Shankar Jaikishan – The most versatile Musical Giant of the Last Century
This article is written by Mr. Souvik Chatterji, Master of Law, Warwick University, UK, Master of Law Case Western Reserve University, USA.
Shankar Jaikishan are probably the most versatile music –duos that hailed the music of Bollywood during the Golden Age of Indian Cinema, the 40s, 50s and 60s. The golden era of Indian film music can be associated with the musical giants of different capabilities and specialisations. The Legends include Roshan- the king of melody, Madanmohan- the shahenzah of ghazals, Naushad- the Genius of Hindustani classical ragas with a blend of Lucknow Gharana, Salil Chowdhury –the Master of Westernised chorus with Eastern folk and poetic excellence, O. P. Nayyar – the Master of Westernised Tunes with Eastern flavour, Jaidev – the Legend of Urbanised Folk and Rural tunes, and many other Classical composers who have become immortal with their everlasting tunes. 1 Shankar Jaikishan emerged in that arena with a range of tunes and compositions which could not be categorised under a single head. There were folk songs like “chalat Musafir†sung by Manna dey in “Teesri Kasamâ€( 1966) to ghazals like “Chalke Teri Aankhose sharab aur ziada†sung by Mohammad Rafi in “Aarzooâ€(1965). There were rock and roll compositions like “aajkal tere mere pyarke charche har zabanpar†in Brahmchari(1967) to pure classical composition like “Sur na saje kya gayun mai†in “Basant Baharâ€(1957).
They had composed music in almost 200 films in a tenure of around 22 years.2 So great was the impact of their creative genius that it had a lasting impact on the music of the Hindi films. Shankar-Jaikishan understood the taste of the masses, were able to cater to them, as well as moulded their tastes. No wonder then that during their tenure as music directors, they were exceedingly popular and 75 per cent of the films for which their scores were everlasting hits – many have celebrated silver jubilees.
They were probably the only musical pair, who have given music to all the leading giants who had glorified the silver screen during the 1940, 1950s, and 1960s. They have given music to Dilip Kumar in Yahudi, 1958, Rajender Kumar in Suraj, 1966, Bharat Bhushan in Basant Bahar, 1957, Balraj Sahani in Seema, 1956, Pradeep Kumar in Raat Aur Din, 1966, Dev Anand in Asli Nakli, 1961, Manoj Kumar in Hariyali Aur Raasta, 1962, Shammi Kapoor in Professor, 1962, Shashi Kapoor in Kanyadan, 1969, Biswajeet in April Fool,1964, Joy Mukherjee in Love in Tokyo, 1965, Dharmender in Pyar hi Pyar, 1968, Jeetender in Mere Huzur, 1967, RajKumar in Lal Patthar, 1971.
The team of Shankar Jaikishan consisted of Shankarsingh Raghuwanshi and Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal. Shankar (October 15, 1922 – 1987) was born in Punjab and trained under the famous Husnlal Bhagatram. He later settled down in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, India. Jaikishan (1929 – 1971) hails from Panchal, Gujarat, India. Before the duo met, Jaikishan worked as a carpenter. Their career started as music directors for Raj Kapoor’s 1949 film Barsaat. Songs like “Jiya beqaraar hai” and “Barsaat mein humse mile tum” became a rage. Barsaat was also the starting point of the pair’s long and successful association with the R.K.Banner. Hit music in films like Aah and Awaara followed in the early 1950s. The song “Ghar aaya mera pardesi” went on to become a benchmark for dream-sequence songs. Their music for most R.K.films was considered a huge success, but two films stand out, Shree 420 and Sangam. The songs “Pyaar hua ikraar hua” and “Ramaiyyaa vasta vaiyya” from Shree 420 and “Dost dost na raha” and “Har dil jo pyaar karega” from Sangam were popular favorites.3
Shankar Jaikishen with Mohd Rafi and Raj Kapoor
They were honored with the maximum number (nine) of Filmfare awards in the Indian film industry. In 1968, Shankar Jaikishan released an album, “Raga Jazz Style : Shankar Jaikishan with Rais Khan.” Shankar Jaikishan made a great impact on film music from the start. Their tunes range from pure classical Indian themes to more westernised tunes. They had a distinct style, which was adaptable to different stars and films. In the West, they are best known for the song “Jaan Pechan Ho“, which originally appeared in the 1965 film Gumnaam. The musical number was replayed in the American film Ghost World and helped to catapult the popularity of Indian film music in America.
However, according to Raj Kapoor, the pair’s most notable score came in the film “Mera Naam Joker” in 1970 which has landmark songs like “Jaane kahan gaye woh din“, “Jeena yahan marna yahan“, and “Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo“. Arguably, the background musical scores of “Sangam” and “Mera Naam Joker” are considered to be among the best ever in the history of Hindi film music. Of the two, Shankar’s speciality was dance-based compositions, whereas Jaikishan’s forte was the background musical score. Both of them preferred Raaga Bhairavi over other strains of classical music.
