C. Ramchandra - A tribute
Anonymous
Ramchandra Chitalkar - Melody, Softness stayed with his tunes
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Fifteen year ago, on 5th January a phenomena called Ramchandra Chitalkar called
it last time 'Ai Pyar Teri Duniya Se Ham Bas Itani Nishani Le Ke Chale'. This
time he really left.
Chitalkar was blamed for importing western tunes to clean Hindustani based film
music by then, guardians of Indian film music. What they couldn't see then, was
seen by this man. In 1950s many songs became popular, based on seven notes of
Hindustani classical as well as on seven notes from western symphonies. His 1949
composition from Shahanai 'Ana Meri Jan Sunday Ke Sunday' is heard even today.
Whereas those who blamed him are forgotten long back; except some big guys like
Naushad Ali.
But should he be remembered for only this single contribution ? Cretainly not.
He has produced films too. In 1953 he produced Zanzar with Latabai Mangeshkar.
In the same year Lehren and then in 1955 Pehli Zalak. But he is remembered more
for his haunting songs. Let me recall some his songs that I like for ever.
I don't know when did he start his career; but can recall a song from a film,
as early as in 1943, Jaban. The only song that I know is by Kaushalya (her
only famous song IMO is 'Ma, Pyari Ma' - Aaina) which goes some thing like this
'Kagaz Ki Thi Wo Nav Ham Jisme Ja Rahe The'. I have yet to hear a song which has
so effective use of Veena; although with one exception. The other song is a
composition of M. A. Rauf (Ashok, could he be considered for RJGK #28 ?) for a
1947 film Tohfa. Singer is none other but the great Mukeshchandra Mathur and the
song; 'Kahan Tak Jafa Husna Walon Ki Sehte'. 'Ash-ar' were by Saqib Lakhanvi.
Indian film music has yet to produce another song such as this with such a
combination of Shabda-Sur-Swar! Coming back to C. Ramchandra, takes me to 1946.
This year came a film called Safar. Songs by Chitalkar himself and Binapani
Mukherjee. But the song-de-film was by Mohammad Rafi. (Note that Rafi was given
first exquisite song by Chitalkar and not by Naushad. Though in 1945's
Anmol Ghadi there is a solo by Rafi, the real Naushad song of Rafi should be
from 1947's Dillagi. Sami note that CR HAS given Rafi a *solo* !)
Its moments after eleven O'clock, listening to All India Radio (Urdu Service)
playing such a song in their programme Tamil-E-Irshad, gives you real pleasure.
The song :
Kehke Bhi Na Aye Tum Ab Chhupane Lage Tare
Dil Leke Tum Hi Jite Dil Deke Humi Hare
Come 1949, and a string of films with music by this master comes in the mind.
What a year for him as a music director; when he scored music for not one, two
or three but a total of twelve films! And music; music was all time great. Look
at the list of films: Namuna, Sargam, Sipahiya, Shahnai, Patanga, Khazana,
Nirala, Samadhi..... Some of the songs from these films are:
Mehfil Me Jal Uthi Shama - Nirala, Lata
O Dekhoji Dekhoji Dekhoji - Nirala, Lata
Koi Kisi Ka Diwana Na Bane - Sargam, Lata
Jab Dil Ko Sataye Gam - Sargam, Lata
Hansi Hansi Na Rahi - Sipahiya, Lata
Aisi Muhobat Se - Nirala, Lata
Mere Piya Gaye Hai Rangoon - Patanga, Chitalkar-Shamshad
Dil Se Bhulado Tum Hame - Patana, Lata
Dhire-Dhire, Dhire-Dhire Gam Ka - Khazana, Lata-Chorus
Tam Tam Se Zanko Na Raniji - Namuna, Shamshad Begum
Abhi Raat Ayegi Niklenge Tare - Samadhi, Lata
Note: Khazana could be in 1951 and not in 1949
And it didn't end there. The bandwagon continued to role on with Sangita (1950),
Sagai (1951), Saki(1952), Ghunghru (1953), 26 Janvari (1954), Nausherwan-E-Adil
(1957), Tirandaz and many more. People who say he went western must listen to
his songs from these films at least once; or to this never to go song from a
poet-cum-producer Pyarelal Santoshi's film Shin Shina Ki Bubla Bu; 'Tum Kya Jano
Tumhari Yad Me Ham Kitana Roye'. And of course 1951 film Anarkali (with
Basant Prakash) is immoratal as we know and Abhay Avchat's post covered it best.
