Bollywood Retrospect: 'Yeh Mera Dil' from 'Don' and other gems by the underrated Kalyanji–Anandji

Kalyanji–Anandji, comprising of brothers Kalyanji Virji Shah and Anandji Virji Shah, were the second of the triumvirate of music director duos who ruled the Hindi film industry from the 1950s to the 1970s. They formed a bridge between Shankar–Jaikishan, whom they drew inspiration from in the beginning of their career, and Laxmikant–Pyarelal, who served as Kalyanji–Anandji’s assistants before striking out on their own.

Kalyanji–Anandji were perhaps the most underrated composers among the three. Shankar–Jaikishan were known for their ability to consistently produce hits in the 1950s and 1960s, especially for RK films, and Laxmikant–Pyarelal were known for their prolificacy and were considered one of the most commercially bankable composers. Kalyanji–Anandji were more like slow burners. The length of their career more or less matched Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s but in that time they made music for only half as many films as LP. Unlike Shankar-Jaikishan, Kalyanji–Anandji did not have the blessings of a big banner. What set them apart was their flair for reinventing themselves with changing times. While Shankar–Jaikishan began to sound laboured in the late 1960s and Laxmikant–Pyarelal’s music became dated and formulaic in the late 1970s and 1980s, Kalyanji–Anandji produced fresh, contemporary music in every decade of their career.

To mark the 88^th birth anniversary of Kalyanji on June 30, I pick 10 of Kalyanji–Anandji’s most memorable albums showcasing the evolution of their music.

Chhalia (1960)

After a few films in which only Kalyanji was credited as music director, the brothers first got together to compose film music in 1959. Their first big hit, Chhalia, could easily be mistaken for a Shankar–Jaikishan score. Possibly because the film had Raj Kapoor in a lead role and given their admiration for Shankar–Jaikishan’s music, the duo composed the kind of folksy, simple tunes that had come to be associated with Raj Kapoor’s collaborations with Shankar-Jaikishan. My pick from the film is the song that I think was closest to Kalyanji–Anandji’s true voice— ‘Mere Toote Hue Dil Se’.

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Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere (1960)

Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere had some nice songs but ‘Mujhko Is Raat Ki Tanhai Mein Awaz Na Do’ towered over everything else. At the core of the song was a wonderful melody but what made it truly great was the catchy opening string section and the saxophone interludes. It was a feature that we would see often in their songs where a fantastic core melody was bolstered by catchy interludes. The strings and accordion interlude in ‘Pal Pal Dil Ke Paas’ is another example of their skill at this. ‘Mujhe Is Raat…’ had two solo versions by Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar. My pick is the lesser heard Lata solo.

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Jab Jab Phool Khile (1965)

The spectacular success of Jab Jab Phool Khile and its music resulted in Kalyanji–Anandji being counted amongst the leading music directors of the Hindi film industry. My pick from the film is ‘Yeh Sama Sama Hai Yeh Pyar Ka’. Kalyanji–Anandji themselves admitted to being inspired by the extremely popular bolero song ‘Besame Mucho’. In an age when the word “inspired” is often used synonymously with “plagiarised”, I think it’s important to point out that in ‘Yeh Sama…’, Kalyanji–Anandji imbibed only the spirit of ‘Besame Mucho’. The tune of ‘Yeh Sama...’ bears a certain resemblance to its source of inspiration but is a completely original piece of music in my opinion. ‘Besame Mucho’ itself was inspired by a piano piece by Spanish composed Enrique Granados, ‘Quejas, O La .Maja y El Ruiseñor’. This isn’t plagiarism. This is how art is created.

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Saraswatichandra (1968)

Saraswatichandra was Kalyanji–Anandji’s only National Film Award winning score.  Kalyanji–Anandji did not embrace classical music with the gusto some of their peers did but in this film we see some fine examples of raag-based, light classical compositions. The best known of these is the timeless ‘Chandan Sa Badan’ based on Raag Yaman.

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Vishwas (1969)

Vishwas was better known for ‘Chandi Ki Deewar Na Todi’ and ‘Le Chal Mere Jeevan Saathi’ but my favourite from the film is the extremely elegant ‘Aaj Ki Raat Sajan Man Chahe’, sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Once again, the tune is great and Lata’s restrained singing is perfect but what sets it apart from others in this genre was how tastefully and how subtly Kalyanji Anandj used the flute, the saxophone and the guitars in the song.