Shankar Jaikishan created few classical oriented tunes fit for the Golden voice of Mohammad Rafi. In the film “ Lal pattharâ€(1971), Shankar Jaikishan had composed for Rafi “ unke khayal aye to ate chaale gaye†in raag gara. There the nostalgic mood of badshah was presented by Rafi. Other quality creations of Shankar Jaikishan included “ Aji ruth kar ab kahan jaiyega†in raag desh in Aarzoo(1966) starring Rajenderkumar, “ Khudabhi asma se jab zamin par dekhta hoga†in the film ‘Dharti,†“mujhko apne gale lagalo ai mere humrahi†( Humrahi, 1962) “surahidar gardan koel si hai awaz†in the film “ Amanâ€. The lyrics were written by Hasrat Jaipuri.4
One of the other shades of the character of the Legendary duo was that they had encouraged a number of singers both male and female, at an era when the other Music Directors preferred only Rafi and Lata. They have composed songs for Subir Sen, “ Dil mera ek aas ka panchi†in the film Aas ka panchi,1960, Suman Kalyanpur , “Dil ek mandir hai,†in the film Dil Ek Mandir,1963, Manna Dey, “Yeh Raat Bheegi Bheegi†in the film Chori Chori,1956, Asha Bhosle, “Mur Murke na dekh Mur Mur ke†in the film Shri 420,1955, Sharda, “Titli Uri†in the film Suraj,1966, Mukesh, “Yeh mera diwanapan hai†in the film Yahudi,1958, Talat Mehmood, “Koi nahi mera is duniya mai†in the film Daag, 1955, Kishore Kumar, “Zindagi ek safar hai suhana†in the film Andaz, 1971. The songs were complimented with brilliant orchestration which had added lights to the composition of the giant.
Shankar Jaikishen with Mohd Rafi, Asha Bhonsle and Raj Kapoor
The other aspect of their creation include blending the Indian flavour with the foreign tunes wherever the films were picturised. Best examples can be the song “Sayonara sayonara†in the film “Love in Tokyoâ€, 1965, had Japanese orchestration, the other being “Raat ke humsafar†in the film “An Evening Parisâ€,1967, had French flavour. Besides their use of few instruments showed the class of their own, Accordion in “Sub kuch sikha Humne na siki hoshiari†in the film Anari,1959, Saxophone in “Ai sanam jis ne tujhe chand sa surat di hai†in the film Diwana, 1967, Synthesized Harmonium played by V. Balsara in “Awara Hoon†in the film Awara, 1951.5
One of the reasons why Shankar Jaikishan did not get the acknowledgment of providing immortal tunes in that era is because it could not be identified as which song is composed by Shankar and which song is composed by Jaikishan. Otherwise Naushad was awarded with Dada Saheb Phalke for his brilliant contribution to Indian music, Majrooh Sultanpuri also received the same award in the lyricist category, Shankar- Jaikishan was deprived of that honour. The other reason may be that they had worked with Raj Kapoor for the longest period and most of the credit of the unforgettable tunes were taken away by Raj Kapoor himself. An archive should be created for the rich and classical creations of Shankar Jaikishan where the works can be preserved for future generations to take inspiration from.
Souvik Chatterji (author), Rumi Chatterji (wife), Supriya Chatterji (mother), Chitta Ranjan Chatterji (father) and Sathvik Chatterji (son)
1 http://www.indianetzone.com/2/bollywood_music.htm
2 Dattaram, their Assistant also made immortal tunes like “Ansu Bhari Hai†in the film “Parvarishâ€, 1959, starring Raj Kapoor.
3 My father Chitta Ranjan Chatterji, Ex chief Public Prosecutor, Bankshall Court,( CMM Court), Kolkata had solved a case relating to Music Rackett in HMV in the early 1980s. The Zonal manager of HMV, Mr. SriDaure gave him a present of HMV discs of film “diwana-composed by Shankar Jaikishan†and Disc of “ Pakiza- composed by Ghulam mohammadâ€. Mr. Sri Daure was involved with numerous immortal recordings of HMV and he mentioned that there was a song in Diwana, titled “ tumhare bhi jai jai, humare bhi jai jai, na tum hare, na hum hareâ€. The song was picturised with Raj kapoor staying in the railway station and Saira Banu travelling in a train. The song beat that was composed by Shankar-Jaikishan synchronised the actual sound of the movement of the train. It was only possible from Shankar-Jaikishan.It was reported in AnandaBazar Patrika, the Bengali Newspaper under the column of Ashis Ghosh.
4 Noted Music Director Anu Malik says that Raj Kapoor had dug a well full of everlasting music and Shankar Jaikishan drew water out of it.
5 http://bootsalesounds.blogspot.com/2006/07/shankar-jaikishan.html
Please give me the address.mr.premangshu chatterjee.
I am a great fan of Milon Gupta & Saikat Mukherjee. I am also a friend of Saikat. I live in Melbourne, Australia and play harmonica.
I am keen to collect as many tracks as possible of Milon Gupta & Saikat.
Felt nice to read about SJ, the greatest of all music directors to have ruled the Indian Film Music. I am a die hard fan of SJ and has collection of albums of around 75 of their movies. I am now converting the old HMV cassetes into CDs. I like to listen to their music film wise as it always fascinates me how the mood of the movie is brought out by them.
In Kochi, where I live, we had a SJ Revival Nite in 1992, where Hasrat Jaipuri relived his experience and some of the behind the scene stories of their compositions. None of the team is now with us..but we can always find happiness listening to SJ songs.
Re. Post # 45: I fully agree with Mr. Sudarshan Pandeyji that the song “Ajeeb Zindagi Hai Yeh…” from film “Door Nahin Manzil” is superb and so nicely sung by Rafi Saheb. A must for all Rafi Saheb fans. Anybody need it, can mail me anytime. melodiousrafi@yahoo.com
I would like to correct the wapsite add this is
shanker-jaikishen.peperonity.com…i read all the posts on this site and very glad to post my own, I would just like to request if anyone posses songs of The Gold Medal, Eent ka Jawab Patthar, and Love in Bombay, all films having music by shanker jaikishen. i have now songs of Door Naheen Manzil with me. Thanks and my goodwishes to all Rafi lovers and s-j lovers as well lovers of music in totality.
one more song from Shanker Jaikishen and Rafi ..”Ajeeb Zindagi hai yeh…” from the film Door Naheen Manzil…a superb song
I am a Shanker-Jaikishen fan. I use to surf to know more and more about them, their unearthed stories etc. Yours is a good forum with some knowledged people here, i have opened one mobile site(wapsite) shanker-jaikishe.peperonity.com where i have given some information about them. I would also like to use all three pictures incorporated on the page of this forum.Anyone can respond me on my email i.d. shankerjai@yahoo.com.
