RMIM Archive Article "221".
From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian
#
# RMIM Archives..
# Subject: Anil Biswas
#
# Posted by: ADhareshwar@worldbank.org (Ashok)
# Source: Cinema Vision
# Author: Anil Biswas
#
Cinema Vision India was a quarterly journal started by Siddharth
Kak in 1982, which proclaimed itself to be ``India's first pro-
fessional Cinema quarterly.'' It lasted three years. The qual-
ity of articles was very uneven and often it printed arti-
cles that had already appeared else-where. It is, neverthe-
less, a good source for many insightful accounts. In its
brief life span, it did devote a couple of issues to music in
films. Over a period of time, I propose to post articles from
these issues on RMIM.
The first two articles I am posting are related; they are both
about Anil Biswas. The first is by way of a brief autobiograph-
ical piece, as written up by an interviewer, and the second is
written by a friend of his from the days of his imprisonment.
Both are from a 1983 issue, called "Mortal Men: Immortal Melo-
dies". The name comes from a function organized by the journal in
1982 in Bombay as a tribute to the pioneer- ing music directors,
lyricists, and singers.
Ashok
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MY JOURNEY INTO THE WORLD OF MUSIC
By Anil Biswas
[The article first appeared in `Madhuri', Dec. 29, 1967
and is attributed to Dr. Shyam Parmar. It was reprinted in
`Saurabh' annual issuem 1977. This version appeared in `Cinema
Vision India', Vol. II, No. II, 1983, pp. 57-59. As you will
see, various anachronisms are there. For example, Mukesh is
referred to as 'late', but the reference to East Pakistan has
been left unchanged. There is also a break in the narrative flow
in a few places; I wonder if textual matter has been lost
across versions.]
I was born on the 7th of July, 1914, at Barisal which is now in
East Pakistan. Whenever I think of my childhood I naturally
remember my mother. Ours was a very poor family and during this
difficult time my mother encouraged my artistic leanings. My
mother was musically inclined by nature.
It seems I could sing when I was four years old. People have
seen me playing the tabla when I was five or six years old,
and at ten, I could act well. Those days I would take part in
dramas. When I was older I was often requested to sing at
music concerts -- and I would sing where seasoned artists would
perform. I composed my own songs, and the listeners would be
surprised to hear my new songs at these concerts.
At this time, I was in the Matric class. A wave of patriotism
swept the country and there was not a single boy of my age in
Bengal who was not willing to sacrifice his life for his coun-
try. My desire to see my country attain freedom was responsi-
ble for my becoming associated with a revolutionary party.
But it was because of this association that I had to face
many difficulties, and a simple boy like me ended up making and
throwing bombs! There were the usual results which go along with
such a life-- my studies were interrupted. I went to jail
six times during my childhood. My friends in jail were Niren
Ghosh, a communist member of the Rajya Sabha, and the Principal
of the Shastriya degree college in Bina (M.P.), Satyavrata
Ghosh. Many of my friends died in jail.
During this period, I escaped in disguise to Calcutta from
Barisal. The year was 1930. My father had passed away. I left
home with five rupees in my pocket. I bought a ticket for
17 paise and came by steamer to Jokati and from there to Hul-
larhat. There I stayed on the veranda of the local post office
for three days. I got a job as a coolie-cum-servant and
managed to reach Khulna, from where I travelled to Calcutta by
train. I was in bad shape. I knew nobody in Calcutta except my
childhood friend Pannalal Ghosh. Panna was shocked to see me.
His elder sister took charge of the situation and asked me to
stay in her house. I stayed only four days with Panna's
brother-in- law, Lalit Chandra Roy.I started life once again in
Calcutta. I start ed washing dishes in a hotel. At the same
time I kept looking out for other jobs. A magician called
Manoranjan Sarkar used to come for his meals to this hotel and
I became friendly with him. One day he heard me singing to
myself and asked me to accompany him to a music concert. We
went to the residence of Rai Bahadur Agornath, a big officer
in the Education Department, who was an exponent of music.
There were many other people there, among them Kavi Jeeten-
dranath Bagchi and J.N. Ghosh, who was the owner of the Mega-
phone Gramophone Company. Sarkar told them I could sing well.
On being asked to sing, I at once prayed to numerous _devataas_
and started singing _shyama sangeet_ in a clear, unsophisticated
voice. My song was appreciated by all the elders there.
