The 80s had chewed away melody (and poetry) from the Hindi Film Industry and Rahul Dev Burman aka Pancham, had become irrelevant for obvious reasons. In the typical style of the Industry, they had written him off. Even his best friends had abandoned him, it is said.

Such were the state of affairs when Pancham composed ‘1942: A Love Story’ arrived on the scene. And melody was back along with Pancham! Of course, he found a perfect ally in the poet, Javed Akhtar. The year was 1994.

The album starts off with Kumar Sanu rendered Ek Ladki Ko Dekha To, which breaks the well-established Mukhda-Antara (Verse – Chorus) framework of songs in Hindi movies. It has no Antara. The melodious Mukhda with its several musical and poetic nuances just keeps looping itself. A man is describing about what all he felt after seeing a woman (I have a feeling that Javed Akhter got inspired by John Denver’s Annie’s Song while writing this). The song became a sort of anthem for young men craving for that magical romance.

Next up is Kyon Naye Lag Rahe, charmingly sung by Kavita Krishnamurthy. It begins with 5 notes played on the violin, a hushed solo by the singer and then the song blooms with the euphoria of fresh love, which the song is about. I have always found RDB’s music having a lot of story-telling in it. And it gets heavily reflected in this track. This delicate song ends with a rather grave chorus which gives the feel of a revolt of some sort, the backdrop of the movie. The 1942 part of the title.

Rooth Na Jaanais a bubbly old world charm song in which the protagonist is trying to woo a girl and Kumar Sanu, the singer has done a surprisingly good job for he can go very wrong in such a framework. But guess it was the tightness of Pancham’s baton.

What comes next is the pièce de résistance of the album, Pancham’s swan song. A waltz that’s perhaps one of the finest love songs in the history of Hindi film music. Everything is picture perfect. The flute intro inspired by an ancient song composed by his father, the interludes (the melodic use of Jingle Bell here is deceptively beautiful), Javed Akhtar’s lyrics and Kumar Sanu’s vocals. In Kuch Na Kaho, Sanu got the best song of his career. It has 2 other versions in the album but they compares to this.

Side Two opens with a playful rain-duet sung impishly by Kavita Krishnamurthy and Kumar Sanu, doing justice to the idea of love in the Indian monsoons. This is followed by a gritty song about the context of the movie – revolution. The song smells of Panchams father, Sachin Dev Burman and his association with the great singer Hemant Kumar. Shivaji Chattopadhyaya, the singer here sounds uncannily like Hemant Kumar and the melody draws inspiration from the classic Jaane Who Kaise from ‘Pyaasa’.

The last two tracks are the two versions of Kuch Na Kaho. One is a chorus and the other one is a sad version sung by the great Lata Mangeshkar. Critics panned Lata’s singing because of her aging voice but I feel the same age in her voice brings the right amount of pathos to brilliantly written lines like Khoyeein Sab Pehchaane Khoye Saare Apne / Samay Ki Chalni Se Gir Girke Khoye Saare Sapne.

The film’s music was a thumping success amongst the masses as well as the critics, winning accolades and several awards. But sadly, Pancham wasn’t there to witness his roaring comeback. He died months before its release. He was just 54. In the words of Lata Mangeshkar, “He died too young and unhappy. Today he is considered as the demi-god of music. Wish he had seen it happening in his lifetime.”

Year: 1994 Genre: Hindi Film Music Label: SaReGaMa Rating: *****

Meraj Hasan is a Mumbai based communication professional (and an amateur poet/musician) with a passion for listening to music the vinyl way. His 25 year old Technics turntable along with a humble collection of LPs across genres like Classic rock, Classical, Blues and Jazz (amongst others) are his prized possessions.

He can be reached at +91 9833410791 or email: meraj.hasan@gmail.com .