http://www.cinemasangeet.com/cinema/articles/?a=526
In Conversation With Manohari Singh
Author: Dr. Chandrashekhar
On February 10, 2007 I had the privilege of meeting veteran saxophone player and long time RDB assistant Manohari Singh for the second time at his Santa Cruz residence in Mumbai, the first occasion being almost three years ago. What follows is a composite of the two conversations. (Comments in parentheses with an asterisk are mine.)
Manohari is a gentle grandfatherly sort whose memory is as sharp as his breath control and pitching on the sax. One wall of his living room are covered with rare black and white photographs of him at work in studios with the likes of Jaikishan, Hariprasad Chaurasia, Sumantraj, Rais Khan, Kersi Lord and other illustrious stars from the Hindi film music firmament. One large R.D. Burman photograph in colour occupies a place of honor on the opposite wall. Since so much Pancham- related Manohari stories and anecdotes abound I tried to get him to talk more on other music directors - Panchamites bear with me. I hope to do a Pancham-based interview soon.
Of Nepali origin but in India for practically all his life, Manohari came to Calcutta as a young boy and took up music originally playing the flute in a brass band. While playing on stage in Calcutta he and his partner-to-be Basu Chakraborty were noticed by no less than Naushad and Salil Chaudhury, who were in the audience. It was Naushad who turned to Salil and said, "Why don't you get these young men to Bombay? I'm sure we can find good use for them."
Q. Tell us how you got your first break into the Hindi film industry.
A. Although it's true that I came to Bombay in the mid-50s at Salil's recommendation I did not get much opportunity to play for him, simply because he was going through a lean patch then. I was introduced to S.D. Burman and managed to play some pieces on the key flute for Sitaron Se Aage but it was nothing memorable. I did get a chance to meet Laxmikant, who was then a mandolin player with SDB, and also Jaidev, flute player Sumantraj and Pancham. By then I was fairly adept at the key flute and the mandolin in addition to the sax. But work was hard to come by.
Laxmi and I became good friends and he was keen to see me settled and employed. We next met at S.D. Burman's home where after discussion a sitting was arranged for the song "Accha ji main haari chalo" (Kala Paani) to take place at Navketan's the next day. I asked Laxmi to try and help me to get some work. He said "Ek kaam karo. Bring your mandolin along tomorrow". And so it happened that both he and I played together for that song, recorded in Bombay Lab. You might say that it's the first song in which I am heard.
I continued to play a key flute for such assignments as Madhumati's background score. Sax pieces were still rare. My first sax piece for a song was in Sach hue sapne tere (Kala Bazaar) but it barely registered as it was combined with a clarinet and other instruments. The first solo sax piece happened in Lajwanti's "Gaa mere man ga" where you could really experience it. Laxmi remembered the piece.
The turning point happened with Satta Bazaar, for "Tumhe yaad hoga". It was a debut for several persons: Robert Correa on the piano, Gulshan Bawra for the lyric and Pyarelal for the arrangements (he and Laxmi were assisting Kalyanji-Anandji). Laxmi booked me for the rehearsal at Sri Sound in Dadar.
What I didn't know was that three other sax players had been booked as well for the actual recording! That was at Mehboob Studios. We had to play the sax pieces in unison. I could see that Laxmi was
uncomfortable. After two or three rehearsals, he told Kalyanjibhai, "Kucch jam nahin raha hai. Why not ask Manohari to play alone and see the effect? So I played the piece alone, and so the song was recorded.
Author's comments: (*Pyarelal told me he did retain the other three saxophones to play rhythm to Manohari's solo.)
"The song was an overnight hit for the public in general and my sax pieces for all the music directors. Hemant Kumar (who sang the duet with Lata Mangeshkar) complimented me so effusively that I could see the resentment plainly on the face of his own assistant Rizbert, one of the other sax players."
Q. To digress for a moment - were you not also Hemant Kumar's assistant for Anupama and Biwi Aur Makaan? I recall seeing your name on the credits.
A. I was. All the arrangements were mine.
Q. And that was you on the sax for "Kyun mujhe itni khushi de di"?
A. Right. And then Goody Servai's accordion comes ripping through!
Q. And the flute for "Kucch dil ne kaha"?
A. No, that was Sumantraj. He was a versatile artiste who could play several instruments. Do you know that the introduction santoor piece of "Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai"'s title song was by him?
Q. I didn't know that. But do go on - after "Satta Bazaar"...?
A. At some point then Salil introduced me to his assistant Sebastian, who also worked closely with Shankar-Jaikishan and O.P. Nayyar. Sebastian in turn got me acquainted with Jaikishan, who became very fond of me. He was a real 'raaja' of a man. I played the flute for "Ruk ja o janewali" in "Kanhaiyya" but I really 'arrived' with S-J with the title music for "Junglee" - which you recall was the title song played as a sax instrumental. Jai gave me further prominence with "Aawaz deke" (Professor) and then declared I "must be made permanent" with the S-J group. In Arzoo I had three songs with memorable sax pieces: "Ae phoolon ki rani", "Bedardi baalama" and "Aji rooth kar ab". And there was the title song of Dil Tera Deewana, Brahmachari's "Aaj kal tere mere pyar ke charche" - so many others. And of course, that remarkable non-film album "Raaga Jazz Style" in which I played many Hindustani raags with Rais Khan giving a kind of counterpoint with sitar and tabla.
Q. I liked one song in Jhuk Gaya Aasmaan - "Mere tumhare beech mein ab to". After Lata sings "Ab aan milo sajna, sajna" the sax just flows out.
