From: Preeti Ranjan Panda This is an article on Mukesh posted by Preeti on Oct 3, 1994. ============================================================================== A few days ago Sami Mohammed posted a beautiful article on Mukesh entitled "MUKESH: O Jaanewaale Ho Sake to LauTke Aana." But for a few ardent music fans like Sami and Naushad :-), not many people have discussed the prowess of Mukesh on RMIM. The following article attempts at reliving some of those glorious moments of the past when two towering personalities, Mukesh and Raj Kapoor, teamed up and created a wealth of treasures which has delighted generations after generations of music fans. ============================================================================== JAG MEIN RAH JAYENGE PYAARE TERE BOL "kal khel mein hum ho na ho gardish mein taarein rahenge sada bhoologe tum, bhoolenge woh par hum tumhare rahenge sada" It was an alliance made in heaven. A union that was unmatched in its consonance, enviable in its harmony and distinctly unique in its synchronization. It was rooted in a happy confluence of artistic wizardry, the likes of which we are seldom treated to in history. A new era dawned in Indian film music as a heart broken Raj Kapoor probed the justification for his existence after losing his beloved in the film 'Aag.' The year was 1948 and the heart wrenching melancholy that underlay those feelings were exquisitely rendered in one of those gems from the yore that has fearlessly survived the ravages of time for decades now - "zinda hoon is tarah ki gham-e-zindagi nahin jalta hua diya hoon magar roshni nahin" by the tragedy king, Mukesh. The relationship showed no signs of waning almost a quarter of a century later, when reminiscences of the days gone by were so marvellously portrayed in Mera Naam Joker's "jaane kahan gaye woh din, kehte the teri raah mein, nazron ko hum bichhayenge." The combination of Raj Kapoor and Mukesh gave a new dimension to popular hindi music. It flourished during a period which can perhaps be called the Golden Age of hindi film music and the standards were raised to dizzying heights which were seldom touched before or since then. It is interesting to note that neither 'Aag' nor 'Mera Naam Joker' were very successful commercially. Raj Kapoor had pinned a lot of hopes on both, and while 'Mera Naam Joker' was outright rejected by the movie-goers, 'Aag,' which was his first directorial venture, also met with nominal success. The musical scores in both films were, however, runaway hits and became immensely popular. "Aisa mehsoos kyon hota hai jaise aapko kahin dekha ho?" "Sapnon mein dekha hoga!" accompanied by a seductive giggle. "Ji haan. Mein sapne bahut dekha karta hoon..." Raj was a dreamer indeed. This was the distinctive feature of his personality, a trait that he became inseparable from - a candid, guileless personality with scant regard for material aspects of life, with a heart the size of an ocean, always eager to wipe out a few teardrops from the eyes of fellow humans and a down to earth simpleton who was an absolute misfit in the rat race that signifies modern urban life. It was a Charlie Chaplin-like image with one vital difference - accompanying hin in tandem was Mukesh's inimitable voice that rendered those dreams in colour and helped imprint that carefree attitude in the minds of millions of followers nationwide - "zakhmon se bhara seena hai mera hansti hai magar ye mast nazar" Mukesh sounded very much like K.L.Saigal in "zinda hoon is tarah," but at the same time, also carved out a niche for himself in the audience's heart with the feelings of despair and despondency that he so vividly conveyed through his songs. Until then, Mukesh was seen to merely have filled the void created by Saigal's departure. To Raj Kapoor goes the credit for recognizing the unique admixture of melancholy and sweetness in Mukesh's voice. For almost three decades after that, Mukesh continued to remain the soul of Raj Kapoor's movies. 