Shankar–Jaikishan

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Shankar–Jaikishan

Shankar Jaikishan (Devanāgarī:शंकर-जयकिशन), also known as S/J, is an Indian music composer duo in the Hindi film industry, working together from 1949–1971.

Shankar-Jaikishan, along with other artists, wrote "everlasting" and "immortal melodies" in fifties and sixties^[1]. Their best work was noted for being "raga-based and having both lilt and sonority".^[2]

Shankar Singh Raghuvanshi (25 October 1922 – 26 April 1987) born in Tanuku, west godavari district of Andhra Pradesh, but was a native of Rajasthan originally while Jaikishan Dayabhai Panchal (4 November 1929 – 12 September 1971) belonged to Bansda (Vansada), Gujarat.

During his formative years, Shankar played the tabla and learned the art formally from Baba Nasir Khansahib. For many years, Shankar studied as a disciple of the legendary composer Khawaja Khurshid Anwar, in whose orchestra he performed. Jaikishan was adept at playing the harmonium. Subsequently, he obtained his musical lessons from Sangeet Visharad Wadilalji and later from Prem Shankar Nayak. After moving to Bombay, he became a disciple of Vinayak Tambe. Shankar started his career with a theater group run by Satyanarayan and Hemawati, before shifting to Prithvi Theatre where he played tabla and performed some minor roles in plays. Shankar worked as assistant to the leading composer duo of Husnlal Bhagatram.

Apart from working at Prithvi theaters, Shankar used to frequently visit the office of a Gujrati director Chandravadan Bhatt who had promised Shankar that he would give him a break as a Music Director as and when he produced a film. It was outside the office of Mr Bhatt that Shankar saw `ek dubla patla sunder `ladka' also sitting a number of times. Although they never spoke to each other, one fine day, Shankar took the initiative of starting the conversation and then discovered that his name was Jaikishan and he too used to visit the same producer in search of some work related to music and that he was a Harmonium player. Shankar later recollected that their vibes were right from the very beginning i.e. right from their first meeting itself they developed liking for each other (rather than any feelings of rivalry which could have been natural since both were visiting Mr Bhatt for similar reason) and it was he who then and there assured Jaikishan of the job of a Harmonium player at Prithvi theaters (without asking Prithviraj Kapoor, fondly referred to as `Papaji'). Of course, later, Papaji honoured Shankar's selection and gladly accepted Jaikishan as a Harmonium player at Prithvi. Soon, the two of them developed very close friendship to the extent that the people started refererring to them as `Ram-Lakshman' ki jodi and by several similar-meaning nick names. It was during this phase that Shankar and Jaikishan developed a very deep bond of friendship, mutual understanding and regard for each other and made up their mind to work together as a musical team. Apart from following their musical pursuits, they also used to play significant roles in various plays including the famous play "Pathan".

While working in Prithvi Theaters, Shankar and Jaikishan, apart from working in the music department there, used to compose tunes and were in touch with Raj Kapoor, who was working as an assistant to the famous director Kidar Sharma and was aspiring to be an actor/director. Thus, the three had met at Prithvi Theater, run by Raj Kapoor's father, Prithviraj Kapoor.

Raj Kapoor made his debut as a director with the film "Aag" in 1948. While the film received a mixed response at the box office, its musical score (in which the music director Ram Ganguli was assisted by Shankar and Jaikishan) proved to be quite popular. However, during the recording of some song for his new venture `Barsaat', Raj Kapoor had some serious differences with Ram Ganguly, the music composer of the film and decided to assign its music to Shankar who insisted on taking Jaikishan as his partner and thus came into existence the new pair of music directors(MD) named `Shankar-Jaikishan' who gave landmark, path-breaking and trend-setting music for the RK production `Barsaat' in 1949.

Himself being a trained singer (he and Mukesh learned vocal music from the same Guru) and having an ear for good music, Raj Kapoor thus, took on board, a completely new team of composers Shankar and Jaikishan and lyricists Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri (a former bus conductor). On the insistence of Shankar, he and SJ co-opted the upcoming singing talent Lata Mangeshkar, and repeated Mukesh as Raj Kapoor's ghost voice for the various songs of Barsaat. In due course, this team was to prove to be one of the most successful musical combinations of all times, perhaps second only to the combination of Shankar, Jaikishan, Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri, Lata Mangeshkar and Mohd. Rafi.

Barsaat was a super hit, both commercially and more so musically. Among other things, it established Lata Mangeshkar as the undisputed queen of Hindi film music. It also had the distinction of giving two firsts to Hindi cinema – a title song (Barsaat mein hamse miley tum) and a cabaret (Patli kamar hai). The film propelled Shankar-Jaikishan on the road to musical super-stardom and to a stature that remains unmatched to this date.

The two became known by the acronym "S-J".

Their early works include Awaara, Aah, Shree 420, Basant Bahar, Halaku, Patita, Kathputli, Anari, Chori Chori, Daag, Baadshah, Boot Polish, and Ujala .

