Wishing S Mohinder (b. 8 September 1925) a very happy 92nd birth anniversary (and wishing Asha Bhosle a very happy 84th birth anniversary)

Guzra hua zamana aata nahi dubara, hafiz khuda tumhara. This one Song is enough to make S Mohinder immortal. But he also composed many more memorable and extremely sweet as well as fast-paced peppy numbers. He is among the music directors who had a wide range in the style of music as well as choice of singers. It is the vagary of the showbiz that a talented composer like him was not counted among the top rung. But some of his songs dominated the airwaves in the programmes on old film music, Guzra hua zamana being an eternal favourite. He was in my list for the series on “Forgotten Composers Unforgettable Melodies”. I would have written on him at leisure. But, despite this year being quite tight in scheduling, I had to do it now in deference to the sincere request made more than once by our passionate reader, KS Bhatia.

S Mohinder is the last of the doyens of the golden era still among us, though living in the US since 1982. He visits India regularly. There are a number of very nice articles on him available on the net. There is also a long interview with him on Rajya Sabha TV in their Guftgoo series. I am happy to present this article as our greetings to him on his 92nd birth anniversary. Today is also Asha Bhosle’s 84th birth anniversary. Incidentally, S Mohinder was equally well disposed towards her and composed some excellent songs for her, too. Here is wishing her a very happy birthday and long life.

Born on 8 September 1925 in village Silanwala of Montgomery district of undivided Punjab (now in Pakistan), S Mohinder inherited the love for music from his father, Sujan Singh Bakshi, who was a police sub-inspector and who also played the flute. His father’s transferable job brought him to various places: Nankana, where the family lived for four years and S Mohinder completed his matric from there in 1942. There he was attracted towards the singing of a Sikh guru in the gurudwara, and he learnt the songs sung by him. One day, while passing by the gurudwara, S Mohinder was singing the shabad which the guru used to sing. Impressed by his voice, the guru called him in and took him under his tutelage. The family moved to Lyallpur where he continued his training under a Sikh guru Bhai Sujan Singh. He also learnt classical music from Bade Ramdasji of Benaras.

His first interest was singing. His first programme was for Lahore AIR in the mid-40s. Once in May 1947, after finishing his programme at Lahore AIR, he headed towards station and bought a ticket for Lyallpur. There was melee on the platform, and rumour of Pakistan being created was in the air. When the train didn’t come for a long time, he asked the coolie what the matter was. The coolie told him that the trains have become killing fields; the Frontier Mail going for Bombay was standing on the station, and he should just board the train if he wanted to save his life.

Having reached Bombay without ticket and with nothing on, he took shelter in a Dadar gurudwara. But it allowed a continuous stay only for a week. When he was given notice on Sunday to leave on Monday, he told the management that he could sing Shabads. They liked his singing, and allowed him to continue. He was also paid for his singing which gave him sufficient funds to go in search of work. He was lucky to find work soon, thanks to the help of Suraiya, who was impressed by his singing at Lahore AIR, which she had visited when she had gone to Lahore in connection with the release of Anmol Ghadi. She told him that if he needed any help in Bombay, he could look her up.

S Mohinder got his first break with Sehra (1948), starring Arun Ahuja and Nirmala Devi (Govinda’s parents). Nirmala and Arun were the main singers, too, in the film, in which S Mohinder also sang a song, Ae dil uda ke le chal. He composed a song for Lata Mangeshkar for the film Shaadi Ki Raat (1950), which became immensely popular. Seth Chandulal Shah of Ranjt Movietone was very impressed by his music, and offered him to compose music for Dev Anand-Suraiya-starrer Neeli (1950), provided Suraiya approved his songs. That was not a problem. He signed a contract for Rs 7000, plus Rs 3000 for his accompanists. The songs of this film were quite popular.

Ranjit repeated him in Bahadur and Paapi (1953) which had some very good songs. S Mohinder was all set now. Naata (1955) was his next noticeable film. This was followed by his landmark music in Shirin Farhad (1956), which had the immortal Guzra hua zamana aata nahi dobara. He continued to give music till the late 60s. While Hindi film music scene was quite crowded, he was the leading composer in Punjabi films. He got the National Award for his music in Nanak Naam Jahaz (1969).

He also tried his hand at film production towards the last phase of his music career, but that did not succeed. As you can see from his interview with Rajya Sabha TV under their ‘Guftgoo’ series, even at the age of 90-plus, he has an amazing memory. He is the last of the Vintage Era/Golden Era doyens still among us. It gives me great pleasure to pay my tribute to him on his 92^nd birth anniversary with some of his best songs.

1. Guzra hua zamana aata nahi dobara by Lata Mangeshkar from Shirin Farhad (1956), lyrics Tanvir Naqvi

I start with the song that made S Mohinder unforgettable. A sad, melancholic song which refers not only to the tragic love legend of Shirin and Farhad, but also to the universal feeling of loss and sadness about any memory or era that has Gone With The Wind.

