Madan Mohan
Encyclopedia
Madan Mohan Kohli (25 June 1924 - 14 July 1975), better known as Madan Mohan, was a famed Bollywood
film music director of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He is particularly remembered for the ghazal
s he composed for the film industry, mainly using the voice of India's Melody Queen, Lata Mangeshkar
and 'King Of Ghazals' Talat Mahmood
and his favourite singer, Mohammed Rafi
.
, Iraq
, where his father Rai Bahadur Chunilal was working as an Accountant General with the Iraqi Police, Madan Mohan spent the first five years of his life in the Middle East. As a boy of two, Madan Mohan used to spend hours listening to gramophone records and cultivated the uncanny ability to recognize and pick up any record from a pile of hundreds. When his father had guests at home, he would ask Madan Mohan to pick a particular record from a pile and he could do so with unerring precision, leaving the visitors wonder struck as to how a tiny tot, unable to read or write, could accomplish this near impossible feat.
After Iraq won independence from Britain, Rai Bahadur Chunnilal migrated back to India. He took his family to his home town, Chakwal in Jhelum district of Punjab, now in Pakistan, and left them in the care of Madan Mohan's grandfather, Hakim Yograj- a famous doctor. Rai Bahadur Chunilal left for Mumbai for business opportunities and subsequently became a partner in the Bombay Talkies
studio and then in the Filmistan
studio.
Madan Mohan attended school there for the next six years. It is said that he inherited his talent for music from his mother, who was a poet and great admirer of music. His father was not very musically inclined, but grandfather Hakim Yograj and his younger brother, Prakash were staunch connoisseurs. They used to discuss the subtleties of music in Madan's presence.
Later, Madan's father shifted the whole family to Mumbai and Madan became acquinted with some children of film personalities. These 'children' were Raj Kapoor, Nargis & Suraiya.
At the behest of his father, he joined the army and received his first commission (emergency) in 1943. Personal traits like courtesy, endurance, discipline, physical fitness and punctuality were all fostered in him during those years. Though as history would have it, he quit the armed forces and turned to his first love—music. He joined All India Radio in Lucknow, where he brushed shoulders with such ghazal and classical luminaries as Ustad Faiyyaz Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Begum Akhtar, and Talat Mahmood. He picked up their influences and carried them with him to Mumbai when he entered Bollywood. Not many know that he aspired to becoming an actor but ended up directing music.
(Phir Wohi Saam, Main Teri Nazar Ka Suroor Hoon and Teri Aankh Ke Aansoo from Jahan Ara, and Meri Yaad Mein Tum Na from Madhosh
) and Mohammad Rafi (Ek Haseen Shaam Ko from Dulhan Ek Raat Ki, Kisi Ki Yaad Mein from Jahan Ara, Main Nigahen Tere Chehere Se from Aap Ki Parchaiyian, Aap Ke Pehlun Mein Aakar Ro Diye from Mera Saaya
, the all-time haunting Meri Awaaz Suno and Tumhare Zulf Ke Sayen from Naunihal, Teri Aankhon Ke Siva Duniya Mein from Chiraag as well. Madan did not usually employ Kishore Kumar
, as his tunes were complex classical-based compositions and "Kishoreda" had a singing style that was more pop-oriented. Nonetheless their partnership created songs as well; in this category fall songs such as Simti Si, Sharmai Si from Parwana, Zaroorat Hai, Zaroorat Hai from Manmauji, the title song from Ek Muthi Aasman, Mera Naam Abdul Rehman from Bhai Bhai, and Aai Hasino, Naazanino from Chacha Zindabad.
During his early career Madan Mohan had been mildly criticized for creating songs that suited female voices, especially that of Lata Mangeshkar (who called him Madan Bhaiya or "Brother Madan"). But this is not true all the way; in 1957 he came out with a film named Dekh Kabira Roya in which singer Manna Dey
gave his voice to the melodious Kaun Aaya Mere Man Ke Dwaare. In addition to that, he had Lata sing Tu Pyaar Kare Ya Thukraaye and Meri Veena Tum Bin Roye numbers, and he used Talat Mahmood for the song Hum Se Aaya Na Gaya in the same movie. Once in an interview Manna Dey recalled that Madan Mohan "sahab" asked him to take special care when singing Kaun Aaya Mere Man Ke Dwaare.
