The First Generation Composers of Bollywood

The first few songs to hit the nation as a whole may well have been from ACHHUT KANYAA and some contemporary Sagar Movietone productions. The time was 1935-36, and if this is where it started, we might have a candidate here for bringing in the Golden Age.
Hindi Film Music in the 40s was changing, new experiments and modern techniques were tried. In this decade playback singing started. The 1940s were the years of flux. A new order came into existence. More robust Punjabi style of music pushed back the soft Bangla style. Playback singers replaced the genre of singing stars.
The technique of recording song was rudimentary, The studios at that time only had two microphones. It would usually take around four to eight hours to make a song, but the preparations for a few difficult compositions would go on for a month. in spite of that many immortal songs were created by our first generation Composers. In this blog, I take four composers who gave the film songs, still in its infancy, a distinct identity.

Saraswati Devi,(1912 – 1980), was an Indian director of music and score composer who worked in Hindi cinema in the 1930s and 1940s. She was the first female composer, working with Bombay Talkies, and is most noted for her score, Mein Ban ki Chiriyra Banke Bun Bun Bolun Re (Achut Kanya 1936). 
Also in 1936, she gave the music for the film, Janmabhoomi, it was released during the Indian independence movement, and featured one of the first explicit nationalistic songs of Hindi cinema, "Jai Jai Janani Janmabhoomi" written by J. S. Kashyap.  Subsequently, a tune from the chorus of this song was used by the BBC as a signature tune for its Indian News Service.

Song of Jeevan Naiya (1936)

She composed the song Koi Humdum Na Raha originally sung by Ashok Kumar in the film Jeevan Naiya (1936) and later sung by Kishore Kumar in Jhumroo (1961). She was also the original composer of the famous song "Ek Chatur Naar" originally sung by Ashok Kumar in film Jhoola (1941) later sung by Manna Dey and Kishor Kumar in film Padosan.

Pankaj Mullick (10 May 1905 – 19 February 1978), he introduced Rabindra Sangeet to Hindi film industry. He contributed in various capacities to Bengali, Hindi, Urdu and Tamil language films for 38 years, starting in 1931. He worked as music director to artists like K.L. Saigal, S.D. Burman, Hemanta Mukherjee, Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle. He acted with famous film actors like K L Saigal, P.C. Barua and Kanan Devi. Along with Nitin Bose and his renowned sound engineer brother Mukul Bose, Mullick introduced playback singing in Indian cinema.
In 1933, he made his debut as an independent music director for a Hindi/Urdu film Yahudi Ka Ladki, a New Theatres costume drama directed by Premankur Atorthi. Pankajbabu was one of the first music-arrangers and orchestra conductors to extensively use western musical forms and instruments like the piano and the accordion in composing music for Indian films. The imaginative use of background music to emphasise the mood, action and tempo of the film scenes is one of Pankaj Mullick’s great contributions to music in Indian cinema.
Pankaj Mullick along with RC Boral  composed music for some of the most memorable films – many of these had Bengali and Hindi/Urdu versions – such as Hem Chandra’s Krorepati/The Millionaire (1936), Nitin Bose’s Didi/President (1937), PC Barua’s Grihadaha/Manzil (1936), Maya (1936), both Hindi & Bengali, 1936 and the classic Devdas (1935) in Hindi which had KL Saigal singing the immortal Balam Aaye Baso Mere Man Mein and Dukh Ke Din Ab Beete Nahin 

Song of Zindagi (1940).

Pankaj Mullick was successful in persuading  Saigal to bring down his high pitch in order to control his nasal twang and the result was evergreen songs like the lullaby So Ja Rajkumari So Ja in PC Barua’s Hindi film, Zindagi (1940).