When I look back today, I feel it was that day I gained the
knack to guage the mood of a _mehfil_! I ate a good meal after
many days. Rai Bahadur Agornath asked me to stay at his
place and teach his grandchildren.
Every night I had to sing religious songs for him. However, I
soon got tired of this pattern of life. I did not like being a
guest--and being served good food all the time. I left after
eight days as I got a job to teach music to the daughter of Dr.
Pasupati Mitra for five rupees a month.
I was soon to realize the consequences of being a member
of a revolutionary party. One day the police came to look
for me at Pannalal Ghosh's brother-in-law's house. They
also came to the residence of Advocate Mahendra Ghosh where I
was staying and teaching his six children. I was arrested and
sent to Elisium Row jail.
I suffered for four months--the beating was, of course, a
routine affair. The police could not find any evidence
against me. Their treatment of me was so strange that it became
difficult to distinguish between friends and enemies. Sud-
denly, they would turn violent against me.
When I was released, I was asked by the police to become a spy
and give information about freedom fighters. As I was jobless,
I agreed and gave them false information; however, this could
not go on for very long. I could not fool them.
Those days, Kazi Nazrul Islam used to work in the Megaphone
Gramophone Company as a lyricist and music director. It is
because of his efforts that _thumris_ and _ghazals_ influenced
Bengali music. This influence opened the way to experiments
which were applauded by Rabindranath Tagore too.
I approached Kazida for a job as the police had found out that I
was a `fake spy' and I had no other means of livelihood. I
had been influenced by Kazida right from childhood.
Inspite of his encouragement, I found it difficult to come up.
In the same Company, there was somebody who prevented my records
from becoming popular. I learnt _ghazals_ from Manju Sahib
who was happy about my singing. However, these records never
saw the light of day. This is a very sad fact.
At this time, Nitayi Motilal, who was related to Baval Rajvansh,
heard my songs. Nitayida was one of the good music directors
associated with Rangmanch. He gave me a job with the Rang Mahal
theatre. Even today this theatre is in existence. In the
fories, it had a revolving stage! Shri Satu Sen was the director
of the plays. While working as assistant director to Nitayida,
I composed music for quite a few dramas. I sang, danced,
and acted in the plays. You will be surprised to hear that
my salary was only Rs. 40 a month. While at the Gramophone
Company, I was paid five rupees for the lyrics and five for com-
posing the music. I worked for three years at the Rang Mahal.
This was the time I learnt the proper use of music and how to
reach the people with it.
My life in Calcutta was to undergo a change. I was becoming
popular. One day I happened to meet the film director Hiren
Bose. Hirenda showed an interest in me and asked me whether I
would like to work in films. He made it very clear that if I
was, I would have to leave Calcutta. Till today I don't know
why I was ready to, because I was staying comfortably there.
I did not spend too much time thinking about it, and agreed.
The year was 1934. I remember Hirenda agreed to pay me Rs. 150
a month.
In Bombay, I signed a contract with Kumar Movietone. I brought
four instrumentalists with me from Calcutta--all four could
read musical notations well. The foundations of my belief in
the importance of the orchestra were laid then. In many of my
compositions, I have made good use of orchestra music. Right
from then I have been attracted to the use of elements of
Western music which I felt were akin to the spirit of Indian
music, and I used them unhesitatingly in my compositions.
I did this so my music would have a wider impact. Whatever
songs I composed at this time, I used instrumental music very
effectively. It's true that before coming to Bombay, many
of my Bengali songs had already become very popular. I was very
involved in my work and I valued my self-respect.
One day, I quarreled with V.M. Vyas of Kumar Movietone and
this resulted in my being jobless again. In the difficult
days that followed, I did any kind of work. I persistently went
round the film companies. Finally I landed a job with Eastern
Art Company.
Shri Premankur Athorthy who produced `Yahudi Ki Ladki' in 1933
and Shri Daryani heard my music. I composed the song ``tere
poojan ko bhagwaan bana man mandir alishan'' for the film
`Bharat Ki Beti,' 1935. I gained popular recognition because
of this song. The songs for `Bal Hatya' and `Khoon-i-nahak'
were composed around the same time. `Dharam Ki Devi' was made
under the banner of Eastern Arts with Sardar Akhtar and Kumar
who had become famous in New Theatres' productions--in this
film, for the first time my name appeared independently on
the silver screen!
