Mumbai, Veteran actor-filmmaker Manoj Kumar portrayed India in his films through story and songs with utmost honesty, says Anandji Virji Shah, one-half of the iconic music composer duo Kalyanji-Anandji who had a long-standing creative relationship with the late star.
Kalyanji-Anandji scored music for several of Kumar’s movies such as “Himalay Ki God Mein” , “Upkar”, “Purab Aur Paschim” , and “Kalyug Aur Ramayan” .
Kumar, who came to be known as ‘Bharat Kumar’ for his roles in a series of superhit patriotic films, died on Friday in a hospital here following age-related issues. He was 87.
“Manoj Kumar was a fantastic director. He had an ear for music. He was also skilled at editing and writing stories and possessed a deep knowledge of India’s history.
“So, when he depicted India in his films, whether it was ‘Purab Aur Paschim’ or ‘Upkar’, he remained honest in his portrayal and emotions through story and songs, and that’s why they resonated with people. He was very dedicated to his work and never got upset if somebody made any suggestions,” Anandji told PTI in an interview here.
The song “Mere Desh Ki Dharti” from “Upkar”, which marked Kumar’s directorial debut, was a landmark moment in their collaboration.
Picturised on Kumar, the track was penned by Gulshan Kumar Mehta and sung by Mahendra Kapoor. “Mere Desh Ki Dharti”, a heartfelt anthem that sings paen for India’s agricultural richness, evokes a sense of national pride even today.
According to the 92-year-old composer, Kumar’s openness to feedback made their creative endeavours not only fruitful but also joyful.
“This song would not have been made without Manoj ji and all the other people who were part of it. We just followed the story and character brief given to us by Manoj ji,” said Shah, adding it took them over 12 hours to compose the track.
“The song was originally written by Gulshan Bawraji, and it was written as ‘Iss Desh Ki Dharti’. We used to work as a team, so we said, ‘Let’s make it ‘Mere Desh Ki Dharti’’ because it becomes personal, and musically, it sounded better,” he recalled.
Anandji said it was Kumar’s idea to place the song “Kasme Waade Pyaar Wafa” in “Upkar” right before the film’s interval.
In the film, Kumar played Bharat, who was both a farmer and a soldier, the two pillars of the country. It also starred Prem Chopra, Asha Parekh, Kamini Kaushal, Pran, and Madan Puri.
“It was the first time that Pran ji was not playing a villain, but as a character actor. So, they had to make the song a bit different. This song was supposed to be performed before the movie’s interval.
“Normally, before the interval, when there is a song, people start stepping out of the theatre for various reasons. But Manoj ji said, ‘No, nobody will get up in this song’. That’s what happened,” the composer said.
He also credits Kumar for giving importance to the background score in a film.
“Manoj ji always was keen on the music part, and then for the background. He had made one point, which always helped us in the music career, that every character should have a different background theme.
“So, if there is a hero, then he would need a different background theme than a heroine or villain. We followed that throughout our career.”
Anandji said Kumar played a key role in getting the iconic song “Khaike Paan Banaras Wala” added to Chandra Barot’s 1978 blockbuster “Don”, starring Amitabh Bachchan, at the last minute.
“Manoj ji had come for the trials of the preview of Chandra Barot’s film ‘Don’ and he suggested to him that the film is getting a little heavy. ‘Why don’t you add a song?’ he said. That’s when another iconic song, ‘Khai Ke Paan Banaras Wala’ happened. We had composed this song for another film with Dev Anand, but it wasn’t used,” he recounted.
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