The following anecdotes were shared on FM channel 92.7, by Amit Kumar, son of the late famous singer Kishore Kumar:

18. Kishore Kumar was recording for the song 'ये जीवन है'. The music director duo Lakshmikant-Pyarelal felt that he was singing a bit too loudly and requested him to adopt a softer tone. Kishore Kumar asked to be allowed to sit on a chair. In those days, most of the singers used to sing standing. When the chair was brought in, Kishore Kumar sat down and asked them how they wanted him to sing. They repeated that they would prefer a softer tone. Kishore Kumar clutched at his throat, got up from the chair and started singing while approaching the mike. This time the tone came out just as was needed by the music directors.

19. A journalist once reached home of the legendary classical singer, the late Pandit Bhimsen Joshi. He was a bit surprised to find that PanditJi was listening to a song (unfortunately I have forgotten which one) by Kishore Kumar, the general perception being that the classical singers don't listen to filmy music. When the song ended, he asked PanditJi about it. PanditJi laughed and told him that the song starts with raag Khamaj (not sure of this either) and later changes to raag Kalawati. He also mentioned that Kishore Kumar has sung it beautifully and if he had been formally trained in classical music, he would have given other classical music singers a run for their money.

20. When Kishore Kumar was asked to sing the song 'वादा तेरा वादा' from the movie 'दुश्मन', he realized that it was a Qawwali and recommended that none other than Mohammad Rafi would be able to do full justice to it. The music directors, Lakshmikant-Pyarelal again, consulted the movie's hero, Rajesh Khanna, who in turn discussed the matter with the film's director. Finally, it was decided that Kishore Kumar will sing this song. He did and the song went on to become a hit.

21. Lakshmikant-Pyarelal had arranged the show of their music night at Mumbai's Brabourne stadium. A group of (the then) young singers like Suresh Wadkar, Shabbir Kumar were going to perform. Lakshmikant-Pyarelal requested Kishore Kumar to perform as well to encourage the young singers. He agreed but since it would have been difficult for him to spare time for rehearsals it was decided that he will perform on the spot. No one except for Lakshmikant-Pyarelal knew which song he was going to sing. That night when Kishore Kumar came on the stage, he requested that a bed (चारपाई) be brought there. Everyone was surprised but they complied with his request. When the bed was in place he asked for a pillow. That too was arranged. Kishore Kumar then lied down on the bed and sang the song 'वादा तेरा वादा' from the movie 'दुश्मन', without any prior rehearsal.

As I waited to get into the auditorium to watch yet another play, I listened to Annu Kapoor on FM 92.7 as he played songs and narrated a few anecdotes from the Golden Era of Hindi cinema. Here are three of them:

18. When Nasir Hussain decided to make the movie Teesri Manzil, Vijay Anand was given the responsibility of directing it. His first choice for the lead was his brother Dev Anand and for the music director it was S. D. Burman. But Dev was busy with Guide those Days. So it was decided to cast Shammi Kapoor instead. Burmanda wasn't keeping well so the hunt was on for the music director. Nasir Hussain thought of Pancham aka R.D. Burman. Since Shammi Kapoor was known to possess a keen sense of music and get involved closely with the music of his movies, Nasir told him about his idea. But Shammi wasn't in favor because during those days his movies' music was composed mostly by either the duo Shankar-Jaikishan or O.P. Nayyar. What can only be seen as a sign of the healthy competition that was the norm of that era, Jaikishan himself told Shammi to give Pancham a chance. Even writer Sachin Bhowmik suggested the same along with Nasir Hussain. Finally, Shammi agreed to listen to the tunes that Pancham had composed.

The words of any of the songs were yet to be written but the very first tune that Pancham played before Shammi was for the song Diwana Muzsa Nahi Iss Ambar Ke Neeche. No sooner did he sing the tune for the first line, Shammi hummed the rest of the tune and told Pancham that it is from a Nepali folk song. Then he asked Pancham to play his original composition. Pancham was taken aback, he came out of the room and started smoking. He told Nasir that he wouldn't be able to work with Shammi because the guy obviously knew a lot about music. Nasir told him to relax and play one of his own compositions. The next tune that Shammi listened to was for, and I am not sure if I remember it right, the song O Haseena Julfowali. He loved it and then for the next one hour listened to the tunes for the rest of the songs. Pancham bagged the movie and the rest, as they say, is history.

