{"id":5226,"date":"2019-09-28T00:58:23","date_gmt":"2019-09-27T19:28:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/?p=5226"},"modified":"2020-09-28T10:26:47","modified_gmt":"2020-09-28T04:56:47","slug":"lata-mangeshkar-sings-for-madan-mohan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/learningandcreativity.com\/silhouette\/lata-mangeshkar-sings-for-madan-mohan\/","title":{"rendered":"Lata Mangeshkar Sings for Madan Mohan"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Subhas Ghoshal:<\/strong> It is believed that Ghulam Haider introduced Lataji<\/em> and Madanji<\/em> to each other in 1946 at the recording of either Shaheed<\/em> or Majboor<\/em> songs at the Bombay Talkies Studio? How did their association begin?<\/p>\n

Sangeeta Gupta<\/strong>: It was during the making of the film Shaheed<\/em> which starred Dilip Kumar that Lataji<\/em> and Madanji<\/em> interacted for the first time. Master Ghulam Haider, who was the composer of the film, got the two of them to sing a song to be picturized on a brother and sister pair. However, the song is not available anywhere, nor has the video of the song been seen. It was after the completion of the recording that Madanji<\/em> told Lataji<\/em> that he was planning to become a composer and would be very happy to have her sing under his baton\u2026.She nodded her head and then the conversation came to be forgotten.<\/p>\n

\"Lata<\/a>

The happy brother\/sister photograph of Lata with her Madan Bhaiyya (Pic: Madanmohan.in)<\/p><\/div>\n

Subhas Ghoshal<\/strong>: Madanji<\/em> said he will turn music director and give her songs but there was no song for her in his first film. Which were his first songs for Lataji<\/em>?<\/p>\n

Sangeeta Gupta<\/strong>: He did approach Lataji<\/em> to sing in his debut film Aankhen<\/em> which released in 1950, but that did not happen. In Lataji<\/em>\u2019s words, she did not take his becoming a composer seriously as she felt that he may not do justice to the profession, since he was a studio baron\u2019s son and what would he know about composing.<\/p>\n

But, after Aankhen<\/em> released and the music was appreciated, she regretted her decision and from then onwards in Ada<\/em> and Madhosh<\/em>, which released in 1951, they combined together.<\/p>\n

He expressed his regret and said that since they had sung the song to be picturised on a brother and sister, they would now be brother and sister in life from that day onwards. This sentiment remains till today, even though it is 44 years since he passed away. Lataji<\/em> welcomed my mother as a young bride and they were very close friends till the day my mother passed away in 1980. She has taken the place of our parents in our lives and has been a big support.<\/p>\n

The songs in Ada<\/em> and Madhosh<\/em> were very melodious, just the kind Lataji <\/em>sang, and so different from the ones that Shamshad Begumji <\/em>sang his first film Aankhen<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Some of them are Aankhon aankhon mein unn se pyar ho gaya<\/em>, Saanwari surat man bhayi re piya<\/em> and Preetam meri duniya mein do din to rahe hote<\/em> from Ada<\/em> and six solo romantic songs from Madhosh<\/em>, which include Hummein ho gaya tumse pyar bedardi balma, Mere dil ki nagariya mein ana<\/em> and Meri aankhon ki neend le gaya.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Madan

Taken at a dinner reception to celebrate the wedding of Madanji with Sheila Dhingra. Lataji was part of the celebrations in Madanji and Sheilaji’s lives till the day they lived…and thereafter (Pic: Madanmohan.in)<\/p><\/div>\n

Subhas Ghoshal<\/strong>: Shyam Sundar was a great music director and was revered by all in the music fraternity. It is said music directors used to touch their earlobes in respect when Shyam Sundar was referred to in any discussion. Madan Mohan was a fan of this music director and his style; especially his forte which was ghazals<\/em>. One can refer to the songs in Sajan ki Galiyan<\/em> and other films. When Shyam Sunder passed away at a young age, Madan Mohan was asked to complete some of his films. It seems Madanji<\/em> got inspired by Shyam Sunder’s style and then added his innovations and took the ghazal<\/em> composing style way beyond what it had been to create the famous Madan Mohan style.\u00a0How did his music develop its niche style?<\/p>\n

Sangeeta Gupta<\/strong>: You mean the song Saajan ki galiyan chhod chale<\/em> from the film Bazar <\/em>which had music by Shyam Sundarji<\/em>? Madanji<\/em> had great grasping power, and learned mostly by listening to the great exponents of Hindustani Classical vocalists and instrumentalists. He never had a guru or a teacher to train him as such. He was very innovative. If you observe his songs over the period, you will find him changing with the times.<\/p>\n

\"madan<\/a>

(L to R) C Ramchandra, Anil Biswas, Mohd Shafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Madan Mohan and his wife Sheila, Jaikishan and Shankar at the Madan Mohan-Sheila wedding<\/p><\/div>\n

Madan Mohan\u2019s Use of Indian Instruments<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Subhas Ghoshal<\/strong>: He made generous use of Indian instruments such as the sitar, getting the maestros to play for him. For example, in Madhosh<\/em>, Ustad Vilayat Khan is credited for all the sitar pieces.<\/p>\n

\"Ustad

Ustad Vilayat Khan credited for background music in Madhosh<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n

There were many sitar pieces played in the background of the film and uncountable classical raags<\/em> used can be heard if you watch the film carefully. But the icing on the cake is probably the famous Lata solo, Humein ho gaya tumse pyaar, <\/em>with the sitar playing in the background. The song is in fact composed like a Raag Bhairavi dhun, and Ustad Vilayat Khan saahab, <\/em>one of the greatest sitarists ever born, played it with improvisation and awesome flair to make it a memorable treat for the ears.<\/p>\n

One can listen to the original here:<\/p>\n