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| Pic: Courtesy – Film History Pics |
As I mentioned in my post earlier this month, Mohammed Rafi had sung for Raj Kapoor in many films. Yet, he was
not the only playback singer to lend their voice to Raj Kapoor on screen,
notwithstanding Mukesh’s prominent standing as RK’s preferred singer. From his
debut film as a leading man, we come across several different voices for Raj
Kapoor (sometimes, even in the same film). The list I present below may not be
the most comprehensive list of playback singers for RK, but it is a start.
Narayan Dutt – Neel
Kamal (1947)
Jaiyyo na
bides (with
Rajkumari Dubey)
Music: B
Vasudev
Lyrics: Kidar Sharma
This was RK’s debut film and while Mukesh had four songs in the film, he did not lend his voice to the debutant hero. The film’s music was composed by ‘B Vasudev’, which was
composer Snehal Bhatkar’s pseudonym. Similarly, the song, Jaiyyo na bides,
credited to Snehal Bhatkar and lip-synced by Raj Kapoor on screen, was actually
sung by Narayan Dutt, himself a music composer.
Raj Kapoor – Dil
ki Rani (1947)
O duniya ke rehnewalon bolo
Music: SD
Burman
Lyrics: Yashodanandan Joshi
Raj Kapoor came
into the industry with the ambition of becoming a music director. Destiny,
however, had other plans. But RK’s deep interest in music and his classical
training stood him in good stead as he made his own films. He was not very
interested in singing but did playback for himself in two of his earliest films
– Jailyatra (music by Ninu Majumdar) and Dil ki Rani.
Mukesh – Aag
(1948)
Zinda hoon is tarah
Music: Ram
Ganguly
Lyrics: Behzad
Lucknowi
This, one of Mukesh’s earliest
songs for Raj Kapoor, is also one of their finest collaborations, and one of my
favourite Mukesh/RK songs ever. The pathos in Mukesh’s voice is mirrored in the
sorrow that is etched on Raj Kapoor’s face. Mukesh’s voice did most closely resemble Raj Kapoor’s speaking/singing voice and there was a synergy between the two men that resonated with the viewers. Actor and singer. Face and Voice.
Body and Soul.
Raj Kapoor met
Mukesh Chand Mathur
at Ranjit Movietone where Mukesh, an aspiring
singer, was rehearsing a song while playing the piano. Raj Kapoor,
then an assistant director, entered the room and introduced himself as
Prithviraj Kapoor’s son. Later, they ran into each other on again on the sets of his debut film. Mukesh and Raj
Kapoor enjoyed a long and fruitful personal and professional relationship until
the former’s tragic, untimely death in 1976.
Chitalkar – Sargam
(1950) (with Lata Mangeshkar)
Woh humse chup hain hum unse chup hain
Music: C
Ramchandra
Lyrics: PL
Santoshi
On the face of it,
Chitalkar seems an odd choice to playback for Raj Kapoor – his speaking voice
is so different. But, listen to RK singing O duniya ke rehnewalon bolo,
and you can see why it’s not a stretch to have Chitalkar playback for him, and
convincingly, at that. While Sargam had a clutch of great songs
including the Chitalkar solo Main hoon ek khalasi, bhimpalasi, the romantic duet Woh humse chup hain hum
unse chup hain is my personal favourite. It’s such a delightful, teasing
song that one can’t help but be charmed.
Shankar
Dasgupta – Jaan Pehchaan (1950)
Dukh se bhara hua hai dil
Music:
Khemchand Prakash/Manna Dey
Lyrics: Shakeel
Badayuni
A trained singer
who got his first break with Milan (1946) under Anil Biswas’s baton, Shankar
Dasgupta was an unknown name to me until I watched this film. He sang over 50
songs in Hindi films, and even composed music for a couple of them. This is the
only film in which he gave playback to Raj Kapoor – two solos, the other being Hum kya bataaye tumse. Manna Dey had stepped
in as music director following Khemchand Prakash’s untimely demise, but there’s
no way of knowing who composed which song.
Kishore Kumar –
Pyar (1950)
Kachhi pakki sadkon pe
Music: SD
Burman
Lyrics:
Rajinder Krishan
If Chitalkar and
Shankar Dasgupta were not names one would associate with Raj Kapoor, neither is
Kishore Kumar, especially when one considers Kishore’s antics, both on-screen and off. But Kishore did sing for Raj Kapoor – like Dasgupta, in just one
film – Pyar. He sang five songs in this film, two solos and three duets
(with Shamshad Begum and Geeta Dutt). I know nothing about this movie except
that it starred Raj Kapoor and Nargis. The songs from the film are available on
YouTube.