19. The second anecdote is of the famous actress, late Nargis Dutt. She was in London and went for shopping in one of the famous stores there. When she paid her bill she realized that she has forgotten to buy a pair of stockings. She went back, got them and thinking that she has already paid for them proceeded to the exit with her purchases. At the gates she was stopped because of the stockings for which she had not paid. The manager was called and he in turn called the police. NargisJi was so rattled by this whole experience that by mistake she agreed to have committed shoplifting. She was asked to come to the court the next day to pay the fine.

NargisJi knew that if the British media got wind of this incident, it will soon be all over the newspapers in India. So she called the then High Commissioner K Natwar.  K Natwar Singh (in fact Annu Kapoor acknowledged that he had read about this incident in one of Mr. Singh's books) and requested him to do something to stop British media from getting to know about this. He in turn called a high-ranking British officer who told him that since NargisJi had confessed to shoplifting nothing could be done. Then he asked for her passport. When he looked at the name on the passport, he was surprised to see the name 'Fatima' instead of Nargis. Then he said that the whole affair could be hushed from the media if NargisJi went to the court as an ordinary Indian woman Fatima keeping her face covered with a pair of sunglasses. NargisJi did exactly that, paid her fine and the media, British or Indian, never learned about this.

20. A listener asked Annu Kapoor who had sung the words 'Yahoo' in the famous Shammi Kapoor song from Junglee. Was it Rafi or was it Shammi Kapoor? Annu kapoor said that it was neither of them but writer-director Prayag Raaj.

Here are two more anecdotes from the Golden Era as told by Annu Kapoor on 92.7 yesterday:

16. Balraj Sahni wanted to become a writer like his elder brother, the famous author Bhishm Sahni. He had started writing stories and they were getting published in the then most well-known magazine of Hindi literature - Hans. In fact, he was one of the few authors whose stories were never turned down by them. Then he got an offer to work for BBC in London. The pay was good, work was satisfying and of course, there was prestige associated with it. So he took the offer and worked in London for 4 years. During that time he didn't write much. At the end of four years he came back to India and thought of picking up where he had left off as far as writing goes. Unfortunately, the very first story that he sent to the magazine after returning to India was rejected by Hans. Balraj Sahni was devastated. He was so stung by that rejection that he made up his mind never to write again. That's how he turned to the Hindi film industry.

17. The second anecdote that I managed to listen to concerned the quintessential Mom of Hindi cinema - Nirupa Roy. I was surprised to hear that she was not Bengali, as her name would suggest, but came from a Gujarati family. Her maiden name was Kanta Chauhan. She hailed from a small village of Gujarat and came to Mumbai following her marriage with one Kamal Balsara, who was a rationing inspector. After marriage her name changed to Kokila Balsara. Her husband was very fond of acting and used to make it a point to go whenever auditions were conducted for movie roles. But he never managed to land any role under one of the big banners of the day. He took his wife along with him for auditions being conducted for a Gujarati movie called Raanak Devi. He wasn't selected but his wife was offered a role without any audition. Though she had full support of her husband, there was an uproar in the community as at that time it was believed that people from good families would never work in the film industry. In fact, that was the reason she was given the screen name of Nirupa Roy. Obviously her father was dead against the idea and warned her that should she work in the movie industry she would be forever banned from entering his house. But she completed her assignment and the movie was released in due course of time. The furor in the community died down soon after that. But her father remained true to his word and never saw her again as long as he lived.

As I waited to get into the auditorium to watch a play on the weekend I tuned into FM to listen to Annu Kapoor's program on the Golden Era. By the time the play started I had managed to catch three anecdotes and a couple of songs.

