Madan Mohan was one of the most respected Hindi film composers. He was also one of the most overlooked – in a career spanning 25 years, he composed music for only over around 100 films, out of which only 25 became box-office hits. This was due to his extremely fastidious nature and the number of tunes he composed for his films that were never used. Born Madan Kohli in 1924, he was the son of Raj Bahadur Chunilal, who worked in famous studios like Bombay Talkies and Filmistan. From his childhood he was seen as musically inclined and talented. In fact, during his lifetime, he amassed an amazing record of compositions, the majority of which were either unutilized for lack of appropriate films or were alternate tunes composed for his films.He began working in Bollywood as an assistant to music director C. Ramchandra, and got his first major film with Aankhen (1950), a love triangle. The film was a success. Subsequently, a fair amount of work came to Mohan. Among his earlier films was a trilogy of movies with his childhood friend Raj Kapoor – Aashiana (1952)_, _Dhoon (1952)_ and _Papi (1953). Unfortunately for Mohan, the films he chose to compose for did not create much impact, and it was only with Bhai Bhai (1956), which starred the legendary Kumar brothers, Ashok Kumar and Kishore Kumar, that he got some success. But from then on, things got rough; Railway Platform (1955), Gateway of India (1957), while with excellent music, weren’t huge hits. And to make matters worse, all of the top stars had already chosen a particular composer to work with (e.g. Dilip Kumar with Naushad the great composer), which left no room for a débutant, however talented.Then, in the late 1950s and the 1960s, things changed for the better. His scores for Dekh Kabira Roya (1957) and Adalat (1958) showed that. And in the 1960s, he really began to be noticed with Anpadh (1962), with his songs becoming the rage all over India. It was with this film that he became to be known as the Ghazal King, even though he had already established his reputation for gossamer melodies with Adalat (1958). He acquired further commercial success with two films by Raj Khosla – Woh Kaun Thi (1964)_ and _Mera Saaya (1966). He also began to work with filmmaker Chetan Anand, for which he produced his most outstanding score in Haqeeqat (1964), a war film.Although he brought out the best in his singers, special mention must be made of his work with Lata Mangeshkar, which showed both of them at their very best. This legendary combination was established in 1951 with Adaa (1951) and continued right up to (and after) his death. Mohan had this special talent of bringing out the best in Lata’s voice – she could sound seductive in Sanjog (1961), jaunty in Neela Akash (1965) and perky in Mera Saaya (1966). However, it was in sentimental songs that they were at their best.In the 1970s, when Western songs from films like Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1971)_, Mohan still composed poetic melodies. His strict aesthetic sense caused him to be in great demand with sensitive if not commercially successful filmmakers, and he collaborated with respected names like Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Sampooran Singh Gulzar and Rajinder Singh Bedi, his collaboration with Bedi particularly standing out as it was with _Dastak (1970) that he got the National Award for best music director – it was the only major award he got during his lifetime.In 1975, at the age of 51, Mohan died from cirrhosis of the liver. Ironically, two films released soon afterwards – Mausam (1975) and Laila Majnu (1975)_ – became resounding musical successes. However, three decades later, two films paid their tribute to Mohan. One was _Ab Tumhare Hawale Watan Saathiyo (2004), a war film which, interestingly, took its title from one of his songs from Haqeeqat (1964). The film, however, didn’t do well at the box-office. The other film, a romance called Veer Zaara (2004), paid a more fitting tribute for a composer – the director, Yash Chopra, took some of his unused compositions and used them in the film.The spectacular success of Veer Zaara (2004), especially its soundtrack (with a 75-year-old Lata Mangeshkar still as melodious as ever), established Madan Mohan as one of the elite composers of all time…
Madan Mohan
Movies
Fareb (1996)
Dr. Rohan Verma and his wife Suman; a teacher by profession are settled and lives a happy, wealthy life-style. They will find that their lives are not the same anymore when they befriend a helpful police inspector Indrajeet Saxena who comes to their aid on several occasions. Indrajeet confides that…
Fun Facts
I was doing so badly that I had to starve for five days at a stretch. But not for once did I think of going to my people for help.
When Aankhen (1950) was being produced
Quotes
Though knowledge of the principles and basic rules of music is essential, it is not necessary to learn music in a conventional way, at the feet of a master. I believe that music can be learned by the ear, provided one has the desire to learn. Music, much more than any other art, can never be hammered into reluctant pupils or doled out in daily tuition classes. The opportunity of working with stalwarts of classical music gave me a closer knowledge and understanding of music. Very subtly but insidiously, music strengthened its grip on me. Without quite knowing when or how, my ears began to echo with the rich melodies I heard everyday. And that was how I actually learnt music.
Working at a stretch, day after day, is not my way of working. I need at least an interval of two months to abandon the mood of one film and take up another.
In a film where three minutes is all the time given to a song, the foremost requirement of a song is only one thing; it should be capable of capturing the interest of the listeners in a short period and sustaining it in the years to follow.
I remember the day I came to Bombay - unemployed, in search of a job, any job. A producer refused to even see me. Years later, the same producer signed me for his picture and when I reminded him of the day when I first came to seek an interview from him, he didn't remember or perhaps he didn't want to remember.
The mysteries of the mind, the interpretations of dreams and the monumental probing into certain aspects of my thoughts provoked me to concentrate on film music. Music was in my blood. Nothing could curb it from coming out. Destiny decided that I part with my musical gift to music lovers.
It is usually very difficult for a music director to get unusual song situations and one is quite thrilled and inspired for better composition when a novel song situation turns out to be a novel situation.
A song gets a very big push from a genuine situation and even an average song correctly placed and picturised has chances of becoming very popular. If the song situation is good, then the people too who are seeing the film feel the necessity of the song and become emotionally attached to it.
The situation for a song should inspire the music director to compose original tunes. If the song situation is good, any music director whose compositions are usually of a good standard will be able to do full justice to it and turn in a tune which has every chance of becoming a hit. Basically I am an emotional man and any song with an emotional approach inspires and spurs me to do something great.
When I was doing Madhosh (1951), J.B.H. Wadia came up with a situation where he wanted a powerful lyric depicting the emotions of a betrayed lover. Raja Mehdi Ali Khan was writing the lyrics for the film. He was also sitting with us, he mentioned that he had written a song some time earlier and that may suit the requirements of the situation. He took out his notebook from his pocket and recited the lines. In less than five minutes, I tuned the song and played it to Mr. Wadia. He was extremely happy with it and the song went on to become very popular. It was "Mere Yaad Mein Tum Tum Na.
About his early years in Bollywood: At one time