Chhaayaageet #216 - “Shivaranjani ki aisi ki taisi”
The Composer sits at his harmonium. His eyes are closed, and fingers hover over the keys as he visualizes the scene he's scoring. This film explores themes of reincarnation and lost love through the eyes of a singer. There is so much pain inside the lead actor that needs to come out through this song. He begins to experiment, playing one note after another. Back of his mind, he feels he is being guided by the years of learning he received from his father and other gurus. The notes seem to align around one of the ragas used typically for expressing a melancholy mood. Not very popular in the film industry. He finalizes the tune and rushes to get the filmmaker’s feedback.
The filmmaker and composer go back even before the composer made a name for himself. The filmmaker worked a lot with his father. The composer would assist his father during those days.
The composer is dying to play the tape. “Ye gaane ki tune suniye. Isse raag Shivaranjani par banaya hai maine.” Listen to this tune. I have created this based on raag Shivaranjani.
The composer is in full selling mode, and this catches the filmmaker’s attention. He closes his eyes and goes through the tune. “Bahut hi badhiya tune hai. Saara dard iss mein daal diya hai tune.” It's an amazing tune. You have captured all the sorrow in it. The composer is encouraged by the words. The filmmaker continues, “Kyun ki ye raag par aadharit hai, iss gaane ko Rafi se gawa lete hain. Doosre singer ke bas ki baat nahin hai.” Since this is based on a raag, let's have Rafi sing this song. The other singer won't be able to do it.
The composer doesn't like this. His body language changes. “Mere khayal mein iss hero ki jo standard awaaz hai, ussi se gawaana chhaiye. Mein baat karta hoon.” I think we should go with the standard playback voice for the hero. I will talk to the singer.
The composer reaches out to the singer, who is the standard playback for the lead actor. “Ek gaana compose kiya hai jo raag Shivaranjani mein hai.” I have composed a song in raag Shivaranjani.
The singer gives him a confused look. The same look you get when you talk to someone in a language they don't understand. “Shiv…. kya?” Shiv... what? The singer struggles to repeat what he just heard.
“Arre yaar, Shivaranjani ek raag hai Hindustani classical music mein. Iski tune dard bhare gaanon ke liye bahut sahi hai.” Oh man, Shivaranjani is a raag in Hindustani classical music. This raag really suits tunes that are melancholy.
The singer looks visibly upset. “Shivaranjani ki aisi ki taisi. Mein ye gaana nahin gaaonga. Kissi aur ko le lo.” To hell with Shivaranjani. I am not going to sing this song. Have someone else sing it.
The composer tries his best. “Tumne kitne saare gaane gaaye hain aur woh bhi alag alag genre mein. Ye bhi gaa loge. Ek baar koshish to karo.” You have sung so many songs across multiple genres. You will be able to sing this one. Just try it.
The singer has no patience. “Mein ye sab nahin seekh sakta hoon aur iss liye mein ye gaana nahin gaaonga.” I cannot learn all of this now and hence I am not going to sing.
The singer comes back home that evening. He tries to relax, but the moments of the day keep replaying in front of him. How can he back out of a song? He is known in the industry for his versatility. This does not jive with his image. More than what people will think, he is worried about his own self-esteem. Suddenly, he comes across a possible solution. He asks the driver to take out the car and heads to the composer’s house.
The singer walks straight into his living room. “Maine iske baare mein bahut socha. Ek tarkeeb hai mere paas.” I have give this a lot of thought. I have an idea.
The composer is still recovering from the heated exchange they had earlier in the day. He half-heartedly says, “Theek hai, sunao.” Ok, tell me.
The singer is ready with his plan. “Dekh iss film mein ye gaana male aur female voice, dono mein record karna hai. Ek kaam karte hain. Tu female version ki recording kar ke mujhe dede aur phir mein usse sunkar practice kar loonga.” There is a male and a female version of this song in the film. Let's do one thing. You first record the female version, give me that tape and I will practice by listening to it.
The composer is not too surprised to hear that the singer is willing to try. He is quite confident that the singer will be able to deliver. But he feels he has to show some excitement. “Ye to bahut badhiya plan hai. Mein abhi female singer ke saath milkar recording fix karta hoon.” This is a great plan. Let me get with the female singer right away and schedule the recording.
The female singer is quite well-versed in classical music. No qualms on her side. The composer finishes recording the song with her and goes to see the male singer.
“Ye lo female gaane ka tape. Isko sunkar practice karlo aur kal recording karte hain.” Here is the tape with the female version of the song. The singer plays the tape and just falls in love with the melody of the song. “Dada, mujhe ek hafte ka time do. Mein agle saat din by-heart karke gaana waise hi sunaaonga.” Dada, give me one week's time. Over the next seven days I will learn this song and then sing it exactly like her. The composer sees the earnest look in his eyes. He agrees and leaves.
On the eighth day, as promised, the singer shows up at the recording studio and records the song.
Kishore Kumar sang Mere Naina Sawan Bhadon for the film Mehbooba. The music was composed by R.D. Burman, and the lyrics were written by Anand Bakshi. The film was directed by Shakti Samanta, and the song was picturized on Rajesh Khanna. There is also a female version of the song with Lata Mangeshkar which was picturized on Hema Malini.
Mehbooba explored themes of reincarnation and lost love through the story of a singer who discovers his past life connection with a woman he meets again in his current life. As both the male and female protagonists recollect their previous births’ memories, the situation demanded that the story be narrated through a melancholy song. R.D. Burman decides to use the raag Shivaranjani for the tune of the song. Before that, there were very few songs that used this Raag. The one that became popular was O Mere Sanam O Mere Sanam from the film Sangam.
Kishore Kumar was Rajesh Khanna’s voice as a playback and hence was the default choice for RD Burman. On finding out that the song is based on a specific raag, he initially decided to pass. But later, he mustered courage and took on the challenge. He suggested to Pancham Da to finish the recording with Lata first and then record his version. He listened to Lata’s rendition several times over seven days before his recording.
The song survived the test of time and is still very popular with Hindi film music lovers. Surprisingly, the Kishore Kumar version of the song became a lot more popular.
At the 24th Filmfare awards, R.D. Burman and Anand Bakshi were nominated for Best Music Director and Best Lyricist award, respectively.
Composer: R. D. Burman
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Singer(s): Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar
*ing: Rajesh Khanna, Hema Malini
Director: Shakti Samanta
Film: Mehbooba (1976)