Magical Melodies

34 years after Madan Mohan’s death,Kohli,52,is releasing an album of songs by his father that he accidently stumbled upon,left forgotten in a cupboard in their ancestral home. Kohli discovered them when he was 18,but a busy corporate career prevented him from doing anything about it till now. “These are songs from films that remained incomplete for various reasons. They were recorded by my father in his lifetime,but remain unheard,” says Kohli. The 15-track album titled Tere Begair and produced by Yashraj Films will release on June 25,which also happens to be Mohan’s 85th birthday.

This album promises to be a rare treasure since the songs were recorded from 1964 to 1972 and sung by Mohan’s favourite singers. With three songs each by Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhonsle,one each by Talat Mehmood and Kishore Kumar,the album also has seven songs with Mohammad Rafi. Known for capturing the nuances of both classical and contemporary music,this is an important album for music aficionados and historians. “An album like this is a rare diamond for all music fans. As a musician I grew up revering Madan Mohan and I can’t wait to hear it,” says Kailash Kher,singer.

“My father recorded these songs at the peak of his career. Also,all of them are in their characteristic style,and include the sitar and violins in the orchestra,and set to lyrics of his favorite poets—Rajinder Kishan and Raja Mehdi Ali Khan,” says Kohli. Mohan was just 25 when he landed in Mumbai from UP,with little more than some Lucknawi tehzeeb in his pocket,and some soulful melodies of unrequited love.

The master tapes of Tere Begair have suffered a little damage over the years but “all the rough edges have been smoothened to make the songs sound as technically perfect as possible,” says Kohli. An attempt has also been made to add supportive music to the original song,so as to enhance the audio quality “I have removed the hiss and the static. This has been done only for technical purposes,leaving the original recording untarnished,” adds Kohli.