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LEGENDS
HEMANT KUMAR, THE SINGER-COMPOSER
HMV, Rs. 275 (five cassettes)
Now this is one Legend collection music buffs have been eagerly
awaiting, and which is sure to be a sell-out. Firstly, because there aren’t
many good compilations available of this very talented singer-composer,
who because of his low profile, didn’t get as much attention as he
deserved. And secondly, his songs aren’t played as often as those
of other singers, so it’s a treat to hear him whenever you get the
opportunity.
Nobody will contest the fact that Hemantda (as he was lovingly called)
possessed a unique, haunting, captivating voice, with a serene quality
to it, and thanks to his thorough knowledge of music, he came up with
as haunting numbers as his voice. Lata Mangeshkar’s opinion of the
singer-composer sums him up aptly. Says she, “Listening to Hemantda,
I feel as though a sadhu is singing a bhajan.” Lata rightly points
out that in his voice, one could experience an amalgamation of Rabindra
Sangeet, Bengali folk music, modern and classical elements.
The five volumes in this collection give us a glimpse of the versatile
composer and an unimitable singer that Hemantda was. He ruled in the 50s
and 60s, with most of his songs dominating the charts then. All his songs
are an example of perfect harmony of the singer-composer in him.
VOL. 1 - Lata Mangeshkar gives the inaugural speech in this volume, which
has songs from the 50s. Side A begins with Na yeh chand hoga (Shart),
followed by duets with Lata, Yaad kiya dil ne (Patita), Chandan ka palna
(Shabab), Dekho woh chand (Shart), and solso Sun ja dil ki dastaan (Jaal)
and Tere dwar khada ek jogi (Nagin) to name a few.
VOL. 2 - This one has introduction by Anup Jalota, followed by not oft-heard
songs like Tera hi aasra hai (Arab Ka Saudagar), Dil chhed aisa koi naghma
(Inspector), Jhir jhir badarwa barse (Pariwar), Badli mein chhupe (Shatranj)
and Woh khush naseeb hain (Hill Station). It ends with the immortal Pyaasa
number Jaane woh kaise log the jinko.
VOL. 3 - Pankaj Udhas voices his opinions on Hemantda here, and then you
have the hit songs of the end-50s like Hai apna dil to aawara (Solva Saal),
O neend na mujhko aaye (Post Box No. 999), Tumhe yaad hoga (Satta Bazaar),
Insaaf ki dagar pe (Gunga Jamuna), Na tum hamein jaano (Baat Ek Raat Ki)
and Beqarar karke hamein (Bees Saal Baad). Moushumi Chatterjee, Hemantda’s
daughter-in-law, reminiscises about her father-in-law, which makes for
an interesting listening.
VOL. 4 - Jagjit Singh is the speaker here, and this volume features the
songs fropm the 60s and 70s. There’s Zara nazron se dekho ji (Bees
Saal Baad), Aye dil kahin leja (Bluff Master), Raah bani khud manzil and
Yeh nayan dare dare (Kohraa), and Ya dil ki suno (Anupama). Veteran singer
Manna Dey speaks about his association with Hemantda, followed by his
favourites which include Tum pukar lo (Khamoshi), the title song of Door
Ka Rahi and Aaja mere pyar aaja (Heeralal Pannalal).
VOL. 5 - This volume has the best of Hemantda’s songs, all his classic
ones. After an introduction again by Lata, what follows is the Nagin hit
Man dole, which can be termed the ultimate sapera song, Chhup gaya koi
re (Champakali), Hemantda’s touching composition from Jagriti, sung
by Mohd. Rafi, Hum layen hain toofan se, his evergreen compositions from
Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam - Na jaao saiyaan and Bhanwra bada naadan hai, the
unparalleled eerie numbers, Kahin deep jale (Bees Saal Baad) and Jhoom
jhoom dhalti raat (Kohraa), Woh shaam kuch ajeeb thi (Khamoshi), a composition
which still overwhelms you, and a re-recorded version of Vande Mataram
by Lata in 1997.
