The advent of talkies in 1931 with the release of “Alam Ara” brought a revolution in the entertainment scene turning song and dance into an integral part of Indian films. R.C. Boral of New Theatres Kolkata is widely acknowledged as the founding father of film music. The leading composers of the early talkies era included stalwarts like Pankaj Mullick, C Ramachandra, Anil Biswas, Khemchand Prakash, Ghulam Haidar and Naushad. Those were the days of singer-actors like K.L. Saigal, Kananbala, Khurshid and Surendranath. The late 1940’s witnessed the emergence of playback singers with the fading away of the singer-actors. It was around this time that Roshan appeared on the scene as an innovative music composer.
Born on 14 July, 1917 at Gujranwala now in Pakistan, Roshan had his early training in music in Lucknow. He became an accomplished sarod player after taking lessons from the renowned musician Allauddin Khan. In 1940, he joined All India Radio, Delhi as a composer but gave it up in 1948 and went to Bombay in search of fame and fortune. By sheer coincidence Roshan met Kidar Sharma, then famous producer-director and impressed him with his musical background and experience. Kidar Sharma was known for introducing new talent to the film industry and grooming them into famous stars such as Raj Kapoor, Geeta Bali and Madhubala. He gave Roshan a break as a music director of his film ‘Neki Aur Badi’ (1949) but the film was a flop. Roshan went into depression but Kidar Sharma perhaps noticed his talent and giving him all encouragement entrusted him with the task of composing for his next film ‘Bawre Nain’ starring Raj Kapur and Geeta Bali. It was a roaring success with every song becoming a hit and earning greater fame and popularity for the playback singers: Geeta Roy, Raj Kumari and Mukesh.
The all time favourite melodies included “Khayalon mein kisike” , “ Sun beri balam sach bol re” and “Teri duniya mein dil lagta nahin” . This in turn established Roshan’s reputation as an innovative composer. He followed it up with “Ham Log” and “Malhar’ in 1951, both successful at the box office.
His next notable music was in K.A. Abbas’s “Anhonee” starring Nargis and Raj Kapur with lyrics by Ali Sardar Jafri – “Main dil hun ik arman bhara” and “Is dil ki halat kya kahiye”.
Roshan never ran after producers and showed his genius and talent even in the small producers’ films. He efficiently used musical instruments such as sarangi, sarod and flute augmenting the appeal of songs to listeners. His tunes were always based on some raga.
Splendid singing
Roshan drew out the best from Lata Mangeshkar as seen in the Meera bhajan “Aeri main to prem dewani” (”Naubahar”, 1952). Lata chose Roshan from among the then leading music directors of 1950s to compose for her own film “Bhairawi”, which, however never took off. Roshan composed for quite a few films in 1950s, with moderate success with the exception of a hit on Lata’s voice “Sari sari raat teri yaad sataye”in “Aji Bas Shukriya” (1958).
Roshan’s all-time big success came with his score of “Barsat Ki Raat” (1960) with every song turning a hit led by Rafi’s “Zindagi bhar nahin bhoolegi”. The most outstanding feature was the memorable qawwali composition “Na to karwan ki talash hai – ye ishq, ishq.” Roshan was hailed as the master of qawwalis and also responsible for the upgradation of this genre and making qawwali songs respectable in films.
During 1960s, Roshan earned greater fame with films like “Taj Mahal” (1963) which had even popular hits, “Jo wada kiya”, “Paon chhu lene do” and “Zulm-e-ulfat ki hamen log saza”. This also brought Roshan the first Filmfare Award. In the same year, Roshan saw another success with “Dil Hi to Hai” where he used Manna Dey’s talent in classical music with the all-time favourite “Laga chunari mein daag”. By this time Sahir, the famous poet-lyricist had teamed up with Roshan to give vent to his creativity as he found in him a composer who could embellish his words with some outstanding tunes. We find them in “Chitralekha” (1964) with “Man kahe na dheer dhare” and “Sansar se bhage phirte”. Other notable films where Roshan’s genius is visible were “Bheegi Raat” (1965), “Dil jo na keh na saka”, “Devar” (1966), “Roothe sayan hamare sayan”, “Mamta” (1966), “Rehte the kabhi jinke dil mein” and “Bahu Begum” (1967), Ham intezar karenge .
Ghazal wave
Roshan’s last film was “Anokhi Raat” (1968) which was released after his death in November 1967. Every song in this film penned by Kaifi Azmi was a super hit. The songs “Mile na phool to kanton se dosti”, “Oh re tal mile nadi ke jal mein” and “Mahlon ka raja mila ke rani beti” continue to delight millions of music lovers.
The words “Kya hoga kaun se pal me koi jane na” were so prophetic for Roshan as he succumbed to a sudden heart attack while attending a social gathering.
Roshan was not only a versatile composer but deserves full credit for introducing the ghazal wave in Indian cinema. He did not achieve name and fame, which he so richly deserved partly due to his premature demise. Anyway, many of his timeless melodies continue to regale the music lovers.
