Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs

This article is written by Sadanand Kamath, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in sites like lyricstrans.com and ibollywoodsongs.com etc then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.

In the 1930s and in early 1940s, most of the music directors compose mainly raag-based and folk-based tunes to the lyrics.  The musicians would play the entire melody on their respective instruments in line with the tune. Since, in the absence of playback singing, songs would be recorded live, music directors were constrained to use minimum musical instruments, that too mostly within the options of Indian instruments consisting of harmonium, percussion, tabla/dholak, sitar, saarangi, flute etc.

Once the playback singing system stabilised in around late 1930s, music directors got flexibility in using more musicians and also started using western musical instruments such as piano, guitar, violin, mandolin, trumpet, clarinet etc. This gave them flexibility in composing preludes, interludes and orchestration. Anil Biswas who came to Bombay (Mumbai) sometime in 1935 with 12 of his Anglo-Indian musicians, changed the concept of orchestration of the songs. He was the first to use counter melody in orchestration. Probably, he was also the first music director of Hindi films who composed a song, Hum Aur Tum Aur Ye Khushi  based on waltz music (generally used for ball-room dance), for the film ‘Alibaba’ (1940). Anil Biswas could do it because he had in his orchestra, musicians well-versed in playing western music instruments.

There were perceptible changes in the style of song compositions in Hindi films of 1950s and 60s (also thereafter) as compared with those of 1940s. Songs of 1950s and 60s were not only melodic but their musical preludes, interludes and overall orchestrations appealed to the listeners. How did the Hindi film music witness musical metamorphosis in 1950s and 60s? The answer is that during this period, some of the Christian musicians and music arrangers from Goa played a pivotal role in taking the Hindi film music from the vintage era ( 1931-1947) to the golden era (1948-1980).

To understand as to how the Christian musicians from Goa got connected with Hindi film industry, one needs to go back to the history of Goa. After the annexation of Goa by Portuguese in the 16^th century, they established churches, chapels and convents in their captured territories. As part of church services, there was a need to establish choirs – a group of singers accompanied by musicians. The locals who were converted in to Christianity were trained to sing and play western instruments such as organ and violin. The services of these trained singers and musicians were also utilised for the occasions such as weddings, community feasts and funerals. Over a period of time, with the regular exchange of people from other Portuguese territories such as Angola and Mozambique, these musicians learnt some more western instruments such as piano, trumpet, saxophone, guitar, clarinet etc.

The Portuguese did not do much to the education system. Nor did they provide employment opportunity to the locals. As against this, Goans found employment opportunity in British India especially at Mumbai, the nearest city for Goans. For those who had learnt music, Mumbai provided them opportunity to become musicians in the night clubs which were patronised by the higher strata of the societies.

During the World War II (1939-45), there were shortages of musicians in the night clubs as many foreign musicians especially from Germany and its allied countries either left India or they were arrested. The Goan musicians with their affinity to jazz music filled the vacancies. Also, the British and its allied troops which were stationed in major cities like Bombay, required night clubs as a source of entertainment.

During the late 30s and early 40s, many Goan musicians migrated mainly to Mumbai. Some of the well-known Goan musicians like Antony Gonsalves, Chic Chocolate, Sebastian D’Souza (came to Mumbai via Lahore), Frank Fernand, Chris Perry, Sonny Castelino, Lucilla Pacheco migrated to Mumbai. I guess that none of these musicians would have remotely thought of joining the Hindi film industry at the time of their migration. Generally, for musicians trained in western classical music, their intention will be to join a music band, earn a name and have their own music band.

Except Antony Gonsalves, all others mentioned above, had joined the dance bands as musicians. Those days, there was a craze for jazz music  and all these dance bands would mostly play jazz music in Taj Mahal Hotel, Green Hotel (run by Taj Mahal), Astoria Hotel, Ambassador Hotel, Ritz Hotel, Bristol Grill, Mocambo etc. During my way to college in Churchgate in early 1960s, I used to see displays outside some of these hotels and restaurants showing the names of the dance bands with prominent musicians schedule for the performance in the night. Perhaps, I may have read the names like Chic Chocolate, Frank Fernand and Chris Perry but without knowing at that time that they were associated with Hindi film music.

How some of these Goan musicians did get connected with Hindi film industry in the latter half of the 1940s is not clear. Probably, some of the music directors like Anil Biswas, C Ramchandra, Khemchand Prakash, Naushad either individually or collectively may have visited the night clubs to witness the performance of the dance bands. They would have been impressed by the harmonic presentation by musicians with foot tapping music. They saw the opportunity to use in Hindi film songs  by way of prelude and interlude orchestra which would appeal to the listeners.

