दिल जो न कह सका ....

                                

The most explosive event this week was the premature termination of a government, elected by the public with a lot of hope and enthusiasm. Without going into the myriad controversies, it will suffice to say that this was a dampener for those who wanted to see the elected representatives complete the mandate given to them. There would have been many schemes and plans which may have been pushed to  the back-burner.

The closest analogy with Hindi films I can think of is that of films shelved midway. There have also been cases where songs composed for films have not been used or worse, edited out at the last moment. 

So, today we go through some "unsung" songs, like the unannounced schemes of the government, whose tenure got truncated. The list is, by no means, exhaustive. There have been innumerable such songs.  Even all such  songs I like to listen have not been possible to be accommodated , but these are some of the representative songs. Examples of more such songs are welcome, if indicated by erudite readers

There are songs which are recorded for a film but not included due to excessive length of the film or being out of context in the final version of the film. Then there are songs which are not released because the film itself is shelved after a few reels.  

Starting off with a very popular song, whose unsung “twin” was never released.

It was an established practice in the hindi film music industry that the Music Director used to have  the last word, in all matters pertaining to the score of the film. Established composers were known to try out a couple of singers for a song and then decide on the  version to be included. 

Salil Chaudhary probably was thinking on these lines when he got the same  song recorded by two singers in the film Jaagte Raho ( 1956) . The version of this song which was released in the film   was sung by Mukesh. However, the song was also sung by Manna Dey, but the Mukesh version was kept in the film. Manna Dey appears equally competent to deliver the emotions required, nevertheless.

In the same year there was another song which became popular but could not find the place in the film ! The reason was that it was picturised in a bar and the hero, a CID officer goes in the bar. The presence of hero in a such a place was too much for the pristine censors and they had the song knocked off from the film. Almost sixty years later , the song made a comeback in a film called Bombay Velvet (2015).

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The instances of the song being picturised and then getting edited out of the final print have have also been there, though rare. Mostly it happens due to the length of the film not able to accommodate all that was shot.   Here is the visual of a song said to have been edited out of Pyar Mohabbat, the song having been picturised on  the Dev Anand and Shashikala.  A number of such shelved songs ( and scenes, too) were compiled in  a film called Film Hi Film ( 1983), which has archival value.

The most puzzling instances are when songs which become popular are found to be missing on the silver screen. The most popular song conspicuous by its absence must be this song played frequently on Vividh Bharti but not present in the film. Asha Bhonsle sang this gem of a song for O.P.Nayyar in the film Kashmir Ki Kali. However, no visuals are found for this song.  A similar fate was suffered by the  song from Ek Musafir Ek Haseena, "Main pyar ka raahi hoon", a couple of years earlier.

                                  

The major  reason why songs which are recorded and then don't see the light of the day is because the film itself is shelved. The film business is essentially a commercial exercise and the slightest hint of the project becoming non-viable is trigger enough for the producer to cut losses by discontinuing the film's production. Also, lack of finance is a major reason for the films getting cut short. The dedicated efforts of the artistes, both on and off screen go waste. One such instance  is an unreleased Mukesh song composed by Salil Chaudhary for the film Mitti ka Dev. The song was later composed and sung by Jagjit Singh for an album.

Both Talat Mehmood and Geeta Dutt were past their prime in the 70s. Together they sang for a film called Midnight in which the music was by Subir Sen. Obviously, the trends of the times,  coupled with the outcome of the recording would not have inspired the producers to go on and the  1972 film  remained in the cans.

                                       

The next song is one of the most tragic instances of a song getting edited out, simply because it is a very melodious composition, probably the best in this  anthology. The R.D.Burman composition is inspired from Charlie Chaplin's Theme from Limelight, but the inspiration has been an  effective one. The song may have been cut out because of thecomic nature of the content of the film. Pancham later re-worked it to use  in another song "Main jo chala peekar" from Mukti (1977), but the wannabe song from Bombay to Goa  was way better.

There have been instances of famous composers and singers making a team ( Naushad-Rafi, Shankar-Jaikishan-Mukesh, R.D. Burman-Kishore Kumar or Ravi-Mahendra Kapoor)  and on the other hand there are cases where two artistes have collaborated only once in their careers. The next song is in such a category. The only song that Kishore Kumar sang for Naushad Sahab ( a duet with Asha Bhonsle) was edited out of Sunehara Sansar 1975. Therefore, the only instance of a unique collaboration came to nought by the song getting struck from the film.

