MADAN MOHAN PART II

FROM KHOTA PAISA TO AKELI MAT JAIYO

Madan Mohan, the playback singers & the film artistes

By Kohinoor Dasgupta

This phase gave us a composer who had earned a degree of freedom to influence and elevate public taste. Hindustani Classical music was openly informing a range of Madan Mohan songs, voiced parts as well as the orchestra. He found within himself a wishing well of melody, full of elixir and, like Nalini Jaywant’s well in Railway Platform, untouched by commercial interests.  

Kahan phir mai / Geeta Dutt

Khota Paisa, Nightclub, Minister and Jagir were very different films of 1957 and 1958.

Madan Mohan chose Raag Jog for Asha Bhosle’s song Jogiya (Yogi) for Khota Paisa. Bhosle adorns the song with quicksilver Classical infusions. Remember, the situation in the film is a trope of Hindi cinema: a beautiful woman (here, Shyama) disrupting the practice of a yogi (here, Johnny Walker). In other words, not only is the situation set up to guarantee crude entertainment, but Johnny Walker's presence guarantees comedy. Seriously, the man is funny even when he sits motionless, with his eyes closed. Yet what a classy number Madan Mohan wrings out of the situation, fully exploiting Bhosle's familiarity with Classical music.

Nightclub has a young Helen performing the dramatic cabaret number Kahan phir mai kahan phir tum? (When again will you and I be in the same place?) Down the years, Madan Mohan gave Geeta Dutt a number of songs which showed off her vivacious style and seductive voice.

Sanam jab ghar se nikal ke chalo (Lover, when you leave your home), sung by Asha Bhosle, though also performed at the nightclub, could have been sung anywhere. Mubark, good-humored, flattering, interpreting the tone of the song, tries to stall Ashok Kumar the policeman. It is one of those Hindi film songs which sashay on while drinks are poisoned and corpses are moved. Another such song is Bhosle’s amazing Ek mutthi mein dil, ek mutthi mein pyar (Heart in one fist, love in another) from the mid-1970s film Sharafat Chhod Di Maine. Ek mutthi mein dil is a Lakshmi Chhaya cabaret that cuts away to gangster shenanigans.

Un ankhon mein / Lata Mangeshkar

Minister is about an idealistic lawyer turned politician, played by Sohrab Modi. When his only son marries, he welcomes the young woman into the family with this blessing: "Sada sachchai ke path pe raho” (Always stay on the path of Truth). By and by the daughter-in-law (played by Roopmala) makes a choice and, like the Minister himself, pays a tremendous price for being honest. Un ankhon mein neend kahan (Sleep shuns those eyes) is sung by her when her life is falling apart. The song reaches for that deeply emotional, fantastical register that is the hallmark of some Madan Mohan-Mangeshkar songs.

Tucked away in the reels of Minister are a few verses of Vande Mataram sung by Shamshad Begum.

Mane na / Lata Mageshkar

Wafaon ke badle / Asha Bhosle

Jagir was based on a story by Manmohan Mattu. Carnival dancer Jyoti (Meena Kumari) performs the song Mane na, mane na (Doesn’t listen to me), set in Raag Bageshree. Imagine going to a carnival and hearing Mane na live! As far as Madan Mohan was concerned, everyone deserved good music.

Raja Mehdi Ali Khan returned to write lyrics for Madan Mohan in Jagir. In the film, Mane na forebodes the moral conflict between Jyoti and Jeevan (Premnath). Later, the carnival owner stages a solo dance for wealthy patrons whom she intends to rob, one way or another. Light-footed Sheila Vaz (who passed away in June 2022) dances gracefully to Asha Bhosle’s Wafaon ke badle jafaa kar rahen hain (He gives cruelty in return for my devotion). This song sounds like a tribute from Madan Mohan to the early work of his idol Begum Akhtar, say in Deewana banana hai to.

The Mangeshkar sisters, with their commitment to getting it right, and their training in Hindustani Classical music, took up both songs by several notches. With the help of these magnificent artistes, Madan Mohan would keep on trying to blur the lines between the types of music considered kosher by society and music that carried a stigma because it was purposed for prostitution or was part of entertainment provided for the male gaze by helpless and exploited women.

