As she grew up as a little girl in New Delhi in the 1960’s, Chitra Iyer was fascinated by the film songs she heard, along with her music-loving aunt, on their huge radio. Songs like Aap ki nazron se … ( Anpadh ) and Lag jaa gale… ( Woh Kaun Thi? ) made a huge impression on her.
She was too young to know who composed those songs. When she found out later, as she began to learn music, that they were all tuned by one man she was amazed. That man, who bowled over Chitra and hundreds of thousands of music lovers across the country, was Madan Mohan, whose 40th death anniversary falls on Tuesday.
Timeless
He may have been one of the most unsung composers in his life time – men like S.D. Burman, Naushad and Shankar-Jaikishan were far more successful – but the beauty and timelessness of his songs are second to none.
He was a genius. And his music was magic.
Songs like Woh chup rahe to … ( Jahan Ara ), Dil dhoondta hai … ( Mausam ), Phir wohi shaam … ( Jahan Ara ), Nagma o sher ki… ( Ghazal ) and Teri ankhon ke… ( Chirag ) are among the finest songs ever in Indian cinema. “It is astonishing that he could compose so many brilliant songs in film after film,” says Chitra.
“You would have to struggle to list bad songs tuned by him,” she says.
She adds that she often gets requests in her shows to sing Madan Mohan’s songs. “ Lag jaa gale …, Aap ki nazron ne … and Naina barse … ( Woh Kaun Thi? ) and Jhumka gira re … ( Mera Saaya ) are the most popular songs at shows,” she says. “My personal favourites though include Woh chup rahe to …, Aaj socha to … ( Hanste Zakhm ) and Zara si aahat … ( Haqeeqat ).”
For playback singer G. Venugopal, Humse aaya na gaya … ( Dekh Kabir Roya ) and Phir wohi shaam … are the favourite Madan Mohan numbers. “He was a completely original composer,” he says. “It is unfortunate that he did not enjoy much success in his lifetime.”
Indian music is fortunate that Madan Mohan gave his best always, regardless of the stars, directors or producers he worked with. And, of course, he had Lata Mangeshkar to make his beautiful tunes even more beautiful with her heavenly voice.
