It has been 67 years since Khayyam got his break, by lending his voice to a Faiz Ahmad Faiz ghazal in “Romeo and Juliet”. In the ensuing years, he has seen several eras in Hindi film music and helped establish a few as a composer. Despite all his contributions, however, he remains an “underappreciated genius”.
A new documentary on the composer seeks to redress this by underlining “his contribution to the historical journey of Hindi film music”. Produced by Films Division and directed by Suresh Sharma, the documentary is titled “The Musical Journey of Khayyam”.
Sharma, a National Award winning film critic, has previously made documentaries on two film personalities – Shammi Kapoor and the composer Ravi. It was during the making of the latter that he got introduced to Khayyam. “When I met Khayyam Sahab, I felt that he had a lot to say,” the director says.
And why wouldn’t he, given his copious experience in the field? The documentary tracks his beginnings – from the rigorous training in music under Husnlal-Bhagatram and an unsuccessful stint in Mumbai, to Lahore where he started assisting G.A. Chishti, a famous composer back then – as well as his accomplishments, most notably in films such as “Shola Aur Shabnam”, “Shagun” and later, “Kabhie Kabhie” and “Umrao Jaan”.
Summing up his contribution, Sharma says, “Khayyam was one of the architects of the golden age of Hindi cine music. His biggest strength was his ability to base his compositions on Indian classical music while maintaining the melody that was dear to the masses.
Unlike some other composers, he did not get carried away by the western music that was pouring into the industry at that time.”
Talking about the challenges of making the film, Sharma says, “It is difficult to tell the complete life story of the legend in the allotted screen-time. While preparing the script, you have to very carefully choose only those incidents and anecdotes that have had an impact on their lives. The director has to justify these choices to the personality.”
Working on the brief of keeping the documentary “as simple and approachable as possible”, Sharma sheds light on Khayyam's creative process, through interviews with him as well as his collaborators. “Through this documentary, I also wanted to show how Khayyam sahab guides his singers while explaining to them the finer details of his compositions...he has talked about his style, and his need for perfection through his conversations with singers Bhupendra and Talat Aziz; and wife and singer Jagjeet Kaur,” the filmmaker adds.
Apart from 327 songs for 54 films, Khayyam has composed 194 non-film ghazals and songs, 45 songs for TV shows, as well as a few patriotic songs.
Some of Begum Akhtar’s most famous renditions are also Khayyam's creations, the director points out, adding, “None of his contemporaries diversified as much as he did.”
Sharma is now working on a film based on a Sarat Chandra Chattopadhya story. Also in the offing are documentaries on a few other prominent personalities from the world of music.
