Chhaayaageet #86 - "Yeh kya meri awaaz thi?"
Is this my voice?
It is quite a novel, this book, the first Urdu novel to have been published in 1905. Films based on books have a unique challenge. The characters have to be portrayed with great fidelity. All the nuances of the characters have to be done justice to. When the central character is an exponent of music, dance and poetry, it compounds the problem for the composers. The composer is nervous.
If that is the only reason one can sympathize. The assignment is not an easy one. But there is another reason for nerves and anxiety. It's a remake. An old classic film based on a similar character had great music compositions. Comparisons will be inevitable.
The composer has no recordings to use as baseline for the period music. The composer turns to his wife. She is an accomplished singer herself.
"What kind of tone do you think this character used in her poems and songs?", he asks her.
The wife tries a few things. After a few attempts, she asks, "What do you think?"
"It is close", he says. "It really has to be at a very different level. But you have brought me very close."
Who could sing it in that tone though? There is one singer who could possibly attempt it. She is a good singer, with a strong background in classical music, but she really excels in Western, jazz or Punjabi-beat songs.
The composer and his wife decide to go to her house. They explain the intricacies of the song to her. After much explanation, the composer then says to her, "This song is quite challenging, and with your busy schedule, we are not sure if you will have time for multiple rehearsals."
The singer is quite intrigued with the story of the central character in the book, this dancer, singer and poet. Her curiosity is piqued, and the composer seemed to have thrown a challenge.
"Don't worry about my schedule. I like this song. I will make it happen", she assures she is ready to pick up the gauntlet.
One rehearsal after another, the singer is indeed spending all her spare time preparing the song. The recording is in just 2 days. By now, the singer has captured the essence of the song, the tone, the intricacies of the tune, the intonations, all of it. She is convinced she is ready for the final recording.
"Ok, let's hear it one more time", asks the composer at the final rehearsal. She starts with the alaap.
"I don't want you", the composer shouts even before the alaap is over. Whoa! The composer has a frustrated, disgusted look on his face. She is shocked, taken aback. How could he be so rude? After all these years of working together with mutual respect, delivering many hits?
"What do you mean you don't want me?", she fires back sharply. The composer realizes that she misunderstood his point.
"I don't want you singing this song. I want the character, the courtesan singing it. The tone that you gave me in the previous rehearsal, I want that. Go back to that tone", he explains.
They review the tone one more time. The singer feels like she's gotten it.
"We need to delay the recording. I want to practice more thoroughly. Give me 8 days", she requests. The composer agrees.
It is now the day of the recording. Everyone connected with the film is there, since this song is also the muhurat song. They decide to do quick rehearsals with and without mic. Even after 8 days of practice, the singer is still having trouble. It feels like a very tricky song. Some days it feels perfect, on other days she feels it slipping away.
The singer calls the composer's wife to the recording booth.
"Does your husband have some sort of vendetta against me? Why has he given me this specific tone? This is not my style. I don't think I can sing this", she tells the wife.
The composer's wife hurries to her husband. "I think we have a problem. You need to go talk with her." He senses a crisis coming over.
The composer hurries to the singer in the recording booth. People can see them from the outside through the glass. They are arguing animatedly. It is not looking good. Everyone expects the singer to storm out of the recording room. That would be a disaster.
Inside the recording booth, the composer is trying to pacify her.
"Let's record it with my tone. You have already rehearsed it many times. I know it is not your style. But trust me. Let's give it a shot and record it. Then we will do another recording in your style and tone", he presents an olive branch to make peace.
"Ok fine, I am good with that. But make sure we record both versions", she accepts the compromise.
The first recording is done. The singer wants to have it be played back to her. The music begins with a melancholy sarangi. The alaap comes next. The singer is listening to it with her eyes closed, as if in a trance. The entire song is played. It gets over. She has not moved. 30 seconds pass. A minute goes by. Two minutes since the song got over. She is still with her eyes closed. Then the door of the recording booth opens.
"Yeh kya meri awaaz thi? Maine apni awaaz aisi pehle kabhi nahi suni", she speaks. Is this my voice? I have never sounded like this ever before.
Asha Bhosale sang the song Dil cheez kya hai for the film Umrao Jaan (1981), music by Khayyam, lyrics by Shahryar. Muzaffar Ali produced and directed the film based on the 1905 Urdu novel, Umrao Jaan Ada. The novel is the story of a Lucknow courtesan, who gets stuck in a brothel and eventually excels in all forms of art. She becomes very famous and people from all strata of society flock to the brothel to hear her sing her own poetry.
Khayyam and his wife Jagjit Kaur were quite nervous when he took over the assignment for the film's music. Comparisons with Pakeezah were inevitable. That classic film Pakeezah, where Meena Kumari had essayed the character of the courtesan elegantly, which had music by Ghulam Mohammad (later completed by Naushad), and lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri and Kaifi Azmi, and playback by Lata Mangeshkar. How can you top that?
That's when they approached Asha Bhosale. Khayyam says of Asha Bhosale, "Initially she was not offered songs for the heroine because she was typecast as a fast number specialist. But I found her to be very enthusiastic and hard working. She would rehearse for hours. Few know that for Umrao Jaan, I had changed her tone. Initially she protested but when I assured her, she agreed. She sang it beautifully. When she heard the song, she was surprised that she could sing in such a tone. The songs prove her versatility and established her talent."
Umrao Jaan bagged several awards. Asha Bhosale, Khayyam, Rekha, Muzaffar Ali received National Awards for their contributions. Asha Bhosale won the National Award for Best Female Playback Singer for four songs: Dil cheez kya hai, In aankhon ki masti, Jab bhi milti hai and Justju jiski thi. Rekha and Muzaffar Ali also won the Filmfare awards that year for Best Actress and Best Director. Khayyam won the Filmfare for Best Music Director.
Music: Khayyam
Lyrics: Shahryar
Singer: Asha Bhosale
*ing: Rekha
Director: Muzaffar Ali
Film: Umrao Jaan (1981)