By Ajay Mankotia
I was preparing for my UPSC exams one evening in early 1981 in my room (I was staying with my uncle those days), when I heard a man shout excitedly from the square below (these were government quarters) – “Mata chadh gayi, Mata chadh gayi”. In no time, I could hear people assembling outside and my own aunt rushed out. Curious, I stepped out to the first-floor balcony to see what the fuss was all about. A throng had collected outside the house below, occupied by a Sindhi family, and people were jostling to get inside through the door. This required a closer examination and I too went down. There was a stampede which I had to negotiate to eventually get inside.
What I saw in the drawing-room held me in thrall, as it did the others sitting with folded hands (which I found odd but whose mystery would shortly get resolved). The lady of the house, our neighbour, always in a cervical collar for spondylitis, was collar-free and was moving her head in a circular motion, with hair flying all over the map, eyes closed. The motion picked up momentum and soon became frenzied. I wondered how this was even possible medically.
In the midst of all this surreal drama, my attention veered towards the loud song blaring from a huge speaker. Of course, what I was hearing was nothing unknown. The entire country knew it. It was played in temples, pandals, satsangs, bhajan mandlis and bhandaras. It was being played all over the nation since 1975.
The song was ‘Main Toh Aarti Utarun Re’from the film Jai Santoshi Maa (1975). Its music director was also a Sindhi – C Arjun. Little known but he was responsible for the film punching much above its weight and stand its ground to the Goliath which was released on the same day, August 15, 1975; Sholay. Both films went on to become phenomenally successful.
The film made history when it was released. A small-budget film, its filmmaker could not afford the reigning singers’ fees to sing the famous bhajans penned by Kavi Pradeep. Usha was roped in instead. It remains her most popular work. She will always remain Goddess Santoshi Maa’s voice. In the film’s remake in 2006, she was retained for the same songs. She is irreplaceable. In retrospect, getting Usha to sing was a masterstroke. Her voice is what works in large religious gatherings — demanding attention from all devotees, right up to the back row.
All the songs composed by C Arjun for the mythological film became a rage as the songs entered every household giving them an immortal quality. These devotional, soul-stirring Hindi bhajans and aartis, undoubtedly, became one of the major contributing factors of the film’s success. The film, and the songs in particular, popularized the goddess so much that filmgoers would keep their footwear outside the theatre and shower coins and flowers while the movie was being screened. The songs transported them to a state of bhakti hitherto never witnessed before. Cinema houses turned into temples.
Sadly, the music director’s fame was short-lived and after the initial euphoria his name again receded into the background. Neither before this film nor after this, did C Arjun get to see success like this in his career.
C Arjun was born on September 1st, 1933, in Karachi (undivided India) and his full name was Arjun Parmanand Chandnani.
He was initiated into music from a very young age by his father. Later the family migrated to Baroda, Gujarat, after partition. After coming to Mumbai in search of work in films, he joined the then popular music director Bulo C Rani, also a Sindhi, as an assistant. He got his first break as an independent music director in 1958 in a Sindhi film Abana which was the first Sindhi film being produced after partition. Since this was his first assignment, he got nervous and approached Bulo C. Rani for guidance. Bulo C Rani was confident of his talent, and encouraged him to take up the assignment. He requested Bulo C Rani to sing one song in the movie, which he did.
As a mark of respect for his guru, he requested the producers to credit Bulo C. Rani and C. Arjun as music directors. The songs were a big hit.
He made his debut in Hindi films in 1960 with the film Road No. 303. In an interview, he stated that he got his first film after the producer told the distributors that he was the brother of C Ramchandra.
In his entire career he only got to compose music for B-grade and C-grade films, no big banners. Such music directors usually struggle to achieve mainstream success due to a combination of restricted film budgets (limiting the use of live musicians, professional recording studios, and high-end audio mastering.), lack of marketing and visibility ((impacting wide airplay and promotion of music), and the perception of lower-quality output. While some manage to break free, most get stuck in the whirlpool of low-budget projects. Yet C Arjun plodded on and composed music that was memorable.
It was his songs for the film Punar Milan (1964) that made people sit up and notice him, especially for the song ‘Pass Baitho Tabiyat Bahal Jaayegi’ by Mohammed Rafi. Picturized on actor Jagdeep and actress Ameeta the song retains its charm even today. In one of his interviews C Arjun mentioned how he was unhappy about the beginning of the song. Rafi then added the light humming on his own, taking the song to another level. Regarding the genesis of the song, he stated that once when lyricist Indeevar and he were travelling in a bus, there was an empty seat, so Indeevar told C Arjun that if he wanted him to write a song, he should allow him sit there. Next to Indeevar was sitting a beautiful lady, who became the inspiration for the song.
Another beautiful song from the film was a duet of Rafi and Asha Bhosle – ‘In Pyaar Ki Raahon Mein’. Rafi starting the song in the lower register imparted a unique character to the song.
One of the most outstanding, and immortal, duets of Hindi film music was composed by C Arjun in the film Sushila (1966) sung by Rafi and Talat Mehmood – ‘Gham Ki Andheri Raat Mein’.The song is about not giving up hope even in the darkest hour with Rafi, being the sound of hope, singing to a despondent Talat. The film was re – released in 1977 and the title was changed to Subha Zaroor Aayegi.
Another song from this film sung by Mubarak Begum became a big hit – ‘Bemurravat Bewafa Begana-E-Dil Aap Hain’. When I met Mubarak Begum, she told me that this was her favourite song and it was a privilege to hear her sing it for me.
Actors on screen can make or break a song. If Rafi’s amazing song – ‘Jitni Haseen Ho Tum Utni Hi Bewafa Ho’ fromMangu Dada(1970) had been sung on screen by a top actor, the result would have been far different than it actually was with Sujit Kumar and Faryal. But C Arjun carried on regardless.
In 1978, in the film Nawab Saheb, he created another hit with Usha Mangeshkar – ‘Ab Se Pehle Toh Yeh Dil Ki Haalat Na Thi’, with Sahir Ludhianvi penning the lyrics. In fact, he worked with many other top-class lyricists too such as Jaan Nissar Akhtar, Gulshan Bawra, Indeevar, Kavi Pradeep, Qamar Jalalabadi, Raja Mehndi Ali Khan, and others.
Two outstanding songs deserves mention – ‘Chhayi Ghata Baagon Mein Mor Bole’ – a duet of Rafi and Asha from Ustad Pedro(1971); and ‘Shaam Rangeen Hui Hai Tere Aanchal Ki Tarah ‘– a duet of Suresh Wadkar and Usha (yet again) from Kanoon aur Mujrim (1981). Usha Mangeshkar got to sing some of her best songs under C Arjun.
He has also composed music for a Sindhi movie, Sindhu-Je-Kenare, which was immensely popular with the Sindhi community in India. He also composed a number of non-film songs.
He continued working till 1983 and passed away on April 30, 1992, at the age of 59 years. Today is his death anniversary.
Going back to the story where we started, after a few minutes of the fevered rotation of the head, the purpose of the congregation became clear when the question-answer session began. People would ask questions, and the lady in trance would give short replies in a voice that was not hers. Some of these questions were very personal, but nobody minded. Such a phenomenon did not happen often. Make the most of it.
I wish C Arjun was present that day to see the power of his music even 6 years after he had unleashed it.
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