(Part 6) Lata with Forgotten / Lesser Known Composers

Those who are following the series must have noticed the change in the title of the post. I’ve updated the titles of the older posts as well.

The second part of the series had some of the stalwarts from the 40s and some readers didn’t agree with my decision of including those names on the list. Though I’ve explained my reasons for doing so, I thought the explanation was incomplete.

Some of the composers, I included were very popular in their heydays, but as the years passed, their popularity slowly faded away. Though general music lovers (or Aam Janta, as dusted off puts it) are aware of their names, they can associate the composers with a film or two. The composers’ careers need to be revisited. I want to include such composers in the forgotten group. The prime examples of such composers would be Ghulam Mohhamad and Khemchand Prakash, who are well known for Pakeezah and Mahal (1949) respectively. But their careers were not limited to those films. Similarly, R C Boral and Saraswati Devi deserve much more appreciation than they would get. As their Hindi film careers came to an end much earlier, even the music lovers, who are in the early 70s of the age, may not be able to name their films. Or at the most they would name a couple of films. So their names are known to people, but they are not well known. Ghulam Haider was the one who recognized Lata Mangeshkar’s potential and tried to offer songs the singer with a ‘thin voice’. But how many people from Aam Janta actually know about his contribution to the Hindi cinema? In that sense, they are lesser known.

I’m of the opinion that, as a blogger, I’m deeply interested in the subject of old Hindi films and songs. So I try to find all the information I can get about a film personality. This would be the same with other bloggers and some of the knowledgeable readers. But, as a blog can reach anyone interested in the subject, at least the forgotten names would be remembered again. I hope the readers will welcome the new title. It’s not intended to criticize anyone.

Let’s go to the list of the composers. As usual, the names are in no particular order.

1. Master Krishnarao –

Krishnarao Ganesh Phulambrikar, popularly called, Master Krishnarao, was a big name in Marathi film industry. His first music teacher was none other than Sawai Gandharv. He later took a tutelage of Bhaskarbua Bakhale (भास्करबुवा बखले). He was associated with Marathi plays, dramas as well. He composed for the popular Marathi plays, Menaka, Savitri, Kanhopatra, Kulvadhu, Ek Hota Mhatara (एक होता म्हातारा), Kone eke Kali (कोणे एके काळी) etc. He was a renowned Indian classical singer and was known for Khyal and Thumri. He used to act in Marathi plays and he also acted in a movie, (भक्तीचा मळा) Bhakticha Mala (1944), where he played Sant Sawta Mali (संत सावता माळी).
I think the majority of his career was in the 1930s-40s. Dharmatma (1935), Gopal Krishna (1938), Aadmi (1939), Padosi (1941), were bilingual films, made simultaneously in Marathi & Hindi. His other films include, Vasantsena (1942), Meri Amanat (1947), etc. He is known for the songs of Kichak Vadh (1959) which was his only film with Lata Mangeshkar. The latter sang three solos and a duet for the film. I don’t know if it was a bilingual film or was later remade in Hindi with a different set of actors.

The song to add is,

Aaj Milan Ki Raat Hai – Kichak Vadh (1959) / Master Krishnarao- Bharat Vyas
The song provides a background voice, where Droupadi tries to entice Kichak to the hiding place of Bheem. The Marathi song is extremely popular till date, though the Hindi version isn’t very popular. Bharat Vyas has very aptly written the lyrics keeping in mind the content in the original Marathi song.

And,

The Marathi song,

2. Prem Dhawan –

I have already written about his career as a lyricist, a couple of years back. There I also mentioned him as a composer, but I didn’t include my favourite Lata songs composed by him. So I included him in the series.
Prem Dhawan is relatively lesser known as a composer. He composed for around 10 films, the well known ones are, Shaheed (1965), Pavitra Papi (1970), Raat Ke Andhere Mein (1969) etc. Though he was a well known and ace lyricist, he mainly composed for B grade or mythological films.
Lata Mangeshkar in all sang only four solos for him, distributed in three films. One solo each for Shaheed and Pavitra Papi and a couple in Raat Ke Andhere Mein.

