Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To Aisa Laga

No, I am not recounting my experience, though I could. This is a tribute to my favourite music composer R.D. Burman, whose Death anniversary was January 4th. One of his last films was 1942, a Love Story, from which I have chosen this song, Ek ladki ko..

He was a fabulous composer, and I will only recount what I remember off the cuff, from his vast repertoire of songs, with a categorisation of my own-

Innovative- Jaane jaan dhoondhta phir raha., Dum maro dum, mit jaaye gham,...

Philosophical- Musafir hoon yaaron, na ghar hai na thikaana, Aanewala pal, jaanewala hai, Chingari koi bhadke,..

Romantic- Ek ajnabi haseena se, Pyar deewana hota hai mastana hota hai, O mere dil ke chain, Kehna hai, kehna hai, aaj tumse yeh pehli baar, gulabi aankhen jo teri dekhi...

In his own voice- Mehbooba mehbooba,  Dhanno ki aankhon mein, Duniya mein logon ko dhokha kabhi ho jaata hai..

Classical- Mere naina saawan bhaadon, Hamein tumse pyar kitna yeh hum nahin jaante, ...

Mature- Songs from Aandhi, Ghar,..

Exuberant- Chala jaata hoon kisi ki dhun mein..

Comic- Mere saamne wali khidki mein, Ek chatur naar,..

Rocking on stage- Most songs from Teesri Manzil, Yaadon ki Baaraat, and Hum Kisise Kum Nahin.

This blog gets its name from one that he composed- Yeh shaam mastani, Madhosh kiye jaaye..

Mere Jeevan Saathi

The creative genius of R.D. Burman was in full flow at the time. I remember going with a friend to buy an L.P. record of this movie in Hyderabad. The songs were a rage then-around 1977 or so, and are wonderful to listen to today (the movie was a flop though, and considered the beginning of Rajesh Khanna's downfall). Sample these-

O mere dil ke chain, chain aaye mere dil ko dua keejiye..a soft lyrical wooing number, filmed with all the soft lighting and so on in the movie.

Diwana leke aaya hai, dil ka taraana, dekho kahin yaaro thukra na dena, mera nazraana..more tentative in its appeal.

Deewana karke chhodoge lagta hai, yun humko, ..the similar sounding words, but an entirely different atmosphere and expression.

Chala jaata hoon kisi ki dhun mein, dhadakte dil ke taraane liye..famous for its yodeling by Kishore Kumar, and as exuberant a love song as any in Hindi films..

and a great seduction song that Helen sings for Rajesh Khanna..aao na, gale lagao na..

Musically, Jawani Diwani, Kati Patang, and Mere Jeevan Saathi were probably tops in this genre from R.D. Burman. Though he had Namak Haraam, Aandhi, and so on in others, and Teesri Manzil, Yaadon Ki Baaraat and Hum Kisi se Kum Nahin in the stage/dance songs category.