Preetam daras dikhayo/ Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar

Ay haseeno / Kishore Kumar

Chacha Zindabad is an endearing film directed by Om Prakash, who also plays the role of a Parsi miser. In the film, the friendship between two elderly men (played by Gajanan Jahagirdar and Raj Mehra) is put to the test by the young generation, represented by Vinod (Kishore Kumar) and Renu (Anita Guha).

Music-obsessed Madan Mohan even composed an interesting overture for the title scroll. The composer was, of course, proud of his formal and lovely Lalit-based song, Preetam daras dikhayo (Beloved, return) written by Rajinder Krishen and sung by Dey and Mangeshkar. Pitted against that number from Renu’s Classical dance show is Ay haseenon, nazneenon mai dil hatheli pe leke aaya hoon (Beauties, charmers, I am here to woo you all), sung by Kishore Kumar at his (Vinod’s) spectacular public debut as a pop singer.

Yaad jab aati teri / Talat Mahmood

The Geeta Bali-Shammi Kapoor starrer Mohar (1959) has the folksy number Tum ho saath raat bhi haseen hai (You are here, the evening is pretty) which seems to make over Ramaiyya vasta vaiya of Shree 420 (1955), composed by Shankar Jaikishan, into a song of joy laced with fear of the future. A companion piece to Tum ho saath is Mahmood’s Yaad jab aaye teri (When I remember you). Rajinder Krishen brings up death in both songs, and the music has a manic buzz. How gifted was Madan Mohan to present a range of iterations of obsessive love! Remember Main paagal from Ashiana and Yeh duniya yeh mehfil from Heer Ranjha (1970)?

Mohammed Rafi sang an unusual duet with Mangeshkar in Mohar: Ay humsafar, bata de (Tell me, Companion-for-life).

Sabaa se /Asha Bhosle

Shekhar played another man in jeopardy in Bank Manager (1959). The song Sabaa se yeh keh do (Tell the breeze), sung by Bhosle, was written by Jalal Malihabadi. Minoo Mumtaz, whose character entraps the hero, presents the song at a mushaira in Lucknow. The mood rather suits the tragic way her job ends, than the beginning. Madan Mohan’s composition has a regal air that suited Minoo Mumtaz’s persona. It is the first in a style of lyrical Madan Mohan songs that Mohammed Rafi would glory in and make his own, songs with long-drawn notes and a softness to them, such as Meri awaaz suno, Aap ke pahloo mein and Tumhari zulf ke saaye mein.

Dil unko utha ke / Lata Mangeshkar

Dil unko uthake de diya (Fell in love) from Baap Bete (1959) is a number in the Ay humsafar, bata de mold, light-hearted and enjoying a lightness of being. Another song from the film is Rajinder Krishen’s dandya-type number, Main to jaoon na Jamna kinare (I won’t venture to the riverside). It is close in tune and tempo to Mangeshkar’s own Azaad hit, Radha na bole, na bole. Coyness-timorousness-anticipation is one combination from a set of emotions which poets down the ages have created and reused to allude to the temporal love of Radha and Krishna. Kaise jaoon Jamuna ke teer? is a well-known traditional thumri. To return to the dandya-style number from Baap Bete: the line "Wahan sawla salona ek jadoogar aati-jati pe jadoo dale” (There, by the Yamuna, a dark-skinned magician casts spells) echoes a Tagore Radha saying (in Bangla): "Shunechhi, muroti kalo, tare na dekha bhalo/ Shokhi bolo, ami jol anite Jamunay jabo ki?" (I hear he is dark-skinned, (and I hear) it is better not to clap eyes on him. Girl, dare I go to the river to fetch water?)

Beraham aasma / Talat Mahmood

The 1960 film Bahana features the song Beraham aasma, meri manzil kahan hai, bata (Pitiless heavens/ How else do you mean to unravel me?) sung by Mahmood for Sajjan. Mahmood's perfect emotional key, Rajinder Krishen’s lyrics, the tune, and the oppressive orchestral arrangement pile on the feeling of claustrophobia even under the sky. A musical thread connects this song to Chand maddham hai aasma chup hai.  