13. The first one concerned a movie called 'Devi' starring Nutan and Sanjiv Kumar. They had worked together in an earlier movie which went on to become a hit. And of course, the filmy magazines of the day were filled with accounts of their budding romance. The shooting for 'Devi' started and one day people were jolted by a loud sound reverberating across the entire set. It was clear that someone had slapped but it wasn't immediately clear as to who had hit whom. People assumed that someone had hit one of the spotboys or a junior female artist must have slapped someone trying to misbehave. But when the truth came out everyone was stunned. A cameraman revealed that Nutan had slapped Sanjiv Kumar who then angrily left the set. Soon the news was everywhere. Neither Nutan nor Sanjiv Kumar ever offered any explanation for this incident but speculation was rife that Nutan had done so to save her marriage because her husband Rajnish Behl, who was suspicious by nature, was upset at the rumors linking her to Sanjiv Kumar.

14. Music director Shankar was working with famous classical singer Shobha Gurtu on one of the songs for film Duriyaa. He told her that at one point in the song she was to employ what is called 'Murki' - which I believe is a particular way of singing. But when the song was recorded, she failed to do that. And she couldn't do it despite multiple recordings. Finally she asked him 'who can do this if I cannot?'. ShankarJi smiled, got hold of a harmonium, closed his eyes and started singing. He made use of the Murki at the exact place where he wanted her to do that. She was taken aback and praised him for his singing abilities.

15. The third anecdote was about the difficult terms and conditions that actor Dharmendra had to work under when he first started working in the film industry. He had bagged films from the likes of Gurudutt and Bimal Roy - after being selected in the talent hunt (which I believe was sponsored by Filmfare). But the shooting for these films was yet to start. And Dharmendra was worried that if they didn't start his career would be over before it ever began. So he decided to accept any and every offer that came his way - no matter the conditions. During the talent hunt, he had met Arjun Hingorani who had promised to cast him in his film. True to his word, he offered Dharmendra a part in his film 'Dil Bhi Tera Ham Bhi Tere' but the producer told Dharmendra that it can happen only if he accepted two conditions. One, he would be given only 60% of the agreed payment. And two, while the shooting is going on, Dharmendra cannot accept any other film without his permission. If he does, he will have to give the producer 50% of his payment from the other film. Dharmendra agreed. After a few days, another offer came his way from Ramesh Sehgal who was quite a well-known name at that time. Interestingly, his offer came attached with the same two conditions. Dharmendra agreed again. When Hingorani came to know about this, he was taken aback. He asked Dharmendra what would happen if the two producers came to know about each other. Dharmendra said he would pay them both as per the condition. Hingorani then asked him what would be left for him. Dharmendra answered that he wasn't worried about money at that point of time. At least he will get to act and his films would be released.

About two weeks back Vividh Bharati broadcast the third, and last, part of the series of interviews with sons of late music director Madanmohan. Here are some of the memories they shared with the audience:

9. When music director Roshan passed away all of the songs of the movie 'Anokhi Raat' had already been recorded - except for one. His wife, Ira Roshan, decided that she will arrange to get this last song recorded. She wrote to all the music directors of that time and requested them to be present for this recording as a sign of their support. MadanmohanJi's son recalled being present in the studio along with his dad and said that he saw all the music directors of that time, without any exception, there that day. The song that was recorded was 'खुशी खुशी कर दो विदा, तुम्हारी बेटी राज करेगी'. 

10. One of the sons recalled an event from his childhood. One morning he was getting ready for school when the doorbell rang. When he opened the door, he saw S.D. Burman standing there. Burmanda asked him to fetch his dad. The kid ran inside and woke up his father. MadanmohanJi came to the door and requested Burmanda to come inside but he remained where he was and simply said that he loved the songs from the movie 'Heer Ranzha'. Having said that he turned on his heel and left. He used to live in Khar back then and had driven all the way from there himself to the Kohalis' residence in Peddar Road - just to let MadanmohanJi know that he had liked his composition from the movie.

