That Velvet Touch Options

[noorie]

That Velvet Touch
By Rajiv Vijayakar

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It takes extraordinary talent - especially in Hindi cinema - to have a track-record that is a fraction of the top names' ouevre and yet be counted in their league, and here Hemanta Kumar Mukherjee joins music directors Naushad and S.D.Burman, lyricist-poets Neeraj and Kaifi Azmi and singer Mukesh.
Here's a look at the three roles that have immortalised him in Hindi films.

THE FILM PRODUCER:

Ever an adventurer, Hemant Kumar turned producer in the late '50s with the Bengali film, Neel Akasher Nichey directed by none other than Mrinal Sen. The banner was named Hemanta-Bela Productions, but the critically-acclaimed and President's Award-winning film did not set the box-office on fire.

And so in 1962, Hemant's renamed banner, Gitanjali, produced the blockbuster Bees Saal Baad. But none of the subsequent films he made, Kohraa, Biwi Aur Makaan, Faraar, Rahgir, Khamoshi and Bees Saal Pahele, clicked at the box-office, though Khamoshi and Rahgir were critically appreciated and their music, along with that of Kohraa was loved. And while all these films spanned varied genres from comedy to crime, the maestro did seem fascinated by English classic literature, as demonstrated by his adapting The Hound Of The Baskervilles as Bees Saal Baad and Rebecca as Kohraa.

THE SINGER:

His voice had that uniquely individual velvet touch. His light songs had a subtle mischievous t(w)inkle, and his sad songs touched a deep chord within the listener. Hemant's skills and resonance with Dev Anand can be gauged by his being termed the 'Voice Of Dev Anand' despite singing a tiny fraction of the number of songs Rafi or Kishore sang for him. And yet there was more to Hemantda than just Dev Anand's songs.

Restricting ourselves to non-Hemant compositions, let us recall the Dev classics first - Shankar-Jaikishan's 'Yaad kiya dil ne kahaan ho tum' (with Lata/Patita), a parade of S.D.Burman beauties led by 'Yeh raat yeh chandni' and 'Chandni raatein' with Lata (Jaal), 'Teri duniya mein jeene se' (House No. 44), 'Hai apna dil to awara' (Solva Saal) and 'Na tum hamein jaano' (with Suman/Baat Ek Raat Ki).

The classics outside Dev were of course even more formidable. 'Jaane woh kaise log the'(S.D. Burman/Pyaasa), 'Jagat ki roshni ke liye' (Laxmikant-Pyarelal/ Harishchandra Taramati), C. Ramachandra's 'Jaag dard-e-ishq jaag' and 'Zindagi pyar ki do char ghadi' (Anarkali), Kalyanji Virji Shah's 'O neend na mujhko aaye' (Post Box 999) and Kalyanji-Anandji's 'Ae mere dil kahin na jaa' (Bluff Master) and 'Tumhein yaad hoga' with Lata (Satta Bazar), the title-track for Kishore Kumar's Door Ka Rahi, Naushad's 'Insaaf ki dagar pe' (Ganga Jamuna), Roshan's 'Chhupa lo yoon dil mein' (Mamta), Salil Choudhury's 'Ganga aaye kahaan se' (Kabuliwala), Ravi's 'Umra hui tumse mile' (with Lata/Bahurani) and many more.

THE COMPOSER:

With Hemant Kumar, we have to classify his commendable variety from - Rabindra Sangeet (itself a melting-pot) to folk from other regions and very 'filmi' numbers - into songs that he 'allotted' to himself and those that made other singers shine. The man who groomed music directors like Ravi and Kalyanji-Anandji was very open to inspiration from various sources but worked on them to come up with dulcet ditties and classic dazzlers that have stood the test of time.

Let us first have a check on the stunners he gave to himself - 'Ya dil ki suno' (Anupama), 'Tum pukar lo' (Khamoshi), 'Raah bani khud manzil' and 'Yeh nayan dare dare' (Kohraa), 'Beqaraar karke hamein yoon na jaiye' and 'Zaraa nazron se keh do ji' (Bees Saal Baad), 'Na yeh chand hoga' (Shart), 'Jab jag uthe armaan' (Bin Badal Barsaat), 'Sanwale salone aaye din' (with Lata/Ek Hi Rasta), 'O zindagi ke denewale' and 'Tere dwaar khadaa ek jogi' (Nagin). What a radiant collection only in the cream!

But like all great composers, Hemantda tailored his compositions to the singers who sang for him and among his best scores were two of his own films, Bees Saal Baad (Lata's 'Sapne suhane' and of course the benchmark haunting litany 'Kahin deep jale kahin dil') and Kohraa (Lata's equally haunting 'O beqaraar dil' and 'Jhoom jhoom dhalti raat').

Khamoshi of course had Lata's placid 'Humne dekhi hai inn aankhon ke mehekti khushboo' and the Kishore Kumar-Rajesh Khanna tour-de-force 'Woh shaam bhi kuch ajeeb thi'. Kishore Kumar also came in for the timeless 'Hawaaon pe likh do' (Do Dooni Char).

Among the many songs that Mohammed Rafi sang for him, 'Hum laaye hain toofan se' stands out for its patriotic ethos along with the Pradeep-rendered masterpiece, 'Aao bacchon tumhein dikhaaye'.

Asha Bhosle sang few songs for him, but they include some of her best work, like 'Bheegi bheegi fiza' and 'Kyoon mujhe itni khushi de di' from Anupama, 'De di hamein azaadi' (Jagriti) and that awesome quartet from Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam, 'Saaqiya aaj mujhe neend', 'Meri jaan', 'Meri baat rahi mere man mein' and the awesome 'Bhanwra bada nadaan'.

It was in this Guru Dutt marathon that Hemant outdid himself with Geeta Dutt too as she vocalised three super solos herself, 'Piya aiso jeeya mein', 'Na jaao saiyyan' and 'Koi door se awaaz de' besides vocalising the female version of 'Na yeh chand hoga' (Shart). Hemantda also gave his teenage daughter Ranu the utterly natural kiddies' song 'Naani teri morni ko' from Masoom (1960)

And yet, like most composers from the '50s and '60s, Hemantda's darling remained Lata Mangeshkar, all the way from that militant version of 'Vande Mataram' that he so evocatively composed for his debut film Anand Math (1952), arguably the only version of a traditional song that matches the original in popularity.
And for evidence all we need to listen to are Nagin and Anupama.
Exotica like 'Jaadugar saiyyan', 'Man dole', ' Mera dil yeh pukare aaja', 'Oonchi oonchi duniya ki deewarein', 'Sun rasiya man basiya' (Nagin) and those magnificent twin peaks 'Dheere dheere machal' and 'Aisi bhi baatein hoti hai' (arguably Hemantda's career-best composition) can only be created when a composer has a muse in front of his creative eye.