Anand-Milind: Melody Is Making a Strong Comeback Among Music Lovers

Old Interview...

A film personality's success and popularity is often gauged by their news coverage. Last year, Anand Milind had the most successful films released and starred in. Furthermore, his name is also associated with numerous controversies. Therefore, we sought to meet with Anand Milind to uncover the truth. 

Anand-Milind Songs

During our meeting at his home, we asked: 

"The Nadeem-Shravan duo succeeded you. But they surpassed you in fame and fame. Today, people consider them the number one musicians. What's the reason for their lagging behind in this race?"

"The industry isn't a racetrack. So how can anyone decide who's ahead or behind or who's number one? We only know that we released the most films last year, and the biggest hits of the year were "Beta," "Bol Radha Bol," and "Aaj Ka Gundaraj." Nadeem Shravan's only film, "Deewana," was a hit. As for the price, only the payer or the receiver knows. We never trumpeted it," Anand said. This kind of eye-rolling raises the eyebrows of the Income Tax Department.

It's said about you guys that your tunes aren't original. What's the reason for this? We asked. We always strive to create original tunes. Papa says Adi has given all the original tunes. In Papa's time, directors, producers, etc. didn't come to the recordings. No one would listen to what tune was being created. But today, producers, directors, writers, actors, etc., all come to the music room and listen to what tune is being created. That's why we have to create 3-3, 4-4 choruses and tunes for each song. Only the ones everyone likes are used, and the rest are stored in our bank. If liked, they are used in other films.' Milind said.

You're accused of using South Indian composer Ilaiyaraaja's melodies in your films. So where's the originality? We asked.

"Some films are remakes. If their music is popular, the director makes demands, like Inder Kumar requested for 'Dil.' All the songs in 'Aaj Ka Gundaraj' were remade. That too was a remake, with music composed by Bappi Lahiri in the original version. Therefore, all the songs were remade. Despite this, if someone makes such allegations, what can be done?" Anand said.

"We believe in teamwork. Everyone has their own preferences. Their own mind. If a tune seems to be copied, then the producer and director of the film are responsible for it," Milind said. "In the song from 'Dil', which people have objected to, we had taken only the chorus. We had changed all the stanzas. We had to take that tune because Poonam Dhillon and Ashok Thakeria forced us to. It is not a crime to take inspiration. It is a crime to copy. Everyone in life is inspired by someone or the other. Lataji was inspired by Noorjahan, and Ashaji by Geeta Dutt. Because in any field, unless someone is made an ideal, inspiration is not found."

‘Who is your idol?’ we asked.

"Our ideal is our father (Chitragupta)," Anand said.

‘Who else has influenced them both besides themselves?’ we asked.

"Apart from Papa, I have always liked Burmanda, Shankar Jaikishan, O.P. Nayyar, Madan Mohan, R.D. Burman, but I have always been a fan of Salil Chowdhary," Anand said.

"I like music from the late 50s more. Not anything before that," Milind said. "My idols are Shankar Jaikishan and O.P. Nayyar.

"You didn't mention LP (Laxmikant Pyarelal), even though he has a deep influence on your music," we said.

"People said that initially, but in 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak,' we brought our own style, setting Eastern tunes in a Western style. We created even more unique music for 'Mahasangram,' 'Baaghi,' and others. Besides Papa, we also listened to the music of L.P. Roshan and Shankar Jaikishan," Anand said.

"Papa and I also loved Rajesh Roshan's music. My own feeling is that listening to the new tunes we've been composing for the past two, three, four, five years reminds me of Papa. It's not like Papa, but I'm starting to see glimpses of him," Milind said.

‘What did Chitraguptaji think of your music?’ we asked.

 "He was very happy. He used to say, 'Now, listening to your songs, it feels like Anand Milind's songs.' He used to say, 'I won't be around much longer.' After 'Dil,' 'Baaghi' also became a hit, so he said, 'Now you're gone. You guys have reached a big level.' Papa was sad that he couldn't compose music for films starring Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar, and Raj Kapoor. When Shammi Kapoor was at his peak, he met Papa somewhere and said, 'You're the music director who composed the music for 'Kali Topi Lal Rumal.' He told Papa to come and meet him sometime. But Papa never went. Papa's condition was such that Nasir Sahib invited Raj Sahib (Raj Kapoor) for the muhurat of 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak.' Introducing us, he said, 'I'm giving him a break. He's Chitragupta's son.' Raj Sahib asked, 'Where is he? He's a genius.' Then I told him, 'He's here.' Then, when I introduced Papa to Rajji, I felt strange that we were introducing him to a musician from his era. Groupism was prevalent in his time, but there was something special about it. When AVM was starting a Hindi film, they went to Barmanda. He said, "I only do four films." He was the one who suggested Papa's name. "Which composer today sends a film to another composer like this?" Milind said.

"You gained popularity and success thanks to T-Series. So why did you break up with Gulshan Kumar?" we asked.

"It's best not to touch this topic. Relationships are one thing, business is another," Anand said.

"We were supposed to compose music for 'Jeena Marna Tere Sang.' Later, we learned that the songs had already been recorded. We dubbed all the songs from 'Sangeet' into 'Shiv Mahima.'" Milind said.

"Not only that, you also had a falling out with Alka Yagnik because of Anuradha Paudwal. How did you reconcile?" we asked.

"The record company had automatically dubbed Alka's songs from 'Dil' in Anuradha's voice. Alka was upset because she thought we had done that. Sur Mandir Music Company wanted to release an album with our music. They spoke to Alka. We had no objection to working with her. Alka also didn't object. We had such a long-standing relationship with her that she had even sung for Papa. Then she sang all the songs in 'Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak'. In the meantime, she probably realized it wasn't our fault. Her complaint was why we didn't object to the dubbing, even though we weren't aware of it. The matter became clear. The rift was resolved," Milind said.

‘Similarly, are there any chances of a tie-up with Gulshan Kumar?’ we asked.

"We haven't had any fight. We're very busy outside. Meanwhile, Gulshanji is working with his own musicians. He's trying out new ones. Maybe we'll work together later. We have no egos," Anand said.

"The era of Love Story has begun and ended. Will the melody still remain?" we asked.

"It seems so. People have become fond of melody again. Earlier, people would get up and leave when a song came on. It felt like the story was stalling, but that's not the case anymore," Milind said.

‘Do you have any ambition?’ we asked.

"I wanted to get Rafi sahab to sing and compose music for Rajji's (Raj Kapoor) film. That wish will now be unfulfilled," Anand said. "Now I just want to compose music for an Amitabh Bachchan film and work with Yash Chopra and Subhash Ghai."

-Z.A.Johar