A. And the strings play staccato as though playing rhythm! Yes, that was another good song.
Q. Talking of staccato, you did play the sax in that fashion for Kalyanji-Anandji in "Saccha Jhoota" - an Asha Bhosle song, "Duniya mein pyar ki sab ko zaroorat hai". That piece was quite arresting, with a lead guitar follow-up.
A. Staccato is rare for a sax, at least in our Hindi film music, because one can infuse much more emotion and mood with long notes and variations.
Q. Tell us about your experience with other music directors.
A. There was Madan Mohan, who showed a lot of his military background even in the recording room. But mostly it was all good-hearted bluff to get the work done. After the recording of "Shokh nazar ki bijaliyan" from Woh Kaun Thi?, he confronted me sternly and asked "What sort of expression did you give in that piece?" I was rattled and answered softly "Jo music ke hisaab se bajaana theek samjha, maine kiya". Then he broke into a smile and said "That was very good!"
Then there was the unforgettable O.P. Nayyar. My first song for him was "Hai duniya usiki" from Kashmir Ki Kali. After the recording on the spot he handed me a hundred rupee note and cried "Have whiskey!"
Another time during a show at the Shanmukhananda Hall - it might have been a Filmfare awards function - he put one arm around my shoulder, another around Kersi Lord's, led us to the front of the stage and declared, "These are my ornaments".
Q. I remember that haunting solo sax at the beginning of "Huzurewala" (Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi).
(*At this point he goes in to get his saxophone,
and plays the piece for me.)
A. There was also this piece from "Yeh hai reshmi" from Mere Sanam.
(*Plays the second stanza sax piece, the one that is followed by Asha'a "la la laala.)
"The notes are almost identical to the"Huzurewala" piece, but did you notice that? Yes, Mr. Nayyar was indeed a clever composer."
(*I then beg him to play more and he obliges me by playing all the pieces I request - Guide's "Tere mere sapne", "Jaane ja dhoondta hi raha" from Jawani Diwani, and all the Arzoo pieces.)
He was also extremely principled as a man. In the early days cine musicians were seldom paid immediately after a recording and sometimes had to wait a month or two for their money. After one recording for Filmistan, Nayyar-saab overheard a musician moping dejectedly about late payments. OP immediately called the boss, S. Mukerji, and ordered him to pay them at once. When Mukerji said "Nayyarji jaldi kya hai? Mil jaaega paisa". OP was adamant, and not only was everyone paid at once, but the system permanently changed for musicians' shift set payment on the spot.
Only two months ago in December we met in Pune for a programme. During a break we sat together. I like to have a little fried snack with my drink and so got some pieces of fried fish from the table which we enjoyed together. As it turned out, it was my last opportunity to serve him. Outside of the Pancham group he and Jaikishan were my favourites.
Q. Which was the most complex or difficult piece anyone gave you to play?
A. No doubt about it, it was Pyarelal who once got me tired and breathless. It was that Kishore Kumar song "Main aaya hoon" from Amir Garib. I don't think any of my other songs comes close to it in difficulty.
Q. I think they also show Dev playing a sax on screen. What is your reaction when you see such scenes in which the actor moves his fingers arbitrarily on the keys doing that 'elephant trunk' movement, when you've put in so much work? Are you irritated?
A. Irritated? The blood boils! But it takes a really knowledgeable director to attend to such details so I don't let it bother me.
Q. You did play for Roshan too, right?
A. I did. You know, somehow Roshan ended up doing many films with conservative themes, where often the dialogue and lyrics were rich in Urdu. I have tried to fit into that kind of mood with a softer approach and greater expression. Anil Biswas had a sax player called Ramsingh who had developed that style and I tried to imitate him. Roshan was also fond of using an echo unit to emphasize reverb at the end of a stanza and often you'll hear my sax floating at a high pitch at that point, playing counter and simultaneous with the singing.
Q. I think we hear that effect in Salil's "O sajna", just before Lata goes into the high pitched part in the second stanza.
A. Right. Coming back to Roshan, I first played for him in Barsaat Ki Raat, where the title song in Lata's voice has my intro. I like that piece a lot. In fact, I even play it on stage for the male version since the female one is seldom sung. I had a lot of work in others too - Bheegi Raat, Bahu Begum ("Duniya kare sawaal" intro), Mamta, Daadima (intro to "Jaata hun main") and others.
Q. What about the two who were instrumental in bringing you to Mumbai - Salil and Naushad?
A. Of course there were so many Salil songs too - Maya's "Jaa re ud ja re panchhi", songs from Anand, Mere Apne - so many.
With Naushad I didn't get too many opportunities. Saathi was the main one, with a prominent sax piece for "Mera pyar bhi tu hai" intro. By the way all Saathi song arrangements were by Kersi Lord, who gave the track a different Naushad touch. I've also played in Leader, and on the background scores of Sohani Mahiwal, Pakeezah, and even the original (not restored) Mughal-e-Azam.
Q. Any other music directors you'd like to tell us about?
A. Chitragupt was one and I'm proud to be associated with two of his best songs: "Jaag dil-e-deewana" from Oonche Log, and "Ye parbaton ke daaere" from Vaasna. I played many with Anna (C. Ramchandra) too, including the flute for "Ae mere watan ke logo".
Q. Any prominent flute or mandolin pieces you'd like to tell us about?
A. "Kaanchi re kaanchi re" (Hare Rama Hare Krishna). The mandolin in "Tum bin jaaun kahan" (Pyar Ka Mausam) was mine. Do you know I also did the whistling for "Ye shaam mastani"(Kati Patang) and the title music of Sholay. People wonder how an asthmatic like myself can do so much with wind instruments that need breath- control, but it's actually like a physiotherapy for my lungs.
Edited by punjini - 18 years ago
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