Chhaayaageet #89 - “Arre tu kab tak mandolin bajayega?”
His father teaches him to play the mandolin at a very early age. Music runs in the family. Father is a renowned trumpeter, older brother plays the violin. The family falls on hard times. The boys, still in their early teens, start looking for gigs playing music. They are that good.
The elder boy gets work as a violinist for well known composers. Through him, at the young age of 14, the younger boy gets a chance to play mandolin in film for a very popular song. Only 14, mind you, and playing as part of a film orchestra!
One day the younger boy goes for riyaaz to his elder brother's violin teacher. The teacher says to him, "Arre tu kab tak mandolin bajayega?" How long will you play the mandolin?
"To mein kya karun?" Then what shall I do? The boy asks.
"Tu guitar seekh", the teacher advises. You learn the guitar.
It is the 1960s. Western instruments like the guitar are becoming popular on the music scene.
"Kis se seekhun?", the boy asks. Who can I learn from?
"Anibal ke paas ja", the teacher suggests. Go to Anibal.
Anibal Castro, India's leading jazz musician, trombonist, and lead guitarist, has played in the film industry with nearly all of the great musicians of the time, and has also played all over Europe, in Portugal and Germany where he lived for four years. Anibal could play any genre, in different styles, Bossa nova, jazz blues, you name it. He could play on nylon or metal, acoustic or electric, pluck at strings or with a pick, six string or twelve, bass or lead. Who better to learn from? And people like Anibal give with a thousand hands. It is up to you how much you can take.
Thus the young boy moves from mandolin to guitar. But his mandolin knowledge makes him a unique guitarist. Over time, the younger boy joins his elder brother's orchestra as a guitarist, often riffing on tunes by himself in between sittings.
Thus, the stage is set for something magical to happen when one afternoon the filmmaker stops by in a bit of a hurry. What is the reason for the hurry?
Over in the studio, the set is being prepared. A round trolley shot is setup for the camera to go around the actor and actress in circles. The actor is supposed to sit on a sofa and play the guitar. Lighting is not ready yet.
Seeing the shot being readied, the actor asks the filmmaker, "Kya bajana hai mujhe?" What am I going to play? He wants to know the music so he can familiarize himself with it.
"Tune nahin hai. Aise hi bajao", the filmmaker responds. There is no tune. Just play.
"Aise kaise bajaun? Mujhe to guitar bajani aati nahin. Koi cassette to bajao. I must hear something so I can copy it." How can I just play? I can’t play the guitar. At least put some cassette on so I can copy it.
The filmmaker is in a fix.
It will take a couple of hours for the lighting to be ready. "Mein abhi aata hoon". I will be back. The filmmaker decides to make a hurried visit to the composer to get some dummy track for the actor to play along to. They can record something else later.
Hence the hurry. He doesn't have much time.
"Tune chahiye shooting ke liye. Round trolley shot hai. Hero sofa pe baitha hai aur guitar baja raha hai." Need a tune for the shoot. It is a round trolley shot. The hero is on the sofa and playing the guitar.
The mandolin guitarist is also there listening to the conversation. He knows the story of the film. The tune repeats connecting different plot lines. He offers to play a couple of tunes. The filmmaker loves the first one.
"Ye hi wala rakhenge", the filmmaker says. We will keep the first one. The composer also agrees.
They record the rough version on a cassette and the filmmaker rushes back to the set to shoot the sequence.
Gorakh Sharma, younger brother of Pyarelal of Laxmi-Pyare duo, composed and played the haunting guitar melody in Subhash Ghai's Karz (1980). It became immensely popular and became one of the most recognized theme music tracks in Hindi cinema.
Watch Gorakh Sharma playing this tune live in concert, an electrifying performance.
Gorakh Sharma, at the age of 14, played the mandolin in the famous song Chaudhvi ka chaand in Gurudutt's Chaudhvi Ka Chaand (1960). He has played extensively for Laxmikant Pyarelal but has also played for many other composers.
Once RD Burman sent for him. "Gorakh ko bulao". Ask Gorakh to come. When Gorakh came to RD's studio, RD asked him, "Tu bass bajayega? Bhupi lead baja raha hai." Will you play bass? Bhupi is playing the lead. The guitar riff you hear in Dum Maro Dum from Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971) is played by two of the industry's leading guitarists, Bhupinder Singh, who went on to become a singer, and Gorakh Sharma.
Gorakh dada, as he was popularly known, also played guitar solos for other composers such as Shiv-Hari in Silsila, the guitar that plays in the start of the song Yeh kahan aa gaye hum and in between for Amitabh's voiceover of Mein aur meri tanhayee. He also played for Rajesh Roshan in Julie, and RD Burman. Enjoy his guitar solos in other popular songs below.
Even though the Karz tune is inspired by George Benson's We as Love, the improvisations by Gorakh Sharma are beautiful and one cannot deny his talent and contributions to Hindi cinema.
Guitar: Gorakh Sharma
Music: Laxmikant-Pyarelal
*ing: Rishi Kapoor, Simi Garewal
Director: Subhash Ghai
Film: Karz (1980)