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From the very beginning, Manna Dey has been a perfectionist. He is the only artiste who makes notations before recording a song,so that he can sing and record a song just after one rehearsal. Unless he is absolutely at home with the composition, he does not record it, says M. L. Dhawan SEEING Manna Dey’s devotion and dedication to music, his father encouraged him to immerse himself in serious study of music and this Manna Dey did with pleasure and with rigour. His uncle, K.C. Dey, the legendary singer, became his guru. Manna Dey was later taught by Ustad Aman Ali Khan, and thus the young singer gained proficiency in the classical music, a foundation on which he built his reputation. This learning equipped him to present any form of Indian music, classical, light and even Western pop with finesse.
Though Manna Dey had been initiated into the world of music at the tender age of 11 by his uncle and guru K.C. Dey by recording a Suraiyya and Manna Dey duet for the film Tammanna, yet it was with Vijay Bhatt’s Ram Rajya that Manna Dey attracted the attention of seasoned music directors of the day. Later on when ‘Mashaal’ featuring S.D. Burman’s music was released, the song Upar gagan vishal niche gehra patal became a national hit. |
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| In Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zameen, he
sang Dharti kahe pukar key for Balraj Sahni who
looked emaciated in the film. His another hit number Chali
Radhey Rani was filmed on a beggar in Parneeta. Unfortunately,
that became Manna Dey’s image. Music Directors
always summoned him to sing for character actors or for
older stars which is the reason that most of his numbers
lacked youthful exuberance. He rarely lent his voice to
any hero of great stature except occasionally, for Raj
Kapoor. While Talat Mahmood and Mukesh went on to become
the voices of Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor respectively
Manna Dey was banished to complement the acrobatics of
Mehmood in songs like Ek chatur nar kar ke singaar;
Aao twist karen; Hato Jaono jhoti banao batian; Pyar ki
aag mein tan badan jal gaya; Khali dabba khali botal etc.
He turned such crass numbers into class numbers. Once
he admitted that he was forced to accept such stuff just
to keep his body and soul together. From the very beginning, Manna Dey has been a perfectionist. He is the only artiste who makes notations before recording a song, and so he can sing and record a song just after one rehearsal. Unless he is absolutely at home with the composition he does not record it. He once said, "My contribution to music is my sincerity. I do not start singing till I feel the song. If it is a bhajan, I have to establish a connection with the Divine." Anil Biswas rightly observed that though Manna Dey could sing everything that Rafi, Talat and Mukesh sang they could not sing what Manna Dey sang. During his five decades in the film industry, Manna Dey always marshalled all his recourses to render his songs to the highest standards he was capable of achieving to the demands of the moment. However, with the dominance of violence and vulgarity, he found the atmosphere stifling. He thought it better to call it a day. He worked off and on only when the opportunity challenged him. The last film he sang for was Nana Patekar’s Prahar. Manna Dey feels grieved at the deterioration that has crept into the Hindi film music. He laments to say that the Hindi film music has lost its ‘Indian-ness’. He holds the presentday music directors responsible for the desecration of film music. Naive as he was, and still continues to be, to the wayward ways of the show-biz, Manna Dey was never the favourite of any composer, though he never disappointed anyone. Madan Mohan once admitted that Manna Dey’s magic in Kaun aaya mere man ke dware payal ki jhankar liye was no less than that of Talat Mahmood in Hum sey aaya na gaya tum sey bhulaya na gaya in both of his compositions for Dekh Kabira Roya. Shankar Jaikishan usually used Mukesh for Raj Kapoor, yet they came to Manna Dey for difficult numbers. Manna Dey’s repertoire may be limited but most of his songs classify as classics and have earned for him the title of a legendary singer. Can you ever forget Poochho na kaisey main ne rain bitayee; Laga chunri mein daag chhupaon kaisey; Jhanak jhanak tori baaje payalia; Tere naina taalash karen jise, Tu payar ka sagar hai, and O meri ZohraJabeen? Whether it was a bhajan, a mujra, a qawali, geet or a romantic number, Manna Dey’s meticulous technique and amazing versatility made them immortal and everlasting. But Manna Dey stands alone among the ruins shuddering how tastes and tunes have changed with times. |
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One fine morning, Manna Dey left his home
in Bengal for the greener pastures of the Hindi film
industry in Bombay. In a strange and hostile environment
he found his road to fame strewn with obstacles. The main
stumbling block for him was the language barrier which
threatened to impede his career. By a systematic study of
the Hindi language he mastered the phonetic presentation
of words which enabled him to sing with ease and felicity
songs not only in Hindi, but also in many other languages
of India.