Madan Mohan's association with Lataji was so close and Madan Mohan respected Lataji so much, that Madan Mohan had once remarked about Lataji "Kambakth Lataji kabhi besoor hi natin hoti".
A film scored by Madan was Chetan Anand's Haqeeqat
(1964), 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 Bulaya 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.
Madan Mohan's most successful venture was Raj Khosla
's Desi version of "Woman in White", titled "Woh Kaun Thi?
". This film has three Lata solos ('Naina barse rim jhim rim jhim', 'Lag ja gale' and 'Jo humne daastaan apni sunaye') and a Lata duet.
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.
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. The last bow this great composer took posthumously was for Veer Zara - that almost made all of us travel down the memory lane when all untouched tunes composed by Madan Mohan were conducted by his son Sanjeev Kohli.
Madan Mohan's son, Sanjeev Kohli had about 30 unused tunes and the producer/director Yash Chopra selected only 8 of them for Veer Zara. Later on, Sanjeev Kohli brought out an album "Tere Baghair" which contains some of Madan Mohan's songs.
, Kaifi Azmi
, and Rajinder Krishan, but Sahir Ludhianvi
and Majrooh Sultanpuri
also collaborated with him on a few movies. The Madan-Raja pairing in particular produced the song Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha from the movie Anpadh (1962). Among the admirers of the song was the Naushad
who reportedly said, "Let me have this ghazal and take all my compositions in return" upon hearing it. Madan and Raja also came up with the tunes for Mera Saaya in 1966, a film starring Sunil Dutt
as the male lead.
had Shankar Jaikishan, Dev Anand
had the Burmans, Dilip Kumar
had Naushad, etc.) 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 (Sangam) lost to relative newcomers Laxmikant Pyarelal
, who scored Dosti.
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 her dear friend.
song. He had a keen and sensitive ear for the nuances of Indian classical tunes, and combined them with elements of Western music such as harmonies to produce a style of music that could be appreciated by both classical music aficionados and the common person alike.
Bollywood
Bollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai , Maharashtra, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the total Indian film industry, which includes other production centers producing...
film music director of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. He is particularly remembered for the ghazal
Ghazal
The ghazal is a poetic form consisting of rhyming couplets and a refrain, with each line sharing the same meter. A ghazal may be understood as a poetic expression of both the pain of loss or separation and the beauty of love in spite of that pain. The form is ancient, originating in 6th century...
s he composed for the film industry, mainly using the voice of India's Melody Queen, Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional...
and 'King Of Ghazals' Talat Mahmood
Talat Mahmood
Talat Mahmood was a popular Indian playback singer and film actor. A recipient of the Padma Bhushan in 1992, he was famous for singing ghazals. For this quality he was known as the King of ghazals....
and his favourite singer, Mohammed Rafi
Mohammed Rafi
Mohammad Rafi , was an Indian playback singer whose career spanned four decades. He was awarded National Award and 6 Filmfare Awards. In 1967, he was honoured with the Padma Shri awarded by the Government of India....
.
Background
Born on June 25, 1924, at BaghdadBaghdad
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Governorate. The population of Baghdad in 2011 is approximately 7,216,040...
, Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, where his father Rai Bahadur Chunilal was working as an Accountant General with the Iraqi Police, Madan Mohan spent the first five years of his life in the Middle East. As a boy of two, Madan Mohan used to spend hours listening to gramophone records and cultivated the uncanny ability to recognize and pick up any record from a pile of hundreds. When his father had guests at home, he would ask Madan Mohan to pick a particular record from a pile and he could do so with unerring precision, leaving the visitors wonder struck as to how a tiny tot, unable to read or write, could accomplish this near impossible feat.
After Iraq won independence from Britain, Rai Bahadur Chunnilal migrated back to India. He took his family to his home town, Chakwal in Jhelum district of Punjab, now in Pakistan, and left them in the care of Madan Mohan's grandfather, Hakim Yograj- a famous doctor. Rai Bahadur Chunilal left for Mumbai for business opportunities and subsequently became a partner in the Bombay Talkies
Bombay Talkies
The Bombay Talkies Limited was a movie studio produced 102 movies, founded in 1934 in Malad, Bombay , India, by Himanshu Rai, Rajnarayan Dube and Devika Rani along with businessmen like F. E...
studio and then in the Filmistan
Filmistan
Filmistan was a film production company and film studio of Indian film industry from Goregaon, Mumbai. It is located very near to Patkar College on SV road spread over seven acres. Many students have claimed to see superstars in the studio. Patkar College's reputation has increased due to this...
studio.