ref post 42
sanyal da,
thank you very much for the information. in fact i spoke to saikat da on phone a week ago. i was very much delighted to speak to him.
in fact i will again speak to him and request him to send the mp3 cd as its not available in hyderabad.
sanyal da i am indeed very sorry to say that this beautiful instrument is loosing popularity day by day due to the modern times ‘ synthetic music ‘
ramakrishna ( pujari of rafi sahab )
hyderabad
09949509592
Recently an album had been published on Hindi Film tunes, played by SAIKAT-DA (Saikat Mukherjee). This is an MP3 CD with a collection of 50 songs played by saikat-da. Costs Rs. 59/-, by SA-RE-Ga-MA (RPG). Any one who wants to play Harmonica perfectly can approach saikat-da with prior appointment. “….After MILON-da (Milon Gupta) now SAIKAT-da (Saikat Mukherjee) is the living legend amongst the Harmonica players…” – ARNOB SANYAL
Shankar Jaikishan’s prelude in Raj Kapoor’s films used to mark the entry of Raj Kapoor like Pied Piper of Hamlin. They made very unique introductory music in the song Awara Hoon in Awara, 1951, Kisiki Muskurahato pe ho nisar in Anari, 1959, Diwana Mujhko log Kahen in Diwana, 1967. Either the sunthesized harmonium, or the Sexaphone or the Accordian marked Raj Kapoor’s entry.They also used chorus effect in Aa ab laut chalen in Jish desh me Ganga behti hai where Lata Mangeshkar’s tune descended when Mukesh’s tune having ascending effect.
Souvik Chatterji.
Shankar Jaikishan even made Rafi say a few words in between songs because his voice was not only golden in respect of singing, the bass was very soft, romantic and sweet. The songs include o priya, kaun hai jo sapno me aya, from the film Jhuk Gaya Asman picturised on Rajender Kumar in 1968 and ajare a zara a in the film Love in Tokyo picturised on Joy Mukherjee. Shankar Jaikishan gave the listeners a taste of Rafi’s voice for conversation also. The first lines of yeh mera prem patra par kar including meherba likhon was also presented by Rafi very melodiously.
Souvik Chatterji.
Shankar Jaikishan had such admiration for Rafi that he made Raj Kapoor sing a Rafi song Tumhi tumho is gagan me in the film ek dil sau afsana in 1963. Besides Raj kapoor ended the film Sangam with Rafi’s song ki tum naraz na hona. Shankar jaikishan made Rafi take an alaap when Raj Kapoor and Vaijayantimala dropped the ashes of the character played by Rajender Kumar in the Prayag Sangam in Allahabad. Shankar Jaikishan always cared for Rafi much more than most Mds and made sure that when Rafi any song in his film, either it ended up being the most popular song in the year or bringing him acclamation from musical experts
The Address of Mr. SAIKAT MUKHERJEE IS 50 THAKURDAS CHATTERJEE ROAD, KAMARHATI, 24 PGNS (n), KOLKATA
PH NO. 033 25531009.
HE HAD BEEN PLAYING MOUTH ORGAN FOR LAST 40 YEARS & ASSOCIATED WITH HMV.
RECENTLY HE HAD BEEN FACILITATED BY HMV ON THR EVE OF DURGOTSAB IN CALCUTTA “SHAARAD ARGHYA”.
HIS NUMBERS HAD BEEN COMPILED BY HMV (20 SONGS) IN A CD & RECENTLY A CD WITH COMPILATION OF 50 SONGS PLAYED BY MR. MUKHERJEE IN MOUTH ORGAN.
IF YOU WANT TO HARMONICA PLAYER, I WOULD RECOMMED TO LISTEN ONLY MILON GUPTA’S & SAIKAT MUKHERJEE’S NUMBER. AS THEY ARE PERFECT, THEY DO NOT PLAY HARMONICA, THEY SING THROUGH HARMONICA. FOR MILON GUPTA’S NUMBER ONE MAY VISIT (HMV/rpg saregama site) ENROLL, & THEN SELECT THE NUMBER (AT PRESENT 34 SONGS ARE THERE IN THE SITE) & ORDER THE CD.
SAIKAT MUKHERJEE’S SITE IS UNDER PREPARATION AS TOLD BY HMV’S PERSONNEL. ABOUT 100 SONGS PLAYED BY HIM IS EXPECTED TO BE UPLOADED. I WOULD REQUEST YOU TO FLOOD HMV WITH REQUEST MAILS FOR THIS SITE & ALSO UPLOAD SOME MORE NUMBERS OF MILON GUPTA’S ALSO.
THANKS & REGARDS
ARNOB SANYAL
Dear Mr Ramakrishna,
I am Milon Gupta’s nephew and would be interested to speak to you all. You can check out one album called ”Down Memory Lane” Harmonica Revisited – by Arijit Mukherji… Music Today is the label. Drop me an email with your phone number at arijit.mukherji@fidelity.com and I would get in touch with you.
Thanks
ref post 35:
mr. salim, I’m going to stop at the musicworld store on park street and purchase the cd.
DEAR MR. HALDER
PLEASE REFER MY POSTED COMMENT NO. 20 .
HAVE YOU CHECKED THE NAZRUL CD ?
REGARDS/A.T.M. SALIM
ref post – 30.
