It has been 25 years since Manisha Koirala peeked through a broken window and floored Anil Kapoor and the rest of the country. When we think of 1942 A Love Story , we think of Manisha's ethereal beauty. And playing in the background would be that timeless song – Ek ladki ko dekha to aisa lagaa.. .
The man who tuned those deeply romantic and meaningful lines by Javed Akhtar into pure melody would have turned 80 today. R.D. Burman did not live long enough to enjoy the success of the music of Vidhu Vinod Chopra's film.
Ek ladki ko dekha to ..., rendered exceptionally well by Kumar Sanu, is just one of the several classic songs composed by the genius son of the genius S.D. Burman.
R.D.'s range as a composer was astonishing. He could come up with a classical, raga-based gem like Mere naina saawan bhaadon.. . ( Mehbooba) just as he could conjure a foot-tapping, western-sounding Dum maro dum.. . ( Hare Rama Hare Krishna ) — like what A.R. Rahman would go on to do after him.
Rewinding to some of R.D.'s classics on his 80th birth anniversary:
Tere bina zindagi se koyi... ( Aandhi )
It remains one of the finest duets of Indian cinema. Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar bring to life the lovely, poetic lines of Gulzar, who also directed this sensitive film. You cannot get lines more romantic than
Tum ju keh do to aaj ki raat
Chaand dubega nahi, raat ko rok lo ...
( If you ask, the moon will not set tonight
Please pause the night ).
It is picturised with the great Sanjeev Kumar and the elegant Suchitra Sen. Aandhi has two other great duets by Kishore and Lata – Is mod pe jaate ho... and Tum aa gaye ho noor aagayaa...
Khaali haath shaam aayi hai... ( Ijazat )
R.D. chose Lata Mangeshkar for many of his best female solos as well as duets. But for this haunting melody, he preferred Lata's sister and his wife, Asha Bhonsle. You cannot imagine this classic in any other voice. It is one of Asha's best songs of all time. She has given it her soul, and you will know that especially when she sings the antara , Aaja bhi na aaye aansu... It is painfully beautiful.
Once again Gulzar is the lyricist as well as the director. And once again, it is not the only great song in the album: there is Mera kuch samaan tumhare paas ..., in which Asha is brilliant.
Raina beeti jaaye.. ( Amar Prem )
This may not be the most popular number in Shakti Samanta's film, but it reflects R.D.'s versatility as a composer. A beautiful semi-classical song based on Hindustani Ragas Todi and Khamaj , has Lata at her sweetest.
Right from the alaap , she captures your attention and shows why she is one of India's greatest female singers. Sharmila Tagore, with her thickly- kohled doe eyes, yellow saree and red blouse with puff sleeves, does a great job in lip-synching as well. As does Rajesh Khanna as the besotted admirer, whose eyes proclaim his love distinctly.
Amar Prem also boasts two Kishore Kumar classics Chingaari koyi badke... and Kuch to log kahenge... The way Samanta, and his cinematographer Aloke Dasgupta shot Chingaari.. . ensured the song remains, not merely a pleasure listen to but to watch as well. The night, the river, the boat ride, Sharmila, Khanna, Kishore, Anand Bakshi's lyrics and above all R.D.'s music...everything is just perfect.
Bade achche lagta hai... (Balika Badhu)
Rarely has romance sounded so tender and so sweet. Kishore's son Amit Kumar's first hit, and probably his finest song till date. And it was R.D. who gave him his biggest hit too, Yaad aa rahi hai.. . ( Love Story ).
The songs captures the innocence of the young pair in love, Sachin and Rajni Sharma who are sitting by the river bank on a moonlit night.
Naam goom jayega... ( Kinara )
R.D. joins hands with his best collaborator, Gulzar, once again. This time he has the company of his friend ⸺ and vastly underrated and underused singer ⸺ Bhupinder Singh, who had once told me about playing guitar for R.D. for his iconic songs like Dum maro dum... ( Hare Rama Hare Krishna ), Chura liya.... (Yaadon Ki Baraat) and Mehbooba mehbooba... ( Sholay ).
This timeless duet features Hema Malini, Jeetendra and Dharmendra and is shot in the fascinating ruins of Mandu in Madhya Pradesh.
Do naina aur ek kahaani... ( Masoom )
I still remember listening to this song for the first time one morning on the radio, during Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation's Hindi slot, and wondering who this new singer was. Aarti Mukherjee surely deserved more great compositions like this.
On the screen in Shekhar Kapur's Masoom , a fine adaptation of Erich Segal's Man, Woman and Child , are Shabana Azmi and two children who would become stars, Urmila Matondkar and Jugal Hansraj. The film also had the even more popular Tujhse naraaz nahi zindagi... , sang separately by Anup Ghoshal and Lata Mangeshkar.
Ek ladki ko dekhaa... ( 1942 A Love Story )
Kumar Sanu reigned supreme in the 1990's, post Aashiqui. But it is doubtful whether he has rendered a better, more romantic song than this.
I remember reading an anecdote about the song: director Vidhu Vinod Chopra had asked Sanu to come back to the studio after shaving the stubble off his face: it was such a romantic song after all.
Mere nainaa saavan bhaadon... ( Mehbooba )
R.D. had to persuade Kishore to sing this classic. The legendary singer was reluctant because he was not trained in classical music. He must have been glad that he allowed himself to be persuaded. So are we. This Raga Shivranjini -based song is one of Kishore's greatest.
Chura liya hai.. . ( Yadon Ki Baraat )
One of Asha Bhonsle's biggest hits of all time. She gives the seductive charms that the song and Zeenat Aman demanded. The song is brilliantly orchestrated too. Guitar, played by singer Bhupinder Singh, is the highlight.
Apne pyaar ke sapne sachu hue... ( Barsat ki Ek Raat )
It may not be the most anthologised of R.D.'s songs, but it deserves to be heard more. A brilliantly composed song in which Lata and Kishore complement each other well in all those high notes.
It is picturised on a young, dashing Amitabh Bachchan and Rakhi, who is playing a blind woman.
The list of R.D.'s timeless songs could seem endless with classics such as Saagar kinaare... ( Saagar ), Roz roz aankhon tale.. . ( Jeeva ), Aaj kal paaon. .. Aaap ki aankhon mein kuch... and Phir wohi raat... ( Ghar ), Jidhar dekhoon teri tasveer... ( Mahan ), Baahon mein chale aao... ( Anamika ), Karvatein badalte rahe... Zindagi ka safar. .. and Jai jai Shiv Shankar ...( Aap Ki Kasam ), Diye jalte hain. .. ( Namak Haraam ), Humhein tum se pyaar kitna... ( Kudrat ), Musafir hoon yaaron... ( Parichay) , O mere dil ke chain... ( Mere Jeevan Saathi ), Raat kali ek khwaab... ( Buddha Mil Gaya ), Pyaar diwaana hota hai... and Yeh shaam mastaani.. . ( Kati Patang ), O hansini... ( Zehreela Insaan ), O majhi re... ( Khushboo )...
