Sanjeev Rambhadran's first claim to fame was when he became the winner of the famous Saregama competition on Zee TV in the mid-90s. The program then was hosted by a young Sonu Nigam and the judge for the finals was none other than the doyen of Hindi film music- Anil Biswas.
Born and brought up in the US, Sanjee is now an acclaimed and much sought-after singer in the US program circuit. He is also a multi-instrumentalist. In this special series to commemorate Mohammed Rafi's 40th death anniversary, Sanjeev brings out various facets of Rafi's gaayaki through his songs with 40 different music directors. He also brilliantly pens his thoughts on these musical gems. Here is the eighth one from the series.Over to Sanjeev Rambhadran for a musical treat!
DAY 8: A note about song selection on this 40-day, 40-composer journey. Popularity (or lack thereof) plays some role in the choices, however it’s worth remembering that the range of choices necessarily varies by the music director’s output (sheer volume).
By the mid-fifties, new doors had conspicuously opened for composers who thus far hadn’t had a male voice that could convey dramatic intensity the way Mohd. Rafi’s obviously could. His ability to reach the heights and fling lightning from the skies entirely transformed both the composer’s scope of imagination and, in turn, aspiring heroes’ dramatic image.
Composer S. Mohinder is one of the last of that cohort of musicians that was closely associated with Mohd. Rafi from relatively early on in both their careers. Best-known for Lata Mangeshkar’s “Guzra Hua Zamaana, Aata Nahin Dobaara”, he has been accessible to hard-core music-lovers for some years now, and video footage of him from within the last decade describing his musical journey establishes just how astonishingly sharp his memory and acumen have remained all this time. Over his career, he accumulated an enviable musical dossier that included the soundtrack of the Raj Kapoor-Nargis starrer Paapi. Here, Mohd. Rafi gave wings to the catchy “Tera Kaam Hai Jalna Parwaane” which became the rage of its time. The Punjabi film “Nanak Naam Jahaaz Hai” (1969) was another milestone of the Mohd. Rafi-S. Mohinder collaboration.
The choice for today was a toss-up between the song presented here and “Phir Teri Yaad Naye Geet Sunaane Aai” from Bekhabar (1965). In the end, I opted for the enthralling, dynamic Mohd. Rafi over the smooth, sentimental Mohd. Rafi - but just for today. Raga Bhairavi has been the darling of many composers for a range of moods, but other songs echoing the sentiments in Tanvir Naqvi's defiant expression of the all-powerful nature of love don’t readily come to mind. As Mohd. Rafi’s single-entry in Hemant Kumar’s Taj was a very purposeful choice (see Day 2), such is the case with this S. Mohinder composition from Shirin Farhad (coincidentally both soundtracks are from 1956).
Kesariya Balam