I composed music for many films at Eastern Arts--'Pratima',
`Prem Murti', `Sher Ka Panja' in 1936 and `Bulldog' and `Gentle-
man Daku' in 1937. I got established in the film industry.
I benefited as a Bengali--at that time, because New Theatres
was very prominent in the film industry, every Bengali was con-
sidered an artist!
In 1936 I got my first big break. I joined Sagar Movietone and
their `Jagirdar', 1937, made my music popular all over India.
After this film, Mehboob and I worked as a team.
At this time, Hiren Bose thought of making `Maha Geet',
an experimental film. This was the story of a scientist who
attempts to recall the voices of dead people from Infinite
Space. In this film, playback singing was introduced for the
first time in the Bombay film industry.
I also formed an orchestra of 12 musicians. Such a large
orchestra was considered extraordinary by the film industry.
I feel the years from 1937 to 1940 were vital years for the
Indian film industry. Ranjit began to invite music experts
from Calcutta. Bombay Talkies had been established. Other
companies sprang up--a kind of competitveness emerged, which
was very necessary. New techniques were being explored.
I often think of the problems we had composing songs. The same
song had to be picturized on different sets. At outdoor shoot-
ings it was very difficult to maintain the correct pitch and
rhythm of the voice. When I felt like, I often sang in my
films. However, I stopped singing when one of the singers
told me that he would be jobless if I sang myself!
I was very fond of make-up. One day I enacted the role of a
blind singer. You will not believe me, but the orchestra, the
camera, and the microphone had to walk with me along the road as
I sang!
Just as I became famous, I began to think of resigning from
Sagar Movietone. On Shri Chimanlal Desai's insistence, I
stayed on till 1939. Later, Sagar Movietone and Film City
amalgamated and became National Studio.
My favourites till today are the songs from `Vatan (1938)',
`Ek Hi Rasta 1939)', `Alibaba (1940)', `Bahen (1941)', and
`Roti (1942)'. Sometimes when I am alone I recall the tunes
of ``kyoN ham ne diya dil'' (sung by Sitara, lyrics by
Wajahat Mirza, from `Vatan') and ``kahe karta der baraati''
(sung by Anil Biswas and chorus, lyrics by Dr. Safdar Aah, from
`Aurat'.)
In 1942, I joined Bombay Talkies. The songs from `Basant' became
very popular. I composed the music and the late Pannalal Ghosh
supervised the orchestra. `Kismet' ran for three years in Cal-
cutta at the Roxy. Every song in the film was a hit.
I composed many songs for Bombay Talkies. Even today I'm
proud of films like `Hamari Baat (1943)', `Char Ankhen
(1944)', `Jwar Bhata (1944)', and `Milan (1946)'. The late
Mukesh shot to fame with `Pehli Nazar (1945)'--it was not a Bom-
bay Talkies production--and with ``dil jalta hai to jalne de''
(`Aan'*). Lata Mangeshkar is the discovery of all three of us--
Ghulam Haider, Khemchand Prakash, and myself.
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* Note from Ashok: No idea what is meant here!
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In 1947 I left Bombay Talkies. India attained independence--and
I too decided to become independent. I could try out new ideas;
I decided to compose music for films of my choice.
I do know how many films I have composed music for (**). By
1952 I began to feel film music had passed from the hands of
artists with experience to those of business-minded people. To
try and save the situation, I produced five films myself--
but public taste had deteriorated and I was bitterly disap-
pointed with the state we'd been reduced to.
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** Note: Don't know why this sentence is here!
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I think a great deal about Indian film music. From 1952 to
1957 I went abroad four times and my horizons widened
further. I have travelled to many countries. Once with a cul-
tural organization, once with a peace mission; the third time
was in 1957 to compose music for the Indo-Russian production,
`Pardesi'.
These trips abroad made me realize that our music direc-
tors, in comparison to those of other countries, have
less sense of responsibility. We need expansion and experi-
mentaton in the field of musical instruments. By using instru-
ments of a certain standard, we can obtain better sound range
and tone colour. Some we may have to borrow from the West--but
the musical ideas must be our own. The use of quality instru-
ments will open up a range of possiblilities for the orchestra.
As far as film music is concerned, we have all the neces-
sary material--but it must be put to good use.
In conclusion, I will add that I have borrowed many tunes from
folk music. And as to whether the credit for the use of Rabin-
dra Sangeet and classical music in Hindi films should to me or
not--I don't spend time thinking about it.
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From the RMIM Article Archive maintained by Satish Subramanian