Musicolor's Memorable Tribute to Shanker-Jaikishen [PHOTO COURTESY : DR. RAJ SENANI) Other Photos of the Programme by courtetsy MUSICOLOR

THIS PHOTO IS COURTESY : DR. RAJ SENAI

11 July’09 evening.

Jam-packed Dinanath Mangeshkar Auditorium, Mumbai.
Outside - heavy clouds but no rain. Inside the auditorium - heavy rain!
No… nothing was wrong! The auditorium is well maintained. It was in fact the rain of Shankar-Jaikishan melodies. And the audience, right from teenagers to senior citizens were completely drenched in the melodies.

The programme started at around 8.45pm. Mr. Prashant Rao was the compere. Though comperes have good sense of humour, his was outstanding. And he narrated some story or other related to the songs (& SJ) before inviting the singers on the stage.

The first song was SJs first known composition – Jiya Beqaraar Hai (Barsaat) sung by (???). Sorry, I can’t recollect the names of most of the artists who performed in the concert. If any of the attendees, remembers, please post the names.
Next was the turn of the Talat number - ‘Aye mere dil kahin aur chal’ (Daag) followed by ‘Ye mera diwanapan hai’ (Yahudi). This was followed by ‘Ajib daastaan hai ye’ (Dil Apna Prit Parayi). And when the compere announced about the name of the movie – Dil Ek Mandir & the singer Rafi Saheb, everyone in the audience literally sighed heavily. And yes, their expectations were well fulfilled when ‘Yaad na jaaye…’ was sung beautifully.
After this, it was the turn of few duets – ‘Dil Ki Nazar Se’ (Anadi), ‘Yaad kiya dil ne kahaan ho tum…’ (Patita), ‘Dhire-dhire chal chand gagan mein’ (Love Marriage), ‘Aaja sanam madhur chandni mein hum’ (Chori-Chori) .
These were followed by the solo song ‘Sur Na Saje’ (Basant Bahar). It was sung so beautifully that on the ‘once-more’ request from the audience, the last antara was sung again. After that it was ‘Tera mera pyar amar’ (Asli-Naqli) by the singer who had made stage appearance after a long gap. But she was outstanding. Then again there was a duet ‘Ye aankhein uf yumma’ (Jab Pyaar Kisi Se Hota Hai) followed by ‘Nakhrewali’ ( New Delhi ) after which there was the semi-classical duet ‘Ajahu na aaye baalama’ (Saanjh Aur Sawera). By all means a very difficult composition to sing, But the male singer, in particular, did fantastic job. After this, it was the turn of the magical ‘Ramaiyya vastaavaiya’ (Shri 420).

And as the brief interval was announced, we were amazed that almost 2 hours had passed!!!

Due to very feeble sound of accordion, the songs ‘Aye mere dil’, ‘Dil ki nazar se’, ‘Aja sanam’, ‘Nakhrewali’, in particular, could not be enjoyed fully. During the interval, yours truly requested the sound in-charge to increase the sound of accordion. He gracefully agreed.

Part-2 started with ‘Kaun hai jo sapnon mein aya’ (Jhuk Gaya Aasmaan). After that it was the magical ‘ Kisi ki muskuraahaton pe ho nisaar’ (Anadi). Now the accordion was well audible. This was followed by ‘Ruk ja raat thahar ja re chanda’ (Dil Ek Mandir).

After these solos, again it was a duet ‘O shama mujhe phoonk de’ (Aashiq) followed by ‘Chalat musafir moh liya re’ (Teesri Kasam). The dholak accompaniment was outstanding. Next was ‘Har dil jo pyaar karega’ (Sangam) and the accordion produced mesmerizing effect. Then there were two dance numbers – ‘Badan pe sitare’ (Prince) and ‘Aaj kal tere mere pyaar ke charche’ (Brahmachari) . After these it was the duet ‘Dil ki girah khol do’ (Raat Aur Din) followed by ‘Tere bina aag ye chandni’ & ‘Ghar aya mera pardesi’ (Awara). The instrumentalists did outstanding job with this extremely complicated song, considering limited instruments available.

And to end the concert, it was yet again mind blowing accordion, on this occasion with ‘Jeena yahaan marna yahaan’ (Mera Naam Joker). And by the time audience reluctantly started leaving the auditorium with the haunting effect of 'Jeena yahaan marna yahaan...', still thirsty for more, it was 0015 hrs.

