‘Mohammed Rafi and I were the only singers who would be called to sing any and every kind of song. The rest were great singers, but had their limitations!’
And yet, Manna Dey was never considered an all-rounder the way Rafi and even Kishore Kumar were except by careful students, unbiased observers and connoisseurs of Hindi film music. Branded as a singer of raag-based songs, he was also typecast as the old man’s voice and later as the singer for comedians (notably Mehmood) and background songs. But Manna Dey sang every kind of song with equal brilliance. “I was typecast because my first truly popular song was Chale Radhe rani from Parineeta that was filmed on a very old man!” he told Screen when we spoke on his 89th birthday earlier this year. And he’s right - for let us look at Manna Dey’s limitless range.
‘Raj Kapoor opened my horizons with the astounding pains he took over the creation and enactment of songs. And Mehmood was one of my favourites too’
For a man extensively known for philosophical peaens and litanies, Mannada was brilliant at light songs, proving yet again that a solid base in Hindustani classical (his gurus were his uncle Krishan Chandra Dey, Ustad Aman Khan, Ustad Dabir Khan and Ustad Abdul Rahman Khan) could make an artiste take on anything with ease.
The fun element in his singing first surfaced not with a comedian but with Raj Kapoor. Mukesh and Raj Kapoor were like body and soul, but specific songs always went to Manna Dey, beginning wiith Tere bin aag yeh chandni (Shankar-Jaikishan’s Awara) and light songs like Dil ka haal sune dilwala and Mud mud ke na dekh (with Asha) both from S-J’s Shree 420 and Dattaram’s Mama o mama (with Rafi/Parvarish).
Mehmood, of course, helped consolidate Mannada’s comic image. An assortment of composers created an amazing diversity of fun songs for the Manna-Mehmood combo, like Aao twist karen (Bhoot Bangla) and Ek chatur naar (Padosan) from R.D.Burman, Tujhko rakkhe Ram (with Asha) and Khali dabba khaali botal (Neel Kamal) from Ravi, the classic Jodi hamari (with Asha) in Aulad from Chitragupta, O meri maina (with Usha/Pyar Kiye Jaa) from Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Do diwane dil ke (with Rafi/Johar Mehmood In Goa) from Kalyanji-Anandji, Main tere pyar mein and Pyar ke aag mein (both Ziddi) from S.D.Burman.
The comic streak even went beyond Mehmood, with Shankar-Jaikishan getting Manna Dey in for Mere bhains ko danda kyoon maara (Pagla Kahin Ka) and Yeh umar hai kya rangeeli (Professor), both Shammi Kapoor hits. Another example was Babu samjho ishaare/Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi with music by S.D.Burman where Dey’s lines went on Ashok Kumar.
‘Playback is about observation and my experience in choirs must have helped. My wife Sulochana was also responsible for teaching me a lot of Western nuances’
Again for someone who was deeply into classical, Mannada loved Western music and was brilliant at such songs as well, part of which expertise he attributed to his singing in the choirs of his Scottish Church College in Kolkata. Besides Jodi hamari, Aao twist karen and O meri maina, songs like Nineteen fifty-six (Anari), the waltz Dil ki girah khol do (Raat Aur Din) both with Lata for S-J and R.D.Burman’s Goyaake chunanche (with Lata and Kishore in Manoranjan) were among such ditties. And Mannada concludes by revealing that he used Western nuances even in Aye mere pyare watan in salil Chowdhury’s Kabuliwala!
‘In a way, I came here to sing classical numbers, which I got in abundance. I could sing classical better than anyone else!’
Come hero, character artiste or comedian (in old Hindi film cinema the last two were diverse categories!), Manna Dey was plain magnificent at semi-classical and classical songs. His piece-de-resistance was Shankar-Jaikishan’s Basant Bahar where he dominated the score with all-time masterpieces like Bhay bhanjana, Ketaki gulab juhi (with Pandit Bhimsen Joshi), Sur na saje and Nain mile chain kahaan. Manna Dey and Rafi dazzled together in Tu hai mera prem devta (Kalpana), a semi-classical song composed by the musically-untrained O.P.Nayyar. Kisne chilman se maara (Baat Ek Raat Ki/S.D.Burman), Laaga chunari mein daag (Dil Hi To Hai/Roshan), Pooncho na kaise maine rain bitayi (Meri Surat Teri Ankhen/S.D.Burman), Jhanak jhanak tori baaje payaliya (Mere Huzoor/S-J) which won him a National award, Chham chham baaje re payaliya (Jaane Anjaane/S-J), Tere naina talash karen (Talash/S.D.Burman), Aayo kahaan se Ghanashyam (Buddha Mil Gaya/R.D.Burman), Re man sur mein gaa (Lal Patthar/S-J) and Bhor aa hi gaya and Tum bin jeevan (Bawarchi/Madan Mohan) were the cream of his raag-based rockers.
