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..

Remembering Sanjeev Kumar

This hero was unlike any other. He acted much beyond his age, and also played heroes who were older, like in Aandhi (with Suchitra Sen, with some great songs penned by Gulzar and tuned by R.D. Burman), and in younger roles, romanced Hema Malini (Seeta aur Geeta) and Leena Chandavarkar (Manchali was a delight).

Comedy? Angoor was a classic, with two Sanjeevs and two Deven Vermas. Tragedy? Khilona, where he played a tragically ill man. Nine roles? No problem- Naya Din Nayi Raat was the film.

Father of the hero? Trishul... of the Heroine? Parichay. College kid? Devata (this film had the song Chal baithen church ke peechey). Dashing inspector and then the village thakur who is the centrepiece of the blockbuster Sholay.

Manoranjan was another delightful film where he played a cop who tries to rescue a prostitute because he is in love with her- a remake of Irma La Douce.

Another memorable film of his was Koshish, where he and Jaya Bhaduri played a deaf and dumb couple.

Listening to Kishore Kumar- Ina Mina Dika

I never get tired of listening to him. His voice is full of life. I must have first heard him in the late sixties, on radio when I was around 8 or 9. The early songs may have been Yeh dil, na hota bechara, from Jewel Thief, and then the delectable Mere sapnon ki rani kab aayegi tu from Aradhana. I still listen to these two.

In between, the range of songs I heard and liked grew into a big number. Almost all Rajesh Khanna films had him, and so did most Dev Anand films. Pal bhar ke liye koi hamein pyar kar le, picturised on Dev Anand and Hema Mailini was  a favourite those days, and so was the duet from the same film (Johny Mera Naam) -O mere Raja,..and still are.

Hum the woh thi aur samaa rangeen was my favourite among many lovely songs in Chalti ka Naam Gaadi, and his own acting was even better. Paanch rupiah baarah aana, also for its innovative lyrics. The film called Padosan was non-stop fun, in large part due to his singing and acting.

He also sang some superb songs in relatively unknown films- only the songs are remembered today. Pyar maanga hai tumhise from College Girl, Tum kitni khoobsurat ho fro Jangal Mein Mangal, O hansini from Zahreela Insaan, Aise na mujhe tum dekho from Darling Darling are some examples.

His duets from Aandhi are probably the best ever. And there were three in the film. Other duets that are memorable, for me Koi maane ya na maane, from Adhikaar, Pyar hua hai jab se, Mere meet bata, Tu laali hai savere wali, Gore rang pe na itna gumaan kar, Maar gayi mujhe teri judaai, Jaisa des waisa bhes phir kya darna, Neend churake raaton mein, Tum bhi chalo hum bhi chalen chalti rahe zindagi,..

Soulful songs? Those were in plenty also- Ajnabi, tum jaane pehchane se lagte ho is one standout song in this category. Mere mehboob qayamat hogi is another. All his songs from Amar Prem too.

Qawwali? He sang one in Anokhi Ada in this style- Haal kya hai dilon ka na poocchho sanam. Bhajan? Jai Govindam, Jai Gopalam (a parody), with the funniest lines- peechhe pad gaya income taxum, etc..

Nonsense lyrics? Ina mina dika, ..