Madan Mohan
Born	Madan Mohan Kohli (1924-06-25)25 June 1924 Baghdad,Mandatory Iraq (present-dayIraq)
Died	14 July 1975(1975-07-14) (aged 51) Bombay,Maharashtra, India
Occupations	Music director, singer
Years active	1950–1975
Children	Sanjeev Kohli Sameer Kohli
Relatives	Anju Mahendru (niece)
Awards	1971:National Film Award for Best Music Direction –Dastak
Website	Official website

Madan Mohan Kohli (25 June 1924 – 14 July 1975), better known asMadan Mohan, was an Indian music director of the 1950s, 1960s and the 1970s. He is considered one of the most melodious and skilled music directors of theHindi film industry.^[1] He is particularly remembered for the immortalghazals he composed for Hindi films. Some of his best works are with singersLata Mangeshkar,Mohammed Rafi andTalat Mahmood, and these were the three singers he had worked with most of his career.^[2][3]

Born on 25 June 1924, atBaghdad where his father Rai Bahadur Chunilal Kohli was working as anAccountant General with the Iraqi Police forces, Madan Mohan spent the early years of his life in the Middle East.^[4] After 1932, his family returned to their home town ofChakwal, then inJhelum district ofPunjab, British India.^[5] He was left in the care of a grandparent while his father went toBombay to seek business opportunities. He attended local school inLahore for the next few years. During his stay at Lahore, he learnt the basics of classical music from one Kartar Singh for a very short period, however he never received any formal training in music.^[6] Some time later, his family moved toMumbai where he completed his Senior Cambridge fromSt. Mary's School inBycullaMumbai. In Mumbai, at the age of 11 years, he started performing in children's programmes broadcast byAll India Radio. At age 17, he attended theColonel Brown Cambridge School inDehradun where he completed the last years of his schooling.^[3][7]

He joined the Army as a Second Lieutenant in the year 1943. He served there for two years until end ofWorld War II, when he left the Army and returned toMumbai to pursue his musical interests. In 1946, he joined theAll India Radio,Lucknow as Programme Assistant, where he came in contact with various artists such asUstad Faiyaz Khan,Ustad Ali Akbar Khan,Begum Akhtar, andTalat Mahmood. During these days he would also compose music for programmes to be broadcast onAll India Radio. In 1947, he was transferred toAll India Radio, Delhi where he worked for a short period. He was very fond of singing, and so in 1947 he got his first chance to record twoghazals penned by Behzad Lucknawi,Aane Laga Hai Koi Nazar Jalwa Gar Mujhe andIs Raaz Ko Duniya Jaanti Hai. Soon after, in 1948 he recorded two more privateghazals penned by Deewan Sharar,Wo Aaye To Mahfil Mein Ithlaate Huye Aaye andDuniya Mujhe Kahti Hai Ke Main Tujhko Bhoolaa Doon. In 1948, he got his first opportunity to sing a film duetPinjare Mein Bulbul Bole andMera Chhotasa Dil Dole withLata Mangeshkar under composerGhulam Haider (composer) for the filmShaheed, though these songs were never released or used in the film. Between 1946 and 1948, he assisted music composersS.D. Burman forDo Bhai, and Shyam Sundar in Actress.^[8]