These are the melodies we missed out on due to shelving of the films. Had the songs been released in an album ( maybe one day someone will take up the idea and compile random unreleased songs!), it would have been a treat !

The following song is the coming together of the geniuses   Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar ,Gulzar and   Pancham for the film Bharosa.

While the big budget films suffer from  unmanageable length, the small budget films have the handicap of non-viability. This  Yesudas-Salil Chaudhary-Yogesh creation which got left out  due to the film getting shelved, probably because there were no takers of a middle-of-the-road film in a grossly commercial industry!

There have been many versions of Devdas and every creative director worth his salt harbours the ambition of having his version on the silver screen. Gulzar, too wanted to have his take on Sharat babu's most famous character, with Dharmendra playing Devdas ! The film never got on the floors. As a consequence, a Lata melody, based on classical music by Pancham  is a gem lost …

While we enjoy the popular and repeat value songs, spare a thought for those songs which failed to see the light of the day…as the lyricist par excellence Indeevar expressed:

ऐसे जीवन भी हैं , जो जिए ही नहीं

जिनको जीने से पहले ही मौत आ गयी /

फूल ऐसे भी हैं जो खिले ही नहीं

जिनके खिलने के पहले खिज़ां छा गयी //

Papa kehte hain bada naam karega !

The recently highlighted incident at IIFA  about Nepotism was another in series of an earlier TV interview which raised the pertinent question: Do the star kids have it easy or difficult ?

While there are equally strong arguments on either side, the fact remains: you can love them or hate them, but you can't ignore them!
Star sons and daughters may have it all cut out for them, but they do have a name to  defend, which, all of us  know, is not at all a simple task. And this has been the situation from times immemorial.

Lest you think this is a recent phenomenon, let me remind you that children of stars ( or other  not-so-starry  film actors )  becoming actors is a practice ever since the talkies commenced, i.e. Thirties. The emphasis here is on actors and not the artistes from other areas of film-making.

For the full story, read on....

Who was the first star-son/star-daughter actor to have been on silver screen?

Going by the debut year, Shobhana Samarth may well be the pioneer , starting her career in 1935, whereas her mother Rattan Bai who had debuted only a couple of years earlier ! Rattan Bai was 40 when she started her career and her teenage daughter joined soon. The dynasty has names such as Nutan, Tanuja, Mohnish Behl, Kajol and Tanisha  to boot and must be one of the earliest clans.

Technically, Raj Kapoor could also be called the original star son, having made his debut as a 10 year old in Inquilab ( 1935). His first film as a lead role was , however, Neel Kamal in 1947. Prithviraj Kapoor was already a big name in the industry when Raj entered the films. But it is rather well known that Raj was the assistant of Kedar Sharma , who was a hard task-master and Raj had to go through the grilling before he got to wield the megaphone.
After Raj, we had Shammi, Shashi, Randhir, Rishi, Kunal, Karan,  Sanjana, Rajiv, Karishma, Kareena and Ranbir, notwithstanding the "bahus" Babita and Neetu !

                                 


If Raj is here, can Nargis be far behind?

Nargis started off as a child artiste, also in 1935. Daughter of Jaddan Bai, who had been busy on the singing scene apart from acting in films. Nargis carved out a niche of her own and was not bogged down by her mother' name. Her marriage with  another star Sunil Dutt meant that their son Sanjay Dutt was probably the first star son whose  both parents were stars !

The Forties star son was the one actor who grew up  to become a legend in his lifetime: Mehmood. Son of Mumtaz ali, a not-so-popular actor, Mehmood spent his childhood in modest circumstances. His first film was in 1942, Sanyasi. By sheer dint of hard work and evolving himself to suit the enviroment, Mehmood became a leading comedian in 60s and 70s . His son Lucky Ali, too acted in films, apart from making singing his main vocation. His sister Meenu Mumtaz also joined films and here is a song on the two star-kids !

The star kid debut of Fifties was that of young Sadhana , who was the daughter of character actor of various films Hari Shivdasani. Sadhana had an uncredited appearance in the song of Sri 420, mud mud ke na dekh  and did a Sindhi film Abana ( 1954) , before graduating to her first lead role in Love in Simla ( 1960). Sadhana later on became a style and fashion icon, apart from being in the top rung of saleable stars.