Madan Mohan attended school there for the next six years. It is said that he inherited his talent for music from his mother, who was a poet and great admirer of music. His father was not very musically inclined, but grandfather Hakim Yograj and his younger brother, Prakash were staunch connoisseurs. They used to discuss the subtleties of music in Madan's presence.
Later, Madan's father shifted the whole family to Mumbai and Madan became acquinted with some children of film personalities. These 'children' were Raj Kapoor, Nargis & Suraiya.
At the behest of his father, he joined the army and received his first commission (emergency) in 1943. Personal traits like courtesy, endurance, discipline, physical fitness and punctuality were all fostered in him during those years. Though as history would have it, he quit the armed forces and turned to his first love—music. He joined All India Radio in Lucknow, where he brushed shoulders with such ghazal and classical luminaries as Ustad Faiyyaz Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Begum Akhtar, and Talat Mahmood. He picked up their influences and carried them with him to Mumbai when he entered Bollywood. Not many know that he aspired to becoming an actor but ended up directing music.
Early career
After assisting S.D. Burman and Shyam Sunder for a short time, Madan scored his first big break with the film Aankhen in 1950. His next film was "Adaa". This film saw the beginning of a long partnership with Lata Mangeshkar; she would sing for him in majority of his future films. Wo Chup Rahen To from the film Jahan Ara (1964) and Maine Rang Li Aaj Chunariya from Dulhan Ek Raat Ki (1966) are just two such examples. Madan was also able to write songs for male singers such as Talat MahmoodTalat Mahmood
Talat Mahmood was a popular Indian playback singer and film actor. A recipient of the Padma Bhushan in 1992, he was famous for singing ghazals. For this quality he was known as the King of ghazals....
(Phir Wohi Saam, Main Teri Nazar Ka Suroor Hoon and Teri Aankh Ke Aansoo from Jahan Ara, and Meri Yaad Mein Tum Na from Madhosh
Madhosh
Madhosh is the name of a series of unrelated Indian Bollywood films.-Cast:*Meena Kumari - Soni*Manher Desai - Raya *Usha Kiran - Raina*Rajan - Anand*Kuldeep Akhtar - Rambhaji*Jillo - *S. Nazir - Shakriya*M.K...
) and Mohammad Rafi (Ek Haseen Shaam Ko from Dulhan Ek Raat Ki, Kisi Ki Yaad Mein from Jahan Ara, Main Nigahen Tere Chehere Se from Aap Ki Parchaiyian, Aap Ke Pehlun Mein Aakar Ro Diye from Mera Saaya
Mera Saaya
Mera Saaya is a 1966 Indian Hindi film directed by Raj Khosla. The film was a remake of Marathi film called Pathlag. The film's music is by Madan Mohan and lyrics by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan. The film stars Sunil Dutt and Sadhana. This is director Raj Khosla's third film with Sadhana after Ek Musafir...
, the all-time haunting Meri Awaaz Suno and Tumhare Zulf Ke Sayen from Naunihal, Teri Aankhon Ke Siva Duniya Mein from Chiraag as well. Madan did not usually employ Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar
Kishore Kumar , born Abhas Kumar Ganguly, was an Indian film playback singer and an actor who also worked as lyricist, composer, producer, director, screenwriter and scriptwriter.Kishore Kumar was one of India's greatest performers of the late 20th century...
, as his tunes were complex classical-based compositions and "Kishoreda" had a singing style that was more pop-oriented. Nonetheless their partnership created songs as well; in this category fall songs such as Simti Si, Sharmai Si from Parwana, Zaroorat Hai, Zaroorat Hai from Manmauji, the title song from Ek Muthi Aasman, Mera Naam Abdul Rehman from Bhai Bhai, and Aai Hasino, Naazanino from Chacha Zindabad.
