Vo bhuli daastaan, lo fir yaad aa gayi, nazar ke saamne ghata si chha gayi - Known and unknown facts about the great music director Madan Mohan (Kohli)

The memory of the late Madan Mohan, the composer of the golden age Indian cinema, the composer of this beautiful song, must be haunting the generation who lived, completely immersed in their music and rhythm.

All those songs composed by him still touch the heart deeply. Here is a small sample, a reminder of his timeless music.

• Tu jahan, jahan chalega, mera saaya,
• Jhumka gira re, aapki nazron ne samjha, chhod kar tera, pyaar ka saaya Ye bata do ki hum kidhar jaye, tum jo mil gaye ho, main to tum sang naain milaake, ruke ruke se kadam,
• Hum pyaar mein jalne walon ko, tum bin jeevan kaise beeta,
• Yoon hasarton ke daag, agar mujhse muhabbat hai, jara si aahat hoti hai to,
• Aap kyun raoye, unko ye shikayat hai ki hum kuch nahi kehte,
• Rang aur noor ki, basti basti parbat parbat,
• Maayi re, kase kahoon, ye duniya ye mehfil,
• Tu pyaar kare ya thukraaye, meri veena tum bin roye,
• Hum se aaya na gaya, kar chale, hum fida jaan o tan saathiyon,
• Kaun aaya mere mann ke dware, kadar jaane na, yahi hai tamanna,
• Agar mujhse muhabbat hai, mujhe sab apne gham de do,
• Na tum bewafa ho, biyan na dharo, lag ja gale ki fir ye raat ho na ho, 
• Naina barse rimjhim, nainon mein badra chhaye,
• Ai dil mujhe bata den, jaana tha humse door bahane bana liye,
• Hai tere saath meri vafa, rasm-e-ulfat,
• Do ghadi wo jo paas aa baithe, aur bhi kitne-kitenge geet hain unke jo cinema ke us khand ko swarnim banane mein sabse zyada madadgar the.
• Madan Mohan ko is duniya se alvida liye hue bees saal se upar ho gaye, lekin unke sangeet baddh geet amar hain

Madan Mohan's life is a story of struggle and passion. He was born on 25 June 1924 in Baghdad. His father Rai Bahadur Chunnilal was working as Accountant General in the Iraqi Police. Madan Mohan's early years were spent in the Middle East, but after 1932 his family returned to Chakwal in Punjab. It was then a part of British India. Later his father moved to Bombay in search of work and left Madan with his grandparents. Madan went to school in Lahore. He learned the intricacies of classical music from Kartar Singh, but never received proper formal training. Later, his entire family moved to Mumbai and Madan completed his Senior Cambridge from St. Mary's School in Byculla.

Since childhood, Madan Mohan was surrounded by a musical environment. His mother was a poet and loved music. His grandfather and uncle were also music lovers. They would often discuss ragas and compositions and young Madan would listen with great interest. By the age of seven, Madan was famous as a singer in Chakwal, and people would invite him to sing at religious gatherings and community events.

At the age of 11, Madan started performing in children's programmes on All India Radio. Later, he went to Colonel Brown Cambridge School in Dehradun to complete his schooling. Even as a student, he was more interested in music than studies. He could do everything related to music, write poetry, compose tunes, and he would often sing for his friends and teachers.

After finishing school, Madan Mohan even joined the Indian Army for a short while, but his heart was not in it. He left the army and came to Bombay with a dream of making it big in the world of music.

Bombay was a tough city. Mayanagari, Bollywood, was even tougher. He had to struggle to find work. Many doubted his talent. Even his own father did not believe he could become a successful music director. But Madan was stubborn. He wanted to compose music in his own style, not copy others.

In Bombay, he met the famous music director S.D. Burman, who encouraged him and said that he would become great one day.

When Madan arrived in Bombay to make a name for himself, he initially shared rooms with several friends, including producer directors Ramanand Sagar, Sajjan, O.P. Dutta, Chandrashekhar Vaidya.

Madan Mohan worked as an assistant with Shyam Sunder and C. Ramachandra and learned the tricks of the profession. He spent hours composing tunes, writing lyrics and dreaming of a break.

He got his first big break in 1950 with the film ‘Aankhen’. The film was a hit and people took notice of his music. He then worked in films like ‘Ashiana’ (1952), ‘Dhun’ (1952) and ‘Papi’ (1953), but these did not do very well. His real success came in 1956 with ‘Bhai Bhai’ starring Ashok Kumar and Kishore Kumar.

But even then, life was not easy. Many top stars had their favourite composers, so it was difficult for Madan Mohan to get good films.

Madan himself was also too  choosy and often composed several tunes for a film. Only a few of them were used. He was a perfectionist and sometimes his best work went unused.

Despite these struggles, Madan Mohan created some of the most beautiful songs in Hindi cinema. He also became famous as the ‘Ghazal King’ because of his soulful ghazals. Legendary singer Lata Mangeshkar named him the ‘Shehzada of Ghazal’ and said that his compositions were very difficult to sing.

Madan Mohan collaborated with singers like Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammed Rafi, Manna Dey and Talat Mahmood and the songs he composed with them became timeless classics.

