Kalyanji Bhai- The Musician behind the Immortal Been Tune of 'Nagin'

 

Kalyanji Bhai of the Kalyanji Anandji music duo started his career as a musician. He was very good at Harmonium, violin, guitar, and drums. He played these instruments under many music directors.

 Kalyanji, who introduced a new electronic instrument called the clavioline. With this instrument, he played the been for a snake sequence in the film Nag Panchami (1953), the music of which was scored by Chitragupt. People came to watch the film just to listen to this music . Hemant Kumar heard this tune and decided to use this in the song "Man Dole Mera Tan Dole" of Nagin(1954). The song and this tune became immortal. 

He was soon the most sought-after musician in Bollywood. Kalyanji then, with his brother Anandji, started an orchestral group called Kalyanji Virji and Party which organized musical shows in Mumbai and outside. This was the first attempt made for holding live musical shows in India.

In 1957 Subhash Desai, the elder brother of the great filmmaker Manmohan Desai signed him as an independent music director. He signed him not for one film but for 11 films in one stretch. The first film was 'Samrat Chandragupt' released in 1958. The film was a hit and the music was also a hit. Recall the most popular song 'Chahe Paas Ho, Chahe Door' by Lata Mangeshkar. 

This was followed by his composing music scores for more films like Post Box 999 before Anandji who was assisting him, joined him officially to form the Kalyanji Anandji duo in Satta Bazar and Madari (1959). Chalia (1961) was their earliest major hit. It was in 1965 his 2 films Himalaya Ki God Mei and Jab Jab Phool Khile made him a great music director.

 He not only mastered in many musical instruments but also be known for introducing Jaz in Hindi films. He used to do mimicry of many artists of his time. He also knew astrology and face reading.
It was the music of Saraswatichandra (1968) that endorsed the genius of the brothers, more so because the classical tunes came soon after their modern Rhapsody in Haseena Man Jayegi.The songs "Chandan sa badan, Phool tumhe bheja hai, Chod de sari duniya, Hamne apna sab kuch khoya... were instant hits.

Both Kalyanji and Anandji worked as music composers for over 250 films, 17 of which were golden jubilees and 39 silver."Jiska Mujhe Tha Intezaar" from Don (1978), "Kabhi Raat Din Hum Door The" from Aamne Saamne (1967), "Yeh Saman" from Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965), "Humare Siva  Tumhare Aur Kitne deewane" from Apradh (1978), "Main Pyaasa Tum saawan' from Faraar (1975), "Jeevan se bhari teri aankhe", "Zindagi ka safar hai ye kaisa Safar", "Pal Pal dilke paas", "Neele Neele Ambar Par" are some of their notable songs. 

Song of Samrat Chandragupt 1958

Song of Chhalia (1960)

Song of Bluff Master, 1963

Song of Jab Jab Phool Khile, 1965

Song of Himalay Ki God Mein, 1965

Song of Upkar 1966

Song of Saraswatichandra, 1968

Song of Purab Aur Paschim, 1970

Song of Sachaa Jhutha, 1970

Song of Safar 1970

Song of Johny Mera Naam, 1970

Song of Kora Kagaz 1974

Song of Dharmatma, 1975

R D Burman-A Magical Maestro

 

His range varied from the catchy 'Aaja Aaja' from Teesri Manzil to the soulful thumri 'Hame Tumse Pyar Kitna' by Parveen Sultana in Kudrat. He also composed the mischievous number Ek Chatur Naar, Badi Hoshiyar from Padosan, and the melodious Tere Bina Zindagi Se koi Shikwa to Nahin from Aandhi

A magical maestro, he could conjure up a serenading classical raga theme or a peppy Western romantic tune out of thin air. He Revolutionised Hindi Film Music by introducing new elements (jazz and rock styles) into Hindi film songs For several decades, he produced iconic music in Hindi and Bengali for as many as 330 films. Most of the current generation of music directors have been influenced by him.

He was the master of experiments and changed the way one would look at music. His voice modulation brought in a new dimension to popular music. Burman brought in various innovations to the background music of Hindi and Bengali films. His unconventional way of generating rhythm would totally blow one’s mind in those times. Objects used in daily life found a place in his compositions. For Meri Samne Wali Khidki Main, the whooshing sound came from rubbing a comb on a coarse shell. For  ‘Chura Liya' from Yaadon Ki Baraat? he created that sound using glasses and spoons.