Haldar babu,
thank you very much for your reply. I regret to inform you that Mr milon Gupta has left us on 18th february 1995. This news his daughter suchitra had informed us. We celebrate his death anniversary here in hyderabad every year. we celebrated his anniversary on 18th feb 2007 in my house this time. We are 12 mouth organ players in hyderabad, & we have a get together bi monthly in some ones house & have interaction. I play sj , lp & op numbers with songs of rafi sahab as rafi sahab is my inspiration since my childhood. pls get me the address of Saikat mukherjee & Premangshu Chatterjee if you happen to visit Kolkata in the near future .
Halder ji :
The orkut babes need to receive ” basic education in music “.
The trend in Mumbai in the media arena is to employ “youngsters”
who have done their Media Management courses – on fat salaries.
This is a good thing.
But, the managements do not have the time to put these babes on
a few months of research where they will learn the history of music.
So, they are not aware of legends like Saighal, CH Atma, Talat Mahmud,
Shankar Jaikishan, Iqbal Quereshi, Firoz Nazam, Shaym Sunder,
R.C. Boral and many other giants of the music industry.
They listen to what Asha Bhosle has to say on pancham and thinks
that pancham is the only musical giant who strode the industry.
The filmfare award in the name of Pancham :perpetuates this kind
of thinking.
The music lovers firmly have to write to these channels about their
“frog in the well thinking “: it’s felt.
A better way is to have a national fm station : for vintage songs;
the golden numbers of each era.
This will be a treat to m u s i c lovers. Perhaps the orkut babes
will also hear and learn about the musical treasures of this land.
binu nair : the rafi foundation mumbai binus2000@hotmail.com
assalmaolikum sj k baray may kya kahna hai bohatt baray musicdirectors thay ye dono in ki tareef kernay k lya meray pass words nhi ye dono legendary music directors thay or meray sab say zayada favourite aakhir may itna kahon ga k i love u sj
ref post 26:
mr. salim, you are right about all the songs. The KKK song is “Hai duniya usiki”.
ref post 25:
Mr. Ramakrishna, I’ve been out of Kolkata for over 20 years, but I can tell you the name of the famous mouth organ player who used to play for SJ and LP. His name is Milon Gupta, but I don’t know about his bearings now. Mr. Ram Akela, who seems to be on vacation now, would know a lot about the professional musicians in Kolkata. He has played the accordion and synthesizer professionally with several rafi clones and I’m sure the two of you can share notes. I’ll be visiting Kolkata next week and I’ll see if I can get any information. I’ll also report on how the orkut babes are managing the fm channels.
ref post 24:
myk, it’s possible that maruti rao assisted sj with rhythm but I’m not aware of it. Most of these musicians were freelancers, though they might have owed their allegiance to one group or the other. So you have Kalyanji playing for Hemant Kumar, Laxmi playing for C. Ramchandra, MM, SD and SJ, RD playing for SD and Laxmi, Manohari playing for Salil, Hemant, SD, OP, SJ and RD, the Lords playing for SJ and RD, Sumeet Mitra playing for SJ and LP, Uttam Singh for SJ and RD, Shashikant for LP and RD …. The credits are never given on the albums, so it’s difficult to know who played what unless people like Salil, OP, Pyare, Manhohari and Kersi give you some inside information.
If you consider the musicians who played for SJ, you can compile a who’s who list in music. We’ve already discussed Sebastian, Dattaram, Balsara, Mulki, Servai. But there were so many other legendary figures like Pannalal Ghosh, Rais Khan, Samta Prasad, Hariprasad Chaurasia and Shivkumar Sharma who played for SJ. In guitar, you have Dilip Naik, Van Shipley (who has quite a few albums of his own), Tony Vaz and Anibal Crasto (who used to accompany Rafi saab for his shows). In accordion, in addition to Goody Servai, you have Sumeet Mitra (who later became LP’s arranger). In sax, in addition to Manohari, you had Narinder Kaka (who used to play the sax and clarinet in Rafi saab’s orchestra). And then there was the lord family who took care of organ, synthesizer, drums, bongos and what not. Last year, at a Manna Dey concert, a very old gentleman had to be helped on to the stage and he played the synthesizer for over three hours. Manna da mentioned that he used to play in SJ”s orchestra — I think it was Anil Mohile.
Here’s an article that has Manohari’s interview. See the picture on top: Rafi saab with three of the most talented musicians the film world has seen.
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1038792
REF:POST-19
DEAR ANMOLJI
THANKS FOR YOUR ELABORATE & FINE COMMENTS ON S-J !
REGARDING SJ , RAFI SAHAB & DEV ANAND COMBINATION, I AM MENTIONING
TWO MORE FILMS : 1) PYAR MOHABBAT ( ” AAP NARAZ KHUDA KHAIR KARE ..”)
AND 2 ) DUNIYA (” FALSAFA PYAR KA THUM KYA JANO …” ).
THERE IS ANOTHER SONG ” MIL GAYEE ..” OF PYAR MOHABBAT .
IN THE STARTING OF THIS SONG,RAFI SAHAB UTTERS SOME WORDS ” ITREE ITREE. ..”
SOMETHING LIKE THIS . CAN YOU PLEASE TELL – IN WHICH LANGUAGE HE SAYS ?
OR IS IT JUST SOME WAY OF THROWING / UTTERING TUNES BY RAFI SAHAB .
REGARDS/ A.T.M. SALIM.
REF.POST-17
DEAR MR. HALDER
THANKS FOR YOUR EFFORT FOR MAKING ME TO LISTEN 3 SONGS THROUGH
YOUTUBE.COM . BUT SORRY I COULDN’T SEE/LISTEN THROUGH THIS
YOUTUBE.COM AS I AM HAVING SOME PROBLEM WITH MY COMPUTER.
THE 3 SONGS YOU HAVE MENTIONED ARE : 1) OONCHE LOG; 2) †TERE MERE
SAPNE †FROM GUIDE & 3) KASHMIR KI KALI ( MOST PROBABLY).