Madan Mohan's career was full of ups and downs. After a point of time, he was suddenly ignored for big projects and many of his films did not do well at the box office. Out of the 100 films he composed in, only 25 were hits.

# Madan was a very sensitive person and when his work was not appreciated, he felt hurt and then he sank into depression. Sadly, in this state of mind, he started drinking too much alcohol. His health started deteriorating and he died in 1975 at the age of just 51.

Even after Madan Mohan's death, his music lived on.

In 2004 Yash Chopra used some of his unused tunes in the film Veer-Zaara. The songs were given by his son Sanjeev Kohli and sung by Lata Mangeshkar. The music of this film was a huge success and Madan Mohan received a posthumous IIFA award for it. While recording this song, Lata Mangeshkar was moved to tears remembering her old friend.

There are many unknown facts about Madan Mohan. He was a poet and often wrote his own songs. He was very humble and never boasted of his talent. He helped many newcomers in the industry and was always ready to experiment with new styles. He had a great love for classical music and often combined it with film music to create something unique. He was also very close to his family and loved spending time with his children.

Madan Mohan did not get the recognition he deserved, true talent sometimes goes unrecognised in its own time but he never gave up his passion for music.

Madan Mohan was also a very good cook. Whenever he composed a great tune (of his own accord), he would cook a meal to celebrate with his family. He would personally go to the markets to buy veg/non veg ingredients and spices. He was said to have paid as much attention to cooking as he did to his songs. These feasts were regularly attended by Lata Mangeshkar, Chetan Anand, Priya Anand and Kaifi Azmi.

Madan Mohan loved all kinds of cuisines but he especially loved Chinese food. He was one of the first Bollywood celebrities to be regular customers at the Nankings/Fredericks/Shanghai restaurants in Colaba at that time.

Madan Mohan bought a Grundig 2 tape recorder and later an Akai 4 tape recorder. These were the most sophisticated tape recording gadgets (in the 1960s), and he considered them his most cherished possessions and treasured them with love.

He had two pet dogs. An Alsatian named Sugar and a Collie named Romeo. Madan was so devoted to them that he was devastated when they fell ill and died. He never kept any other pet after that and forbade his children to have pets as he did not want them to suffer the loss and pain he had suffered.

Madan Mohan's favourite instrument was the sitar. Despite using it so well in his songs, he could never learn to play it himself, although he did try to learn it formally in the early 1970s from musician Ustad Shamim Ahmed.

Initially Madan Mohan planned to become an actor in Bollywood. Unfortunately, his first film as a hero was shelved after completing about 8-9 reels of shooting. His subsequent attempts at acting also did not go well. He acted in films like Shaheed (1948), Aansoo (1953) and Munimji (1955).

When he was a little child, Madan Mohan was once gifted a small drum by his parents. That very day, the Iraq Police Band passed by the street outside his house, marching. Madan took his small drum and joined the band drumming and marched along with them.

When he was found missing, his parents searched for him and after two hours he was found at the police depot.

Once, as a well known composer, Madan Mohan liked the voice of a nine-year-old girl so much that he brought her to AIR (Bombay) studios to audition for a radio programme. He told the executive that the girl could sing well, but while auditioning, the girl got nervous and started crying in front of everyone . Madan wiped her tears and sent her back home. The next week, he brought the girl back with him again. This time, the girl sang well. Everyone present there applauded. The girl was Suraiya, who went on to become a landmark singer in Bollywood.

While working at AIR (All India Radio), he became friends with a fair, blue-eyed boy who frequented the AIR. He was Raj Kapoor.

Madan Mohan Kohli was often mistaken for Madan Mohan Saigal (son of singer K.L. Saigal). This is because both have the same name. Madan Mohan's grandson is Akshay Kohli (son of Sanjiv Kohli).

Madan Mohan's sister's daughter is actress Anju Mahendru.

Madan Mohan's father Rai Bahadur Chunnilal Kohli did not believe in his son's ability. One day Madan invited him to a preview of his film Aankhen (1950). While watching the film father did not speak a word. But when the film was over, he said, as he left, "Son, you have proved that you not only know music, but you also have a passion for music. I am sure you have chosen the right career. I will pray for your success." Two months later, father Rai Bahadur passed away.

Madan Mohan was an extraordinary sports lover. He took interest in boxing, billiards, football, cricket and swimming. Whenever possible, he would attend many major sporting events , and sit ringside to watch the action in its entirety. He also maintained good friendships with the top sportsmen of the time.

He owned a Studebaker automobile, custom-painted as per his instructions (in white and blue) which he drove and maintained with great care. He called it his "baby".

Madan inherited his love and talent for music from his mother Bhagwanti Devi, who was a poet and a great fan of music.

A few months before Madan Mohan's death, he had a terrible accident. His car slipped off the Western Ghats. He escaped unhurt by jumping out of the car. Despite injuries, he took a taxi to Bombay and went straight to the studio for recording.

Prakash Kohli was his brother, who also had a career in the film industry.

Madan's father was Rai Bahadur Chunilal Kohli, who worked as an accountant with the Iraqi Police in Baghdad, and later founded Bombay Talkies, the first major Bollywood studio.

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