Tasvir Teri Dil Mein- The song that sowed the seed of differences between Lata and Rafi

 

It is well-known fact that Rafi and Lata stopped singing together for three or four years. The reason for their tiff was for charging the royalty fee by the singers. Lata wanted Rafi to back her in demanding a half-share from the five percent song royalty that the film’s producer conceded to select composers. Rafi was not in favor of that.Lata stopped talking to Rafi and stopped singing duets with Rafi. 

The actual seeds of differences between them started while recording this romantic song from Maya(1961). The song was a hit and still a favorite of many. Lata rejected the original start of the song, She wanted to start with 5th scale while Rafi was not in agreement but Lata insisted, the composer Salil Chowdhary agreed. When the recording started Rafi made the last improvisation to his lines. Lata noticed it and got upset.  While rendering her lines Lata’s voice tended to sound shrill especially while rendering “…NAINON KA KAJRA…,” while Rafi Sahaab’s rendition of the ‘Antara’ was controlled. 

To make the matter worse, the music director, Salil Chowdhry sided with Lata. Rafi Sahab who had been gaining greater ascendency in the early Sixties felt aggrieved. What happened thereafter is the differences went down to the bottom of the hearts of the two great singers.After this recording they sang duets together in many films  but tried to avoid singing together.

Salida had already made the tune in Bengali, even got it recorded  prior to this Hindi version as a solo song in the voice of Lata It was released in 1960.Mukhada of the Benali song is ‘ Ogo aar kichhu to naai ‘ This Bengali song was written by Salil Da and composed by him.The Hindi version was written by Majrooh Sultanpuri. If you listen both the songs simultaniously you will see the difference Mohmmad Rafi's voice made this song to a different level. The song was picturized on the King of Romance Dev Anand and the elegant looking Mala Sinha. made this as one of the immortal romantic duets of Hindi films.

Lata Mangeshkar had a tiff with S D Burman also both stopped working together (1957-62), she had a tiff with  Shankar (of Shankar-Jaikishen duo),and Raj Kapoor too (for whom she did not sing for his Mera Naam Joker.

Bengali Version, Solo by Lata

 

Song of Maya 1961

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The Story Behind the Song 'Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli'

 

This beautiful song from Anand was sung by Manna De, composed by Salil Da, and written by Yogesh is now 50 years old. This song was included in the film to compensate Yogesh, the lyricist for a song he wrote earlier for this film but not recorded. The Director Hrishikesh Mukharjee thought of obliging Yogesh to write a Title song. 

It being the title song so Salil Da recorded this song in the voice of Manna Dey. When Rajesh Khanna, the hero of the film heard the recorded version of this song, he said that such a lovely composition should not be wasted on the title. He insisted the song be shot on him. It became the first solo song of Manna Dey for Rajesh Khanna. Interestingly all the other songs in this film were sung by Mukesh for Rajesh Khanna.

The song was shot in three hours and only two antaras were kept in the film. As per Yogesh, he wrote 5 antaras, and three antara were recorded but only two were shot. Manna De used to sing the third antara on many stage shows in those days.

According to Bimal Roy's daughter Rinki Bhattacharya, this melody was originally written for a film Anand Mahal which was delayed so Sali Da used this melody here in this movie. Salil Da in an interview once said that arrangement is not a part of Indian music. It is a western concept but he felt it is also essential for a film song else there would be nothing to hold the edifice. For my compositions, I normally use an Indian melody and flavor it with something western.

In this song too Salil created a unique concoction of eastern and East Europian melody.

Song of Anand 1971

50 Years of 'Anand'

 

The characteristic of a great film is a story well presented on screen so as to grab the attention as well as the emotion of the audience. Anand had all the ingredients of a great film. Produced and directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee,, co-written and dialogue by Gulzar starring Rajesh Khanna in the lead role, with a supporting cast including Amitabh Bachchan.

The film was released on 12th March 1971  won several awards, including the Filmfare Award for Best Film in 1972.  The film was a super hit and the third highest-grossing film of 1971. It has since gained a cult following and is hailed as one of the greatest films ever made.

Besides getting the Best Film Award, it also got: Best Actor: Rajesh Khanna.  Best Supporting Actor: Amitabh Bachchan,  Best Dialogue: Gulzar,  Best Editing: Hrishikesh Mukherjee,  Best Story: Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The film also got National Award for the Best Hindi Film.

The film has everything excellent. Acting, direction, story, music, dialogues etc... everything is fabulous. It has drama, humour, emotions in dollops. It is a story of a dying man who looks at life with a positive attitude and enjoys his time knowing fully well his disease is incurable and that he is going to die soon.