Commentary by Shri D.V.Shastry, Moderator, Shankarjaikishan Group on Yahoo

Thanks Shri Shastry

s.pandey

http://launch.dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/shankarjaikishan/?v=1&t=directory&ch=web&pub=groups&sec=dir&slk=19

Barsaat is ideally one of Hindi cinema’s best soundtracks

COURTESY : http://planetbollywood.com/Music/Barsaat(Old)/

Chances are if you ever picked up a remix album recently or even listened to a retro soundtrack you’ve heard a song from Raj Kapoor’s “Baarsaat”. In the years where three or four Barsaat titled films followed, the one and only original has not only excellent and superlative tunes, but tunes that can honestly suffice to say that it is probably the only Barsaat (film wise and music wise) anyone would truly remember.
Shankar Jaikishen in their maiden venture composed truly classical tunes but most of all solos for lead singer, Lata Mangeshkar. In doing so they were able to solidify themselves for years to come as truly excellent musicians in just their first effort. Furthermore they were able to utilize a young vocalist that would grow to heights beyond imagination. Setting a standard for Hindi musicals, the commanding soundtrack features ten tunes of which nine are sung by Lata, seven of which she is singing by herself!
The best and the most memorable (and probably most abused by remix artists today) is “Hawa Mein Udata Jaye”. As many “Dupatta” sings that hit the marquee year after year one wonders if any composer could actually make this one as it is, a romantic solo which is soft, breezy and eloquent. This ‘new’ style of music as it was back then was different in that its focus changed from doldrums and backdrop to the orchestrated pieces which placed the song together. The dholak was a compliment to the song rather than the definition. And Lata’s soft and sweeten vocals only drove the song to perfection further. This red scarf has truly been blowing through since the soundtrack premiered.
Lata Mangeshkar and the new found melody continued with the 1-2-3, “Jiya Bekaraar Hai”. Clearly female solos could never reach the heights that these tunes reached then, and certainly not now. Similarly so, in “Tujhe Kisise Pyaar Ho Gaya” a literally dense song, Lata Mangeshkar shows her prowess at work. Forget the lyrics; the irresistible part is her soft rendition of “hooo oooh…” This beautiful love song is picturized on a young Nargis singing to Raj Kapoor.
The title track “Barsaat Mile” is probably the most average song on the album while still being a good composition Lata’s lone appearance followed the threads of many female solos.
“Patli Kamar Hai” is a playful song which is sweet and is enlightened by the Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar’s compliment vocals. Where Mukesh is distinctly empowering Lata displays the characters sincere innocence with immense conviction. The lyrics for this oft remembered Raj Kapoor song have been recycled and almost idolized after this tune many times thereafter but the syrupy tune which is back dropped by an irresistible dholak can obviously never be replicated.
Mohammad Rafi features in his own solo with typical lyrics of the young man with high aspirations. “Main Zindagi Main Hardam” is an average song for which Mukesh has song many akin to thereafter. Pleasant but quite obviously not meant to overshadow a soundtrack meant to highlight the female vocalist alone.
The flute and its essential role in Indian heritage come to life musically in “Meri Aankhon Mein Bas Gaye”. The flute and Lata Mangeshkar combine to create a gem of female distress. “Bichde Hue Pardesi” is another emotional female tune for Mangeshkar following the same theme as the former.
Lata Mangeshkar steps into bhajan form in “Ab Mera Kaun Sahara” a solemn song sung just as dark and musky by Lata Mangeshkar. Following the mood is “Chod Gaya Balam”, the only duet on the soundtrack featuring Lata Mangeshkar and Mukesh. The song has a tango feel to it keeping the solemn romantic mood alive, a lot of which Mukesh contributes to.
Barsaat is ideally one of Hindi cinema’s best soundtracks, a point of reference with the launching of the cinema’s best female vocalist ever and a golden gem of some of the industry’s priceless and popular tunes. Rain is often forgotten once it stops, and perhaps that is why the title, “Barsaat” has been so frequently used thereafter. But this monsoon shower has proven that golden droplets are always going to shine years, over fifty in fact, and counting and will probably always remain for the many ‘Barsaat’ titles that we may endure in the years to come.

Producer: RK Films Director:

Raj Kapoor Starring: Raj Kapoor, Nargis, Nimmi

Music: Shankar – Jaikishen Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri, Shailendra

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh, Mohammad Rafi,

Number of Songs: 10 Released in: 1959