Reshma

You can’t wait for this one. After a really prolonged period of time you’re going to see the one and only Reshma back in action. The legendary folk singer had been away from the limelight because of an illness the nature of which is not yet clear. All you know it was pretty dangerous and the woman with a haunting voice and steely resolve has resurfaced, singing her heart out.

The album is called Pakhivas and the video of the first number on the CD, Hath Jorniaan, will be screened on New Year’s Eve. The video is directed by Sohail Javed, and those who’ve seen its bits believe it presents a new dimension to the legend’s personality and art. Sounds great, literally and figuratively! In this age of musical drought, you so darn need such stuff – PYT

1. Jhoom Jhoom dhalti raat (Lata Mangeshkar)

Kohraa (1964) featured the ethereal Waheeda Rehman as the mysterious rake Biswajeet’s second wife who’s haunted by his dead wife. Based on Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940), the chilling ambience of this film was sublimated by the producer Hemant Kumar’s vintage music. Lata Mangeshkar’s Jhoom jhoom dhalti raat heightened the feeling of ominous dread in the plot. Montages of the dead woman’s spirit wandering the night in this song were exquisitely expressive. Waheeda Rehman as the Indian version of Rebecca was vulnerable, adamant and very beautiful. Kohraa was one of the superior supernatural thrillers of the 1960s where the actors respond to a particular plot rather than peripheral attractions such as songs and romance.

2. Mujhe apni duniya mein wapas bula lai (Noor Jehan)

Deewana (1964) was perhaps Lollywood’s first ever horror film. It was made way back in 1964 and took its inspiration from the Invisible Man and The Spiral Staircase. Sabiha was cast in the role of an insomniac and the film despite starting off with a certain amount of promise soon deteriorated into an insufferable bore. The intriguing aspect of the film plot that involved the marauding psychotic invisible man was completely ignored while the audience was tortured by an uninteresting romantic plot involving Sabiha, Ejaz and Ilyas Kashmiri.

However, the film had some awesome songs composed by Bengali music director Muslehuddin. It has been noticed that whenever Noor Jehan collaborated with music directors from East Pakistan (whether Muslehuddin or Bashir Ahmed), the result was magic and this song is no exception. This particular ghost song sung by Noor Jehan and chorus and picturized on Nasreen (with Zurain in the frame) was the highlight of the film. Muslehuddin’s was very good with using chorus voices, and in this song he created “that” ghostly effect by blending the chorus effectively with the main voice

3. Rahoun mei thari mein nazrein jamaey (Noor Jehan)

One of the finest ghost films coming out of Pakistan, Ghoonghat (1962) was composed, produced and directed by Pakistan’s ace composer Khurshid Anwar. In this song he used Noor Jehan’s voice effectively to create the mysterious ambience. The ringing of temple bells at the beginning of the song and the use of chorus (one of the best use of chorus in my opinion) further enhanced the haunted atmosphere of this song.

The biggest technical achievement of this film at its time was to create the atmosphere of mystery that has been captured in the outdoor location sequences. It was comparatively much easier to create such an effect on the artificial sets, where the studio lights were under the control of the cameraman and a limited space facilitated the manipulation of artificial mist. But to successfully launch such a venture in the wide expanses of a mountain was an achievement which Lollywood could well be proud of.

4. Kahin deep jaley kahin dil (Lata Mangeshkar)

Bees saal baad (1962) was based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic novel The Hound of the Baskervilles. This ghost song was the highlight of this film and credit should be given to both the music director Hemant Kumar and singer Lata Mangeshkar for creating the spooky/haunted atmosphere required for such mystery/thrillers.

This song also remains a milestone in Lata’s career because she fell ill in 1962 and thought she would never be able to sing again. In Lata’s own words

“In 1962, I fell very ill for about three months. I thought I would never be able to sing again. One day, I woke up feeling very uneasy in my stomach. And then I started throwing up — it was terrible, the vomit was a greenish color. The doctor came and even brought an x-ray machine home because I could not move. He x-rayed my stomach and said I was being slowly poisoned. We had a servant in the house who made the food. Usha (Mangeshkar) went straight into the kitchen and told everyone that from that moment  on, she would do the cooking instead. The servant sneaked off without telling anyone and without collecting any pay. So we thought someone had planted him there. We didn’t know who it was. I was bed-ridden for three months and was so weak.