Rajesh Khanna as Anand was absolutely brilliant, Amitabh Bachchan was fantastic as Babumoshai. Another highlight was its music by Salil Chowdurywho comes up with an absolutely fantastic score and singers Mukhesh and Manna Dey do complete justice to his tunes.

No.	Title	Singer(s)	Lyricist	Duration
1	"Kahin Door Jab" (Male)	Mukesh	Yogesh	05:52
2	"Maine Tere Liye"	Mukesh	Gulzar	03:09
3	"Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli"[14]	Manna Dey	Yogesh	03:30
4	"Kahin Door Jab" (Female)	Lata Mangeshkar	Yogesh	03:48
5	"Na Jiya Lage Na"	Lata Mangeshkar	Gulzar	03:22
6	"Maut Tu Ek Kavita Hai"	Amitabh Bachchan	Gulzar	00:47

Song of Anand 1971

Song of Anand 1971

Song of Anand 1971

Song of Anand 1971

Suhana Safar Aur Yeh Mausam Haseen - The song that was kept on Hold

This song remains one of the most popular songs of Madhumati, released in 1958. The Madhumati soundtrack features eleven songs composed by Salil Chowdhry. Shailendra wrote the lyrics The soundtrack of Madhumati became the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack of 1958. This remains one of the personal favorite songs of Mukesh.
Suhana Safar Aur Ye Mausam Haseen is one of Hindi cinema’s greatest musical scores. An anthem in praise of natural beauty. Mukesh’s inimitable voice emanates the joy with a fantastic echo effect. Salil Chowdhury utilized this quality so adeptly in this composition that listening to it one feels like none but Mukesh could have rendered this song. Charming its way into people’s hearts and rightly securing his position in the league of legends.
It is said that Dilip Kumar, the hero of the film wanted this song to be sung by Talat Mahmood but Talat himself declined to sing saying Mukesh needed that break much more than him, Mukesh was not getting songs during those years and that he was hard up for money.
There is another story behind this song, that Shailendra who was the lyricist for this song couldn’t find a suitable line to follow this particular one “Ye Gori Nadiyon Ka Chalna Uchhal Kar”. So the song was kept on hold for quite some time till one day, he happened to chance upon a little girl who was crossing a lane and singing to herself. This inspired him to write the next line “Ki Jaise Alhad Chale Pee Se Mil Kar”. He immediately went to Salil Da's home and completed the full song. Shailendra has used words like ‘Alhar’, which is seldom used in film songs and it is north Indian rooted word, generally used by village and small-town folks.
Along with the composition of the song and its picturization; the lyrics were unique. Describing the movement of rivers, 
Unlike other films, shot indoors, Roy decided to shoot Madhumati outdoors and at a hill station. It had a six-week schedule in Ranikhet, Nainital. Some scenes were shot in Ghorakhal, near Nainital. In those days there were no monitors, so when the negatives were developed, it was found that most of the footage was foggy. Since a reshoot in far-away Uttarakhand wasn't possible, sets were created near Vaitarna Dam, Igatpuri, near Nashik. Art direction team, led by Sudhendu Roy, created fake pine trees, which were planted to matched the location in Nainital.

Song of Madhumati 1958

The Milestone Songs of Salil Chowdhury

Very few know that Bimal Roy's classic film Do Bigha Zameen was written by him. He also gave the music of this film. This film took his career to new heights when it became the first film to win the Filmfare Best Movie Award and won the International Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Bollywood got a genius like him. 
Salil Chowdhury (19 November 1923 – 5 September 1995) was an accomplished composer and arranger who was proficient in several musical instruments, including flute, the piano, and the esraj.
Popularly known as Salil Da made his debut in the Hindi Film Industry in 1953 as the Music Director for Do Bigha Zamin.

Salil Chowdhury's contribution to modern Indian music is not as well known as it deserves. The composer's 96th birth anniversary falls on November 19,2019. A tribute.with his Milestone Songs

Song from Madhumati 1958

Song from Parakh 1960 

Song from Usne Kaha Tha 1960

Song from Chhaya 1961

Song from Maya 1961

Song from Kaabuliwala 1961

Song from Anand 1971

Song from Rajnigandha 1974

When Dilip Kumar Sang his own Song

Not many of us know that Dilip Kumar was a very good singer. Many die-hard fans of the maestro still might not have the information about the one instance wherein he actually rendered a classical song in an unbelievable manner in the late 50s. It was a duet with Lata Mangeshkar that too in semi-classical.
It was Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s first film( Musafir 1957) as a director after working with Bimal Roy as an editor and also the first Hindi film for the comedian Keshto Mukherjee. Besides it had a fabulously talented team working together, with Salil Choudhary as the music director, Ritwik Ghatak as a scriptwriter (along with Hrishi Da), dialogues by Rajendra Singh Bedi and lyrics by Shailendra. Written (story), produced and directed by Hrishi Da the film had Suchitra Sen, Durga Khote, Nirupa Roy, Kishore Kumar, Nazir Hussain, David and more playing the key roles.

