A great day when the greatest (imo) musical mind was born today ! And what more befitting topic can it be - "Birth Of Songs". With this title, the article was printed in a superb periodical magazine called 'Cine Advance', on 19th August 1965. Many things to grasp and learn. I personally was on the climax of excitement at many places when I read this article and gave some exclamation marks too. So let us celebrate with the 'young' master himself talking about BIRTH, right when he was going to strike gold, the very next year in Hindi Film Music !
Birth Of Songs - By RAHUL DEV BURMAN
The job of preparing songs for films has the same basic needs as any other creative work - it requires concentration, atmosphere and patience,- lots of it. The story writer gives the situation for the song, the director explains the atmosphere, where it is to be picturized and how. Then I sit in my music room, the instruments open up, I start the beat, the rhythm mounts, the accompaniments heat up, the best intensifies(!), the seeds of the tune are born; we change the rhythm a little, hasten it, slow it. All this gets recorded on tape(!). I play it, the room vibrates with stereophonic(!) sound the mood of music flows on the air, the atmosphere is charged - and from this commotion a tune emerges. I am back at my instruments following the tune, refining it, polishing; and a new song is born for films.
This the plodding way, the product of the old adage-there is no substitute for hard work, but in the right direction. Majority of the songs are prepared in this way. But there is a percentage of those songs for which you don't have to labour, don't have to think; they issue from your lips spontaneously, ring in your ears resoundingly, the whirling in mind gets expression(!)-the song is born. It's the product of inspiration. I would talk about such songs.
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There was a song 'Matwali ankhon wale' in 'Chhote Nawab', my first assignment as music director. Mehmood had been my personal friend even before I became a music director for his films. I used to accompany him during the outdoor shooting of his films. This time it was the outdoors for 'Miya Bibi Razi'. Mehmood had returned from abroad and he was very much fascinated with the Spanish Flamenco dance. He went through some steps of this dance on some imaginery tune. He came into the mood of the dance. We caught its rhythm and started clapping and keeping time. It was during this performance that the words - 'Matwali ankhon wale, O pardesi matwale'-came to my lips(!) and I started humming it into the tune of the dance. Unknowingly the tune got made, though in rough form. After our return, we worked on it and the final shape emerged as the song. it was considered a novel innovation in music(!).
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The title song of 'Bhoot Bungla' had a dramatic birth. At that time I had taken a new bunglow. It was all deserted. Except for some instruments in one room, it was empty. We started our music session at night, playing on instruments, laughing, shouting, singing. Our young group was in high spirits when Mehmood walked into the room. He looked around the bunglow-felt its emptiness, its loneliness. He stepped into the adjoining deserted room and automatically the word 'Bhoot' issued from his lips, in that peculiar vein. I said "B..u..n..gla". We laughed at this, and went in repeating the same words in different tones, in different pitch(!)-"Bh..ooo..t Bungla !!!!". The whole of the group started laughing, shouting and making merry.
Now in our locality almost all our neighbours are followers of the old healthy saying "Early to bed....!" When the heard shrieks, laughter and all the commotion in the middle of the night--it was 11 P.M.--they thought there were really ghosts in the deserted bunglow. They didn't know that it had been occupied recently, since I had not yet moved formally in there. Soon there was a big group of persons outside our gate. We came out and they were surprised that we were human being after all ! They asked us what was the commotion about,-was somebody hurt or something? We told, them, we were making tune for a film song. I will never forget the expression of surprise, and incredulity on their faces (!) !
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A writer friend of mine told me one of the romantic scene he had written for a film. The scene was very tender and a sort of novel. It haunted my thoughts for a long time(!). I began to think how they will express their feelings when they met for the first time after awareness of each other. It was then the tune of 'Pyar Karta Ja....' from 'Bhoot Bungla' came into my mind. I was very much attracted towards the inspiration. Immediately I telephoned Mehmood to come to my house, I had prepared a song for his film. Mehmood came over and I told him the tune. He liked thought as I expected he would. But the hitch was that his film didn't have the usual sort of love scene where this song could be put. He thought a lot over the problem and came up with the bright idea of social service part of his youth club. He put it as a chorus in the scene where they help villagers in building huts and teaching them values of cleanliness etc. From the personal love angle, it went to love of universal brotherhood(!).
One thing more which goes into the making of memorable songs is personal incidents in life. When there is frustration in life, when one has received an emotional shock, the quality of result of work comes from within(!), it is as if one is expressing pathos, and deep scars through the vocal tunes. Ofcourse, I don't have any romantic attachments, so romantic frustrations are out, though it will help those who have these. I experienced this during the illness, and later severe heart attack of dada. The attack was so acute that even doctors were afraid. The songs for the films contracted had to be supplied, the film had to move. Under those circumstances I made a couple of tunes(!)-I don't think I can achieve the same quality of feeling in songs again. One of these is in "Guide"(!). More about this I will tell you some other time.