S-J formed a core team with lyricists Shailendra (himself regarded as perhaps the greatest of his ilk) and Hasrat Jaipuri and with singers Mohammed Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar. SJ had two other life-long companions who worked as their assistants: Dattaram Wadkar and Sebastian De'souza, the former supervising their rhythm section and the later writing musical notations for all SJ compositions (during SJ's musical sittings as can be seen in a number of photographs of such sessions) and then rehearsing all the musicians of the grand SJ orchestra according to SJ's compositions and directions. SJ also patronized the immensely talented singer Manna Dey, who sang his best songs with them and used Mukesh's silken voice as playback for Raj Kapoor. Among the directors, they worked most closely with Raj Kapoor and were considered the kingpins of his legendary banner RK Films.

They were commercial geniuses in addition to be wonderfully god-blessed on music. They lead the bollywood music in spite of tough competition from maestros like Roshan, SD Burman, OP Nayyar and Madanmohan and remained on the top much to the chagrin of very highly talented music directors!

S-J worked with almost all singers of their time. They had a good working relationship with all of them and were masters in extracting the very best from every one of them. They were steady as a team with Hasrat Jaipuri & Shailendra as their lyricists; but after the demise of Shailendra, they worked with a host of other lyricists such as Neeraj, Verma Malik, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Vithhal Bhai Patel and Rajinder Krishan, to name a few.

S-J were the "house composers" for RK Films and were on their pay-roll till the end. Raj Kapoor used to maintain a music bank where he stored compositions of S-J. ^{[citation needed]} Even after the termination of the professional association between Shankar and Raj Kapoor (Jaikishan had died by then), the latter had used a number of S-J's earlier compositions (which were in his custody) for all his films though the credits were given officially to other composers, e.g., Laxmikant Pyarelal (Bobby, Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Prem Rog) and Ravindra Jain (Ram Teri Ganga Maili). S-J also worked with other stars like Shammi Kapoor, Rajendra Kumar, Dev Anand, Sunil Dutt, Kishore Kumar, Manoj Kumar, Biswajeet, Joy Mukerjee, Dharmendra & Manoj Kumar.

Shankar-Jaikishan's compositions broke new ground in Hindi film music. Apart from relying upon their knowledge of Indian classical music, they also employed western beats and orchestration. Shankar-Jaikishan were the pioneers in establishing the role of the orchestra in song compositions as a medium to express and enhance the meanings and feelings of songs rather than using it just as a `filler' as per the prevalent practice before their advent on the scene. They made use of the orchestra and musical instruments (often dozens or hundreds of them) in their songs which consisted of the following format: The song starts with a `prelude' (preparatory music to create and introduce the environment and mood for the beginning of the song), then the mukhda starts and is followed by `interlude' containg music pieces on the orchestra. With very few exceptions(Chal Mere dil; Ye mera deewana pan hai are good examples), they always used different interludes before each stanza. `Multi-layered' music studded with counter melodies' played by the orchestra accompanied while the mukhda or the antara of a song was being sung and finally came the `epilogue' - the music with which the song ended after the singer(s) had finished their singing.

Shankar-Jaikishan made a significant contribution in promoting Indian classical music throughout their career. It was their established practice to have at least one song in a movie based on semi-classical style. These included songs like `Jhanak-jhanak tori baje payaliya' (Mere Huzoor), `Chham chham baje re payaliya' (Jane-anjane), `Radhike tune bansari churayi' (Beti Bete), `Manmohana bade jhoothe' (old `Seema'), `Koi matwala aya mere dware' (Love in Tokyo), `Ajahu na ayae baalma, sawan beeta jaye' (Sanjh aur Savera), `Lapak jhpak tu aa re badarwa' (Boot polish), `Ye barkha bahar sautaniya ke dwar' (Mayur pankh), `Re man sur mein ga' (Lal pathar), `Sooni sooni sans ke sitar par' (Naina), `Kate na kate raina' (Mera naam joker) and numerous others. Their music in `Basant Bahar' and Amrapali both of which had every song based upon Indian classical music. While "raga Bhairavi" remained their perennial favorite, SJ used a variety of Raagas in their compositions.

Shankar Jaikishan also used the western classical-based waltz rhythm in a number of songs.

Shankar-Jaikishan gave a new style and meaning to the genre of sad songs by composing them on a fast tempo. Songs like `Main zindagi mein hurdum rota hi raha hun' (Barsaat), `Tera jana dil ke armanon ka lut jana' (Anari), `Haye tu hi gaya mohe bhool re' (Kathputli), `Aye mere dil kahin aur chal' (Daag) and `Andhe jahan ke andhe raaste' (Patita) demonstrated this. The last two songs, along with many others (notably `Awaara Hoon' from the film Awaara), also demonstrate the composers’ use of musical instruments – a harmonium is used to produce the effect of a piano accordion.

While working as a team, Shankar and Jaikishan used to compose their songs separately. Generally, Shankar liked to work with Shailendra and Jaikishan with Hasrat Jaipuri though there are notable instances where Shankar worked with Hasrat and Jaikishan with Shailendra. Between the two, Shankar was the senior partner and hence, he would usually arrange the orchestra, even for Jaikishan's songs. There was a gentleman's agreement between them for not identifying the actual composer of the song. As a result, it has been a popular pastime for S-J aficionados to try and tell a Shankar song from a Jaikishan song. Dance numbers, title/theme songs and soulful songs were Shankar's forte while Jaikishan was a master of composing background score, apart from romantic songs (he is generally regarded as the best ever in this genre) and simple, catchy compositions which became instant hits (`Ehsaan mere dil pe' being a typical example of such songs). However, Shankar was no less in this aspect of devising simple `straight line' tunes: `Mera joota hai Japani' (Sri 420) being the best example of this genre.

