Overview
Madan Mohan Kohli (25 June 1924 – 14 July 1975), known professionally as Madan Mohan, was an Indian music director who composed for Hindi cinema between the early 1950s and the mid-1970s. He is particularly remembered for his command of the ghazal form in film music and for his long association with the playback singer Lata Mangeshkar, with whom he created some of the most enduring songs in Hindi film music.
Key facts
| Full name | Madan Mohan Kohli |
|---|---|
| Born | 25 June 1924, Baghdad, Iraq |
| Died | 14 July 1975, Mumbai, India |
| Profession | Music director, composer |
| Years active | c. 1950 – 1975 |
| Father | Rai Bahadur Chunilal Kohli (film producer, co-founder of Filmistan and Bombay Talkies) |
| Son | Sanjeev Kohli (music professional) |
| Notable awards | Filmfare Award for Best Music Director (1971, for Dastak); posthumous National Film Award and Filmfare recognition for Veer-Zaara (2004), which used his unreleased compositions |
Background and early life
Madan Mohan was born in Baghdad, where his father Chunilal Kohli was working with the Iraqi Police accounts. The family later returned to India and settled eventually in Bombay, where Chunilal became a major figure in the Hindi film industry as a producer and as a partner in studios such as Filmistan and Bombay Talkies. Madan Mohan spent part of his early years in Chakwal (now in Pakistan) and was educated in Lucknow and Dehradun.
During the Second World War, he served briefly as a Second Lieutenant in the Indian Army. After leaving the army, he worked for a short period as a programme assistant at All India Radio in Lucknow, where he came into contact with classical musicians and singers including Ustad Faiyaz Khan, Begum Akhtar and Talat Mahmood. This exposure shaped his lifelong affinity for the ghazal and for Hindustani classical idioms.
Career
Entry into films
Madan Mohan moved to Bombay in the late 1940s and worked as an assistant to composers such as S. D. Burman and Shyam Sunder before getting his first independent assignment with the film Aankhen (1950), produced by Devendra Goel.
1950s
Through the 1950s, he composed for films including Madhosh (1951), Ashiana (1952), Baghi (1953), Railway Platform (1955), Bhai-Bhai (1956), Pocketmaar (1956), Adalat (1958) and Jailor (1958). Adalat, with songs such as "Yun Hasraton Ke Daag" and "Unko Yeh Shikayat Hai", established his reputation as a composer of Lata Mangeshkar ghazals.
1960s
This decade is generally regarded as Madan Mohan's most prolific period. Major scores include Anpadh (1962, "Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha"), Woh Kaun Thi? (1964, "Lag Ja Gale", "Naina Barse Rim Jhim"), Haqeeqat (1964, "Kar Chale Hum Fida", "Hoke Majboor Mujhe"), Jahan Ara (1964), Mera Saaya (1966, "Tu Jahan Jahan Chalega", "Naino Mein Badra Chhaye"), Neela Aakash (1965), Naunihaal (1967) and Chirag (1969, "Teri Aankhon Ke Siva"). Haqeeqat, directed by Chetan Anand and based on the 1962 Sino-Indian War, contained "Kar Chale Hum Fida", written by Kaifi Azmi and sung by Mohammed Rafi, which became one of the best-known patriotic songs in Hindi cinema.
1970s
Madan Mohan continued to compose into the 1970s with films such as Dastak (1970), Heer Raanjha (1970), Hanste Zakhm (1973), Hindustan Ki Kasam (1973), Mausam (1975) and Laila Majnu (1976, released posthumously). Dastak, directed by Rajinder Singh Bedi, won him the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director and the National Film Award for Best Music Direction.
Posthumous use in Veer-Zaara
In 2004, Yash Chopra's film Veer-Zaara used a set of unreleased tunes composed by Madan Mohan, with new lyrics by Javed Akhtar and arrangement by his son Sanjeev Kohli. The soundtrack reintroduced his music to a new generation and won several awards, including the National Film Award for Best Music Direction.
Style and collaborators
Madan Mohan's compositions are characterised by a strong melodic line, restrained orchestration, and a frequent use of raga-based structures from Hindustani classical music. He is particularly identified with the film ghazal, deploying poetic metres in a manner that gave equal weight to lyric and tune.
His most consistent vocal collaborator was Lata Mangeshkar, who recorded a large number of her best-known ghazals with him. He also worked frequently with Mohammed Rafi, Talat Mahmood, Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey and Kishore Kumar. Among lyricists, his important associations were with Rajinder Krishan, Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, Kaifi Azmi, Sahir Ludhianvi and Kaifi Azmi's contemporaries from the Progressive Writers' tradition.
Death
Madan Mohan died in Mumbai on 14 July 1975 at the age of 51. Several films with his music, including Mausam (1975) and Laila Majnu (1976), were released around or after his death.
Legacy
Madan Mohan is widely regarded within Hindi film music as one of the foremost composers of ghazals for cinema. Songs such as "Lag Ja Gale", "Aap Ki Nazron Ne Samjha", "Naino Mein Badra Chhaye", "Yun Hasraton Ke Daag" and "Kar Chale Hum Fida" remain part of the standard repertoire of Hindi film music. His work has been the subject of retrospective albums, biographies and concerts, and his compositional approach continues to influence later composers working in the ghazal and semi-classical idioms.