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The Many Voices of Raj Kapoor

December 18, 2024 | By

Any list of Raj Kapoor’s top songs would be dominated by the voices of Mukesh and perhaps, Manna Dey. But Raj Kapoor also worked with other greats of his era, albeit sparingly, to produce several memorable gems, some still popular, and some obscure. Prakash Dharmarajan pays tribute to the great showman’s collaboration with these artistes.

Raj Kapoor and Mukesh

Raj Kapoor and Mukesh


 

The Soul Voice

It is arguable whether Raj Kapoor and Mukesh had similar voices, but what is beyond doubt is the synergy between Mukesh’s style and Raj Kapoor’s protagonists. Mukesh’s singing was as simple and honest as the characters Kapoor portrayed. Not only were the tunes easily hummable, but the lyrics and social contexts resonated with the hopes and struggles of a young nation.

From the unloved Awara who remains optimistic despite his trials (Zakhmon se bhara seena hai mera, hansti hai magar yeh mast nazar) to the homeless youth who happily claims the whole world to be his playground (Rehne ko ghar nahi hai, saara jahan hamaara), Mukesh’s voice encapsulated the essence of RK’s everyman. Above all, his songs were imbued with ‘dard ‘, an underlying melancholy that became the hallmark of RK’s characters. This pain was apparent not only in moments of betrayal by dosts and pyaars, but also when the hero makes light of his own struggles. (Aasman main hai khuda aur zameen pe ham, aaj kal woh is taraf dekhta hai kam!)

In his own voice

Raj Kapoor’s preference for Mukesh becomes evident when we consider the song “O duniya ke rehne walon bolo kahan gaya chitchor” from Dil Ki Rani (1947), starring Raj Kapoor and a barely-teenage Madhubala. RK, our hero, is singing a simple, hummable melody on live radio, which resonated with the public so well that they happily sang it as they went about their day.  What makes the song noteworthy is not its musicality but that it is sung by Raj Kapoor himself! RK’s natural singing style in this song closely mirrors Mukesh’s, highlighting why Mukesh became his voice of choice. Another interesting aside is that the composer is ‘Kumar Sachindra Deo Varman’!

However, RK did not always have full control over playback choices. In the early 1950s, Mukesh was still establishing himself, and composers often had their own favourites. They often used other singers when situations required a semi-classical, or a peppy westernized style, which Mukesh’s voice could not fully accommodate.

O duniya ke rehne walon (Dil Ki Rani , 1947) SD Burman / YN Joshi / Raj Kapoor


 

The voice that could have been

Raj Kapoor worked with Madan Mohan in only two films, including Ashiana (1952), where Talat Mahmood was RK’s voice. In Main pagal mera manwa pagal, Talat’s silken voice perfectly captures the pain of an obsessed lover, syncing beautifully with RK’s persona in the film. Also, with the context being complex and the words more poetic and profound, Talat seems a perfect fit. It would be intriguing to imagine famous Mukesh-RK songs of the early years in Talat’s voice. In my mind, in an alternative universe, this would have been a great combination too!

Roshan too used Talat for Raj Kapoor in Anhonee (1952).  Main dil hun ek armaan bhara begins with a fairly deadpan Raj Kapoor singing for a roomful of people at a party. The crackling RK-Nargis chemistry comes alive when she walks up close and leans on the piano – with Talat’s voice and RK’s expressions in perfect unison. The film also has a Talat duet, Mere dil ki dhadkan kya bole, a ‘telephone’ song, like the other famous Talat song from Sujata. But that’s for a different article!

Another gem from the same year is Tum ko fursat ho, a more playful ghazal by Talat, from Bewafa (1952).  By all accounts, the song was more memorable than the film. The scene features Nargis in a swimsuit, quite bold for those days. The other noteworthy aspect of the film is the composer – A.R. Qureshi – known in another avatar as Ustad Alla Rakha! He had a modest career as a composer, and this song was probably his most famous.

Main dil hoon ik armaan bhara (Anhonee, 1952) Roshan / Satyendra Athaiya / Talat Mahmood


 

The voice for lightness

For Andaz (1949), Mukesh sang the major hits, all of them picturized on Dilip Kumar. However, Naushad used Rafi as Raj Kapoor’s voice in the duet Yun to aapas mein bigadte hain. Rafi sang for RK in just a handful of films, but there were several memorable songs in them – many of them with the typical ‘lightness’ of Rafi’s romantic numbers.  Mukesh’s dard did not always sit well with cheerful songs. Rafi’s range however, allowed him to flit freely from the semi-classical to the peppy and from the maudlin to the mad.

My personal favourite for this combination is Yeh saawan rut tum aur hum ta ra ra ra ram from Dastan (1950)a light, foot-tapping waltz picturized on RK and Suraiya. It would be difficult to imagine Mukesh producing the same effect with his melancholic signature.  This was the only film RK did with Suraiya, and the composition too felt like a one-off for Naushad.

Years later, in Ek Dil Sau Afsane (1962), Mukesh sang Mast nazar dekh idhar, another dance song in a party setting. But by then RK had probably internalized his tramp-like style involving staccato dance movements. So while it suited him, the visualization was not aesthetic, and the voice was not apt for the mood. All the songs of the film were by Mukesh, except for the memorable Tum hi tum ho mere jivan mein. It is said that Rafi had dubbed the song for the shoot, because Mukesh wasn’t available – but everyone (including Mukesh) felt that the version should be retained since it had come out so well.

