Trivia Tunes: From Rishi Kapoor wanting Deewana title song to be filmed on him to Saajan title song being recorded after the announcement of release date

By Rajiv Vijayakar -

July 28, 2023 - 1:56 PM IST

Cult re-creation needs clarity in credits

Trivia Tunes: From Rishi Kapoor wanting Deewana title song to be filmed on him to Saajan title song being recorded after the announcement of release date

The re-created ‘Udd Jaa Kaale Kaava’ in the forthcoming Gadar 2 raises some questions. Though the original singers are retained, the add-on lyrics go on a different track, suggesting a certain progress of the storyline. The question is: Will it now be considered the work of new composer Mithoon, rather than of Uttam Singh, its actual creator? The lyrics (only three-fourths of the song is being shown at the moment online) are credited to Anand Bakshi, with no mention of Sayeed Quadri for add-on lyrics. Udit is singing in apt fashion, in a sober way suiting not only his age but also that of Sunny Deol and his character today, and the Alka Yagnik portion isn’t being presented at the moment. But clarity in credits should be a must.

The devotion of a true bhakt

Both South Indian singers who made a big passing mark in Hindi cinema, Yesudas and the late S.P. Balasubramaniam, had expressed their view that the late Mohammed Rafi was the ultimate singer. But recently, I came to know of the latter’s overwhelming devotion to Rafi-saab, as SPB would refer to him. A photograph of Mohammed Rafi was always venerated in SPB’s puja ghar at home. SPB, it will be remembered, had presented the title-song of Mere Mehboob and ‘Jaanewalon Zaraa’ (Dosti) when he had auditioned for his first Hindi break in Ek Duuje Ke Liye.

A singer’s ire

Speaking of Ek Duuje Ke Liye, even the great Kishore Kumar had his quirky moods. The man who was himself fond of Rafi and all his male colleagues and had even employed their voices as a composer in his own productions, got mighty miffed with Laxmikant-Pyarelal when SPB was chosen to sing for this film. As per an inside source, he did not record a song with them for a while until his mood changed!

‘Objectionable’ word retained in a re-created song!

It is often known how the Indian censors compel word changes in many a song on supposedly ‘moral’, ‘sexual’ or cultural grounds. But did you know that one of the most ridiculous such events took place in the mid-1950s? The O.P. Nayyar song, ‘Jaata Kahaan Hai Deewane’ recorded by Geeta Dutt for C.I.D. was never included in the film. Why? Because of the Majrooh-penned lines, ‘Kuch Mere Dil Mein Fiffy / Kuch Mere Dil Mein Fiffy / Zamana Hai Bura’! The word ‘fiffy’ (actually a meaningless word that fit the metre!) was assumed by the censors then to have a sexual connotation!

The song was finally reproduced by Amit Trivedi with the original lyrics in the 2015 Bombay Velvet. It was sung by Neeti Mohan in a Geeta-esque tenor for Anushka Sharma. And yes, the word ‘fiffi’ is intact in it!

Mutual regards

In the 1990s, the musical Rishi Kapoor had formed a deep regard for Nadeem-Shravan, which was totally reciprocated. Nadeem had told me that not only was the actor’s track-record amazing musically but also in the way he brought his songs to life with his performance and dance. “Just being a part of a film with him as a hero is very inspiring for us to do our best!” he said. Nadeem had said after N-S had signed Deewana, their first film with him. And while Rishi took an active interest in the film’s music, he even requested director Raj Kanwar to film the song ‘Aisi Deewangi’ on him. It was only when the director explained that the lyrics fit Shah Rukh Khan’s character that Rishi, in that reasonable era, relented!

Utter conviction pays!

At a recent World Music Day celebration, many musical celebrities presented interesting memories. Lyricist Sameer, who had been signed on for the 1991 Saajan, had loved the Anand Bakshi title-song, ‘Sajan Sajan Pukaroon Galiyon Mein’ from the 1969 film Sajan and had wanted to write one for the new film.

“But the film was ready, and the release date announced!” recalled the lyricist. “I was just sharing my feelings with Nadeem-Shravan over dinner and gave him the idea of a mukhda. He asked Shravan to give a certain beat and within minutes the song was ready. Nadeem then called up producer Sudhakar Bokade, who asked him if he was crazy to think of a title-song at that stage. How would the busy stars Salman Khan and Madhuri Dixit give dates to shoot it? Nadeem replied that he was going to record the song the next day at his expense, and if Sudhakar and the actors did not like it, he would use it elsewhere!”

The rest, said Sameer, is history. Salman and Madhuri immediately allotted a day, and the song was shot in Ooty and proved to be the album’s biggest hit: ‘Dekha Hai Pehli Baar Saajan Ki Ankhon Mein Pyar’, sung by S.P. Balasubramaniam and Alka Yagnik!

From a historical to an action drama

Director Umesh Mehra revealed an interesting fact of a song from his father, F.C. Mehra’s 1966 historical, Amrapali, which was set in the B.C. era. While Shailendra wrote most of the poetry-rich lyrics for the brilliant musical, one song was penned by Hasrat Jaipuri. But the director now let on that Hasrat Jaipuri had written one more song for the film that could not be included. It was then used in their 1971 actioner, Elaan, and filmed on Rekha! Note how the words and the instrumentation are at slight odds with the ‘modern’ setup of the film. The song, which emerged as the biggest hit of that score, was Lata Mangeshkar’s ‘Ang Se Ang Lagaale / Saanson Mein Hai Toofan’.