‘He told me he had a special melody for me’
For almost five years Aadesh Shrivastava battled cancer with a smile and a song. But two days after returning from a concert tour in the US, he started bleeding from the nose and was rushed to Kokilaben Hospital. It was his third relapse, but for over 40 days he fought back.
Last week, when Mirror contacted his brother-in-law, as reports of Aadesh being critical surfaced, Lalit Pandit sounded weary but optimistic. The doctors were working tirelessly.
Nita Ambani and Tina Ambani had been calling on him, Shah Rukh Khan had visited too, along with several others from the film fraternity, including Shekhar Kapur, Sonu Nigam, Shaan and Kumar Sanu. “We don’t need financial assistance but thanks to all the emotional support, Aadesh stood up yesterday. We’re hoping he’ll walk back home soon,” he had hoped.
Nihalani, who worked with him in Dev, recalls many meetings before the film rolled, but Aadesh hadn’t been signed. “I invited him to the mahurat, he turned up, and I will never forget the look of surprise on his face when he saw his name displayed as the music director. That moment cemented a friendship that went beyond the film,” he says.
The veteran filmmaker remembers his ‘buddy’ as a fearless composer, always ready to try something new. In Dev, they experimented with a fresh voice. “Kareena Kapoor was untrained but we processed the sound. Her voice had a certain texture which made Jab nahi aaye melodious. Aadesh’s wife, Vijayata Pandit, sang another version of the song that we kept for the album,” smiles Nihalani.
Aadesh started out playing the drums and got his first big break as a composer with Kanyadaan in 1993. Lata Mangeshkar reportedly sang his first song. “So I’ve been told, I can’t recall, but ho sakta hai,” says Lata Mangeshkar, who has vivid memories of Vijayata coming with her brothers, Jatin and Lalit, to their home, playing around and even joining them for meals. “Their father, Pratap Narain Pandit, was close to Hridaynath, and the kids were family. Later, Aadesh told me he had married Vijayata and I even visited their home,” she says.
Aadesh got another chance to record a song with the Nightingale, Asha Bhosle and Jagjit Singh for a film produced by Tahir Hussain. “Even this film was shelved, but I believe the song was released later,” she muses, remembering that Aadesh shared a great bonding with Amitabh Bachchan and that they made memorable music together in films like Major Saab, Lal Baadshah, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Baghban and Babul.
Renu Chopra, whose late husband Ravi made Baghban and Babul, recalls how excited Bachchan was about singing Main yahan tu wahan.
“He would leave shooting to go practise with Aadesh,” she laughs. “For Babul, he composed the classical Bawri piya ki. Sonu Nigam so loved it, he sang for free.”
Rajneeti also had the classical Mohe piya, which he composed before the film started. Ditto, Satyagraha’s Raske bhare tore naina. “When I was in Bhopal recently for GangaaJal 2, he called to say he had made a special melody for the film. I returned two days ago, we were supposed to meet but he was gone before I could drop by,” sighs Prakash Jha.
The sigh is echoed by JP Dutta, who had known Aadesh as Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s blue-eyed boy, who played in the rhythm section.
He signed him to compose the background score for Border. “He did a brilliant job without any great inputs from my side. The theme music on the lines of Sandese aate hain was so good that had I heard it before, I’d have used it as a title track. He even came up with a thump thump on the saxophone, which he used to herald the arrival of the Pakistani soldiers,” flashbacks Dutta, who went on to work with him again in Refugee and LOC: Kargil. “I was planning to work with him in my next film. He was full of life, laughter and music even after he was diagnosed with cancer. I was with him from 6 pm to 1 am the day he returned home from Jaslok Hospital. He was cracking jokes. One can learn from his positivity,” Dharmesh Darshan reiterates this sentiment. The Raja Hindustani filmmaker had gone into hibernation after the death of his mother in 2009, followed by his dad passing away on December 31, 2011. On the 14th day of his father’s demise, he decided to do a Punjabi film as a tribute to him. “I was still feeling low when the producer introduced me to Aadesh, telling me quietly that he had been diagnosed with cancer. He was stoic and vibrant during the two-three sessions we had before I dropped out,” he says. Soon after, Aadesh invited Dharmesh to a show he was doing.
On D-day, they learnt that Vijayata’s sister, Sandhya, had been murdered. But there was no question of cancelling. “I watched, amazed, as he performed on stage, singing with Mr. Bachchan, introducing his son and even calling his wife up. The family was in pain, but the show had to go on,” says an awed Dharmesh, admitting his respect for the man went up manifold that day. Lata Mangeshkar has the last word on her ‘young brother.
“Aadesh was a shareef man, a nek insaan, with a large heart. That’s why I was really sad to hear that he was ill. I’d hoped he’d get better but you can’t fight destiny,” she sighs. “He was really close to his wife, sons Anivesh and Avitesh, the whole family. And I know wherever he is, he will keep an eye on them.”
