Falls short of being an incredible read, but offers a good start for beginners to know more about the duo

As a fan of Bollywood music, it’s unattainable to be unaware of the songs of Laxmikant-Pyarelal, and the influence that their music has had. Even for youthful listeners, their music is all over the place, even whenever you’re unaware that it’s them. They’ve labored on among the biggest motion pictures of all instances — Karz, Bobby, Mr. India — to call just a few. They had been lively within the trade from 1963 to 2004 when their final movie launched after an extended delay, they usually composed music for over 750 motion pictures. That’s proper — there’s no manner you’ve not heard (and beloved) their songs. 

As a fan, I used to be tremendous excited to learn the brand new biography on their lives and works: Music by Laxmikant Pyarelal: The Extremely Melodious Journey by Rajiv Vijayakar. Vijayakar has written extensively on Indian movies — his works embody The Historical past of Indian Movie Music: A Showcase of the Very Finest in Hindi Cinema; Dharmendra: Not Only a He-Man; and Foremost Shayar Toh Nahin: The E-book of Hindi Movie Lyricists. But, regardless of his in depth work on the topic, he fails to ship a lot perception. 

My greatest grouse towards the guide is the primary half, titled An Epic Saga Begins. Vijayakar spends nearly 100 pages doing nothing however itemizing the films which have music by Laxmikant-Pyarelal. There’s hardly any perception into the music, the movies, and even the Hindi movie and music trade generally. The issue with having this checklist at first is that, as a reader, you’re nearly instantly delay, and it’s troublesome to maintain concentrating, hoping one thing will come up later. 

The second a part of the guide, The Rhythm of Laxmikant-Pyarelal, features a quick biography of Laxmikant and a shorter biography of Pyarelal, who’s so non-public that the writer doesn’t need to write a lot about his private life. It additionally explores their working relationship, camaraderie, and collaboration with lyricist Anand Bakshi.

Whereas this part was extra fascinating and free-flowing than the primary, it nonetheless had shortcomings. The writer mentions that he’s not only a fan of Laxmikant and Pyarelal however has had the chance to fulfill and interview them many instances. Nonetheless, there aren’t any private anecdotes and even his personal opinions on the duo. 

The guide’s closing section, known as Recollections and Impressions, has famend singers, lyricists, musicians, movie administrators, and actors speaking about Laxmikant and Pyarelal. This half is definitely essentially the most insightful. Proper from Madhuri Dixit and Anil Kapoor to Shreya Ghoshal and Sonu Nigam, musicians who had labored with Laxmikant-Pyarelal, together with Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia, even their recording engineers and private assistants characteristic right here — many by interviews they’d earlier given. A number of share tales of their expertise engaged on songs, what set ‘LP’ aside from different music composers, and even what occurred whereas recording well-known songs. Boney Kapoor shares how the tune for Kaate Nahin Kat Te, some of the well-liked songs of Mr. India, was initially composed for a film by Okay. Bhagyaraj, starring Anil Kapoor, however that didn’t work out. Nonetheless, Boney Kapoor remembered the tune and he obtained Laxmiji (as trade insiders name him) to hum it to Javed Akhtar. Akhtar immediately got here up with the primary few traces. The track grew to become so well-liked, says Kapoor, that “I’d carry a cassette of it to events, as there could be an incredible demand for it.” 

The part even contains the ideas of up to date singers, music administrators, and filmmakers who describe the influence that the music of L-P had on them rising up. This checklist options Ranveer Singh, Ayushmann Khurrana, and Karan Johar, amongst a number of others. This part — additionally flows seamlessly — paradoxically, is the one section the place the writer’s voice is absent completely. 

I perceive that it’s difficult to write down a biography of musicians, particularly ones as well-known and as beloved as LP. Nonetheless, I really feel what makes a biography work is actually the story. Our hero (or, that is case heroes) must have an arc; the characters have to develop. It’s important to root for them. Like all good story, there must be ardour and emotion. Sadly, that is lacking from this guide. In actual fact, apart from a number of tales (few and much between), there’s hardly any data right here that’s not already obtainable on the web.

Nonetheless, this guide could be place to start out for followers of the music director duo, who know completely nothing of their lives. Bear in mind to skip Half One, although.

Title: Music by Laxmikant Pyarelal: The Extremely Melodious Journey

Creator: Rajiv Vijayakar

Writer: Rupa Publications

Pages: 344

Value: Rs 595

Revealed on: Sunday, December 19, 2021, 07:00 AM IST