During his early career Madan Mohan had been mildly criticized for creating songs that suited female voices, especially that of Lata Mangeshkar (who called him Madan Bhaiya or "Brother Madan"). But this is not true all the way; in 1957 he came out with a film named Dekh Kabira Roya in which singer Manna Dey
Manna Dey
Prabodh Chandra Dey , better known by his nickname Manna Dey , is a playback singer in Bengali Assamese and Hindi films. Along with Mohammed Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh, he was a part of Indian film playback music from the 1950s to the 1970s. He has recorded more than 3500 songs over the course of...
gave his voice to the melodious Kaun Aaya Mere Man Ke Dwaare. In addition to that, he had Lata sing Tu Pyaar Kare Ya Thukraaye and Meri Veena Tum Bin Roye numbers, and he used Talat Mahmood for the song Hum Se Aaya Na Gaya in the same movie. Once in an interview Manna Dey recalled that Madan Mohan "sahab" asked him to take special care when singing Kaun Aaya Mere Man Ke Dwaare.
Madan Mohan's association with Lataji was so close and Madan Mohan respected Lataji so much, that Madan Mohan had once remarked about Lataji "Kambakth Lataji kabhi besoor hi natin hoti".
A film scored by Madan was Chetan Anand's Haqeeqat
Haqeeqat
Haqeeqat is a 1964 Hindi war-film directed by Chetan Anand. It was supported by the Government of India.The movie stars Balraj Sahni, Dharmendra, Rajender Kumar, Priya Rajvansh, Sanjay Khan and Vijay Anand. the music is by Madan Mohan and the lyrics by Kaifi Azmi. The movie was based on the 1962...
(1964), starring Balraj Sahni
Balraj Sahni
Balraj Sahni , born Yudhishthir Sahni , was a famous Hindi film actor. He belonged to a Punjabi Khatri family from Bhera now in Punjab, Pakistan...
and Dharmendra
Dharmendra
Dharmendra Singh Deol |Punjab]]), better known as Dharmendra, is an award-winning Hindi film actor who has appeared in more than 247 Hindi-language films as of 2011. In 1997, he received the Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to Hindi cinema and also another Lifetime...
and based on the Sino-Indian War
Sino-Indian War
The Sino-Indian War , also known as the Sino-Indian Border Conflict , was a war between China and India that occurred in 1962. A disputed Himalayan border was the main pretext for war, but other issues played a role. There had been a series of violent border incidents after the 1959 Tibetan...
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 Bulaya 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.
Madan Mohan's most successful venture was Raj Khosla
Raj Khosla
Raj Khosla was one of the top directors, producer and screenwriter in Hindi films from the 1950s to the 1980s. He was known for bringing in ‘neo-noir’ and style in Indian cinema since black & white times, and also as a "women's director" because he showcased actresses at their best. He is often...
's Desi version of "Woman in White", titled "Woh Kaun Thi?
Woh Kaun Thi?
Woh Kaun Thi? is a 1964 black-and-white Indian movie directed by Raj Khosla, starring Sadhana, Manoj Kumar and Prem Chopra. The film became a hit at the box office. Its success had Khosla directing Sadhana in two more suspense thrillers: Mera Saaya and Anita .-Plot:On a dark stormy night, a...
". This film has three Lata solos ('Naina barse rim jhim rim jhim', 'Lag ja gale' and 'Jo humne daastaan apni sunaye') and a Lata duet.
In 1970, during the changing times of western music he gave music based on ragas for Rajinder Singh Bedi
Rajinder Singh Bedi
Rajinder Singh Bedi was an eminent progressive Urdu writer, playwright and a Hindi film director, screenwriter and noted dialogue writer....
's Dastak
Dastak
Dastak is a classic Hindi film made in 1970, it was written and directed by Rajinder Singh Bedi, and was his directorial debut....
and won his only 1971
National Film Award for Best Music Direction
The National Film Award for Best Music Direction are given annually. In years 1994, 1995 and 2010, an award for Best Background Score was instituted by the Jury, which was won by Johnson and by Ilaiyaraaja . Ilaiyaraaja and A. R...
National Film Award for Best Music Direction
National Film Award for Best Music Direction
The National Film Award for Best Music Direction are given annually. In years 1994, 1995 and 2010, an award for Best Background Score was instituted by the Jury, which was won by Johnson and by Ilaiyaraaja . Ilaiyaraaja and A. R...
. Its songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar are still considered her finest.
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
Anpadh
Anpadh is a 1962 Hindi film. The film stars Mala Sinha, Balraj Sahni, Shashi Kala and Dharmendra. The music is by Madan Mohan and the lyrics by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan. The film focuses on the importance of education for girls...
