Chhaayaageet #26 - "Kaato mat. Hone do. Hone do."
"Don't cut. Let it be. Let it be."
The filmmaker is in a fix. He strongly believes the singer should also act in the film.
"I really think you should act in this film. The hero's friend is the perfect role for you", the filmmaker makes the case to the singer for the umpteenth time.
"Nah, I don't think so. I will provide the playback for the hero, but not act", the singer is not interested.
Acting would take up a lot of time. You have to travel to location, and your schedule is disrupted for months. Who needs this distraction?
This goes on for a few hours in the evening. The matter is not resolved. The filmmaker has been pursuing the singer for close to a month now. Still, he has not been able to change the singer's mind.
The filmmaker leaves the singer's house. The singer retires for the night.
The next morning, the singer wakes up and sees outside.
The filmmaker still standing there with the script in hand.
What is he doing here? Has he been standing there all night?
"Did you not go home?", asks the singer in astonishment.
"I really think you should act in this film. The hero's friend is the perfect role for you", the filmmaker responds with whatever energy left in him.
The singer is overwhelmed. He agrees to play the role of the hero's friend.
Hero is signed, heroine is signed. Now hero's friend is also signed.
The filmmaker himself is going to play the role of the heroine's music teacher, who is also competing against the hero for the heroine's attention.
It's an interesting rivalry. A hero who cannot sing, going up against a music teacher.
An idea brews.
How about a jugalbandi, a competition, between the hero and music teacher? That should settle scores.
The singer, who is playing the hero's friend, comes up with a song. He had heard his brother sing this song in a film before.
Why don't we take that song, mash up the lyrics, and create a jugalbandi?
We need another singer, someone formally trained in classical music, to give playback for the music teacher. They approach one of the reputed classical singers in the film industry.
"You want me to sing in a jugalbandi?", the classical singer asks.
"Yes", the filmmaker replies.
"And you want me to lose to this singer who has no classical training whatsoever?"
"Yes".
"I can't do that. I cannot lose to this singer."
"But it's just a film. It's not real."
"I know. But I can't lose to this singer."
"Sir, it is not a real competition, this is a reel competition. It is only a film. Anything happens in a film. A skinny hero beats up a bunch of muscled bad guys. It only happens in a film. Don't worry."
Silence.
The filmmaker persists.
"It is what the script demands. The hero needs to win against the music teacher to impress the heroine. And I am playing the music teacher."
"Ok, I will do it", the classical singer agrees.
The next ten days are spent composing the song. They spend long hours at the singer/actor's house. It's a long number, with a lot of back and forth. They explicitly script the jugalbandi in the song. But you can feel the rivalry between the singers. It is not just a competition in the film.
The day of the recording and final rehearsal arrives. They rehearse in the recording studio for 9 hours, just as the song has been scripted.
Now the final recording.
However, during the recording, the classical singer displays his vast repertoire. At one point in the song, he has to tease the singer/actor in a classical tune. He amazes everyone by taking one tease word and singing it in different classical variations.
The singer/actor cannot take it any more. He goes off script. He ad-libs. He comes up with a completely different sargam but with the same word. All 9 hours of rehearsal of the scripted jugalbandi are tossed out of the window.
The classical singer is shocked. So are the musicians. They look at the music composer. Is he going to yell STOP and reprimand his singers for going off course? Isn't this juvenile behavior? Messing up with the recording and all the effort gone into the composition and the rehearsals?
However, the composer and filmmaker are amused, and enjoying this riposte.
"Kaato mat. Hone do. Hone do." Don't cut. Let it be. Let it be.
Te ee ee eda teda teda teda te ee eda
O tedhe oy o kede
Arre seedhe ho ja re, seedhe ho ja re, seedhe ho ja re
Mehmood produced and acted in Padosan. He pursued Kishore Kumar for a month and finally convinced him to act the role of Bhola's friend, Vidyapathi. He also convinced Manna Dey to give playback to Mehmood's character of Master Pillai.
Padosan is considered as one of the classic romantic comedies of all time in Hindi cinema history. It is one of those rare movies that has been remade in every Indian language, more than once.
The song Ek Chatur Naar was first sung by Ashok Kumar in the 1941 movie Jhoola. Kishore Kumar had heard his elder brother sing this song. It was his idea to take this song and create a jugalbandi out of it.
This song took a lot of effort to compose. The initial sitting was at Kishore Kumar's house where they composed the song, with a lot of food being served throughout. During the actual recording, Kishore went off-script and stunned everyone. Pancham let them continue. This being a long song was recorded in pieces and edited for the final version. However, they left Kishore's ad-lib piece in there!
Music: RD Burman
Singers: Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey, Mehmood
*ing: Sunil Dutt, Saira Banu, Kishore Kumar, Mehmood
Producer: Mahmood
Film: Padosan (1968)