Who's tune is it anyway?

Dr Rajiv Vijayakar

Can too many musical cooks concoct a great musical brew?

In theory, yes, they can.

Imagine, then, a film some decades ago with a folk song by Laxmikant Pyarelal, a qawwali from Roshan, a ghazal from Madan Mohan, a Western romantic number from Shanker-Jaikishan, a cabaret by R D Burman and a romantic ballad from S D Burman. What a feast.

Reality check: those composers would have refused this kind of situation. Because each took pride in the fact that they were 'all-rounders' who could take up any subject AND do justice to every genre and situation.

Cut to 2002's Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam, where six music directors --- Nadeem-Shravan, Bappi Lahiri, Nikhil-Vinay, Sajid-Wajid, Daboo Malik and Bali Brahmbhatt --- compose one score; and Aaankhen, in which one song, Phateli jeb sil jaayegi has been credited to three music directors --- Jatin Lalit, Aadesh Shrivastav and Nitin Raikar.

Bali Brahmbhatt, rapper-turned-composer, reveals the Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam story: "After Nadeem-Shravan recorded two songs, they had their legal problem. A leading composer stepped in and recorded two more songs but producer K C Bokadia was not happy. Those songs were scrapped and he called me to score the rest of the songs. He had liked my work in Pyaar Zindagi Hai.

"It was understood that a dance number for Salman Khan would be done by his proteges Sajid-Wajid and the rest by me. Later, T-Series also wanted songs by Nikhil-Vinay and Daboo Malik in the film. Then, K C Bokadia decided to create a situation for an item song by Bappi Lahiri that was lying with him."

Brahmbhatt does not find anything wrong in this trend. "One thing is for sure," he says. "No producer will bring in other names for a lark. He only does it when the music director he has signed cannot deliver what he needs. It is a lie that music directors are kept in the dark --- they are aware they haven't been able to make the producer happy. I think this is a healthy trend --- even the biggest name would be on his toes, as he knows someone else can step in."

Retorts Alka Yagnik, "I don't buy that argument. The songs lack an involved feel because there is no graph to the score. It is not fair to the music director who has been originally signed."

Sameer, who wrote songs for three music directors in Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, supports Yagnik: "Where is the involvement when you are called to compose one or two songs? It is wrong to have more than one lyricist but since it has been happening for decades, we lyricists have accepted that there can be more than one of us in a film.

"But having more than one music director is absurd. No such example has clicked with the masses!"

What about a super seller like K3G? Sameer says it is an exception that proves the rule. Big on hype, it was not unusual that sales were exceptional. But its music wasn't a patch on Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Jatin-Lalit, with good justification, have said on record.

Sources in the industry confirm it was more a lack of mutual rapport between them [Jatin-Lalit] and director Karan Johar than their inability to deliver. "They could not come to terms about a song and decided to part ways," reveals an industry insider. "Karan Johar then turned to Aadesh for a dance number because he had composed the hit Sona sona in Major Saab. But Aadesh didn't measure up to the needs of the other songs. Sony Music, which held the marketing rights, then put Karan in touch with Sandesh Shandilya."

Adds the source, "It is to Karan's credit that he tried to make everything sweet and non-controversial by saying that he had planned to have three composers all along. But Jatin-Lalit, now undergoing a dull phase, angrily lambasted him in print and raised his hackles."

Comments Alka, "Today, the music director is in a pitiable condition. I have seen Laxmikant Pyarelal, Kalyanji Anandji or Rajesh Roshan telling their filmmakers after receiving their brief that they did not need to come even for the recording. They were like kings in their domain!"

At a tribute function to the late Kalyanji, Amitabh Bachchan recalled how he would visit the duo and other top composers when he was a struggling actor: "In those days, we had to keep visiting music directors. They would recommend us to their producers!"

Today, Nadeem-Shravan and A R Rahman are known as the only composers who will not tolerate any intrusion into their projects and work on their own terms. Anu Malik, number one today, contends that producers do not even consult him before bringing in someone else. "For example, I am not aware that Sajid-Wajid had recorded a song in Khauff. I was not even given a chance to compose something for that situation."

Ironically, most of the additional composers (producers now term them 'guest composers') come in only for item songs. "This is ridiculous," says Alka. "One can understand a rare case when something absolutely extraordinary was needed." For example, the Ghulam Ali composition Chupke chupke raat din that was tellingly used by B R Chopra in Nikaah. The film's original compositions by Ravi were versatile and brilliant.

On the flip side, Rajesh Roshan, who was replaced midway by Anu Malik in Mela, says Malik never called him up, however formally, to ask Roshan whether he had any objections to his stepping in. But Leslie Lewis and Hariharan were brought in to compose another item song later in the same film!

Interestingly enough, the only song from the film that proved popular was composed by Rajesh Roshan. Lezz [Lewis] himself is a staunch supporter of the single music director concept because his father, veteran choreographer P L Raj, would narrate unforgettable stories of how dedicatedly the great composers of the past worked on their songs.

"A Hindi film composer is essentially someone who should be extremely versatile," notes today's pop icon Adnan Sami. "The Western concept of multiple composers makes little sense in the film score." A staunch aficiniado of the golden era of film music and an admirer of Shanker-Jaikishan, Laxmikant Pyarelal, O P Nayyar and R D Burman, Sami points out these geniuses would compose every kind of film song.

There is one more aspect that merits mention: curiously, replacement composers are all wannabes and also-rans, not those whose name or 'track'-record assures success or excellence. Aadesh Shrivastav (Major Saab, K3G, Dil Ne Phir Yaad Kiya, Farz, Dahek, Aankhen) , Anand Raaj Anand (Champion, Bandhan, Pyaasa, Jodi No 1, Kahin Pyaar Na Ho Jaaye) and Sajid-Wajid (Papa -- The Great, Khauff, Yeh Zindagi Ka Safar, Pyaasa) hardly seem surefire hit makers that should be summoned to fill up a deficiency.

These and other names like Nikhil-Vinay, Daboo Malik, Vishal-Shekhar have yet to give a successful score on their own. Says Sameer about this paradox, "The producer signs them only because of a certain type of hit song they have composed. For them, it is an entry into a big banner or film; they can also get mileage from a hit song."

Now, projects are being started with the clear-cut understanding that two, three or more composing entities will work for them. Like Sanjay Gupta's Kaante. "It is the next step down," feels Sameer. "The supply is outstripping the demand."

At one time, Laxmikant Pyarelal and R D Burman would work on 40 films at a time, including their background scores. Today music directors draw from their stock and supply a tune here and a tune there.

As currency notes progressively gain importance over the musical variety, anything is possible. Even if the results are off-key.