Book review: Rajiv Vijayakar's Music by Laxmikant-Pyarelal delves deep into the musical accomplishments of the duo

What does the song ‘Ek Do Teen’ from N Chandra’s film Tezaab (1988) have in common with ‘Hum Tum Ek Kamre Mein’ from Raj Kapoor’s Bobby (1973), ‘Aa Jaan-e-jaan’ from R K Nayyar’s Intaqam (1969) and ‘Mann Kyun Behka’ from Girish Karnad’s Utsav (1984)? The music for each of these iconic Hindi film songs was composed by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, the duo consisting of Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma.  

Rajiv Vijayakar, who is a dental surgeon and entertainment journalist, has written an enjoyable book titled Music by Laxmikant-Pyarelal: The Incredibly Melodious Journey. Published by Rupa, it traces their career spanning over 500 films. His love for their music, and deep knowledge of their body of work, permeates every page of this well-researched book.

However, readers who are looking for a critical appraisal of their music within an academic framework might find this book wanting. The author does not claim to be a scholar. He is a fan. He delivers what he promises – a tribute to their musical accomplishments.  

Did you know that Kudalkar and Sharma first met at a film studio when one was 10, and the other 7? They used to work as child artistes. Apart from relishing vada pav and misal pav in the studio canteen, they also used to play cricket. Their friendship blossomed over time. Read the book to learn about their training in music, the encouragement that they received from their families, financial hardships, and how they established themselves as music directors.  

As the author rightly points out, “Diamonds cannot be diamonds without passing through fire. Titans in any field of life too have to persevere through difficult struggles before reaching their zenith.” How did Laxmikant-Pyarelal react when they were snubbed by film producers? What did they do to make sure that their work stood out in a competitive industry? Who were the friends, well-wishers and mentors who helped them? The book delves into these aspects to show that fame did not come overnight. Laxmikant-Pyarelal had to prove themselves time and again, combining artistic excellence with commercial success.

It is heartwarming to know that they paid forward the generosity that they received. The author credits them for “introducing new talent” – singers such as Sulakshana Pandit, Usha Uthup, Shailendra Singh, Kavita Krishnamurthy, Abhijeet, Sukhwinder Singh, Roopkumar Rathod and Bali Brahmbhatt. They were also responsible for getting SP Balasubramaniam to start singing for Hindi films, beginning with K Balachander’s film ‘Ek Duuje Ke Liye’ (1981).

Vijayakar draws attention to another important contribution they made – roping in actors to “take to the microphone for everything from the interpolation or recitation of a few words to proper singing”. Amitabh Bachchan, Hema Malini, Mehmood, Leena Chandavarkar, Jeetendra, Johny Lever, and Asrani are some of the people who make it to this unusual list.  

The book emphasises that Laxmikant-Pyarelal made a special attempt to work with “Indian classical, folk, devotional, qawwali and ghazal specialists” and “popular non-film artistes”, thus expanding the range of voices available to listeners of Hindi film music. This is another long list that includes names such as Shobha Gurtu, Pankaj Udhas, Talat Aziz, Roopkumar Rathod, Anup Jalota, Ila Arun, Iqbal Sabri, Gurdas Mann, Pandit Rajan Misra and Pandit Sajan Misra. Their music is vastly different from each other. Laxmikant-Pyarelal could bring out their best, depending on the theme, mood and emotion that they were looking to create.

This book underlines the fact that making music for Hindi films is a team effort. The music directors work closely with filmmakers, playback singers, lyricists, and their team of technicians to create songs that choreographers, cinematographers, actors, set designers and costume designers add to. People who work behind the scenes often go unacknowledged, and their stories remain inaccessible. Thankfully, Vijayakar attempts to erase this huge gap.

Several associates of Laxmikant-Pyarelal have been given a chance to share their memories in this book. Singer Alka Yagnik reminisces, “Singing a Laxmikant-Pyarelal song was like doing a full riyaaz of the throat. It was like performing vocal acrobatics, with intricate compositions and harkatein…The songs were easy on the ears, but pretty tough to sing.” What helped was that these men were “very particular about a singer’s comfort level”.  

This book will acquaint you with their collaborations with singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Reshma, Pankaj Udhas, Narendra Chanchal, Runa Laila, Mahendra Kapoor, Manna Dey, Nitin Mukesh, Sudesh Bhonsle, Udit Narayan, and Suresh Wadkar. It will give you a glimpse of how Laxmikant-Pyarelal inspired music directors like AR Rehman, Rajesh Roshan, Anu Malik, Pritam, and Sajid-Wajid. It also has reflections from filmmakers like Subhash Ghai, Ketan Desai, Boney Kapoor, Vishal Bhardwaj, Sujoy Ghosh, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali.

For readers who grew up listening to Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s music, this book will be a trip down memory lane. For readers who are unexposed to the magic that Laxmikant-Pyarelal created, it will serve as an introduction to a bygone era. This book is, at one level, a musical history of Hindi cinema as Laxmikant-Pyarelal began working as music directors in the 1960s and continued till the 2000s. They faced competition from other music directors in different decades – Shankar-Jaikishan, Kalyanji-Anandji, OP Nayyar, Naushad, Madan Mohan, RD Burman, Bappi Lahiri, Usha Khanna, Nadeem-Shravan, and Anand-Milind.  

Vijayakar might come across as effusive especially when he describes Laxmikant-Pyarelal as “uncrowned monarchs of Hindi film music” but I found that endearing. This book has benefited greatly from the personal touch that the author brings to it. He got to know Laxmikant-Pyarelal as a journalist, and he became friends with them over time. He is transparent about the fact that many of the details that he became privy to could not be put into the book. This is understandable. It is common practice for journalists to honour the request that some things be kept off record. That does not come in the way of making this book an engrossing account of the legacy that Laxmikant-Pyarelal will be remembered for.

Chintan Girish Modi is a journalist, commentator, and book reviewer

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