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Manna in this Dey and age
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At 85, Manna Dey sings with a passion that makes up for whatever damage time may have done to his voice
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I like to sing songs that actually need singing MANNA DEY
MANY MOODS Manna Dey: `I had people dancing for a number like `Kehat Musafir'. But that needn't happen with every song in a film' PHOTO: GOPINATHAN K.
What's the raaz behind the robust health of 85-year-old Manna Dey's voice that manages to negotiate the complex murkis of "Ae mere zohra jabi" or "Laaga chunari me daag"? Undoubtedly, years of unrelenting riaz and a firm belief that one never ceases to be a student. But on Radio City's Musical-e-Azam programme, he let the listeners in on the magic potion that keeps his voice ever so fit: "Just that I love singing!" As a line from his famous "Sur na saje" goes: "Sangeet man ko pankh lagaye... "
As his famous number "Tu pyar ka sagar hai" was faded out after the first stanza for Manna Dey to sing the rest live on the show, he did find the pitch of his youthful, recorded voice a bit too high to match.
But as he got going with his fingers on the harmonium, an indefatigable spirit and a passion for music seemed to more than make up for what time may have stolen from his voice.
The enthusiasm did not wane till the end of the programme that lasted well beyond two hours, with an unprecedented number of people calling and messaging to tell him how much they love Manna da, who has now made Bangalore his home. He had his daughter calling the "best dad in the world" from the U.S. and Hariharan calling "his role model" from Bombay and even singing a few lines of the exquisite "Poocho na kaise".
The classical numbers
The yesteryear playback singer, who was sought after between the '50s and '70s especially for classical-based songs, remains popular to this day for numbers such as "Phool gendwa na maro", "Kaun aya mere man ke dware", "Yeh raat bheegi bheegi", "Aaja sanam madhur chandni me hum", "Dil ka haal sune dilwala" and so on. RJ Vasanthi Hariprakash played his best numbers on the show and Manna Dey shared some interesting behind-the-scenes trivia on them.
Speaking to media persons after the show, Manna Dey was moved as he remembered how Balraj Sahni had hugged him after the recording of "Tu pyar ka" and said: "You lived that role as you sang the song!" In fact, this spirit of participation and camaraderie marked the world of music and films during Manna Dey's heyday. He recalled how Raj Kapoor, after listening to "Laaga chunari mein daag... " had said the music score and its rendering was too complex for an actor to live up to on screen and director Salil Choudhary had put his foot down saying: "I spent two months on this tune."
"Those were days when music directors spent months composing a song and singers rehearsed for five or six days before actually recording the song. Has anyone heard of something called rehearsals these days?" quipped Manna Dey.
Another intriguing thing about present-day music, says Manna Dey, is the obsession with fast pace. "Why should one dance to every song?!" he asked. "I had people dancing for a number like "Kehat musafir". But that needn't happen with every song in a film." Not that there is no singing talent around, but there aren't enough music directors to challenge and channelise this talent, he feels.
Wanted: a Bimal Roy
That goes for actors too. He loves to watch Shah Rukh Khan and Saif Ali Khan but can't help thinking how much more wonderful they could be if they had a Bimal Roy to direct them. If he has stopped singing these days it's not just because he can't, at his age, be singing for 20-something actors, but also because he likes to "sing songs that actually need singing."
Not all of us might be inclined to writing off the present-day music and films as a fall from a certain golden age. But why is it that even those of us who appreciate the energy of a song such as a "Kajrare kajrare tere kale kale naina" find ourselves zeroing in on "Poocho na kaise" when we are looking for something understated, deeply stirring and strangely enough, also comforting? Even more intriguing is the fact that while a "Kajrare" might last a couple of months in public memory and on music charts, a "Poocho na kaise" survives a good two generations and possibly more.
Does this longevity and ability to reach down to the emotional core of a person reflect the spirit of the time in which these songs were made: when composing, singing and acting them out on screen was a collective, emotional enterprise and not one done in a multiple-track, cut-and-paste mode?
Manna Dey says it's difficult to trace the root of that quality. He adds, after a thoughtful pause: "But yes, it's nicer and easier to work with like-minded people... Things are much more difficult when you operate in different thinking tracks."
BAGESHREE S.
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