My days with Sachinda - Manna Dey

Tere Naina Talaash Karen from Talaash is one of my favourites amongst the songs I’ve sung for Burman Saab. Another song, one of the last ones I sang for Sachinda, was Mera sab much mere geet [hums]. A beautiful song, Sachinda had okayed it in only one take. Later he told me you sang it so well but the song was killed in the picturisation. It was picturised on Deb Mukherjeee .

Sachinda was very particular on who would sing the song. He would always ask the director before composing. Another song close to my heart is the Bandini solo ‘Mat ro mata laal tere bahutere’. Sachinda was reduced to tears by the end of my rendition. He was very happy with my singing. This song too was suffered because of change in situation. The original situation was that Nutun asks Ashok Kumar to sing a song and he says that I know only one song and he sings ‘Mat to mata laal tere bahutere’  This was the situation Burman dada gave to me when I recorded this song.  When the film got over Bimal Roy changed his mind and he put it somewhere else. The song was finally picturised on a man heading for the gallows. Sachinda was very hurt by that change.

Close personal association

I was blessed with a close personal association with Burmanda. He was generally reticent by nature but was very fond of . Hrishi’s [director Hrishikesh Mukherjee]  and me. He would come over to my place very often and sit for hours.  He had a great sense of humour and he would make us laugh and laugh with his tales. His experience was so rich and captivating that we would listen spellbound for hours.

His son Pancham was also very talented. He was exceptional as a music director. Burman saab would often complain that the boy is getting out of hand. I would always advice him “Let him do what he wants. He is not maligning your name in any way Dada”. Much later Burmanda admitted “You were right the boy is very talented”.

Burmanda did not get many awards

Despite his great talent and success, Burmanda hardly got any awards. When Meri Surat Teri Aankhen was released, Poocho na Kaise Maine Rain Bitayi  was in the running. The day the filmfare awards were announced,  Sachinda was lying in the hospital with his eye operated. My wife and I went to see him in the hospital with the evening news. He asked me  “ Kya re result nikla?” “Haan Nikla”, I replied.  “Kya raha? Bol” he asked. I kept quiet what could I say?. ‘Tu bolta kyon nahin hai?”, he asked again. “What do I say, not only I but the entire industry thought you get the award for this film’, I said quietly. Sachinda did not say anything. One eye was operated and bandaged but a tear rolled down from the other eye. I remember heart-touching moment till today. He did not get an award for Guide either.

He must have been unhappy about not getting those awards but he suppressed it within himself. He never expressed that disappointment, never spoke about it. He used to say let me do what I have to do.. whether I get awards or not. I will continue to put my best into my music. He was a great composer, a great singer and a great human being with a great sense of humour.  Music was his religion. He would often say to me. Music mera bhai bhi hai, beta bhai aur bandhu bhi.

SD Burman with Manna Dey

My days with Sachinda

Manna Dey rewound to his long association with SD Burman when Satish Kalra interviewed him in New Jersey for this commemorative.

Early days in Calcutta

My association with SD Burman goes back a very long way. Sachinda (and also his wife) was my Uncle KC Dey’s disciple. He would visit our house very often to learn music. As a young boy of 15-16 years I was captivated by him. He was a distinctive looking man and stood apart from the rest of the Bengalis. Very fair-complexioned and tall, he would always be turned out in impeccable white. He used to look as if he was from China.

Despite being my uncle’s disciple his singing style was totally different. He had a nasal intonation and a very unique method of lyric enunciation and what we call ‘sur lagana’ (holding the note). I was a great fan of his singing. I would imitate the nasal tone and sing his songs. So much so that my uncle once said to me ‘Theek Hai, you like Sachin’s songs, sing them but why do you have to copy his nasal twang? Sing in your own tone!”.

Early days in Bombay

After finishing my graduation, I migrated to Bombay in 1943. The Bombay film world was totally different, the way of doing film music was a tough and specialized form and I devoted a lot of time learning it. In this period I was an assistant to my many great stalwarts like Anil Biswas, Khemchand Prakash, my uncle and Burman Saab. I worked as Burmanda’s assistant in Bombay Talkies films. In Mashaal I was also credited as ‘Associate Music Director’. Those were great days. Sachinda was great fun outside the music room too. He was a sports freak. I remember I would be working diligently as his assistant and he would come and ask me “Tu abhi tak laga hua hai, chal chalen” (You are still working, come let’s go), “Where”, I would ask him “Arre football match dekhne”! And off we would go. Those days both of us did not own a car. We would travel by train and bus. And this would happen every other day thanks to Burman Saab’s enthusiasm.

I spent a lot of time with him those days. He used to live in a hotel in Khar. A lot many classics like Pyaasa have been tuned from that hotel room. He would often call me and say “Manna, come over we’ll eat lunch and then go to the studios together”. And there we would sit on that modest hotel bench tucking away our lunch. I have learnt the greatest lessons in humility from Sachin Dev Burman. He was such a successful composer but he never bothered about his position. He wasn’t bothered about living conditions, the status he commanded or any trappings that came with success. He was very simple in his lifestyle and needs.  

Working with Burmanda

Working with Burmanda was always a pleasure. His thinking was completely different from any other music director. I remember one day he came and told me. “Aaj ek ghazab baat ho gayi’(A fantastic thing happened today). I created a song that starts from the antara”. [humming] Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tammana Hai.  The song starts with Kaaton se kheench key eh aanchal  which is an antara. Only Sachin Dev Burman could do this.

Dada had a great sense of humour. I remember singing a comedy song for him in Manzil ‘Hato Kahe ko Jhoothi Banao Batiyan’. Burman Saab was a great fan of Ustaad Faiyyaz Khan Sahib. In his early days he had presented a Nat Bihag bandish by Khan Saab’s in Bengali. The Bandish was ‘Jhan Jhan Jhan Jhan Payal Baaje’, Burmanda presented it as ‘Jhan Jhan Jhan Jhan Manjira baaje’. In Manzil he got me to sing a bandish originally recorded by Khan Saab. The Bandish was ‘Hato Kahe ko’. Before the recording Sachinda told me ‘Zara Sambhaal ke gaana, Ustaad Faiyyaz Khan ka gaana hai” (sing with respect, it is a song by Ustaad Faiyyaz Khan!).

As Burmanda’s assistant I would have three books full of his works and compositions and I would work with musicians on getting the songs executed. Did his assistants ghost compose for him? No. I would say. SD Burman could think for himself. He had a clear vision and a very different style of expression. The assistants only followed his directions and gave suggestions and ideas. But yes, he would give a lot of autonomy in execution both to his assistants and singers. He would always say to me, “If I make a good song apart from you and Lata who else can sing it?”