Chhaayaageet #90 - “Tu bas apne aapko sher samajhna.”

The composer is walking the singer through the new tune. It is a debut film for both the actor and the actress. Despite the new artists, it is a big banner film. No expenses are being spared. The film is mostly being shot outdoors and in the mountains. The songs need to do justice to the location.

“This song is a duet”, says the composer.

“Ok, but who is the other singer?” The singer is curious now. The composer mentions her name. The singer is taken aback and shocked to hear the name. There is visible nervousness on his face.

“Unke saath mein kaise gaa sakta hoon?”, he manages to get a few words out. How can I sing with her? She is the leading female singer of the era. Pretty much an industry just by herself. He will be fortunate just to see her sing, forget singing along with her.

Now it's not like he is a complete rookie. He has made some waves through some lucky breaks recently. In the last film he did, the songs were all initially composed for the leading male voice of the industry but he passed away. Since his voice was similar, he was called to sing all the songs. All the songs were well received.

But this is different. His nervousness is still there. The composer notices all this. “Tu bas apne aapko sher samajhna”, he tries to boost his singer’s confidence. You just imagine yourself to be a lion.

It is recording day. He is in complete awe when he sees the female singer. She sings her part but he freezes every time it's his turn to sing. He forgets his lines and is just unable to sing. His mind goes back to the time of his youth. He would put his ear next to the wall to hear her song on his neighbor's radio. Now he is standing next to her completely frozen.

The female singer recognizes his nervousness. This is not the first time she is singing along with a junior artist. She calls the composer into the recording room. “Paanch minute ki break lete hain. Kuch chai wai mangwao.” Let’s take a 5 minute break. Order in some tea.

Tea and biscuits are brought in. Both of them start sipping their teas. “Aur kaun kaun hai tumhare ghar mein. Kuch apne baare mein batao.” Who all are in your family? Tell me about yourself. The female singer strikes up a casual conversation with him to make him feel comfortable. Suddenly they are chatting like old friends.

They start recording again after the break. This time he has his confidence back and gives his best performance. She has brought the best out of him.

After the recording, he starts walking back home. His guest house is a couple of kilometers from the recording studio. On the way, he thinks to himself, “Kitna kharaab gaaya maine. In sab ko pata chal gaya hoga ki mein seekha weekha nahin hoon. Bas mera career ab khatam.” How bad I sang. They must have all realized that I haven’t formally learnt singing. Now my career is over.

But soon he starts getting offers for another song and another and another…

Shabbir Kumar sang the song Badal yun garajta hai for the movie Betaab along with Lata Mangeshkar. The song was composed by RD Burman and written by Anand Bakshi. During the same time, while recording for Betaab, Shabbir Kumar was recording for other films such as Coolie and Woh Saat Din. Those were all solo songs or with other junior female singers. Betaab was the first time when he got the opportunity to sing along with Lata Mangeshkar. He got too nervous and had to have his nerves settled so he could complete the song.

Shabbir Kumar got a break in the movie Coolie when Mohammed Rafi passed away. Manmohan Desai and Laxmikant Pyarelal had all songs initially composed for Rafi Saab. When Rafi was no more, Manmohan Desai remembered Shabbir Kumar’s song Ek akela mann ka panchi from the movie Sardar. He really liked it and asked him to sing all the songs of Coolie. Shabbir Kumar claims that when he attended Rafi's funeral in 1980, his wristwatch fell into Rafi's open grave. He interpreted the incident as a divine message that he was to be Rafi's successor.

In the 31st Filmfare Awards, Shabbir Kumar was nominated for Best Male Singer for 3 songs, Jab hum jawaan honge, Parbaton se aaj mein from Betaab and Yaad teri aayegi from Ek Jaan Hain Hum.

He went on to give several hits in movies such as Pyar Jhukta Nahin, Teri Meherbaniyan, Meri Jung, Woh Saat Din, and Tezaab.

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Shabbir Kumar
Music: RD Burman
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
*ing: Sunny Deol, Amrita Singh
Director: Rahul Rawail
Film: Betaab (1983)