RMIM Archive Article "103".


From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian


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# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: Prabodhchandra alias 'Manna' Dey
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# Posted by: apn@cs.buffalo.edu (Ajay P Nerurkar)
# Source: Times of India
# Author: Ambarish Mishra
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This piece on Manna Dey, appeared in a recent edition of the Times of India, on the occasion of his 75th birthday. Thus, at the very least, it answers a question posed on RMIM a while back. -- Ajay ----------------------------------------------------------------- Down Memory Lane by Ambarish Mishra ----------------------------------------------------------------- Half a century ago, Prabodhchandra Dey, fresh from Vidyasagar college in Calcutta, was in two minds about his vocation: whether to master the consummate craftsmanship of the Patiala gharana or sing for films. Father Purnachandra Dey, a chartered accountant, however, wanted his son, a Bachelor of Arts, to be a barrister. Prabodh, like countless bhadraloks of Calacutta, was under the mesmeric spell of his uncle K.C.Dey, well-known actor-singer and popular star of New Theatres. The uncle chose the nephew as his disciple and that has made all the difference to the world of Hindi film music. For over five decades Manna Dey, incidentally, the pet-name Manna was chosen by K.C.Dey, has regaled Hindi film aficionados with his lilting songs that refuse to age with time. Hit numbers such as "Poochho na kaise maine rain beetayee", "Laga chunari mein daag", "Aye meri zohra jabeen", "Na to karavaan ki talaash hai" and "Chunri sambhaal gori" (the last with Lata), to name a few, spin a tale of Indian life. Though his career graph never soared to dizzy heights, Manna Dey doubtless stands apart because of his deep voice and a wide repertoire: from qawwali to light, romantic duets to classical numbers. "All that I have attained in music is because of my uncle's training," says Mannada with a sense of modesty reminiscent of the near-extinct era when blowing one's trumpet was considered blase. Mannada left for Calcutta on Friday to attend a string of shows, as also to celebrate his 75th birthday on May 1 at his ancestral home on Shimla road: a palatial 12-bedroom house which has with- stood the rigours of two centuries with legitimate pride. "Cal- cutta in the 1930s was a dream city," he said last week, unspool- ing memories of the bygone era in the well-appointed music room -- with a harmonium on the baithak -- at his suburban residence. Mannada grew up to the soft strains of baul songs, Rabin- drasangeet and khayal. He would often escort his uncle -- K.C.Dey was blind -- to New Theatres' sprawling studio on Prince Anwar Shah road. "It was like my second home," he said and recalled with gratitude how he got to see from close quarters stalwarts such as K.L.Saigal, Kanan Devi, Prithviraj Kapoor, Pahari Sanyal, Jamuna, Raichand Boral, Pankaj Mullick, Nitin Bose and Timir Baran to name a few. "The entire New Theatres unit was like an extended family," he added. Such was the warmth and bonhomie in the studio that the head cook would even rustle up the favourite dishes of Mannada. Back home, K.C.Dey would put his nephew through the paces, ac- quainting him with the subtleties of tappa, thumri, bhajan and qawwali. Apart from honing his disciple's vocal skills, he also taught him languages, literature and poetry. "I am appalled when singers or actors don't get their pronunciations right," Mannada nodded in despair. With the disintegration of New Theatres in the early 1940s, ac- tors, singers and technicians made a beeline to Bombay in search of fresh pastures. Producer Chimanlal Trivedi of Bombay's Lakshmi film company specially came down to Calcutta to goad K.C.Dey into coming to Bombay. Phani Muzumdar led the exodus comprising Dey Sr, recordist Robin Chatterjee and technicians Prafulla Roy and Vibhuti Laha. Mannada joined the group which arrived in Bombay in December 1942. In Bombay, Mannada started off as assistant to music director H.P.Das. However, it was, again, K.C.Dey's