavenly. To a perfectionist music composer with a disciplined military past, it is sacrilege.
"Even finer. How many times do I have to say this?", he asks incredulously.
Finally he loses it. He shouts.
"Besura bajate ho? Sur ke saath beimaani karte ho? Sharam nahin aati?"
"You play off key? You are being dishonest with music? Are you not embarrassed?"
In a rage, he bangs his fist on the glass wall separating the music chamber and it shatters.
He starts bleeding profusely from the gash in his hand. But that does not distract him one bit. Someone comments on his injury.
"I don't care. I am not going to treat my injury until you get the song right. I want you to tune it even finer."
Madness. The staff in the studio run helter skelter. Is there a bandage? A gauze? Who knows if the studios of the 60s have first aid kits?
The singer gets wind of this. She rushes back in. What does she see?
Blood dripping from his hands, the uncompromising music composer berating his musicians, pushing them to a place only he knows they can reach.
She instinctively tears a piece of her sari and wraps it around his hand. That calms him down. He is touched by her gesture.
"From today, you are my sister", he says with gratitude. To him, it is not a piece of her sari, it is a Rakhi.
Within the next fifteen minutes, the song is recorded perfectly to his satisfaction.
The song starts with a beautiful santoor piece as a prelude. The santoor is played by Pandit Shivkumar Sharma. A stirring sitar takes over after the santoor. The sitar is played by Ustad Rais Khan, nephew of Madan Mohan's close friend and maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan. Rais Khan was one musician that Madan Mohan would never work without. The sitar of Ustad Rais Khan is a highlight piece in many songs.
Stalwarts, the likes of Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and Ustad Rais Khan, who were orchestra musicians early in their careers, were at the receiving end of Madan Mohan's ire in the pursuit of perfection.
Perfection was Madan ji's aim for every score, every composition, and every note.
Lata ji always addressed Madan saab endearingly as "Madan bhaiyya". There are differing reports of when exactly the brother-sister bond was cemented. Nevertheless, the Lata Mangeshkar-Madan Mohan combination was unparalleled. There would be something special in her performance when she would sing his compositions.
Khayyam once said to Madan Mohan, "I love you but I am also jealous of you. When Lata sings for you, she sounds like someone else."
Madan Mohan had no formal training in music. In his early years, he would sneak out of his house on Marine Drive at night to stand outside his neighbor Jaddan Bai's house (mother of actress Nargis) and listen to her and other classical musicians playing late into the night. His time working as a program assistant at All India Radio Lucknow brought him in contact with many veteran classical musicians and singers which honed his knowledge of music further.
Madan Mohan's father, Rai Bahadur Chunilal, was the founder of Bombay Talkies and Filmistan. However Rai Bahadur did not want his son having a career in films. Instead Madan ji was enlisted in the military. But his heart yearned for music and he dreamt of a stint in films. Against his father's wishes, Madan ji came into the film industry to act, then sing, and found his calling as one of the most loved music composers. Many years later, Rai Bahadur Chunilal regretted not supporting and encouraging his prodigal son.
Nainon mein badara chaaye is considered one of the iconic classical songs of Madan Mohan. His legendary pursuit of perfection is why the song is as beautiful as it is. The interplay of the santoor and the sitar is amazing, and perhaps represents the rush of romantic emotions felt by Sunil Dutt and Sadhana respectively. The heavenly voice of Lata Mangeshkar elevates this composition to another realm.
Music Composer: Madan Mohan
Lyrics: Raja Mehdi Ali Khan
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Director: Raj Khosla
Film: Mera Saaya (1966)