And,
to add songs,

Dil Wale Dukhde Bure – Pavitra Papi (1970) / Prem Dhawan
I wasn’t aware of the soulful song, though I knew the other songs from the movie. Prem Dhawan has amalgamated the two contrasting emotions so beautifully. Excellent use of sarangi in interlude pieces.

Jogi Hum To Lut Gaye – Shaheed (1965) / Prem Dhawan
A very melodious and sweet song, may be a little out of place with the theme of the movie. But sung very beautifully by Lata Mangeshkar and Prem Dhawan is spot on with the Punjabi folk tune.

3. S K Pal –
I couldn’t find much about him on the net. He was active during the 1940s-50s. Starting his career in 1942 with the film, ‘Ek Hi Raat’ starring Prithviraj Kapoor. He had a number of films with the lyricist Bharat Vyas, namely, ‘Prem Sangeet, Man Ki Jeet, Ghulami, Prithviraj Sanyukta, Meerabai, Rangila Rajshthan. He went on to compose for a few films in the 1950s, Maa, Tamasha (he composed a couple of songs). So far, his songs were sung by Amirbai Karnataki, Geeta Dutt, Rajkumari, Manna dey etc. In 1954, he composed in association with Timir Baran for Badbaan. Kaise Koi Jiye, sung separately by Geeta Dutt and Hemant Kumar was a major highlight of the movie. The song still maintains popularity. But he was always a lesser known composer, though some of his songs were really good.
His last film was Dhola Maru (1956). And as far as today’s topic is concerned, Lata Mangeshkar sang for him only for Dhola Maru. She sang a couple of solos and a duet with Mubarak Begum. I’m not including duets in the series, so only the solos qualify.

Let me add,

Kajal Bina Meri Phiki – Dhola Maru (1956) / S K Pal – Bharat Vyas
A lady missing her beloved on the colorful day of Holi. I won’t call the song very impressive, but it’s good.

4. Brij Bhushan –
I couldn’t get any information about him. His first film was Pathan (1962). An interesting fact is that the film had at least 7 composers and five lyricists. Brij Bhushan composed only one song for the movie. And it was sung by none other than Lata Mangeshkar. His other movies (listed below) have no songs by Lata. More about the song from Pathan, some of the sites mention another name, that of a leading guitarist of that period, David. He was, Mr David Vernon Liddle (Uncle Verni of dusted off). It seems they jointly composed for it. See also an interesting comment by dusted off, on one of my earlier posts of the series.

His movies
Pathan (1962), Milap (1972), Ek Nao Do Kinare (1973), Kam Shastra (1975), Yeh Sach Hai (1975)

The song to mention is, of course,

So Ja Salone So Ja – Pathan (1962) / Lyrics – Bal Kishan Puri
An excellent lullaby. It’s tune has unexpected turns, that makes it stand out from other conventional lullabies. And Lata Mangeshkar sang it so delicately. What can I say about her soft soothing tender voice! I liked the song from the first hearing.

5. Shyamji Ghanshyamji –

It’s by now a well known fact that, it was not a composer duo. But a single person called Ghanshyam, who adopted a twin name for himself as a Hindi film composer. Perhaps he wanted to follow the usual trend of a pair of composers.
Nothing much is available about him online. But he composed for a number of films in the 1970s – 80s, where his first break was Thokar (1972). A song by Mukesh and a song by Rafi were quite popular too. But he could not establish himself as a first rung composer. As I went through his films, Lata Mangeshkar was associated with him only for three movies with a total of just five songs. But all the songs are solos and qualify for the post.
The films were,
Lal chunari (1983) – two solos
Niaz aur Namaaz (1977) – two solos
Daaku (1975) – one solo

And the song to add is,

Tere Hi Naam Ki Dekh Sawariya – Lal Chunariyaa (1983) / Shyamji Ghanshyamji – Kulwant Jani
I heard the song for the first time while researching for the post. Without any rhythm of tabla or Dholak, just a tune. Heart touching expressions in Lata’s rendition.

