Everybody loves a good prankster, except perhaps the persons
on whom the prank is played. But even their irritation and angst will
eventually melt away once they realize the prank was all in good fun, and was
done with no malicious intent.
So he summoned a troupe of character voices, each with their dedicated specialties in hooting, cheering and whistling, some with their distinctive rural accents, a few with a comic nasal twang. When J Om Prakash walked into the studio in his capacity as the film’s producer, he was aghast to find it bursting at the seams with a bunch of jovial and very oddball characters.
In fact, he had been surprised at the gates of the studio itself, where he had seen one weirdo making clucking sounds as if he were a hen, while another was whistling like a roadside Romeo. This parade of characters had continued even up the stairs, where some men were making guttural noises in varying pitch and others were practicing cackling laughs that might have done a Dracula proud.
His mind immediately shuddered at the thought of signing so
many payment vouchers to all these artistes (if they could be called that). He
looked at the clock, it was now eleven o clock, at one, there would be the
lunch break and he would also have to foot the bill for their meals. And if it
stretched into the evening, as it most likely would, the final amount would definitely
go over budget by several thousands of rupees.
That’s when Kishore Kumar burst out laughing. The thought of J
Om Prakash complaining about paying so much money tickled him pink. It was absolutely
priceless. So when he went back to finish the recording of the crescendo sounds,
he burst out on the mike, “Bajao, bajao…imaandaari se bajao! Pachhas hazaar
karch hue! Hee! Hee! Hee!
Besides his awesome talents in singing and acting, Kishore
Kumar was legendary when it came to pulling off the classic prank that would
have everybody in splits. It is rumoured that once, when he was supposed to
drive the car out of frame in one shot, he continued driving past the end
point, past the director’s chair, out of the film set and all the way to his
home. When he was questioned why he did that, the reply was simple, “The
director did not say ‘cut,’ so how can you expect me to stop?”
While this prank and many others are etched in the memory,
there is one that has been etched onto vinyl for posterity.
It was during the recording of a song from the movie, “Aap Ki
Kasam” – the super hit starring Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz in the lead. The music
director of the film was Rahul Dev Burman and its producer was J Om Prakash, a
man known for keeping a tight rein on the finances of his film.
The song was “Jai Jai Shiv Shankar” and if one hears the song,
it becomes apparent that this duet also has many other character voices lending
a flavor of fun in their bhang-inspired timbre. There are some lines of dialogue,
some hoots, whistles and cheers that take the song to an enjoyable drunken crescendo.
When R D Burman heard the situation – the hero and heroine
singing the song with a bhang-fuelled energy amidst a crowd of temple devotees,
he was very excited. This was different from the usual song and dance routines
that he usually set the score to. Here, he had the opportunity and challenge to
infuse the song with an infectious rhythm, an engaging melody and the joie de
vivre of a drunken crowd.
So he summoned a troupe of character voices, each with their dedicated specialties in hooting, cheering and whistling, some with their distinctive rural accents, a few with a comic nasal twang. When J Om Prakash walked into the studio in his capacity as the film’s producer, he was aghast to find it bursting at the seams with a bunch of jovial and very oddball characters.
In fact, he had been surprised at the gates of the studio itself, where he had seen one weirdo making clucking sounds as if he were a hen, while another was whistling like a roadside Romeo. This parade of characters had continued even up the stairs, where some men were making guttural noises in varying pitch and others were practicing cackling laughs that might have done a Dracula proud.
Then, he had wondered what all these strange people were doing
on the premises. Now as he stepped into the studio room, he was mortified to
find ten more people in the recording room, where R D Burman was testing their
voices. Now the penny dropped! All these people numbering about fifty, had come
for the recording of his film’s song!
His mind immediately shuddered at the thought of signing so
many payment vouchers to all these artistes (if they could be called that). He
looked at the clock, it was now eleven o clock, at one, there would be the
lunch break and he would also have to foot the bill for their meals. And if it
stretched into the evening, as it most likely would, the final amount would definitely
go over budget by several thousands of rupees.
With a worried expression, he summoned R D Burman to a vacant
corridor where all these assorted audio clowns were out of earshot and asked
him why so many people were required for the song. Rahul Dev Burman wondered
what kind of question this was. Scratching his balding pate, he replied simply,
“Because they are needed.”
J Om Prakash wasn't satisfied with this. He pointed to a
man making weird chuckling sounds that echoed the length of the corridor. “That
man, what do you need him for?” he asked. R D Burman smiled and said, “He is my
hooting specialist, he’s very important for the song. J Om Prakash pointed to
another fellow, contorting his lips as if blowing smoke rings. “What about that
guy?” he asked. R D Burman replied, “Oh that fellow, he is the whistling
specialist, he is very important for the song?”
J Om Prakash went through this routine over a few more people.
R D Burman spoke of a specialized talent for everyone, and he certainly couldn’t do
this interrogation over fifty odd people. So then he asked him, “Why can’t you
get one guy who can hoot, whistle and chuckle for you?” Rahul Dev Burman
gave him a “Are-you-mad” kind of look, laughed loudly and went back to his
recording.
J Om Prakash now took out his little notebook and roughly
calculated what the damages would be. He had budgeted twenty five thousand rupees
for the song, now his calculations were showing a hole in his pocket of Rs fifty
thousand. DOUBLE THE COST!!! PACHHAS HAZAAR RUPAYE!?! He went back to R D
Burman and whispered in his ears, “Yaar, you are spending fifty thousand on
this one song” (Yaar, pachhas hazaar lag gaye!!)
R D Burman was irritated with this money-minded approach to
making music. He kept quiet and continued with the recording of the song. As
they progressed, J Om Prakash would come and listen to the work in progress and
shake his head at R D Burman, “Yaar, mazaa nahin aa raha hai…aur pachhas hazaar
kharch ho gaye!”
With each of these gripes, R D Burman was becoming more and miserable.
And Kishore Kumar who was in the recording observed his glum disposition. As the
song neared completion, he came over to Rahul and asked him what the matter
was. A dejected Rahul explained what had happened earlier and how J Om Prakash
kept saying, “Pachhas Hazaar lag gaye…mazaa nahin aa raha.”
That’s when Kishore Kumar burst out laughing. The thought of J
Om Prakash complaining about paying so much money tickled him pink. It was absolutely
priceless. So when he went back to finish the recording of the crescendo sounds,
he burst out on the mike, “Bajao, bajao…imaandaari se bajao! Pachhas hazaar
karch hue! Hee! Hee! Hee!
That brought a smile to R D Burman’s face and he kept Kishore’s
impromptu scrap of fun in the final mix of the song, and if you listen closely
you can hear Kishore Kumar’s voice saying “Pachhas Hazaar Kharch Hue!” as the
song comes to an end.
Listen to it by clicking on the link below:
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