Last week, when Mirror contacted his brother-in-law, as reports of Aadesh being critical surfaced, Lalit Pandit sounded weary but optimistic. The doctors were working tirelessly.
Nita Ambani and Tina Ambani had been calling on him, Shah Rukh Khan had visited too, along with several others from the film fraternity, including Shekhar Kapur, Sonu Nigam, Shaan and Kumar Sanu. “We don’t need financial assistance but thanks to all the emotional support, Aadesh stood up yesterday. We’re hoping he’ll walk back home soon,” he had hoped.
But on his 51st birthday, September 4, the singer-composer’s condition deteriorated. Filmmaker Govind Nihalani was at the hospital for an hour-and-half, leaving after 9 pm. At 12.30 am, on September 5, his ‘buddy’ walked out of the world on the day his film, Welcome Back, opened. Dark irony, some would say. That’s the way it had to be, Aadesh would say.
Nihalani, who worked with him in Dev, recalls many meetings before the film rolled, but Aadesh hadn’t been signed. “I invited him to the mahurat, he turned up, and I will never forget the look of surprise on his face when he saw his name displayed as the music director. That moment cemented a friendship that went beyond the film,” he says.
The veteran filmmaker remembers his ‘buddy’ as a fearless composer, always ready to try something new. In Dev, they experimented with a fresh voice. “Kareena Kapoor was untrained but we processed the sound. Her voice had a certain texture which made Jab nahi aaye melodious. Aadesh’s wife, Vijayata Pandit, sang another version of the song that we kept for the album,” smiles Nihalani.
Aadesh started out playing the drums and got his first big break as a composer with Kanyadaan in 1993. Lata Mangeshkar reportedly sang his first song. “So I’ve been told, I can’t recall, but ho sakta hai,” says Lata Mangeshkar, who has vivid memories of Vijayata coming with her brothers, Jatin and Lalit, to their home, playing around and even joining them for meals. “Their father, Pratap Narain Pandit, was close to Hridaynath, and the kids were family. Later, Aadesh told me he had married Vijayata and I even visited their home,” she says.
Aadesh got another chance to record a song with the Nightingale, Asha Bhosle and Jagjit Singh for a film produced by Tahir Hussain. “Even this film was shelved, but I believe the song was released later,” she muses, remembering that Aadesh shared a great bonding with Amitabh Bachchan and that they made memorable music together in films like Major Saab, Lal Baadshah, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Baghban and Babul.
Renu Chopra, whose late husband Ravi made Baghban and Babul, recalls how excited Bachchan was about singing Main yahan tu wahan.
“He would leave shooting to go practise with Aadesh,” she laughs. “For Babul, he composed the classical Bawri piya ki. Sonu Nigam so loved it, he sang for free.”
Rajneeti also had the classical Mohe piya, which he composed before the film started. Ditto, Satyagraha’s Raske bhare tore naina. “When I was in Bhopal recently for GangaaJal 2, he called to say he had made a special melody for the film. I returned two days ago, we were supposed to meet but he was gone before I could drop by,” sighs Prakash Jha.
The sigh is echoed by JP Dutta, who had known Aadesh as Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s blue-eyed boy, who played in the rhythm section.
He signed him to compose the background score for Border. “He did a brilliant job without any great inputs from my side. The theme music on the lines of Sandese aate hain was so good that had I heard it before, I’d have used it as a title track. He even came up with a thump thump on the saxophone, which he used to herald the arrival of the Pakistani soldiers,” flashbacks Dutta, who went on to work with him again in Refugee and LOC: Kargil. “I was planning to work with him in my next film. He was full of life, laughter and music even after he was diagnosed with cancer. I was with him from 6 pm to 1 am the day he returned home from Jaslok Hospital. He was cracking jokes. One can learn from his positivity,” Dharmesh Darshan reiterates this sentiment. The Raja Hindustani filmmaker had gone into hibernation after the death of his mother in 2009, followed by his dad passing away on December 31, 2011. On the 14th day of his father’s demise, he decided to do a Punjabi film as a tribute to him. “I was still feeling low when the producer introduced me to Aadesh, telling me quietly that he had been diagnosed with cancer. He was stoic and vibrant during the two-three sessions we had before I dropped out,” he says. Soon after, Aadesh invited Dharmesh to a show he was doing.
On D-day, they learnt that Vijayata’s sister, Sandhya, had been murdered. But there was no question of cancelling. “I watched, amazed, as he performed on stage, singing with Mr. Bachchan, introducing his son and even calling his wife up. The family was in pain, but the show had to go on,” says an awed Dharmesh, admitting his respect for the man went up manifold that day. Lata Mangeshkar has the last word on her ‘young brother.
“Aadesh was a shareef man, a nek insaan, with a large heart. That’s why I was really sad to hear that he was ill. I’d hoped he’d get better but you can’t fight destiny,” she sighs. “He was really close to his wife, sons Anivesh and Avitesh, the whole family. And I know wherever he is, he will keep an eye on them.”
