Madan Mohan (director)
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Madan Mohan Kohli (Hindi: मदन मोहन) (June 25, 1924 - July 14, 1975), better known as Madan Mohan, was a famed Bollywood film music director of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He is particularly remembered for the ghazals he composed for the film industry, mainly using the voice of India's Melody Queen, Lata Mangeshkar.
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[edit] Background
Madan Mohan, born In Baghdad, Iraq, was the son of film mogul Rai Bahadur Chunnilal, who was a partner in the Bombay Talkies studio and then in the Filmistan studio.
At the behest of his father, he joined the army and received his first commission (emergency) in 1943.[1] Though as history would have it, he quit the armed forces and turned to his first love -- music. He joined All India Radio in Lucknow, where he brushed shoulders with such ghazal and classical luminaries as Ustad Faiyyaz Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Begum Akhtar, and Talat Mahmood. He picked up their influences and carried them with him to Mumbai when he entered Bollywood. Not many know that he aspired to becoming an actor but ended up directing music.
[edit] Career
[edit] Early career
After assisting S.D. Burman and Shyam Sunder for a short time, Madan scored his first big break with the film Aankhen in 1950. His next film was "Adaa". This film saw the beginning of a long and fruitful partnership with Lata Mangeshkar; she would sing for him in majority of his future films. Madan Mohan songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar have a certain magic and sweetness to them that few music directors, if any, have been able to recreate. Wo Chup Rahen To from the film Jahan Ara (1964) and Maine Rang Li Aaj Chunariya from Dulhan Ek Raat Ki (1966) are just two such examples. Madan was also able to craft beautiful songs for male singers such as Talat Mahmood (Phir Wohi Saam, Main Teri Nazar Ka Suroor Hoon and Teri Aankh Ke Aansoo from Jahan Ara, and Meri Yaad Mein Tum Na from Madhosh) and Mohammad Rafi (Ek Haseen Shaam Ko from Dulhan Ek Raat Ki, Kisi Ki Yaad Mein from Jahan Ara, Main Nigahen Tere Chehere Se from Aap Ki Parchaiyian, Aap Ke Pehlun Mein Aakar Ro Diye from Mera Saaya, the all-time haunting Meri Awaaz Suno and Tumhare Zulf Ke Sayen from Naunihal, Teri Aankhon Ke Siva Duniya Mein from Chiraag as well. Madan did not usually employ Kishore Kumar, as his tunes were complex classical-based compositions and "Kishoreda" had a singing style that was more pop-oriented. Nonetheless their partnership created wonderful songs as well; in this category fall hits such as Simti Si, Sharmai Si from Parwana, Zaroorat Hai, Zaroorat Hai from Manmauji, the title song from Ek Muthi Aasman, Mera Naam Abdul Rehman from Bhai Bhai, and Aai Hasino, Naazanino from Chacha Zindabad.
During his early career Madan Mohan had been mildly criticized for creating songs that suited female voices, especially that of Lata Mangeshkar (who called him Madan Bhaiya or "Brother Madan"). But this is not true all the way; in 1957 he came out with a huge musical blockbuster named Dekh Kabira Roya in which legendary singer Manna Dey gave his voice to the melodious Kaun Aaya Mere Man Ke Dwaare. In addition to that, he had Lata sing the divine Tu Pyaar Kare Ya Thukraaye and Meri Veena Tum Bin Roye numbers, and he used Talat Mahmood for the superhit song Hum Se Aaya Na Gaya in the same movie. Once in an interview Manna Dey recalled that Madan Mohan "sahab" asked him to take special care when singing Kaun Aaya Mere Man Ke Dwaare.
[edit] Work of note
A famous film scored by Madan was Chetan Anand's Haqeeqat (1964), starring Balraj Sahni and Dharmendra and based on the Sino-Indian War of 1962. In it, he used Rafi, who sang amazing numbers like Kar Chale Hum Fida, Main Yeh Soch Kar which were very big hits. Lata was used evocatively for the famous song Zara Si Aahat Hoti Hai and the unscreened " Khelo na mere dilse". And the same film saw Rafi, Talat, Manna Dey, and Bhupendra singing Hoke Majboor Mujhe Usne Bulaya Hoga. Bhupendra appeared on the screen as well for the first time, much before he established himself as a popular playback singer. This song also happens to be the only song in which 4 top rated male playback singers have lend their voice together in a song. Also, this song is widely believed to be the inspiration behind another bollywood hit, "Sandese aate hai" from the film Border.
