Madan Mohan (music director)
Madan Mohan Kohli, better known as Madan Mohan, was a popular and unparalleled Indian music director of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He is considered one of the most melodious and skilled music directors of the Hindi film industry. He is particularly remembered for the immortal ghazals he composed for Hindi films. Some of his best works are with singers Mohammed Rafi, Talat Mahmood, Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle.
Early years
Born on 25 June 1924, at Erbil, Iraqi Kurdistan, where his father Rai Bahadur Chunilal was working as an Accountant General with the Kurdistan Peshmerga forces, Madan Mohan spent the early years of his life in the Middle East. After 1932, his family returned to their home town of Chakwal, then in Jhelum district of Pakistan Punjab, British India. He was left in the care of a grandparent while his father went to Bombay to seek business opportunities. He attended local school in Lahore for the next few years. During his stay at Lahore, he learnt the basics of classical music from one Kartar Singh for a very short period, however he never received any formal training in music. Some time later, his family moved to Bombay where he completed his Senior Cambridge from St. Mary's School in Byculla Mumbai. In Bombay, at the age of 11 years, he started performing in children's programmes broadcast by All India Radio. At age 17, he attended the Colonel Brown Cambridge School in Dehradun where he completed a year's training.Early career
He joined the Army as a Second Lieutenant in the year 1943. He served there for two years until end of World War II, when he left the Army and returned to Bombay to pursue his musical interests. In 1946, he joined the All India Radio, Lucknow as Programme Assistant, where he came in contact with various artists such as Ustad Faiyaz Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Begum Akhtar, and Talat Mahmood. During these days he would also compose music for programmes to be broadcast on All India Radio. In 1947, he was transferred to All India Radio, Delhi where he worked for a short period. He was very fond of singing, and so in 1947 he got his first chance to record two ghazals penned by Behzad Lucknawi, Aane Laga Hai Koi Nazar Jalwa Gar Mujhe and Is Raaz Ko Duniya Jaanti Hai. Soon after, in 1948 he recorded two more private ghazals penned by Deewan Sharar, Wo Aaye To Mahfil Mein Ithlaate Huye Aaye and Duniya Mujhe Kahti Hai Ke Main Tujhko Bhoolaa Doon. In 1948, he got his first opportunity to sing a film duet Pinjare Mein Bulbul Bole and Mera Chhotasa Dil Dole with Lata Mangeshkar under composer Ghulam Haider for the film Shaheed, though these songs were never released or used in the film. Between 1948 and 1949, he assisted music composers S.D. Burman for Do Bhai, and Shyam Sundar in Actress and Nirdosh.As Music Director
He scored his first big break with the film Aankhen in 1950, which marked the beginning of a long lasting collaboration with Mohammed Rafi, his next film was "Adaa" which saw the beginning of a long lasting collaboration with Lata Mangeshkar; both would go on to sing for many of his films. Two of his composed songs from "Sharabi" "Sawan ke maheeney mein" and the classic song "Kabhi na Kabhi koi na koi toh aayega", both filmed for Dev Anand are among the most well known renditions of the renowned singer Mohammed Rafi. In addition, his other compositions like Wo Chup Rahen To from the film Jahan Ara and Maine Rang Li Aaj Chunariya from Dulhan Ek Raat Ki are two similar examples. Madan was also able to write songs for male singers such as Talat Mahmood and Mohammed Rafi, starring Balraj Sahni and Dharmendra and based on the Sino-Indian War of 1962. In it, he used Rafi, who sang numbers like Kar chale hum fida, Main Yeh Soch Kar. Lata was used for the song Zara Si Aahat Hoti Hai and the unscreened " Khelo na mere dilse". And the same film saw Rafi, Talat, Manna Dey, and Bhupendra singing Hoke Majboor Mujhe Usne Bhulaya Hoga. Bhupendra appeared on the screen as well for the first time, much before he established himself as a playback singer. This song is also the only song in which four top-rated male playback singers have put voices together in a song. In 1966, he again paired with Lata Mangeshkar for Mera Saaya.Madan Mohan's venture was Raj Khosla's version of "Woman in White", titled "Woh Kaun Thi?". This film has three Lata solos and a Lata duet.
The late fifties, sixties and the early seventies were the most productive period in Madan Mohan's career. His songs from those decades include compositions for films like Adalat, Anpadh, Dulhan ek raat ki, Mera Saya, Dastak, Hanste Zakhm, Heer Raanjha, Maharaja, and Mausam, among many others. His second last bow was for a film released five years after his death, Chalbaaz. In 1970, during the changing times of western music he gave music based on ragas for Rajinder Singh Bedi's Dastak and won his only 1971 National Film Award for Best Music Direction. Its songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar are still considered her finest.
His legacy wouldn't be complete without mentioning the ghazal he composed for the movie "Dil Ki Rahein" – "Rasm-e-ulfat ko nibhaein to nibhaein kaise". The shayar for the ghazal was Naqsh Lallayalpuri and it was sung by Lata Mangeshkar. It is considered as one of the best songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar, ever.
Madan Mohan's son Sanjeev Kohli recreated 11 of his late father's unused compositions for the soundtrack of the 2004 Yash Chopra film Veer-Zaara. Later on, Kohli brought out an album "Tere Baghair" which contains some of Madan Mohan's songs.
Mass appeal
Lata Mangeshkar christened him "Ghazal ka Shehzadaa", or the Prince of Ghazals. Even Lata herself stated in a live concert in the late 1990s that she found Madan Mohan's compositions difficult to master. Most of the top film actors of the day had fallen into a groove with their preferred composers Hence, he often had difficulty finding assignments. His 1964 Filmfare Award nomination for Best Music Director for Woh Kaun Thi. In a tightly-contested race, both Madan and Shankar Jaikishan lost to relative newcomer Laxmikant Pyarelal, who scored Dosti.Death and after
Madan's constant struggles took a toll on his life, and he began drinking heavily. He died of liver cirrhosis on 14 July 1975. His body was lifted before his funeral by actors – Rajesh Khanna, Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan and Rajendra Kumar.In 2004, Madan's unused tunes were recreated by his son, Sanjeev Kohli, for the Yash Chopra film Veer-Zaara, starring Shahrukh Khan, Preity Zinta, and Rani Mukerji. The lyrics were written by Javed Akhtar, and Lata Mangeshkar was invited to once again sing the majority of the melodies composed by him. The music was highly appreciated and was critically acclaimed. He was awarded the IIFA award 2005, for Music Direction for Veer-Zaara.