Anil Biswas (7 July 1914 – 31 May 2003), an Indian film playback singer and music composer from 1935 to 1965, who apart from being one of the pioneers of playback singing, is also credited for the first Indian orchestra of twelve pieces and introducing orchestral music and full-blooded choral effects, into Indian cinema. 
He also worked as a singer, lyricist and composer, with the 'Hindustan Recording Company', where Kundan Lal Saigal and Sachin Dev Burman, before migrating to Bombay themselves.
Mehboob Khan's Jagirdar (1937), a commercially hit, established him as a musical force in the film industry. Soon many more independent assignments came his way, most notably, 300 Days and After, Gramophone Singer, Hum Tum Aur Woh, Ek Hi Raasta, and Mehboob Khan's Watan (1938), Alibaba (1940), the classic, Aurat(1940), Bahen (1941), before working with him again, in Roti (1942), for which he also credited with the story and concept,and which featured many songs by film's actress, Akhtaribai Faizabadi(Begum Akhtar)

Song of Kismet(1943).

A master in western symphonic music was known for the Indian classical or folk elements, especially Baul and Bhatiyali in his music. Out of his over 90 films, most memorable were, Roti (1942), Kismet (1943), Anokha Pyaar (1948), Taraana(1951), Waaris (1954), Pardesi (1957) and Char Dil Char Rahen (1959).

Khemchand Prakash ( 12 December 1907 - 10 August 1949), was assistant to composer Timir Baran in Devdas (1935 film), and he sang a comedy song 'lo kha lo madam khaana'  in Street Singer (1938). He then moved to Mumbai and made his debut as music director in 1939 with Supreme Pictures' films Meri Aankhein and Gazi Salauddin, and was soon signed up by Ranjit Movietone Film Studio.
 His biggest hit with Ranjit Studio was the film Tansen in 1943. Songs like "Diya jalaao jagmag jagmag", "Rumjhum rumjhum chal tihari", "More balpan ke saathi", "Sapt suran teen gram", "Hath sine pe jo rakh do to karara aa jaaye" were big hits.

1948 marked yet another significant film of his career, Bombay Talkies’s Ziddi. He gave the first major break to Kishore Kumar as a singer for the song “Marne ki duaaen kyun maangu”.Ziddi featured a beautiful song of Lata Mangeshkar "Chanda re ja re ja re".

But what followed Ziddi was another hit film Mahal (1949 film). the song “Aayega aane wala”Mahal made Lata Mangeshkar a popular name. 

Song of Mahal 1949

Master Ghulam Haider (1908 – 9 November 1953) was a well-known music composer who worked both in India and later in Pakistan after independence. He changed the face of film songs by combining the popular Raags with the verve and rhythm of Punjabi music, He is also known for giving a break to the well-known playback singer, Lata Mangeshkar.he got his first big breakthrough with D.M. Pancholi's Punjabi film, Gul-E-Bakavali (1939) starring Noor Jehan. This was followed by film Yamla Jat (1940). His first big hit song came with Khazanchi in 1941, which helped cause a revolution in the music industry. The music of the film Khazanchi (1941), in particular, the song Sawan Ke Nazare Hain sung by Shamshad Begum and Ghulam Haider himself caused a revolution in music composing. Other significant films were Khandan in 1942, Humayun (1945) and Majboor (1948 film), Shaheed (1948) and Kaneez (1949 film)are his other big hits.