R.D. Burman was born in Calcutta on June 27th, 1939, in Calcutta.  His father was the legendary music director S.D. Burman and his mother was  Meera a classical singer.  As a child, he was nicknamed "Pancham".  Music was natural to him, there was the influence of growing up in his father's home, with constant music surrounding him.  Furthermore, after the family moved from Calcutta to Bombay, he started to learn sarod from the famous Ali Akbar Khan.  He also learned to play the harmonica.  With such a musical environment, it is not surprising that he started to compose music very quickly.  He was only nine years old when he composed his first song; this was Aye Meri Topi Palat Ke Aa and his father used it in the film "Funtoosh" 1956.

In his teenage, he started assisting his father. His name first appeared on the big screen as assistant music director in "Solva Saal" (1958). After that, he assisted his father in almost all the films till Jewel Thief(1967).

  His first released film as a music director was Mehmood's "Chote Nawaab" (1961).  From there his career was firmly launched."Teesri Manzil" (1967) marked a major milestone in his career.  From this point on, he well established and was able to be the music director for a number of major films.  This brought him a number of successful films such as "Padosan" (1968) and "Waris" (1969).  The dawn of the 70s saw RD Burman become Bollywood's most sought-after music director.  This was represented by such immortal hits as Kati Patang (1970), "Amar Prem" (1971), "Hare Rama Hare Krishna" (1971), Carvaan (1970), "Seeta Aur Geeta" (1972), Jawani Diwani(1972), Yadon Ki Barat, "Sholay" (1975), and Aandhi (1975).

The mid-1980s were a very hard time for R.D. Burman, both personally as well as professionally.  The general perception was that he had lost his touch.  The songs that he did, generally failed to make a major impact on the public. 

  In 1988 at the age of 49, he suffered a heart attack.  He underwent surgery and continued to make music.  But his career limped into the 1990s with very lackluster commercial success.  There were a few exceptions to the public rejection of his music, most notably "1942: A Love Story".  But by and large, he was considered finished in the Bollywood film industry.  At the age of 54, he suffered another heart attack.  With his wife Asha at his side, he died on January 4, 1994.

His first composition at the age of 9 

Song of Funtoosh 1956

He played Harmonica in this song

Song of Solva Saal 1958

Song of Chhote Nawab 1961

Song of Bhoot Bangla 1965

Song of Teesri Manzil 1967

Song of Padosan 1968

Song of Waris" (1969)

Song of Kati Patang (1970)

Song of Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971)

Song of Amar Prem (1971)

Song of Caravan 1971

Song of Mere Jeevan Saathi, 1972

Song of Yaadon Ki Baaraat (1973)

Song of Sholay (1975)

Song of Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977)

Song of 1942: A Love Story (1994)

Melodies of Madan Mohan and Mohammad Rafi

 

Madan Mohan worked with all the legendary male playback singers of the time, including Talat Mahmood, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, and Hemant Kumar, the maximum songs were sung by the great Mohd. Rafi Saab. Between solos and duets, Rafi Saab sang almost 170 songs for Madanji.

 Madan Mohan scored his first big break with the film Aankhen in 1950, which marked the beginning of a long-lasting collaboration with Mohammed Rafi. The song was 'Hum Ishq Mein Barbad' was a serious song. Next few years were the testing time for Madan Mohan, he gave more songs to Talat mehmood and one or two songs to Rafi. The song 'Basti Basti Parbat Parbat' from Railway Platform (1955) was the first hit song of this combination.The next memorable song was'Tujhe Kya Sunaun Mein Dilruba' from Aakhri Dao (1958). In the 1960s they gave many memorable songs. Here are a few of the great songs of this combination.

Song of Aankhen 1950

Song of Railway Platform (1955)

Song of Aakhri Dao (1958).

Song of Adalat 1958

Song of Aap Ki Parchhaiyan  1964

Song of Sharabi 1964

Song of Gazal 1964

Song of Haqeeqat1964

Song of Neela Akash 1965

Song of Dulhan Ek Raat Ki 1966

Song of Mera Saya 1966

Song of Naunihal 1967

Song of Naunihal 1967

Song of Heer Ranjha 1970

Song of Hanste Zakhm 1973

Song of Laila Majnu 1976

DAAN SINGH- Zikr Hota Hai Jab Qayamat Ka, Tere Jalwo Ki Baat Hoti Hai

 

Recall the songs "Woh Tere Pyar Ka Gham,Ek Bahana Hai Sanam" and "Zikra Hota Hai Jab Qyamat ka Tere Jalwo Ki Baat Hoti Hai" both songs sung by Mukesh from the film MY LOVE released in 1970 starring Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore. The music of this film was given by Daan Singh.

He was very talented but unlucky to get success in Bollywood. He was a disciple of Khemchand Prakash from a very young age. He became his assistant in a few films like Mahal (1949). After the untimely death of Knemchand Prakash, he couldn't get any work in Bollywood, he shifted to Jaipur and joined AIR Jaipur as a Music Asst.