'Aag' failed to make an impression in the box-office, in spite of contributions from stalwarts like Nargis, Kamini Kaushal and Nigar Sultana and music by the respected Ram Ganguly. Critics were quick to sound the death knell of his career as an actor-director and even speculate whether the credits for the film should be ascribed to him or to his illustrious father, Prithviraj Kapoor. The hallmark of greatness, however, lies in the ability to learn from failures and build upon them. And Raj Kapoor was a good learner. In 1949, we saw the Raj Kapoor-Mukesh relationship blossoming in such musical entertainers like Mehboob Khan's 'Andaz' and Kapoor's own 'Barsaat.' While Naushad's rich melody in 'Andaz' (the only movie which saw the two greats, Raj and Dilip Kumar act together) with unforgettable numbers like "tu kahe agar jeevan bhar main geet sunaata jaaon," "jhoom jhoom ke naacho aaj," "toote na dil toote na," and "hum aaj kahin dil kho baithe" continues to haunt us to this day, 'Barsaat' marked the ascendancy of two young, versatile and talented musicians who have left their indelible mark in music history - Shankar-Jaikishan. In 'Barsaat,' RK revamped his entire film-making unit - new music directors, new lyricists - Hasrat Jaipuri and Shailendra, new playwright - Ramanand Sagar, new herione - Nimmi and new team of technicians - Radhu Karmaker, M. R. Achrekar as art director and G.G.Mayekar as editor. This inexperienced team was not quite considered the ideal formula for success. Satirists predicted doomsday: "Aag mein jo kuch jalne se rah gaya hai wo Barsaat mein bah jayega!" But they were proven wrong. The release of Barsaat brought instant fame to Shankar-Jaikishan, Shailendra, Hasrat, Ramanand Sagar, Nimmi and the rest of the team. It was a tremendous commercial and musical success. The countryside was set ablaze with Lata's and Mukesh's songs in Barsaat, "chhod gaye balam," "jiya beqaraar hai," "barsaat mein humse mile tum" and "hawa main udta jaye" to name a few. With 'Aag,' Raj realized that musical success was essential to the success of his films, and 'Barsaat,' which is considered among the greatest financial successes of all time, owes a lot to the popularity of its music. Come 1951 and a whirlwind struck Indian film industry and film music in the name of 'Awara.' It is said that in those days in Soviet Union, Raj Kapoor was the second most popular Indian after Nehru. The Mukesh-RK-Shailendra-Shankar- Jaikishan combination was responsible for what was perhaps the first Indian musical piece to win international acclaim - "aawaara hoon, ya gardish mein hoon, aasmaan ka taara hoon." While Hasrat had penned most of Barsaat's songs (Shailendra wrote only the title song), Raj Kapoor prefered for songs that were picturized on himself, Shailendra's ability to capture the most complex of emotions in the simplest of words. "Aawaara hoon" is a living example of Shailendra's mastery. Mukesh also sang for RK the songs "hum tujhse mohabbat karke sanam" and the duet "dam bharjo udhar munh phere." Under Raja Nawathe's direction, 'Aah' was released in 1953. Mukesh and RK teamed up once again to leave us with such unforgettable numbers like "aaja re ab mera dil pukaara" and "jaane na nazar pehchaane jigar." Mukesh even played a small role in 'Aah' and the song "chhoti si ye zindagaani re" was filmed on Mukesh himself. Mukesh had entered the hindi film arena originally with the intention of acting. He did act in a few films but was not too successful. He even produced the film 'Malhar' in '53 in which he himself played the lead role but it met with moderate success in spite of the immense popularity of its songs "taara toote duniya dekhe," "bade armaanon se rakha hai" and "kahan ho tum." In 1955 the audience was spellbound by 'Shri 420.' The same artists teamed up to produce yet another masterpiece that brought both RK and Mukesh as well as Shailendra and SJ to the pinnacle of glory. To this day one can hear Russian musicians, who were obsessed with the music from 'Awara' and 'Shri 420' attempting to relive the experience of "mera joota hai japani." 