At the end of the collection, you realise that Hemantda was among the
few who believed that music can touch the soul, and composed and sang
accordingly. Surely can’t miss this one.
JANA SUNO
Universal, Rs. 45
Udit Narayan happens to be among the leading singers of the country, and
it was high time someone came up with a compilation album of his, since
he has sung most of the best songs. Well, Universal has come up with a
compilation album of the singer, but it hardly does any justice to him.
Of the 12 songs compiled, most are relatively unknown, so the whole idea
of this album seems to be a waste. Well, if Universal didn’t have
a good repertoire of Udit, they could have borrowed it from other music
companies, which is being increasingly done nowadays, instead of coming
up with this shoddy album just for the sake of it. Have a look at the
list of the songs and you’ll surely agree. There’s A la la long
(Ram Jaane), Sone jaisa roop hai (Deewana Hoon Pagal Nahin), Pardesi to
hain pardesi (Mother 98), the title song of Maharaja, Come on, come on
(Love Birds), Janeman janeman (Kohram), Mastiyon mein dooba (Velu Nayakan)
and Paan khake jaana (Ajay). Surely no one remembers them. The known songs
featured are Jana suno (Khamoshi), Kuch hamare hain (Pyar Koi Khel Nahin)
and Kya rakhoon tera naam (Jhooth Bole Kauwa Kaate), and surely one wouldn’t
want to pay to hear just these three songs, which anyway are not big hits.
JAZBAAT
Sony Music, Rs. 65
This compilation album includes eight non-film numbers (and
two film numbers, from Bhopal Express, sung by Lucky Ali and Jagjit Singh),
termed “sentimental hits,” which are about different feelings,
and aptly titled Jazbaat. Jagjit Singh dominates the album (wonder why),
with four of the 10 numbers being sung by him, so the mood of the album
is more sombre, with numbers like Woh kagaz ki kashti, Is nagari mein,
Din kuch aise guzarta hai and Shaam se aankh mein. The other numbers are
comparatively more peppy and provide variety. They include Shubha Mudgal’s
hit Pyar ke geet, Shamsa Kanwal’s haunting Chandni raatein, Lucky
Ali’s philosphical Tu kaun hai from Bhopal Express, and Teri yaadein
and Dekha hai aise bhi from his album Sifar, and Asha Bhosle’s mesmerising
rendition of the title song of Chand Grahan. Good album for some mood
listening.
VITTHAL BHAJAN (MARATHI)
Krunal, Rs. 35
An album of bhajans devoted to Vitthal. That these are in the voice of
well-known singer Suresh Wadkar, and have been embellished in easy-to-sing
tunes by composer Sanjayraj Gourinandan are assets of this audio which
is sure to find a place in the cassette collection of a Vitthal devotee
or a lover of devotional music. There are eight bhajans (four on each
side). They have been written by Shantaram Nandgaonkar, Vilas Jaitapkar,
Pravin Davane, Sanjay Upadhye, Vidya Oak, the late Vinayak Patil, Madhukar
Arkade and the late Ramakant Khot. The album commences with Naachu gaawoo
Vithu naave and is followed by Sakhya Vithu maaybaapa, Mituniya dole and
Pandharichya Panduranga, while the flipside comprises Kalyaa mateet maaza
Pandharicha baap, Dhanya zaali Vithuchi Pandhari, Vitthalaache paay and
Saawale sagun te.
PAHAATECHI BHAJANE (MARATHI)
Krunal, Rs. 35
Yet another album of devotional hajans which have been rendered
by Ajit Kadkade. These hajans, as the title indicates, are sung as the
day is about to dawn or thereabouts. Predominently folk in character,
the renderings have also a slightly classical flavour. There are eight
bhajans (four on each side), all of which have been written by Sanjay
Upadhye and set to music by Sanjayraj Gourinandan. The four bhajans on
Side A are Utha ho jee Deva, De prakash yaa jagaas, Akaashichya Deva and
Ooth Raama Kaushalyechya baala, while those on Side B include Prabhat
samaye, Uth re nandana uthre, Dindi paatli kirananchya and Vasudev aalaa
ho Vasudev.
