Some instances which show how S-J made their own rule in music

From: Shashi Hegde <shashivh@yahoo.co.in>
Subject: [shankarjaikishan] Some instances which show how S-J made their own rule in music
To: shankarjaikishan@yahoogroups.com
Date: Friday, September 11, 2009, 4:04 PM

There are so many things which make S-J make so special, refreshing and different from others. They made their own rules which became trend for other composers. Even stalwarts like Naushad had to follow this trend or perish..

Here is a brief note on a few instances which show how S-J loved to set new rules in music:

1. The first example I would take is the greatest romantic song in the indian film history (in terms of tune, lyrics, actors, picturisation and film) – PYAAR HUA IKARAAR HUA (Shre 420-Manna Dey, Lata- Shailendra). There is one thing other than the ever recognisable Dattaram Theka. You could never have missed it.
In the Mukhda, note the violins behind the voice of Lata and Mannasab. The tune of the song and the tune of the violins are entirely different and both are equally recognizable( both are in the same decibel levels). Note the combined effect the layering produced and remember it was only 1955.
There are so many more S-J songs where you can find 2 different tunes used in layers simultaneously either with the vocals or in pre and interludes.
One example is from a song which is my 5 year old daughter’s faourite: Dheere chal dheere chal ae bheegi hawa (Boyfriend-Rafi- Hasrat)- listen to the second interlude- the violins and guitar(or mandolin) – 2 layers of different tunes by 2 different instruments superimposed with each other in perfect harmony. But not many composers succeeded in experimenting with layering – since it required astute sense of notes, harmony, timing and orchestration. . If you got it wrong it would be cacophony. It was something which started and ended with S-J.

2. When the film industry started the song was supposed to have a structure- A Mukhda then 2 or 3 antaras which would be in the same tune. Sometimes a couple of lines would precede the mukhda in place of a prelude.
But S-J did not like to be bound by rules and see how melodiously they made their own rules:
a) S-J experimented and succeeded in changing the tune for the second antara in a 3 antara song. Eg: Taqdeer ka shikwa kaun kare(Poonam- Lata-Hasrat) , Do din ke liye mehman yahan(Baadal- Lata-Shailendra) and other songs in the early fifties.
b) They gave the first mainstream song which had absolutely no structure at all and you know the mania the song created – Tere bina aag yeh chandni(Awara- Lata, Mannadey-Shailendra )
c) Aye pyase dil bezubaan(Begunaah- Mukesh-Shailendr a) a song which I dearly love- You listen to the third Antara – Kahan woh din aur kahan woh raate …….. and when the antara is about to end you expect Mukesh to come to the link line ‘aag ko aag me dhalke’ and return to the mukhda. But note the S-J magic- the song itself ends at the end of the 3rd antara! Even as you wait the song to re enter the Mukhda! Note the effect it created.
d) Another song which is my daughter’s favourite(She orders me to play this song as soon as she sits in my car) – Dhaani Chunari Pahen (Hare kaanch ki chudiyaan-Asha- Shailendra) : The song’s speciality- The Mukhda and antras are in the same tune (or you can say the song starts with Antra and has Mukhda where antra is supposed to be there). The structure of the song (puritannically speaking) went for a toss. But the song- a real gem and i consider it to be the best Asha song for S-J.
e) The sad songs were supposed to be accompanied with only a violin or a shehenai and no percussion and were supposed to sound really sad. Then came these Shailendra written Talat numbers Ae mere dil kahin aur chal(Daag-52) and Andhe jahaan ke andhe raaste(Patita- 53) and the world realised the sad songs could also be composed on a fast tempo and with a full fledged orchestra but maintaining the pathos the lyrics of the song and the situation of the film depicted. But its another thing that it was a feat no other composer could repeat to this day. Similarly Dheere chal dheere chal ae bheegi hawa is a lullaby(lori) if you go by the lyrics and what a tune S-J gave this song- absolute non conventional tune for that kind of song. Compare this with other lullaby compositions by others in the same era and you will know what I mean.

These are just a few and I know there are scores of such instances which the members are welcome to share.

Shashi Hegde