Usha Uthup returns
Trivia Tunes: MM Keeravani gave a new lease of life to the career of the talented daughter of this renowned Hindi composer, she has now sung for Tanvi The Great
She was the non-film Pop Diva of the late 1960s and most of the 1970s. Usha Uthup, nee Iyer, made a mark as a saree-clad pop singer in the restaurants, nightclubs and social occasions of that time. The singer has now sung a ‘Kali Maa’ devotional in the Kajol film, Maa, an atypical song for her. New composer Harsh Upadhyay has helped her return to film playback six years after her last playback foray in Sab Kushal Mangal (2019) with co-singers Bappi Lahiri, Akshay Dhawan and composer Harshit Saxena also singing with her.
Maa marks full circle for the singer, as she sang a fun devotional, ‘Jogan preetam ki’ as her debut song along with classical singer Lakshmi Shankar in Devi (note the coincidence even in the name of this film that was also a family melodrama!). The music was by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. However, Usha denies this song, possibly because her portion in the song was not there within the film. Almost alongside came recordings with Shankar (-Jaikishan) for Bombay Talkie, Kalyanji-Anandji (Purab Aur Pacchim) and R.D. Burman (Hare Rama Hare Krishna).
Bengali flop to Hindi chartbuster
The 1970 Bengali film Rajkumari was the first foray in that language by composer R.D. Burman. However, it is said that most of the songs in that film were not popular at all. But one tune made it two years later in Jawani Diwani, as the title-track ‘Yeh jawani hai diwani’. And it was a roaring chartbuster that was also re-created in Student of the Year 2 by Vishal-Shekhar. The song even became the title for another Karan Johar film, Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani!
Legends vocally suiting the youth
Kishore Kumar’s voice was sampled for the Student of the Year 2 re-creation, and though there was no close-up seen, seemed to sit quite well on Tiger Shroff and Aditya Seal. Vishal-Shekhar even used a Kishore sampler for Ranbir Kapoor in their 2008 film Bachna Ae Haseeno, with Kishore’s younger son Sumit Kumar singing the main song. Kishore had sung the original in another R.D. Burman film, Hum Kisise Kum Naheen for Ranbir’s father, Rishi Kapoor. In 2017, Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s super-hit ‘O meri mehbooba’ (Dharam-Veer) was re-created for Fukrey Returns and Rafi’s voice suited Pulkit Samrat perfectly in a similar ‘sampler’ in its re-creation. And we all know how Rafi’s voice was perfect for Govinda too, a hero who appeared six years after the legend had passed away, in an original song in Bappi Lahiri’s Farz Ki Jung. This song was recorded for a shelved film and was used for a film almost 10 years later.
The female side
With Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle ruling the roost, the sisters were at it from the late 1940s all the way to the 1990s and early millennium. Lata Mangeshkar’s ‘youngest’ stars for whom she lip-synched included Rani Mukerji, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Preity Zinta and Kareena Kapoor Khan. Asha, of course, had Rani, Kareena and Aishwarya and also Sushmita Sen, Amisha Patel and Gracy Singh!
The top five
Among the legends, it was clear that Mohammed Rafi, Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh and Mahendra Kapoor were the top five male singers for the longest time, and it is fascinating to note their associations with top stars. Though not all singers suited each top star (Rafi had the widest range), Ashok Kumar, Dev Anand, Bharat Bhushan, Shammi Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, Raaj Kumar, Joy Mukerji, Sunil Dutt, Dharmendra, Sanjeev Kumar, Shashi Kapoor, Jeetendra, Feroz Khan, Sanjay Khan, Rajesh Khanna, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha and Vinod Mehra had all the five voices singing for them, even if at least once!
Lucky lyrics
Anand Bakshi and Majrooh Sultanpuri remain the perennially lucky mascots among lyricists for composers across generations! Let us look at two composers with whom Majrooh worked in their debut films—Rajesh Roshan (Kunwara Baap) and Jatin-Lalit—Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (signed) and Yaara Dildaara (released). However, Anand Bakshi (Julie with Rajesh Roshan and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge with J-L) signalled big-time for them. R.D. Burman made a breakthrough with Teesri Manzil (Majrooh), but it took The Train (Anand Bakshi), his 11th film in 9 years, to become really big and do 14 films in the next year itself!
Majrooh also was the lyricist for Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (Anand-Milind’s entry into the big league) and Dosti (Laxmikant-Pyarelal, ditto) while Anand Bakshi wrote songs in 1965 for Kalyanji-Anandji consolidating their A-list position (Jab Jab Phool Khile, Himalay Ki God Mein) and later for Kalyanji’s son, Viju Shah (Tridev). He also wrote the songs of Taal, the Subhash Ghai biggie that propelled A.R. Rahman as a true-blue Hindi film composer.
Going South to come home!
Surender Sodhi was a renowned composer, musician and arranger in Mumbai, who also composed music for films like Mashooq, Elaan and Sanjay. His daughter, Shagun Sodhi, was never encouraged by other film composers after she tried becoming a playback singer years after her father passed away in 2018. Getting no film breaks in Mumbai, the mellifluous singer got encouragement from the Oscar-winning M.M. Keeravani a.k.a. M.M. Kreem, and decided to move to his workplace, Hyderabad, where she sang for him in shows as well as his films down there. She has now got a major Hindi film break under him in the forthcoming Tanvi The Great (through the song ‘Sena Ki Jai’). How ironic is it that some Mumbai talents have to make a mark elsewhere before recognition comes at home!
More Pages: Tanvi The Great Box Office Collection
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