Anarkali - The Magic of C.Ramchandra - Page 3

Originally posted by: punjini

Tum kya jaano tumhaari yaad mein hum kitna roye is an absolutely wonderful song which touches you to the core of the heart. Does anyone have an MP3 of this? You have to hear it to experience the purity of Lata's voice and emotions!

I think i can do find the MP3 let me see

Originally posted by: juggyE

http://www.sendspace.com/file/d2wmjl

ohh u have already posted ..good.I was reading posts from the page 1...

Songs of Chitalkar

Originally posted by: juggyE

http://www.sendspace.com/file/d2wmjl

Thanks JuggE ji. Heard this song after a loooong time and it was so nostalgic!

Originally posted by: juggyE

http://www.sendspace.com/file/d2wmjl

Thanx a lot juggy. 😃 i could not find it with me. its a masterpiece by Lata.

Thank you so much juggy ji, thanks to punjini ji.!!!!
http://www.sendspace.com/file/d2wmjl

I found this article on C.Ramachandran :

C. Ramchandra
by
G.N. Joshi


One day in 1947, a debonair young man, about six feet tall and well
built, walked into my cabin. I did not know him and hence looked at
him questioningly. He said, 'Joshi Saheb, you won't know me, but I
have known you for over 12 years and I have been waiting for a chance
to meet you. Today I have come to your studio for a film recording and
therefore I came straight to meet you. I come originally from
Ahmednagar district, but since I spent my childhood and some years
of my youth in Vidarbha, I feel I belong to Vidarbha.'

When he mentioned that he belonged to Vidarbha, I felt immediate
closeness to him. He said further, 'I listened to your record Dole
He Julami Gade for the first time in Nagpur: I liked it so much that
I played it again and again 27 times in quick succession. Then again,
you had once come to perform at the Somalvar School in the city, and
the crowd was so huge that there was hardly any space to sit. For over
four hours I sat, crushed in the crowd, listening to you. Since that
time I have been longing to meet you and at last the chance has come.
I have entered the film world recently as a music director and I need
your blessings.' He introduced himself - 'My name is Ramchandra
Chitalkar and I am today recording songs from my picture Shehnai.

I wished him good luck and he went away to the studio for rehearsals.
Recording songs from films was, for the most part, a monotonous affair.
It usually took more than two hours to record one song. The duration
of one side of a record in our studio was only 3 minutes and 20 seconds.
Some film songs were either longer or shorter than required. Therefore,
it was often necessary to cut the lengthy songs or lengthen the short
ones, hence the singer and the orchestra had to spend a long time in
our studios.

Mr. Ramchandra Chitalkar started his rehearsal, and partly because
he hailed from Nagpur I felt an interest in him. So I went to the
studio to see for myself how this young man would conduct the music.
To rehearse an orchestra comprised of more than a dozen musicians is
not an easy job. Every instrument needs to be perfectly tuned and
played according to the notation of the song. The passages which
accompany the singing and the passages that form musical interludes
have to be played at different volumes. The music director, who is
the conductor, has to get from his troup a perfectly tuned support
for the vocalist. I have seen many music directors who behaved like
cattle-drivers. Musicians are artists and as such they need to be
handled with care, like fragile glass. To get the best results, they
must be kept in good cheer all along. Ramchandra appeared to me to be
on excellent terms with his team of players. This was evident from the
cheerful atmosphere in the studio, and immediately made a very favourable
impression on me. Though he was friendly and genial, he was also a
strict disciplinarian. This became clear when he admonished some of
the p]ayers for their lapses.

In those days playback singing was unheard of. Even unmusical heroes
and heroines like Devika Rani, Motilal, Savita Banerji, Leela Chitnis
and Ashok Kumar came before our microphones a number of times. (We
were thankfully spared the ordeal of recording actors like Dara Singh
or actresses like the fearless Nadia.) Songs had to be rehearsed till
they were as flawless as plossible, so that we did not have to waste a
lot of wax discs. Ramchandra realized this and always prepared his
musicians perfectly. Therefore we did not have to repeat recordings
unnecessarily. A music director has to approve the recording, keeping
in mind the singer's voice and ability to sing. Hence it was always
desirable to okay a performance which was, by and large, up to a
certain standard. Expert singers like Lata Mangeshkar did not need a
lot of rehearsing. (When the song Jaa ri jaa ri o kari badariya was
recorded by Lata it was done after just one rehearsal and a single
take.)