I will never forget Majrooh Sahib’s kindness to me during those difficult times. He came at six in the evening and sat by me every day for three long months. He ate whatever I ate and recited poetry and read me stories. We talked and laughed together. I thoroughly enjoyed this company.

When I was feeling well enough to sing, the first song I recorded was Hemant Kumar’s ‘Kahin deep jale kahin dil.’”

5. Kahan ho tum saheliyoun (Noor Jehan)

Although technically not a ghost song.. but the singing, the delusions/hallucinations the lonely and sick heroine is going through by being imprisoned in the haunted mansion is enough the create the disturbed and chilling atmosphere required for ghost songs.

Again Khurshid Anwar collaborates with Noor Jehan and chrous to create this spooky song for mystery/suspense/thriller Hamraaz (1967). The cobwebs, the burning candles, the delusions that her friends are dancing and singing with her, the deep sickly breaths and most of all the haunted humming done by the chorus immerses us into chilling audio-visual experience.

Note:- For a change I didn’t include Lata’s omnipresent “Aayega aanewala”. Although it is one of my favorite songs, I don’t think that song needs any introduction – Ummer Siddique

A scene from Kohraa (1964)

Mehdi Hasan at an art exhibition – Photo courtesy of Asif Noorani

It was not until Mehdi Hasan: The Man and his Music, the book that I conceived, compiled, edited, partly wrote and almost entirely rewrote, hit the bookstores that I realised the great singer’s popularity hasn’t receded over the years. Though the stroke that paralysed him ten years ago has left him at best wheelchair bound and at worst bedridden, and he has neither performed nor recorded for a decade, he remains a yardstick by which all other ghazal singers are judged. The slim volume, laced with photographs, most of them unpublished, and accompanied with two priceless CDs, has been a bestseller and very soon work may well begin on the second edition.

Mehdi Hasan: The Man and his Music happened when I realised that there was no book on one of the greatest icons of the subcontinent in our times. Some of his admirers in India often sent requests for anything on ‘Mehdi sahib’ which they could read and give a pride of place on their bookshelves.

When I decided to take a plunge, the one major problem was, and still is, that the icon cannot communicate. His answers, if any, are in one or two words. His family members are scattered and difficult to contact, except for a son in Karachi who is generally inaccessible. “But”, as I wrote in the foreword of the book, “I discovered to my surprise and, of course, pleasure that people like composer Robin Ghosh in Dhaka, Raza Ali Abidi in London, Rakhshanda Jalil in Delhi and Raza Rumi in Lahore agreed wholeheartedly to contribute to the book at short notice. Then there were singers like Runa Laila, Jagjit Singh, Abida Parveen, Nayyara Noor and Tina Sani, who spoke enthusiastically about their association with the vocalist from whom they have drawn inspiration.”

EMI Pakistan, which had been forced into hibernation by pirates and are back in action, were invited to become a partner in the project, which they did so happily. They have a great collection in their archives, which they are indexing. I recalled that in 1976, a two-evening concert, featuring the ustad, was held in Lahore. The recordings later released on audio cassettes are in my personal library. The stereophonic recording was superb. I selected six best ghazals, which appear on CD 1, without being abridged or pruned.

The second CD features in addition to his exquisite film songs, a duet with Nazakat and Salamat. Mehdi Hasan is a match to the well known exponents of classical music and scores over them and sounds sweeter. Another surprise number is his superb rendition of a Bulleh Shah kafi. Then there are splendid recitations of a thumri, a Rajasthani folk song and Heer. The tracks on both the CDs are digitised. Before I forget let me add that the second CD begins with a tribute paid by the well known Indian singer Jagjit Singh to the uncrowned king of ghazal gayeki.

Back to the book, its contents in the context of text and photographs offer a wide variety. If there are serious articles on the contributions of the singer to ghazal gayeki and film music, there are brief tributes paid to him by the likes of Dilip Kumar, Noor Jehan, Naushad and Lata. There are also interesting anecdotes like the one when he reassembled his harmonium, which was dropped by someone while being carried to a concert, in a matter of few minutes. “Don’t be surprised. I was an auto mechanic once and had assembled a number of tractor engines. Assembling a harmonium is child’s play to me,” he told his relieved audience.

No less interesting is the short piece by Shaukat Sheikh who recalled how “Gulon mein rang bhare” was originally recorded by HMV to issue as a record but on director Khaleel Qaiser’s insistence the ghazal was included in his movie Farangi. That became Mehdi Hasan’s signature tune. Once when some one requested Faiz to recite the ghazal at a mushaira he quipped “Woh ghazal to ab Mehdi Hasan ki hogai hai. Aap unse sunye.”