Ta ra ri aa ra ri aa ra ri Yeh saawan rut tum aur hum (Dastan, 1950) Naushad / Shakeel Badayuni / Suraiya, Mohammed Rafi


 

The one-time voices

 The other Madan Mohan-RK film was Dhoon (1953).  Here, Madan Mohan’s choice for most songs was Rafi. I couldn’t access a video of this film or its songs, so one must assume that the romantic songs were picturized on RK. What’s interesting in the soundtrack is the song Hum pyar karenge, hum pyar karenge, a duet featuring Lata and Hemant Kumar. If indeed this song too was picturized on RK, as many on the internet claim, it would be the only instance of Hemant singing for RK. While the song is sweet, it would require a leap of imagination to see a match between the actor and singer.

Mohd. Rafi, Ranu Mukherjee, Ila Basu, Geeta Dutt. Opore Manabdendra, Pabitra Mitra, Nirmalendu, Raj Kapoor, Hemanta.

(Sitting L to R) Mohd. Rafi, Ranu Mukherjee, Ila Basu, Geeta Dutt. (Standing L to R) Manabdendra, Pabitra Mitra, Nirmalendu, Raj Kapoor, Hemanta.
(Pic courtesy: From the collections of Sri Susanta Kumar Chattopadhyay)

In Sargam (1950), C. Ramachandra used two singers for RK, Rafi and – CR himself!  CR was a versatile genius – his range was from semi-classical to comic, and as a singer he could mould his voice to suit any actor and any mood. The romantic Woh humse chup hain, hum unse chup hain is still wonderful to listen to nearly 75 years later. But another song by Chitalkar (CR’s singing name), Main hun ek khalasi, mera naam hai bhimpalasi, is a mad and peppy dance song that fitted RK’s on-screen antics perfectly.

Kishore Kumar had started singing for Dev Anand from the 1940s. But he had little to do with the other two greats, RK and Dilip Kumar. It was only in the 1970s that Kishore sang his only song for Dilip Kumar with Saala main to saab ban gaya. But did Kishore ever sing for Raj Kapoor? In Pyar (1950) composed by SD Burman, there are five songs by Kishore Kumar.

Now, videos of these are unavailable, so one can only assume that some of the songs would have been picturized on RK and Nargis, especially the romantic duets and the customary sad songs when the couple are apart. Some of the notable tracks include Ek hum aur ek tum, O bewafa yeh to bata, Mohabbat ka chota sa ik aashiana. I find it difficult to imagine a synergy between the voice and the actor, but part of that is certainly because of the powerful associations with Mukesh – whose soulful voice was so different from Kishore’s exuberance.

Among the lesser-known singers to give voice to RK were Narayan Dutt in Neelkamal (1947) and Shankar Dasgupta in Jan Pehchan (1950).

Wo humse chup hain (Sargam, 1950) C. Ramchandra / Pyarelal Santoshi / Chitalkar and Lata Mangeshkar


 

The other superhit voice

No list of Raj Kapoor’s top songs would be complete without Manna Dey. Unlike other playback legends who worked with RK sporadically (some like Mahendra Kapoor did none), Manna Dey sang for him from Awara (1951) to Abdullah (1980). Chori Chori produced two mega hits, the evergreen Aaja sanam and Yeh raat bheegi bheegi, but my personal favourite from this collaboration is Masti bhara hai sama from Parvarish (1958).

The same film has the iconic Aansoo bhari hai by Mukesh, and the difference in moods illustrates why composers opted for other voices for RK, when it required an upbeat tempo. Another example is Dil Hi To Hai (1963), where Roshan used Manna Dey for the classical-based Laaga chunari mein daag, and the qawwali, Parda utha salaam ho jaye, while Mukesh sings his other songs.

There is no doubt Mukesh gave soul to Raj Kapoor’s characters. Much has been written about this – and the great showman himself paid heartfelt tribute to the late singer during an interview when he said, Mukesh, my soul, my voice, I was just a mere body…when he died, I felt, there goes away my breath, there goes away my soul!”

But his gems from other partnerships remind us that RK’s soul voice was not his sole voice.

 

 

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Prakash Dharmarajan is a marketing professional who loves the era of black-and-white cinema.
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4 thoughts on “The Many Voices of Raj Kapoor

  • N.S.Rajan

    “Wo humse chup hain (Sargam, 1950) C. Ramchandra.”
    This is among my most favourite songs. C Ramchandra sang it delightfully with his unique voice and it was fittingly picturised on Raj Kapoor.
    And, as scintillating as this song was, “Aansoo bhari hain yeh jeevan ki raahein” simply melts you and Raj Kapoor comes across with the emotions perfectly.
    A nice article on the great showman although we may need volumes of prose to do him some justice.

  • Abhishek

    Yes, it was a very informative and descriptive article on so many different voices featuring Raj Kapoor. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Would like to read more n more articles on playback singers. Would like to write and share my articles also sometime.

    Thanks and Regards
    Abhishek

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