After our first meeting we developed a very close relationship and
consequently I had some intimate glimpses into the life of Ramchandra.
Some incidents would be of interest to the readers. The words of the
song Dhire se aaja from Albela were given to Ramchandra by poet
Rajendrakrishna at 4 in the afternoon, one day. The recording was to be
done in a studio at Andheri the same evening. Ramchandra set out in his
car from Dadar. With one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding
the sheet of verses, he attempted to put a tune to the words.
Surprisingly, by the time he reached the studio at Andheri, he had
created a tune which was later found to be so suitable and perfect
that the song was recordcd on schedule without any alteration, and
became an all time hit.

Ramchandra took great care to see that the tune of a soug suited the
scene and situation in the picture. A song from Parchhai (Mohabbat hi
na jo samaze) which was sung by Talat Mehmood was to be filmed.
Ramchandra and his musicians arrived in the studio for the filming.
To his consternation Ramchandra found a very lavish set that was
completely unsuitable for the tune he had given to the song. Ramchandra
brought this to the notice of Mr. V. Shantaram, the producer, and
requested that the shooting be cancelled that day. This meant a lot of
expense to the producer. But Ramchandra convinced him that the contrast
between the setting already erected and the tune of the song would not
go down well with the audience. Shantarambapu had implicit faith in
Ramchandra and he agreed that the recording be postponed. After a week
or so, the same song, with a new tune by Ramchandra, was recorded and
it was a terrific hit.

Some producers, though completely ignorant of music, are in the habit
of giving advice to the music director just to assert their authority.
Ramchandra told me how he dealt with one such producer. While working
in Filmistan, he was told to compose a tune for a song. After studying
the situation and the scene, Ramchandra made up a suitable tune and,
when ready, he played it to the producer for his approval. The producer
said, 'It's good but it needs to be changed like this here, there, and
again here.' 'Very well,' said Ramchandra, 'I will come back in a week,
with another tune.' The next time, Ramchandra played the same tune
without making any alteration. 'That's much better,' said the producer
Just see what a difference the changes I suggested have made. If you
try again it will be more effective.' Ramchandra said, 'I will see what
I can do.' After a week or so he again played the original tune to the
producer. The producer, looking very pleased, said, 'Oh, very good!
This is just what I wanted.' He did not realize that Ramchandra had
made a fool of him.

A few years later Ramchandra Chitalkar took another name -- C. Ramchandra.
This created some confusion. Ramchandra first assumed this new name in
the pictures in the South for which he directed the music. His close
friends in Bombay always call him 'Anna'. A very senior actor, just to
tease him and incite him to give better results, said to him, Just look
at that fellow C. Ramchandra from Madras. He is really very talented,
why don't you try to do something like him?' Anna saheb gave a sly smile
but made no comment. One can imagine the surprise and shame the actor
must have felt when he learnt that Ramchandra Chitalkar and C. Ramchandra
were one and the same person!

On the other hand there were a few producers who had such faith in
his abilities that they never interfered with his work. S. M. Naidu,
the South Indian producer who shot his films in Coimbatore, engaged
C. Ramchandra to compose the music for his picture Azad. The recording
for all the ten songs was done by Ramchandra in Bombay, and on
completion the entire set of songs was packed up and sent to Mr. Naidu.
Mr. Naidu accepted the recordings without question, and it must be
said to the credit of C Ramchandra, that all the songs became very
popular.

Ramchandra reached very imposing heights. As many as 26 of the
pictures for which he scored music celebrated silver jubilees, and
three even achieved the golden jubilee. Ramchandra's magnificent
achievement is made all the more noteworthy by the fact that, although
a Maharashtrian, he won unique laurels in Hindi films.

When he was only 17 years old, he entered the cinema world in
Kolhapur. Prior to this, he had wanted to work in the C.I.D. The
thought of being a secret police agent and detecting crime by moving
about in disguise fascinated him. His impressive physique made him
very suitable for such a career, but he soon discovered that it was
extremely diflficult to get work as a detective. He gave up the idea,
and to satisfy his love for disguises, he entered the film world.

