Lag Ja Gale Ki Phir Ye Hasin Raat Ho Na HoShaayad Phir Is Janam Men Mulaaqaat Ho Na HoLag Jaa Gale Se….

MUMBAI: These haunting lyrics and the soulful music, continue to resonate in our minds even after several decades of its release. Madan Mohan Kohli, better known as Madan Mohan, was renowned for composing soothing melodies like 'Naino Mein Badra Chaye' and 'Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho'. It was on 14 July, 1975 that the composer bid adieu to the world, but his music remains immortal. On his 39th death anniversary, Radioandmusic.com pays tribute to the immortal legend.

Born to a business tycoon Rai Bahadur Chunnilal and the co- owner of the Bombay Talkies and Filmistan, Madan Mohan was born in Iraq and grew up there for the first five years of his life. But he eventually came back to India after Iraq won its independence. Composer Jeet Gannguli describes his music as 'soulful melodies which can touch the hearts and can bring solace'. "Look at the song 'Naina barse', from the film 'Woh Kaun Thi' which happened to be Madam Mohan's first hit after eight years of his first film. It was a haunting melody and yet was so captivating."

Veteran singer Udit Narayan feels that talking about Madam Mohan would be like showing a lamp to the sun. "The usage of sitar in his songs is something we all remember him for, particularly the song, 'Naino mein badra chaye'. I was fortunate enough to render my vocals for 'Veer Zaara'. The tunes were based on old and untouched compositions by the late Madan Mohan sahib."

It is said that despite him using the 'sitar' extensively in his songs, he himself did not know the art of playing it. It was the maestro Bilad Khan, who played the sitar for him. Madan Mohan's songs like 'Tum Jo Mil Gaye Ho' and 'Lag Ja Gale' are considered as path breaking melodies for the composer Sachin Sanghvi, from the duo Sachin Jigar. "When composers like Shankar Jaikishan were doing well, you had some amazing songs like 'Aapki nazro ne samjha', which gained a lot of popularity."

His untouched melodies were used in 2004, for the movie 'Veer Zaara'. For composer Sharib, from the Toshi Sharib duo, Mohan's music was twenty years ahead of the era then. "I mean when I hear the melodies of 'Veer Zaara', as a music composer you release the thought that went into composing this tune. For us even talking about Madan Mohansahab is tauheen- disgrace. The only thing we can do is get inspired and make better music."