It is said that Jaikishan would count some numbers on his fingers before coming up with the background score for a particular scene on the spot! Two of S-J's films, viz., Sangam (1964) and Mera Naam Joker (1971) are regarded even today as having some of the best background musical scores of Hindi films till date. Although Jaikishan alone used to work on background scores of SJ movies, it may be an over-simplification to presume that whatever went in background scores was solely Jaikishan's creation. Since SJ had a common pool of tunes in their stock, made by either of them or by both of them jointly during their numerous music sessions/sittings (Riyaz), it would have been perfectly legitimate and natural for Jaikishan to have used tunes created by either or both partners wherever needed. It is understood that in RK films, Shankar and Jaikishan both used to work on the background scores. On the other hand, both Shankar and Jaikishan were equally proficient in scoring western music based songs.

Despite their distinct working styles and preferences, it is very difficult, if not altogether impossible, to ascribe most of their songs to only one of them. In most of the songs, they invariably contributed to one another's creation, either in the form of improvisation of tune or of orchestration, thus, making their compositions truly a joint effort. Furthermore, each of the two could compose in other's style now and then thereby making the identification still more difficult.

Contrary to the popular mis-conception that `it was Jaikishan who used to handle the public relations and business/financial aspects of the duo's career', the fact is that it was Shankar who had the final say on all financial/business aspects of the SJ-team.

Shankar Jaikishan had the major contribution towards the development of Jazz music in India and the new genre Indo Jazz. Their 1968 album Raaga-Jazz style is the earliest Indo-Jazz recording in India. In this album, considered to be one of the most innovative, SJ created 11 songs based on Indian Ragas with saxophone, trumpet, sitar (by Rais Khan), tabla, bass etc.^[3]

During their career, S-J won Filmfare Best Music Director Awards for a record nine times. The last three awards were won in three successive years, thereby making S-J the first composers to score a hat trick of these awards.

S-J also came out tops in Binaca Geetmala, the legendary countdown radio program on Hindi film music, where their compositions were declared the most popular on six occasions (a record later equaled by Laxmikant Pyarelal). These songs were Mera joota hai japani in 1955 (Shree 420), Teri pyari pyari surat ko in 1961 (Sasural), Ehsaan tera hoga mujh par in 1962 (Junglee), Bol radha bol in 1964 (Sangam), Baharon phool barsaao in 1966 (Suraj), and Zindagi ek safar hai suhana in 1971 (Andaaz). In 1959, seven of the top ten songs for the year were composed by S-J, a sort of record that stands perhaps to this date, though the top honors for that year went to SD Burman.

• 1968 - Shankar-Jaikishan was honoured with the Padmashri by the Government of India.^[4]

Winner^[5]

• 1956 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film Chori Chori
• 1959 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film Anari
• 1960 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film Dil Apna Aur Preet Parai
• 1962 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film Professor
• 1966 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film Suraj
• 1968 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film Brahmachari
• 1970 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film Pehchaan
• 1971 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film Mera Naam Joker
• 1972 - Filmfare Best Music Director Award for the film Be-Imaan

Nominated

• 1958 - for the film Yahudi
• 1959 - for the film Chhoti Bahen
• 1961 - for the film Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai
• 1963 - for the film Dil Ek Mandir
• 1964 - for the film Sangam (film)
• 1965 - for the film Arzoo (1965 film)
• 1968 - for the film Diwana (film)
• 1969 - for the film Chanda Aur Bijli
• 1971 - for the film Andaz (1971 film)
• 1974 - for the film Resham Ki Dori
• 1975 - for the film Sanyasi (1975 film)

Winner

• 1968 - For the song Jhanak Jhanak Toree Baje Payaliya of the film Mere Huzoor
• 1971 - For the song Re Man Sur Mein Ga of the film Lal Patthar

Winner

• 1968 - Best Music Director for the film Brahmachari^[6]
• 1971 - Best Music Director for the film Andaz (1971 film)^[7]

This section includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations. Please help improve this section by introducing more precise citations. (June 2011) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

• Slobin, Mark (2008), Global Soundtracks: Worlds Of Film Music, Wesleyan University Press, 978-0-8195-6882-3 {{citation}}: More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
• Template:Hi icon Nerurkar, Vishwas (2009), Saat Suron Ka Saath - Shanker-Jaikishan {{citation}}: External link in |title= (help); More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)
• Template:Hi icon Joshi, Padmanabh (2001), Shanker-Jaikishan: Sadabahar Film Sangeetna, Yugsarjak {{citation}}: More than one of |author= and |last= specified (help)

• Shankar's IMDB entry
• Jaikishan's IMDB entry
• Shankar Jaikishan Biography, music database and blog