The 3 singers he mostly employed and used wereLata Mangeshkar,Mohammed Rafi, andTalat Mahmood who produced very popular songs even popular today. He also collaborated with singers likeKishore Kumar,Mukesh,Hemant Kumar,Mahendra Kapoor,Asha Bhosle,Shamshad Begum,Geeta Dutt,Suman Kalyanpur, and other singers, but he did not use these singers as much. However, all these singers also did produce some popular songs that are very famous as well, while they also produced songs that were rare as well.He scored his first big break with the filmAankhen in 1950, which marked the beginning of a long lasting collaboration withMohammed Rafi, his next film wasAda 1951 which saw the beginning of a long lasting collaboration withLata Mangeshkar; both would go on to sing for many of his films. Two of his composed songs forSharabi - "Sawan ke maheeney mein" and "Kabhi na Kabhi koi na koi toh aayega", both filmed forDev Anand are among the most well known renditions of Mohammed Rafi. In addition, his other compositions like "Wo Chup Rahen To" from the filmJahan Ara (1964) and "Maine Rang Li Aaj Chunariya" fromDulhan Ek Raat Ki (1966) are two similar examples. Madan was also able to write songs for male singers such asTalat Mahmood (Phir wahi Shaam, wahi gham, wahi tanhaayee hai,Main Teri Nazar Ka Suroor Hoon andTeri Aankh Ke Aansoo fromJahan Ara, andMeri Yaad Mein Tum Na fromMadhosh) and Mohammed Rafi (Ek Haseen Shaam Ko fromDulhan Ek Raat Ki,Kisi Ki Yaad Mein fromJahan Ara,Main Nigahen Tere Chehere Se fromAap Ki Parchaiyian,Aap Ke Pehlun Mein Aakar Ro Diye fromMera Saaya,Ye Duniya Ye Mehfil Mere Kaam Ki Nahin fromHeer Ranjha,Tere Dar Pe Aayaa Hoon fromLaila-Majnu, the all-time hauntingMeri Awaaz Suno andTumhare Zulf Ke Sayen fromNaunihal,Teri Aankhon Ke Siva Duniya Mein fromChiraag as well. Madan Mohan worked withHemant Kumar as well, but did not use him for songs as much and used him very less. Madan Mohan's first time working with Hemant Kumar was for the filmDhoon 1953. Hemant Kumar sang with Lata Mangeshkar in the film Dhoon, and the song is called Hum Pyar Karenge, and it was Hemant Kumar's first time singing forRaj Kapoor. Madan Mohan again used Hemant Kumar for the film Mohar 1959, and the song was called Kho Gaye Jane Kahan. Madan Mohan's first time working withKishore Kumar was for the film Ada (1951) which featured 2 songs of Kishore Kumar. Dil Gaya Dil Gaya was one song from Ada which was a solo of Kishore, and the second one was a song called Jo Tum Karo Main Kar Sakti Hoon which was a song sung by Kishore Kumar andShamshad Begum. Madan did not usually employ Kishore Kumar. Nonetheless, their partnership created loved and popular songs as well and popular even today; in this category fall songs such asSimti Si, Sharmai Si fromParwana,Zaroorat Hai, Zaroorat Hai fromManmauji, the title song fromEk Muthi Aasman,Mera Naam Abdul Rehman fromBhai Bhai, andAai Hasino, Naazanino fromChacha Zindabad. In fact, Madan Mohan's last composition song before his death was by Kishore Kumar, for the song Rahi Tha Main Aawara from filmSaheb Bahadur 1977. Madan Mohan also worked with Mukesh and Shamshad Begum for the first time in his debut film Aankhen as a music director, he worked with Mahendra Kapoor for first time inJailor 1958. Asha, and Geeta Dutt also worked with Madan Mohan for the first time in film Ada 1951. Sulman Kalyanpur worked with Madan Mohan in the films Gazal and Jahan Ara both in 1964. Madan often collaborated with lyricistsRaja Mehdi Ali Khan,Kaifi Azmi, andRajinder Krishan,Sahir Ludhianvi andMajrooh Sultanpuri for his movies.

In 1957 he came out with a film namedDekh Kabira Roya in which the legendary singerManna Dey gave his voice to the melodiousKaun Aaya Mere Man Ke Dwaare and unforgettable numbers likeTum Bin Jeevan Kaisa Jeevan in the filmBawarchi. In addition to that, he had Lata singTu Pyaar Kare Ya Thukraaye andMeri Veena Tum Bin Roye numbers, and he usedTalat Mahmood for the songHum Se Aaya Na Gaya in the same movie. Once in an interview Manna Dey recalled that Madan Mohan asked him to take special care when singingKaun Aaya Mere Man Ke Dwaare.

A film scored by Madan wasChetan Anand'sHaqeeqat (1964), starringBalraj Sahni andDharmendra and based on theSino-Indian War of 1962. In it, he used Rafi, who sang numbers likeKar chale hum fida,Main Yeh Soch Kar. Lata was used for the songZara Si Aahat Hoti Hai and the unscreened " Khelo na mere dilse". And the same film saw Rafi, Talat, Manna Dey, and Bhupendra singingHoke Majboor Mujhe Usne Bhulaya Hoga. Bhupendra appeared on the screen as well for the first time, much before he established himself as a playback singer. This song is also the only song in which four top-rated male playback singers have put voices together in a song. In 1966, he again paired withLata Mangeshkar forMera Saaya.

Madan Mohan's venture wasRaj Khosla's version of "Woman in White", titledWohKaunThi?. This film has three Lata solos (Naina barse rim jhim rim jhim,Lag ja gale [come, embrace me] andJo humne daastaan apni sunayee) and a Lata duet.