6. S Purushottam –
Purushottam Solankurkar was born in Kolhapur. He learnt to play musical instruments at an early age. He played Sarangi, violin, harmonium and Tabla. He used to accompany Kumar Gandharv for his concerts. He was spotted by Vasant Desai in one such concert. V Shantaram offered him Bhool and Mere Laal in 1948. He was a talented composer, he composed a couple of Ghazals for V Shataram’s Apna Desh in 1949. He also composed a couple of songs for Dahej (1950) where Vasant Desai composed the remaining eight songs.
V Shantaram never called him again to compose for his films. He composed for a couple of films in the early 1950s, Devyani (1952), Sandesh (1952). But the songs were not popular & he couldn’t create a mark on Hindi films. He returned to Kumar Gandharv to his original job. He died in 1958, when he was hardly 40.
(I gathered the information from Atul’s blog, from an article by Mr Arunkumar Deshmukh)

And, as for today’s theme,

Only one song qualifies, the only one song that Lata Mangeshkar sang for him.

Hamara Ghar Ban Jaye – Mere Laal (1948) / S Purushottam – Mahipal
A lady dreaming about her home. I couldn’t get to hear any other song composed by S Purushottam. But I’ll do it someday soon.

7. Ramesh Naidu –

He was a renowned music director in Telugu cinema. He was trained in orchestration and music instrumentation. His debut film was a Marathi film, but I’m not aware of it. After working for Telugu films, he moved to Calcutta, and worked for Bengali, Oriya and Nepali films. In 1972, he restarted his career in Telugu films. He was also awarded at the National Film Awards for Telugu movie, Megha Sandesham in 1983.
He has composed for three Hindi films. Hamlet (1954) that had no songs by Lata Mangeshkar, Piya Milan (1958) with six Lata songs (4 solos, one duet and one trio), Jai Singh (1959) with three duets (one with Usha Mangeshkar & two with Manna Dey)
For the post, only solos qualify and so I have selected a song from Piya Milan.

Dil Lagake Jana Na – Piya Milan (1958) / Ramesh Naidu – Hasrat Jaipuri
A cute romantic song.

Yaad Aake Hardum Sataye – Piya Milan (1958) / Ramesh Naidu – Hasrat Jaipuri
The prelude evokes intense emotions of sorrow. A good song, I heard recently for the first time.

8. B S Kalla –
I couldn’t get any information about him. The majority of South Indian composers essentially composed for the remakes of the original South Indian movies or dubbed movies. Perhaps that’s the reason why they couldn’t create a mark on Hindi cinema, though they had successful careers in the South.
I don’t have any idea why these composers have composed in association with one or more composers for a movie. And the songs are credited to them all jointly.
If we take a look at B S Kalla’s Hindi film career, his independent film includes Do Dulhe (1955). For the film Bahut Din Hue, he is credited all except one song, which is credited to his co-composer E Shankar Sastry.
His other movies include,
Sansaar (with E Shankar Sastry, M D Parthsarathy & V Sarla)
Rangila Rajasthan (with S K Pal, Bharat Vyas)
Nishan (with M D Parthasarthy, S Rajeshwar Rao)
Mangala (with E Shankar Sastry, M D Parthasarthy)

Lata Mangeshkar was a part of three of the movies with a total of 15+ songs including solos and duets.

I’ll add,

Chanda Chamke Neel Gagan Mein – Bahut Din Hue (1954) / B S Kalla – Pandit Indra
Beautiful Madhubala playing a string instrument (? Rudraveena). A good classical based song.

Pyar Ki Nishaniyan – Do Dulhe (1955) / B S Kalla – Pandit Indra
Very expressive song. The pain of separation from the beloved is portrayed very effectively.

