One song at a time - 36. Shaam-e-gham ki kasam
(Khayyam)
Tuning for pre-written lyrics was the norm in the olden days of Indian film music. Most of the music directors followed this path, be it Anil Biswas, MadanMohan, Roshan, Khayyam or people like Rajeshwar Rao and K V Mahadevan down south. Ofcoure it was not a hard and fast rule. It is known that most of the songs of Vishwanathan-Ramamurthy and later MSV were written first by the poet, mostly Kannadasan, and were later tuned. There are known instances where the tune has been set first and then Kannadasan writing the lyrics to the tune. Music Directors like K V Mahadevan, if what I hear on various shows is correct, never ever set the tune first. They would always insist on the lyrics first and then the tune would flow. Salilda was one exception of those time, insisting, against the trend, that he tune first and then the lyrics be written. If you observe the way Salilda's tunes twists and turn, you can easily guess that tune would have come first. After Illayaraja appeared on the Tamil Film Music scene, the music director became dominant and Raja would always tune first. (There are only very few songs where he has tuned to pre-written lyrics.)
When you hear the old songs it is very difficult to say if the tune came first or the lyrics. The music directors would have constructed such a lovely tune and the lyrics and tune would merge so well that it was humanly impossible to take a call on which came first. Such was the genius of our music directors. While most of the tunes would blend wonderfully with the lyrics, some lyrics were tuned with the intention of highlighting the lyrics. In such case the tune seems to take a back seat to the lyrics. The operative word is 'seemingly'. The tune will sound as if the lyrics are just being recited but take away the tune and suddenly the impact of lyrics is down by an order of magnitude. Some songs which would fall in this category would include, 'ae kaisi ajab daastan aa gayi hai', tuned by Sajjad Hussain, or 'goranta gootiki' tuned by K V Mahadevan.
Khayyam, whose song will listen to today, is also one such music director who had superb ability to tune a lyric as if someone was just reciting it. You just need to think about 'kabhi kabhi mere dil mein' or 'main pal do pal ka shaayar hoon', both from 'Kabhi Kabhi' or 'kahin ek maasoom nazuk si ladki' from 'Shankar Hussain'. Khyyam in one interview after the success of 'Kabhi Kabhi' told that he had fallen away from his favourite lyricist, Sahir Ludhyanvi, because Sahir considered that his lyrics were responsible for the success of 'Kabhi Kabhi' songs and not the tune. As a lyricist you can easily get carried away when the tune is done in such a way as to highlight your lyrics. In that I would say the split was a success for Khayyam's tuning ability!!!
The song we will hear today, I first heard in my hostel room. Siva and I were listening to a tape which had the best of Talat Mehmood. One hit song after another followed, many of them well known to us. 'jalte hain kiske liye', 'jaayen to jaye kahan', 'tasveer banata hoon' etc. Suddenly this song appeared and I was hearing it for the first time. What a lovely experience it was. I realised immediately why this was included in the best of Talat Mahmood. Khayyam had created a gem for him.
Right at the very outset, Khayyam creates a night time ambience with his prelude. The violins join in beautifying the prelude. Then the song starts as if Dilip Kumar is just reciting it. The words are wonderful and as you can hear, the tune wonderfully enhances the impact of the words. The orchestration is minimal and the picturisation is also done without any fuss. Dilip Kumar is his usual self (which can be interpreted in multiple ways).
Today I give you 'Shaam-e-gham ki kasam' from the movie 'Footpath', lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri and set to tune by Khayyam.
Comments
Talat Mehmood's voice was very unique and had a kind of subtle'shiver'-in tamizh, we call it as 'nadukkam'-and this is what attracts us to his voice.
A wonderful composition!!
The quiver is Talat's voice does add a charm of its own to many of the songs he sang. This song is one such which definitely gains from Talat's quiver.
Keep it up!
One thing one should admit that Talat sings for us as a best friend by ourside. You won't remember upon whom it was picturized. The particular shaky voice also pulls your feelings along with him. He sang in Manorama, tuned by Ramesh Naidu. No other non-Telugu singer could sing as clear as Talat. Coming to Khayyam saab, he is somehow addicted to 'Pahaadi'. Kabhi Kabhi song as Sahir claims to his credit, has certain additional facials which we call interludes. Take the line 'suhaag raat--goonghat uthaa rahaa hoon', the followed by shehanai was Khayyam's added beauty. Music Director's role just does not end by tuning itself. He represents the moods of several listeners and viewers for which the writer puts his hand.
You recalled 'goronka gootike cheraavu chilakaa', which is a 100% charming song from Ghantasala who could only spell the essence of the words and feelings. Look at the line- 'abba undannaayi'.
Nice to hear several such from you often.
Your description of Talat's voice is wonderful. I did not know that Talat has sung in Telugu. Would love to hear it.
Khayyam Saab does have a predilection for Pahadi ragam. He has given some very memorable tunes in this ragam.
'abba undannayi' also happens to be my favourite line from that song. Superbly delivered by Ghantasala as usual. A very charming song by Mama.
I like and agree with Venugopal's comments! Pahaadi to Khaiyyam was same as what Bhairavi to Naushad was and what Bhageshree to C.Ramchandra was. Even Tum Apna Ranjh-o-Gham, by Khaiyyam was an excellent Pahaadi.
Coming to Talat, his was the most silken voice. I remember what Anil Biswas told once, when he was the judge of "TVS Sa Re Ga Ma" (when it was still pure, with some legends judging the shows and not some buffoons as today). Anilda said "We had many great singers and ultimately, we had some singers who even tried to copy/imitate them, be it kishore or Rafi or Mukesh.But show me one singer who could replicate Talat Mahmood". In that show, he kept a Talat photograph on his table.
This song, is one of the finest compositions by Khaiyyam, perhaps the last pillar surviving today, among those irreplaceable titans.
I would say Talat was lucky to have lived in an era when melody was predominant. His voice has a limited range compared to say Rafi or Kishore, and is eminently suited for melody. The composers of those days exploited it to the hilt. Madanmohan, Roshan, S D Burman, Anilda and Naushad gave him some immortal songs. To his credit, he made them his own, as you mention.
From that era, Khayyam is the only surviving member I guess. There was a movie with Gautam Ghose a couple of years back which gave music credit to Gautam Ghose and Khayyam. Heard the songs. Only one made some impact on me. Heard some of the songs were 'composed' by Gautam Ghose. And in a subsequent interview I read, came to know that Khayyam wasn't very happy about the whole experience!! You can read about it here: http://www.nowrunning.com/news/bollywood/khayyam-angry-with-gautam-ghose/10847/story.htm
Some weeks ago, Ameen Sahani reproduced some of the rarest interviews he had with Talat on FM. As we find Talat as a serious singer, I was astonished at the comic Talat too. He had a great compering voice. The best time to enjoy Talat's voice is after 10 PM, lights switched off, windows kept open to allow mild breez. The problem with CDs is that the songs come alphabetically and soon you get tired to jump to the next alphabet from a. So better listen a cassttee or the best option is a record player. What I made a habit after leaving IISc is that I should have a collection of records like our Gymkhana. It succeeded. By the by talat is a palindrome word, turn any side remains the same.
I wish I had heard that interview!!
You are very correct when you say Talat's voice suits night time. Especially this song.
I did not know you had a record player and collection of records. That's fantastic. Out Gymkhana had some amazing records and lovely songs. I had taped lot of them with help of Chandru.
Have listened to Yatra's songs long ago and they didnt impress me much.
Venu Gopal,
The comic Talat could be attributed to the fact that he was just a singer but also an (lesser known)actor. He had few successful films too.