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 Sanjeev
Kohli, son of legendary composer Madan Mohan, had made a small film
in memory of his father to commemorate his 25th death anniversary,
on July 14, 2000. He has now released the film alongwith his haunting
songs on a VCD titled Madan Mohan Forever..., which is sure to be
cherished by Madan Mohan fans
Twenty-nine
years ago, maestro Madan Mohan passed away, in some respect, an
unsung hero. Two years ago, the music director’s sons, Sanjeev
and Samir Kohli organised a magical event as tribute to their legendary
father. It was a nostalgic evening comprising artistes of many generations.
In the audience was yesteryear singer Suraiya, who had lent her
voice to Madan Mohan’s early compositions, Lata Mangeshkar,
Asha Bhonsle and today’s singers Alka Yagnik and Sudesh Bhosle.
Contemporaries Khayyam and Mohan Kumar recalled fond memories of
their colleague. Music-director Khayyam revealed that Madan Mohan
had a special doorbell to announce his entry. He had a penchant
for mutton bhindi, which he cooked with alcohol. Filmmaker Mohan
Kumar recalled their passionate discussions over ‘Aap ki nazaron
ne samjha...’ from Anpadh.
When it was
time for Sanjeev Kohli to talk about his father, he made an emotional
speech. He confessed that unfortunately he had discovered his father’s
greatness only after he was gone... He recalled how as children,
he had once gone swimming with friends to the club. “Suddenly,
one of my friends came and announced that my dad had gone mad. All
of us rushed to him and discovered dad, oblivious of spectators,
singing loudly. My brother and I were awfully embarrassed and told
him so. He looked at me kindly and said, “Tum nahin samjhoge.”
I didn’t, till many years later.”
 Another
incident Kohli cannot forget is an annual day at school. “We
used to have a variety entertainment programme and when it was my
turn to sing, I chose the more popular, ‘Baharon phool barsao...’
to my dad’s compositions. He sat still in the audience and
on our way back home only said, “Tum bhi...” Unknowingly,
I had touched upon a raw nerve. The enormity of it was to dawn on
the family much later. Deeply wounded by his commercial non-success
and fate that had eluded him of awards, he sought happiness in his
critical acclaim. Often diffident, but seldom bitter, he said that
his reward was that even his rivals appreciated his tunes.”
Madan Mohan’s
one and only National Award for Dastak came at the tail-end of his
career.
A 60-minute audio-visual spanning the maestro’s life and career
with clippings of his immortal songs like, ‘Maine rang di aaj
chunaria...,’ ‘Jiya le gayo jee mora saanwariyaa...’
and ‘Nainon mein badara chhayee...’to the more frothy,
‘Jhumka gira re...’ from Mera Saaya were shown to the
select audience present at The Club.
Today, it’s
difficult to imagine that a young boy with creative dreams gave
up his job in the Indian army and joined the All India Radio, Lucknow,
in the early 1940s. Deeply inspired by Begum Akhtar and Barqat Ali
Sahab, their influences were apparent in Madan Mohan’s compositions
which made a place for the ghazal on the silver screen. Even today,
‘Unko yeh shiqaayat hai ke hum kuchch nahin kahate...’
‘Aaj socha to aansoon bhar aaye...’ and ‘Hum pyar
mein jalanewaalon ko chain kahaan, aaram kahaan...’ are evergreen
melodies.
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