Chhaayaageet #25 - "Ye kuch lineain maine likhi hain. Inhe 'Unki' awaaz mein sunana."
"I have written these few lines. Recite them in 'His' voice."
The aspiring singer keeps in touch with music composers whenever he can. He has a gig performing in an orchestra. That keeps him on the road. So whenever he is in Mumbai, he goes around knocking doors, trying to find steady work in the film industry. The composers like him. They know he can sing even though he has had no formal training in singing and music.
"Tu aate reh, mein tere liye kuch na kuch karunga". You keep coming, I will do something or other for you. Hope floats.
Then one day, in one such meeting, the composer says to him.
"Ye kuch lineain maine likhi hain. Inhe 'Unki' awaz mein sunana". I have written these few lines. Recite them in 'His' voice.
"'Unki' awaz mein?" In 'His' voice?
They both know who they are referring to. 'Him'. The composer knows the singer has the unique skill to mimic different singers' and actors' voices. The singer recites the few lines in the requested voice.
"Ok good, come back tomorrow."
Only a few starting lines of prose have been written by the composer. But that's enough for now. The lyricist will complete the song soon. The singer dutifully meets the composer again the next day.
"Here is the song. You have to sing it like 'Him'."
"I can't do that", the singer replies, hesitant and nervous.
Reciting a few lines of 'His' dialogues now and then is one thing, singing an entire song in 'His' voice is a big undertaking. Especially when 'He' has taken a keen interest in the song.
The composer tries to calm him.
"Let's do an experiment. Let's record in your voice, and also in 'His' voice. Then let's decide."
A brief experiment is conducted. Out of the two recording samples, everyone likes the one in 'His' voice, and not the one in the singer's voice! It's decided. Rehearsals commence at the composer's house.
After 12 days of rehearsals, the composers decide to invite 'Him' over to listen to the song.
Our singer is nervous, singing in front of 'Him' without a microphone. 'He' is pleasantly surprised to hear the song in 'His' voice. So much similarity.
"Let's record this right away", 'He' says, clearly impressed with song and singer both.
Fast forward to the day of the recording. Final day rehearsals start at 9 am. The song recording is on a live stage at Mehboob Studios, with a live orchestra of 80 musicians primed ready to go. It's a high energy duet. It's a long one too.
'He' is shooting next door, and stops by intermittently in breaks.
Our singer, being a newbie, is intimidated by 'His' presence, so much so that any appetite for food is lost. Eating anything is out of question. What if a burp arrives in the middle of a take? Tea is the only mode of survival, one cup after another, almost one every hour. His co-singer tries to soothe his nerves.
The rehearsals go on all day. 'He' is present at one rehearsal. After the song, the singer musters some courage to walk up to 'Him'. There's no expression on 'His' face. Did he like it, or not? No way to know.
"Sir, kaise ho raha hai?" Sir, how is it coming along?
"Achcha hai. Thoda variation lana dialog mein. Baki achcha hai." It's good. Bring some variation in the lines of prose. Everything else is good.
More rehearsals as the hours go by, more cups of tea. The singer makes one request to the composer.
"Sir, I don't want to record the final version in front of 'Him'. I am scared." The composer understands.
It's 2 am now. 'He' stops by for the final recording. Our singer has downed 25 cups of tea in 17 hours. Nothing but tea.
The composer decides to leave the studio, taking 'Him' along, so the singer can do the final recording without any anxiety.
Arre o jumma, meri jaan-e-man
Bahar nikal, aaj jumma hai
Aaj ka vaada hai
Dekh mein aa gaya, tu bhi jaldi aa
Mujhe mat aur tadpa
Arre tu boli thi, pichhle jumme ko
Chumma doongi, agle jumme ko
Aaj jumma hai
To aaja, aaja, aaja, aaja, aaja, aaja
Jumma chumma de de
Jumma chumma de de chumma
Sudesh Bhosale used to sing in Melody Makers, a famous orchestra unit in Mumbai, accompanying Kishore Kumar on live concerts. He had garnered a reputation as the Voice of Amitabh performing Amitabh's famous dialogues in shows.