I have listed 30 of his finest ghazals and 30 best film songs, as also some ragas on which he has based his popular ghazals. A list of awards, won by the singer, has been included in the book too.

Among the rare photographs published between the covers is the one where he is seen with his first wife. He looks happy but the glint in his eyes when he is seen with other females is naturally not there. He also appears in the company of other celebrities.

With two legitimate and well recorded CDs, the book is quite affordable. It has been priced Rs. 695. An imported book of this nature would have been no less than Rs. 1,500.

Liberty Books, the publishers of the book, are trying to make it available outside Pakistan. Let’s hope that becomes possible soon – Asif Noorani – Source – Dawn.com

Mehdi Hasan

KARACHI, Dec 6: Tribute was paid to Mehdi Hasan at the launch of a book, which deals with his life and music, here on Monday.

Music lovers were, however, disappointed that the veteran vocalist, who has been in poor health, could not attend the function.

Efforts of senior journalist Asif Noorani, who compiled and edited the book titled Mehdi Hasan: the man and his music, were appreciated by all those who spoke at the book launch.

The book carries well-researched articles and anecdotes about the great singer. Two CDs, containing some of the rare ghazals sung by Mehdi Hasan, accompany the book.

The launch was jointly organised by Liberty Books and EMI Pakistan.

Those who spoke at the book launch included Zehra Nigah, Arshad Mahmood, Raza Ali Abidi, Saleem Hussain and Umar Sheikh.

Zehra Nigah, the eminent poet and chief guest, spoke about the need for acknowledging local artistes more often than is usually done. She also praised the efforts made by the author of the book.

Asif Noorani said: “It is disappointing that while five books are available on Lata Mangeshkar, not a single book is available on Mehdi Hasan, for whom she has great admiration as a singer. In our country we praise lavishly those people who are no more; I have the satisfaction of writing a book in Mehdi Hassan sahib’s lifetime”.

The book was termed a valuable contribution to recording of Pakistan’s national heritage and showing the path to young music lovers.

Mehdi Hasan’s music played in the background while guests discussed the merits of Mehdi Hasan’s music and compiler-editor Asif Noorani signed copies of the book – Source – Dawn.com

Golmaal 3 (2010)

Golmaal, Golmaal Returns and now Golmaal 3 – I wonder what is up with Bollywood’s obsession with sequels? But I am not complaining as long as it’s something worth watching and listening to. And considering how Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision has a repute of bringing out movies to remember, one can keep high hopes from Golmaal 3.

Bollywood’s first trilogy Golmaal 3 stars Ajay Devgan, Tusshaar Kapoor, Arshad Warsi and Kareena Kapoor. Its plot revolves around the lives of two bunches of siblings within a family and their hatred towards each other. The surprising thing is that even though this family lives together, eats together and prays together, they still can’t stand each other.  All we have been told yet is that this quirky family promises to deliver us some hilarious moments, ageless romance and a few heartwarming scenes. They say it is going to be a journey of excitement, madness and love. Oh and since it is Golmaal 3 they claim to have thrice the fun, thrice the magic, and thrice the laughter. Whether their claims turn out true or not, only time will tell but for now we have the music of Golmaal 3, which released recently.

K.K, Anouska Manchanda and Monali Thakur come together to do the music of Golmaal 3. The album opens with (as expected) ‘Golmaal’ and you get to hear ‘Golmaal Golmaal’ all over again. The feeling of déjà vu persists throughout the song and if you don’t really concentrate you might not feel you are listening to something new. The song sure is easy on the lips but what’s the point of making another version of the same Golmaal which has been heard way too many times already when you don’t add freshness to it?

The next track in the album, ‘Apna Har Din’ talks about how you should live each day like it’s your last and enjoy to the max. This track basically sums up the entire story of Anjaana Anjaani in five minutes. It also talks about how the world is selfish and you shouldn’t care about it and only live for your loved ones. Though the concept is nice, Pritam’s music is a major disappointment in this song and even Shaan and Anushka couldn’t save the song.

‘Ale’ sounds better than the earlier tracks in the album but still isn’t what you would call fantastic. Sung by Neeraj and Antara, ‘Ale’ seems like an attempt at a club song but it fails to give off that foot tapping, clubby vibe. It might still appeal to younger people since it’s made for them and highlights how a bunch of friends and have made their own path and live life according to their own terms but I doubt it will find a place in anyone’s favourite playlist this season.