Song of Khazanchi 1941

Pankaj Mullick- The Man Who Popularized Rabindra Sangeet To The Masses

Rabindranath Tagore was a prolific composer with around 2,230 songs to his credit.The songs have distinctive characteristics in the music of Bengal, popular in India and Bangladesh.He was was very stringent about the fact that his poetry should be sung with purity. The aspiring singers were asked to sing in his presence and only after seeking his approval they could sing in public. 
Pankaj Mallick started singing Tagore's song very early in his life.One day he came across a poem by his favourite poet Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. 'Jokhon porbe na mor payer chinho' enchanted him to the extent that he composed a musical version of this poem and started singing it. Later on, when Pankaj got to know that this very poem had been composed and sung by Gurudev himself, he also listened to the record, and naturally felt ecstatic that his composition was identical to that of Gurudev. This was his incipient introduction to Rabindra Sangeet. 
He started musically tuning and rendering Gurudev's poems by singing in public functions as well. One such composition, 'Diner sheshe, ghoomer sheshe,' he sang very frequently.
When Tagore came to know that some one is composing and singing his poems in public and being appreciated by the people,he was summoned before Tagore and asked to sing in his presence. Pankaj was naturally quite nervous when he sang 'Diner sheshe' in the courtyard of Gurudev's mansion. Just as the song was over, Pankaj ran away. Tagore was amazed by his singing prowess and didn't object to his singing and composing his poems. When Pankaj came to know about Gurudev's reaction he felt exhorted and inspired to sing Rabindra Sangeet as his life's sole mission.
Dinendranath Tagore was the grandson of Gurudev's elder brother Dwijendranath Tagore and son of Dwijendranath Tagore. After listening to Pankaj he gladly accepted him as his disciple. Under his tutelage young Pankaj learnt the finer nuances of Rabindra Sangeet. He taught him the first song from Gurudev's most celebrated work, 'Gitanjali'. He taught Pankaj the importance of verbal sequence and stressed that verses should never be overtaken by music. And that the spirit of lyrics was of supreme importance.He started singing in Radio Station Calcutta which was started on 26th August 1927 In September  1927 Dr Iyengar took Pankaj to the radio station and introduced him to the Programme Director Nripen Majumdar. Quite impressed with his voice, he asked Pankaj to sing for them. And Pankaj sang two songs penned by Gurudev. This historic stint with radio lasted for more than five decades.
The production of the first radio play on Calcutta Radio is also credited to him. Pankaj was equally responsible for popularising Rabindra Sangeet on radio. During his radio days, he came into close contact with Rai Chand Boral.With him he started giving music in films.In 1929 this duo was approached by BN Sircar to compose for his silent films, Chor Kanta and Chasher Meye. During the era of silent films, music was given live from the pit dug near the screen. Later in 1931 Sircar founded his New Theatres Studio and asked Boral and Pankaj to join its music department. Pankaj was co-composer of Boral in Dena Paona, the first talkie in Bangla that year. Pankaj had assisted Boral in most of the films and some of the credited compositions of Boral in Puran Bhagat and Chandidas were actually composed by Pankaj.
Pankaj Mullick was given a chance to compose the songs of the film Mukti independently by P C Barua.There is an interesting story about this film. When Barua was narrating the story of this yet to be titled film to Pankaj Babu, he started humming 'Diner sheshe, ghoomer deshe'. Barua heard this and asked Pankaj Babu that he would like to use this rendition in his film. Pankaj Babu told Barua, "Though I have composed this poem and sung it in concerts, we would require the permission of Gurudev to use it in the film."
Tagore not only gave permission for 'Diner sheshe', but even two more songs for the film. He also suggested the title Mukti for the film. It was the very first time that Rabindra Sangeet was used in a feature film. These three songs of Gurudev became instant hits after the film was released in 1935
Following the success of Mukti/Mukti, Pankaj Babu’s screen appearances became more frequent. He appeared as an elderly singer in the Hindi version of Kapal Kundala (1939), an adaptation of the bestselling novel by Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyaya, directed by Phani Majumdar. He composed and sang the unforgettable Piya Milan Ko Jaana, undoubtedly his most well-known song in Hindi. The next highlight of Pankajbabu’s career was Debaki Bose’s musical extravaganza Nartaki (1940) where he sang the evergreen hits Ye Kaun Aaj Aaya Swerai, Madbhari Rut Jawan Hai and Prem Ka Nata Chhuta in his rich, sonorous vibrato. 1941 saw Pankaj Mullick reaching the zenith of his career as an actor-singer with the film Daktar/Doctor. 
During the Second World War and its aftermath, New Theatres went into decline and many of its luminaries went to Mumbai but  Pankaj Mullick preferred to stay at Calcutta. In 1944, he composed music for Meri Bahen and this film he had Saigal singing some of his best ever songs Ae Qatib-e-Taqdir Mujhe Itnaa Bata De, Do Naina Matware and Chhupo Na Chhupo Na. Pankajbabu also worked for some Mumbai productions among which were the Dev Anand-Geeta Bali starrer Zalzala (1952),
Pankaj Mullick was also a music scholar and theoretician and he wrote several books on Indian classical music. He also recorded the definitive version of the Indian national anthem Jana Gana Mana in deference to Premier Jawaharlal Nehru’s wishes.
Yatrik (1952) and Raikamal (1955) won Pankaj Mullick the President’s Award for the best film music. He was honoured with the Padmashree in 1970 and the Dada Saheb Phalke Award for his ground-breaking contributions in Indian cinema in 1973. A commemorative postage stamp honouring Pankaj Mullick was issued by the Department of Posts, Govt. of India on the occasion of his birth centenary.He died on 19th Feb 1978.
 It is a matter of special pleasure for me to present a compilation of my favourite Pankaj Mullick songs as my tribute on his birthday May 10.