intervention that flagged off his career as playback singer. Vijay Bhatt of Prakash Pictures wanted K.C.Dey to record a song for Ram-Rajya, Bhatt's ambitious venture. The elder Dey flatly refused, but, instead, proposed his nephew's name. Music director Shankarrao Vyas was sceptical. However, Mannada's stentorian voice which sounded very similar to his mentor's voice, delighted Vyas. After a few rehearsals the 24-year-old crooner was in the recording studio belting out a solemn number for the character of Valmiki, the wizened sage. "Pahala gaaan buddhe ke liye gaana pada" (My first song was for an old man), Mannada laughed, adding that the song fetched him a princely fee of Rs.150. Years of struggle followed, at times compelling the talented singer to wonder if he was on the right track. "I even thought of going back to Calcutta and doing my law," he added. However, "Upar gagan vishaal" the marching song from Mashaal, which Manna- da sang with great gusto, turned into a super hit. "I decided to stay on in Bombay," he averred. Soon, a string of super hit numbers brought instant fame. Songs such as "Yeh raat bheegi bheegi" and "Aaja sanam madhur chandani mein hum" (both with Lata Mangeshkar), "Aye mere pyaare watan", "Dil kaa haal sune dilwala" and "Mud mud ke naa dekh, mud mudke", "Tu hai mera prem devata" (with Mohammed Rafi), "Sur na saje kyaa gaoon main" and the unforgettable prayer song, "Tu pyaar ka sagar hai" have accorded an exalted status to Manna Dey in the pantheon of playback singers. He bought his first car, a Hillman-Minx, in 1955. "I still remember the car number: BYH 2329." If melody was the leitmotif of the golden era of Hindi film music, it was, Mannada strongly felt, the result of the collec- tive effort of music directors, lyricists and playback singers. "Music directors were taskmasters. They had, as they say, an ear for music. Every word, every note was chiselled and honed. Manna- da mentions R.D.Burman as a case in point. Mannada's song "Aao twist kare" from Mehmood's Bhoot Bangla was a lift from "Come let us twist". Before recording the Hindi number, Pancham sang the original English song in such great style that Mannada, the recordist and the musicians were breathless. "We all -- Lata, Rafi, Geeta Dutt, Kishore, Mukesh, Asha, myself -- took great pains to convey the subtleties contained in a song. Which is why every song of the '50s and the '60s is still a delight." With Shankar (as in Shankar-Jaikishan) Mannada had a special bond of affection and friendship. He cherishes his long meetings with Shankar in the latter's spacious music room at the Famous Labora- tory in Mahalakshmi. "I would sing for him for hours: baul songs or tappa or a thumri." Mannada won his Filmfare award for "Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo", the toe-tapping number, a Shankar com- position, from Raj Kapoor's Mera Naam Joker. Mannada notes with pride that he has sung for almost every com- poser, ranging from Anil Biswas to R.D.Burman. "But I was never in the top slot and, honestly, I never aspired to be in that race," he admitted. Steeped in the fine tradition of New Thea- tres, Mannada's gentle low-key approach hardly matched the petti- ness and pomp of the filmdom. There were some unhappy moments too. Sometimes a star or a film-maker would openly object to Mannada's presence in the recording studio. "Why is he singing this song ?" they would ask the music director. Even in his home-state Bengal, recognition came a bit late: in mid-1960s. "There was near chaos in Tollygunge when news spread that I was to sing for Uttam Kumar," he laughed. However, in the later years, Mannada carved a niche in Bengali cinema. Insiders claim that film distributors in West Bengal insist that the film should have at least one sung by Manna Dey. Belated recognition or the low trajectory of his career graph hardly bother Mannada. "I have no regrets, no complaints," he as- serts. Stubbornly unwilling to croon vulgar ditties to the accom- paniment of an unwieldy orchestra, the veteran chooses to spend time in his music room for rigorous riyaaz the legacy of K.C.Dey and New Theatres. **********************
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian