The Making of "Aisa Des Hai Mera" (VEER-ZAARA) Video
5 July 2011
The music of Veer-Zaara was a unique endeavour probably for the first time ever in the world of music.
Many tunes made by Madan Mohanji over the years remained unused for many reasons… if it was a tune made for a specific song for a film, the film may have been shelved, the recording cancelled, the composer himself or the director may have opted for an alternative tune for situational reasons, and thus the tune with dummy words meant for the specific song remained unused.
Often, a tune struck Madanji, but had no immediate use and he wished to keep it for future use… he either just hummed the tune, played it on harmonium or piano, or just sang some dummy words as they struck him.
This was an ongoing process from 1950 till 1975, but in those days the facilities to record one's voice spontaneously did not easily exist. There were no easy recording devices, cassettes, portable mikes etc. So, often, if a tune struck Madanji when he was out, he would try and store it in his memory till he could somehow reach his music room and record it on a handy spool, most often, in the hurry, erasing an earlier lot. Thus, many such tunes have been lost.
The few that he managed to record were found on his spools, but not in good condition, some half erased, some overlapping each other, and more than anything else, the spools themselves had been damaged in the 3 decades since his death.
Veer-Zaara was the result of using 13 of such many tunes that were located, each composed in a different time span, under varied circumstances, each with a unique story.
Along with the Veer-Zaara audio CD, a special CD called the Making Of The Music was also released which featured excerpts of Madanji's original compositions, fused with the final recordings, to demonstrate the process of recreation to suit the requirement of Veer-Zaara situations. This CD was also included in the TERE BAGAIR set.
We have recently also added to the website the 13 original unedited compositions by Madanji as were initially found on his tapes, from which the 11 songs of VEER-ZAARA were recreated.
When Madanji's unused tunes were sifted it was never known that a song in praise of the motherland would be a part of Veer-Zaara.
Madanji had left behind a melody with dummy words, Waqt Ka Pahiya Chalta Jaaye, Koi Rok Na Paaye as a philosophical song, a situation very popular in the fifties and sixties.
Coincidentally, when dummy tracks were recorded for Yashji to select, this melody was done as, instinctively, as a patriotic song, and just clicked with Yashji instantly. Almost as if it was made by Madanji for the situation.
Yashji wanted to highlight the beauty of Punjab through this song and was very keen that the three interludes be based on Punjabi folk songs. Thus, the three interludes were planned on Mahiya, Jugni, and Sarke Sarke respectively... three very popular traditional Punjabi folk pieces.
If some people pointed out that Naya Daur songs melodies were used, it was only because those songs were themselves based on these traditional Punjabi tunes and Yashji was keen that they be used again in their original form. (He had been an assistant director in Naya Daur!!)
To add the Punjabi touch, Gurdas Mann was selected for the adlib as well as the Jugni portion (also filmed on him). The adlib was composed based on the notes of Madanji's original melody.
Udit Narayan was the perfect choice for this earthy song, while Lataji sang a part of the third verse as the heroine's voice.
Indeed the song had the robust spirit of Punjab as well as the message of the third verse that both the nations, India and Pakistan, have so much in common.
View the Video of the Making of "Aisa Des Hai Mera" (VEER-ZAARA)
Also Check:
Watch the entire video capsule of "The Making of the Music of VEER-ZAARA", all songs, in two parts. Part 1 | Part 2
