Chhaayaageet #276 - "Mujhe kyon is gaane mein ghusa rahe ho?"

Why are you forcing me into this song?

There comes a point in every filmmaker’s journey when he decides to do his own take on a classic, a tragic love story, and remake it in his own vision. That love story and film which have inspired filmmakers of every generation, Devdas.

This filmmaker decides to put his own version on canvas, but with a few changes to keep with the modern times, while keeping the emotional arc intact.

Like the original, in this story also, the hero carries a deep love from childhood towards the heroine. But he is not a self-destructive aristocrat. He is an orphan who believes that success will bring acceptance, conquers the world, yet cannot conquer love.

Unlike the original, the heroine unknowingly becomes the center of the hero’s emotional universe. She lives in a world that he can never truly belong to. She loves him as a human, just not in the way he desires.

There is the respectable suitor, who possesses what society considers to be all the right credentials. He wins the heroine because he just fits naturally into her world. Plus he is as much or better looking than the hero. The filmmaker is very deliberate about who should be cast in this role.

Like the original, there’s the courtesan whose love is unrequited. She loves generously without expectation. She receives affection but never his heart. She is the proverbial ‘other woman’. The actress cast in this role relishes the tag.

And then there is society that measures worth according to birth and social standing. It played the antagonist in the old story, and stays true in character to this day. Society, the real villain.

The original Devdas is a tragedy because the hero is weak and does very little. He is almost devoid of any agency. This hero is the opposite. He can do anything. Above all, he is never weak, and has a very high threshold for pain. Pain is his destiny, and he can’t avoid it.

The filmmaker and the hero have a long association since their first hit film five years ago. In those five years the hero’s stock has risen through the roof.

The actress cast in the courtesan’s role has a great on-screen chemistry with the hero. The audience love to see them together. After their last few films together, there is some gossip in trade circles about them. At an outdoor shoot of their last film, he had thrashed an onlooker on location who had talked trash about her. The actress has as much to contribute to the grapevine by slipping in casual references to ‘him’ and fanning public imagination. ‘He’ has become a recurring feature in her media interactions.

The filmmaker knows the courtesan’s role does not do justice to her. It is a bit of a cameo, not having much to do with the central theme of the hero’s love for the heroine. But she has been excited for this role. All that matters is that ‘he’ is her romantic interest in the film.

During the final script narration, the filmmaker decides he needs to give special treatment for the first meeting between the hero and the courtesan. This is also the courtesan’s entry in the film. She is performing a ‘mujra’ (a traditional dance that originated in the Mughal era) at her ‘kothi’ (salon), and a friend brings him into her ‘mehfil’ (gathering). It is the perfect opportunity to bring their great chemistry on screen and give the audience more of what they want. This thought stays at the back of his mind.

The composers and the lyricist are working on other songs. So, the filmmaker decides to write this song himself. He writes it as a solo dance number performed by the courtesan. It would be perfect in the nightingale’s voice.

At the next sitting with the composers, they discuss the song, and the composers work for a few days to set the lyrics to tune.

As discussions continue, a thought emerges - why not make this a duet? Let’s give the hero a part in the song instead of just passively watching the courtesan dance. That’s it! The filmmaker realizes this is the “special treatment” this song needs.

But there’s something else weighing on his mind. The actress who is to play the courtesan has not yet confirmed her dates. She is traveling abroad and has been out of contact. The filmmaker has no time to mess around. He has been thinking about replacing her with another actress. It’s only a cameo anyway.

She comes to know that the filmmaker is in talks with another actress for the role of the courtesan. She decides she must return back to Bombay immediately. She cannot lose this film opposite ‘him’.

The original casting is restored. Dates are finalized, and the schedule of the ‘mujra’ song is confirmed.

The filmmaker can now bring his attention back to the song. He is convinced the song should be a duet. He writes the ‘antara’ for the male singer.

On the day of the recording, the male singer’s presence is also requested. He duly arrives and is told about the song. The nightingale is also present. The male singer listens to the ‘mujra’ and is confused why they want him in the song. The song is perfect as a solo number.

“Yeh gaana to Lata ji ki awaaz mein bilkul sahi hai,” he says to the composers.
This song is perfect in Lata ji’s voice.

He adds, “Mujhe kyon is gaane mein ghusa rahe ho?”
Why are you forcing me into this song?

The composers tell him about the situation and that this song is the first meeting of the hero and the courtesan and they want to establish the romantic chemistry right away, at least from the courtesan’s side.

They tell the singer that his part is supposed to start with an ‘aalaap’. This gives even more reason for the singer to hem and haw.