Talat Mahmood –
Anhonee (1952)
Main dil hoon ik armaan bhara
Music: Roshan
Lyrics: Ali
Sardar Jaffri
Talat Mahmood has
sung but a handful of songs for Raj Kapoor, including this beautiful solo from Anhonee
which was his very first song for the latter. Ashiaana, that same
year (composer: Madan Mohan) had two lovely solos – Main paagal mora manwa paagal and Mera
qaraar le jaa, while Bewafaa, composed by AR Qureshi, had four solos. Tum
ko fursat ho meri jaan is a personal favourite.
Mohammed Rafi –
Ambar (1952)
Chale jaana tum door
Music: Ghulam
Mohammed
Lyrics: Shakeel
Badayuni
While the
Lata-Rafi duet, Hum tum ye bahaar is my absolute favourite from this
frothy movie, Chale jaana tum door is a lovely melody too. The more I
listen to Rafi singing for Raj Kapoor, the more I’m getting used to it. It is
perhaps a testament of Rafi’s immense talent that, despite being conditioned to consider Mukesh
synonymous with Raj, I am actually beginning to like Rafi singing for RK.
While Andaz
(1949) was possibly the first time that Mohammed Rafi sang for Raj Kapoor, it
wouldn’t be the last. Composer Ghulam Mohammed signed Rafi as Raj’s voice for Ambar,
a tale of forbidden love and palace intrigue. Like the duet with Lata
Mangeshkar that I’d linked earlier, Chale jaana tum door is a lovely,
lively song.
Hemant Kumar – Dhoon
(1953) (With Lata Mangeshkar)
Hum pyaar karenge
Music: Madan
Mohan
Lyrics: Bharat
Vyas
Hemant Kumar is
yet another voice I would never have associated with Raj Kapoor. There seems to
be no similarity at all in their voices, yet here we are. This is perhaps the
only song that Hemant has sung playback for Raj Kapoor and I’m not sure why
Madan Mohan chose him. It’s not a great song; Madan Mohan could have composed
it in his sleep, but it’s pleasant enough.
Manna Dey – Dil
Hi Toh Hai (1963)
Laaga chunri mein daag
Music: Roshan
Lyrics: Sahir
Ludhianvi
The first song
that Manna Dey sang for Raj Kapoor must have been Tere bina aag ye chandni from
Awara (please correct me if I’m wrong), one of my favourite songs of all
time. After Mukesh, Manna was RK’s singer of choice – he used him in Shree 420. Shankar-Jaikishan signed
him for Chori Chori and Mera Naam Joker, and though Mukesh had the bulk of the songs in Dil Hi Toh
Hai, Roshan took Manna for this song – a classic if ever there was
one.
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| Pic: Courtesy Facebook |
Laaga chunri mein daag is the perfect example of what makes a song great – the milan of music, melody, lyrics and voice. Roshan composes a lush, complex melody with an elaborate sargam and intricate notes that Manna plays around with effortless ease. Sahir based the lyrics on Kabir’s Chunri mein pad gayo daag piya, offering a dual perspective: a woman, afraid of returning home with a besmirched reputation juxtaposed with the journey of a soul to meet its maker.
Kamlesh Awasthi
– Gopichand Jasoos (1982)
(With Usha Khanna)
Dil deewana
main diwaani teri
Music: Usha
Khanna
Lyrics: Santosh
Anand
Usha Khanna was an underrated music director, even if she has given us some very good melodies. Dil deewana tera main deewani teri is quite a nice song from the eighties; she sings for IS Johar in drag, while Kamlesh Awasthi (who sounds remarkably like Mukesh) sings for Raj Kapoor.
Kamlesh Awasthi had
made a career out of singing Mukesh’s songs; he was renowned as the ‘Voice of
Mukesh’. So much so that when Raj Kapoor heard him sing at an event, he
immediately gave his consent for Awasthi to be his playback singer in Gopichand
Jasoos.
These are the ‘voices’
I have discovered over the years I’ve been blogging. If you know of any other
singer who has given playback for Raj Kapoor, please add them in the comments.
And as a bonus,
here’s Raj Kapoor singing Ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo at the Navy Ball
in Bombay.