Very often, it doesn’t take a huge magnum opus to provide
inspiration to the mind. Sometimes just a turn of phrase or a fragment of rhyme…or
even the way a certain line is uttered. Any of these can cause the brainwaves that
result in an idea coming to the shore of the mind. Where it can be picked up
as a rough pearl and then honed and polished, ready to be presented to the world in
all its glory.
The second song that was created out of a real life
interaction was from the film, “Sangam” produced and directed by Raj Kapoor.
When he was making this romantic triangle that starred two heroes with a common
love interest, his mind was clear about who the other hero would be – Rajendra Kumar,
an actor with whom he shared a great friendship. Where he was stuck was in the
casting of the heroine who would play the pivotal role of Radha in the film.
In the list of heroines he had shortlisted, the name of Vyajantimala
was right at the top. He thought she fit the role perfectly and desperately
wanted her to act in the film. He had a meeting where he narrated the story to
her and even explained that she would do wonders in the role of Radha.
Vyajantimala liked the
script too and she agreed with Raj – the role of Radha really would allow her histrionic
capabilities to come to the fore. However, she had signed on so many films just
a few months ago, that finding dates for the shoot of Sangam would be difficult
unless she juggled some other dates around. She promised to let Raj Kapoor know
whether she would be able to rearrange her diary to accommodate Sangam.
A couple of weeks went by and Raj had still not heard anything
from Vyajantimala. He couldn’t afford to wait endlessly, and wanted to know
what her answer was. Could she do the film or not? So he decided to send her
a telegram and since telegrams are supposed to be concise and to the point, he
telegraphed the words, “Bol Radha Bol, Sangam Hoga Ke Nahin?” hoping she would
be tempted to say yes if he addressed her as Radha.
Whatever the intention of the choice of words, Vyajantimala
replied with a vehement, “HOGA! HOGA! HOGA!
Raj Kapoor was thrilled when he received the reply. He
immediately shared the entire episode with Shailendra, his songwriter friend
who would be writing the songs for “Sangam.” While Shailendra felt the episode itself
was a quite amusing, he found the choice of words very interesting. He now began visualizing
the interplay between the lead characters in his head – the hero would be
pestering the heroine throughout the song, asking her whether she would relent and
accept his love. She would say no consistently, till the end where she would
out of exasperation, be fed up and say, “Hoga, Hoga Hoga!”
Once he wrote the song, he showed it to Raj Kapoor, who loved the
visual possibilities it offered. They shared it with Shankar Jaikishan, the
music composers and by the time the day was out, yet another film hit from the
Raj Kapoor, Shailendra and Shankar Jaikishan combination was born.
You can watch the song with the link below:
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