11. There is one incident related to the song 'सिमटीसी शरमायीसी किस दुनियासे तुम आयी हो'. During the last phase of MadanmohanJi's career the music directors who were doing a lot of films used to book the studios well in advance for more than a month or so - with the expectation that one or other of the songs that they are doing would be recorded there. MadanmohanJi was finding it a bit difficult to get the dates of the studios and singers at that time. The late singer Kishor Kumar was supposed to record one of his songs before leaving for the US later that night. But he didn't turn up for the recording as promised in the afternoon. MadanmohanJi knew that he was doing recording for R.D. Burman in a nearby studio. Phones were not much in use by then. So after waiting for a long time MadanmohanJi himself drove over there and told R.D. Burman about his pending recording. R.D. Burman didn't know about this and asked Kishor Kumar to return after completing MadanmohanJi's recording.

12. When MadanmohanJi passed away, Lata Mangeshkar was somewhere abroad. In a function someone mentioned to her that a well-known music director had passed away India. She realized that it was going to be someone she knew. But two full days passed before she could place a call home and learn about MadanmohanJi's death. The late singer Mohammad Rafi also was on tour at that time, somewhere in the middle east. He landed at the airport and was told of MadanmohanJi's death. He reached the crematorium just as MadanmohanJi's elder son was about to light the funeral pyre but managed to pay his last respects to his dear friend. MadanmohanJi's son remarked that they saw him cry for the first time in their lives.

मध्यंतरी विविध भारतीवर प्रसिद्ध संगीतकार मदनमोहन ह्यांच्या दोन मुलांच्या मुलाखतीचा दुसरा भाग ऐकायचा योग आला. आपल्या वडिलांशी संबंधित अनेक आठवणी त्यांनी सांगितल्या. त्यातल्या काही....

1. मदनमोहन ह्यांचं आपल्या गाडीवर खूप प्रेम होतं. तिला ते प्रेमाने 'बेबी' म्हणायचे. एकदा त्यांच्याकडे परदेशातून काही मित्र आले. त्यांना भारत फिरून दाखवावा म्हणून मदनमोहन गाडीतून घेऊन गेले. नाशिकजवळ एका निर्जन ठिकाणी गाडी अचानक बंद पडली. मेकेनिक सोडाच एखादा माणूससुध्दा दिसायची मारामार. मदनमोहन गाडीतून खाली उतरले आणि बोनेटजवळ जाऊन म्हणाले 'बेबी, माझ्या मित्रांसमोर तू माझी फजिती करणार? ते काय म्हणतील'. आणि दोन मिनिटांनी त्यांनी चावी फिरवली तेव्हा गाडी सुरु झाली.

2. दुसरा किस्सा मसुरीच्या सेव्होय हॉटेलचा....१९६७-६८ च्या काळातला. तेव्हाचं हे मसुरीतलं सर्वात प्रसिद्ध मोठं हॉटेल. मदनमोहन ह्यांची पत्नी आणि मुलं तिथे सुट्टी घालवायला आली. मदनमोहन मागाहून येणार होते. ते आले तेव्हा पूर्ण हॉटेल भरलेलं होतं....अंदाजे ३००-३५० लोक असावेत. पहिले २-३ दिवस घोडेस्वारी वगैरेत गेले. मग मदनमोहन आपल्या पत्नीला म्हणाले की इथे असलेल्या सगळ्या लोकांसाठी मला जेवण बनवायचं आहे. ती अवाक झाली. ते म्हणाले तुझी मैत्रीण ह्या हॉटेलची मालक आहे तेव्हा तिला चालेल का ते विचार. त्यांच्या पत्नीने विचारलं तेव्हा मालकीण म्हणाली की त्यांना काही त्रास होत नसेल तर तिला काही आक्षेप नाही. मग मदनमोहन ह्यांनी त्यांच्या घोडेवाल्याना तिथे चांगलं मटण कुठे मिळतं ते विचारून घेतलं आणि ते आणून टेनिस कोर्टवर चार मोठाल्या हंड्यात शिजवलं. मग प्रत्येक खोलीच्या दरवाजावर टकटक करून त्यानी लोकांना जेवायचं आमंत्रण दिलं. ही पार्टी झाल्यावर मग ते पत्नीला म्हणाले की माझी सुट्टी संपली, आता मी परत जातो, तू मुलांना घेऊन नंतर ये. स्वत:च्या घरी सुध्दा दर रविवारी बाजारातून भाजी, मटण आणून स्वत: स्वयंपाक करायचा आणि लोकांना जेवायला बोलवायचं हा त्यांचा आवडता शौक होता. Wrestling ची आवड होती त्यामुळे दारासिंगबरोबर मैत्री होती. क्रिकेट, बिलियर्डस ह्याचा शौक होता. ब्रेबॉर्नवर क्रिकेटचे सामने पहायला ते नेहमी जात.

