MEMORIES: Omprakash Sonik, aka Omi, sits next to a picture of his uncle Manoharlal Sonik
A broad smile illuminates Omprakash Sonik's face when he says: "You won't believe it, but when I was a kid, I sang in a female chorus. In those days, anything was possible. The moment my voice changed as I grew older, I switched to a male chorus."
Better known as 'Omi', he formed part of the Sonik-Omi duo of music directors along with his blind uncle Manoharlal Sonik. The two debuted as composers in Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya, and the success of the film's music prompts Omi to speak at length about hit songs like Kaliyon Ne Ghoonghat Khole (Mohammed Rafi), Aaja Re Pyaar Pukare (Lata Mangeshkar), Are To Jal Jaoge (Asha Bhosle-Manna Dey) and the title track (Rafi-Suman Kalyanpur-Mukesh).
The movie, released in 1966, starred Dharmendra, Nutan and Rehman. "Before Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya, we had struggled for more than 15 years. We came to Bombay from Sialkot in 1948, and Sonikji became involved in Hindi film music," recalls Omi, as he sits near a photograph of his deceased uncle.
Omi says that while working as assistants for Roshan, they decided to adopt the screen-name Sonik-Omi. "People said that sounded like a good name for a team of music directors. While Sonikji retained his name, I used Omi because everybody called me that. When the Rawal brothers were looking for somebody to compose for their new film, they thought of us," says Omi.
According to the composer, the duo had sittings for almost one and a half months before recording Kaliyon Ne Ghoonghat Khole. "The lyrics were written by G L Rawal. In fact, the songs were written first, and the script was then written keeping the songs in mind. So when we composed music, we knew exactly what the situation in the film demanded," he says.
The songs were recorded at Famous, Tardeo. "While doing a title track, we were thinking of Rafi and Lata. But in those days, the two had had a big fight, and weren't on talking terms. So we chose Suman Kalyanpur," Omi points out.
The music director then narrates this rather interesting incident when Asha Bhosle came to record Are To Jal Jaoge. He reminisces: "We were playing the title song, and Asha thought Lata had sung it. So she asked when Rafi and Lata had begun singing together again. When we told her it was Suman Kalyanpur and not Lata, Asha said: "I felt it wasn't Lata from the way she sang the high notes."The film's premiere was held in Delhi. "Dharmendra and Nutan were quite popular by then, but we were thrilled that our music got a great response too. In fact, one paper gave a headline that the real hero of the film was Sonik-Omi. This is because those songs had so much melody," says Omi.
Over the years, Sonik-Omi did films like Mahua, College Girl, Bhai Ho To Aisa, Saawan Bhadon, Umar Qaid, Do Chattane and Bindiya Aur Bandook. And though many of their later films didn't taste the same kind of commercial success as their debut, Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya remains a memorable experience.
Edited by Qwest - 20 years ago
Yeh Fitoor Tera
Bollywood
Khatron Ke Khiladi 15
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