YES, THESE SONGS OF RAFI SAHAB DO CONTAIN SAX MUSIC AND
IT IS PLAYED EXCELLENTLY !
THE “OONCHE LOG †SONG IS ONE OF MY MOST FAVOURITE SONGS OF RAFI SAHAB.
THANKS & REGARDS/A.T.M. SALIM
REF.POST-17
DEAR MR. HALDER
THANKS FOR YOU EFFORT FOR MAKING ME TO LISTEN 3 SONGS THROUGH
YOUTUBE.COM . BUT SORRY I COULDN’T SEE/LISTEN THROUGH THIS
YOUTUBE.COM AS I AM HAVING SOME PROBLEM WITH MY COMPUTER.
THE 3 SONGS YOU HAVE MENTIONED ARE : 1) OONCHE LOG; 2) ” TERE MERE
SAPNE ” FROM GUIDE & 3) KASHMIR KI KALI ( MOST PROBABLY).
YES, THESE SONGS OF RAFI SAHAB DO CONTAIN SAX MUSIC AND
IT IS PLAYED EXCELLENTLY !
THE “OONCHE LOG ” SONG IS ONE OF MY MOST FAVOURITE SONGS OF RAFI SAHAB.
THANKS & REGARDS/A.T.M. SALIM.
haldar babu,
nomoshkar. you have a good knowledge about the musicians. can you give the name & contact phone of mouth organ artist in kolkata if you happen to stay in kolkata? Rafi sahab being my ispiration I play his songs on mouth organ. I have mouth organs in all the keys with button for minor scale. This will help me to get in touch with them for further interaction please.
P. Haldar,
Some members of the Pancham group mentioned that Maruti Keer also assisted SJ with rhythm. I cannot confirm this, would you happen to have any info on this ?. What is known is that Dattaram was in charge of SJ’s rhythm section. Maybe Maruti Keer did play under Dattaram, but in Pancham’s group he became in charge.
P. Haldar,
Thanks for the interesting info. The reason why I brought up the musicians topic is because I saw many familiar names associated with the two orchestra’s (SJ & RD). I have also read that Kersi Lord arranged “Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho” and Rafi saab praised him for the superb job, can you please confirm this ?.
all of you SJ fans can join SJ grp at yahoo. its the biggest SJ fan club with over 400 members.
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/shankarjaikishan/
Souvik ji I also invite you to join SJ grp. your article was v good. fans in SJ grp will also like your views on SJ
sonu
dear anmol singhjee,
sat sariakaal. your post – 19 last paragraph please note that when all doors are closed only one door opens. and that is our rafi sahab. unparallel, incomparable. ek anmol heera hain aur woh hain hamarey pyarey aur sharmiley rafi sahab.
REF POST-15
Dear Mr. Halder
Yes, there is a 9th song of rafi sahab in NAZRUL GEETHI CD !
This song is not present in the record & cassette released for
Rafi Sahab’s NAZRUL songs in 1980 but it is available in the CD only –
which was released later on . Whoever has not bought this cd , is proabably
in the assumption that there are only same 8 songs .
The song is a muslim religious one and it is a qawwali type song .
The song is ” TORA DEKHE JA … ” most probably .
Regards/ A.T.M. SALIM
http://www.mohdrafi.com/meri-awaaz-suno/rafi-with-music-composers-%e2%80%93-part-3.html
Shankar Raghuvanshi from North India and Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal from Gujarat are from different backgrounds, the most successful music composers in the film industry. Their compositions have made the maximum contribution to Rafi Saab’s overall success.
Shammi Kapoor was known as ‘Monkey’ by the Media. A monkey is difficult to handle if one carefully observes on street shows or in a circus. But for this Monkey called Shammi Kapoor, both SJ and Rafi Saab do not use a stick or a Damru (musical instrument) to control, but they both use their classic compositions incorporated with a golden voice. Some examples “Dil Ke Jharonke Mein†based on Raag Shivaranjani, “Tum Mujeh Yun Bhula†based on Raag Jhinjhoti, “Akele Akele Kahanâ€, “Aji Aisa Mouka Phirâ€, “Aasmaan Se Aaya Farishtaâ€, “Badan Pe Sitaareâ€, “Ehesaan Tera Hoga Mujh Par†based on Raag Kalyan / Yaman, “Chahe Koyi Mujeh Jungle Kahe†based on Raag Bhairavi, “Tumse Achha Kaun Haiâ€, “Meri Mohobbat Jawan Rahegi†based on Raag Shuddha Kalyan, “Lal Chadi Maidan Khadi†based on Raag Bhairavi, “Savere Wali Gaadi Seâ€, “Is Rang Badalti Duniya Meinâ€, “Ay Gulbadanâ€, “Ayayaya Karun Mein Kya Sukooâ€. In fact the Monkey was very very demanding when it came to the picturization of song sequences. No other singer other than Rafi Saab could satisfy the Monkey to such an extend. It is believed that the Monkey was speech less for several hours when the news of Rafi Saab’s death hit his ears. Actors like Joy Mukerjee & Biswjeet did try to follow Shammi Kapoor’s footsteps, but couldn’t excel to that level in terms of potential and energy that Shammi could produce. Rafi Saab indeed has sung many remarkable scores for the duo quiet similar to the monkey rhythm.
