WHAT is it about gothic themes in Hindi cinema that results in exceptional music? After Lata Mangeshkar’s rendition of ‘Aayega aanewala’ in Mahal (1948), all Hindi films with reincarnation/the supernatural at the core – Madhumati, Bees Saal Baad, Mera Saaya, to name a few, boast great music. Woh Kaun Thi? is no exception. It is arguably the most successful of Madan Mohan’s albums. And ‘Lag ja gale’, one of his most applauded songs ever.
Raja Mehdi Ali Khan’s poetry suggests a sense of foreboding, a premonition of an impending separation of the lovers. The woman laments not being able to consummate her relationship with her lover despite social approval. ‘Hamko mili hai aaj yeh ghadiyan naseeb se.’ But the hero has his doubts. Is she human? Or is she a ghost? That delicate shoulder, those strands of pearls, she sounds too alive to be ‘dead’. Yet, there is a palpable sense of deceit filming her cold eyes. In the course of the sequence, she succeeds in helping him overcome his inhibitions and, as he embraces her amidst the sudden pelting rain, making the eerie evening even more so, they finally seem to have sorted their problems. But wait. The wiper stops working the moment she gets into the car.
Composer Madan Mohan cleverly ‘holds up’ the first few lines of the refrain (‘Lag ja gale, ke phir yeh haseen’) on the same note, signifying a scenario of anguished wait. The words ‘phir’ and ‘haseen’ seem to linger, followed by the inflexion at ‘raat’ – this is Madan Mohan at his innovative best. The refrain demonstrates great range as it crescendos with the word ‘mulaqat’. The accompanying music, with violins and light bongo as percussion, is trademark Madan Mohan. Lata Mangeshkar’s voice, fragile with longing, creates an unearthly chill.
During a Lata Mangeshkar show at the Royal Albert Hall in London with the Wren Orchestra, the musicians expressed delight at the composition and arrangement of ‘Lag ja gale’. One reason for this is obvious. Madan Mohan uses Re as the first note of the song (for the word ‘Lag’), and in all subsequent refrains, the lower Pa is used for the word ‘Lag’. Pa and Re are separated by five notes. In Western classical music, Pa is known as the dominant fifth, as Pa is the fifth note and Pa Dh Ni Sa translate to Sa Re Ga Ma if we take Pa in lieu of Sa as the starting note of the scale. Madan Mohan used the dominant fifth principle, using both Re and Pa at different times, adding variety to the tune. Also, the use of Re creates a haunting feel, while Pa brings with it compassion as well as submission.
Not surprisingly, in 1967, at a function at the Shanmukhananda Hall in Bombay, to celebrate twenty-five years of contribution to films, Lata Mangeshkar listed ‘Lag ja gale’ among the top ten numbers she had rendered. Madan Mohan had another song in the list: ‘Bairan neend na aaye’ (Chacha Zindabad, 1959). Madan Mohan, who was present on the stage, remarked, ‘Almost all my better-known songs are sung by Lata.’ Though choosing one song from the bouquet of beauties Madan Mohan had created was quite a daunting task for Lata, ‘Lag ja gale’ also features high on the popularity chart of the masses. It has a balanced cadence, a tune low on complexity and, hence, is eminently hummable. In contrast to the standard mukhra–antara setting, where the mukhra is on a low pitch and the antara goes up, the mukhra in this song is set to a high pitch. And the antara goes even higher.
Woh Kaun Thi? was Madan Mohan’s only commercial success in 1964, which could be called his golden year. It was also his first silver-jubilee hit. The film itself was inspired by British playwright Wilkie Collins’s The Woman in White. Interestingly, about six years prior to the film’s release, Guru Dutt had wanted to make a film around a similar theme with him and Waheeda Rehman in the lead. Shooting had commenced in Modern Studios where he was also shooting Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959). Around mid-1959, Rahul Dev Burman had recorded a few songs for the film, which was named Raaz, prior to flying with his parents to Europe for a month-long vacation. Upon his return, he was told that the film had been shelved. Guru Dutt, whose Kaagaz Ke Phool was on the verge of completion, had launched Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960) instead. Raj Khosla, once assistant to Guru, worked on the abandoned script to create a musical mystery, Woh Kaun Thi?. Initially, Khosla had offered the role of the mystery woman to Nimmi, who was busy with Mere Mehboob (1964). Sadhana got the assignment on the rebound. Raj Khosla was assigned to direct Guide (1965), but strained relations with Waheeda forced him out of the film around January 1963, and he started working on this one instead.
The film was a departure from other ‘ghost’ musicals as there was no one motif-like theme song. True, ‘Naina barse rimjhim’ kept repeating but the other two Lata Mangeshkar solos, ‘Jo humne dastan apni sunayi’ and ‘Lag ja gale’, were good enough to keep ‘Naina barse’ from topping the popularity charts. All three songs share a sense of ineffable sadness. Even the other songs, especially the Mahendra Kapoor–Lata duet ‘Chhod kar tere pyar ka daaman’, could be considered above average in any era.
Though the Lata–Madan partnership is rightly discussed across fora, one other partnership needs mention: that of lyricist Raja Mehdi Ali Khan and Madan Mohan. Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, an infrequent contributor to Hindi film lyrics, was superlative in every song for Woh Kaun Thi? Both were passionate about food and enjoyed working at night. Madan Mohan often told him, ‘I’ll hit you with a chimta [tongs] if the lyrics are not good.’ Raja called Madan Mohan Chimta Maar Khan. The two collaborated in some of the best songs of the golden era of Hindi film music, in films like Madhosh (1951), Anpadh (1962), Neela Akash (1965), Mera Saaya (1966), Dulhan Ek Raat Ki (1967) and Woh Kaun Thi?. The partnership came to an end in 1966 with Khan’s death at the age of sixty-two.
Unbelievable as it may sound, Raj Khosla was initially reluctant to use the tune of ‘Lag ja gale’ until he was finally convinced to do so by Manoj Kumar, the hero of the film. Those who love Hindi film songs will be forever grateful to Manoj Kumar for this timely intervention.