Happy birthday to Raj Kapoor.
Raj Kapoor is
remembered by the nation on his birthday on 14th December, 2011. He
was probably the most popular actor of bollywood films of the 40s, 50s and 60s
other than Dilip Kumar.
Dilip Kumar and
Raj Kapoor still remain the most popular actors of bollywood cinema in the last
70 years. One of the reasons of their immense success includes the superlative
class of music being given to the giant actors by Naushad and Shankar
Jaikishan.
Naushad gave
classic tunes to Dilip Kumar in the films Uran Khatola, Kohinoor,
Mughal-I-Azam, Leader, Dil Diya Dard Liya, Ram Aur Shyam, Aadmi, to name a few.
Rafi and Shakeel Badayani were the other players in the deadly combination.
Rafi’s songs for Dilip Kumar like “madhuban me radhika nachere”, “woh dur ke
musafir”, “tere husn ki kya taarif karun”, “koi sagar dil ko behlata nahi”,
“dilruba maine tere pyar me kya kya na kiya”, “aaj purani rahon se koi mujhe
awaaz na den”, “na aadmi ka koi bharosa”, “do sitaron ka zameen par hai Milan
aaj ki raat”, etc., remain one of the greatest creations of all times. If
Naushad was unparallel as a composer, Shakeel Badayani was unparallel as a
lyricist, Rafi was matchless as singer and Dilip Kumar matchless as an actor.
Producer
director Raj Kapoor was the closest competitor of Dilip Kumar during the 40s,
50s and 60s. In fact both the giants had acted together in the film Andaz in
1949. Raj Kapoor’s deadly combination with Shankar Jaikishan had produced super
hit films like Barsaat, Aah, Awara, Shree 40, Chori Chori, Anari, Jis Desh Me
Ganga Behti Hai, Sangam, to name a few. The music of those films were equally
popular and successful. Songs of Mukesh and Manna Dey like “ramaiya vasta
maiya”, “mur murk e na dekh”, “sab kuch seekha humne”, “yeh raat bheegi bheegi”,
“o mehbooba”, “dost dost na raha” “aa aab laut chalen”, had not lost their
flavor even after 50 years of their creation. As Raj Kapoor had other qualities
besides acting including production, direction, editing, etc., he is considered
the greatest showman of all times even today.
As far as the
compositions of Naushad and Shankar Jaikishan are considered, both the
composers had very strong classical orientation. Naushad gave folk tunes to
Dilip Kumar in Ganga Jumna sung by Rafi including “nain lad jaiy he” and Lata
in “dhoondo dhoondo resaajna”, etc. Shankar Jaikishan gave folk tunes to Raj
Kapoor in Teesri Kasam in songs like “chalet musafir” sung by Manna Dey, to
name a few.
If Naushad
displayed the muslim culture of Lucknow, Aligarh with his classical tunes in
films like Leader, Kohinoor, Mughal-i-azam, Shankar Jaikishan displayed the
European tunes in Raj Kapoor’s films Sangam, Around the World, etc., where the
westernized orchestrations complimented the colourful scenary of the foreign
countries. In fact, SJ’s tunes “chale jana zara theheron” showed the brilliance
of Lake Erie and Niagra Falls stretching from Canada to USA, and mesmerizing
the audience. Even in Sangam, the creation of SJ picturised in the snow-clad
Switzerland titled “ishq the ishq, I love you” showed SJ’s capability of
adapting to European tunes. The musical fountain in Around the World, showed
the brilliance of SJ in the film Around the World.
The lyrics
written by Shakeel Badayani in Dilip Kumar’s films where music was composed by
Naushad were as innovative as the lyrics written by Hasrat Jaipuri and Shankar
Jaikishan in Raj Kapoor’ films composed by Shankar Jaikishan. The lyrics
contained urdu shairy, bhopuri language, ultramodern lyrics, rural language,
etc. and appealed to the masses.
Naushad had
composed music in more than 15 films of Dilip Kumar and the same is the case of
Shankar Jaikishan in Raj Kapoor’s films. The music of each of those films can
be analysed and revisited.
It is impossible
to say whether Dilip Kumar’s combination with Naushad was greater than Raj
Kapoor’s combination with Shankar Jaikishan, but it is true that the two giants
had left assets for generations to cherish which had ended up being
masterpieces. New actors, composers, singers, directors learn from the success
of the Showman and Tragedy King and the works should be revisited.
Raj Kapoor’s
legacy is carried forward by his son Rishi Kapoor, grandson Ranbir Kapoor and
granddaughter Kareena Kapoor. Both Ranbir Kapoor and Kareena Kapoor had established
themselves in bollywood films and will go a long way. Raj Kapoor’s creations
should be preserved and restored.
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