For the Jubilee Star of 1960s Rajendra Kumar, Rafi Saab along with SJ create magic. “Tum Kamsin Hoâ€, “Ay Phoolon Ki Raniâ€, “Aji Hamse Bach Kar†based on Raag Desh, “Chalke Teri Ankhon Seâ€, “Baharon Phool Barsaao Mere†based on Raag Shivaranjani, “Kaun Hai Jo Sapnon Mein Aayaâ€, “Teri Pyaari Pyaari Surat Koâ€, “Yeh Mera Prem Patra Padkarâ€, “Yaad Na Jaaye†based on Raag Kirwani, “Khuda Bhi Aasmaan Seâ€. A song from the film ‘Aman’ “Aaj Kee Raat Yeh Kaisi†sung by Rafi has sexy giggles of Saira Bano, which are very well coordinated, full marks to SJ. In today’s remix videos where models dance with half naked bodies, cannot create such an effect. Another song from ‘Suraj’, “Chehere Pe Giri Zulphen†Rafi Saab goes deeper & deeper every time while singing “Gustaki Maafâ€.
For the evergreen Dev Anand apart Dada Burman, SJ have also made contributions in the films, ‘Asli Naqli’ & ‘Jab Pyar Kissi Se Hotaa Hai’. Songs like “Ek But Banavungaâ€, “Pyaar Ka Saaz…Cheda Mere Dilne Taranaâ€, “Tujeh Jeevan Ki Dor Seâ€, “Teri Zulphon Se Judaayiâ€, “Jab Pyar Kisise Hota Haiâ€, “Yeh Aankhen Uff Yun maa†are all classics of all times. In the film ‘Jab Pyar Kissi Se Hotaa Hai’ again Dev Anand’s association with mountains & hills can be witnessed.
Many duets with Lata, Asha, Suman Kalyanpur, Shaarda and Mubarak Begum along with Rafi under SJ are remembered till date. “Gori Chalo Na Hans Ki Chaalâ€, “Aaj Kal Mein Dhal Gayaâ€, “Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyarâ€, “Aaja Ke Intazaar Meinâ€, “Ramia Wasta Waia†based on Raag Bhairavi, “O Sanam Tere Hogaye Hamâ€, “Raat Ke Hamsafarâ€, “Awaaz De Ke Hamen Tum Bulavo†based on Raag Shivaranjani, “Mujeh Kitna Pyar Haiâ€, “Ay Chand Zara Chup Jaâ€, “Jaane Chaman Shola Badanâ€, “Dil Use Do Jo Jaanâ€, “Tumne Pukaara Aur Ham Chaleâ€, “Yeh Mausam Bhiga Bhiga Haiâ€, “Mujhko Apne Gale Lagaloâ€, “Jab Bhi Yeh Dil Udaasâ€, “Sau Baras Ki Zindagi Seâ€, “Main Chali Main Chali†based on Raag Bhairavi, “Dil Ek Mandir Hai†based on Raag Bhairav and many more. In the last song the high pitch Alap “Janne Waale Kabhi Nahi Aate. Jaane Wale Ki Yaad Aati Hai†sung by Rafi Saab is magneficent. How true are the words that Rafi Saab will never come back to us, but his memories and works will be remembered forever. The same holds true for SJ as well.
Manna Dey had privilege to sing most of the classical and devotional numbers under SJ. Shankar along with Raj Kapoor always backed Manna Dey for all the classical numbers. What Rafi was to Naushad, Manna Dey to quiet an extend was to SJ. But Rafi Saab sung few classical numbers for SJ, “Radhike Tune Bansari Churaayi†based on Adana, “Ajahuna Aaye Balama†based on Raag Pilu, “Kaise Samajhavun†based on Raag Bhairavi and devotional numbers “Duniya Na Bhaye†based on Raag Todi. There could many more.
Rafi Saab has sung many funs songs for children under SJ. “Chake Pe Chakkaâ€, “All line clearâ€, “Hai Na Bolo Boloâ€, “Sunlo Sunatha Hoon..Re Mamaâ€, “Gori Zara Hans De Tuâ€, “Nanhe Mune Bacheâ€, “April Fool Banaayaâ€, etc.
Considering the comedian Mehmood’s Hyderabadi style of speaking, no other singer other than Rafi Saab can match it so perfectly in the song, “Ham Kaale Hein Thoâ€. In this song, Rafi Saab apart from singing narrates a line in the same language.
There are many classic solos sung by Rafi Saab for many Actors under SJ. To name a few “Aye Bahar Bann Ke Lubha Karâ€, “O Mere Shah-e-khubanâ€, “Rukh Se Zara Nakaabâ€, “Gar Tum Bhula Na Dogeâ€, “Mein Zindagi Mein Hardam Rota Hi†based on Raag Bhairavi, “Yeh Ansoo Mere Dil Kiâ€, “Likhe Jo Khat Tujehâ€, “Aa Gale Lag Jaa†and many more. Apart from O P Nayyar, SJ also use Rafi to sing for Kishore Kumar in the film ‘Sharaart’.
Mukesh and Manna Dey have rendered most of the songs for Raj Kapoor’s classic ‘Mere Naam Joker’. But when it comes singing a Heer, ‘Sadke Heer Tujh Pe Ham’ based on Punjabi folk music, SJ had no choice but to use Rafi Saab for Raj Kapoor. This indeed speaks of Rafi Saab’s versatility; the one who could sing for any personality with out any rejection.
SJ are increditable music composers. This combo could compo song for any category. They could use all singers equally and effectively. Of course Rafi Saab made the max contribution to their success.
Though they initally started with the RK banner, but later enjoyed success under many other big banner film makers. Jaikishan’s death saw the end of this incredible Jodi. Of course Shanker did continue to give music under the SJ banner, but with some or little success.
myk, dilip naik was not only a regular guitarist in sj’s orchestra, but he also used to arrange his music. If you want to put Shivkumar in any camp, it has to be op. Shiv-Hari used to arrange many of op’s songs and that’s the reason you’ll hear so much flute and santoor in his music. op also exploited the sarangi very well, which used to be played by another maestro. Kersi as well as Manohari used to play a lot in op’s orchestra. Among the true RD finds is Louis Banks who used to play at the Trincas in Calcutta. The jazz influence in RD’s music can be partly attributed to this man. Though Bhupi played the guitar for several md’s, he was also in the rd camp from the beginning.