‘Rafi once told a journalist, “You listen to my songs. I listen only to Manna Dey!” But that only showed his greatness’
The range of this peerless Phalke laureate obviously imparted lustre to multiple genres of songs. Besides the solo Aye mere pyare watan, multi-singer songs like Himmat watan ki hum se hai/Prem Pujari/with Rafi/S.D.Burman, Hoke majboor mujhe under Madan Mohan in Haqeeqat, the title-track of L-P’s Kranti and Sarfaroshi ki tamanna from Prem Dhawan’s Shaheed were among his patriotic peaks. Then we had qawwalis and allied songs like Na to karvaan ki talash hai and Yeh ishq ishq hai, both multi-singer songs for Barsat Ki Raat and Vaaqif hoon khoon ishq ke (with Rafi and Asha) in two parts in Bahu Begum, all composed by Roshan, who also extracted the stunning Parda uthe salaam ho jaaye (with Asha) in Dil Hi To Hai. Naushad, who worked with Manna Dey in very select songs, composed the hit qawwali with Asha, Rafi and Manna Dey - Main idhar jaaoon ya udhar jaaoon (Palki). Of course Ravi’s Ae meri zohra jabeen from Ravi’s Waqt was a cult song and L-P’s Tu mere pyaale mein (with Kishore/Amir Garib) was popular too.
Folk songs too had Manna Dey in a position of strength with songs like Salil Chowdhury’s Hariyala saawan (Do Bigha Zamin) and Daiyya re daiyya re in Madhumati and R.D.Burman’s Chunari sambhaal gori (Baharon Ke Sapne) all with Lata, S-J’s evergreen Teesri Kasam number Chalat musafir and Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s Na maangoon sona chandi (with Shailendra Singh/Bobby). Naushad once again came in for Dukh bhare din (with Asha, Rafi and Shamshad) in Mother India.
Kalyanji-Anandji chose Manna Dey for Pran in the Pathan’s song Yaari hai imaan mera in Zanjeer and of course for Kasme vaade pyar wafaa in Upkar - the two songs that played a decisive role in changing the actor’s career graph.
As for the devotionals and philosophical classics, the ageless wonder took to them like the manor born, right from his career breakthrough Oopar gagan vishal (Mashal/S.D.Burman) to Tu pyar ka sagar hai (Seema/S-J), Hamari hi mutthi mein akash saara (L-P’s Prahaar), Jeevan ke lambe hai bandhu (Aashirwad/Vasant Desai), Nadiya chale re chale re dhaara (K-A’s Safar), Kaal ka pahiyaa (S-J’s Chanda Aur Bijli), Aye bhai zaraa dekhke chalo (S-J’s Mera Naam Joker), Zindagi kaisi hai paheli (Salil Chowdhury’s Anand), Tum besahara ho to (L-P’s Anurodh) and Darpan jhooth na bole (L-P’s Darpan).
An ode to motherhood (Usko nahin dekha/Daadi Maa/Roshan), to friendship (Ae dost mere/S-J’s Sacchai and Yeh dosti/RD’s Sholay), to a sister (Jaa meri behna/L-P’s Ladies Tailor), communal brotherhood (Insaan ka insaan se/Paigham/C.Ramachandra) and songs for children - Mooskura laadle mooskura (S-J’s Zindagi) and Tujhe suraj kahoon ya chanda (Ravi’s Ek Phool Do Mali) - the master-singer made them all perennial.
‘I have no regrets!’
Stereotypically branded as the character actor’s voice, Manna Dey was actually the voice with a character all his own. So if he sang for a Kanhaiyalal or an aged Om Prakash, he also sang for top-league heroes. The rarer names included Manoj Kumar (Reshmi Roomal), Kishore Kumar as hero (Begunaah), Dev Anand (Chhupa Rustom), Sanjeev Kumar (Sachaai and Jyoti), Rajendra Kumar (Zindagi), Shashi Kapoor (Pyar Kiye Jaa), Randhir Kapoor (Ponga Pandit and Hamrahi), Jeetendra (Umar Qaid and Samraat), Feroz Khan (Raat Aur Din) and even Amitabh Bachchan (Sholay ).
Quite obviously then, his romantic songs were legion and we have space left only for the creme-de-la-creme - Pyar hua ikraar hua (Shree 420), Aaja sanam, Jahaan main jaati hoon and Yeh raat bheegi bheegi (Chori Chori), Jhoomta mausam (Ujala) all with S-J, Kalyanji Virji Shah’s Yeh samaa mera dil (Samrat Chandragupta) and L-P’s Tum gagan ke chandrama ho (Sati Savitri).
Singers may be born every day, but a Manna Dey comes once in a century.