But how to achieve the synergy of harmonic orchestra to the tune in melodic form in Hindi film songs? The uses of a large number of western musical instruments for orchestra which need to be played in harmony require a music composer (in Hindi film parlance, a music arranger) who can write music for each musician and for each instrument in the orchestra who may play the instruments in different notes. Goans with their training in Western classical music from their days in church choirs to dance bands were well versed to do the job of writing the music.

During the late 1940s, Goan musicians and music arrangers worked in Bombay film industry during the day time to supplement their income while the main source of their income continued to be from the dance bands. Sometime in early 1950s, the then Bombay State introduced prohibition and raised entertainment tax which affected the business of night clubs. Some of the Goan musicians had to become full time musicians and music arrangers in Bombay film industry while working with dance bands became a part time job.

Among the many Goan musicians, Antony Gonsalves, Frank Fernand, Sebastian D’Souza and Chic Chocolate have been the major music arrangers for the Hindi film music during 1950 to 1975. I guess, these four music arrangers may have been associated with about 90 per cent of the Hindi film songs during 1950-75.

All these four music arrangers have contributed so much to the Hindi film music that each one merits a full article. This will have to wait for some other time. In the meanwhile, I present below a brief sketch of the musical career of each one of them.

Antony Gonsalves (12/06/1927 – 18/01/2012) mostly worked as a free-lance music arranger due to the fact that he also played violin for almost all the top music directors. He started as a musician playing mainly violin with Naushad in 1943. He got his first assignment as music arranger with Shyam Sundar in Dholak (1951). His orchestration in Mausam Aaya Hai Rangeen is worth listening. He had also done orchestration for Hum Aapki Aankhon Mein  in ‘Pyaasa’ (1957) during which he also played violin. During his active filmy career between 1950-1965, he is said to have been associated in more than 1000 songs.

Antony Gonsalves taught violin to Pyarelal (of Laxmikant-Pyarelal) and RD Burman for 4 years. He had also become a keen follower of Hindustani classical music. In fact, in 1958, he had 110 musicians in his raag-based symphony orchestra playing his composition in various Indian raags blended with western music, a thing which is very common in the present generation. Unfortunately, his experiment did not click with the audience.  But his work was noticed at the international level.

Antony Gonsalves cut short his filmy career in 1965 and went to USA on an invitation from Syracuse University, New York. He remained in the USA for 10 years after which he returned to India and settled in his village Mojorda in Goa in seclusion during the rest of his life keeping away from the Hindi film industry.

An interesting trivia here – in the iconic song tuned by Laxmikant Pyaarelal – “My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves“, L-P have said that they used this name of their ‘teacher’, as a mark of honour for him.

Frank Fernand (03/05/1919 – 01/04/2007) worked as a music arranger mainly with Hemant Kumar, Ravi, Kalyanji Anandji though he also worked with other music directors. He migrated to Mumbai  in 1936 to join one of the dance bands. He got his first break as a music arranger in ‘Barsaat’ (1949) and also played trumpet and violin in some songs. During his career as musician/music arrangers, he is said to be associated with about 70 Hindi films. Frank Fernand’s work can be judged from Dil Deke Dekho Dil Deke Dekho, Baar Baar Dekho Hazaar Baar Dekho and Aage Bhi Jaane Na Tu  among his other works.

Sometime in the 60s, Frank Fernando ventured in to producing Konkani films and thereafter a couple of Hindi films in the 1970s. While his Konkani films earned him money, his first Hindi film ‘Priya’ (1970) was a box office failure while the second film ‘Aahat’ (1974) could be released only in 2010 after his death. In 1985, Frank Fernand was afflicted with Parkinson’s disease which kept him in the confine of his house in Bandra.

Sebastian D’Souza (29/01/1906 – 09/03/1996) was a dance band leader in early 1940s in a hotel in Lahore. During his Lahore days, he is said to have worked for Shyam Sundar and Ghulam Haider. After partition, he came to Mumbai. His first film as music arranger was with OP Nayyar in ‘Aasman’ (1952). His association with Shanker-Jaikishan started with ‘Daagh’ (1952) which continued uninterrupted till 1975.  With his attachment with OP Nayyar, Shankar-Jaikishan and occasionally with Salil Chaudhary, his outside assignments as music arrangers were few.

