Kalyanji Anandji had big combination with Mohammad Rafi.

Kalyanji Anandji had grand combination with Mohammad Rafi. In the Golden age of Indian film music, many composers have enriched the firmament of music with their innovative compositions, yet they did not get the recognition they deserved. Kalyanji Virji Shah (born in 1928) and Anandji Virji Shah, (born in 1933) better known as Kalyanji and Anandji, started their journey with the film Samrat Chandragupta, in 1958. In early 60s, Kalyanji Anandji provided successful tunes in Raj Kapoor’s Chalia, in 1960, where songs like “chalia mera naam”, “dum dum diga diga” becoming successful. Due to strong dominance of Shankar Jaikishan in that era, most of the music lovers could not dissociate compositions of other composers, and thought it was S J’s composition. In Raj Kapoor’ film Dulha Dulhan, 1964, Mukesh’s song “humne tumko pyar diya hai jitna” was composed with tragic andaz. Kalyanji Anandji associated with Mohammad Rafi, the man dominating the world of playback singing in that age in Shammi Kapoor’s film Bluff Master, 1963, where most of the songs were sung by Rafi followed by Joy Mukherjee’s Ji Chahta Hai, in 1964. The most successful composition of the musical duo came in 1965 with Shashi Kapoor’s film Jab Jab Phool Khilen, where Rafi’s songs ‘pardesiyon se na ankhiyan milana”, “mai yahan ek ajnabi hun”, “na na karke pyar” becoming super duper hits. In the film Himalay Ki God Me, 1965, Kalyanji Anandji’s composition and Mukesh and Lata’s songs became successful. In 1967, Kalyanji Anandji won filmfare award for their superlative composition in Manoj Kumar’s Upkaar. Manna Dey’s song “kasme wade” was as successful as Mahendra Kapoor’s song “o mere desh ke dharti” and Rafi’s duet song with Asha Bhosle “Gulabi raat gulabi”. Rafi’s combination with Kalyanji Anandji continued in Shashi Kapoor’s Haseena Maan Jayegi, in 1968, with songs like “Bekhudi me sanam”, “Chale the saath milke” and the songs in the film Raaz, 1967, where Rafi’s song “Akele Hain Chale Ayo” becoming very popular. Mukesh’s song “Chandan sa badan” from the film Saraswatichandra, 1968, was also successful. Kalyanji Anandji composed legendary bhajan for Rafi titled “sukh ke sab sathi, dukh me na koi” in Dilip Kumar’s film Gopi, 1970. In the 1970s, Kalyanji Anandji provided successful songs to Kishore Kumar including “Zindagi ka safar” in the film Safar. Rafi’s song in Raj Kumar’s Maryada, 1971, titled “tu jo aja” had an everlasting effect in the film. Kalyanji Anandji’s composition included hilly tunes composed in Rajender Kumar’s film Geet, in 1970, where Rafi’s songs “aaja tujhko pukare mere geet” becoming everlasting hit. Kalyanji Anandji were the only musical duo along with Laxmikant Pyarellal, who could blend their own skills with the general taste of popular cinema which changed with passage of time. That was the reason why Kalyanji Anandji succeeded in composing successful songs for Firoz Khan’s films Apradh, 1972, Dharmatma, 1975, Jaanbaaz, 1986, which were spread out in two decades. He even composed successful songs in action pact films like Muqaddar ka Sikander, 1977, where he asked Kishore Kumar to sing the song “rote hue ate hai sab” for Amitabh Bacchan in the happy mood, and Mohammad Rafi to sing the same song in sombre mood for Vinod Khanna in the same film. It is difficult to compile the contribution of Kalyanji Anandji in a short article because they had created everlasting hits in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and even 90s. But they had grand association with Rafi, and wherever they got opportunity the combination had provided immortal songs which can be preserved for immense musical value.

Kishore Kumar had been remembered on his birthday.

Kishore Kumar had been remembered on his birthday.

Kishore Kumar had been remembered on his birthday on 4th August, 2011. Kishore Kumar, the master entertainer had been one of the most colourful personalities of bollywood who just became more and more and more popular over the years, now it is almost 23 years after his demise. In respect of his acting performances hardly any actor even dared to imitate him as his improvisations were spontaneous. The part that is followed by numerous singers all over the country is his singing style.

