Madan Mohan

Madan Mohan Biography

Madan Mohan is one among the best music composers of Bollywood in the golden era of music. Perhaps he was the music direction who got real respect once he passed away. His complicate classical tunes contains a lot of inter meanings that needs thousands of years for its fans to decipher. He was the most favourite composer of Lata mangeshkar and according to her it’s most difficult to sing Madan Mohan tunes than other music composers. His best works include Woh kaun thi, Mera saaya, Dastak, Aap ki parchayiyan and Haqueeqat.

Madan Mohan started his music journey as the assistant of Shyam Sunder and S.D.Burman. His first big break was Aankhen in 1950, followed by Adaa. Thus began the new partnership with Lata Mangeshkar – a brother-sister relationship he kept till the end of his life. Lata used to call him ‘Madan Bhayya’ and they shared a great bond too. Majority of big hits of Madan Mohan were sung by none other than Lata Mangeshkar. Some of those songs include ‘Humne daasthan apne’, ‘Nayana barse’ and Lag jaa gale of Woh kaun thi, Aap ki nazarom ne samjha of Anpat, Zara si aahat hoti hai of Haqueeqat, Woh phooli daasthan of Sanjog, Tu jahan chalega and Naynom mein badri of Mera saaya, Beetab dil ki thamma and Aaj socha to aasu bhar aaya of Hasthe Zakhm and Baiyan na daro and Mai ri mein kase kahoon of Dastak. Despite being one among the greatest composers of that decade he has never won Filmfare at least once. He has been nominated for Anpat and Woh kaun thi. But he has won National awards in 1972 for Dastak.

At a time when each music director had been associated with a banner, unfortunately Madan Mohan struggled to get works in Bollywood. When his talent went unnoticed, he became addicted to drinking resulting in his death of liver cirrhosis in the year 1975 at a comparatively young age of 51 like an unfinished story. When he left his work half way, music listeners lost a lot of tunes that he carried in his soul. Years later, when movie Veer-Zaara was made by Yash Chopra, his unused tunes were used and recreated. Songs like Jaanam Dekhlo and Tere liye, pictured on Shah rukh khan and Priety Zinta helped to earn him a Filmfare nomination after 20 years of his death! What an irony! Actually, it was years later his death that music lovers understood the real essence of his music. By that time, Madan Mohan had already left the world in broken heart for the missed opportunities he lost to show his talent. His other works include Heer Raanja, Mausam and Jaha Aara.

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Updated: June 14, 2013