Thanks to his impressive appearance, he was given the role of hero
in his very first film. The film however was a complete flop. The
hero of this film consoled himself after this failure, by appearing
as a mere extra in the next film. Ramchandra was absolutely determined
to stay on and make his fortune in the movies. He therefore migrated to
Bombay where he decided to try his luck in a different line. He was a
very good harmonium player. Sohrab Modi took him into his music
department, and from then on Ramchandra's musical gcnius found outlets.
As opportunities came his way, he very successfully experimented with
many novel ideas in film music. He was the first music director to
introduce Western music into and also use Western instruments for
Indian songs. The tune of Mai hun ek khalasi which he wrote for
the film Sargam was hased on the rock 'n' roll style. This song and
another one from the picture Shehnai - Ana meri jaan, meri jaan,
Sunday ke Sunday - became thunderingly popular. One has only to
remember some of the haunting tunes created by him to realize his
musical genius and fantastic creative ability.

Oh chand jaha o jaye from Sharda, Mohabat aisi dhadakan hai from
Anarkali, Kitana badal gaya insan from Nastik, Kaise jawu main jamuna
ke tir, - all these and many more speak volumes for his versatile
ability as a music director.

Anna, besides being an artist, was also a patriot. During the last
30 years, whenever India was threatened by invasion, he always
volunteered and visited the front lines of our army to cheer up our
Jawans. During the Sino-Tndian war of 1962, he gave the nation the
very tragic (but extremely patriotic) song, Ai mere vatan ke logo.
This song moved Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to tears and it continues
likewise to move thousands of our countrymen.

Although past 60, he stood proudly erect, always discovering new
horizons for his art. He travelled extensively abroad, and won for
himself a very large number of fans in U.K. and America. He had a
peculiarly endearing style of singing. He was an ardent devotee of
Sai Baba of Shirdi and therefore often sang religious songs in
Baba's praise. (He named his bungalow after Sai Baba). For some
inexplicable reason film producers dropped him some years ago and
therefore the present generation has heard very little of this great
musician. By casting him away, the film producers not only suffered
a great loss themselves, but they deprived the public of most delightful
and unique music.

His sad demise early in January 1982 was a great and irreparable loss
to modern music. He will be remembered fondly for many long years.

Thanks Adi. I hadn't read this article before.

C. Ramchandra - Remembering The Magic

"Some make it, others don't. He was in the former category. Unfortunately his success story was cut short by circumstances and the fame and glory slowly faded away. Today his contribution is all but forgotten but the history will never fail to recognize its significance."

This could be the perfect epitaph for many a talented artist - most certainly for the man called C. Ramchandra.

Early Life and career

When a railway worker Narhari Chitalkar living in Puntambe - a small town in Maharashtra - got a son on January 12, 1918 and named him Ramchandra, little did he know that his son would never be called by the plain and simple name 'R.N. Chitalkar'! From the early age young Ramchandra was fascinated by music and drama. He left for Kolhapur after leaving the school in ninth standard and tried his hand at acting. At the age of seventeen he bagged a hero's role in 'Naganand'- a film which bombed heavily at the box-office. After this early setback he moved on to Bombay. His training in classical music from Shankar Rao Sapre came in handy to bag a job as a music assistant in Minerva Movietone where he started working with the then leading music directors Mir Sahib and Bundu Khan. Soon, thanks to his ability to write notations of the tunes, he became an important cog in the wheel.

Bhagwan - a leading comedian and film maker of that era - spotted Ramchandra's musical talent and offered him his film 'Sukhi Jeevan' as a composer. That year was 1942. At the age of twenty four a glittering career was about to begin. The promise turned into reality with hit soundtracks like 'Lalkar', 'Safar', 'Samrat Chandragupta' and 'Bhaktaraj'. It was during the making of 'Bhaktaraj' he was re-christened 'C.Ramchandra' by the film's producer Jayant Desai. This screen name was to stick permanently. Only when he would sing his own songs the records labeled him as Chitalkar. So as a composer he was C.Ramchandra, as a singer he was Chitalkar and to the near and dear ones he was simply Anna!

Ascent into greatness

The first spark of his talent was in 'Shehnai'(1947) where he literally rock 'n rolled the film music by that immortal trail blazer Meri jaan, meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday aana. The echoes of this song sung by himself along with Meena Kapoor can be heard till today through that egg- ad jingle 'Sunday ko unde khaana'! In a way he can be credited (and discredited!) for the entry of Western Rock 'n Roll Music into Hindi film music. But I am sure he wouldn't have dreamt in his worst nightmares that the funny genie released by him would turn into a demon devouring the very Indian core of Hindi film music!

