Bollywood Retrospect: Chic Chocolate and a trip down Bombay’s jazz age

Although Anurag Kashyap’s Bombay Velvet failed to make an impact, it’s jazz-based music has been widely praised. One of the principal characters in this period film set in the Bombay of 1950s is Rosie, a jazz singer. In one scene, Rosie’s driver, who has a crush on her, boasts to her about his connection with the Hindi film musician Chic Chocolate. They couldn’t have picked a better musician to reference Bombay’s jazz age – transient and with only a few fond memories left behind. Chic Chocolate, born Antonio Xavier Vaz in 1916 in Goa, was a multi-faceted musician – he played the trumpet, fronted a jazz band, assisted Bollywood music directors like C Ramchandra and Madan Mohan, and even composed music for three Hindi films – Nadan (1951), Rangeeli (1952) and Kar Bhala (1956). As a tribute to this forgotten musician, here are five songs that follow his Hindi film career arc:

Deewana Parwana Shama Pe Aaya Leke Dil Ka Nazrana (Albela, 1951)

Albela was a big hit and the film actor Bhagwan is best remembered for it. A big part of the film’s success was C Ramchandra’s music. While the film had popular hits like 'Dheere Se Aaja Ri Ankhiyan Mein Nindiya', 'Shola Jo Bhadke Dil Mera Dhadke' and 'Sham Dhale Khidki Tale', my pick is the lesser heard 'Deewana Parwana…' which is a foot-tapping number and a good listen. But I list it for another reason – not only did Chic Chocolate assist C Ramchandra in the film, he appeared on screen with his band for this song. You can see him playing the trumpet in this video.

Dilon Ke Melon Ka Naam Picnic (Nadan, 1951)

Among the three films Chic Chocolate composed music for, the Madhubala-Dev Anand starrer Nadan (1951) is a favourite. The album has Chic Chocolate going out of what must have been his comfort zone – jazz music. A key reason for his delivering a competent film album was the fact that he had the help of C Ramchandra. Perhaps because of his stature in the film industry, C Ramchandra was credited as a music supervisor (sangeet nireekshak) on the record. I recommend that you listen to the entire album, but since I am listing songs here, here’s one of my favourites – the only Geet Dutt song in the film:

Yeh Raah Badi Mushkil Hai (Gateway of India, 1957)

This one is a little strange. While RL Suri is credited as the assistant to Madan Mohan’s music, Chic Chocolate & His Music Makers are credited prominently for their “Courtesy Appearance”:

My guess is that this credit is for their onscreen appearance for the Geeta Dutt song 'Yeh Raah Badi Mushkil Hai'. I am not sure if Chic Chocolate contributed to the song’s arrangement but I picked this song because the prominent credits indicate that this must have been around the time he was at the peak of his career.

Nazren Utha Ke Zara Dekh Le (Chacha Zindabad, 1959)

Chacha Zindabad may not be Madan Mohan’s best album but a very good one nevertheless. The stand out song from the album is, of course, the Lata Mangeshkar-Manna Dey duet, 'Preetam Daras Dikhao', but the song I’m picking is 'Nazren Utha Ke Zara Dekh Le'. There are a couple of reasons for this pick. Firstly, because the song’s horn section, which is most likely the contribution of Chic Chocolate, who was assisting Madan Mohan in this film. It’s also very likely that he played the trumpet in this song. The second reason I picked this song because of its genre. I don’t think I have heard a song predating this that fuses rock n’ roll music with Indian classical elements. The Beatles' experiments with Indian instruments and the Raga-Rock genre came at least five years later. Coming in 1959, the sitar blending in with the rock n’ roll rhythm and the jugalbandi between the sitar and the horn section was ahead of its time. Purists may frown on this but I think Asha’s rock n’ roll sargam is a neat touch too.

Rut Jawan Jawan Raat Meherban (Aakhri Khat, 1966)

Aakhri Khat was one of Chic Chocolate’s last films. He passed away in May 1967. This is a cracker of an album with some great music by Khayyam and excellent lyrics by Kaifi Azmi. 'Rut Jawan Jawan' is among my all time favourite songs, a brooding melody that balances the mellow mood of the dancers and the tension of the conversation happening in the foreground. I really like Kersi Lord’s accordion riff in the song. One of the special features of this song is that two of the musicians involved in it also appear on screen for it. A dashing Bhupider plays the cool club singer to the T. And the gentleman who plays the trumpet? Chic Chocolate of course!