In the long history of Hindi cinema, we can handpick a small but distinguished group of men who can be called “musical filmmakers”. India is the only country where music is an obligatory part of every film, irrespective of genre, and these filmmakers anointed their movies with outstanding music, oftener than not. In many cases, therefore, the songs live on even if the parent movie is forgotten.
Raj Kapoor and V. Shantaram are the first names that come up among such filmmakers, but there are others: Guru Dutt, L.V. Prasad, Manoj Kumar, Manmohan Desai, Mahesh Bhatt, Sanjay Leela Bhansali to name a few. And shining and looming tall amidst all these is that genius, Raj Khosla, whose centenary falls on May 31.
Uniquely RK
Many such filmmakers score high in music mainly or only with one or two composers. But Khosla delivered musical aces with not just multiple composers but also varied genre movies. Khosla’s inclination was always towards music. Initially, he wanted to be a singer. He was advised by good friend, Dev Anand, to try his hand at direction, as he had shown a knack for dissecting movies and shots in their conversations, and the musical Guru Dutt took him on as assistant.
Like Manoj Kumar (who later acted in three of his movies, Woh Kaun Thi?, Do Badan and Anita and co-scripted the first), Khosla’s sense of music was audiovisual, for he realised that a song had to be an imaginative and integral part of the story.
A classic such early example was the teasing Mohammed Rafi song for Dev, Yehi to hai woh (Solva Saal), his third film, with Waheeda Rehman as target, or Dekhne mein bhola hai dil ka salona, in which Suchitra Sen needles the same Dev in Khosla’s debut production, Bambai Ka Babu.
Supporting artistes, even junior artistes and dancers, often played key roles in some marvellous songs he conceived and filmed cerebrally. In Khosla’s second film and first blockbuster, C.I.D., we had Shamshad Begum singing the O.P. Nayyar delight, Boojh mera kya naam re for Minoo Mumtaz, who did not feature in the movie’s storyline. In the same film, Sheela Vaz and Shyam Kapoor appeared only to enact Leke pehla pehla pyar with Dev Anand and Shakila, the lead pair, in the forefront, and the song reflecting on their moods, as Shakila pretends to be angry with her lover.
For me, the peak use of this brilliant audiovisual narrative technique came in the highly erotic yet situational use of the 13th century Sufi poet Ameer Khusrau-written evergreen, Chhap tilak sab chhini filmed essentially on Deb Mukerji and Khosla’s niece Geeta Behl but lip-synched by two dancers in Khosla’s last masterpiece (not last hit, which was Dostana), Main Tulsi Tere Aangan Ki (1978). As those who have watched the film know, this was a crucial turning-point in the allegorical film’s storyline.
Bambai Ka Babu |
Imports
Khosla was probably the first director to ‘import’ musical creatives into his movies. The above-mentioned song, sung by Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, composed afresh by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, with modified lyrics by Anand Bakshi (this was Khosla’s favourite composer-writer team, involved in 10 of his 26 directorials, with Bakshi doing five more films) is arguably the meatiest, catchiest and most melodious interpretation of Khusrau’s masterpiece. And Saiyaan roothe rahe, the introductory track of this film, was a traditional Shobha Gurtu mujra, re-recorded under L-P.
Khosla also used Ghulam Ali’s famous ghazal, Awargi tellingly in Maati Maangey Khoon, but as per convention then, the song was never credited to Ali as composer, or to Mohsin Naqvi as poet. In Nehle Pe Dehlaa, Aziz Nazan got credit as singer but not composer in Sun le tu binti meri Haji Ali, though the lyrics were credited to Farukh Kaiser, Khosla’s assistant at direction, and a well-known songwriter. In both cases, R.D. Burman was the composer and Bakshi the lyricist!
Songs of ‘character’
And songs by character artistes was another of Khosla’s strengths. Remember Mehmood Jr. enacting Apni apni biwi pe sab ko guroor hai in Do Raaste? Laxmi Chhaya making a whopper impact in not one but three songs (of five!) in Mera Gaon Mera Desh, led by Maar diya jaaye and Hai sharmaoon kis kis ko bataaon with Aaya aaya atariya pe koi chor, all sung by Lata Mangeshkar? Johnny Walker, of course, led the list with Ae dil hai mushkil from C.I.D. and Zara se agar bewafa hum na hote (Kuchhe Dhaage). Note how each song was a powerful part of the story.
