Chhaayaageet #192 - "Ab tum hi iss film ke saare gaane likhoge."
The composer has been quite stressed out lately. The tunes for the latest film are pretty much done. The next step is to start writing lyrics. Well, that is not his headache. But in a way, it is. For each situation, he knows who the right lyricist is. Both of them have worked together in the past. All the junior and budding lyricists regard this guy. They constantly reach out to him for guidance.
But there is a problem. One of the senior members of the production unit knows another lyricist. And he happens to be his younger brother. He is obviously promoting him. This lyricist is also not that bad. In fact last year he won the Filmfare award. But the situation dictates everything. This is not a film where anyone can write.
He calls the filmmaker. “Maine faisla kar liya hai.” I have decided. The filmmaker is expecting the decision to be in favor of the brother of his senior staff. “Iss film mein 6 gaane hai. To mein 3 geetkar rakhna chahta hoon. Har geetkar do do gaane likhega.” There rare 6 songs in this movie. I will have 3 lyricists and each will write 2 songs each. The filmmaker is not expecting this. “Ye kya mazaak kar rahe ho. Aisa kabhi hota hai kya. Aap ek geetkar ko chuniye.” Are you kidding me? You can't do that. Choose one of the lyrics. The composer puts his foot down. “Agar mein iss film ka music composer hoon, to aise hi karna padega.” If I am to be the composer of this film, then it will be this way. The filmmaker does not want to change the composer at this late stage. Too much risk. He agrees to the composer's proposal.
The composer reaches out to his lyricist friend and informs him of the plan. The lyricist doesn't say anything. He has always been the quiet one. His writing always does the talking. Maybe that's the reason he hasn't been that popular. He moved back from Pakistan to Punjab and from there to Lucknow and now to Bombay. It has been quite a journey. Having seen partition atrocities up close has changed him. He is not ambitious like others. As things come to him in life, he seems to be satisfied about it.
The composer and the filmmaker are ready to go through the rehearsals and recordings. The composer insists that his original lyricist be given the first choice to record his songs.
The recording day is here. The composer, lyricist, and the entire recording team is in the recording studio. The filmmaker is running late. Oh well, he can listen to the recording later. The composer decides to move ahead. They rehearse quickly. The playback is done by none other than the nightingale herself. The recording for the first song is completed flawlessly. They decide to call it a day and come back the next day for the second song.
The filmmaker walks into the studio. He notices folks already leaving. “Maaf karna yaar. Der ho gayi. Bahut koshish ki meine jaldi pahunchne ki.” Sorry my friend, I am late. I tried my best to reach in time. The composer understands him. “Koi baat nahin. Pehle gaane ki recording ho gayi hai. Doosre gaane ki kal kar lenge aur uske baad baaki geetkar ko bulakar unka gaana bhi record kar lenge.” No problem. The first song has been recorded. Tomorrow we will record the second song and after that we will call the rest of lyricists to record their songs. The filmmaker agrees with him. “Theek hai. Pehla gaana sunaao.” Ok, play the first song.
The filmmaker sits with his face down and his eyes closed. He is trying to clear his mind and senses so he can listen clearly. Not just each word but also what the lyricist is trying to say beyond words.
The tape starts to roll. The music kicks in and the song begins. From mukhda to antara, back to mukhda to another antara. The filmmaker stays with his face down the entire time. Both the composer and lyricist are desperately trying to judge his reaction but there is nothing. The song finishes and they can hear the tape leave the spool.
He raises his head finally and stands up abruptly. “Bahut khoob. Kya gaana likha hai. Iss situation le liye jo alfaaz chhaiye the, bilkul wohi hai.” Too good. What a song. The lyrics of the song are made up exactly for the situation. Both the composer and lyricist are ecstatic and waiting to hear what he says next. “Maine tay kar liya. Ab tum hi iss film ke saare gaane likhoge.” I have decided. Now you will write the lyrics for all the songs of this film.
Naqsh Lyallpuri wrote the lyrics of the song Ye Mulaqat Ek Bahana Hai for the film Khandaan. The music was composed by Khayyam and the film was directed by Anil Ganguly. The playback was provided by Lata Manageshkar and the song featured Jeetendra and Bindiya Goswami on the screen.
Naqsh Lyallpuri was born as Jaswant Rai Sharma in the Lyallpur district which is part of Pakistan now. Just like how most poets assume a different name, Jaswant Sharma decided to adopt a different name which included his town of birth. This is the same town that was renamed to Faislabad in 1977. During partition, Naqsh Lyallpuri moved to Lucknow and eventually to Bombay to write lyrics in films. He struggled initially and got success writing lyrics in Punjabi films but his final goal was to write lyrics for Hindi films. Eventually, he did get a break and wrote lyrics for several Hindi hit songs.
Naqsh Lyallpuri was well known in the film industry for writing lyrics exactly for the “meter” of the song. For this reason, all young lyricists were constantly seeking his guidance so they could learn this art from him. People who knew him well knew that he was too quiet for the film industry. Perhaps that was the reason he didn't succeed as much as some of his peers.
For this song, Khayyam wanted to work with Naqsh Lyallpuri but a senior member of the production unit put forth his younger brother's name whose name was Indeevar. Yes, the same Indeevar who eventually rose up to be one of the iconic lyricists in the film industry. Khayyam wanted to work with his choice but also didn't want to disappoint others. So he decided to give everyone an equal opportunity. Anil Ganguly, the director on hearing the first recording itself decided to use Naqsh Lyallpuri for all the songs in the film.
Lata Mangeshkar was a big fan of Naqsh Lyallpuri and still credits him for providing the most difficult songs for her to sing. Those songs included Rasme Ulfat Ko Nibhayen To Nibhayen Kaise, Ulfat Mein Zamaane Ki Har Rasm Ko Thukrao, and Tumhe Dekhti Hoon To Lagta Hai Jaise among others. There was another song Mana Teri Nazar Mein that was initially recorded for Khandaan but was decided to be filmed in a later film Ahista Ahista, whose music was also composed by Khayyam.
Music: Khayyam
Lyrics: Naqsh Lyallpuri
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
*ing: Bindiya Goswami, Jeetendra
Director: Anil Ganguly
Film: Khandaan (1977)