Because this forum is devoted to rafi saab, let me give a few examples where Manhohari played the sax in his songs. Mr. salim likes chitragupta, so here’s a jaag-dil-e-deewana song:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=dYzd6x4LQ8o
And here’s sd’s all-time classic from Guide:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=f9zjhg7BJXY&mode=related&search=
But if you really want to hear a Rafi-Manohari jugalbandi, listen to this op classic:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=aLcT1DuzdEI
Hi P. Haldar,
You are right, Manohari was introduced by Salil, so he really can’t be counted as an SJ musician. Many musicians played for various MD’s but there were also musicians who belonged to certain camps. Manohari loved playing for Jaikishan, he mentioned in various interviews that Jai is one of his favourites.
When browsing through Nerurkar’s book on SJ, I noticed quite a few SJ musicians who also played in Pancham’s orchestra, hence the “cut their teeth” statement. Just to name a few, Dilip Naik, Tony Vaz, Kersi Lord, Charanjit Singh, Bujji Lord, Shivkumar Sharma etc. all played for SJ before becoming Pancham regulars. I know Kersi Lord also played for MM, not sure about the others, maybe you can fill us in on the info about these musicians. The SJ list of musicians were probably those who played most often for them.
You and ATM Salim were both correct, the film I was referring to was AEIP. I will get back to you regarding your other question.
ref post 11:
mr. salim, I had bought the nazrul geeti lp when it came out (Rafi saab’s picture with the chador wrapped around him appeared on the cover). I don’t have the cd; which is the 9th song? If I remember correctly, Kazi Nazrul Islam’s wife, Kalyani Kazi, helped with the album. And this is what I had heard from one of the gossip mills in Kolkata. Indrani Sen, a budding Nazrul Geeti singer, was sent to Bombay to help Rafi saab pick up the tunes.
ref post 8:
myk, maruti rao was a longtime assistant of sd and remained one even after rd entered the scene. It would be wrong, though, to say that manohari cut his teeth under sj. salil brought him from calcutta to bombay and he played the sax for a host of md’s, but most notably for sd, op and sj. Laxmi also used to play a lot for sd those days.
You are right on spot regarding the Teesri Manzil duet. Instead of starting with “aaj”, that song started with “aaja”. But I think Jai erred in using Suman for “aaj kal tere mere”; he should have used Asha. In rock ‘n roll numbers, it’s difficult for any female singer to beat Asha. SJ didn’t make that mistake in the 1967 film you’ve referred to, where the farishta descended from the skies to pay us a visit. In that film, SJ made rafi go very, very high in one of the songs. In several of the dual versions that sj composed for rafi and lata, you’ll find that lata has difficulty in reaching rafi’s “high” level.
Let me ask one more question. Which song do you think was Jai’s response to “tum ne mujhhe dekha”? (Hint: He didn’t use bhairavi; instead, he set this Rafi solo in shivranjani but on a fast tempo.) A couple of years later, SJ also used the same raga to devastating effect with Mukesh to go on the joker.
Dear All
Thanks to Souvik Chatterji for writing such a beautiful article on SANGEET SAMRATS Shanker – Jaikishan. They are my favourites and there an endless list of golden compositions which reflects the versatility of the jodi.
I remember once Laxmikantji of L-P fame saying “SHANKER JAIKISHAN NE JO KUWA KHODA USI ME SE SAB SANGEETKAR PANI BHAR RAHE HAI.
They were the once who exploited the talent of greats like Rafisaheb and Lataji. They created compositions which could give opportunity to singers like Rafisahab and Lataji to show their talent.Their compositions truly commercialised the Hindi film music.
Once again very nice article. We wish many rafians come forward and write
articles on others also like
L-P, Kalyanji-Anandji, S.D.Burman,R.D.Burman,Chitragupt, Ravi, Roshan etc.
Regards
RAFI FAN
DEAR MYK
I THINK IT IS THE FILM ” AN EVENING IN PARIS ” YOU ARE REFERRING TO ?
REGARDS/A.T.M. SALIM
DEAR MR. P. HALDAR
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR INFORMATION !
I DO LOVE SAXOPHONE MUSIC AND HAVE A GOOD COLLECTION OF MANOHARI SINGH’S ALBUM ( ALONGWITH KENNY G AND OTHER SAX NUMBERS).FROM YOUR INFORMATION , NOW I UNDERSTAND WHY MOST OF MANOHARI SINGH’S NUMBERS ARE OF R.D. BURMAN’S.
I THINK IN MANY OF SHAMMI KAPOOR’S FILM SONGS , USE OF SAX IS MADE .
REGARDING A SAX SONG OF SHAMMI KAPOOR PREVIOUS TO ” AAJ KAL TERE MERE ” , IT IS MOST PROBABLY THE SONG ” DIL TERA DEEWANA HAI SANAM ” OF THE FILM – DIL TERA DEEWANA “.
THERE IS ANOTHER SONG ALSO – ” JANAM JANAM KA SAATH HAI ” OF SHAMMI’S FILM -THUMSE ACHCHA KAUN HAI IN WHICH SAX IS USED . BOTH THESE TWO FILMS ARE TUNED BY SHANKAR JAIKISHAN AND SUNG BY OUR BELOVED RAFI SAHAB .
AS YOU HAVE SAID , THE NAZRUL GEETHI ALBUM OF RAFI SAHAB IS REALLY A ” MUST ” OR RATHER A PRECIOUS COLLECTION . DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF NAZRUL SONGS SUNG BY RAFI SAHAB ?
IF NOT, PLEASE BE INFORMED THAT :IN THE RECORD (ISSUED BY MUSIC INDIA LTD) -THERE ARE 8 SONGS
BUT IN THE CD -THERE ARE 9 SONGS I.E. THERE IS AN EXTRA SONG OF RAFI SAHAB !