9. C R Subbaraman –

He is a well known name in Tamil and Telugu cinema. He had a career of just ten years in the field of film music, and he died at a younger age of 38, in 1952.
He composed for a couple of Hindi films, Ek Tha Raja (1951) and Chandirani (1952). The latter film had M S Vishwanathan as associate composer. Lata Mangeshkar sang for him just for a film. The film had a couple of solos by Lata.
and,
I would mention,

Poori Ho Gayi Man Ki Baat – Ek Tha Raja (1951) / C R Subbaraman – Sudarshan
Marmayogi, A Tamil film, was simultaneously shot in Hindi with the same star cast. The Tamil film was a huge success, though Hindi film wasn’t much popular. C R Subbaraman is credited as a composer for the Hindi version.

10. R Sudarshanam –
I could not find anything about him as well. He is known for the film Ladki (1953) featuring Vaijayanti Mala. The songs were composed by R Sudarshan & Dhaniram. I have already included the songs in one of the earlier lists.
He independently composed for Hindi films, Matwala (1958) and Mahavat (1961). None of the songs from the latter movie are available, leaving only the former eligible for the post.
A couple of songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar from the movie, Matwala are available.
I will add,

Dil Mein Samaye Koi – Matwala (1958) / R Sudarshanam – Hargovind

11. M S Vishwanathan & T K Ramamoorthy –

M S Vishwanathan was a well known composer from the South India, composing for a number of songs across the Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam movies. He composed in alliance with T K Ramamoorthy for a number of films, between 1952 to 1965. They separated in 1965 and composed individually. Vishwanathan composed for a few Hindi films too in the 1970s and the 80s. He was active till 2013. Wikipedia mentions the total number of films as 700, that’s really a very huge number. And out of 700, his individually composed films are said to be around 600.
T K Ramamoorthy was a violinist in C R Subbaraman’s troupe. After his separation from Vishwanathan in 1965, he also started a solo career, but composed for only 19 South Indian films in the next 20 years ro so.
And
Coming to today’s theme, we have only one film to consider, Naya Aadmi (1956). Though Vishwanathan composed for Hindi films in the later part of his career, none of the films had songs by Lata Mangeshkar.
And,
Interestingly, the film Naya Aadmi had three solos by Lata Mangeshkar, but out of those songs, a couple of solos were composed by Madan Mohan, leaving behind only one solo qualifying for today’s post.

Here it is,

Paanch Minute Aur – Naya Aadmi (1956) / M S Vishwanathan & T K Ramamoorthy – Rajendra Krishan
A very interesting song! It reminds me of the song, ‘Ae Meri Zindagi’ from Taxi Driver.

12. Master Ghulam Haider –

I think after reading the introduction of the post, no one will be surprised by the name. He is unfortunately a forgotten name, though I agree, it shouldn’t have been so. He was one of the first composers who identified the potential, very young Lata Mangeshkar had. The era was of nasal, thick voices. Lata’s thin voice was criticised by many, but master Ghulam Haider was very confident about it. Everyone knows about his forecast (भविष्यवाणी) of Lata’s bright future. Though he himself couldn’t offer her many songs, due to rejection by the film producers, she did sing for him in a couple of movies.
He not only encouraged Lata Mangeshkar in her early days, but Noor Jahan got her major break with his film, Khandan (1942). Khazanchi (1941) was the film Shamshad Begum became an overnight sensation with. He is also remembered for introducing and popularising the Punjabi dholak rhythm and folk tunes in Hindi films. After the partition, he went back to Lahore and composed for Pakistani films.
Lata Mangeshkar sang four solos and a couple of duets for Majboor, whereas Padmini had only one song by Lata Mangeshkar.

To add the songs,

Bedard Tere Dard Ko – Padmini (1948) / Ghulam Haider – Wali Saheb
I’ve read somewhere that the song was recorded for some other film, but was incorporated in Padmini. Master ji went to Lahore after partition and could never compose for Lata Mangeshkar again.