Pritam has added two remakes in this album – ‘Yaad Aa Raha Hain’ and ‘Disco Dancer’. The lyrics of these are exactly the same as the original numbers except the beats have been experimented with to give that Pritam touch to them. While Bappi Lahiri sings ‘Disco Dancer’, it is Sudesh Bhosle who comes behind the mic for ‘Yaad Aa Raha Hain’. ‘Yaad Aa Raha Hain’ might not amuse you but Bappi Lahiri has proved that even at this age, he sure can sing!

The last track in the album, ‘Desi Kali’ is a (much needed) dance track and a pleasant or the only surprise in the Golmaal 3 album. It is high on rhythm, full of beats and easy on the lips, which is why this is one of those songs that you just ‘get’ upon hearing it once. Neeraj and Sunidhi Chauhan have done a great job with the vocals. Sunidhi’s vocals stand out as soon as the song starts and help make it more listenable.  This song has the potential to become popular among the masses and you might see some creative people dancing to the tunes of ‘Desi Kali’ in the upcoming shaadi season. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that ‘Desi Kali’ saves Golmaal 3′s album from being a complete failure.

The album also includes a remix version of ‘Desi Kali’, ‘Apna Har Din’ and ‘Golmaal’ but there’s nothing special about the remixes. The only difference is the increase in the tempos of the songs. The originals are better (if they could be called that) than the remixes any day.

To be honest, the music of Golmaal had a lot of promise, which it failed to meet. Now let’s wait and see if the movie itself meets the expectations of viewers or not – Hafsah Sarfraz

Love Aaj Kal (2009)

‘I Will Survive’ – Gloria Gaynor

Here’s perhaps the best break up song of all time; anyone who has been dumped and then had their lover return to them after months are bound to connect with this classic break-up song! It’s one of the most popular songs and almost everyone has heard it and found it to be extremely precise and on the dot. “I should have changed that stupid lock/ I should have made you leave your key/If I had known for just one second/you’d be back to bother me” are only some of the extremely hilarious lyrics from this brilliantly crafted song. Not only will this song make the listener laugh, but it will also pump them enough to act out the lyrics, by acting tough and telling the loser to get the hell out: “Go on now go/walk out the door/ just turn around now/ ‘cause you’re not welcome anymore” Why this song stands out: Because it’s not simply a song humiliating the ex-lover, but it’s a song teaching the victim to be strong, and to stand up on their feet.

‘So What’ – Pink

The fact that the song is by Pink should speak volumes about the kind of break-up song this might be. Pink is edgy, rebellious and pretty darn straightforward. Therefore when she sings about her break-up, she makes sure that she is partying it up and having an amazing time now that she’s finally free. “So what, I’m still a rock star/I got my rock moves and I don’t need you/And guess what, I’m havin’ more fun /And now that we’re done I’m gonna show you tonight/I’m alright, I’m just fine and you’re a fool”

However, she does get her 15 seconds of self pity and grief, where she does sing about how she did everything she could have for the dude, but then quickly she resumes back to her ‘so what?’ attitude. Why this song stands out: Because she is trying to get over the grief by having a good time, and even though it still hurts her a bit, she realizes the need to wipe her tears, and quickly move on.

‘Tere Pyaar Mein’ – Kaavish

Here’s a song for those who perhaps like more than 15 seconds of self pity. While it’s an incredible melody, sung beautifully by Jaffer Zaidi, it is also perhaps everyone’s favourite break up song because even though we all like to act tough, the truth is, at that moment, one just wants to feel sorry for themselves. Therefore people are more likely to listen to songs, which are particularly sad, something they can honestly relate to. ‘Tere Pyaar Mein’ is about a man who is clearly devastated at his loss, and can’t believe it’s all over, after all the things he did for the relationship. “Teri yaadein/ woh saari baatein/tu he bata kaisey bula doon/ kise kahoon aye bewaafa /dil kis tarah toota mera” Even though it’s not highly recommended you listen to this song too much if you’re suffering from heartbreak, (it’s bound to bring some tears) But the song itself is very beautiful to listen to and definitely everyone’s favourite guilty pleasure. Why this song stands out: Jaffer Zaidi touches the right chords with his soulful vocals. You would want to listen to it even if you haven’t broken up!