“Arre kahan mujhse aalaap gawaa rahe ho? Meri jagah Manna Dey ko hi bula lete,” he complains.
Why are you making me sing an ‘aalaap’? You could have just called Manna Dey instead of me. Manna Dey, the eminently versatile and veteran classical singer.

The composers tell him he doesn’t have a choice. He must sing this song because his voice is the playback for the hero’s two other songs.

The singer relents and says, “Agar aap zidd karte ho to mein gaata hoon. Lekin Lata ji ko gaa lene dijiye. Phir mein apni tarah se gaaunga.”
If you insist, I will sing. But let Lata ji sing her part first. Then I will sing in my own way.

Lata ji finishes recording her part of the song and leaves. The male singer takes his time to sing his part in his own style. And how!

Prakash Mehra wrote the lyrics of Salaam-e-Ishq Meri Jaan in the film Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978), produced and directed by himself, and music by Kalyanji-Anandji. The song is a duet performed by Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar, and filmed on Rekha and Amitabh Bachchan.

Mehra wanted this to be his take of a modern version of Devdas. However, the character of Sikandar was so diametrically opposed to Devdas, that the resemblance was lost on audiences.

Rekha almost lost the role to Reena Roy due to her travel abroad. Shatrughan Sinha was selected for Vinod Khanna’s role. However Mehra felt that if Rakhee’s character was to choose him over Sikandar, then the actor should be as good looking or better than Amitabh. Mehra did do right by Shatrughan Sinha and Reena Roy by casting them in his very next film, Jwalamukhi (1979).

Muqaddar Ka Sikandar was the highest grossing Hindi film of 1978, and the biggest Diwali blockbuster of that time. It was also the third highest grossing film of the 70s after Sholay (1975) and Bobby (1973).

The soundtrack of the film became a massive hit. Salaam-e-ishq became an iconic song, along with Rotey Huey which featured Amitabh Bachchan riding a motorcycle on the streets of Nariman Point, which has become an enduring image of the film.

Prakash Mehra reprised the format of this song in his later film, Sharaabi (1984), with Kishore Kumar singing the alaap for Amitabh as he joins Jaya Prada on stage in the song Mujhe Naulakha Manga De.

The role of Sikandar’s friend who brings him to Zohrabai’s ‘kothi’ is played by Ram Sethi, who was Mehra’s assistant. The role was supposed to be played by Asrani, however, on the day of the shoot, Asrani couldn’t show up. So Sethi stepped in to play the role. From that point on, Sethi features as Amitabh’s sidekick in almost all of Mehra’s films such as Laawaris (1981), Namak Halaal (1982), Sharaabi (1984), and Jaadugar (1989).

The combination of Prakash Mehra and Amitabh Bachchan yielded several hit films. Muqaddar Ka Sikandar spiraled the Rekha-Amitabh gossip mill out of control. Their chemistry outshone everything else.

In a sensational interview in Stardust in 1978, “Rekha - Girl Without a Conscience?”, Rekha claimed:

“Once I was looking at the whole [Bachchan] family through the projection room when they came to see the trial show of Muqaddar Ka Sikandar. Jaya was in the front row and he and his parents were in the row behind her. They couldn’t see her as clearly as I could. And during our love scenes, I could see tears pouring down her face.”

Rekha mentions this role as the closest to her heart, and which started her on a period of self-discovery. She continued to fan the gossip mill by saying, allegedly:

“It is not a question of what does Jaya have that I don’t have. What does Jaya have that I have?’”

Throughout this, Amitabh maintained stoic silence. Rekha’s biography, “Rekha - The Untold Story,” mentions that it is believed that after Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Jaya Bachchan put a ban on Amitabh working with Rekha, and Amitabh started communicating to filmmakers that he would not be signing any new projects with Rekha. [After MKS, they featured together in Mr. Natwarlal (1979), Suhaag (1979), Ram Balram (1980), and Silsila (1981).]

The releases of 1978 further cemented Amitabh Bachchan’s superstar status with films such as Kasme Vaade, Trishul, and Don.

Muqaddar Ka Sikandar was nominated for nine Filmfare awards: Best Film and Best Director (Prakash Mehra), Best Actor (Amitabh Bachchan), Best Supporting Actor (Vinod Khanna), Best Supporting Actress (Rekha), Best Comedian (Ram Sethi), Best Male Playback Singer (Kishore Kumar for O Saathi Re), Best Female Playback Singer (Asha Bhosle for O Saathi Re), Best Story (Laxmikant Sharma).

Lyrics: Prakash Mehra
Music: Kalyanji Anandji
Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar
*ing: Rekha, Amitabh Bachchan
Director: Prakash Mehra
Film: Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978)