3. 'नैनोमें बदरा छाये' ह्या 'मेरा साया' मधल्या गाण्याच्या रेकॉर्डिंगचा एक किस्सा आहे. तेव्हा मल्टी-ट्रेक रेकॉर्डिंगची सोय नसल्याने वादक आणि गायक एकाच वेळेस वाजवत आणि गात असत. थोडी जरी चूक झाली तरी पुन्हा पुन्हा रेकॉर्डिंग करावं लागे. त्या दिवशी वादकांच्या ताफ्यातल्या कोणाची तरी चूक होत होती आणि पुन्हा पुन्हा रिटेक्स होत होते. १२-१३ वेळा असं झाल्यावर मदनमोहन भडकले आणि गायक आणि वादक ह्यांच्यामध्ये असलेल्या भिंतीच्या काचेवर त्यांनी रागाने हात मारला. काच तडकली आणि त्यांच्या हाताला जखम झाली. लोकांनी त्यांना हॉस्पिटलात जायचा सल्ला दिला. पण त्यांचं म्हणणं एकच - मी रेकॉर्डिंग पूर्ण झाल्याशिवाय इथून हलणार नाही. लता मंगेशकरांनी ही आठवण सांगताना नमूद केलंय की खरं तर गाऊन गाऊन त्या खूप थकून गेल्या होत्या पण मदनमोहनांचा रुद्रावतार बघून सगळेच एव्हढे घाबरले होते की पुढच्याच टेकला गाणं ओके झालं. :-)

4. 'कदर जाने ना' हे त्यांचं गाणं बेगम अख्तरनी त्या दिल्लीला असताना ऐकलं. ते त्यांना एव्हढं आवडलं की त्यांनी तडक हॉटेलमधून मदनमोहनना ट्रंककॉल लावला. त्या आणि त्यांच्या खोलीत असलेले लोक सगळ्यांनी आळीपाळीने मदनमोहनजी कडून ते गाणं ऐकलं आणि तेव्हढा वेळ तो फोन चालू राहिला.

5. जहांआरा मधली तीन सोलो गाणी तलतला द्यायची असा मदनमोहनजींचा आग्रह होता. पण तलत तेव्हा फार गाणी गात नसत. आणि रफी फेमस होते. त्यामुळे प्रोड्युसर ओमप्रकाशने ती रफीकडून गाऊन घ्यायची असं ठरवलं. मदनमोहनजींनी त्याला ठणकावून सांगितलं की मी हवं तर ही फिल्म सोडतो नाहीतर ही गाणी माझ्या खर्चाने तलतच्या आवाजात रेकॉर्ड करून घेतो. तुम्हाला फिल्ममध्ये ठेवायची तर ठेवा नाहीतर ती गाणी माझ्या मालकीची होतील. असाच आग्रह पुढे 'लैलामजनू' च्या वेळी त्यांनी धरला. फरक एव्हढाच की ह्या वेळी किशोरकुमार ऐवजी ऋषी कपूरसाठी काही गाणी रफीच्या आवाजात रेकॉर्ड करायचा त्यांचा निर्धार त्यांनी तडीस नेला.