And let’s not forget that mujras were also a Khosla favourite genre, best represented in Kala Pani’s Nazar laagi raja tore bangle par.
Do premee |
Musical highs
Apart from C.I.D., in which producer Guru Dutt had a major say, Khosla’s debut film, Milap, saw a major Dutt influence. Jaate ho to jaao (Geeta Dutt) and Bachna zaraa yeh zamana hai bura (Geeta-Rafi) saw major influences in the filming before Khosla evolved into doing his own thing.
He worked with S.D. Burman in three films (Solva Saal, Kala Pani, Bambai Ka Babu) in the phase when he was sadly not working with Lata. With Madan Mohan’s Woh Kaun Thi?, the Lata-Raj Khosla association began in full force (Lag jaa gale, Naina barse, Jo humne dastan), followed by Mera Saaya (Nainon mein badraa chhaye and the title-track).
And, yet, it was largely Laxmikant-Pyarelal who brought in Lata’s maximum songs for Khosla. The L-P-Lata oeuvre includes all five songs of Mera Gaon… (one a duet with Rafi) and Kuchhe Dhaage (one a duet with Hemlata) each and also Anita, Prem Kahani, Main Tulsi… and more. The title-song of the last film remains a masterpiece for all time and remains among Bakshi’s best-ever work.
Asha Bhosle thus played second fiddle after Lata’s entry despite dominating Ek Musafir Ek Hasina and Do Badan. The former was a romantic musical and had 10 songs, eight of which were hits. Actress Sadhana told me that she had laid a bet with Khosla on which song would lead the hits, and she was proved right! Outside that film, Asha rendered the cult Jhumka gira re (Mera Saaya) for the actress, which was re-created imaginatively in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (2003)!
Woh kaun thi |
And here is Khosla talking to me in 1990: “When I launched my Naqab, I had delivered six flops in a row and finance was tight. If I had approached Laxmi-Pyare and Bakshi, they would have done my film for free, though they were at the absolute top. I did not want to exploit our friendship, so I finally located a music teacher, Kamal Makhdoom, who earned his living teaching poor students. Farukh Kaiser came in to write all my lyrics, and Ashaji sang all the female songs. And after the score was complete, she even told me, ‘If this music is marketed well, it will be a second Umrao Jaan for me!’ But the music company had issues with her, and when my film flopped, the songs never took off!”
Naqab, Khosla’s swan song starring Rishi Kapoor and Farha, had immortal songs that also included Suresh Wadkar’s Bolunga nahin munh se, Suresh-Asha’s Naina lad gaye and a bevy of Asha gems led by Jaaneman jaane jahan, Ankhen meri badalne lagi and Na kisika dil mujhe chahiye.
Though Khosla termed S.D. Burman and Madan Mohan “creative geniuses” and strangely did not talk about either O.P. Nayyar or Ravi, he called R.D. Burman a “colossal talent” (though their work together never really worked). But his emotional statement was: “After I worked with L-P, I did not need anyone else!” His association with Anand Bakshi also had a delicate core: Bakshi refused the cheque Khosla gave him when he was brought in by L-P to write Hai nazar ka ishara for Anita after Raja Mehdi Ali Khan’s death and told the filmmaker to give the money to Khan’s widow instead.
Mera saya |
Musical variety
Chartbusters as well as classics (obviously not always synonymous), the Khosla repertoire has them all from a Ankhon hi ankhon mein (C.I.D.) to a Bindiya chamkegi (Do Raaste) and more formulaic songs like Rahaa gardishon mein har dam (Do Badan) or Accha ji main haari (Kala Pani). But I must mention two unique yet unsung gems from his voluminous repertoire. Manna Dey’s Tak dhum tak dhum baje, the Majrooh Sultanpuri (Khosla’s earlier favourite songwriter)-written satirical sparkler composed by S.D. Burman for Dev Anand in Bambai Ka Babu and the Kishore Kumar stunner, Prem ka rog lagaa that was filmed on Rishi Kapoor amidst junkies in Do Premee, a L-P-Bakshi creation are both personal favourites among this musical RK’s towering melodies.
