Remembering Madan Mohan Kohli (25 June 1924 – 14 July 1975), better known as Madan Mohan, was a famed Hindi Film music director of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He is particularly remembered for the ghazals he composed for the film industry, mainly using the voice of Lata Mangeshkar, Talat Mahmood and Mohammed Rafi. Born on June 25, 1924, at Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, where his father Rai Bahadur Chunilal was working as an Accountant General with the Kurdistan Peshmerga forces, Madan Mohan spent the first five years of his life in the Middle East. After 1932, the family returned to Chunnilals home town of Chakwal, then in Jhelum district of Punjab, British India. They were left in the care of a grandparent while Chunnilal went to Mumbai to seek business opportunities. He subsequently became a partner in the Bombay Talkies studio and then in the Filmistan studio. Madan Mohan attended school there for the next six years. It is said that he inherited his talent for music from his mother, who was a poet and great admirer of music. His father was not very musically inclined, but grandfather Hakim Yograj and his younger brother, Prakash were staunch connoisseurs. They used to discuss the subtleties of music in Madans presence. Later, Madans father shifted the whole family to Mumbai and Madan became acquainted with some children of film personalities. These children were Raj Kapoor, Nargis and Suraiya. At the behest of his father, he attended the Colonel Brown Cambridge School and joined the army and received his first commission (emergency) in 1943. Personal traits like courtesy, endurance, discipline, physical fitness and punctuality were all fostered in him during those years. Though as history would have it, he quit the armed forces and turned to his first love—music. He joined All India Radio in Lucknow, where he brushed shoulders with such ghazal and classical luminaries as Ustad Faiyyaz Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Begum Akhtar, and Talat Mahmood. He picked up their influences and carried them with him to Mumbai when he entered the Hindi Film industry. Not many know that he aspired to becoming an actor but ended up directing music. After assisting S.D. Burman and Shyam Sunder for a short time, Madan scored his first big break with the film Aankhen in 1950. His next film was Adaa. This film saw the beginning of a long partnership with Lata Mangeshkar; she would sing for him in majority of his future films. One feat achieved by Madan Mohan was that at least two of the songs from the film Sharabi for which he composed the music, namely Sawan ke maheeney mein and the classic song Kabhi na Kabhi koi na koi toh aayega, both filmed on Dev Anand are among the most well known renditions of the renowned singer Mohammad Rafi. In addition, his other compositions like Wo Chup Rahen To from the film Jahan Ara (1964) and Maine Rang Li Aaj Chunariya from Dulhan Ek Raat Ki (1966) are two similar examples. Madan was also able to write songs for male singers such as Talat Mahmood (Phir Wohi Saam, Main Teri Nazar Ka Suroor Hoon and Teri Aankh Ke Aansoo from Jahan Ara, and Meri Yaad Mein Tum Na from Madhosh) and Mohammad Rafi (Ek Haseen Shaam Ko from Dulhan Ek Raat Ki, Kisi Ki Yaad Mein from Jahan Ara, Main Nigahen Tere Chehere Se from Aap Ki Parchaiyian, Aap Ke Pehlun Mein Aakar Ro Diye from Mera Saaya, the all-time haunting Meri Awaaz Suno and Tumhare Zulf Ke Sayen from Naunihal, Teri Aankhon Ke Siva Duniya Mein from Chiraag as well. Madan did not usually employ Kishore Kumar. Nonetheless their partnership created songs as well; in this category fall songs such as Simti Si, Sharmai Si from Parwana, Zaroorat Hai, Zaroorat Hai from Manmauji, the title song from Ek Muthi Aasman, Mera Naam Abdul Rehman from Bhai Bhai, and Aai Hasino, Naazanino from Chacha Zindabad. During his early career Madan Mohan had been mildly criticized for creating songs that suited female voices, especially that of Lata Mangeshkar (who called him Madan Bhaiya or Brother Madan). But this is not true all the way; in 1957 he came out with a film named Dekh Kabira Roya in which singer Manna Dey gave his voice to the melodious Kaun Aaya Mere Man Ke Dwaare. In addition to that, he had Lata sing Tu Pyaar Kare Ya Thukraaye and Meri Veena Tum Bin Roye numbers, and he used Talat Mahmood for the song Hum Se Aaya Na Gaya in the same movie. Once in an interview Manna Dey recalled that Madan Mohan sahab asked him to take special care when singing Kaun Aaya Mere Man Ke Dwaare. A film scored by Madan was Chetan Anands Haqeeqat (1964), starring Balraj Sahni and Dharmendra and based on the Sino-Indian War of 1962. In it, he used Rafi, who sang numbers like Kar Chale Hum Fida, Main Yeh Soch Kar. Lata was used for the song Zara Si Aahat Hoti Hai and the unscreened Khelo na mere dilse. And the same film saw Rafi, Talat, Manna Dey, and Bhupendra singing Hoke Majboor Mujhe Usne Bulaya Hoga. Bhupendra appeared on the screen as well for the first time, much before he established himself as a playback singer. This song is also the only song in which four top-rated male playback singers have put voices together in a song. In 1966, he again paired with Lata Mangeshkar for Mera Saaya. Madan Mohans venture was Raj Khoslas Desi version of Woman in White, titled Woh Kaun Thi?. This film has three Lata solos (Naina barse rim jhim rim jhim, Lag ja gale and Jo humne daastaan apni sunaye) and a Lata duet. In 1970, during the changing times of western music he gave music based on ragas for Rajinder Singh Bedis Dastak and won his only 1971 National Film Award for Best Music Direction. Its songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar are still considered her finest. The late fifties, sixties and the early seventies were the most productive period in Madan Mohan’s career. His songs from those decades include compositions for films like Adalat, Anpadh, Dulhan ek raat ki, Mera Saya, Dastak, Hanste Zakhm, Heer Raanjha, Maharaja, and Mausam, among many others. His second last bow was for a film released five years after his death, Chalbaaz. Madan Mohans son Sanjeev Kohli recreated 11 of his late fathers unused compositions for the soundtrack of the 2004 Yash Chopra film Veer-Zaara. Later on, Kohli brought out an album Tere Baghair which contains some of Madan Mohans songs. Source: Wikipedia youtu.be/xFaTZ4vi9mI
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 06:56:32 +0000
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