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MUSIC BY LAXMIKANT PYARELAL: THE INCREDIBLY MELODIOUS JOURNEY
A saga without parallel in the music industryLaxmikant-Pyarelal’s music is played, every hour if not more frequently, in every nook and cranny of the country, over two decades after they stopped composing together. It also finds due place globally, wherever Indian music is loved. Today, Pyarelal has his own global standing, and is the only Indian composer to have a symphony registered in his name. This book encapsulates what can only be called the ‘Musical Universe’ of Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Here is a duo known as much for incomparable range and quality as for unmatched popularity and quantity; as much for intimate associations with lyricists, singers, filmmakers and stars as for giving career breaks and breakthroughs to so many; as much for chartbusters from the 1960s to 1990s as for leading in the list of re-created songs today. From teenage musicians to being the composers of over 500 films, their journey is truly incredible in every aspect. They are admired by international as well as Indian classical maestros.
326 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 5, 2021
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January 9, 2022
Rajiv Vijayakar’s Music by Laxmikant Pyarelal is not strictly a biography of the composer duo who were very prominent in Hindi film music from the 60s through to the 90s. True, he does begin his book with brief biographies of Laxmikant Shantaram Kudalkar and Pyarelal Ramprasad Sharma, but beyond that, this book is more about the films they worked in, the music they composed, and the people they interacted with.
The first half of this book is Vijayakar’s own writing. Past the biographies, he does a chronological narration of the films they composed for, how they progressed from being mere musicians at first to composers, and how they rose swiftly, garnering awards along the way, changing their music to keep pace with the changing times. There are photographs, and there are some interesting anecdotes to illustrate the personalities of L-P, as they were known: as human beings, as friends and associates, and as composers.
The second half of the book is taken up almost entirely (barring several very comprehensive annexures) by interviews. Just about any industry person who ever worked with L-P (or, in some cases, didn’t work with L-P) makes it here, talking about them. From fellow composers to singers, directors, producers, actors… everybody pitches in here to say something about L-P.
The good things about this book:
1. The obviously extensive research that Vijayakar has done. The number of films, for instance, which L-P were associated with—signed on for, or in some cases, even composed and/or recorded for—but which then got shelved, is mind-boggling. A lot of work has gone in here.
2. The way the personalities of the two men come through: their work ethos, their kindness (that seems to be an appropriate word, perhaps?), Pyarelal’s brilliance as a composer of world music, even.
3. The occasional insights into music itself, and how L-P worked with it. The reminiscences of various singers, for instance, show vividly L-P’s grasp on music and how they composed, how they interacted with singers and made music work.
The things I didn’t like:
1. The very biased view. Vijayakar is obviously a fan of L-P’s work, and I agree that they did compose a lot of great songs, but the way Vijayakar writes of them, it’s very prejudiced. You get the impression that there was none better than L-P, or not even close to them. The most prolific, yes; versatile and able to adapt, yes (though there were others, like SD Burman, who could claim that as well); but the sort of music gods, unparalleled and unequalled, that Vijayakar makes them out to be? No.
2. The laundry list of celebrity interviews. Many of these do have pertinent things to say about L-P, but quite a few, too (Ranveer Singh and Reshma among them) have really nothing important to share, nothing that sheds light on L-P, or even expands on what Vijayakar has already mentioned. What’s more, after a while, even the interviews that are pertinent begin to sound repetitive: the same things about how quickly Laxmikant composed, how he’d sit with a paan tucked in his cheek, how L-P handled this tune or that.
And, of course, there’s the fact that the emphasis in much of the book is on what L-P composed in the 80s and 90s. That’s probably because most of the people Vijayakar interviewed are the younger (comparatively) generation, people who began singing/acting/directing in this period, as opposed to the stalwarts of the 60s. For someone like me, who cannot bear songs like Jumma chumma de de or Choli ke peechhe kya hai (sorry, no, I hate them both, and you can’t convince me there’s nothing cheap about them)… this book only fleetingly examines the L-P I like, the stuff from the 60s: Jaanewaalon zara mudke dekho mujhe, Woh jab yaad aaye, Hansta hua nooraani chehra etc, while discussed briefly, isn’t the focus here.
In fact, Vijayakar so seems to suggest good music began in the 70s (barring what L-P composed in the 60s?) he even goes so far as to say that Khayyam’s career took off with Kabhi-Kabhi. Oh, dear.
I might have liked this book far better if the emphasis had been on the 60s and 70s music of L-P; such as it is, I’d only say this was all right, no more.
The first half of this book is Vijayakar’s own writing. Past the biographies, he does a chronological narration of the films they composed for, how they progressed from being mere musicians at first to composers, and how they rose swiftly, garnering awards along the way, changing their music to keep pace with the changing times. There are photographs, and there are some interesting anecdotes to illustrate the personalities of L-P, as they were known: as human beings, as friends and associates, and as composers.
The second half of the book is taken up almost entirely (barring several very comprehensive annexures) by interviews. Just about any industry person who ever worked with L-P (or, in some cases, didn’t work with L-P) makes it here, talking about them. From fellow composers to singers, directors, producers, actors… everybody pitches in here to say something about L-P.
The good things about this book:
1. The obviously extensive research that Vijayakar has done. The number of films, for instance, which L-P were associated with—signed on for, or in some cases, even composed and/or recorded for—but which then got shelved, is mind-boggling. A lot of work has gone in here.
2. The way the personalities of the two men come through: their work ethos, their kindness (that seems to be an appropriate word, perhaps?), Pyarelal’s brilliance as a composer of world music, even.
3. The occasional insights into music itself, and how L-P worked with it. The reminiscences of various singers, for instance, show vividly L-P’s grasp on music and how they composed, how they interacted with singers and made music work.
The things I didn’t like:
1. The very biased view. Vijayakar is obviously a fan of L-P’s work, and I agree that they did compose a lot of great songs, but the way Vijayakar writes of them, it’s very prejudiced. You get the impression that there was none better than L-P, or not even close to them. The most prolific, yes; versatile and able to adapt, yes (though there were others, like SD Burman, who could claim that as well); but the sort of music gods, unparalleled and unequalled, that Vijayakar makes them out to be? No.
2. The laundry list of celebrity interviews. Many of these do have pertinent things to say about L-P, but quite a few, too (Ranveer Singh and Reshma among them) have really nothing important to share, nothing that sheds light on L-P, or even expands on what Vijayakar has already mentioned. What’s more, after a while, even the interviews that are pertinent begin to sound repetitive: the same things about how quickly Laxmikant composed, how he’d sit with a paan tucked in his cheek, how L-P handled this tune or that.
And, of course, there’s the fact that the emphasis in much of the book is on what L-P composed in the 80s and 90s. That’s probably because most of the people Vijayakar interviewed are the younger (comparatively) generation, people who began singing/acting/directing in this period, as opposed to the stalwarts of the 60s. For someone like me, who cannot bear songs like Jumma chumma de de or Choli ke peechhe kya hai (sorry, no, I hate them both, and you can’t convince me there’s nothing cheap about them)… this book only fleetingly examines the L-P I like, the stuff from the 60s: Jaanewaalon zara mudke dekho mujhe, Woh jab yaad aaye, Hansta hua nooraani chehra etc, while discussed briefly, isn’t the focus here.
In fact, Vijayakar so seems to suggest good music began in the 70s (barring what L-P composed in the 60s?) he even goes so far as to say that Khayyam’s career took off with Kabhi-Kabhi. Oh, dear.
I might have liked this book far better if the emphasis had been on the 60s and 70s music of L-P; such as it is, I’d only say this was all right, no more.
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