Interesting facts about SJ
Jaikishan used to present a framework to the artiste and then expect the artist to develop the song. If it did not appeal to him, he would change it. Take for example the Andaz (1971) song "Dil Use Do Jo Jaan De De". Asha Bhosle, while rehearsing, rendered the song a trifle flat. Explaining to her he said: "A house can be built by bricks alone. Yet to make it a beautiful home, it must be sufficiently decorated. What I have given you is a brick structure. To decorate it is up to you". What this indicates is that Jaikishan was open to changes and improvisations at the last moment
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Shankar worked with alot of lyricists after the passing away of Shailendra and at one point Neeraj was thought to be the one to fill the void left by Shailendra but Shankar was not convinced which is why he kept on changing his lyricists in the seventies. Shailendra's demise was a big blow to Shankar as no one understood Shankar better than Shailendra. In fact, Neeraj once mentioned that he thought Shankar was a very bad composer who did not understand Hindi poetry. This was a shocking remark because we know Shailendra had his best reserved for for Shankar.
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Before SJ arrived on the scene, Background Music in our films was not that great, and alot of composers did not spend alot of time on it. The only composer who took it seriously was Naushad and he was a great BM composer.
Jaikishan was given the job of composing SJ's BM because he was the junior partner and he totally took BM to a whole new level, that people began to take notice about the importance of BM towards the success of a film. Jaikishan set high standards for composers and became the Numero Uno of BM. There is a tight limit in time and film frames for a composer to compose BM and this was something that Jaikishan did so well.
An interesting aspect of Jaikishan's BM was that tunes that would turn into future songs would be played as a part of the BM, which later became an SJ trademark. This does not mean all the tunes used in the SJ's BM were Jai's. It was a collaborated effort, sometimes Jai would hear Shankar play a tune and use it, or they would both work on a tune, or sometimes the tune would be entirely Jai's. So the two would join hands in creating these tunes for the background that would ultimately turn into songs, and the rest of the BM would be handled by Jai.
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One of Shankar's very close friends and childhood pal was the director of the film Cha Cha Cha (1964), Chandrashekhar. It is said that Rafi saab's immortal Subhana Aayi Shaam Na Aayi... (Cha Cha Cha) was a gift from Shankar to Chandrashekhar and he later used this song in his film. One can notice shades of SJ in the sweeping song. The music of this film was by Iqbal Qureshi and contained another very nice Rafi solo, Woh Hum Na The Woh Tum Na The....
This next song is from another film by Chandrashekhar which had music by Shankar under the name of Suraj. Detail of the song is as under:
*Bina Tumhare Maza Kya Hai*
Film: Street Singer
Year: 1966
Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri
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In the film An Evening In Paris, the title song and Deewane Ka Naam To Poocho... were picturised in Paris, Aasman Se Aaya Farishta... and Hoga Tumse Kal Bhi Samna... were picturised in Beirut, while the other songs [excluding the dance numbers] were shot in portions over Interlaken, Paris and on location in Canada.
*According to Shakti Samantha, Each one of the Rafi solos in An Evening In Paris was composed and recorded by Jaikishan, while Shankar composed the two night-club numbers plus the solitary duet Raat ke humsafar...).
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The producer of a Telegu film (with music by SJ) named Jeevitha Chakram Gangadhar Rao had made a film before this entitled Nindu Samsaaram which had SJ-Rafi's Aaj Kal Tere Mere Pyar (Brahmachari) as My Diyar Tulasamataa, Bhale Chans Kottesa...
*In the film Professor (1962) the song *Main Chali Main Chali... had its stanza modified by SJ as per Rafi saab's suggestion and recorded accordingly.
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September 12th marks the death anniversary of one of HFM's most awesome composers, Jaikishan. It has been 35 years since this genius passed away in 1971, at the very young age of 39, at the height of his composing career. He was one half of the magnificent duo SJ and along with his partner Shankar, created many golden gems for us to cherish forever.
Jaikishan was a composer who was ahead of his times. Not only did he have great command over indian classical, western music, and rhythm, he also was one of the best and most accomplished background composers the industry ever had. For most of SJ's films, he was the man responsible for SJ's rich background music. He could compose any type of song, and one genre that IMO no one could match him in was composing romantic songs. He was truly a master composer.
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sudarshan pandey
Male
Age: 54
Country: India
City: KOLKATA
