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Photo: Murali Kumar K.

Two to tango Mitali and Bhupinder believe in unhurriedness; they refuse to be rushed into the musical race

Give Bhupinder’s melodies a quick run in the mind: “Ek akela is shahar mein”, “Dil dhoondta hao phir wohi”, “Beete na beetaaye raina” and the many others. There’s a certain slowness, a quaint charm to them. They belong to a time when idleness was not a vice, but hung heavily with reflection, memories and passionate search. Bhupinder with his likeable nasal twang, steered clear of ornamentation and rendered his songs with remarkable feel and a moving simplicity. A man of very few words, Bhupinder says with absolute conviction: “If the composer insisted on unnecessary innovations, I would refuse to sing. I insist on the purity of lyrics and believe in examining the depth of the poem with my voice.”

It is to the credit of the composer Madan Mohan who introduced Bhupinder to the Hindi film industry. Those were days when he was a casual singer with All India Radio and a group of friends had organised an entertainment programme in honour of Madan Mohan. “He liked my song and invited me over to Bombay,” he recalls. He sang that fantastic nazm by the late Kaifi Azmi “Ho Ke Majboor” for the film “Haqeeqat” in 1963. It was a runaway hit and launched Bhupinder in a big way.

Bhupinder’s father was a classical musician, but despite being severely thrashed, he never seriously took to classical music. “As a child I wanted to go out, play and be with my friends. But today, I think my father was right. I regret not listening to him. Well, but I suppose I was no one to decide. My destiny was different,” the singer says, speaking of his choices. Having come into the film industry, he stuck to it for nearly two decades, before he decided to take a break.

Not many know that Bhupinder played more roles than just being a singer. He was an amazing guitarist as well as a violinist. In fact, when he was not singing he was busy playing the guitar. He played the guitar for songs like “Dum Maro Dum”, “Churaliya Hai”, “Chalte Chalte”. “It felt great playing for these outstanding songs,” says Bhupinder, looking a bit surprised. Naushad, in an interview, has gone on record to say that Bhupinder was the best guitarist of the Hindi film industry. In the film “Kadambari” which had just one song and the music director was none less than Ustad Vilayat Khan, Bhupinder played a 12-string guitar. “It was a very challenging piece. The songs was 15 minutes long…,” says Bhupinder. But ask him what it was to perform for the nonconformist, highly individualistic maestro, he says: “Once you step into the studio, everyone is the equal. Otherwise you cannot concentrate. It was challenging to work with him, but to perform my role well I had to strip him of his legendary status.”

Mention his guitar connection, and the singer invariably slips into nostalgia. Bhupinder remembers his best friend R.D. Burman, with whom he used to spend long hours. “We discussed music in his room. Those were days when he didn’t have much work and I didn’t have much to do either. This was before he got ‘Hare Rama Hare Krishna’. After that he became busy and had recordings everyday. Of course, I used to be with him, because I was playing the guitar for him. Though I started as a violinist in the film industry, I played guitar for 30 years for RD. All the guitar solos in his compositions were played by me – the acoustic guitar, electric guitar, Iranian instrument like the rabab….,” he fondly reminisces.

“RD was a genius. He made tunes as if he was drawing them from the atmosphere around him. He was the only man who could compose cabarets, romantic and classical songs with ease… he was so versatile. And more than all this, what I cherish the most is the special relationship we shared. We were not just good friends, we bonded like brothers. Ours was a very long association. Till about ‘84, when I gradually disappeared from the scene, RD and I spent a lot of time together.”

The Gulzar-RD-Bhupinder combination worked extremely well. They gave some of Hindi film industry’s best numbers. “Knowing the insides of music, I used to feel music. Gulzar saab’s lyrics had a deep impact on RD and me. Burman. RD also believed that if you have good poetry you can compose well.” It was this love for poetry that resulted in his abiding engagement with ghazals. In fact, it was Bhupinder who gave the orchestration of ghazals a major turn. What was till then dominated by the harmonium and sarangi, now had violins and guitars. “I did bring in new sounds, but was very particular about not overshadowing the lyrics. They have to be in the background and only enhance the songs.” Bhupinder has remained the quiet, non-aggressive musician who values his music more than anything else. This multi-faceted singer carries all the adulation and praise rather lightly on his shoulders.

“They were great times and it was a stroke of luck that I got songs with which I could identify myself,” says Bhupinder, in his characteristic unwillingness to take too much credit.

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