‘Everybody Knows’ – John Legend

Finally! A realistic and sensible song about how to react after you’ve just broken up. John Legend perhaps says something which nobody has ever said: “ And I hope one day you’ll see nobody has it easy/ I still can’t believe you found somebody new/ but I wish you the best, I guess.” Is he actually saying something nice to the person who left him?! That’s why this song is in this list. ‘Everybody Knows’ is about the man being reasonable as he sings about how he should have gotten a second chance, because relationships aren’t easy for anyone, and have to be worked upon. Nobody knows what the secret is to having everything perfect, but sometimes you just have to live with the fact that no relationship is perfect. He eventually ends on a good note, wishing her the best with her future. Why this song stands out: For the first time we hear someone being sensible after breaking up!

‘Chor Bazari’ – Love Aaj Kal

Last but not the least: here’s to breaking up Bollywood ishtyle! This is perhaps the most unusual break up song because the two ex-lovers are singing ad celebrating their freedom and being happy about it. Not only are they celebrating, they are dancing! Where else does that happen other than in Bollywood, where every emotion is communicated by a song with choreographed dance moves? They are laughing about how they don’t have to worry about the other person anymore; they don’t have to do all those couple-y rituals like being insecure and complimenting each other all the time. “Taarif teri karna/Tujhe khone se darna/ Haan bhool gaya ab tujhpe/ Din mein chaar daffa marna.” It’s catchy, it’s upbeat. The content will make you laugh, and the song will make you want to get up and do some Bollywood dance moves. Why this song stands out: It’s a song about people who are actually okay after their break-up because they’ve realized that they are better off not being upset about all these random silly things! – Manal Faheem Khan

Tees Maar Khan (2010)

For all those who loved Main Hoon Na and Om Shanti Om, it is time to rejoice! Farah Khan is back with her world of cinema, which gives a new definition to a huge star cast, extravagant sets and costumes, larger than life fictional characters, extremely filmy stories and upbeat soundtracks. Farah’s latest offering, Tees Maar Khan is a thriller garnished with a Bollywood tadka, releasing on December 24. Considering how Farah never seems to disappoint, the year 2010 couldn’t have a better ending for Bollywood.

Tees Maar Khan is a comic escapade, which stars Katrina Kaif as an aspiring actress and Akshay Kumar as a con man who steals, cons and cheats all with such boldness that even shame shies away from him! He and his gang, which includes Dollar, Soda and Burger have managed to keep the police, world over, on their toes. Then one fine day international antique smugglers, the Johri Brothers, assign Tees Maar Khan the most important con job of his life. The job involves robbing antiques worth Rs 500 crore from a heavily guarded moving train. To find out whether Khan along with his girlfriend, Anya (Katrina Kaif) and their gang succeed to pull off the greatest heist in history we will have to wait till December 24. Till then we have the soundtrack of Tees Maar Khaan, which has been composed by the superb team of Vishal Shekhar.

To begin with the album has five original tracks and an overabundance of remixes. There’s almost a remix for every track, which is slightly disappointing. Vishal Shekhar should be the last ones relying on remixes. The album has some high and low notes. Read on to hit the high notes and avoid the low ones.

The album opens with ‘Tees Maar Khan’, the title track. This is a very interesting number for many reasons. The fact that Sonu Nigam has given 54 different voices to this track is one of the reasons. It is Bollywood’s sardonic and melodic take on James Bond’s signature tune which is mixed with Bollywood tunes from the ‘70’s and ‘80’s and the lyrics revolve around the character sketch of Tees Maar Khan. Squeaky, electronically tuned with loads of comical sounds makes this one artistically hilarious. The end of this track has dhol beats in it. There is a remix version of ‘Tees Maar Khan’ in the album too. The remix is more bubbly and fast-paced. Both the original and remix have foot tapping tunes which makes you want to press the repeat button for sure.

Next up, in the album is the much talked about Katrina’s item number, ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’. They have advertised it to be the item song of the year and the kind that you haven’t heard before. Well, I will have to agree now that I have heard it a couple of times and seen the video too. The tune of this track seems to be a fusion of desi and urban vibes. Sunidhi Chauhan’s racy vocals stand out even with the energetic tunes. All that can be said just yet is that you will forget poor old “Munni” after listening/watching to ‘Sheila Ki Jiwani’. The remix which is more hip hop and highly pulsating with the sounds and the grooves, is just as good as the original but such songs make me wonder what is Bollywood’s obsession with item songs?

