South rules once more!
Rockstar DSP, a.k.a. Devi Sri Prasad, may not have composed the level of songs he did in Pushpa 1: The Rise (for which he won the National award) in its hugely successful sequel, Pushpa 2: The Rule, but he has still composed situational and melodious tracks, like Shreya Ghoshal’s ‘Angaaron’. A.R. Rahman added his original melodies to Amar Singh Chamkila’s compositions in the film of that name and created a riveting album. And M.M. Kreem has scored lovely ditties, led by ‘Kisi roz’ in Auron Mein Kahan Dam Tha. But these remain three of the only four complete solo composer albums you can savour in 2024: the only Hindi album that accompanies them, sadly, is Sachin-Jigar’s Stree 2.
Trivia Tunes: When Shammi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan co-composed a song that was later used in Silsila
Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain restores originals’ popularity!
In times when re-creations continue to be criticized, the rampant use of apt (for the situation) songs in the TV serial, Bhabiji Ghar Par Hain, which is watched by every generation, spotlights the musical as well as acoustic purity and beauty of old songs. You can hear the entire gamut of songs from the 1950s onwards in this perennial serial, and each one is used in its original glory!
When Shammi Kapoor co-composed with Amitabh Bachchan
One of the highlights of the Silsila score by Shiv-Hari was Amitabh Bachchan singing not one but three songs. And recently, from a video shared by Rajshri Unplugged, I came to know the astounding fact that they co-composed the song ‘Neela aasmaan so gaya’, that too while shooting for their film, Zameer, produced by B.R. Chopra, elder brother to Yash Chopra, the Silsila maker. Shammi Kapoor and Amitabh Bachchan, both fond of music, composed the tune during one of their jam sessions where Amitabh would play the guitar and Shammi would sing. The actors would jam in their hotel room after the day’s shoot.
Said Shammi, “And one fine evening, we made a wonderful tune. I started singing a pahadi tune and he followed me on his guitar,” said Shammi in the video. The song was finally penned by Javed Akhtar and rendered by Bachchan in one version and in another by Lata Mangeshkar.
Yash Chopra’s Kabhi Kabhie song was also sourced!
The title-song of another cult song from another Yash Chopra film, Kabhi Kabhi, ‘Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein’ was also sourced, albeit lyrically, rather than being written for the film. It was a poem first published in Sahir Ludhianvi’s book, Talkhiyan, with the title ‘Kabhi kabhi’. Amitabh Bachchan has also recited a part of the original ghazal in the movie.
But the poem has a further history too! It was recorded by Geeta Dutt and Sudha Malhotra for a Chetan Anand film that was never made, with a slightly different tune by Khayyam. And then, at a film party, Mahendra Kapoor even performed it with a different tune!
Mahendra Kapoor’s pact with Mohammed Rafi!
Speaking of Mahendra Kapoor, he had accepted Mohammed Rafi as his guru and even tied the ganda (sign of a disciple) on his wrist. Thanks to his devotion as well as a slight similarity in their vocal tenor and style, he had decided that he would never sing a duet or ensemble song with Rafi. But history has two exceptions to this rule: the major one being ‘Dhoom machi dhoom’ from Yash Chopra’s Kaala Patthar along with Lata Mangeshkar and S.K. Mahaan. While we do not know how that happened, the singers made sure they were never heard together. The other one was ‘Kaisi haseen raat’ from Aadmi, which was recorded originally by Rafi with Talat Mahmood. However, for some reason that remains unclear (as there is more than one ‘explanation’!), Talat’s portion was dubbed by Mahendra Kapoor later, though he was unwilling to sing unless Talat had no objection. The music was by Naushad.
Naushad’s only film song minus credit!
Naushad has been termed a legend and a colossus in film music and his name is a byword in film music. But did you know that he has been, albeit unintentionally, deprived of credit for a fabulous song, ‘Taat ka parda’ in the 1988 film, Soorma Bhopali, produced and directed by comedian Jagdeep with music by Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen, who made their debuts with the film. When I had asked them about recording with Mohammed Rafi, they told me that it was not their composition and they had never recorded with him as the singer had passed away in 1980. The mystery remained unsolved for years until Naved Jafferi, Jagdeep’s son, revealed that Naushad had recorded the song (filmed here on Danny Denzongpa) for a film of that name that was never made. Jan Nissar Akhtar, Javed Akhtar’s father, had written the powerful lyrics as in those days, he was working with Naushad also in the 1974 release, Aaina!
‘Staying alive’ in 2024!
Is it a mere coincidence that a part of the mukhda of the current hit, ‘Teri baton mein aisa uljha jiya’ from the film of that name sounds quite similar to the famous 1980s Bee Gee’s track, ‘Staying alive’? Tanishk Bagchi, our homegrown re-creation specialist, is billed as the composer along with Raghav, one of the singers. Do hum (or listen) to the tracks back-to-back and decide, folks!
Also Read: Trivia Tunes: Nadeem-Shravan exited Baazigar because it was a thriller about an “anti-hero”
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