It was a Filmistan film. And many of C. Ramchandra films are for Filmistan where
he was working.
Some of the songs from these and some other films are:
Dile Beqarar Soja - Ghunghru, Lata
Dekhoji Dekho Mera Dil Leke - Zamela, Lata
Chala Hai Pyar Ka Rahi - 26 Janvari, Lata
Apani Kaho, Kuch Meri Suno - Parchhain, Lata-Talat
Katate Hai Dukh Me Ye Din - -do-, Lata
Dil Ki Kahani Kehna To Chanhe - Sagai, Lata
Bechain Nazar Betab Jigar - Yasmeen, Talat
Radha Na Bole Na Bole Na Bole Re - Azad, Lata
Baharen Bech Dali - Zanzar, Lata
Apna Pata Bata De - Shagufa, Lata
Dil Ki Duniya Basa Ke Sanwariya - Sangita(?), Lata
Jo Muze Bhula Ke Chale Gaye - Sangita, Lata
Main Pike Nahi Aya - Kavi, Talat
Gaya Andhera Hua Ujala - Subah Ka Tara, Talat/Talat-Lata
Kise Malum Tha Ik Din - Saki, Lata-Talat
Um-ra Hui Tumse Mile - Bahurani, Hemant-Lata
Hawa Bhi Hai Sard Sard - Shatranj, Lata
Tere Dar Khushi Mangi Thi - Hangama, Lata
Dane Dane Pe Likha Jai - Barish, Chitalkar
Viran Mera Dil Hai - Lutera, Lata-Rafi
Bhul Jayen Sare Gam - Nausherwan-E-Adil, Lata-Rafi
And many more... (I am sure they will appear in the followup post of Ashok, with
some flares as I dared writing on an artist liked much by him. :)) By such
songs he has immortalised the films.
Susprisingly the only time he scored music for Raj Kapoor; who is known for his
insistance on good music; didn't produce much famous songs. 'Jap Jap Jap ... Jap
Re' by Mukesh could be one. But not excellent.
Even in changing time of 1960s he could come with Devta (Kaise Jaun Jamuna Ke
Tir) and others. Although he was not probably the same towards the mid 60s
and didn't have as many films too; he will still remain one the pillars of
cinema music.
Anonymous
Ashok
In article <1996010613...@roatan.ucs.indiana.edu>, writes:
>
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>
> Ramchandra Chitalkar - Melody, Softness stayed with his tunes
>
> =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
>
Who is this 'anaam/anaamika' from Indiana taking my name in vain? :)) It looks
like your RJGK 28 entry went astray on the cyberways (or did it?)!
After some months on RMIM, my initial thoughts were to do an RJGK on CR. I soon
realized how much there is of his music that I don't know about. So, I switched
gears and went for a set of MDs about whose musical output (unfortunately) there
wasn't a whole lot to find out! Thanks for adding to my knowledge about CR's
music. I am personally uncomfortable with choosing birth/death anniversaries for
pumping on the net articles about favorite artists. But, an article like this is
welcome on any day of the year! I am still in the learning/receiving mode so far
as CR is concerned, so only scattered comments follow.
> But should he be remembered for only this single contribution ? Cretainly not.
> He has produced films too. In 1953 he produced Zanzar with Latabai Mangeshkar.
> In the same year Lehren and then in 1955 Pehli Zalak.
'Pehli Jhalak' is not a CR proudction; it was produced by MV Raman. In 1953, in
addition to 'Jhanjhar' and 'Lehren', CR produced 'Duniya Gol Hai.' I think he also
produced 'Gharkul' in Marathi (1970).
