In the late fifties, a song took the nation by storm. The song was picturised on the master of humour, Johnny Walker and went Sar jo tera chakraaye. The film was Pyaasa. It is said that this song was composed not by the music director (S.D.Burman), but by his 18 year old son, Rahul. In fact, this was the song which made Guru Dutt offer his next film to this talented son of Dada Burman. Rahul went on to give many great masterpieces to the Indian Film Industry, and earned a name as R.D.Burman alias Pancham. In his career, he too gave some genuinely humorous numbers, some of which will unfold as we get on with the review.
The songs listed here are a tribute to the excellent genius of R.D.Burman. It is indeed staggering that the person who could give serious masterpieces like Mera Kuch samaan, Jindagi ke safar mein, Tere bina jindagi se, Tujhse naraaz nahi, Tere bina jeeya jaaye na, Raina beeti jaaye and others, also gave us some of the most hilarious numbers.
Having said that, here comes my list of favourite Pancham comedies:
Ek Chatur Naar(Padosan)
The war between the North and the south. Kishore Kumar representing the north, and the great comedian Mehmood representing the south. This song was a comedy treat, both, musically and visually. It was interesting to note how Kishore sung on the tabla and Manna da had the south Indian Mridangam for accompaniment. Music by R.D.Burman. One interesting trivia of this song was that a part of it was a straight inspiration from a super hit bhajan from a 1930s film- Tulsi Ramayan. Yes.a bhajan tune that encouraged devotional feelings in the 1930s made the audience laugh their hearts out in 1960s, when Pancham treated it in his own inimitable style. Do you know what happened just after the recording of this song? Well, read my next selection.
Meri Pyaari Bindu(Padosan)
When the recording of Ek Chatur Naar packed up, the gang of Mehmood, Pancham and Kishore Kumar were relaxing in the studio. That was when Kishoreda suggested that they should have a song where Bhola's friends try to convince him that his love will come back. He casually hummed the lines Meri pyaari Bindu, and Pancham elaborated on the tune then and there. That was how another masterpiece in humour was born. When Meri Pyaari Bindu hit the theatres, it had the whole nation laughing their hearts out.
Pyaar karega tujhe pyaar karega(Rang Birangi)
I do not know how many of you must have heard this song, but if you have seen the movie, you cannot possibly forget this song, picturised on Deven Verma, when he tries to patch up between the lovebirds Farooque Shaikh and Deepti Naval. The song is sung in a story format, warning the lovebirds of the perils of married life. A must listen for over-enthusiastic bachelors.
Kali kali ghume re bhanvra(Shaukeen)
This was a brilliant song, and the only reason I am citing it in the list of comedies is because of its picturisation. It successfully depicts the amorous cravings of the three aging friends in the movie. A must listen!
Andar Baahar(Andar Baahar)
I wonder if you remember this song! This was filmed on Anil Kapoor, who is always running after young beautiful girls in this film. The bass line was just out of this world. Perfect instrumentation and superb picturisation made this a treat for the cinegoers. Do give it a hearing!
Muttu Kullika Varigalla(Do Phool)
Honestly, I was involved in the version recording of this song, and we had a hard time deciphering all the different rhythm sounds used by Pancham in this song. The pedal matka(the sound of dhummmpakk), the sound of the hammer on tabla.it was very innovative. While we are on this song, here is a small memory. Manna da had called up Kishoreda, and asked him how he changes his voice according to the actor. As a demonstration, Kishore hummed the first line of this song- the way it would suit Mehmood. That is exactly how Mannada sung it. Listen to his lift off as he comes in with - Ha Aaa Ha Aaa.
Preetam Aan Milo(Angoor)
Sung in a bassy voice by Sapan Chakravarty, Pancham played with ten sound effects, the details of which are available in my review at https://mouthshut.com/readreview/16925-1.html. It is interesting to note that the original Preetam Aan Milo, sung by the great C.H.Atma was a highly sensitive love song. So, in a way, you can call this one of the first remixes.
A aa ee eeee(Kitaab)
A simple tune by Panchamda! One of the chief highlights of this song was that R.D.Burman had ordered school benches to be brought in the recording studio, and the whole rhythm was played on these desks, just to give the song the authenticity of being sung by school children in the classroom. One more classic novelty in the song was the use of the then hit ad jingle- VIP underwear banian.
Pyaar Hamen Kis mod pe(Satte pe Satta)
This song appeared in the film in two versions- one sad and one enthusiastic. It was difficult to decide as to which was better. Also worth mentioning song from the same film is the number- Jhukaake sar ko poocho, where Hema Malini teaches her rugged brother-in-laws the etiquettes of proposing the high society lasses.
Golmaal hain bhai sab golmaal hain(Golmaal)
The title song of the said movie, Pancham's tune did justice to the lyrics and successfully conveyed the thought, so much so that the theme music keeps on coming at vital locations in the plot, and every time it does, you feel that the song was specially composed for that particular scene.
ON A PASSING NOTE
On an ending note, I did like to mention some non Pancham gems, which will forever be remembered for their comedy element. Songs like Paanch rupaiyya barah aana, Na biwi na baccha, Meri bhains ko danda, Ina mina dika, Cheel cheel chillake, Bholi surat dil ke khote from the olden era; numbers like My name is Anthony Gonsalves, Hum kaale hain to kya hua, Mehbooba mehbooba bana do mujhe dulha, Pag ghungroo baandhi from the middle ages; and from the recent films, songs like Ye raat aur ye doori and Wo ladki hain kahaa are some which immediately come to mind.
IN CONCLUSION
I do hope you all enjoyed my list of Pancham comedies. I may have forgotten some of the great numbers, but as usual, you can blame it on my growing age and failing memory.
Comments are welcome.