'Awara' and 'Shri 420' were arguably the two films which brought the greatest international fame and glory ever to Indian music. Shankar-Jaikishan were wizards at gauging the musical taste of the common man and were largely responsible for exploiting the harmony that tied together RK and Mukesh. 'Jagte Raho' of 1956 was an important milestone in RK's career. It was an unusual art film for its time and was among the first Indian films to win an award in an International Film Festival. It received a lukewarm response at the box office and people reacted only after they heard about the conferral of the prestigious award. Shailendra's lyrics were set to music by Salil Choudhary in this film which gave us the immortal Mukesh song filmed on Motilal - "zindagi khwab hai, khwab mein jhooth kya aur bhala sach hai kya." 1958 witnessed the release of two RK movies - 'Parvarish' and 'Phir Subah Hogi.' Parvarish had nothing to recommend it as a film, but Dattaram's music has left behind an unforgettable jewel for us. Mukesh's "aansoo bhari hai ye jeevan ki raahen" has continued to enthral generations of music lovers. What can be called Dattaram's greatest claim to fame, "aansoo bhari hai" remains a memorable souvenir amidst an otherwise forgettable movie. Mukesh's voice spins a magical web around the listener and holds him captive with rapt attention. Mukesh excelled in rendering such serious compositions. 'Phir Subah Hogi' was released in the same year. Sahir Ludhianvi's lucid poetry combined with Khaiyyam's greatest-ever musical score resulted in a superb musical masterpiece. It fills ones heart with hope, aspiration and longing as he listens to a soulful Mukesh - "in kaali sadiyon ke sar se jab raat ka aanchal dhalkega jab dukh ke badal pighlenge, jab sukh ka sagar chhalkega jab ambar jhoom ke naachega, jab dharti naghme gaayegi woh subah kabhi to aayegi..." Commercially, neither of these were very satisfying, but success was just around the corner. In '59 Hrisikesh Mukherjee's 'Anari' created waves and restored RK's popularity. The Mukesh-Shailendra-SJ combination was all along with him and the music lover was blessed with an immaculately chiselled piece of art - "kisiki muskurahaton pe ho nisaar." In this year we also saw 'Main nashe main hoon' with "mujhko yaaron maaf karna" and 'Kanhaiya' with "ruk jaa o jaanewaali" and "mujhe mere haal pe chhod do." In 'Jis desh mein ganga behti hai' one can see the typical characteristic of the role of music in Raj Kapoor's movies (although this was filmed under the direction of Radhu Karmakar.) "aa ab laut chale, nain bichhaye, baahen pasare," "mera naam raju," "hothon pe sachchai rehti hai," "ho maine pyar kiya," and "o basanti pavan" were not only dulcet melodies, but also brilliantly picturized. Most songs in RK films sound all the more meaningful when one watches the picturization and one never gets the impression that a song is "stapled onto" the story line or treated as a "filler." Songs like "hum bhi hain, tum bhi ho, dono hain aamne saamne" has their own story to tell, and are reminiscent of 420's "ramayya vastavaiyya." The magical touch of Shailendra and SJ was felt once more in 'Aashiq' in '62. Mukesh's "main aashiq hoon bahaaron ka," "tum jo hamaare meet na hote," "mehtaab tera chehra," "ye to kaho kaun ho tum" and "tum aaj mere sang hanslo" were much appreciated, although the film itself flopped in spite of Hrishikesh Mukherjee's direction. Notable among other lovely songs Mukesh sang for RK around this time were "ek woh bhi diwaali thi, ek yeh bhi diwaali hai" from 'Nazrana,' "ek sher sunaata hoon" from 'Ek dil sow afsaane' and "jo pyaar tumne mujhko diya tha" from 'Dulha Dulhan.' The Sahir-Roshan combination created some beautiful Mukesh numbers in 'Dil hi to hai' like "tum agar mujhko na chaho," "bhoole se mohabbat kar baitha" and "humne tujhko pyaar kiya." By now the audience had come to expect a musical fiesta from every RK film and 'Sangam' was a hugely successful venture. As always, the music played a key role and SJ did a marvellous job. Four of its songs "bol radha