Since 50s Mohammad Rafi had become the screen voice of Dilip Kumar but Salil Chaudhary wanted someone else to sing this particular song  “Laagi Naahin Chhootey, Chahey Jiya Jaaye” .One day Salil Chaudhary heard Dilip Kumar humming something in his own mood, Salil Da liked it and decided that this song be recorded in Dilip's own voice. It was a Raga based song and a duet with none other than Lata Mangeshkar, Dilip Kumar was reluctant to give his voice but agreed because of the respect felt for the maestro Salil Da.

It is said that Lata Mangeshkar was initially not agreeable, she wanted some professional singer to sing with her but Salil Da insisted that Dilip Kumar would sing this song.

Dilip Kumar performed the song confidently and the rendition really came out to be a truly touching one with great depth and feel, as if it had been sung by a trained classical exponent with perfection.

It is quite astonishing that Dilip Kumar never sang for himself for subsequent films. His singing voice is so soft and mellifluous – somewhere between Talat Mehmood & K.L. Saigal Saab, In fact, you would feel that Mohammad Rafi is singing. Later in 80s, he sang a few lines in Sagina with Kishore Kumar and In Karma.

Song of Musafir 1957

60 Years of Madhumati

Madhumati was released on 12 September 1958. It earned ₹40 million in India and became the highest-grossing Indian film of the year and one of the most commercially successful and influential Indian films of all time. It was one of the earliest films to deal with reincarnation. Directed and produced by Bimal Roy, and written by Ritwik Ghatak and Rajinder Singh Bedi. The film stars Dilip Kumar and Vyjayantimala in the lead roles, with Pran and Johnny Walker in supporting roles.  
 It won nine Filmfare Awards; including Best Film, Best Director, Best Music Director, Best Female Playback Singer, Best Dialogue, Best Art Direction and Best Cinematographer—the most awards for a single film at that time. It also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.

Bimal Roy who made Devdas in 1955 with the same star lead was looking for a hit. His 1955 film Devdas was commercially unsuccessful, jeopardising his company Bimal Roy Productions; he needed a commercial success to survive. The film opened at the Roxy theatre near Opera House  Bombay.“It was a fabulous evening, glamorous and glittering, just like the film premieres on screen.” Like all great movies, this one too inspired a genre of its own, the re-incarnation genre. 

The soundtrack of Madhumati became the best-selling Bollywood soundtrack of 1958. Salil Chowdhury won his first Filmfare Award for Best Music Director. Suhana safar aur yeh mausam haseen is one of the most popular songs by recording artist Mukesh and is regularly played at dandiya functions. The Madhumati soundtrack features eleven songs composed by Salil Chowdhury. Shailendra wrote the lyrics and Mukesh, Lata Mangeshkar, Manna Dey, Mohammed Rafi, Mubarak Begum, Asha Bhosle, Sabita Chowdhury, Ghulam Mohammed and Dwijen Mukhopadhyay provided the vocals.
It is one of the greatest Hindi movies ever made. It’s top notch in terms of cinematography, directing, music, acting and dancing. I rank it among Top 10 Hindi films.Bimal Roy's classics like Sujata, Bandini, Do Bigha Zameen or Devdas, still bears the mark of a master craftsman. And it’s good entertainment value.
The plot focuses on Anand, a modern man who falls in love with a tribal woman named Madhumati. They are unable to have a relationship during their lifetimes and are reincarnated.
The plot focuses on Anand, a modern man who falls in love with a tribal woman named Madhumati. They are unable to have a relationship during their lifetimes and are reincarnated.
The film begins on a dark and stormy night (a recurring motif in the film: all the most dramatic events occur on stormy nights). Two friends – an engineer, Devendra (Dilip Kumar) and a doctor (Tarun Bose) are travelling by car along a mountain road when a fallen tree forces a halt. The driver advises the two men to take shelter in the nearby mansion while he goes off to find help. Devendra and his friend go off to the mansion, which turns out to be a spooky place, dusty and seemingly deserted.

The film was shot at a hill station. It had a six-week schedule at a location in Ranikhet, Nainital. Some scenes were filmed in Ghorakhal near Nainital. When the negatives were developed, most of the footage was found to be fogged. Since a reshoot in far-away Uttarakhand was not possible, sets were created near Vaitarna Dam, Igatpuri. The art direction team, led by Sudhendu Roy, created fake pine trees, which were planted to match the location in Nainital.A large part of the film was filmed in Aarey Milk Colony, a small forested area in Mumbai. A scene in which Dilip Kumar looks for Vyjayanthimala in the woods was filmed in Igatpuri. The foggy effect was recreated using gas bombs.
Commercially it was the biggest hit of Bimal Roys's career. It wiped out his losses of Devdas released in 1955. The fact that it scored over movies like Kala Pani, Sadhana, Phir Subah Hogi, all released the same year, speaks for its power to captivate the audience and hold its attention for long. More than anything, Madhumati, forever, will be remembered for its music.

