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The release of Khazanchi in 1941 with
its freewheeling musical score with Punjabi
rhythms changed the face of Hindi film music
forever. Music director Ghulam
Haider followed up Khazanchi with an even
bigger success the following year - Khandaan
(1942). Khandaan brought to the fore a
singing sensation who would completely dominate
the Hindi Film scene for the next five years
– Noorjehan.
 Born
in the Kasur area of Punjab in 1929, Noorjehan
was fascinated by singing since the age of six.
She idolized Akhtari Begum and Kajjanbai and
the former advised her to first learn classical
music. Thus she first perfected her classical
singing under Ghulam Mohammed Khan. She entered
films as a child artiste in small roles before
being seen prominently in the Punjabi film Gul-e-Bakavali
(1939). However she was first noticed in
a big way in Khandaan (1942) where
her song Tu Kaunsi Badli Mein Mere Chand
Hai Aajaa became a huge hit. Following
Khandaan's success Noorjehan shifted
to Bombay. She soon conquered India's film capital
with her vibrant voice. She had that unusual
combination of a good voice, a style that could
perhaps be compared to those of good classical
thumri singers and the striking stage presence
of a good performer. Fortunately for her, her
timing was perfect. The uninhibited culture
of the heroines of the 1930s was drawing to
a close and a more conservative heroine was
coming to the fore. In Zeenat (1945)
she popularized the qawali as never before with
Aahein Na Bhari Shikwein Na Kiye sung
with another famous singer of those days, Zohra
Ambala.
1941
also saw a 12-year-old girl make her debut as
a child star in the film Taj Mahal.
The following year she did playback for a top
film heroine of the day, Mehtab for the film
Sharada. Because of her height she
was given a stool to stand on since she couldn’t
reach the mike! Mehtab was convinced her career
would be ruined if this child were to sing for
her. However, not only did the songs of Sharada
prove extremely popular but this girl went on
to become a singing star in her own right and
at the height of her peak generated the kind
of hysteria that Rajesh
Khanna did in his heyday from 1969 - 1972.
 Shops
closed on the opening day of her starrers as
even shopkeepers forgot their duties and swarmed
the cinema theatres to see her films first day,
first show! Crowds would throng outside her
house just to get a glimpse of her. Actor Dharmendra
remembers seeing her film Dillagi 40
times! The girl was… Suraiya!
Noorjehan
and Suraiya were but two singing stars who rose
to great heights of fame in the 1940s as now
with established singers having entered the
Hindi Music scenario, the days of singing stars
was coming to an end. After the first lot of
trained singers like Parul Ghosh, Amirbai Karnataki,
Zohrabai Ambalewali, Rajkumari, Arun Kumar,
G.M. Durani and Shamshad Begum, the 1940s also
saw the introduction of several singers who
would go on to become legends themselves –
Mohd Rafi, Mukesh,
Kishore Kumar,
Manna Dey, Talat Mehmood, Geeta
Dutt, Asha Bhosle
and Lata Mangeshkar
thus providing Indian cinema with its golden
age in the 50s and 60s.
As
newer and newer sounds pervaded Hindi Film Music
the next big contribution after Ghulam Haider
was that of C. Ramchandra. Ramchandra was a
music sudent under Vinayakbua Patwardan at Gandharva
Mahavidyala School. He began as a music director
with Tamil films in 1937 before breaking through
with Master Bhagwan’s Sukhi Jeevan
in 1942. It was C. Ramchandra who gave a new
definition to Hindi Film music with the song
Sunday ki Sunday from Shehnai(1947).
Heavily influenced by Benny Goodman he introduced
the use of Western instruments in Hindi Cinema
in a big way using the alto sax in combination
with guitar and harmonica and also whistling.
In fact throughout his career, Ramchandra continued
working with Western Sounds using combinations
of bongo, oboe, trumpet, clarinets and the saxaphone
even assimilating scat singing and rock rhythms
as he brought a freewheeling hip approach to
the Hindi Film Song. But while remembering such
light-hearted masterpieces like Mere Piya
Gaye Rangoon (Patanga(1949)) and
Main Hoon Ek Khalasi Mera Naam Bheem Palasi
(Sargam (1950)), Ramchandra in
no way was just restricted to juvenile frivolous
songs. He was equally at home composing songs
with a strong Indian base as well be it ghazals,
geets and thumris. And let it not be forgotten
that it is Ramchandra who composed Ae Mere Watan
ke Logon which brought tears to Jawaharlal Nehru’s
eyes! While Madan Mohan and Khayyam are the
first names taken when the filmi ghazal comes
to mind, it is forgotten that C. Ramchandra
did some of the finest work in this genre.
 Among
others, Anil Biswas
was among the first music directors to make
his mark in the early 1940s. A talented tabla
player himself, Anilda worked in amateur theatre
as a child singer. He became a political activist
as a student and was repeatedly jailed in the
1930s. After scoring music in several commercial
Calcutta Theatre stage productions, he moved
to Bombay in 1934. After an initial stint with
Daryani Picture and Sagar Movietone, Anilda
came to notice with his score in films like
Aurat (1940) and Roti
(1942) for director Mehboob
Khan under the banner of National Pictures.
He moved to Bombay talkies in 1942 and created
musical history there with films like Jwar
Bhata (1944), Milan (1946) and
of course Kismet (1943) where he made
splendid use of Amirbai Karnataki's full throated
voice. Anild'’s best-known compositions
are among the most effective film adaptations
of theatrical music with 12 piece orchestras
and full-blooded choral effects. But beyond
all the musical masterpieces that Anilda composed,
he was also responsible for being the man behind
such voices as Surendranath, Parul Ghosh, Sitara
Devi, Mukesh, Talat Mehmood and monitoring Lata
Mangeshkar’s early career. It was Anilda
who taught Lata and other singers the techniques
of breath control while singing and putting
emphasis on syllables that came on the beat
of the song.
Even
as India marched towards her freedom, January
1947 saw the death of India’s biggest
musical icon - K.L.
Saigal at Jullunder due to aftereffects
of alcohol, which had fast overtaken his life.
It was said he could only sing only when fortified
with liquor. His health had begun failing. A
last ditch effort at abstinence proved useless
as he was too far-gone. But not before giving
us such melodic gems like Mere Sapnon Ki
Rani, Ae Dil-e-Bekaraar Jhoom,
Jab Dil hi Toot Gaya - from Shah
Jehan (1946). Such was the power and mystique
of Saigal's singing that singers like Mukesh
and Kishore Kumar started their careers singing
in the 'Saigal style' before etching out their
own identities.
Even
as India gained Independence, the nation split
into India, Pakistan and East Pakistan. If Saigal's
death was a blow to the Hindi Film industry,
partition was even more so. Like elsewhere the
Film industry too witnessed mass migration between
India and Pakistan. Major musical talent like
singing stars Khurheed and Noorjehan, Music
Directors Firoz Nizami and Master Ghulam Haider
among a host of others chose to make Pakistan
their home thus crippling the Hindi Film Industry.
But as mentioned fortunately by then much of
the talent that was to provide the Hindi Film
with its golden age had begun to make its appearance.
The best was still to come…
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