Woh bhooli dastan/ Lata Mangeshkar

Bhooli huin yaadon /Mukesh

The dramatic song Woh bhooli dastan (That forgotten story) was a highlight of Sanjog (1961). The wonder of this Madan Mohan composition is that it really sounds like a person trying to remember. Questions are duly plotted with rising notes, doubts are broken synapses and severed musical connections. Memory is a huge hall of shadows where Laali (played by Anita Guha) is bumping into vaguely familiar objects. Mukesh's Bhooli huin yaadon (Memories) is the missing half of Laali's puzzle. It begins with an echo effect and has a busy orchestral arrangement, as if mimicking an onslaught of uncomfortable memories. The rising notes of the Mukesh number sound plaintive. Pradeep Kumar's character is not seeking answers. He remembers only too clearly!

Aapki nazron ne / Lata Mangeshkar

Anpadh (1962) was a resounding success for Madan Mohan. All its songs were popular. The project was another superlative collaboration between Raja Mehdi Ali Khan and Madan Mohan and Lata Mangeshkar. The film, written and directed by Mohan Kumar, had a strong message: educate your daughters and sisters. Illiteracy was the bane of multitudes of Indian women in those days. Mala Sinha, who played the main role in Anpadh, heard the tune of Aapki nazron ne samjha /Pyar ke qabil mujhe (You found me worthy of love) from the horse’s mouth at Bombay Racecourse! Madan Mohan himself hummed the not-yet-recorded song for her and her father. The words sound old-fashioned now, speaking to a wife’s need to be validated by her husband. However, the film tried very hard to shock girls and their parents out of precisely these sorts of emotional dependencies. So, enjoy the song!

Jiya le gayo ji mora sanwariya (He took my heart away), enacted by Shashikala, is based on Yaman. Not all Yaman-based compositions were created alike by Madan Mohan. Recall, for instance, Ja re badra ja re (Go, cloud) from Bahana and Zara si aahat (The slightest rustle) from Haqueeqat (1964).

Zaroohat hai / Kishore Kumar

Main to tum sang / Lata Mangeshkar

No song can be further in presentation from Aapki nazron ne samjha than Kishore Kumar's Zaroorat hai, zaroorat hai (Wanted!) from Man Mauji (1962), but this song is needy too! Kishore Kumar (he is the hero of the film) is looking for a dutiful bride again (remember Mem Sahib?), but Rajinder Krishen infuses humor and tacks on a promise to treat the domestic goddess as a beloved and worshipped companion.

Man Mauji featured Sadhana, the beautiful actress forever associated with several of Madan Mohan’s other-worldly songs. A beloved number which Sadhana enacts in this film, Main to tum sang nain milake haar gayi sajana (I paid a price for loving you) prefigures those ethereal beauties. The song starts quiet as a musing, seems to lose feeling when the percussion picks up, but recovers in the following stanzas through the intense emotion (of disappointment) conveyed by Mangeshkar.

Woh jo milte the kabhi / Lata Mangeshkar

The Meena Kumari-Rajendra Kumar starrer Akeli Mat Jaiyo (1963) has a song that seems to belong with the dressy music of Jahan Ara (1964). Woh jo milte the kabhi (He used to be different), written by Majrooh Sultanpuri, however, is apt for the story of Akeli Mat Jaiyo. Setting aside its musical arrangement, the song illustrates the intuitive quality of Madan Mohan’s music. Does it not sound like bewilderment, questions, doubts? At this point in his career, Madan Mohan spoke and thought in music.

In the collage:

Row 1 (l to r): Madan Mohan, Madan Mohan & Mohammed Rafi, Roopmala

Row 2 (l to r): Lata Mangeshkar & Mohammed Rafi, Mala Sinha, Mubark

Row 3 (l to r): Lakshmi Chhaya, Helen, Talat Mahmood & Madan Mohan

Row 4 (l to r): Sadhana, Sajjan, Anita Guha, Meena Kumari