Dil Mera Toda – Majboor (1948) / Ghulam Haider – Nazim Panipati
It was one of Lata’s earlier songs. Though her voice sounds very tender, the expressions are perfect.

13. Vasant Ramchandra –

Vasant Pawar

It was a duo formed by an alliance between Vasant Pawar and Ramchandra Wadhawkar. Both of them were active in Marathi films and Vasant Pawar has a number of popular Marathi film songs to his credit. Alas alcoholism got the better of him and he died at a young age. He was a trained sitar player and was also a flute, sarangi and harmonium player. He assisted Khemchand Prakash at Ranjit studios. He also assisted Sudhir Phadke for a few films before he independently composed for Hindi films, Do Kaliyan (1948), Jai Bhim (1949), and Shivleela in 1952.
He was joined by Ramchandra Wadhawkar and they formed a duo. The latter was a harmonium player at Prabhat, but also played organ and sitar. He left Prabhat with V Shantaram to join Rajkamal studios.
The duo composed for five Hindi films during 1952-54. The films were
Nanhe Munne (1952), Mahatma (1953), Suhagan (1954), Kalakar (1954), Savdhan (1954)
All the films were produced by Datta Dharmadhikari under the banner of Aalhad Chitra.

Lata Mangeshkar sang only for one movie, Suhagan, where she had four solos.

I’ve picked up,

Jamuna Ke Teer Radhe – Suhagan (1954) Vasant Ramchandra – Ehsaan Rizvi
A good classical based song. I couldn’t recognize the dancer.

14. Manas Mukherjee –

He was a Bengali composer from Kolkata. His father, Jahar Mukherjee was a Indian classical singer and lyricist. Manas Mukherjee can also be introduced as father of today’s leading singers, Shaan and Sagarika. He composed songs in Bengali and also he composed for a few Hindi films. He composed for around ten Hindi films. I think Shaayad (1979), Lakhon Ki Baat (1984) would be his popular Hindi films.
As for today’s post, Lata Mangeshkar sang for him in a couple of Hindi films, Lubna and Mahananda. Her contribution was limited to just one song in both the films.

Banwara Kanhaiya Dekho – Mahananda (1987) / Manas Mukherjee – Yogesh
I wasn’t aware of his Hindi film career at all. I heard just a couple of songs he composed for Lata Mangeshkar. It was very easy to choose between the two. A good composition, very nicely structured and sung very beautifully. I wish she had sung it at a younger age.

15. D C Dutt –
I couldn’t find any details about him. His first Hindi film was Sona Chandi. There’s a story behind the film and Lata’s song in it. He later composed for eight more Hindi films, none would ring a bell for anyone. The songs or the films were not popular.
Lata Mangeshkar wasn’t a part of his later films. She had sung only one song for him. Coming to the story behind the song. It may not be a well known story. Mr Arunkumar Deshmukh shared it with me.
The film Sona Chandi got the censor certificate in 1946. It had ten songs, composed by Tufail Faruqui. After Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination, D C Dutt recorded a song with Lata Mangeshkar, about Mahatma Gandhi. It was included in the film, Sona Chandi and it again got censor certified in 1948. I don’t know when exactly the film was released.
The song is however not a solo song. But as it’s her only song for D C Dutta, I’ll share it.

Pyare Bapuji Tirange Ki Lelo Kasam – Sona Chandi / D C Dutt – Wali Saheb
I couldn’t get a good audio quality song on YouTube. The male singer is mentioned as A R Ojha on some of the sites. Elsewhere just chorus is mentioned.

Disclaimer –
Mehfil Mein Meri, claims no credit for any image, screenshots or songs posted on this site. Images on this blog are posted to make the text interesting. The images and screenshots are the copyright of their original owners. The song links are shared from YouTube, only for the listening convenience of music lovers. The copyright of these songs rests with the respective owners, producers and music companies.