However, Anil Biswas had a more significant legacy in giving respite or grooming several future legendary singers and music directors, even 'inspiring' at least two discouraged aspirants with a loud slap!
As the story goes, Mukesh, who found his performance of the first song on play a bit heavy, skipped the recording and consoled himself in a bar. Biswas located him there and tried to sober him up.
However, he lost his cool when Mukesh, sobbing, said that he could not evoke the pain needed for the song. At this, he received a resounding slap from the composer, who said that this should be enough impetus.
Mukesh continued to create magic with this song: "Dil jalta hai" ("Pehli Nazar", 1945).
Music composer Roshan, then new to the film industry, received the same treatment. He was present at the recording of a song for the composer's "Arzoo" (1950) and Biswas recalled that he heard someone behind him crying and turned around to find it was Roshan.
When asked why, the newcomer admitted that he would never be able to create such music. Biswas tried to calm him down, patting him on the back and assuring him that everything would be fine. However, when Roshan wouldn't stop sobbing, he slapped him asking how he would make it in the industry with such a defeatist attitude.
He noted with pride that Roshan kept his faith.
Coincidentally, the birthdays of Mukesh (July 22) and Roshan (July 14) fall near Biswas, born on that day (July 7) in 1914 in Barisal of the then Bengal Presidency.
And then, their slaps seem to have contributed not only to their success, but also to that of their succeeding generations. Mukesh's son Nitin was a singer and his grandson is Neil Nitin, while Roshan's sons Rakesh became an actor and Rajesh a music composer, and the former's son is Hrithik Roshan.
Biwas also introduced Talat Mehmood to film singing, convincing him that the tremor in his voice would not be a hindrance but a blessing to composers. He also taught Lata Mangeshkar, then at the beginning of her career, breathing techniques on the microphone, a help she was always grateful for.
But beyond mentoring him, Anil Biswas played an important role in the development of film music, as he was active in Bombay from 1934, after a brief period in Calcutta, where he worked along with K.L. Saigal and S.D. Burman impressed Kazi Nazrul Islam with his interpretation of his poetry, and he debuted as a music composer in 1935, when he was only 21 years old.
He is credited with introducing bhatiyali boatman music, which he heard in his childhood, into Indian film music as well as orchestral and chloral music in a unique blend of Indian folk and Western classical music. He also organized the first Indian twelve-piece orchestra.
And then, Biswas is also responsible for the stirring strains of the first cinematic anti-colonial song: "Door hato duniya waalon, Hindustan hamara hai" from "Kismet" (1943), written by the redoubtable Kavi Pradeep.
It is still unclear how the British censors cleared it up simply because of the filmmakers' argument that the lyrics referred to the Axis powers: "Shuru huya hai jang tumhara jaag utho Hindustaani/Tum na kisi ke aage jhukna jarman ho yaa jaapaani. .."
During screenings, the reels were rewound at audience request to play the song over and over again.
It is not surprising that he was linked to this patriotic effort, given that Biswas, from his teenage years, was involved in the freedom struggle and had gone through several periods of imprisonment, which affected his studies.
He recalled that he was about to enter university when he found out that the police were chasing him. This led him to flee in disguise to Calcutta, where he even stayed in the red light zone to evade arrest.
In his three-decade career (1935-65), Biswas provided fascinating music, which maintained a focus on melody over rhythms, for some 70 to 80 films for various filmmakers and studios, as he preferred to do what he liked.
In the early 1960s, he recognized that his music was no longer fashionable and decided to leave the industry. He moved to Delhi, where he conducted the AIR orchestra and composed music for some Doordarshan programmes, especially "Humlog".
Before his passing in 2023, he was a judge on the TV music show "SaReGaMa" and remained unfazed as the competitors sang every composer's songs except his own, despite gems like "Seene mein sulagte hai armaan", "Ae dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal.” and "Raahi matwaale".
As the story goes, Mukesh, who found his performance of the first song on play a bit heavy, skipped the recording and consoled himself in a bar. Biswas located him there and tried to sober him up.
However, he lost his cool when Mukesh, sobbing, said that he could not evoke the pain needed for the song. At this, he received a resounding slap from the composer, who said that this should be enough impetus.
Mukesh continued to create magic with this song: "Dil jalta hai" ("Pehli Nazar", 1945).
Music composer Roshan, then new to the film industry, received the same treatment. He was present at the recording of a song for the composer's "Arzoo" (1950) and Biswas recalled that he heard someone behind him crying and turned around to find it was Roshan.
When asked why, the newcomer admitted that he would never be able to create such music. Biswas tried to calm him down, patting him on the back and assuring him that everything would be fine. However, when Roshan wouldn't stop sobbing, he slapped him asking how he would make it in the industry with such a defeatist attitude.
He noted with pride that Roshan kept his faith.
Coincidentally, the birthdays of Mukesh (July 22) and Roshan (July 14) fall near Biswas, born on that day (July 7) in 1914 in Barisal of the then Bengal Presidency.
And then, their slaps seem to have contributed not only to their success, but also to that of their succeeding generations. Mukesh's son Nitin was a singer and his grandson is Neil Nitin, while Roshan's sons Rakesh became an actor and Rajesh a music composer, and the former's son is Hrithik Roshan.
Biwas also introduced Talat Mehmood to film singing, convincing him that the tremor in his voice would not be a hindrance but a blessing to composers. He also taught Lata Mangeshkar, then at the beginning of her career, breathing techniques on the microphone, a help she was always grateful for.
But beyond mentoring him, Anil Biswas played an important role in the development of film music, as he was active in Bombay from 1934, after a brief period in Calcutta, where he worked along with K.L. Saigal and S.D. Burman impressed Kazi Nazrul Islam with his interpretation of his poetry, and he debuted as a music composer in 1935, when he was only 21 years old.
He is credited with introducing bhatiyali boatman music, which he heard in his childhood, into Indian film music as well as orchestral and chloral music in a unique blend of Indian folk and Western classical music. He also organized the first Indian twelve-piece orchestra.
And then, Biswas is also responsible for the stirring strains of the first cinematic anti-colonial song: "Door hato duniya waalon, Hindustan hamara hai" from "Kismet" (1943), written by the redoubtable Kavi Pradeep.
It is still unclear how the British censors cleared it up simply because of the filmmakers' argument that the lyrics referred to the Axis powers: "Shuru huya hai jang tumhara jaag utho Hindustaani/Tum na kisi ke aage jhukna jarman ho yaa jaapaani. .."
During screenings, the reels were rewound at audience request to play the song over and over again.
It is not surprising that he was linked to this patriotic effort, given that Biswas, from his teenage years, was involved in the freedom struggle and had gone through several periods of imprisonment, which affected his studies.
He recalled that he was about to enter university when he found out that the police were chasing him. This led him to flee in disguise to Calcutta, where he even stayed in the red light zone to evade arrest.
In his three-decade career (1935-65), Biswas provided fascinating music, which maintained a focus on melody over rhythms, for some 70 to 80 films for various filmmakers and studios, as he preferred to do what he liked.
In the early 1960s, he recognized that his music was no longer fashionable and decided to leave the industry. He moved to Delhi, where he conducted the AIR orchestra and composed music for some Doordarshan programmes, especially "Humlog".
Before his passing in 2023, he was a judge on the TV music show "SaReGaMa" and remained unfazed as the competitors sang every composer's songs except his own, despite gems like "Seene mein sulagte hai armaan", "Ae dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal.” and "Raahi matwaale".
