Chhaayaageet #51 - "We have to bring melody back."
They have composed music for six movies so far. Nothing much to brag about. The music had done nominal business. The other composers of the time have dozens of movies under their belt with plenty of awards to show off. They are still new kids on the block.
Recently they have been offered another movie. A very rookie cast. It has a debut director who wants to launch two relatively new faces. The lead male and female actors have done small roles in the past but nothing worth mentioning. The male and female singers are also quite new and struggling to make their mark. The exception is the lyricist. He is well known and has provided great lyrics over the decades to the industry.
The composers are not exactly new to the industry. Their father was an accomplished composer. How music is composed, how songs are written, which one goes first, and how magic is created, they have witnessed all of this first hand. It was usual for them to find a renowned lyricist writing in their verandah and another lyricist sitting under a coconut tree in the garden while their father is at work in the music room.
But the recent music trends have been concerning to them. It has been all about Disco. There are movies, songs with lyrics, and music composed all about Disco. These are so different from the romantic melodies they are in love with. This could be one of those movies when film music returns to its glory days. “We have to bring melody back.”
The Father of the director is also the filmmaker and he has always worked with the leading composer of that time. They both have a strong bond with each other as well as with the lyricist.
The director has an issue with this. He is obsessed with music especially compositions and wants to provide his input on every little element of music. How can he argue or force his opinion on this veteran composer? Especially this one whom he has been calling Uncle since his childhood. That's it. He is breaking tradition and going with the rookie composers.
The director has an unusual way of listening to compositions. He likes to do it while driving around the town in his red Maruti van. The director is very clear. “I don’t want too many songs. I want quality compositions and deep poetry”.
The director picks them up in his van. The initial tune has been recorded and playing in the van’s cassette player. They are humming along with the director offering changes and improvements. One iteration after another. Finally, the director gives his final green light on the tune.
The duo composers look at each other. They are dreaded by what’s coming next. The tune is good but hard to put lyrics to it. The tempo keeps shifting across different instruments. There are no consistent beats. Who is going to give the news to the veteran lyricist?
They gather courage and reach the lyricist’s house. Signs of nervousness show on their faces. Very reluctantly, they play the tune for the lyricist and then wait for his reaction.
The lyricist senses the situation. There is a reason he has been successful over the years. He has worked with many composers. Everyone has thrown different things at him and he has turned around masterpieces.
He smiles. “This is actually a good tune. It’s very unique. Gives me an opportunity to write something different.”
He starts scribbling in Urdu as he experiments with different lyrics. The two brothers watch him in awe as the maestro works through the lines. It is like watching an expensive piece of jewelry being crafted with gold nuggets and diamonds. He is almost done.
“Take these lines and get it recorded.” The brothers read the lines and then re-read again and again. They look at each other. Is he serious?! This isn’t deep thought-provoking poetry. In fact, it’s not poetry at all, but just a casual conversation between friends.
It's really a nice day, we are both alone, we are having a lot of fun.
Seriously!
The tune is so good but now these lines? There is no way this will be accepted by others in their unit. They start thinking hard about how to respond back to the lyricist but both are scared stiff to open their mouths.
The lyricist, again being the more experienced one, smiles at them. “Don’t worry. I know this is new to you but believe me, I am the only one who can bring dialog writing into the lyrics of a song.”
Gazab ka hai din socho zara
Yeh deewanapan dekho zara
Tum ho akele, hum bhi akele
Maza aa raha hai kasam se, kasam se
Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, a 1988 musical romance film was directed by Mansoor Khan, written and produced by his father Nasir Hussain, and starred his cousin Aamir Khan along with Juhi Chawla. The soundtrack of the film was composed by Anand-Milind, with lyrics written by Majrooh Sultanpuri. The playback for this song was provided by Alka Yagnik and Udit Narayan.
Anand and Milind Shrivastav are the sons of the famous composer, Chitragupt Shrivastav, better known as Chitragupt, who composed music with several famous lyricists including Majrooh Sultanpuri. As they were growing up, both Anand and Milind had exposure to other lyricists such as Anand Bakshi, Prem Dhawan, Rajendra Krishan, and Majrooh Saheb since their father composed music with all of them. Prior to QSQT, Anand-Milind had composed music for six other movies including Ab Ayega Mazaa and Jalwa but QSQT is what brought their talent to the limelight.
Mansoor Khan, son of filmmaker Nasir Hussain, made his directorial debut with the super-hit QSQT. His life had been all about surprising twists and turns - from being an engineer who studied in IIT Bombay, Cornell University, and MIT to becoming a successful filmmaker to an organic farmer in Coonoor to now an author on the economy. Just like Anand-Milind, Mansoor Khan saw his father in numerous sitting sessions with RD Burman and Majrooh Sulantanpuri over the years and was fascinated by the process of how great music was created. He was able to repeat his success as a director again in the movie Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander and to a lesser extent with Josh. He loved to sit with his composers in his red Maruti van and go through the tunes as they drove around the streets of Bombay. Mansoor didn’t like a break in the mood and would simply make an unscheduled turn if a traffic signal ever threatened to stop them. The same red Maruti van was also used in one of the scenes in QSQT.
The basic tune for Gazab Ka Hai Din was a mix of country and rock ballad and portions of it are almost evocative of Neil Diamond’s Play Me but the mood was new for Hindi music and so was the arrangement. One rarely has heard of trombones in a love duet and Majrooh’s words that were almost conversational in nature merged beautifully with the arrangement and even infused enthusiasm.
When it came to accolades, QSQT made a clean sweep. At the 34th Filmfare Awards, Anand–Milind won Filmfare Award for Best Music Director, Majrooh Sultanpuri was nominated for Best Lyricist, and Udit Narayan won Best Male Playback Singer. Also, QSQT won the Best Film, Best Director for Mansoor Khan, Best Male Debut for Aamir Khan, and Best Female Debut for Juhi Chawla.
Music: Anand-Milind
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Director: Mansoor Khan
Producer: Nasir Hussain
Singers: Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan
*ing: Aamir Khan, Juhi Chawla
Film: Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988)