Tribute to the genius composer Ghulam Mohammed on his death anniversary

“Chalte chalte  yuhi koi mil gaya ttha, Thare rahiyo ho  baqe yaar re, Inhi  logon ne le lee na dupatta mera, Aaj hum apni  duawon ka assar dekhenge,  Chalo dildar chalo chand  ke paar chalo…and then there were  the sublime solos by Lataji that were  not in the film: Tanhai sunaya  karti hai, Pyare  babul  tumhari duhai and Pee ke chale….” every  song  from Pakeezah is an exquisite jewel in the croon.

Ghulam Mohamed was much more than Pakeezah.  Sadly, his other bewitching soundtracks like Dil-e-Nadaan, Shama and Mirza Ghalib were eclipsed by Pakeezah, just as Kamal Amrohi’s other films Mahal, Daaera, Dil Apna Aur Preet Parayi were dwarfed by the story of Sahib Jaan and her journey from Kotha to Nikaah. Indeed, there was a glorious grandiosity embedded at the heart of Ghulam Mohamed’s music, excavated and manifested   into timeless melodies in Pakeezah. Most regard Pakeezah as one of the greatest musical masterpieces of Hindi cinema. By the time the film released in March 1971, the musical trends had changed. Laxmikant-Pyarelal and R D Burman ruled the charts. Kamal Amrohi was asked to change the songs altogether if not add new songs by one of the trendier music composers.

Kamal Saab’s quiet but immovable reply was always the same. “Pakeezah was conceived with Ghulam Mohamed’s music.  It is the soul of the film.” This is the same film whose music today is considered perhaps the best ever in a Hindi film. And yet, during that time distributors insisted that the music of Pakeezah be changed.  Kamal Amrohi   refused arguing it would be injustice to the music composer Ghulam Mohamed who was dead.

Looking back, it is impossible to imagine the masterpiece without its melodies. The first Mujra to be composed was Inhi logon ne le lee na dupatta mera. This was based on a folk melody, had been used in several films earlier but became a rage in Pakeezah.  Among the other timeless Mujras  Chalte chalte  yuhi koi mil gaya ttha  and Thare  rahiyo ho baqe yaar re and Teer-e-Nazar stand out. While Chalte chalte was  written by Kaifi Azmi(after  Kamal Amrohi had a  fall-out with Majrooh Sultanpuri), the elegant  opening lines if Thare rahiyo(Chandni raat badi der  ke baad aye hai yeh mulaqat badi der  ka baad aye hai aaj ki raat woh aayen hain badi der ke baad, aaj ki raat badi der ke baad aye hai) were written by Amrohi while the  rest of the song was penned by Majrooh Saab(though the entire  song is credited to him).

Ghulam Mohamed died before he could complete the score. His mentor Naushad completed the score and contributed the gorgeous theme music with a soul-stirring alaap by Lata Mangeshkar. Lataji’s voice runs through the veins of the music and songs of Pakeezah furnishing them with blood tears and nectar. Speaking about the music in Pakeezah Lataji once told me, “It is very unfortunate that Ghulam Mohamed Saab couldn’t see the success of Pakeezah. Most music lovers consider it one of the greatest film soundtracks, if not the greatest. Ek ek mujra jo maine  gaya  mujhe  yaad hai (I remember every Mujra I sang in Pakeezah). Log kehte the yeh gaane nahin chalenge. Lekin chalte chalte, chalte his gaye.”

Released alongside the trendy chartbusters of 1972 –R D Burman’s Jawani Deewan, Apna Desh, Seeta Aur Geeta, Bombay To Goa, Rampur Ka Lakshman and Parichay, Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s Dushman, Raja Jani, Shor, Sachin Dev Burman’s Yeh Gulistan Hamara, Anuraag and Zindagi Zindagi…. Pakeezah topped the charts in 1972. It tops the charts even today.

Ironical, Pakeezah did not win the Filmfare award for Best Music. That honour went to a film rightly titled Beimaa.

Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha.

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