Trivia Tunes: From lyrics communicated emotions to hiccups with multiple-composers, how film music has changed

By Rajiv Vijayakar -

September 2, 2023 - 2:42 PM IST

Communication is the key
The plethora of old songs used in Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahani showcases something more than merely using them for the on-screen older romantic couple that is shown being fond of Hindi film music. The situations in the script are such that the excellent lyrics of Indeevar (‘Aap Jaisa Koi’), Santosh Anand (‘Ek Pyar Ka Naghma Hai’), Anand Bakshi (‘Aaj Mausam Beimaan Hai Bada’), Shailendra (‘Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai’) and Sahir (‘Abhi Na Jaao Chhodkar’) fit them like a glove. All this highlights the fact that until film music lost its sheen some half-a-decade ago, lyrics were vitally about communicating emotions. The way these songs fit the story may show the skill of those creators who have chosen these golden oldies but even more, they illuminate the mastery of our great songwriter legends.

Trivia Tunes: From lyrics communicated emotions to hiccups with multiple-composers, how film music has changed

Voicing a star
Mohammed Rafi was one singer who always insisted on knowing the star who would enact the song he was recording, so that he could modulate his vocal tenor. The late veteran director, Lekh Tandon, spoke of the time Rafi thought that the song ‘Kaun Hai Jo Sapnon Mein Aaya’ (Jhuk Gaya Aasman), because of its general tenor, was to be filmed on Shammi Kapoor. When the director told him that it was for Rajendra Kumar, Rafi took some time and ‘changed’ his voice to suit the actor!

Change of heroes
But Rafi needed to get to know a star’s persona, and an amusing incident that showed how his voice had a universal fit happened when the song ‘Tauba Tauba’ was recorded for Amitabh Bachchan and Rekha for the early 1970s film, Duniya Ka Mela. The director was later pressurized to drop his pre-Zanjeer flop hero for someone more saleable, and Sanjay Khan stepped in! Rekha reshot the song with the new hero, but amazingly, Rafi’s voice fitted him as much as it had matched Bachchan. Both videos are available online for those wanting to check this!

When judgments went askew!
This is the story of close friends and professional associates, O.P. Nayyar and Guru Dutt. When the filmmaker had signed Waheeda Rehman for C.I.D. in the second (and negative) lead, Nayyar disdainfully commented, “This new girl looks like an ayah (maid)!” Wonder if that was the reason that Waheeda never worked again with O.P.!

On common ground
The maverick Nayyar and the disciplined, yet temperamental S.D. Burman had immense respect for each other, and were justifiably proud of their own work. Around the same time, both went off Sahir Ludhianvi, who was said to have a king-sized ego. Guru Dutt wanted to make films with Sahir after Pyaasa, but Burman refused to work with him and in came Kaifi Azmi for Kagaz Ke Phool. Nayyar went off Sahir forever when the latter stated that his lyrics had made the music of S.D. Burman’s Pyaasa what it became, and, as per his statement to me, got him dropped from six films of his! Later, S.D. Burman, the first choice for B.R. Chopra’s 1963 Gumraah, turned down the film as the filmmaker insisted on Sahir, and composer Ravi began a long association with the filmmaker that lasted until the early 1990s (in a TV serial).

‘Jumma Chumma’ in Agneepath
Karan Johar has revealed that the mega-buster, ‘Jumma Chumma De De’ was originally composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal for his father, Yash Johar’s Agneepath. He explained, “But for some reason, my dad and director Mukul S. Anand decided not to use the song, and it was transferred to Mukul’s other film with Amitabh Bachchan and Laxmikant-Pyarelal—Hum.” Of course, it is public knowledge that it was Amitabh who insisted on L-P reworking this song from a French Guinean musician Mory Kante’s 1988 hit, ‘Tama’.

Another hiccup with multiple-composers!
Multiple composers in Hindi cinema lead to a heterogeneity and a needless and unwelcome musical incongruity in our films, but another complication is illuminated by Raju Singh, who does the film score, as background music should actually be called. Says the composer, “Earlier, I would know that a film’s songs are being composed by, say, Anu Malik or Pritam. My first rule is that my score is meant for a film, and not to show off. So my sound has to blend with the song composer’s style and even use riffs of his numbers in the film. So I would know what sound to give. But that is not possible now, so I request my directors to get at least the mixing done from one person. This gives some uniformity and I come to know the sound spectrum. Luckily, most of my filmmakers have listened to this!”

Also Read: Trivia Tunes: From Anandji editing Zanjeer to Anu Malik turning composer at 17, here is some unheard musical trivia from Bollywood