A phoenix called Madan Mohan

Almost 30 years after his death, composer Madan Mohan’s music again came to life in 
Yash Chopra’s Veer-Zaara and has not stopped making waves since then. 
M. L. Dhawan on the composer’s latest album that features some of his rare songs

AS and when a tune struck Madan Mohan, he would record it with dummy words and preserve it for use in future. He left behind a huge treasure of thousands of unused tunes composed by him when he died on July 14, 1975. This musical cache remained hidden till 2004 when Yash Chopra used some of his tunes for the soundtrack of his cross-border love story Veer-Zaara. This unprecedented attempt met with a resounding success and won Madan Mohan many posthumous awards.

Overwhelmed by the popularity of the music of Veer-Zaara and the tunes of Madan Mohan even decades after his death, the Yashraj Music Company recently released an album of songs composed by Madan Mohan. Most of these songs were for the films, which remained either incomplete or were shelved. This album features 15 rare songs, some of these have never been heard as these have been excavated exclusively for this album.

One is simply struck by the matchless artistry and timeless voices of Mohammed Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Talat Mahmood, Asha Bhosle and Kishore Kumar, which have breathed life into these charming musical vignettes. There is spontaneity of manner and a subtle emotional charm in these songs. Each song has its own musical coloring that is as significant as the idea it conveys -- now delicate, now warm, now sensuous and sophisticated.

The album has been aptly titled Tere Bagair, which is the haunting refrain of an opening of a Rafi song Kaise kategee zindagi tere bagair tere bagair (There is no loss greater than the loss of one’s life-partner). Rafi’s voice highlights the pangs of this eternal separation quite poignantly.

Rafi is at his emotive best in Mera paigham mohabbat ke siwa kuch bhi nahin; Mehbooba meri mehbooba; Kadmon mein aapkey humne to sar jhuka, diya tum ko khuda bana liya;, Jahan miley dharti aakash; Yeh tera husn. Sung by Rafi in a way nobody else could have, these songs have soothing music and divine lyrics especially Dharkan hai tu har dil ki that sounds peppy because of the Rafi’s breezy vocals..

Madan Mohan’s tunes are unconventional but complex. In Mere ashkon ka gham na kar ay dil, Lata’s voice sounds stellar. She brings alive the pain of separation in the immortal lines Silsila rok beeti baton ka, varna tardpega raat bhar ay dil. She has sung several lullabies that have touched the soul but the emotions she instills into Khiley kamal si kaya teri are heartrending. Main ik balak besahara.. is the plea of a motherless child to the gods and has been sung by Lata with a depth of feelings that touches the heart. Each of these songs is a musical monument.

Talat Mahmod’s voice in Tum juda hokar humen kuch aur pyare ho gaye is dainty in tone and pleasing in timber. It has a peculiar glow and a magical quality, which moves the heart. In fact this ghazal was composed by Madan Mohan for the film Jahan Aara but could not be used for the movie. Talat imparts the poignant quality to this song and leaves the music lovers awestruck.

Each one of the three songs by Asha Bhosle - Phir wohi shaam, Yeh duniya ek mehkhanna hai and Ay dil ay nadaan ... possess the gleam of perfection. Asha’s voice is captivating, expressive, husky, soulful, sensual and romantic and beyond praise. The lines Lakh baharen aayen phir bhee nagri teri veeran... reflect the predicament that we all experience at some point of time in our lives.

Aaj mujhey jal jane bhee do seems like an RD-Kishore number but is not. This song shows that like R. D. Burman, Madan Mohan was also highly influenced by Mexican and country music.

With these songs late Madan Mohan seems to have risen from his ashes like a phoenix. The appeal of his songs is eternal and their freshness remains undiminished by time.

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