6. 'मौसम' च्या गाण्यांचं रेकॉर्डिंग चालू होतं तेव्हाची गोष्ट. त्या काळात मदनमोहनजी लोणावळ्याला एक बंगला बांधत होते. शनिवार-रविवार त्या कामाची पहाणी करायला ते जात असतं. त्यांनी भूपिंदर आणि गुलजार दोघांना सांगून ठेवलं होतं की सोमवारी सकाळी ११ ला मी स्टुडीओत येतो मग ११:३० ला आपण सुरुवात करू. पण ११:२५ झाले तरी त्यांचा पत्ता नव्हता. खर तर ते दिलेली वेळ कधीच चुकवत नसत. भूपिंदर स्टुडीओच्या खाली उभे होते तेव्हा त्यांच्यासमोर एक ट्रक येऊन थांबला. ड्रायव्हर उतरला आणि त्याने दुसर्या बाजूने एकाला हात देऊन उतरवलं. भूपिंदरनी पाहिलं तर ते मदनमोहनजी होते. त्यांच्या गाडीला जुन्या मुंबई-पुणे रस्त्यावर अपघात होऊन गाडी दरीत कोसळली होती. त्यानाही खूप लागलं होतं. पण रेकॉर्डिंग पूर्ण झाल्याखेरीज त्यांनी हॉस्पिटलात जायला नकार दिला.

7. एकदा विलायत खान ह्यांनी आपला भाचा (किंवा पुतण्या) रईस खान छान सतार वाजवतो तेव्हा त्याला जमेल तर संधी दया म्हणून त्यांच्याकडे आणलं. मदनमोहनजीनी त्यांना मद्रासच्या एव्हीएम प्रोडक्शनच्या एका फिल्मचं नुकतंच रेकॉर्ड झालेलं गाणं ऐकवलं. त्यात शिवकुमारनी सतार वाजवली होती. रईस खान ह्यांनी जवळ असलेली सतार उचलून 'मी हे असं वाजवलं असतं' म्हणून वाजवून दाखवताच मदनमोहनजी एव्हडे खुश झाले की लगेच मद्रासला फोन करून हे गाणं पुन्हा रेकॉर्ड होईल असं त्यांनी जाहीर केलं. ह्यापुढले सगळे सतारचे पिसेस रईस खान ह्यांनी वाजवले हे वेगळं सांगायला नको. त्यांच्या मृत्यूनंतर मदनमोहनजीनी सतार फारशी वापरली नाही. पण नंतर पुढे ते स्वत: सतार वाजवायला शिकले असं त्यांच्या मुलाने सांगितलं. चित्रपट संगीत फारसं ऐकत नसलेले बिस्मिल्ला खान हेसुद्धा मदनमोहनजीच्या संगीताचे चाहते होते. एकदा मदनमोहनजीचा मुलगा त्यांच्या वाराणसीच्या घरात काही कामानिमित्त गेला असताना त्यांनी सनईचे सूर छेडून 'हर तरफ बजने लगी सेकडो शहनाइया' असं म्हणून त्याचं स्वागत केलं अशीही आठवण त्याने सांगितली.

8. मदनमोहनजी आणि लतादीदी ह्यांची पहिली भेट 'शहीद' ह्या फिल्मच्या वेळची. तेव्हा त्यांनी तिला आपण लवकरच संगीतकार होणार असं सांगितलं आणि आपल्या पहिल्या फिल्ममध्ये गायची विनंती केली जी दीदींनी मान्यही केली. पुढे काही कारणाने त्यांना त्या फिल्ममध्ये गाता आलं नाही. मग एक दिवस मदनमोहनजी त्यांच्या घरी आले आणि म्हणाले तुम्ही कबुल केल्याप्रमाणे माझ्या पहिल्या फिल्म मध्ये गायला नाहीत. असं म्हणून त्यांनी खिशातून राखी काढली आणि म्हणाले की आज रक्षाबंधन नाही पण तुम्ही ही राखी मला बांधावी अशी माझी इच्छा आहे. मग तुम्ही नक्की माझ्या फिल्म मध्ये गाल. पुढे हे कॉम्बिनेशन हिट झालं हे सर्वश्रुत आहे. दीदींना फारशी गाणी न देणाऱ्या ओ.पी. नय्यर ने सुद्धा कबुल केलं की बहुधा ह्या दोघांचा जन्म एक दुसरयासाठीच झाला असावा. दीदींच्या परदेशातल्या दौऱ्याच्या वेळी त्या मदनमोहनजीचं गाणं म्हणणार असं नुसतं जाहीर झालं तरी टाळ्यांचा कडकडाट व्हायचा आणि एव्हढ्या फर्माईशी येत की दौऱ्यावर त्यांना ह्या अधिक गाण्यांची रिहर्सल करावी लागे.