Another Fifties debutant , also a child of theatre and film personalities was Parikshit Sahni, son of Balraj Sahni. He  debuted, as a child artiste,  with  the 1951 film Deedar  ( remember the song with two kids on horseback : Parikshit and Tabassum) and in the next decade took up lead roles, first as Ajay Sahni and then reverting back to his original name. Later on , he essayed parallel roles and as character actor.

Actor Jayant had two sons, Amjad and Imtiaz. Both entered film industry as kids.

 Amjad had a head-start with his first role in Nazaneen ( 1951) and four films ahead of Imtiaz , who debuted with Gyarah Hazaar ladkiyaan ( 1961).

In time, Imtiaz got villain's roles and was noticed in Dharmatma. Amjad was the proverbial "lambi race ka ghoda" and though Hindustan Ki kasam was his first film as an adult, Sholay made him  the "asli pasand" of "bees bees kos door ". Amjad's son Shadab also tried his luck . but was not successful.

The Sixties child to grow up as an actress of repute was Rekha, daughter of Gemini Ganesan and Pushpavalli, stars of South Indian cinema. Rekha debuted in 1966, as Baby Bhanurekha and had an explosive Hindi debut in Sawan Bhadon (1970). In time, she graduated into a star and then an actress of substance and finally a fashion diva.

The torch-bearer of art films in India, Shabana Azmi made her debut in the Seventies with Ankur. Daughter of Kaifi Azmi and Shaukat Kaifi, she qualifies as a star-kid because of her mother. Shaukat played bit roes and cameos since Haqeeqat (1964). She acted in 19 films in all, but was surpassed by her daughter who became a strong pillar of art cinema, before shifting to commercial ventures.

Jeevan's son Kiran Kumar started off as a hero in Seventies, but got fame in negative roles later in his career. He was, however, a star in Gujrati films. Suniel Anand, son of Dev Anand failed to make an impact despite all efforts, though.

The real star son appeared in the Eighties with Kumar Gaurav taking his place as a teen idol in Love Story ( 1981). Son of Jubilee star Rajendra Kumar, the handsome teenage throb could not live up to expectations and was overtaken by other star-sons and established stars.

 Suchitra Sen's daughter Moon Moon Sen made a splash with her sizzling roles , as did her daughters Reema and Riya, but none could match Suchitra ! On the other hand, Dina Pathak's daughters Supriya and Ratna made their mother proud.
Jagdeep's son Javed Jaffrey acted in negative roles and later on took up TV shows and mimicry, apart from dabbling in politics.

Dharmendra's son Sunny Deol too got off in the Eighties with Betaab and mustered up huge fan following. In later years he established himself as an action hero, just like his father. He had many superhits, Gadar being his most famous outing.

The Eighties and Nineties  had a whole lot of new star kids, which include many of them being the second generation ones. Most of them could not do as well as their parents, such as Manoj Kumar's son Vishal Goswami, Mala Sinha's daughter Pratibha, Puru Rajkumar, Feroz Khan's son Fardeen, Jeetendra's son Tusshar, Vinod Khanna's sons Akshay and Rahul, Pankaj Kapur and Neelima Azim's  son Shahid and  Dharmendra's second son Bobby.The largest gap between the parents and son/daughter was that of  Rajesh-Dimple's daughters Twinkle and Rinkie Khanna  and Amitabh-Jaya's son Abhishek Bachchan !


The only success story was that of Saif Ali Khan, the son of Sharmila Tagore.Despite early  hiccups, he proved himself to be a money-spinner as well as a good actor.

The 6-year old kid dancing in 1980 film Asha's song was Hritik Roshan, son of Rakesh Roshan, who became one of the most popular stars two decades later and still commands a fan following. After doing child roles, he was launched in 2000 as a hero in Kaho na pyar hai .

In the last decade and a half , the star kids are coming out in more numbers: Vivek Oberoi, Esha Deol Adhyayan Suman, Sonakshi Sinha, Mimoh Chakraborty, Tiger Shroff,  Sonam Kapoor, Pratiek and Arya Babbar, Sikander Kher, Vivan Shah, Shraddha Kapoor.... the list is endless.
More star-kids are poised to make their debuts. Wonder how many would be able to surpass or even match their parents !

The minority of  star-children being successful makes the pertinent point: Lineage isn't good  enough for success:  you need talent, too !