THANKS & BEST REGARDS / A.T.M. SALIM.
Friends,
If today’s youngsters more like Orkut babes are given good amount of exposure of SJ hits,Iam sure RDB n the likes will be in the back seat. Such was the power of melody,rhythm,orchestra.symphony of the greatest magical duo Shanker Jaikishen.
It is not Mukeshji who has sung the max with them but our own Guruji Ustad Rafi saab for more than 350 songs.
Thanks for the article. Indeed S-J was one of greatest music composer indian cinema ever had and probably ever will be. But Souvik you missed the other great one. SD Burman. You mentioned all other music directors. With all the due respect SD was far far away from all of them. Just for Rafi saab despite of Noushad, Madan Mohan, L-P, OP Nayar and above all S-J, it was SD Burman’s music gave a all different melodious edge of Rafi Saab’s enigmatic voice. In true sense S-J and SD Burman were the two greatest music directors we ever had and for sure ever will be.
Excellent information P. Haldar !
Many of Pancham’s musicians cut their teeth in SJ’s recording rooms. Would you happen to know where Maruti Keer started his career, was it with Dada Burman ?.
This article was a nice tribute to SJ. “Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyar” is a rocking song, would you be referring to the TM duets that took the nation by storm a couple of years earlier. If so I think it is a fitting response.
There is another film released right after in which I think SJ answered that musical blockbuster. The year was 1967, a pure western album with amazing songs, Rafi and SJ at their best, I doubt there were any indian instruments used in this album. If Teesri Manzil brought a new trend, SJ came up with their own trendy music and proved yet again to Shammi that they were the Kings. I am sure you all know the name of this album.
There are umpteen number of SJ hits, but usually people forget “Dil Ek Mandir”, which is one of my favourites. All the songs, Rafis’ solos “Yahan Koi Nahin” and especially “Yaad Na Jaye”, Rafi – Suman’s duet “Dil Ek Mandir Hai”, Suman’s “Nanhi Si Kali Meri Laadli” and of course Lata’s solos – “Ruk Jaa Raat” and “Hum Tere Pyaar Me”, all songs were really great. Other SJ films which are usaully not remembered but which had great music were AMRAPAALI, JIS DESH ME GANGA BAHATI HAI, BOOT POLISH, ASLI NAQLI, JAB PYAAR KISISE HOTA HAI, PEHCHAAN, SEEMA, BASANT BAHAR, etc.
To the list of male singers that SJ used, please add Hemant too. I just remembered the beautiful Hemant-Lata duet “Yaad kiya dil ne kaha ho tum” from Patita.
Souvik, since you’ve mentioned Dattaram, Rais Khan and Balsara, let me also mention a few other ace musicians who were associated with SJ. The foremost among them is Sebastian, who along with Dattaram, used to arrange their music. Then there’s Goody Servai, the legendary accordion player. But what may surprise many folks is that Manohari Singh (one of RD’s most trusted lieutenants) played the sax in many of SJ’s hit songs in films like Junglee and Arzoo; the sax sounds in “Aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche” were also created by Manohari. The accordion-sax-piano score in this song is simply amazing! Is there anyone else who also thinks that this song was a response to another Shammi song, released a year or two earlier? (just asking!)
Here is some more trivia. The drummer in SJ’s “Jaan Pehchan ho” used to accompany rafi regulary for his stage shows. His name is Leslie Godinho. I don’t know why Balsara packed his bags and went back to Calcutta. Y. S. Mulki, who used to play with Balsara, arranged the music for Rafi’s Nazrul Geeti Album “Aajo modhuro bansari baaje”. This album is a must-buy for every diehard Rafian; it was probably recorded a few months before he passed away. Some of those songs are in the Bengali gojol style and one of them alternates between Bengali and Hindi: “alga koro go khnopar bnadhan, dil wohi mera phaas gayee”.
Souvik, another great article! Here’s an interesting episode I want to share with you. Around three years back, I was at a tailor’s shop in Kolkata when the song “Tujhe pyar karte hai karte rahenge” started playing on the radio. An elderly gentleman entered the shop and said: “April Fool. Rafi-Suman. Shankar Jaikishan”. I looked at him and told him that those days there were such great music directors. He looked at the tailor and with total disregard to what I had said, shouted, “Shankar Jaikishan-er moto keu hoyechhe naki?” (“Has there been anyone like Shankar Jaikishan?”). The poor tailor had to nod in agreement, otherwise he would have lost his business.
I think it not wrong to say that there will be no other Mohd Rafi and same to Shankar-Jaikishan because they gave hit songs with all singers they used as Mohd Rafi gave hit for all MD he singed for………
thank u Shankar and Jaikishan for u r great music………..
Mr Souvik Chatterjee thx for your nice article but its as if ‘ the right man at the wrong place’ . this is exclussively a forum for Rafi sahab. So……………………..
DEAR MR.SOUVIK CHATTERJI
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THIS EXCELLENT ARTICLE ON SHANKAR JAIKISHAN -THE KING OF MELODY MAKERS !
ALSO , THANKS FOR SHARING SOME VERY UNKNOWN FACTS ABOUT THEIR MUSIC CREATION .
KEEP-IT UP !
MAY I REQUEST YOU TO WRITE SIMILAR ARTICLE ON MUSIC DIRECTOR – CHITRAGUPTA –AS THIS MUSIC DIRECTOR TOO WAS GREATLY ASSOCIATED WITH OUR BELOVED RAFI SAHAB AND THUS HAS CREATED SOME UNFORGETABLE MELODIOUS & SWEET MUSIC IN HINDI FILMS.
BEST REGARDS / A.T.M. SALIM.