When KK acted as hero in bollywood films he showed his acting capability even in playback singing like the song “c a t cat, cat mane billi” in the film Dilli Ka Thag. He brought out all the sounds of the animals that were named in the song. In the film Chalti Ka Naam Gari, in the song “paanch rupaiya bara ana” he imitated SD Burman and in every paragraph he had created a new style which justified the lyrics. In Half Ticket he showed the childishness in the song “chil chil chillake” composed by Salil Choudhury, which became very popular among children. He even sang the ladies version of the song “o sawariya” in the film Half Ticket, when he was teasing Pran during a song sequence. He had acted opposite many versatile actresses like Nutan in Dilli Ka Thug, Madhubala in Jhumru, Vaijayantimala in Aasha, to name a few.

All his innovations created history when he concentrated in playback singing only in the 70s. He made the audience realize that he was singing for Dev Anand, or Rajesh Khanna or Big B, to name a few. His songs “gata rahe mera dil” from Guide, “roop tera mastana” from Aradhana, “kuch to log kahenge” from Amar Prem, “tere mere Milan ki” from Abhimaan have created history over the years. With Big B he had a tremendous combination and had sung in almost all the films of Big B till 1987, including Don, Shaan, Mr. Natwarlal, Do Aur Do Paanch, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Kaalia, Silsila, etc. The list can go on.

In the 80s, it was KK all the way, when he had no competitors. All his songs in Big B’s film Namakhalal, Sharaabi, became record hits. Even in Rishi Kapoor’s Sagar, his song “sagar kinare” had romantic appeal. Composers like RD Burman, Bappi Lahiri, Rajesh Roshan could not think about any composition without KK. He provided playback for almost all the leading actors of bollywood in the 80s, namely Amitabh Bacchan, Rishi Kapoor, Vinod Khanna, Anil Kapoor, Mithun Chakravarty, and others. He became the legend of legends and all the actors of the 70s and 80s are indebted for his colourful playback.

After his death Kumar Shanu, Abhijeet, Vinod Rathod, Babul Supriyo and other singers had established themselves by following his style of singing. It has not happened with any other playback singer of bollywood. His styles were very entertaining, romantic and filmic.

Articles after articles can be devoted to the master entertainer and it can be said that he had remained alive all over the years in his numerous films and thousands of songs. His films and songs should be preserved.

Kalyanji Anandji cared for Rafi in the 70s.

Kalyanji Anandji cared for Rafi in the 70s.

Mohammad Rafi was the uncrowned king of bollywood music in the 50s and 60s. After the composers like Naushad, Shankar Jaikishan, Roshan, Madanmohan, Ghulam Mohammad, OP Nayyar, and others realized the range of voice of Rafi, they made him the first choice during a period when able singers like Mukesh, Manna Dey, Talat Mehmood, and others were at the top of their career. But Kalyanji Anandji’s association with Rafi in the 70s require special mention considering the fact that RD Burman and SD Burman sidelined Rafi to promote Kishore Kumar and with the death of Jaikishan, Roshan and many composers the only challenge that could be put forward before RD Burman was done by LP and KA.

Kalyanji Anandji started their career at that time. The film industry was not moved to that extent with his film Samrat Chandragupta in 1958. In Raj Kapoor’s film Chalia and Dulha Dulhan, KA gave decent music, with songs like “chalia mera naam”, “humne tumko pyar kiya hai jitna” sung by Mukesh becoming big hits. It was difficult for Kalyanji Anandji to get the scope of composing films of leading actors of the 60s who were associated with Rafi, for the sole reason that most of the actors were associated with established composers. Pradeep Kumar was associated with Roshan, Guru Dutt was associated with OP Nayyar, Shammi Kapoor and Rajender Kumar was associated with Shankar Jaikishan, Dilip Kumar was associated with Naushad, to name a few.

But wherever he got scope of composing music in the films of such big shots, he used Rafi very well. Rafi’s songs in Shammi Kapoor’s film Bluff Master (with hit song of Rafi like “govinda ala re”) and Joy Mukherjee’s film Ji Chahta Hai (the title song “ji chahta hai” require special mention) were very melodious. KA’s music in Shashi Kapoor’s film Jab Jab Phool Khilen created sensation in the mid 60s.

