Some? Song They are reborn. They are reborn in other languages, reproduced as jingles and cover versions, discovered and cherished by new generations and geographies. Madan Mohan’s heart-warming composition, ‘Hug me‘, a blend of melody and melancholy, belongs to that exclusive club of single malt songs.
Here are the facts: This classic song from ‘Woh Kaun Thi?’ (1964) has been reused in many films, most notably as ‘Ponmeni Thazhuvammal’ – picturised on teenage Jayalalithaa in the 1966 Tamil film ‘Yaar Nee?’ – and more recently in ‘Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3’ (2018). Many Pakistani singers have sung it; there is also a qawwali version of it. The track was used to promote the digital audio player, Saregama Carvaan. No wonder this song, written by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan and voiced by Lata Mangeshkar, has over 300 million YouTube hits.
And the irony here is that ‘Lag Ja Gale’ did not feature in the top 32 songs of Binaca Geetmala’s annual hit parade of 1964, while two other songs from the same film – ‘Jo humne dastaan apni sunai’ and ‘Naina barse rimjhim rimjhim’ – managed to make it to the coveted chart.
The unsung star
The fate of Lag Ja Gayle symbolizes those born in Baghdad music director Madan Mohan has had a roller-coaster career, filled with moody tunes that have stood the test of time and changing tastes, but rarely became chartbusters or won awards. In a career spanning 25 years, the composer did not win a single Filmfare Award.
Only three of his songs were included in Geetmala’s top 5 hits of the year. The playful ‘Ae Dil Mujhe Bata De’ (No. 5 spot, film: ‘Bhai Bhai’, 1956), full of folk and dance, ‘Jhumka Gira Re’ (No. 4, ‘Mera Saya’, 1966), which was recreated in Karan Johar’s ‘Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani’ (2023), and 1977’s ‘Koi Patthar Se Na Mare Mere Deewane Ko’ (No. 1, ‘Laila Majnu’). The sad part is that the music director breathed his last just a few years before that. He was only 51.
His eldest son Sanjeev Kohli writes that the lack of public appreciation always hurt him and this kept bothering him for years. “The man who was accepted as a genius by people who understood and appreciated music was never in the top rung of the hit parade or with big banners or big stars,” he says on the website madanmohan.in.
Except for the Madras-based production house AVM and filmmakers like Chetan Anand and Raj Khosla, Madan Mohan composed music mostly for small producers and directors. He also worked for Devendra Goel (who gave him a chance to work in ‘Aankhen’ in 1950), Shakti Samanta and Pramod Chakravarty, but that was before he became a big name in the industry.
The songs he composed were always better than the films they featured in. Often, they are the only notable element of a film. Some of his best works, ‘Dekh Kabira Roya’ (1958), ‘Jahaan Ara’ (1964), ‘Dulhan Ek Raat Ki’ (inspired by Thomas Hardy’s ‘Tess of the d’Urbervilles’ (1967)), were for films that were mega flops. The songs are remembered not because of the film, but despite its failure.
Ghazal Maestro
Film music historian Pawan Jha says there is a timelessness and universality in his compositions. He says Veer Zaara’s tunes were used almost 30 years after his death, but they don’t sound dated at all.
No one has written better ghazals in Hindi films. The music director, who turned pro, had the talent to infuse songs with a deep sadness even if the lyrics were not explicitly melancholic, such as ‘Aapki Nazron Ne Samjha’ (‘Anpadh’, 1962), ‘Teri Aankhon Ke Siwa Duniya Mein’ (‘Aapki Nazron Ne Samjha…’, ‘Chirag’ (1969) and ‘Dil Dhoondta Hai’ (‘Mausam’ (1975)).
Jha argues that unlike some of the more popular music directors, Madan Mohan understood and appreciated Urdu poetry. He also sang. “That is why there is a special symmetry of words and tunes in his compositions,” he says. His niece, actress Anju Mahendru, confirms this. She says, “He had no formal training in music. But he had an innate talent. His music came from his heart.”
He was also a master of the mega song, best exemplified by ‘Tum jo mil gaye ho’ (‘Hanste Zakhm’, 1973) and ‘Har koi chahta hai’ (‘Ek Mutthi Aasman’, 1973). Like Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, these ambitious tracks change tempos and evoke a range of longings. He was versatile too. There are very few compositions as patriotic as ‘Kar chale hum fida jaan-o-tan saathiyon’ (‘Haqiqat’, 1964). And, you will rarely hear a more joyous track than ‘Zaroorat hai zaroorat hai’ (‘Man-mauji’, 1962).
Lyricist-singer Amitabh Bhattacharya came across a track from Madan Mohan’s unreleased film ‘Jahaan Tum Wahaan Hum’. He says, “I kept listening to it for days and I think it underlines the power and class of the composer who is making us listen to his songs in an era where everything is ephemeral and chaos rules our audio universe.” The song is, ‘Kaise Kattegi Zindagi Tere Baraaya’.
In 1970, Madan Mohan won the National Award for Best Music Director for ‘Dastak’. Writer-director Rajinder Singh Bedi’s film had some of the composer’s most poignant and sensitive tunes, from ‘Baiyaan Na Dharo’ to ‘Hum-Hain-Maatae-Kucha’ and ‘Mai Re’. “He was extremely sensitive. During the recording of a song for ‘Hanste Zakham’, he was so moved by a tune on the sitar that he burst into tears,” Mahendroo recalls.
a man of principles
He was a man of strong convictions and principles, a trait he shared with fellow composers like Jaidev and Khayyam. “While he was sure that Talat Mahmood was the right singer for some of the songs in ‘Jahaan Ara’, the director was adamant that Rafi sahab be given all the songs. My father did not listen to him and was ready to leave the film. The same thing happened when he chose Rafi sahab over Kishore Kumar for the songs of ‘Laila Majnu’. The directors finally agreed to his point and these films became milestones in the world of music,” Kohli writes. Having lived in Kishore Kumar’s shadow in the post-‘Aradhana’ period, the superhit songs of ‘Laila Majnu’ helped Rafi make a strong comeback.
Like the finest whisky, many of Madan Mohan’s compositions have aged remarkably well and his reputation has soared. To mark his 100th birth anniversary, celebrations of his life and songs have been planned in Mumbai, Surat, Pune and other places. The great musician would have loved this.