Farah Khan’s films are incomplete without classic Indian songs and that’s exactly what the next track in the album is. ‘Wallah Re Wallah’ sung by Shekhar, Shreya Ghosal, Kamal Khan, and Raja Hasan is a pure qawwali track. This is precisely the reason why it might not appeal to the masses but nevertheless the tune is energetic. Despite that ‘Wallah Re Wallah’ does not make a first impression. You might have to listen to it a couple of times before it grows on you. Even though I cannot understand why, this track has a remix too, which was completely unnecessary. The remix doesn’t impress either.

The album regains its strength with ‘Baday Dilwala’ after a disappointing track. This catchy number is a mixture of English and Hindi lyrics that stand out amidst the fast beat. ‘Baday Dilwala’ is sung mainly by Sukhwindar, who I might add, has done a tremendous job with the vocals making it sound nothing less than perfect. Shreya Ghoshal has also contributed her sweet voice to this track and even though she has a limited part, she has shown a unique side of hers. The lyrics are also very interesting mentioning the most unexpected things like gossip and Filmfare. Coming back to the tune, this is the kind of track that makes you want to get up and tap your feet. Needless to say, you will get to see lots of people dancing to ‘Baday Dilwala’ in the next shaadi season. The remix continues with the fast beat adding a few more energetic notes to the original one. Both are superbly done and trademark Farah Khan songs!

‘Happy Ending’, the next track in the album, is another trademark of Farah Khan’s cinema. This track is made for showing end credits and brings together some of the major contestants from various music talent hunt shows including Abhijeet Sawant, Harshat Saxena, Debojit Saha and Prajakta Shukre at the vocals. If I had to pick out the low notes of this album, ‘Happy Ending’ would be one of them. Though it doesn’t put you off from the track but it doesn’t instantly get you addicted either. The tunes in the introduction sound like acknowledging everyone, wishing everybody success in their future endeavors as the curtains fall to show ‘THE END’. And this is probably exactly what this track will be about in the movie.

The album promises cheerfulness in every track but since it has only five original tracks, it leaves the listener wishing for more. Nevertheless, ‘Tees Maar Khan’ – the title track, ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ and ‘Baday Dilwala’ are the highlights of this album! – Hafsah Sarfraz

Mukesh and Naushad

Naushad composed approximately 23 songs for Mukesh, out of which 15 were solos and 8 were duets. Naushad used Mukesh’s voice in 2 phases. The first was late 40′s phase (1948-1949), when Naushad created some of the best gems for Mukesh including Kabhi dil dil sai takrata to hoga, Main bhanwara tou hai phool and Tu kahe agar. After 1949, Naushad started to patronize Mohammad Rafi as his main singer and Mukesh got sidelined. Naushad didn’t use Mukesh voice for the next 19 years until Saathi (1968) was released.

Mukesh’s main co-singer under Naushad’s baton was Shamshad Begum, Naushad utilized the nasalish tinge in their voices to full extent and they sang 4 duets together for Naushad, all of which are considered classics today – Bhol gaye kiyoun de ke sahara, Aai sawan rut aai, Mein Bhanwara tu hai phool and Mera dil todne wale.

Naushad on Mukesh

I used to call him Mukesh Babu. He was a singer who belonged to Kundan Lal Saigal’s school. Mukesh was excellent in low tones. There was a certain sadness in his voice but the moment he was taken to the high notes, he used to get shaken. Many music directors, including me, were guilty of asking him to sing in a higher pitch.

One particular trait Mukesh Babu had was that he could never sing without a harmonium. This was because he thought that he would go out of tune. In fact, many times I had to pad up the harmonium and whenever we did that the result was much better.

I used Mukesh Babu’s voice for my songs in two phases. First spell was during late forties when films like “Mela”, “Anokhi Ada”, and “Andaz” were made and the second phase started with “Saathi” and so on, which continued intermittently till his sad demise in 1976. The last song I recorded on him was for the film “Pukar” which Producer/Director Sohrab Modi was making in late seventies. I very clearly remember an incident that took place at the time of the song session. After recording the song everyone was being paid. Even Mukesh Babu was given his packet. Everybody was knowing that Modi Saab was passing through a very difficult financial condition. As soon as the packet was received by Mukesh babu, he returned it to Modi Saab with the words, “Take this back, make your film. When it becomes a jubilee hit, pay me double this amount”.

Mukesh-Naushad Collaboration

Mukesh sang approximately 23 songs for Naushad. Details are provided below :-

Mukesh with Raj Kapoor

Mukesh with Raj Kapoor