Laxmikant Pyarelal gave Sudesh Bhosale his first break, to sing the song 'Ya Ali Ya Ali' for Amitabh in Shashi Kapoor's film Ajooba. When Amitabh heard the song, he expressed a desire to meet Bhosale.
When they met, Amitabh said, "Arre bhaiya, hamari awajein to milti julti hain. Mujhe pata hi nahin chala ye gaana maine kab gaaya." ("Our voices match very well. I didn't realize when had I sung this song.") Amitabh told him that he had sung it very well and that they would work together for a long time.
Jumma Chumma went on to become a massive hit and there was no turning back for Sudesh Bhosale. Everyone believed that the song was sung by Amitabh Bachchan and were in disbelief when they found out it wasn't.
This song was originally conceived for Ramesh Sippy's film Ram Ki Sita Shyam Ki Gita. It was to star Amitabh and Sridevi in double roles. When that film was shelved, Mukul Anand made a personal request to Ramesh Sippy to use the song in the film Agneepath. The song was to be filmed on Amitabh and Archana Puran Singh. But Mukul Anand felt that Amitabh's character of Vijay Dinanath Chauhan should not sing and dance in the film. That's when the song was shifted to Hum, and filmed on Amitabh and Kimi Katkar.
Amitabh, in his blog, mentions that he came across a tune on a private visit to Brussels, Belgium, while walking past a music store. A few months later driving up to Abhishek's school in Switzerland, he heard attractive notes of another song on the radio, and it all came together. Soon after the song was recorded, he played the song at the annual Holi bash at his bungalow Prateeksha, to hundreds of guests. Everyone loved it. They knew they had a winner.
Before the song was actually filmed, Amitabh held a concert tour called Jumma Chumma in London. He performed this song on stage with Sridevi, along with Broadway dancers from New York. People loved the song. This posed a challenge. Would the song they would record for the screen be able to live up to the impression that was already created in the audiences' mind?
Choreographer Chinni Prakash met this challenge with flying colors. Amitabh writes: The lovely Kimi Katkar, so gorgeous in her red dress and the only lady on set in the song, incredible. In every shot, the crew, the light men, the spot boys the producer, director, the crowds, all screaming and shouting, egging us on to give our best. What an atmosphere.
Mukesh Mills was selected as the location for the song. A section of the dilapidated factory was set up as a workers entertainment center.
The song was not without controversy. The tune of Jumma Chumma seems to be inspired by Guinean vocalist Mory Kante's song Tama from 1988. The same tune was used by Bappi Lahiri for the song Tamma Tamma Loge from the movie Thanedaar which was released before Hum. Naturally, there was debate about who had copied from whom, which song had come first, notwithstanding the fact that both songs seem to have been inspired.
Sudesh Bhosale was nominated for Best Male Playback Singer for Jumma Chumma. Chinni Prakash won the Best Choreographer award for this song. Amitabh won Best Actor for Hum.
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Singers: Sudesh Bhosle, Kavita Krishnamoorthy
*ing: Amitabh Bachchan, Kimi Katkar
Choreographer: Chinni Prakash
Director: Mukul Anand
Film: Hum (1991
References:
* Hindustan Times: 30 Years of Hum: Jumma Chumma and the Magic of Big B!
* Viva Goa: The Goan Voice of Big B
* IMDB: Hum
* The Telegraph Online: "Give me credit where it is due" - The famous 'Voice of Amitabh Bachchan', Sudesh Bhosle, has that noose around his neck too by Uday Thakur
* Amitabh Bachchan blog - Bachchan Bol - Day 75
* Bollywood Hungama: "Drank 25 cups of tea in 17 hours to sing Jumma Chumma", reveals Sudesh Bhosle on Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Li'l Champs
* Mumbai Mirror: Sudesh Bhosle recalls recording Jumma Chumma
* The Kapil Sharma Show Season 2 with Sudesh Bhosle and Usha Uthup (YouTube)
* Wikipedia: Hum