> I don't know when did he start his career; but can recall a song from a film,
> as early as in 1943, Jaban. The only song that I know is by Kaushalya (her
> only famous song IMO is 'Ma, Pyari Ma' - Aaina) which goes some thing like this
> 'Kagaz Ki Thi Wo Nav Ham Jisme Ja Rahe The'. I have yet to hear a song which has
> so effective use of Veena; although with one exception. The other song is a
> composition of M. A. Rauf (Ashok, could he be considered for RJGK #28 ?) for a
> 1947 film Tohfa. Singer is none other but the great Mukeshchandra Mathur and the
> song; 'Kahan Tak Jafa Husna Walon Ki Sehte'. 'Ash-ar' were by Saqib Lakhanvi.
> Indian film music has yet to produce another song such as this with such a
> combination of Shabda-Sur-Swar!
Haven't heard the 'Zabaan' song or any song by Kaushalya for that matter. The
Mukesh
song of Rauf from 'Tohfa' is indeed superb. I omitted Rauf from RJGK 28 for two
reasons:
I didn't want to go for films earlier than the 1950s becuase of the difficulty of
distinguising the really obscure or infrequent MDs from ones unfamiliar to me and
others just out of ignorance. As I mentioned in the results post, the great music
of the 1940s would be a good RJGK topic in itself. Secondly, there were too
many Mukesh songs from infrequent MDs! In any case, the 'Tohfa' song is one more
proof of Snehal's thesis that Mukesh began to degenerate once S-J and K-A got their
clutches on him.
> Coming back to C. Ramchandra, takes me to 1946.
> This year came a film called Safar. Songs by Chitalkar himself and Binapani
> Mukherjee. But the song-de-film was by Mohammad Rafi. (Note that Rafi was given
> first exquisite song by Chitalkar and not by Naushad. Though in 1945's
> Anmol Ghadi there is a solo by Rafi, the real Naushad song of Rafi should be
> from 1947's Dillagi. Sami note that CR HAS given Rafi a *solo* !)
> Kehke Bhi Na Aye Tum Ab Chhupane Lage Tare
> Dil Leke Tum Hi Jite Dil Deke Humi Hare
Yes, it's a wonderful song. It would be interesting to see if it is indeed the
first great solo of Rafi. 'Anmol Ghadi' came out in 1946, as did 'Safar'. I don't
know which one came out first, but in any case, the Rafi solo from 'Anmol Ghadi' is
not worth writing home about ("tera khilauna TooTa baalak"; suffice to say that it
sounds like an Anup Jalota song!). 'Jugnu' came out a year later. I think the
first great Rafi solo by Naushad appeared only in 1949 with 'Dulari' and 'Dillagi'.
Note the striking similarity (in sentiment, mood, and verse, not the tune) between
the 'Safar' song above and the great Rafi song from 'Dulari':
suhaani raat Dhal chuki, naa jaane tum kab aaoge
jahaan ki rut badal chuki, naa jaane tum kab aaoge
BTW, it is something of a mystery, which is the first Rafi solo (great or
otherwise) composed by Naushad. The Naushad film list in Sami's homepage says that
it is the 'Dillagi' song "tere kooche mein .." But 'Dillagi' was 3 years after
'Anmol Ghadi.' Anyway, it does look like it was under CR's baton that Rafi's first
great solo appeared. Let me hasten to add that it would be safer to wait for
Surjit Singh's chronicle comes to 1946! There could be a great Rafi song by some
other MD that I am ignorant of. There are other Rafi solos under CR, though, e.g.,
this beauty from Navshervan-e-Adil:
ye hasrat the ke is duniyaa mein bas do kaam kar jaate
tumharee yaad mein jeete, tumhare Gam mein mar jaate
The film had exquistite lyrics by one Parvez Shamshi. I haven't come across him in
any other film. That brings to mind an interesting feature of CR's career. He has
worked with a really large range of lyricists, including most of the major poets.