The late fifties, sixties and the early seventies were the most productive period in Madan Mohan's career. His songs from those decades include compositions for films likeAdalat,Anpadh,Dulhan ek raat ki,Mera Saya,Dastak,Hanste Zakhm,Heer Raanjha,Maharaja, andMausam, among many others. His second last bow was for a film released five years after his death,Chalbaaz. In 1970, during the changing times of western music he gave music based on ragas forRajinder Singh Bedi'sDastak and won his only1971 National Film Award for Best Music Direction. Its songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar are still considered her finest.^[9]

His legacy wouldn't be complete without mentioning the ghazal he composed for the movie "Dil Ki Rahein" – "Rasm-e-ulfat ko nibhaein to nibhaein kaise". The shayar(lyricist) for the ghazal was Naqsh Lallayalpuri and it was sung by Lata Mangeshkar. It is considered one of the best songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar, ever.

Madan Mohan's son Sanjeev Kohli recreated 11 of his late father's unused compositions for the soundtrack of the 2004Yash Chopra filmVeer-Zaara. Later on, Kohli brought out an album "Tere Baghair" which contains some of Madan Mohan's songs.

Lata Mangeshkar christened him "Ghazal ka Shehzadaa", or the Prince of Ghazals. Even Lata herself stated in a live concert in the late 1990s that she found Madan Mohan's compositions difficult to master. Most of the top film actors of the day (who were also studio heads) had fallen into a groove with their preferred composers (e.g.,Raj Kapoor had Shankar Jaikishan,Dev Anand had the Burmans,Dilip Kumar had Naushad, etc.) Hence, he often had difficulty finding assignments. His 1964Filmfare Award nomination for Best Music Director forWoh Kaun Thi. In a tightly contested race, both Madan and Shankar Jaikishan (Sangam) lost to relative newcomerLaxmikant Pyarelal, who scoredDosti.

Madan's constant struggles took a toll on his life, and he began drinking heavily. He died of liver cirrhosis on 14 July 1975. His body was lifted before his funeral by actors –Rajesh Khanna,Dharmendra,Amitabh Bachchan andRajendra Kumar.^[10]

In 2004, Madan's unused tunes were recreated by his son, Sanjeev Kohli, for theYash Chopra filmVeer-Zaara, starringShah Rukh Khan,Preity Zinta, andRani Mukerji. The lyrics were written byJaved Akhtar, andLata Mangeshkar was invited to once again to sing the majority of the melodies composed by him.^[11] The music was highly appreciated and was critically acclaimed. He was awarded the IIFA award 2005, for Music Direction forVeer-Zaara.^[12]

In 2023,Pritam composed the song titled "What Jhumka?" from the filmRocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, starringRanveer Singh andAlia Bhatt, adapted from Madan's 1966 song "Jhumka Gira Re" from the filmMera Saaya, was released on 12 July. The song featured Singh and Bhatt, and was sung byArijit Singh,Jonita Gandhi, with the lyrics written byAmitabh Bhattacharya.

'Madan Mohan: An Unforgettable Composer – Edited by V M Joshi & Suresh Rao, presents an analytical look at the composer's work. It includes articles by Sanjeev Kohli, Akshay Kohli, O P Dutta, Uttam Singh, B R Ishara, Dr. Ashok Ranade, Alka Deo Marulkar, Mridula Joshi, Dr. Kirti Shrivastava, Deepak Jeswal and many more; interviews with Lata Mangeshkar, Shreya Ghoshal, Mahalaxmi Iyer and Rehana Sultan, and Madan Mohan's filmography.

Madan's music was characterised by his immense ability to meld elements of Indian classical music into a new style of Hindifilmi song. He had a keen and sensitive ear for the nuances of Indian classical tunes, and combined them with elements of Western music such as harmonies to produce a style of music that could be appreciated by both classical music aficionados and the common person alike.

• List of Indian film music directors

• Gulzar; Govind Nihalani; Saibal Chatterjee (2003).Encyclopaedia of Hindi Cinema. Popular Prakashan.ISBN 978-81-7991-066-5.

Wikimedia Commons has media related toMadan Mohan Kohli.

• madanmohan.in, website on Madan Mohan, created and maintained by his sons
• Madan Mohan atIMDb
• Eternal composition called Madan Mohan, tribute piece on Madan Mohan

• 1924 births
• 1975 deaths
• Musicians from Baghdad
• People from Chakwal District
• Deaths from cirrhosis
• Alcohol-related deaths in India
• Hindi film score composers
• Best Music Direction National Film Award winners
• 20th-century Indian composers

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