bol sangam hoga ki nahin", "(Rafi's) ye mera prem patr padhkar", "dost dost na raha" and "buddha mil gaya." featured in 1964's annual Binaca Geet Mala (which lists the top 16 songs of the year.) RK and Mukesh joined forces once again in Shailendra's 'Teesri Kasam' in 1966. This was poet Shailendra's first venture into film production. Indeed, 'Teesri Kasam' was a "poem written down on celluloid." Alas, this was to be Shailendra's first and last film. In spite of winning hordes of awards for its artistic content, 'Teesri Kasam' failed commercially, bringing down Shailendra with it, in spite of the presence of RK and Waheeda Rehman, Basu Battacharya as director and the unforgettable musical scores of Shankar-Jaikishan. "Duniya banane waale, kya tere man mein samayi" remains to date one of Hasrat Jaipuri's most memorable compositions. Shailendra penned Mukesh's "sajanwa bairi ho gaye hamar" and "sajan re jhooth mat bolo." 'Teesri Kasam's commercial failure resulted in an emotional shock for Shailendra and he paid very dearly for it. It ultimately cost him his life and he died on 14 dec '66, Raj Kapoor's birthday. Since then, Raj Kapoor's songs have one element missing sorely in them - Shailendra's magical pen. The days that followed brought to a sad termination a lasting relationship that blossomed with Barsaat and survived until 'Mera Naam Joker' was released in 1970. Jaikishan and art director M. R. Achrekar passed away soon after. Mahesh Kaul's 'Diwana' had some beautiful songs by Mukesh - "ae sanam jisne tujhe chaand si soorat di hai," "diwana mujhe log kahe," "pate ki baat karega," "tumhari bhi jai jai" with SJ composing some nice 'judaai' themes, but these were quite inappropriately picturized. 'Mera Naam Joker,' which took six years to complete, was in fact a reflection of Raj Kapoor's own life story. It was the story of his dreams, and was originally intended to be released in multiple parts. But that was not to be. The movie didn't go well with the audience at all. His biggest dreams were shattered, but the film has left behind the last great masterpieces from that long-lasting friendship of Raj Kapoor and Mukesh with Shailendra and Shankar- Jaikishan - "jaane kahan gaye woh din," "jeena yahan marna yahan," and "kehta hai joker saara zamaana." The film 'Dharam Karam' had Majrooh Sultanpuri's "ek din bik jayega," which was perhaps the last great song Mukesh sang for RK. After Shailendra's death this was perhaps the only song that so fitfully brought out the evergreen partnership of Raj Kapoor and Mukesh. With Jaikishan's demise, the glory of the Shankar-Jaikishan duo, which had enthralled the nation for decades, finally ended. They entered the music world at a time when Naushad, C. Ramachandra and S.D. Burman were at their peak. Right from 'Barsaat' the duo enjoyed phenomenal success. They were largely responsible for assimilating Western classical music into popular hindi songs. It was this pair that was foremost in bringing out the 'dard' in Mukesh's voice. Satyam Shivam Sundaram's "chanchal sheetal nirmal komal" was Mukesh's last song. Immediately after, on 27th of August '76, he breathed his last from a heart attack during a live concert in Detroit. "We look before and after And pine for what is not Our sincerest laughter With some pain is fraught Our sweetest songs are those That tell of saddest thought" When Mukesh died, Raj Kapoor remarked "main goonga ho gaya hoon, meri aawaaz kho gayi." Mukesh's voice was indeed tailor-made for him. It brought into his songs on one hand a deeply intense melancholy and on the other, a profoundly innocent and mellifluous sweetness. It had an exquisite blend of torment and anguish, tenderness and joy. It was an alliance made in heaven. "chaahe kahin bhi tum raho chaahenge tumko umr bhar tumko na bhool paayenge..." ================================================================================ Acknowledgement --------------- Most historical facts quoted in this article were taken from - "Raj Kapoor - Adhi Haqeeqat Adha Fasana" by Prahalad Agrawal.