One can notice the ingenuity of Sebastian D’Souza’s in music arrangements in that despite working with OP Nayyar and Shankar-Jaikishan for a long time, his orchestrations retained the individual  stamps of these music directors in their respective songs. That Sebastian D’Souza could work with a temperamental music director like OP Nayyar for a long time speaks volume about his talent and of his mild nature.

It is said that Sebastian D’Souza’s counter-melody in orchestration was so good that  Jaikishan used some of his counter-melodies as  tunes for the songs. I am sure that in ‘Madhumati’ (1958), Salil Choudhary must have been impressed by Sebastian’s counter-melody in Aaja Re Pardesi and used it as a mukhda tune for Ghadi Ghadi Mora Dil Dhadke. Sebastian’s great work can be felt in almost all songs of S-J and OPN. However, the one song which I am very fond of because of orchestration is Poochho Na Hamen Hum Un Ke Liye from ‘Mitti Mein Sona’ (1960). The piano in this song was played by a Goan musician, Sunny Castellino who was a music arranger for ‘Aawaara’ (1951).

During his filmy career, Sebsatian D’Souza arranged music for about 125 films with around 1000 songs. He retired from film industry in 1975.

Merlyn D’Souza, daughter-in-law of Sebastian D’Souza has been continuing his musical tradition. She works as a music producer, music arranger and sometime as music director – both in films and theatres. In the music industry, she is often referred to as ‘Female AR Rahman’ due to her work in fusion music.

Chic Chocolate (real name : Antonio Xavier Vaz, 1916-1967) came to Mumbai in in the late 30s to become a lead jazz trumpeter in a dance band. His idol was Louis Armstrong, the American jazz trumpeter. Interestingly, he even looked like Louis Armstrong. Soon he became one of the best trumpeters in Mumbai’s jazz music scene. By the end of the World War-II, Chic Chocolate had already formed his dance band named ‘Chic & His Music Makers and had become one of the leading dance bands in Mumbai.

It is not clear as to when he started working for Hindi films. His earliest connection to Hindi film industry as a music arranger points to the film ‘Samaadhi’ (1950) in which he collaborated with C Ramchandra, The song  Gore Gore O Baanke Chhore which has jazzy music, brought him to the attention of Hindi film industry. His music arrangements in all the songs of  ‘Albela’ (1951) was a high point of his career as music arranger. I think, in this film, Chic Chocolate poured all his experience in Jazz music in such an extent that the songs which became a new category of songs with Indo-Jazz music.

In  Deewaana, Ye Parwaana, one can see Chic Chocolate playing trumpet with the musicians from his dance band ‘Chic & His Music Makers’. Because of runaway success of ‘Albela’ (1951), his dance band became more famous. He also adopted for his dance band the uniform that was used for his band in this song.

He mostly worked with C Ramchandra in the 1950s though he had also worked with other music directors. Take for instance, his music arrangements in the song, Ae Dil Mujhe Bata De in ‘Bhai-Bhai’ (1956) and Rut Jawaan Jawaan  in ‘Aakhri Khat’ (1966) in which he is seen playing trumpet.

With ‘Naadaan’ (1951), Chic Chocolate donned the hat of music director for the first time. This was followed by ‘Rangeeli’ (1952) and ‘Kar Bhala’ (1956).

Chic Chocolate passed away in May 1967 shortly after the release of ‘Aakhri Khat’ (1966). His son Erwell Vaz is a drummer.

Hindi film music is the work of so many creative artists, musicians and music arrangers. I guess, in the 50s and 60s, music arrangers must have spent more man-hours for arranging music than the music directors for whom they worked. Unfortunately, in film and music industry, it is mainly the singers and music directors who get the credit. However, in the recent period, names of at least lead musicians and music arrangers are mentioned in the credit titles of many of the films as well as the covers of CDs.

Today, I present the 7th song (out of 8 songs, including two multiple version songs)  from the film ‘Naadaan’ (1951) for which Chic Chocolate got his first opportunity to set the tune to the songs in addition to the music arrangements. The song is ‘Saari Duniya Ko Peechhe Chhod Kar’ sung by Lata Mangeshkar. The song was written by PL Santoshi.

The tune of the song has a distinct style of C Ramchandra who was credited as Music Supervisor. Surprisingly, none of the 8 songs in the film has jazz flavours. This is not to undermine the overall contributions of Chic Chocolate in the songs of the film. It is worth mentioning in this context that Chic Chocolate had composed many jazz songs for his dance band in the 40s. There are at least six 78 rpm gramophone records which bear the name of Chic Chocolate as the music composer.

The song under discussion appears to be a dream sequence going by the sets used in the picturisation of the song.