MRUGJAL (MARATHI)
Blaze, Rs. 30
This audio consists of songs from the Marathi film Mrugjal.
There are only three songs in the film and the album opens with Kadhitari
kuthetari, written by Satish Rajwade, and rendered by Sudesh Bhosale and
Yogita Barve. The remaining two are written by Prem Kumar Bari. While
Chaand raatrila has been sung again by Sudesh Bhosale and Yogita Barve,
the other, Jeevan hey saare has been rendered by Amol Bavdekar and Yogita
Barve. Music director Shirsh Rajwade has done a competent job in providing
appropriate tunes for these songs. The tunes reflect the meaning and mood
of the words and expressions used by the lyricists.
TOCHI EK SAMARTH (MARATHI)
Prasad Cassette, Rs. 35
The album comprises seven songs from the devotional Marathi
film, Tochi k Samarth, which has music by Chandrashekhar Shinde. There
are seven songs, with predominently devotional contents, and each has
a distinctive folk tune. The audio begins with Swami Samarth, an aarti
rendered by chorus singers, and is followed by Udhhawane udhhar kela (bhraman
geet) rendered by Suresh Wadkar, Swami Samarth aala ho (Vasudev geet)
sung by Vitthal Umap, Antrangi rangale mee (a bhajan) rendered by Ajit
Kadkade, Naathon ke naath baawa (a qawwali) by Vitthal Umap and chorus,
Dyaa taalaawar taal (a mishra geet) by Ajit Kadkade, Suresh Wadkar, Vitthal
Umap and Sou Seema Chandragupt, and Yaa jagachya paathivar (a bhairavi)
rendered by Suresh Wadkar. Lyrics have been written by Shantaram Nandgaonkar,
Vitthal Umap and Prof Laxman Pathare. Each song is prefaced by an introduction
by Sanjay Upadhyaya. All the songs are meaningful and and are set to hummable
tunes.
SUPERHIT RANJANA (MARATHI)
Krunal, Rs. 35
This is a version album, in the nature of an emotional tribute,
incorporating some of the most popular songs picturised on one of the
most popular actresses of the Marathi screen, Ranjana, who died a few
months ago. The songs are from Ranjana-starrers like Susheela, Zunj, Arey
Sansar Sansar, Gupchup Gupchup, Heech Khari Daulat, Sulaawarchi Poli,
Asaa Navara Nako Ga Bai and Gondhalaat Gondhal. The singers are Jaywant
Kulkarni, Shrikant Narayan, Swapneel Bandodkar, Devyani, Sanjay Sawant,
Shakuntala Jadhav, Priya Mayekar and Mrudula Joshi. Ashok Waingankar is
the music arranger.
BALI RAJA (MARATHI)
Krunal, Rs. 35
The songs in this audio have a predominently rural flavour.
Characterised as songs for the farming community, they are embellished
in folk tunes which music lovers all over Maharashtra are familiar. The
album commences with Jiva Shivachi baeel jod sung by Vijay Sartap, followed
by Baeel maazi gunwaan by Sanjay Sawant and Shashikant Mubre, Gaawoo motawarcha
gaana by Shashikant Mubre, Dharnee aaeechi maaya by Sanjay Sawant and
Shakuntala Jadhav, Bhalgari dada bhala ra by Manohar Golambare, Kuryaa
chaalalya raanaat by Shrikant Narayan, Maalyaachya malyaamandi by Shakuntala
Jadhav, Kaalyaa maateet maateet by Shakuntala Jadhav and Sanjay Sawant,
and Jhaali ra maaychi krupa jhaali by Shakuntala Jadhav.
Reviewed By Salma
Khatib & Pandit Shimpi