> Some of the songs from these and some other films are:
>
> Dile Beqarar Soja - Ghunghru, Lata
Not sure of this one. There is an immortal Roshan composition with the same mukhDa
from 'Raag Rang' sung by Talat and Lata. The only song I know from 'Ghunghru' is
Lata's "kaali kaali ratiyaa.n".
> Dil Ki Duniya Basa Ke Sanwariya - Sangita(?), Lata
This one is from 'Amar Deep'.
> Susprisingly the only time he scored music for Raj Kapoor; who is known for his
> insistance on good music; didn't produce much famous songs. 'Jap Jap Jap ... Jap
> Re' by Mukesh could be one. But not excellent.
>
The thesis you are trying identify is different, I think. It is not Raj Kapoor,
really. Note that the great musical 'Sargam' was a Raj Kapoor starrer, with CR
giving playback! "jap jap jap" is from 'Sharada' and is certainly not a great
song, but the same film had perhaps the greatest of Lata-Asha duets: "o chand jahan
vo jaaye."
I think the right thesis is that CR's Mukesh output is trivial, as is his Geeta
output, as far as I can tell.
> Even in changing time of 1960s he could come with Devta (Kaise Jaun Jamuna Ke
> Tir) and others. Although he was not probably the same towards the mid 60s
> and didn't have as many films too; he will still remain one the pillars of
> cinema music.
'Devta' was earlier: 1956.
>
>
> Anonymous
>
Thanks for a great posting.
Ashok
Ikram Ahmed Khan
: In any case, the 'Tohfa' song is one more
: proof of Snehal's thesis that Mukesh began to degenerate once S-J and
: K-A got their clutches on him.
SJ-
Jaane kahaaN gaye woh din Mera Naam Joker
Chanchal sheetal nirmal komal Satyam Shivam Sundaram.
Over to Abhay for the KA part :)
: but in any case, the Rafi solo from 'Anmol Ghadi' is
: not worth writing home about ("tera khilauna TooTa baalak";
: suffice to say that it sounds like an Anup Jalota song!).
Saying such things, even in jest..........
:)
His nasal touch to his earlier songs only added just that right amount of
magic, I thought.
Later,
Ikram.
Ashok
In article <4d2f2p$3...@news.tamu.edu>, <iak...@weber.tamu.edu> writes:
>
> Ashok (ADhar...@WorldBank.Org) wrote:
>
> : In any case, the 'Tohfa' song is one more
> : K-A got their clutches on him.
>
> Jaane kahaaN gaye woh din Mera Naam Joker
> Chanchal sheetal nirmal komal Satyam Shivam Sundaram.
See what I mean? :)) You had to pick bones off L-P's plate and put it into S-J's!
Let me not dwell here on the worthwhileness of the stolen morsel. :))
> Over to Abhay for the KA part :)
>
> : but in any case, the Rafi solo from 'Anmol Ghadi' is
> : not worth writing home about ("tera khilauna TooTa baalak";
> : suffice to say that it sounds like an Anup Jalota song!).
>
> Saying such things, even in jest..........
>
> :)
>
I am serious. Try listening to the song; you will have the urge to accompany it
with, whatchamacallit, those tiny cymbals!
> His nasal touch to his earlier songs only added just that right amount of
> magic, I thought.
I'm confused here. Whose nasal touch? Mukesh's, Jalota's, or Rafi's? :))
>
> Later,
> Ikram.
>
>
Ashok
Sunit Kavathekar
A few more of CR's gems :
Aplam chaplam (Lata, Asha ?) (Azad - 1951)
Kitna hansi hai mausam (Lata, CR) (Azad - 1951)
Shola jo bhadke, dil mera dhadke (CR, Lata ?) (Albela - 1949?)
And of course the uncomparable songs from Anarkali
Ye zindagi usiki hai (Lata)
Mohabbat aisi dhadkan hai (Lata)
Jaag darde ishq jaag (Hemant)
Sunit.
Pradeep Dubey
> I think the right thesis is that CR's Mukesh output is trivial, as is his Geeta
> output, as far as I can tell.