, Dulhan ek raat ki
Dulhan Ek Raat Ki
Dulhan Ek Raat Ki is a 1967 Bollywood film starring Dharmendra, Nutan and Rehman, the same trio who did 'Dil ne Phir Yaad Kiya'. Two three songs from this film became hit. 'Ek haseen shaam ko dil mera kho gaya', 'maine rang li aaj chunariya', 'kai din se jee hai bekal' are still enjoyable....
, Mera Saya, Dastak
Dastak
Dastak is a classic Hindi film made in 1970, it was written and directed by Rajinder Singh Bedi, and was his directorial debut....
, Hanste Zakhm
Hanste Zakhm
Hanste Zakhm is a 1973 Indian Hindi film produced and directed by Chetan Anand with music by Madan Mohan, and lyrics by Kaifi Azmi. The film stars Navin Nischol, Priya Rajvansh, Balraj Sahni, and Nadira in lead roles.-Plot & Textual Analysis:...
, Heer Raanjha
Heer Raanjha
Heer Raanjha is a 1970 Hindi movie, produced by son Ketan Anand and directed by father Chetan Anand. The film stars Raaj Kumar, Priya Rajvansh, Pran, Prithviraj Kapoor, Ajit, Jayant, Sonia Sahni, Kamini Kaushal, Indrani Mukherjee, Achla Sachdev and Tun Tun...
, Maharaja, and Mausam, among many others. His second last bow was for a film released five years after his death, Chalbaaz. The last bow this great composer took posthumously was for Veer Zara - that almost made all of us travel down the memory lane when all untouched tunes composed by Madan Mohan were conducted by his son Sanjeev Kohli.
Madan Mohan's son, Sanjeev Kohli had about 30 unused tunes and the producer/director Yash Chopra selected only 8 of them for Veer Zara. Later on, Sanjeev Kohli brought out an album "Tere Baghair" which contains some of Madan Mohan's songs.
Lyricists
Madan's favourite lyricists were Raja Mehdi Ali KhanRaja Mehdi Ali Khan
Raja Mehdi Ali Khan was an Indian poet, writer and lyricist.Raja Mehdi Ali Khan was born in Karimabad in undivided India. His early tutoring was under his mother Hebay Saheba soon after he had lost his father. Dr. Allama Muhammad Iqbal has acknowledged Hebay Saheba as a leading Urdu poet. S...
, Kaifi Azmi
Kaifi Azmi
Kaifi Azmi was an Indian Urdu poet. He is considered to be one the greatest Urdu poets of 20th century. Together with Pirzada Qasim, Jon Eliya and many others he participated in many memorable mushairas of 20th century.-Early life:...
, and Rajinder Krishan, but Sahir Ludhianvi
Sahir Ludhianvi
Sahir Ludhianvi was a popular Urdu poet and Hindi lyricist and songwriter. Sahir Ludhianvi is his pseudonym...
and Majrooh Sultanpuri
Majrooh Sultanpuri
Majrooh Sultanpuri was an Urdu poet, lyricist and songwriter...
also collaborated with him on a few movies. The Madan-Raja pairing in particular produced the song Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha from the movie Anpadh (1962). Among the admirers of the song was the Naushad
Naushad
Naushad Ali was an Indian musician. He was one of the foremost music directors for Bollywood films, and is particularly known for popularizing the use of classical music in films.His first film as an independent music director was Prem Nagar in 1940...
who reportedly said, "Let me have this ghazal and take all my compositions in return" upon hearing it. Madan and Raja also came up with the tunes for Mera Saaya in 1966, a film starring Sunil Dutt
Sunil Dutt
Sunil Dutt , born Sunil Balraj Dutt, was an Indian Hindi movie actor , producer, director and politician. He was the cabinet minister for Youth Affairs and Sports in the Manmohan Singh government...
as the male lead.
meri duniya me na purab hai na paschim koi,
sari duniya simti hai khuli bahon mein,
kal bhatakta tha jin raho me tanha tanha,
kafile kitne mile aaz uni raho me
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 (who were also studio heads) had fallen into a groove with their preferred composers (e.g., Raj KapoorRaj Kapoor
Known as Ranbir Raj Kapoor Rāj Kapūr, 14 December 1924 – 2 June 1988), also known as The Show-Man, was an Indian film actor, producer and director of Hindi cinema. He was the winner of nine Filmfare Awards, while his films Awaara and Boot Polish were nominated for the Palme d'Or at the...