                                            Ye Ratein Ye Mousam - Pankaj Mullick.

Song from Manzil (1936)

Song from Mukti (1937)

Song from  Adhikaar (1938)

Song from Kapalkundala (1939)

                                    ye kaun aaj aaya savere savere Song from Nartaki 1939  

Song from Doctor (1941)

                      Guzar Gaya Woh Zamana (Pankaj Mullick) Song from Doctor 1941

Song from My Sister

       Tere Mandir Ka Hoon Deepak Jal Raha 

Pankaj Mallik-The Singer,Composer Admired By Rabindranath Tagore

It is said that when Tagore heard Mullick sing one of his verses `Diner Sheshey Ghumer Deshey`, the `bard` hugged him and told him that he was free to set tune to those writings of his which he would not be able to accomplish during his lifetime.
The credit of taking Tagore’s songs and music, which have come to be known as 'Rabindra Sangeet', to the masses goes to 'Mukti'. 
The unprecedented popularity of Kanan Devi & Pankaj Mullick songs in 'Mukti' played a major role in creating a mass appeal for this kind of songs which were hitherto unknown. 
Pankaj Mallik was born on 10th May 1905 in Calcutta. He started his early training in Indian classical music under the tutelage of Durgadas Bandopadhaya. An important turning point in his life came when, after finishing his studies, he came in contact with Dinendranath Tagore, who was Rabindranath Tagore's great-nephew. This led to Pankaj Mullick's lasting interest in Rabindra Sangeet. Rabindranath Tagore, in turn, grew fond of him, and soon Mullick became known as one of the leading exponents of Tagore's songs.
He started his career with the Indian Broadcasting Corporation in Calcutta in 1927, the forerunner of All India Radio (AIR), along with composer R. C. Boral, where he contributed as a music director and artist for nearly fifty years.
Along with RC Boral, Pankaj Mullick helped New Theatres dominate the film industry in the 1930s. They worked together on a few films and one of the best examples of their combined brilliance was President. 
He was a man of many talents. Other than composing music, he played the lead role in a few films and was an excellent singer. Undeniably, though, the highlights of his career were the songs he composed for KL Saigal.The two legendary songs in Zindagi were the musical opposites of each other. In ‘Main Kya Janoon Kya Jadoo Hai’and ‘So Ja Rajkumari’, on the other hand, was slow and sonorous. 
Pankaj Mullick innovated not only the Tonga rhythm, but was also the first to breathe the locomotive breath into a Hindi film song. Amazingly, he did both in the same film, Doctor. 
He was awarded the Padma Shri in 1970, followed by the Dadasaheb Phalke Award (India's highest award in cinema, given by the Government of India) in 1972 for lifetime contribution to Indian cinema.He died on 19th Feb 1978.

Here is my pick of Ten Pankaj Mullick songs that bring out the essence of his talent.

Song from Adhikar 1938

Song from Kapal Kundla.1939

Song from Zindagi 1940

Song from Zindagi 1940

Song from Nartaki 1940

Song from Nartaki 1940

Song from  Doctor 1941

Song from  Doctor 1941

Song from Meri Behen 1944

                                          Ye Ratein Ye Mousam - Pankaj Mullick.