Non-films songs I love to listen

I celebrated my entry into 56 th year last week. An occasion to remember and what is the best way to have an event memorable, if not through music !

So, I listed my favourite songs, this year non-film ones, which I could listen in a loop. I thought I'll share the list with my friends. This is  strictly a list of personal favourites, so I thought it fit to document the anthology, which ranges from the grand old lady Begam Akhtar to Sumita  Chakraborty, one of the less-known names.

So here’s the list ( and the songs)




The name of Begam Akhtar was always mentioned in our musically-inclined , urdu-literate family, whenever an appropriate occasion was there. While as a child I found her voice “coarse” ( as compared to “sweet” of Lata Mangeshkar ), as I grew up,  I realised the impact of the rendition on the listener, specially as the song was a high-brow ghazal rather than a light romantic solo !

                                        Kabhi taqdeer ka maatam, kabhi duniya ka gila
                                         Manzil-e-ishq mein,  har gaam pe rona aaya 

Talat Mehmood was another frequently  heard voice. My mother is an avid fan and his film and non-film ghazals were pleasing to the ear ( which is the basic requirement of a good song). To pick up one of his ghzals is really difficult , as there are many vying for the single slot. Amongst his non-film songs, the one I love to hear repeatedly is this gem.

The impact of Jagjit Singh and his simple style of singing amenable lyrics , with more contemporary orchestration got me hooked for ever. His rendition made the most complex words understandable and hummable, at the same time. As with Talat, there are so many of his ghazals, nazms and bhajans that I like to listen a lot. My choice for the all time favourite is the one which  puts him at his melancholic best.

                                        Hamein to aaj ki shab, pau phate tak jaagna hoga
                                         Yahi qismat hamari hai, sitaaron tum to so jao 

With Jagjit Singh, we also heard his wife and companion Chitra Singh. The quality of her voice was unique and I found it very appealing. While Jagjit was obviously the more popular of the duo, their duets ( ghazals, bhajans and tappe) brought home the realisation that she was a perfect foil for his voice.

                                          Zehar peene ki to aadat hai zamaane waalon
                                        Ab koi aur dawaa do, ke main zinda hoon abhi

The next voice that drew me to the radio ( those days , it  was the only source of music:all genres ) was that of Mehdi Hasan. While his ghazals had a classical music -oriented aura due to various intricate alaaps, while on stage, I preferred his straight-lace rendition more. This ghazal is a great favourite.

                                           Maqaam Faiz koi raah mein jancha hi nahin
                                            Jo koo-e-yaar se nikle, to soo-e-daar chale 

Ghulam Ali came as another whiff of fresh air. His voice had a “khanak” and his style of rendition vastly appealing. There was an unexperienced ‘adaa’ in his gayaki , as most of his  ghazals demonstrate amply. His thumris and naats are equally a delight to listen.

This is my most favorite ghazal, which I can hear any number of times

                                          Kuchh to naazuq-mizaaj hain ham bhi
                                                 Aur ye chot bhi nayi hai abhi

The Asha Bhonsle of cabarets and pop-based love-songs is as great as the Asha who sings ghazals. The album of Asha which shows her versatility ( proved in Umrao Jaan, later on) was the one from which this ghazal has been selected.

                                                       

                                          Tu kahaan thi ae ajal, ae naamuraadon ki muraad
                                              Marne waale raah teri, umr bhar dekha kiye 

As I began to collect the cassettes for my music library, I came across Chandan Das. A rooted-to-earth voice and an honest rendition. I found his ‘geet’, presented below as one with a massive repeat value, for which some credit goes to the lyrics too.

Amongst the newer singers, I love the voice of Sumita Chakraborty ( a disciple of Jagjit Singh) and her ghazals leave a yearning  for more !


                                           Toote na ye saanson ka tasalsul mere hamdam
                                                 Ye kaafila -e-umr bahut tez kadam hai 

The advent of internet opened up the world of ghazals and the freshest voice I was able to appreciate was that of actor Ali Zafar, singing Ghalib, who was born almost 200 years before him !  

                                        

This is but a sampling of the songs which I love to listen on loop. There are many others, which will take many more blogs. As  a parting shot, I remember the lines of Gulzar on my birthday, as I always do, year after year


                                              Wo umr kam kar raha tha meri
                                               Min saal apne badha raha tha 

Jews in Bollywood

 Israel was suddenly in news this week due to the foreign trip of PM. This has been a country admired by many of us due to the resilient character of their leadership down the ages. Their troubled history has made them stronger and the cynosure of the world. 