The fifties saw him emerge as one of the leading lights of Hindi film music. His music in films like 'Nastik', 'Shagufa', 'Sangeeta', 'Kaarigar', 'Khazana', 'Yasmin', 'Teerandaz', 'Shinshinaki bublaboo', 'Parchhai' and 'Yasmin' is still remembered fondly by nostalgic music lovers. But for the common listeners his introduction is through his more popular soundtracks - 'Anarkali', 'Albela', 'Aazad' and 'Navrang'.

Innovative Music

His music had a superb mix of melody and rhythm. Exceptional blending of piano, violins, tabla, dholak and khanjiri gave unique freshness and liveliness to his tunes. If Kishore's Ina mina dika and Asha's Mister John o Baba Khan showed his trendiness then Talat's Mohabbat hi na jo samajhe or Rafi's Yeh hasrat thi vouched for his mastery over emotional stuff. But his musical association with Lata Mangeshkar was something really special. Their songs are in a league of their own. Even if you haven't heard hidden gems like Ab woh raaten kahan, Jo mujhe bhulake chale gaye, Bheeni bheeni hai or Tum kya jaano, just take the well-known popular songs like Mohabbat aisi dhadkan hai, Radha na bole re, Dheere se aaja ri ankhiyan mein or Kaise aaoon Jamuna ke teer and the terrific chemistry that they shared is all too apparent!

Even today's audiences go gaga over 'Albela's Lata - Chitalkar duets Shaam dhale khidki tale, Shola jo bhadke and Bholi surat dil ke khotey. Over all these years theatre screens showing these songs have never failed to be showered with coins thrown by the frenzied fans. The jazzy rhythm of this Bholi surat was played by a toilet- cleaner on a tin pot. Can you believe it?

He did many such unbelievable things - like adapting from a Marathi naatya- geet (Murtimant bheeti ubhi) the evergreen 'Anarkali' classic Yeh zindaghi usiki hai, converting another naatyageet (Sukhvi Tula) into the Parchhai- delight Naina Lagake Dukh De Gayo,using the maddham from an Islamic qawwali to create that bewitching beauty Dil ki duniya basa ke saawariya and composing the entire soundtrack of 'Azaad' studded with sparkling songs like Jaari jaari o kaari badariya, Dekho ji bahar aayi, Kitni jawan hai raat, Kitna haseen hai mausam and Aplam chaplam in just seven days! Lata reckoned him to be the fastest composer she ever came across.

Sixties and later

(The Trio That Made Aye Mere Watan Ke Logon-

Kavi Pradeep, Lata Mangeshkar, C.Ramchandra)

His finest hour came through his non- film composition Aye mere watan ke logon. Composed for an army welfare programme after the Indo - China war (1962) and sung by Lata, this emotional patriotic number even moved the then Prime Minister Pt. Nehru to tears. Such was the impact of this song on Nehru that he embraced the composer on stage!

But soon after that heady success, slowly but surely he lost his ground to the newcomers. His soured personal and professional relationship with Lata definitely contributed to his downfall as he could never really find the same magic with other playback singers. The few soundtracks in this period (Bahurani, Stree and Jitne Door Utne Paas) where he got Lata's vocals back again, he came up with superb compositions like Main jaagun saari rain, Jhilmil jhilmil, O nirdayi preetam and Humne apna tumhen samjha.

But the decline in the quality of his music was all too evident in most of his 'sans Lata' soundtracks. 'Navrang' was perhaps the only soundtrack where he could shake off his Lata-fixation and succeeded with Asha – Mahendra Kapoor combine. Songs Aadha hai chandrama, Are jaare hat natkhat and Tu chhupi hai kahan had the same spark as before.

After 'Rootha na karo' (1970), he didn't compose for Hindi films. Last few years of his life were spent in composing music for non-film songs. On January 5, 1982 - a week before his sixty-fourth birthday he left this world.

Now only memories remain!

Thank you so much Barnalidi. I have been listening to the songs here and my Bhai too gets all excited because he does not all have these songs in his library!! 😆