In 1963, he was signed by J P Sharma as an independent music director for the film Bhool Na Jana based on the China attack but the film got banned and it was never released. His next 3 films, Ret ki Ganga, Matlabi, and Bahadur Shah Jafar, were shelved. 

His first released film was a B grade film TOOFAN-1969 unfortunately except for a duet by Mukesh and Asha Bhonsle was popular. His next film was My Love(1970) starring Shashi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore, the music of this film was successful but the film was unsuccessful so he was labeled as an unsuccessful music director. 

He returned back to Jaipur once again. He got a few Rajasthani films in Jaipur but here also none of his films got released. His bad luck followed him here also, he died on 18th June 2011. He had no children

Song of Toofan 1969

Song of My Love 1970

Song of My Love 1970

Song of My Love 1970

The Super Hit Combination of Hemant Kumar, Dada Burman and Dev Anand

 

 In the early 50s, Dev Saab didn’t believe in making one singer his ‘voice’ and juggled between  Mohd. Rafi, Talat Mehmood, Hemant Kumar, and Kishore Kumar. The super hit combination of Dev with Hemant Kumar under the music direction of Dada Burman gave many Immortal Romantic Songs. He became the romantic voice of Dev Anand. He sang only 16 songs as playback for Dada Burman and 10 of those were on Dev Anand and all of them were hits. What a stupendous record.

Hemant Da in an interview said that it was S D Burman who understood the potential of his voice.The romantic pairing of my voice with his (Dev Anand’s) screen image was created by Sachin Babu (SD Burman). People simply loved it. The first song of this combination was 'from Sazaa (1951) with 'Aa Gup Chhup Gup Chhup Pyar Karen' and then the massive hit next year in Jaal,(1952) 'Yeh Raat Yeh Chandani Phir Kahan, Sun Jaa Dil ki Dastan'.

Though he sang for Dev Anand under the composition of other Music Directors also but here we are talking about the songs of this great trio.

Song of Sazaa 1951

Song of Jaal 1952

Song of Jaal 1952

Song of House No 44 1955

Song of Munim Ji 1955

Song from Solva Saal(1958)

Song from Manzil (1960)

Song from Baat Ek Raat Ki (1962)

Prem Dhawan - A Multi-Talented Personality of Bollywood

 

Most of us remember him as a lyricist but he was a multi-talented personality. He started his film career as an assistant music director to Khurshid Anwar in Aaj Aur Kal(1947). He got his first film Ziddi(1948) as a lyricist with a hit song .'Chanda Re, Ja Re Ja Re' sung by Lata Mangeshkar and composed by Khemchand Prakash. Since then he wrote many memorable songs like "Seene Mein Sulagte Hain Armaan" from Tarana(1951) or "Zindagi Khawab Hai" from Jagte Raho(1956)'

Manoj Kumar had high regard for his talent, he offered him, Shaheed(1965) to give its music as well as write songs. He wrote the immortal song ' Rang De Basanti Chola'. Apart from his career as a lyricist and composer, acted in two films, Lajawab (1950) and Goonj Uthi Shehnai (1959). He also worked as a choreographer for seven films Arzoo (1950) was the first film as a choreographer, his choreographed song 'Ude Jab Jab Zulfein Teri' and 'Yeh Desh Hai Veer Jawano Ka' from Naya Daur (1957) are immortal.

He also appeared in the song 'Ari O Mohe Chhed Gaya Re from the 1949 film Singaar as a dancer with Cuckoo. He also choreographed the popular song ' Hariyala Sawan Dhol Bajata Aaya' from 'Do Bigha Zameen(1953)'

He was born on 13th June 1923, in Ambala in Hariyana District. His father was Jail superintendent and because of his job, Prem Dhawan got to travel a lot in undivided India with his family, where he got an opportunity to study various cultures and be a part of it. He completed his college education in Lahore where Sahir & Indrakumar Gujral were his best friends.

Prem Dhawan was an underrated music director and lyricist. He composed several films. His songs were full of typical Punjabi flavor. He could not shine as a successful composer, but his few films need a mention like, Shaeed (1965), Pavitra Papi (1970), Raat Ke Aandhere Mein (1987) etc.

He got the National Award for Best Lyrics for the Punjabi film Nanak Dukhiya Sub Sansar (1970). He died on 7 May 2001, at the age of 78, following a cardiac arrest.

Song of Ziddi 1948

Prem Dhawan as a Dancer

Song of Singaar1949

Song of Tarana 1951

Song of Hum Hindustani 1960

Song of Kaabuliwala 1961

Song of  Shaheed 1965

Song of  Ek Phool Do Mali (1969)

Song of Pavitra Paapi 1970

Song of Purab Aur Paschim (1970)