Each song of Rafi including “pardesiyon se na”, “mai yahan ek ajnabee hoon”, “na na karke pyar”, etc., entertained the audience. KA Rafi struck gold in Shashi Kapoor’s film Haseena Maan Jayegi. All the songs of the film were hits including “bekhudi me sanam”, “chale the saath milke”, “dilbar dilbar”, etc. Besides, KA also used Rafi in duet song “gulaabi raat gulaabi” with Asha in the film Upkar, where Mahendra Kapoor’s song “mere desh ki dharti” and Manna Dey’s song “kasme wade” made everlasting impact in the minds of the listeners.

KA Rafi combination was very successful in Rajesh Khanna’s film Raaz, with notable songs “akele hai chale ayon”. In the 70s, KA continued with their loyalty with Rafi. In Dilip Kumar’s Gopi, KA gave landmark bhajan “sukh ke saab saathi” which still remains one of the adorable devotional songs. KA and Rafi created storms with the film Geet.

Each and every song of Rafi in Rajender Kumar’s Geet became super hit including “aja tujhko pukare meri geet”. The compositions of KA involving folk flavor of the mountains always enchanted the Indian audience. Right from Himalay Ki Godme to Maryada, KA maintained the consistency.

KA Rafi combination created gold in Raj Kumar’s Maryada as well. Although KA gave songs to KK like “gussa itna hasin hai to” for Rajesh Khanna, they maintained the Raj Kumar Rafi combination by giving the song “dhol sajni dhol jani”. KA kept the Dilip Kumar and Rafi combination intact in the film Bairaag with hit songs like “peete peete”, “sari shahar me aapsa koi nahi”, etc. KA continued with Rafi in Feroz Khan’s films as well. One of the hit songs include “kya dekhte ho” from the film Qurbani.

Due to huge demand for KK to sing for Big B, KA had to comprise with KK in films like Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, but KA used Rafi to sing the same title song “rote hue ate hai sab” which was sung by KK. KA showed their respect for Rafi without doing injustice to Mukesh, Manna Dey, Kishore, Mahendra Kapoor and others. It is not possible to cover the Rafi KA combination in a small article as KA had contributed in more than 250 films over a period of 40 years. The songs and the films should be restored.

Gulshan Bawra's death is painful for music-lovers in India.

Gulshan Bawra’s death is painful for music-lovers in India.

The music lovers all across India mourn the death of legendary lyricist Gulshan Bawra, who died on 7th August, 2009, at the age of 72 years. He had died his heart failure.

Although his involvement in lyrics of bollywood films is related to less number of songs if compared with the dynamism of Shakeel Badayani, Hasrat Jaipuri, Shailendra, Sahir Ludhiyanvi, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Kaifi Azmi and others, his words were very meaningful and his work was appreciated by elite section of the society. Born in 1937, he came to Bombay as a railway clerk in the 50s and showed his talent as a lyricist in due time.

His song “tumhe yaad hoga kabhi hum milethe” sung by Hemant Kumar and Lata in Balraj Sahani’s film Satta Bazar gave him recognition. He received filmfare award for the best lyricist for his brilliant composition “mere desh ki dharti”, sung by Mahendra Kapoor and composed by Kalyanji Anandji in the film Upkaar in 1967. Manoj Kumar’s epic film won most of the awards that year and Gulshan Kumar gave his best for the epic film. He had a great combination with Kalyanji Anandji and for them he wrote different types of songs including patriotic songs, romantic numbers, tragic numbers, etc.

He again got filmfare award for the best lyrics written for the song “yaari hai imaan mera yaar meri zindagi” for the film Zanjeer. It was sung by legendary singer Manna Dey and composed by Kalyanji Anandji. Gulshan Bawra also acted in the film and gave lips in a song sung by Rafi.

His other hit songs included “kasme wade nibhayenge hum” and “aati rahegi baharen” in the film Kasme Wade, composed by RD Burman, “wada karle saajna” from the film Haath Ki Safai, and many other songs.

He faded away from the industry after the emergence of new lyricists in the 1990s. But his works were very meaningful and unique. His songs should be preserved.