Think of gems like ‘Suhana Safar Aur Ye Mausam Hasin’, ‘Dil Tadap Tadap Ke Keh Raha Hai’, ‘Aaja Re Mai To Kabse Khadi Is Paar’, ‘Chadh Gayo Paapi Bichua’, ‘Zulmi Sang Aankh Ladi’, ‘Toote Hue Khwabon Ne’ and ‘Ghadi Ghadi Mera Dil Dhadke’, and you know instantly what melody stood for.

Madhumati' is primarily an entertainer but one doesn't think of it as a masala film, and there's a lot to like about it. Wonderful visuals and songs, very good performances, a nicely developed romance, and it's strong on atmospherics as well. It fully delivers on its promise and is quite a charming film.

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Madhumati 1958

Salil Chowdhry - A Creative Genius

It was his ambition to achieve greatness in everything he did. He was a Composer, Music Arranger, Poet, Story writer and many more. But at times, his confusion was fairly evident: “I do not know what to opt for: poetry, story writing, orchestration or composing for films. I just try to be creative with what fits the moment and my temperament”Overall he was a Creative Genious.
Very few know that Bimal Roy's classic film Do Beegha Zameen was written by him. He also gave the music of this film. With this film,this film took his career to new heights when it became the first film to win the Filmfare Best Movie Award and won the International Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Bollywood got a genius like him. 
Salil Chowdhury was born on 19 November 1922 in a village called Harinavi in West Bengal. Salil's childhood was spent in the tea gardens region of Assam. His father was reputed to stage plays with coolies and other low-paid workers of the tea-gardens^[2]. From an early age, he listened to the Western Classical collection of his father.
The first Bengali film in which Salil Chowdhury composed music was Paribortan, released in 1949. The first Hindi film was Do Beegha Zameen in 1953. Next year he gave music for Bimal Roy's "Naukri".One of the notable songs from the film was "Ek Chhoti Si Naukri Ka Talabgaar Hoon Main", sung by Kishore Kumar, Shyam Mitra and Shankar Dasgupta, which reflected the young man's search for jobs. The other songs of note were "Arzi Hamaari Yeh Marzi Hamaari" and "Chhota Sa Ghar Hoga", both sung by Kumar. 
In 1958 released Madhumati, it was once again Bimal Roy's film  It earned ₹40 million in India and became the highest-grossing Indian film of the year, and one of the most commercially successful and influential Indian films of all time.The music of the film was even bigger hit All the songs became immortal songs.. It won nine Filmfare Awards; including Best Film, Best Director, Best Music Director, Best Female Playback Singer, Best Dialogue, Best Art Direction and Best Cinematographer—the most awards for a single film at that time. It also won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi.
After this film released another Bimal Roy's film "Parakh" in 1960, the music of this film once again popular.remember the immortal song of Lata "O Sajna Barkha Bahar Ayi".

After working for about 20 years in Bengali and Hindi films, he entered Malayalam film industry and in 1964 composed music for the movie Chemmeen.

He went on to compose for over 75 Hindi films, 41 Bengali films, around 27 Malayalam films, and a few Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati, Oriya and Assamese films.

Salil was a fan of Mozart, he used to listen, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Chopin, and others every day. He used their symphony in many of his songs. Recall the Talat Mahmood's song from Chhaya " Itna Na Mujhse Too Pyaar Badha"  was inspired by Mozart symphony.

Another important fact about him was his superiority in Background Music. We all know that Salil must have been the only composer who besides composing all the songs in films in 10 languages, composed the title music and the background music for all his films, TV serials and documentaries since the '50s. In fact, he was so good at it that other composers asked him to compose the background music for their films. Some of the noted film directors used his background music without any acknowledgement. Recall the film Kanoon, it was a film with no song the background was the highlight of the film, The Background music was given by Salil Da. Some of his notable films were Bandhini, Pather Panchali.Jagte Raho,Ittefaq,Sara Akash,Anokhi Raat,Mausam and many more.

Songs of Salil Da

Song of Do Beegha Zameen 1953

Song of  Naukri 1954

Song of Jagte Raho  1956

Song of Madhumati 1958

Song of Parakh  1960

Song of Kabuliwala 1961

Song of Chhaya  1961

Song of Maya  1961

Song of Half Ticket  1962

Song of Prem Patra  1962

Song of Anand  1971