Acknowledgements:

1. Naresh Fernandes – Taj Mahal Foxtrot – The Story of Bombay’s Jazz Age (2012)
2. Gumnaam Hai Koi – The Untold Story of Music Arrangers and Musicians : Part-I & II – Rajya Sabha TV (2015)

Audio

Song – Saari Duniya Ko Peechhe Chhod Kar (Nadaan) (1951) Singer – Lata Mangeshkar, Lyrics – PL Santoshi, MD – Chic Choclate

Lyrics

saari duniya ko peechhe chhod  kar
saari duniya ko peechhe chhod  kar
hum sitaaron ki duniya mein aa gaye..ae
chaand taaron ki duniya mein aa gaye
saari duniya ko peechhe chhod  kar
hum sitaaron ki duniya mein aa gaye
chaand taaron ki duniya mein aa gaye
saari duniya ko peechhe chhod  kar
 
chalo khelenge saajna aankh micholi
o o o
o o
o o
chalo khelenge saajna aankh micholi
bhar len sitaaron se hum apni jholi
bhar len sitaaron se hum apni jholi
chaand chhup chhup ke karta ishaare
kitne dilkash hain ye sab nazaare
hain ye sab nazaare
hum ek nai duniya mein aa gaye
chaand taaron ki duniya mein aa gaye
saari duniya ko peechhe chhod kar
hum sitaaron ki duniya mein aa gaye..ae
chaand taaron ki duniya mein aa gaye
saari duniya ko peechhe chhod kar
 
saare aalam pe chhaayi hai chaandni
kyon na gaayen hum ulfat ki raagini
aaa  aaa 
aa aa
aa aa aa aa
aa aa
aa aa aa
la la la la la
la la la la la
la la
saare aalam pe chhaayi hai chaandni
kyon na gaayen hum ulfat ki raagini
aaj harsoo hai
aaj harsoo hai mousam khushi kaa
luft aayega ab zindagi kaa
ab zindagi kaa
hum nazaaron ki duniya mein aa gaye
chaand taaron ki duniya mein aa gaye
saari duniya ko peechhe chhod kar
hum sitaaron ki duniya mein aa gaye..ae
chaand taaron ki duniya mein aa gaye
saari duniya ko peechhe chhod kar
hum sitaaron ki duniya mein aa gaye..ae
chaand taaron ki duniya mein aa gaye
saari duniya ko peechhe chhod kar 

———————————————————
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
———————————————————

सारी दुनिया को पीछे छोड़ कर
सारी दुनिया को पीछे छोड़ कर
हम सितारों की दुनिया में आ गये॰॰ए
चाँद तारों की दुनीया में आ गये
सारी दुनिया को पीछे छोड़ कर
हम सितारों की दुनिया में आ गये
चाँद तारों की दुनीया में आ गये
सारी दुनिया को पीछे छोड़ कर

चलो खेलेंगे साजना आँख मिचौली
ओ ओ ओ
ओ ओ
ओ ओ
चलो खेलेंगे साजना आँख मिचौली
भर लें सितारों से हम अपनी झोली
भर लें सितारों से हम अपनी झोली
चाँद छुप छुप के करता इशारे
कितने दिलकश हैं ये सब नज़ारे
हैं ये सब नज़ारे
हम एक नई दुनिया में आ गये
चाँद तारों की दुनीया में आ गये
सारी दुनिया को पीछे छोड़ कर
हम सितारों की दुनिया में आ गये॰॰ए
चाँद तारों की दुनीया में आ गये
सारी दुनिया को पीछे छोड़ कर

सारे आलम पे छाई है चाँदनी
क्यों न गायें हम उलफत की रागिनी
आss आss
आ आ
आ आ आ आ
आ आ
आ आ आ
ल ल ल ल ला
ल ल ल ल ला
ला ला
सारे आलम पे छाई है चाँदनी
क्यों न गायें हम उलफत की रागिनी
आज हरसू है
आज हरसू है मौसम खुशी का
लुत्फ आएगा अब ज़िंदगी का
अब ज़िंदगी का
हम नज़ारों की दुनिया में आ गये
चाँद तारों की दुनीया में आ गये
सारी दुनिया को पीछे छोड़ कर
हम सितारों की दुनिया में आ गये॰॰ए
चाँद तारों की दुनीया में आ गये
सारी दुनिया को पीछे छोड़ कर
हम सितारों की दुनिया में आ गये॰॰ए
चाँद तारों की दुनीया में आ गये
सारी दुनिया को पीछे छोड़ कर