Which set me thinking: Have there been Jews in Hindi films? Sure we've seen Parsis a lot ( the quintessential Bawaji on his vintage car with a young wife being the stereotype depiction), but they are not Jews. 

Some research reveals an interesting ( and often, intriguing) history of Jews in Hindi cinema. In fact, it was the Jewish actors who were the earliest prime movers to get the Hindi cinema on tracks, both in silent as well as talkies eras. Surprisingly, they continue to make an impact in Bollywood till date, as you will discover in this blog.

The first and foremost figure in this story is none other than Sulochana ( real name Ruby Myers), a heroine of Jewish origins. In the era when it was a taboo for the Hindu and Muslim girls to act on stage or in films, the more progressive Jewish actresses siezed the opportunity and paved the way for female characters being played by ladies and not gents ! 

Among her popular films of the silent era were Typist Girl (1926), Balidaan (1927) and Wildcat of Bombay (1927) where she essayed eight roles including a gardener, a policeman, a Hyderabadi gentleman, a street urchin, a banana seller and a European blonde.Three romantic super hits in 1928 - 29 with director R.S. Chaudhari - Madhuri (1928), Anarkali (1928) and Indira B.A. (1929) saw her at her peak of fame in the silent film era. In fact so widespread was her fame that when a short film on Bapu  inaugurating a khadi exhibition was shown, alongside it was added a hugely popular dance of Sulochana's from Madhuri, synchronised with sound effects.

Madhuri was remade in the talkies era , which created a hysteria, making Sulochana one of the earliest stars of Bollywood.

The next remarkable actress of Jewish origin was the first Miss India in 1947 !
Pramilla nee Esther Victoria Abraham, a popular actress of the silent era,  was from a Baghdadi Jewish family. She won Miss India in 1947. She and her sisters Romilla and Rose were all actresses and in the silent and early talkies period, were very successful. A stunt star, Pramilla  also became the first major woman film producer in India, with 16 films under her banner Silver Productions. Morarji Desai, the then Chief Minister of Bombay, had her arrested because she was suspected of spying for Pakistan,  due her constant travels to that country. However, it was later proven she travelled to promote her films.

A well-known Jewish film actor was David Abraham. Abraham was popular as  a character actor and worked with India’s best film-makers ever. He is best known for his portrayal of John Chacha in the 1954 hit Boot Polish. He did numerous roles in his career and his smiling, affable  personality in real life often overlapped with the characters he portrayed on screen.

  

The most well-known of the Jewish actors was Nadira ( aka Florence Ezekiel), who was spotted by Mehboob Khan, who gave her a lead role in Aan (1952).  She was paid Rs.1200,, an unheard amount in those days, by Mehboob. Nadira rose to become one of the leading actors in negative roles, acting in nearly 100 films  and continued her   career right upto 2000, in the film Josh. She was one of the first actors in Bollywood to have purchased a Rolls-Royce !

Pearl Padamsee was a child of a Christian father and a Jew Mother. Though raised as a Christian, as per Jewish Laws, all children born of Jewish mothers are Jews. She was a stage artiste and later acted in films like Khatta Meetha (1978) and Baaton Baaton Mein ( 1979) . She ran after-school theatre workshops for children. She married Alyque Padamsee, noted English theatre personality and an advertising professional.

There have been other Jews in hindi film industry, though not as actors.

Ezra Mir was one of the early producers and known as father of animation. He was a profilic documentary movie maker and produced the first Hindi film in colour processed in India , called Pamposh.

Bunny Reuben was a known film journalist associated with Filmfare, Star & Style and Movie.
In 1975, Reuben became the founding-editor of the magazine Cine-Blitz, and within a year brought its circulation to 100,000, at par with other established magazines of the day.
When Steven Spielberg decided to shoot portions of his sci-fi adventure Close Encounters of the Third Kind in India, he signed Bunny Reuben as the Director of Publicity, the best name in the field.
In recent years there have been some attempts to bring the Jewish contributions to Indian cinema in limelight. An  Associate Professor in Australia’s Deakin University ,  Danny Ben-Moshe is in the process of producing a documentary film on the subject, titled, Shalom Bollywood


Haider Ali, whom we know as Khopdi of Nukkad , the TV serial of 80s, was son of Pramilla and thus, technically a Jew. He played off-beat roles in TV serials and films.

