Chhaayaageet #34 - “Jab unhone mujhe select kiya is gaane ke liye, to mein ro pada.”
He is really a very good singer. Beautiful voice, rich timbre, and an amazing range, honed by years of disciplined practice of classical music.
To his chagrin, though, he is only called upon to sing songs that are difficult for other singers, or songs in niche situations. And those songs are either played in the background in the film, or filmed on supporting characters, old characters, but never the hero. When he sings a sad song, it is filmed on a comedian, and it evokes laughter from the theater audience.
He is called for auditions, only to be told, “Kuch baat jami nahin.” It’s not working.
When will they truly appreciate his singing? Will he ever get to sing romantic songs for the hero? For a singer, that is the ticket to success, to mainstream popularity, to be able to voice romantic numbers for leading heroes. Oh, the struggle.
A music composer knows what he is capable of. The composer promises he will certainly give him a chance to sing romantic songs.
But the industry works in cliques. Actors have their favorite playback singers. Millions of people have gotten used to seeing and hearing the actor on screen in a certain voice. Experimentation can be costly. Filmmakers have their favorite music composers, who call upon the same singers. It all works like a well oiled machine. Once a formula is set, it is not something to be tinkered with. Why fix what’s not broken?
Then how does someone break in? It’s not easy. That’s how you get relegated to singing niche songs, and composers only remember you for specific situations. And you keep waiting for that break. For our singer, it’s been a long wait, until this film.
The filmmaker, who is also the hero of the film, is in a bit of a bother. His usual favorite playback singer is busy trying to produce and act in his own film. The music composer suggests a new voice for a duet that is to be recorded with the nightingale. It is a rather difficult song, that changes pitch. The nightingale has a great range in her voice. They need a male singer to match her. And that’s when our singer is summoned.
He is called to the composer’s recording studio in Mahalaxmi. For two hours they rehearse, a lot of work going into it. There are about 50 musicians performing the music live. The poet lyricist is also present.
After a long time, the song is finally ready. However the composer is stalling. The filmmaker himself is planning to be there, but hasn’t arrived yet.
“He will be coming soon”, the composer assures everyone.
Some time goes by. He still hasn’t arrived. They decide they cannot wait longer.
Just then the filmmaker arrives. Along with him the leading lady of the film, and his entourage of studio assistants.
The filmmaker approaches the male singer.
"Manna Babu, kaisa laga gaana?", he asks the singer. How do you like the song?
"Raj Saab, gaana to lajawaab hai," the singer replies. The song is matchless.
"To ek baar sunaiye humay bhi." Then please let me hear it. Not that anyone would refuse him, but the filmmaker requests with his trademark playful humility that disarms everyone immediately.
The orchestra of 50 musicians and singers get ready. The filmmaker listens intently to the song being performed for him. Then he makes an unusual request:
“Thodi jagah bana dijiye yahan.” Please clear some space here.
Imagine this scene. A live orchestra of 50 musicians, singers all huddled closer together to create open space for the filmmaker on the recording floor. No one knows what’s to happen next.
As the orchestra continues to play the music pieces, the filmmaker leads the actress to the floor. As the song proceeds, the singers see the filmmaker moving to the music, enacting the song. Without realizing they are transported into the mood the filmmaker creates on the recording floor in front of them.
Pyar hua ikrar hua hai
Pyar se fir kyun darta hai dil
Kehta hai dil rasta mushkil
Malum nahin hai kahan manzil
Manna Dey credits this song to jump start his singing career. He said in an interview that when Raj Kapoor selected him to sing this song for Shree 420, he broke down. Mukesh was busy producing and acting in his own film, and wasn't available for all songs. Raj Kapoor could have gone with anybody. But Shankar strongly felt that Manna Dey would be the right male voice to match Lata ji's range.
Manna Dey sang three songs in Shree 420 - Dil ka haal sune dilwala, Mud mud ke na dekh with Asha Bhosale, in addition to this song. Manna Dey's singing career took off from here and he never looked back.
Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey sang over 100 duets together, with some very popular songs like - Aaja sanam madhur chandni mein hum (Chori Chori), Yeh raat bheegi bheegi (Chori Chori), Masti bhara hai sama (Parvarish), to name a few, and many timeless solos including Ae meri zohara jabeen (Waqt), Chalat musafir (Teesri Kasam), Kasme waade pyar wafa (Upkar), Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo (Mera Naam Joker) for which he won a Filmfare for Best Male Playback, Zindagi kaisi hai paheli (Anand), and many more classics.
The greatness of Raj Kapoor that he enacted his vision for the song on the recording floor. What a sight that must have been! He did the same again when Manna Dey recorded Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo for Mera Naam Joker in the studio.
Pyar hua ikrar hua hai stands the test of time as one of the most intensely romantic songs of Hindi cinema and perhaps one of the first highly popular rain songs.
In this song we see Raj Kapoor’s children, Randhir, Ritu and Rishi in one scene walking in the rain. Rishi would cry every time they had to give that shot. Nargis ji bribed a very young Rishi saying if he kept his eyes open and did not cry, she would give him a chocolate. Rishi Kapoor did as instructed and they filmed that scene.
Shree 420 was the highest grossing film of 1955, and also became hugely popular in Soviet Union, Romania and Israel.
Singer: Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar
*ing: Raj Kapoor, Nargis
Music: Shankar-Jaikishan
Lyrics: Shailendra
Director: Raj Kapoor
Film: Shree 420 (1955)