Madan Mohan's most successful venture was Raj Khosla's Desi version of "Woman in White", titled "Woh Kaun Thi?". This film has three Lata solos( 'Naina barse rim jhim rim jhim', 'Lag ja gale' and 'Jo humne daastaan apni sunaye') and a Lata duet, all of which have transcended time and are still heard and applauded both by the mass and the class with the same enthusiasm today.
In 1970, during the changing times of western music he gave music based on ragas for Rajinder Singh Bedi's Dastak and won his only 1971 National Film Award for Best Music Direction. Its songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar are still considered her finest. [2] The late fifties, sixties and the early seventies were the most productive period in Madan Mohan’s career. Best of the breed from the Madan Mohan stable include compositions for films like Adalat, Anpadh, Dulhan ek raat ki, Mera Saya, Dastak, Hanste Zakhm , Heer Raanjha, Maharaja, and Mausam, among many others. His last bow was for a film released five years after his death, Chalbaaz.
[edit] Lyricists
Madan's favourite lyricists were Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, Kaifi Azmi, and Rajinder Krishan, but Sahir Ludhianvi and Majrooh Sultanpuri also collaborated with him on a few movies. The Madan-Raja pairing in particular produced the classic Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha from the movie Anpadh (1962). Among the many admirers of the song was the legendary Naushad who reportedly said, "Let me have this ghazal and take all my compositions in return" upon hearing it. Madan and Raja also came up with the fantastic tunes for Mera Saaya in 1966, a film starring Sunil Dutt as the male lead.
[edit] Ghazals
Madan's talent for ghazals was unmatched in the Indian film world; Lata Mangeshkar christened him "Ghazal ka Shehzadaa", or the Prince of Ghazals. However, his music could never find the mass appeal like the tunes of S.D. Burman or Shankar Jaikishan could. Also, many of the top film actors of the day (who were also studio heads) had fallen into a groove with their preferred composers (e.g., Raj Kapoor had Shankar Jaikishan, Dev Anand had the Burmans, Dilip Kumar had Naushad, etc.) Hence, he often had difficulty finding assignments. But when he did, he gave it his all. A testament to this fact is his 1964 Filmfare Award nomination for Best Music Director for Woh Kaun Thi. In a tightly-contested race, both Madan and Shankar Jaikishan (Sangam) lost to relative newcomers Laxmikant Pyarelal, who had done a fine job in scoring Dosti.
[edit] Death and After
Madan's constant struggles took a toll on his life, and he began drinking heavily. He died of liver cirrhosis on July 14, 1975, but not before enthralling millions of Indians across the world with some of his memorable tracks, in films Mausam and Laila Majnu, which were released after his death became resounding musical successes.
In 2004, Madan's unused tunes were recreated by his son, Sanjeev Kohli, for the Yash Chopra blockbuster Veer-Zaara, starring Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta, and Rani Mukerji. The lyrics were written by Javed Akhtar, and Lata Mangeshkar was invited to once again sing the majority of the melodies composed by her dear friend. [3]
It is no exaggeration to say that Hindi film music never saw and will never see again the sort of 'ghazals' that the Madan-Lata combination produced. They are timeless in their composition, lyrics, vocal rendering and music - treasures to be cherished generation after generation.
[edit] Book on Madan Mohan
'Madan Mohan: An Unforgettable Composer - Edited by V M Joshi & Suresh Rao, presents an analytical look at the composer’s work. It includes articles by Sanjeev Kohli, Akshay Kohli, O P Dutta, Uttam Singh, B R Ishara, Dr. Ashok Ranade, Alka Deo Marulkar, Mridula Joshi, Dr. Kirti Sachdeva, Deepak Jeswal and many more; interviews with Lata Mangeshkar, Shreya Ghoshal, Mahalaxmi Iyer & Rehana Sultan, and Madan Mohan’s filmography.
[edit] Style
Madan's music was characterized by his immense ability to meld elements of Indian and Western classical music into a new style of Hindi filmi song. He had a keen and sensitive ear for the nuances of Indian classical tunes, and combined them with elements of Western music such as harmonies to produce a style of music that could be appreciated by both classical music aficionados and the common person alike.