 

The three sons of Salome Aaron, the 1973 Miss India are the famous Roy Kapoor Brothers. Salome had her  training  in Indian and western dances, and is a personality development trainer. She amarried  Kumud Roy Kapur and has three sons, all in the film industry.

Kunaal Roy Kapoor started off in 1998 with the serial Just Mohabbat and graduated to films, doing a variety of roles

                                     

Aditya Roy Kapoor established himself as a serious actor in Aaashiqui 2 and is active in the film industry  

                                          

Last but not the least, Siddharth Roy kapoor is an established producer, whose 2016 film Dangal has broken records, world wide. 

The Jews are  here to stay, undoubtedly.

Pancham of the Sixties

Last week, on a number of FM radio channels and Facebook Music clubs, the birth anniversary of R.D.Burman ( fondly known as Pancham) was celebrated by playing his songs in an unending stream.While it was a pleasure listening to Pancham's 70s and 80s song, notable omissions were the songs he composed in 60s, in the early stages of his career.That was the time he was creative and experimental, despite not being famous !

The 60s was the period of stalwarts like Naushad, Shankar Jaikishan, S.D.Burman, Madan Mohan, Hemant Kumar, O.P.Nayyar and Ravi. To top it, Pancham was in  shadow of his illustrious father.That he carved out a niche for himself  against such odds, is indeed ,commendable.

Today we shall see the side of Pancham which made him what he was: an experimental, maverick composer !

The 11 films which he gave music in the 60s employed almost all the established singers and ALL of them will be featured today, given the selection of the songs.

So, we start from the beginning : his debut film Chhote Nawab. Mehmood had gone to S.D.Burman but as he was not keeping well, he suggested that Pancham could be contacted. So, Pancham was in. 

Before Chhote Nawab, however, Pancham ( then only 19)  was signed by Guru Dutt for his film Raaz and publicity material  at the time of release of Kagaz ke phool mentioned Raaz and Chaudahvin Ka chand as forthcoming attractions. Since Kaagaz ke phool flopped, Guru Dutt dropped the idea of making Raaz and Pancham lost a great opportunity.

Pancham wanted Lata Mangeshkar to sing a beautiful composition, which was meant for Raaz and is believed to be his first composition ( Although, there is a story about Ae meri topi palat ke aa, composed by pancham at the age of 9, but usurped by his father for Funtoosh !).

  Lata was not in good terms with S.D.Burman in those days. When Pancham approached her, she agreed as she realised this was his debut film. The ice was broken with Dada Burman, too.

The most popular song of the film was , however, "Matwali aankhon waale", a Lata Rafi duet ( at No.6 in that year's Binaca Geet Mala: no mean achievement for  the new composer). 

This solo by Lata is more melodious.

                                       


Bhoot Bangla 1965 was Pancham’s second release. A Mehmood film of the comedy-horror genre, the project had many beautiful compositions. One of the popular songs was Kishore Kumar's "Jaago sone walon " : a great song, which indicated that Kishore had a great tuning with the new composer. Manna Dey , however, got the most popular song of the album  "Aao twist karein" , which was No.3 in that year's Binaca Geet Mala.The song which is the best composition of the album was   this exquisite Lata solo,  which remains so fresh till today.

Interestingly, the film also had Ameen Sayani and Pancham on the screen.

The third film of Pancham, coincidentally titled Teesra Kaun  was also released in 1965 and this film had the first of the only 19 songs that Mukesh sang for Pancham. The song was popular and featured dashing Feroz Khan, probably the first of many times that he has been picturised singing a song  on a jeep !

Teesra Kaun also had a North Indian folk song sung by Suman Kalyanpur, with whom this was the only collaboration of Pancham. The singers who had a one-film association with Pancham also include Shamshad Begum ( Raaton Ka Raja), Hemant Kumar ( Heeralal Pannalal) and  Rajkumai ( Kitaab).

                                            

The turning point in Pancham 's career was Teesri Manzil (1966).

Interestingly, neither Shammi Kapoor nor RD Burman were meant to be part of that superhit film. Teesri Manzil was supposed to be a Dev Anand – SD Burman film. But SD Burman was ill and he wanted to give his son a break. Dev Anand dropped out because he making Guide. In walked Shammi Kapoor. But the film almost didn't happen for Pancham. 