Could one of you please talk about CR's Kishore output?
I assume it wasn't just: ina mina dika ...
Pradeep
Ikram Ahmed Khan
: > Chanchal sheetal nirmal komal Satyam Shivam Sundaram.
: ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
: See what I mean? :)) You had to pick bones off L-P's plate and put it into S-J's!
Oops, I forgot to put the LP- line in between. { Yeah, right :) }
: Let me not dwell here on the worthwhileness of the stolen morsel. :))
Move to strike out the above from the records, for being frivolous and
defaming the character of my client! :)
Also irrelevant, and objected to as improper watchamacallit!! :))))
: >
: > : but in any case, the Rafi solo from 'Anmol Ghadi' is
: > : not worth writing home about ("tera khilauna TooTa baalak";
: > : suffice to say that it sounds like an Anup Jalota song!).
: >
: > Saying such things, even in jest..........
: >
: > :)
: >
: I am serious. Try listening to the song; you will have the urge to accompany it
: with, whatchamacallit, those tiny cymbals!
You mean any song which uses that makes the singer get compared to Anup
Jalota!! You are one of the lucky few who did not get to listen to
chhotu-motu there going "tere mere jivan ki yehi buniyaaaaaaad" on DD
every week.
Of course, if you, on the other hand, claim that it makes the composer get
compared to Anup Jalota, then it no longer remains my domain, right
Sami-bhai? :))
Later,
Ikram.
: Ashok
Jairaj, Vinod
There's this song of KK for CR: the title song of Rootha na karo,
a real good one.
Vinod
Chetan Vinchhi
On Jan. 5, this "anonymous" article appeared here to pay
tributes to C.Ramchandra on his puNyatithi. I was in
Bombay on that day. By an odd coincidence I started
recording the Vividh Bharati transmission at 1:00 p.m.
The opening words were :
vividh bharati ki vigyapan prasaaraN sevaa se aaj kaa ek
fankaar karyakram hum sangeetkar C. Ramchandra ki yaad
ko samarpit karte hai.n.
The next half-hour carried the following songs that perhaps
represent the entire range of CR's music.
1. mohabbat aisee Dhadkan hai jo samjhaaee nahi.n jaati
Lata, Anarkali, Hasrat Jaipuri
An opening in good taste. Not one of the more popular
songs from the film, but well-known enough to catch
the attention of even a casual listener. Also, maybe
appropriately, a Lata solo.
2. bhool jaaye.n saare Gham, Doob jaaye.n pyar mei.n
Lata + Rafi, Nausherwan-e-adil, Parvez Shamshi
This song leaves one wishing there had been more
Lata-Rafi duets under CR...sigh....
3. do naino.n kaa bana jhoolna, ho.n palko.n ki Doriyaa.n
Lata, Devta, Rajendra Krishan
An unfamiliar song to me. A very melodious lori. Mild
orchestration goes well with the mood of the song. A
touch of sadness, maybe ? What is the situation in the
movie ?
4. O dilwaalo.n, dil ka lagaana, achchhaa hai, par kabhi kabhi
Chitalkar + Shamshad, Patanga, Rajendra Krishan
Just an okay song IMHO. Not a bad tune. I found it slightly
difficult to get used to the combination of the two voices.
5. to chhupee hai kahaa.n ? mai.n taDaptaa yahaa.n
Manna + Asha, Navrang, Bharat Vyas
A turning point song, as Ashok put it ! This song signifies
the end (and a major twist in the story-line) of the movie.
What an astounding song in terms of movement ! The
change in mood half-way through is really striking.
6. mukhDe pe gesu aa gaye, aadhe idhar aadhe udhar
Kishore, Payal ki Jhankar, Qamar Jalalabaadi
An unusual set of combinations - KK & CR ; CR & QJ !
7. meri jaan meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday
Chitalkar + Amirbai, Shehnaai.
Only the second half of this ever-popular song was played.
Reminding me once again how much I am missing by not having
access to Vividh Bharati and in general, Indian radio !
Comments, anyone ?
Regards,
Chetan.