As a khayal in the afternoon raga, Desi, unfolded, two distinct voices in two diverse styles elaborated some relaxed passages.
A short, speedy prelude announced the fast-tempo composition, ‘Aaj Gaawat Mann Mero Jhoom Ke,’ in the same melody. An energetic exploration preceded a supersonic silsila of rollercoaster taans and the speeding up of the tala, and the high-octave duet concluded in a crescendo.
Indeed, the piece was sung by two pillars of Hindustani music -- Ustad Amir Khan with his introspective Meerukhand style and the silky, effervescent Gwalior doyen, Pandit D.V. Paluskar, in a historic duet for the first time ever!
But unlike in a typical connoisseur-packed mehfil or a 78 RPM recording, as was common those days, this happened on the big screen for the film, ‘Baiju Bawra’ (1952).
The famous musical confrontation between Tansen and Baiju Bawra in the presence of Emperor Akbar, is still etched in the minds of several generations of music and film lovers.
Along with his immense contribution to Indian cinema, Vijay Bhatt (1907-1993) was the first film maker credited to have not only introduced Indian classical music to the cinematic medium, but also stalwarts of Hindustani music to lay audiences through cinema.
Born in 1907 in Palitana, a remote village in Kanthiawad, Gujarat, Vijay Bhatt hailed from a humble background. He came to Mumbai in his twenties with his elder brother Shankarbhai and completed his degree in Engineering. He pursued his passion for theatre which led him to work with stalwarts such as Ardeshir Irani. He was also associated with the famous Bhangwadi plays and several successful silent films, Gujarati films and talkies until his major stint as a director with the film, ‘Dreamland,’ in 1936.
Vijay Bhatt rose to fame with evergreen hits such as the musicals ‘Baiju Bawra’ (1952) and ‘Goonj Uthi Shehnai’ (1959), mythologicals ‘Ram Rajya’ (1967), ‘Bharat Milap’ (1942), ‘Bal Ramayan’ (1956) and others including ‘Hariyali Aur Rasta’ (1962), ‘Himalay Ki Godh Mein’ (1965) and ‘Narsinh Bhagat’ (1940). In fact, his ‘Ram Rajya’ was the only film which Mahatma Gandhi watched in his lifetime!
While classical music was considered a connoisseur’s medium, the concept of classical-based film songs was relatively alien those days.
With musical blockbusters such as ‘Baiju Bawra’ and ‘Goonj Uthi Shehnai,’ classical music was introduced to the masses in a refreshingly new avatar. During the making of ‘Baiju Bawra,’ friends, well wishers and colleagues in the industry would address him as Viju Bawra (‘bawra’ means ‘crazed’), questioning his decision to make a film based on a classical music, which according to most, would be a mammoth disaster considering its lack of mass appeal. But the firm conviction of the affable, soft-spoken film maker was met with overwhelming success.
Vijay Bhatt’s films were often a medium to unite classical giants on a common platform for path-breaking duets -- Ustad Amir Khan with Pt. Paluskar (‘Aaj Gaawat Man More’ -Baiju Bawra) and shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan and sitar ustad Abdul Halim Jaffer Khan (Goonj Uthi Shehnai) Ustad Halim Jaffer recalls, “Bismillah Khan saheb and I were involved in more of a bhaibandi (brotherhood) rather than a jugalbandi, which is often competitive,” adding that Viju Bhai (as he was affectionately called), with his literary nature and passion for classical music, took a great risk and made tremendous sacrifices to make films of this genre at a time when catchy, romantic numbers were the norm. Having done ample research, thanks to his close rapport with musicians and composers such as Naushad and Vasant Desai, and leafing through ancient texts such as the 12th century Sangeet Ratnakar by Sarangdev, Vijay Bhatt made films which were not merely fable-based, but true to the essence and authenticity of Indian music.
“Along with the highly aesthetic usage of pure ragas such as Behag (‘Tere sur aur mere geet’) and Bhairavi (‘Dil ka khilaona hai toot gaya’), the songs in ‘Goonj Uthi Shehnai’ also had a folksy feel, which was a refreshing contrast,” says Lata Mangeshkar, who was quite new to the industry during Vijay Bhatt’s hey day.
Vijay Bhatt’s grand-daughter Smita Vyas says, “I remember my grandmother getting nostalgic about those all-night sessions my grandpa would have with maestros such as Ustad Bismillah Khan and Vasant Desai at their residence. She would make paan after paan to keep up their spirits!” “I have heard from my (late) mother say that initially Bismillah Khansaheb was reluctant to sing for grandpa’s film, but agreed with a hug after he met him. Khansaheb is believed to have said, ‘How can I ever refuse such a nek insaan’ (honest man)!” she adds.
While his encounters with legend seem fresh in Pt. Paluskar’s handwritten memoir, Vijay Bhatt’s classical hits still resound in the era of electronic groves.