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Mahal (1969)

Kalyanji–Anandji had used Mukesh primarily in the 1960s. With the rise of Kishore Kumar in Aradhana (1969) and having finally landed a film starring Dev Anand, they started using Kishore Kumar as their primary singer in Mahal. With the exception of the Burmans, nobody utilised Kishore Kumar as well as Kalyanji–Anandji did in the 1970s. The highlights of their score for Mahal were two Kishore-Asha duets— ‘Aankhon Aankhon Mein Hum Tum’ and my favourite, ‘Yeh Duinyawale Poochhenge’.

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Safar (1970)

The year 1970 saw two films in which Rajesh Khanna did a fantastic job of portraying terminally ill characters. Comparing any music director with a towering genius like Salil Chowdhury is futile and unfair but it must be said that Kalyanji–Anandji delivered admirably and composed a score that stood its ground in the inevitable comparisons between the two films. My pick from the film is ‘Jeevan Se Bhari Teri Aankhen’. In a score that has some brilliant songs, ‘Jeevan Se Bhari…’ has an edge because of some very pretty lyrics by Indeevar, the kind that one can’t help but sing and remember.

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Don (1978)

The 1970s saw Kalyanji–Anandji exploring electronic music and some of their music took on a distinctively funky sound. Their experiments with Electronica were deeper, and in my opinion more satisfying, than those of composers like RD Burman and later Bappi Lahiri. Kalyanji–Anandji were not just riding a wave, they had a relevant past in this genre of music. It was Kalyanji who played India’s earliest and most famous synth piece— the theme music of the film Nagin (1955). Contrary to popular belief, that theme was not played on the instrument ‘been’ but on an early keyboard instrument called the Clavioline. Kalyanji–Anandji’s compositions were catchy enough to come to the notice of the American hip hop band The Black Eyed Peas. Their 2006 platinum hit, the Grammy Award winning song ‘Don’t Phunk With My Heart’, sampled two Kalyanji–Anandji compositions— ‘Ae Naujawan Hai Sab Kuchh Yahan’ (Apradh, 1972) and my pick from Don, ‘Yeh Mera Dil Yaar Ka Deewana’. Incidentally, both these songs were featured on the lovely Helen!

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Muqaddar Ka Sikandar (1978)

One of the reasons Kalyanji–Anandji became a force to reckon with in the 1970s was that their music featured in many films of the rising superstar— Amitabh Bachchan. It is said that the action genre of films Amitabh thrived on made music irrelevant but a look at Kalyanji–Anandji’s scores for Amitabh’s films proves this assertion wrong. Their music in these films may not have conformed to quaint notions of “good” Hindi film music but it was contemporary and striking and has aged extremely well. Muqaddar Ka Sikandar was packed with some superb music. I remember it for the psychedelia of ‘Pyar Zindagi Hai’, Kishore Kumar’s breath-taking alaap midway through ‘Salaam E Ishq Meri Jaan’, the spiritedness of ‘Rote Hue Aate Hain Sab’ and the refreshingly robust arrangement in what was essentially a sad song, ‘O Saathi Re’. My pick from the film is Kishore’s version of ‘O Saathi Re’.

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Janbaaz (1986)

Kalyanji–Anandji’s music for Janbaaz was their most complete rendering of electronic and synth sounds in Hindi film music. There was a time when I used to think that Kalyanji–Anandji’s electronic sounds were due to the young blood in the recording room— Kalyanji’s son Viju Shah started assisting them with Janbaaz. I realized later that I was completely wrong. It was K-A all along. If anything, it was Kalyanji–Anandji who shaped the sound of Viju Shah’s music in the years to come. In the context of Janbaaz, it’s important to note Kalyanji–Anandji’s contributions in discovering and grooming new talent. It was Kalyanji–Anandji who turned the 15-year-old Alka Yagnik into a star overnight with ‘Mere Angne Mein’ (Lawaaris, 1981). My pick from Janbaaz, ‘Har Kisiko Nahin Milta’, was sung by two of their discoveries—  Manhar Udhas and Sadhna Sargam. In fact, it was K-A who gave Sadhna Ghanekar the title of ‘Sargam’. One wonders if music lovers who discovered Sadhna Sargam through AR Rahman’s songs in the last couple of decades realise that she was Kalyanji–Anandji’s discovery.

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Here are a couple of lists to explore Kalyanji–Anandji’s music further— a list of their techno/funk songs and a bigger list of their most popular songs.