had Shankar Jaikishan, Dev Anand
Dev Anand
Dharam Dev Anand , better known as Dev Anand , is an Indian Hindi Cinema actor, director and film producer. Dev is the second of three brothers who were active in Hindi Cinema. His brothers are Chetan Anand and Vijay Anand. Their sister, Sheel Kanta Kapur, is the mother of renowned Hindi and...
had the Burmans, Dilip Kumar
Dilip Kumar
Dilip Kumar , is an Indian actor and a former Member of Parliament.He lives in Pali Hill, Bandra in Mumbai, India. He is commonly known as "Tragedy King",and is described as "the ultimate method actor" by Satyajit Ray....
had Naushad, etc.) 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 (Sangam) lost to relative newcomers Laxmikant Pyarelal
Laxmikant Pyarelal
Laxmikant-Pyarelal were a popular Indian composer duo, consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma . They composed music for about 635 Hindi movies from 1963 to 1998, working for almost all notable filmmakers including Raj Kapoor, Dev Anand, Feroze Khan, B.R...
, 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.In 2004, Madan's unused tunes were recreated by his son, Sanjeev Kohli, for the Yash Chopra
Yash Chopra
Yash Raj Chopra is an Indian filmmaker, film director, screenwriter, and a highly successful Bollywood producer. Waqt, Deewar, Kabhi Kabhie, Silsila, Lamhe, Chandni, Darr, Dil To Pagal Hai, and Veer-Zaara are some of his highly popular movies...
film Veer-Zaara
Veer-Zaara
The soundtrack was released on CD and specially on Audio DVD. The music is based on old and untouched compositions by the late Madan Mohan, as revised by his son Sanjeev Kohli....
, starring Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan
Shahrukh Khan , often credited as Shah Rukh Khan, is an Indian film actor, as well as a film producer and television host. Often referred to as "the King of Bollywood", Khan has acted in over 70 Hindi films....
, Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta
Preity Zinta is an Indian film actress. She has appeared in Hindi films of Bollywood, as well as Telugu, Punjabi and English language films. After graduating with a degree in criminal psychology, Zinta made her acting debut in Dil Se in 1998 followed by a role in Soldier the same year...
, and Rani Mukerji
Rani Mukerji
Rani Mukerji is an Indian film actress who works in Hindi movies. In the course of her film career, she has received six Filmfare Awards, among twelve nominations....
. The lyrics were written by Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar
Javed Akhtar is a poet, lyricist and scriptwriter from India. Some of his most successful work was done in the late 1970s and 1980s with Salim Khan as half of the script-writing duo credited as Salim-Javed...
, and Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar is a singer from India. She is one of the best-known and most respected playback singers in India. Mangeshkar's career started in 1942 and has spanned over six and a half decades. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional...
was invited to once again sing the majority of the melodies composed by her dear friend.
Book on Madan Mohan
'Madan Mohan: An Unforgettable Composer - Edited by V M Joshi & Suresh Rao, presents an analytical look at the composer’s work. It includes articles by Sanjeev Kohli, Akshay Kohli, O P Dutta, Uttam Singh, B R Ishara, Dr. Ashok Ranade, Alka Deo Marulkar, Mridula Joshi, Dr. Kirti Shrivastava, Deepak Jeswal and many more; interviews with Lata Mangeshkar, Shreya Ghoshal, Mahalaxmi Iyer & Rehana Sultan, and Madan Mohan’s filmography.Style
Madan's music was characterized by his immense ability to meld elements of Indian and Western classical music into a new style of Hindi filmiFilmi
Filmi is Indian popular music as written and performed for Indian cinema. Music directors make up the main body of composers; the songs are performed by playback singers and it makes up 72% of the music sales in India....
song. He had a keen and sensitive ear for the nuances of Indian classical tunes, and combined them with elements of Western music such as harmonies to produce a style of music that could be appreciated by both classical music aficionados and the common person alike.
External links
- madanmohan.in, website on Madan Mohan, created and maintained by his sons
- Online Fan Group
- Madan Mohan Bio @ Downmelodylane.com