For the millennials, a Jagjit Singh playlist will start with “Koi Fariaad” from Tum Bin (2001). And for a era earlier than that, it may be “Tum Itna Jo” from Arth (1982). The two motion pictures may be over 20 years aside, however it was Jagjit Singh who bridged the hole between ghazals and its lengthy misplaced homegrown viewers, that will swap to Pakistani music if ever they wished to discover the style.
Jagjit Singh broke into the Indian music scene in late Nineteen Seventies, when the ghazal music was dominated by artistes primarily from Pakistan (like Mehdi Hassan) on account of its affiliation with Urdu. He and his spouse Chitra had a mammoth job of discovering their floor within the style, which they have been making an attempt to introduce to the Indian listeners on a bigger canvas. With ‘The Unforgettable’ (1977), the couple took up the problem. And it appeared music aficionados could not have sufficient of them. This distinctive album took no time to climb the charts, and its track “Baat Niklegi” established Jagjit and Chitra on the Indian music map.
Jagjit Singh with spouse Chitra. (Photo: Express Archives)
“It became a transformative, before-and-after milestone in the history of Indian popular and ghazal music,” wrote The Independent in a function on ‘The Unforgettable’ dated October 2011. It established him as ‘The Ghazal King’ of India.
What was it about Jagjit Singh’s voice and his ghazals, that received Indian listeners hooked?
“Forget about cosmopolitan cities, there is a huge audience for ghazal in places like Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. They want to listen to good ghazals. That’s why Jagjit Singh was so popular. You are the hero in a ghazal,” Roop Kumar Rathod, a ghazal singer himself, instructed rediff.com in 2015.
Jagjit Singh was provided the male playback in “Choli Ke Peeche” from Khalnayak. But he let it go. Later, when he heard the unrecorded model of the monitor, he was shocked by its daring lyrics. Director Subhash Ghai instructed HT, “He loved the tune, but was doubtful if his classical background would suit the (raunchy) tone of the song.” That’s as a result of the ghazal maestro had a approach together with his songs and into folks’s hearts.
Jagjit Singh managed to create a distinct segment viewers by choosing simple Urdu lyrics set to hummable tunes of straightforward devices like a guitar or a synthesiser. The intent was to make ghazals sound contemporary and up to date to draw primarily the youthful era. But in doing that, Jagjit Singh didn’t dilute the essential essence of the style. He saved the sunshine classical notes and soulful singing intact.
It wasn’t nonetheless, simply the dynamics of the compositions. Jagjit Singh’s heart-melting heavenly voice transcended moods and expectations of the viewers — a win-win state of affairs for the core ghazal lovers, and the youth that was open to embracing newness in music.
Jagjit Singh with lyricist Javed Akhtar. (Photo: Express Archives)
Mahesh Bhatt’s Arth might be credited for giving Jagjit Singh, the a lot deserving breakthrough into Bollywood. According to the filmmaker, “Jagjit reinvented the idiom of ‘ghazal’ by introducing the 12 string guitar and the bass guitar in mainstream ghazals.”
By Eighties, ghazals began turning into mainstream, with Jagjit Singh giving some unimaginable film songs. “Jhuki Jhuki Si Nazar” (Arth), “Tum Ko Dekha To Yeh Khayal Aaya” (Saath Saath), “Hontho Se Chhoo Lo Tum” (Prem Geet), “Hosh Walon Ko” (Sarfarosh), “Chithi Na Koi Sandesh ” (Dushman), “Kiska Chehra Ab Main Dekhun” (Tarkieb) and “Badi Nazuk Hai” (Joggers’ Park) went on to high our record of Bollywood ghazals. His solos like “Woh Kaghaz Ki Kashti”, “Baat Niklegi To”, “Hazaron Khwahishen Aisi”, “Bahut Khoobsurat” and lots of extra proceed to echo in our ears.
Jagjit Singh opened doorways for his successors like Hariharan and Bhupinder Singh who ensured the Eighties-Nineties remained vibrant with ghazals. The style may be struggling to retain its maintain within the present occasions of remixes and raps, however for true-blue music lovers, Jagjit Singh nonetheless teleports them to an period that was wealthy in music with ghazals having a vital function to play, be it any temper — love, heartbreak, desires or innocence.
Happy birthday, Jagjit Singh!
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With inputs from TheIndianEXPRESS
