Pancham and Us - Part 2. Guest Post by Ravi Natarajan

Having covered some of the gems that R.D.Burman provided for Lata in his earlier guest post, my friend Ravi Natarajan now explores the synergistic relationship between R.D.Burma and Asha. I would also urge you to check out Ravi's blog, Raja, The Genius, wherein he has started a very nice series on the usage of chorus by Illayaraja. I am sure you will enjoy it as well. Needless to say, I am very much obliged to Ravi for this post.

R.D.Burman and Asha

The 60s were defined by a bunch of composers from India – SJ, SD Burman, Madan Mohan in the North and MSV in the South. The 70s was defined by just one man – Pancham. It is very easy to list the top three songs of the 70s – no prizes for guessing – all were by RD. ‘Dum Maro Dum’ from Hare Rama Hare Krishna (1972), ‘Churaliya Hai’ from Yadon Ki Baaraat (1974) and ‘Mehboobha’ from Sholay (1975). These three tracks had a worldwide impact. Unfortunately, TIME magazine/BBC was not including any world music in their lists and the RD fans could not brag. Nor did Pancham try for the Oscars.  He brought serious changes to orchestration that have stayed on till date. Ilayaraja in particular, took the orchestration challenge to the next level from where Pancham left in the 80s and he became the musical master of the decade. We will cover Pancham’s orchestration in greater detail later on.

Let’s return to my top 20 picks of Ashaji under Pancham’s baton. This is an extremely hard task as the two had a great run for more than 2 decades. Please don’t  find fault for exceeding the 20 limit!

The beginning was rough between them. Ashaji, a reputed singer was challenged by a young composer with the famous song ‘Piya Tu’ from Caravan (1971).  Pancham tried to simplify the tune to accommodate Ashaji’s reluctance and she was totally ticked off and told him there is no challenge that can flummox her. She went on to sing this hit track with fantastic breath control and Pancham gave her a 100 rupee note as a gift for her wonderful rendition. (that was worth a lot in 1971!).  The song created history for both Ashaji and Helen. A Helen dance with Ashaji’s voice became standard in Hindi films after that in the 70s, whoever was the composer!

The song has a pretty long prelude and the orchestration is way ahead of its time. Observe the trumpets, the bass and the lead guitar. Fantastic work with the signature Pancham conga!

Prior to this song, Asha and Pancham had some great hits. One significant track from the 60s is ‘Aao na gale lag jao na’ from Mere Jeevan Saathi.

I like the way RD uses flute in this track after Asha’s humming. Not sure, if anyone ever tried flute in a club song. That’s RD – he does not care!

The title song of Shaan (1976) sang by Ashaji is another fantastic piece of orchestration. Shaan came after Sholay and did not succeed like Sholay. However, RD did leave a mark with his great work. Observe the use of synthesized groove, electric guitar and drumming..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mt1R0_oWovM

The title song of Shalimar by Ashaji (1976) was a stealer – complete with violins, congas, guitar, sax, cymbals – brilliantly orchestrated by Pancham.These days you do not get such rich orchestration in Bollywood and you have only Ilayaraja in the South with such capabilities.

All the scat singing experiments of RD became very popular with the Hare Rama Hare Krishna songs – Dum Maro Dum and I love you with Usha Uthup.. One of the most remixed songs of Hindi films, Pancham singlehandedly showcased Indian guitar talent at that time…

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLdqaeUhu3A

The second song ‘I Love you’ between Asha and Usha, set the new standard for scat singing in Indian film music.

Here is Ashaji singing live, RD’s One Two cha cha cha from Shalimar. RD was quite comfortable with scat singing and newer orchestration techniques. This is typical 1970s club music.

The song ‘Sapna Mera Toot Gaya’ from Khel Khel Mein (1975) is another very difficult Asha song that has dialogs, glides and fantastic range in singing. This is not a solo, but a fine song with RD himself.. Brilliant orchestration to the tee.

Some very sweet solos for Ashaji specially composed by RD is next. First, let’s hear Too Jahan from Doosri Sita written by Gulzar..

This is one of my all time Asha-Pancham favorites. Not sure how many times I have heard this song for the conga drums and the timing. All the new female singers of today must practice this song to get their timing right. Bechara Kya kahen from Khusboo..

I used to go wild the way Pancham arranges the transition between the charanam and the pallavi. Many composers including Raja have used this technique later. Everything is taken care of by one Asha glide and two strokes on the sitar to the pallavi!

The other Asha solo, Ghar Jayegi from Khusboo is a very difficult song sang effortlessly by the veteran..

In both these songs, you can hear the real RD Burman who carefully sugar coats his Bengali folk for Bollywood.

Another effortless composition from Khoobsurat is ‘Sun Sun Sun’ – total fun loving song with some good lyrics…

Like Raja exploited Janaki’s voice, so did Pancham with Ashaji. You can now hear this wonderful singer in totally Hindustani classical mode: Piya Baawari from Khoobsurat. Ashaji brings you the memory of the young Jaya Bachchan.

Pancham also used Ashaji’s terrific gliding abilities with her voice. Here is an example of a simple song from Namkeen, Phir Se Aaiyo Bhadra Bidesi..

You can never hear these songs in today’s TV competitions. This appears superficially easy and effortless, only due to the two minds behind it – Asha and Pancham.

Here is another pensive Asha song for RD – Yeh Saaye Hai from Sitara (1980). Simple orchestration and total emphasis on melody. The violins remind you of Ilayaraja. Great lyrics by Gulzar.

Observe the tabla and the conga – this is the sound that excited me so much in the 70s and early 80s.

I have not even touched the tip of the iceberg, and it’s already 15 tracks!  We have heard Asha pensive, sad, swinging, scatting, gliding, and formally singing classical. With the exception of Raja-Janaki, no other composer has done so much justice to a single singer.

Pancham gave Ashaji a unique status that he gave nobody – the entire film with just her playback voice. The film ‘Ijaazat’ (1987) has four songs – it’s Gulzar, Pancham and Asha hitting every ball out of the park. It has a mix of emotions with Mera Kuch Saaman Hai (romantic – lyrics easily beat Vairamuthu – ek akeli chatri mein, aadhe aadhe beekh rahan hain), Khatra Khatra (mischief/romance), khali haath sham aye (melancholy), the title song Choti Se Kahaani Se – he uses his harmonica generously.

This is one film, where I saw Raja’s influence with Pancham. If you go back to the orchestration of these four songs, Pancham uses polyphony extensively.

Around this time, Pancham, Asha and Gulzar got off the filmi bandwagon and decided to compose an album called ‘Dil Padosi Hai’, which takes you into a journey from early morning to midnight. There is a song for every time, every genre. It is simply a master piece from the team. I will provide links for some of my favorite songs from this album:

Here the fantastic ghazal, Jane Do Mujhe Jane Do with the brilliant sarod…

Mischief returns with swaras, Saaton Baar with the signature Pancham conga…

Set your mind to rest with Ummed Hogi Koi…

Here is the title song, Haan Meri Ghum to Utaah Lehta Hain (Dil Padosi Hai)

Just these 4 songs portray 4 different emotions. Great lyrics, fantastic music, great singing – this album (total of 12 songs) is one of the finest Pancham gifts to us.