It is true that Madan Mohan hardly produced any foot-tapping music that would have brought him commercial success, yet he would never compromise on the quality of music. He was and remains Hindi cinema’s most favourite classical voice
Even after almost 40 years, the patriotic fervour of Haqeeqat (1964) in ‘Kar chale hum fida jano tan sathiyo/Ab tumhare hawale watan sathiyo...’ has the potential of giving one goose pimples, if not moist eyes. Many among the current generation, who may not have seen the film but only heard this famous composition of Kaifi Azmi, immortalised by music maestro Madan Mohan, are moved equally. Affectionately known as Madan bhaiya in the film industry, he died at a very young age in 1975 when he was at the top of his career. His 95th birth anniversary will be celebrated on June 25.
Music directors of yesteryears have been known to be choosy about films but nevertheless, continued to work hard and almost always had a good tune ready to fit the lyrics and the situation.
Madan Mohan, it is understood, had a large collection of such musical scores in his bank, which could not be used due to his premature death. This memorable music was well-preserved by Sanjeev Kohli, his son, and was used in Yash Chopra’s Veer-Zaara. The film went on to win the award for the best musical score of 2005.
That the listing for the award showed the winner to be Madan Mohan, even 30 years after he had left us, was the ultimate tribute. Earlier, he had received the national award for the best musical score for Dastak in 1970. Later, the Government of India had also issued a postage stamp in his honour.
An immensely talented musical mind, Madan Mohan could not fit in the Army as an officer and left after the World War II to join the All India Radio (AIR). His first posting was at Lucknow, where he got an opportunity to make some influential contacts. His position at AIR did not give him much but he was able to learn and was greatly inspired by Ustad Ali Akbar Khan and Begum Akhtar — both master exponents of thumri and ghazal. Ultimately, it was the magnetic pull of the film world which made him resign from AIR and took him to Bombay (now Mumbai).
Popularly known as the ghazal king of his times, he was always able to bring out the best from Lata Mangeshkar. Unko ye shikaayat hai ki hum kuch nahi kehte... and Yun hasraton ke dagh..., both from the film Adalat (1958) and rendered by Lata, remain unsurpassable as ghazals go even today.
Lata had a special bond with him and in spite of Madan Mohan having passed away more than 40 years ago, she still rates songs she did with him among some of her best like Aap ki nazron ne samjha... from Anpadh (1962) and Bairan neend na aaye...from Chacha Zindabad (1959). Not far behind are Woh Kaun Thi? (1964) with haunting melodies like Naina barse rimjhim rimjhim... and Lag ja gale se... besides Woh bhooli dastan lo phir yaad... from Sanjog (1961).
The success of the mystery woman theme in Woh Kaun Thi? was carried forward by director Raj Khosla, again with Madan Mohan and Sadhana, in Mera Saaya (1966) having refreshing and hit melodies like Naino me badra chhaye... and Jhumka gira re Bareli ke bazaar mein... An interesting fact about Mera Saaya, which also brings out the perfectionist in Madan Mohan, is that Lata, being extremely busy, could not complete recording the Jhumka song though the shooting for the same had already been scheduled. In the circumstances, while Sadhna performed and lip-synced, the singing was actually done by Madan Mohan, which was, of course, later replaced by Lata’s original.
In fact, Madan Mohan had started his career in the film world as a playback singer under music composer Ghulam Haider and had even recorded a duet with Lata.
Otherwise, a very non-descript film, Dekh Kabira Roya (1957) had seven compositions, each one a gem from Madan Mohan. For the record, in this film, six playback singers were used — each one for a different mood and some of the compositions were among his best.
These included Kaun aaya mere man ke dware... in classical form by Manna Dey, Humse aaya na gaya... by Talat Mahmood, Ashkon se teri hamane tasvir banaai hai... by Asha Bhosle and Tu pyar kare ya thukraye... by Lata.
An extremely sensitive person, he could easily convey the depth of emotions through his musical notes. Sometimes even through a background score, as in the case of Mausam (1976) towards the climax, when Sharmila Tagore and Sanjeev Kumar were giving their best. Though the film was released after Madan Mohan passed away, it was acclaimed widely.
But it was not always the classical base that Madan Mohan succeeded at; his versatility was made eloquent by Geeta Dutt in Ae dil mujhe bata de, tu kis pe aa gaya hai... from Bhai-Bhai (1956), which paired Ashok Kumar and Kishore Kumar for the first time and again in the Kishore starrer Man-Mauji (1962) where Zaroorat hai ek shrimati ki... topped the charts for months.
Earlier, he had successfully tried his hand at piano in Mem Sahib (1956), where the on-screen serenading of Meena Kumari by Shammi Kapoor in Kehta hai dil tum ho mere liye... along with Dil dil se milakar dekho... were immensely popular as also Ye nayi nayi preet hai, tu hi to mera meet hai... besides other songs of the Dev Anand-starrer Pocket Maar (1957).
It is true that Madan Mohan hardly produced any foot-tapping music, which would have brought him commercial success, but still, he would never compromise on the quality of music which was always a connoisseur’s delight.
(The writer is a retired Delhi Police Commissioner and former Uttarakhand Governor)