Shammi Kapoor's  favourite composers were Shankar Jaikishan and O.P.Nayyar. So, Nasir Husain arranged an audition  with Shammi Kapoor.

At first, Pancham just sung the first two lines of a Nepali tune, which was later remade as ‘Deewana mujhsa nahin’, when Shammi interrupted him, completed the rest of the lines ‘Deotara mattali oina’, and said nonchalantly "Give me another one".

After a couple of perfunctory puffs on a cigarette, a nervous  Pancham   played the tunes he had reserved for the occasion: ‘O mere sona’, ‘Aa ja aa ja’, and ‘O haseena zulfon wali’.

Shammi Kapoor stopped him abruptly and said, "I don’t want to hear any more songs".
On his way out, he added, "You are my music director".

Pancham had truly "arrived" !

The “Chhote Nawab” team came together in 1966 in the film Pati Patni, whose saving grace was the music by Pancham. This was the film in which Pancham tried out his "bossa nova" arrangement for the first time in an Asha Bhonsle solo "Maar daalega dard-e-jigar". Bossa Nova is a  style of Brazilian music derived from samba but placing more emphasis on melody and less on percussion. More on this later.

However, for this anthology, we listen to a Lata melody, which  is outstandingly fresh, even after so many years. 

Chandan Ka Palna was a 1967 Meena Kumari film and while the reel and real life was converging ( remember the song 'sharabi sharabi mera naam ho gaya'), this Asha Bhonsle-Mohammad Rafi duet was a refreshing one with modern arrangement, not in vogue at that time. The Dharmendra-Meena Kumari team was in many films in the 60s.

   Baharon ke Sapne 1967 strengthened  the association of Pancham and Nasir

Husain. The film was, however off-beat and the music was a high point

having many genres in the album. The songs we still hum are "chunri sambhal gori", "aaja piya tohe pyar doon", "zamane ne maare jawan kaise kaise"and  "Kya jaanoon sanam" 

A young Rajesh Khanna was paired  with Asha Parekh, making this one of the few films he got after he had won an all-India contest to act in films.

The song included, however,  is a rarely heard/ watched song, sung by Asha Bhonsle and Usha Mangeshkar, employing the bossa nova technique which Pancham had introduced in the film Pati Patni.

With Padosan ( 1968) , Pancham showed that he was the master of all kinds of songs:

 soft romantic ( kehna hai), peppy ( bhai battur and main chali main chali),

sad ( slow version of mere saamne wali khidki mein –have you heard

it?), conventional ( sharm aati hai magar) , classical ( aao aao

sanwariya) and comic ( meri pyari bindu and the one presented in

voices of Kishore Kumar, Mehmood and Manna dey.–ek chatur naar,arguably the piece de resistance !)

Abhilasha (1968) was a low profile album, but it had beautiful songs like
"waadiyaan tera daaman", "pyar hua hai jabse", "ek janib shamme mehfil",
and the song which was Pancham’s first one with Bhupinder.
This is that comic song, based on a Goan folk tune,sung by Manna Dey and Bhupinder.

In 1969, Pancham had two releases, one of which was Pyar ka Mausam. This was another Nasir Husain musical with an all-hit score ( "ni sultana re", "che khush nazaare", "main naa miloongi", "na ja o mere humdum") and in which, Pancham re-worked the Bangla song sung by Kishore Kumar on occasion of 1967 Durga Puja in Kolkata. It was a settled convention that music directors from Bengal made out new tunes for Durga Puja and later on adapted them for Hindi films.

Thus, Ek din pakhi ure…became Tum bin jaaoon kahaan…, which was also sung by Rafi in the film. 

The last of the 11 films of Pancham in the 60s was Waris. The score got a luke-warm response, but for this  Lata-Rafi duet.

Lata, Rafi, Asha and Kishore became the most favourite singers for Pancham in his career, as can be seen from his early years, too.

The end of 60s saw Pancham as a serious contender for the type of music that was less conventional, more experimental and a judicious mix of semi-classical and western arrangements.

A promise, he fulfilled more than the expectations in the first three years of the 70s, supported with the emergence of Kishore Kumar on Rajesh Khanna.
The rest is history, as they say !