2. Hum dil ki kahani kya kahte kuchh kah na sake kuchh kah bhi gaye by Lata Mangeshkar from Shaadi Ki Raat (1950), lyrics Firoz

A wonderful song on the theme of Kuchh to log kahenge. The main music director of this film was Pt Govind Ram, but three songs of this film, including this wonderful Lata Mangeshkar solo, are composed by S Mohinder. This song was mentioned prominently by him in his interview with RSTV.

3. Phool khilein hain gulshan mein by Suraiya from Neeli (1950), lyrics lyrics Surjit Sethi

This was the song he presented before Suraiya before he got the nod for giving music for Neeli.

4. Ulfat ka adhura afsana kuchh bhool gaye kuchh yaad bhi hai by Suraiya from Neeli (1950), lyrics Surjit Sethi

But my favouite Suraiya song from Neeli is this one.

5. Kagwa re ja balma ke deswa by Rajkumari from Bahadur (1953), lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan

One of the best Bhairavis, and one of the best Rajkumari songs, though less heard.

6. Tera kaam hai jalna parwaane chaahe shama jale ya na jale by Rafi from Paapi (1953), lyrics Rajendra Krishna

But in 1953, the songs of Raj Kapoor-Nargis-starrer Paapi became better known. Here is a quite popular Rafi song, lip-synched by Raj Kapoor.

7. Kaun kahe unse ja ke ae huzoor by Asha Bhosle from Paapi (1953), lyrics Sarshar Sailani

This must be one of the most melodious songs of Asha Bhosle from the early 50s. (The uploader of the YT link has wrongly attributed it to Lata Mangeshkar.)

8. Dhadake dhadake rah rah ke…Maujon ka ishara hai by Rafi, Balbir, Lata Mangeshkar and Shamshad Begum from Nata (1955), lyrics Tanveer Naqvi

S Mohinder now gives the full rainbow of colours in this song, which has tonga beats, boatmen’s chorus, and a melodious romantic song by the leading lady Madhubala lip-synching in Lata’s voice, with Chanchal adding contrast in Shamshad Begum’s voice.

9. Is bewafa jahan ka dastoor hai purana by Lata Mangeshkar from Nata (1955), lyrics Tanveer Naqvi

In the same film, S Mohinder now gives an absolutely melodious melancholic song. I heard this for the first time while working for this post. It is surprising that such gems have remained hidden.

10. Gar tum bura na maano by Subir Sen and Asha Bhosle from Mehlon Ke Khwab (1960), lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan

Continuing to show his multifaceted talent, S Mohinder composes this melodious duet for an unlikely combination of Subir Sen and Asha Bhosle.

11. Kamla Razia ya Miss Marry ya ho Preetam Kaur by Mahendra Kapoor, Asha Bhosle and Kishore Kumar from Mehlon Ke Khwab (1960), lyrics Anand Bakhshi

S Mohinder changes tack completely in this song from the same film, when he composes a lively Bhangra dance song.

12. O mere pyaro zameen ke taaro jana tumhein hai kahan by Rafi, Asha Bhosle and Sudha Malhotra from Zameen Ke Taare (1960), lyrics Pt Indra

In the same year, in another B-grade film, S Mohinder composes an inspirational song, Anwar now being in the role of the benign uncle with two children, a reprise of David in Boot Polish.

13. Jhoom ke piya ki gali ghoom ke khushi mein chali aa rahi aa rahi hun by Suman Kalyanpur from Jai Bhawani (1961), lyrics Gopal Singh Nepali

Devotional films in the 60s were generally B grade films, but Jai Bhawani had one of my top favourites of Suman Kalyanpur. You don’t often get songs as sweet as Jhoom ke piya ki gali.

14. Shama se koi kah de by Mukesh and Suman Kalyanpur from Jai Bhawani (1961), lyrics Gopal Singh Nepali

This film also had this terrific duet by Mukesh and Suman Kalyanpur.

15. Aankh sharmaane lagi by Suman Kalyanpur from Captain Sheroo (1963), lyrics Naqsh Layalpuri

But grade ‘B’ film did not deter S Mohinder from composing another absolutely melodious song in the voice of Suman Kalyanpur.

16. Yun mile ki mulaqaat ho na saki by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur from Sarfarosh (1964), lyrics Naqsh Layalpuri

Here is another variety of dish by S Mohinder, now a qawwali by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur from another ‘B’-grade film.

17. Bijli giri kahan se begaane ho gaye hum by Rafi from Picnic (1966), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri

I end this post with a superlative sad Rafi song in a situation where the beloved is getting married to another guy.

Acknowledgements and references

1. Guftgoo interview with DD Rajya Sabha
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44-9cl-fQDc
2. Article by Hardip Singh ‘Aulja’ at apnaorg.com
http://apnaorg.com/articles/mohinder/
3. Article by Darkndusky Hoon at
https://apnaarchive.wordpress.com/2014/11/06/s-mohinder/
4. Article at Beete hue din
http://beetehuedin.blogspot.in/2015/09/guzra-hua-zamana-aata-nahin-dobara-s.html
5. Wherever the video link of a song is of poor quality, I have taken the audio version.