12th May 1930-21st Mar 1998
His career actually spanned around two decades , but effectively only six years as his best songs came from the period 1958-1964. But what memorable and catchy songs he had given in that short period.
I am talking about a relatively lesser-known composer Iqbal Qureshi. Subah Na Aayee, Shaam Na Aaayee by Rafi, Ek Chameli Ke Mandve Tale by Rafi-Asha, Mujhe Raat Din Yeh Khayal Hai by Mukesh, Tha Thaiyya Karke Aana by Lata-Geeta Dutt, Hume Dum Daike by Asha-Mubarak Begum, Love Ka Matlab Pyaar by Rafi-Asha, Phir Aaane Laga Yaad Wohi Pyar Ka Aalam by Rafi & Usha Khanna…just to name a few are the memorable songs by Iqbal Qureshi. His best songs were in the 1964 film Cha Cha Cha and inexplicably , his output after this magnum opus came down both in terms of quantity and quality. The word Iqbal in Urdu means good fortune, luck, prosperity, or success -unfortunately he had it only in his early days and later faded away from memory.
It is always difficult to analyse and understand why some artists could reach the peak and sustain for decades whereas some have an intensive creative burst and then suddenly they fade away from the industry. I am definitely not having the first-hand exposure to the Hindi film music industry to go into what happened behind the public’s eyes , nor I am interested to go deep into the same and get into controversies. I am happy with my sole objective of recording for posterity , the great contribution of all such artists , who have enriched our film music.
Iqbal Qureshi was born on 12 May 1930 in Aurangabad -now known as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar -Maharashtra, and later moved to Hyderabad. Like many artists, he started his career as a child artist for All India Radio. As he grew up in Hyderabad, he learnt music , including some nuances of Western music, from some gurus and ustads there. He sang in some private musical events and was close to the poet Makhdoom Mohiuddin and actor/director Chandrashekhar. This helped him to move to Mumbai and there he started giving music for some dramas for the Indian People’s Theatre Association. He was one of the tallest music composers at 6’ 4” ! There was another, even more obscure music director with the same name Iqbal and to differentiate, the latter was called “ Chota Iqbal”!
As I had mentioned in the beginning, even though his career spanned around two decades, his most creative output was between 1958-64 and it is estimated he composed for just around 28 films. In that period, amidst tough competition from stalwarts like Naushad, C Ramachandra, S D Burman, Shankar-Jaikishan, O P Nayyar ,to have a distinctive style and come out with memorable songs was a tough job for most of the other composers. Iqbal Qureshi ‘s music style was unique and he was known for some unconventional tunes and a distinct percussion arrangement.
In one of his interviews, he has credited the legendary music composer Sajjad Hussian as his inspiration and among his contemporaries, he admired the works of Salil Chowdhary. After listening to Salil da’s O Sajna Barkha Bahaar Aayee song, it seems he was unable to think and compose any tune for few months as he felt that anything he created did not appeal to him!
He had earlier composed some tunes for a film in 1950 that never got made and later he used it for his debut film -Panchayat in 1958. The famous Lata-Geeta duet Tha Thaiyya Karke Aaana, his first recorded song became very famous and it remains one of the few Lata-Geeta duets that is played even now.
After Panchayat, Bindiya by AVM production, Banarasi Thug, Love in Shimla , Umar Qaid, Yeh Dil Kisko Doon and his magnum opus , Cha Cha Cha had great songs. Strangely , after Cha Cha Cha his output came down drastically both in terms of quantity and quality and though he continued to work till 1986-his last film Patharon Ke Shehar ( that ultimately got released only in 1995 in a different title Pyar Do Pyar Lo).
He passed away on 21st March 1998 and like many other composers, left behind evergreen songs that may have been far less in numbers but still cherished by music lovers for their uniqueness and stand out for their individuality in midst of severe competition from his illustrious contemporaries .
I have selected 25 memorable songs composed by Iqbal Qureshi and arranged them film-wise, with song/lyricist/singer(s) mentioned . For brevity, I am henceforth referring to Iqbal Qureshi as IQ going forward.
Panchayat-1958
The breakthrough film for IQ had a wonderful duet by Lata and Geeta Dutt that is remembered even today by music lovers. The innovative use of “ Kanch Tarang”-an instrument similar to Jal Tarang but made of glass along with a “ Been” is the highlight of this song. Also the flute has been used so nicely throughout this song . I heard the lyricist name Shakeel Noomani for the first time while looking at the credits for the songs from this film! The second song I have listed here may not be that famous , but is definitely a delightful one. This film , incidentally , was also the debut for Manoj Kumar.
- Tha Tahiyya Karke Aana-Shakeel Noomani-Lata Mageshkar & Geeta Dutt
2. Haal Yeh Kar Diya Zalim( Aag Daman Mein Laga Li) -Shakeel Noomani-Mohammad Rafi & Geeta Dutt
Bindiya-1960
The south movie production house AVM was not only famous for making some of the most famous and epic films in Tamil and other South Indian languages , but were also known for may hit films in Hindi. IQ was luck to get an assignment for this big banner quite early in his career. Rafi’s Mein Apne Aap Se Ghabraya is a soulful song , in his typical high octave is a masterpiece ; the Lata solo-Itna Na Sata Ki Koi Jaane might have been a forgotten song today, but was played regularly in radio even a few years back .
3. Mein Apne Aap Se Ghabraya Gaya Hoon-Rajendra Krishan-Mohammad Rafi
4. Itna Na Sata Ki Koi Jaane-Rajendra Krishan-Lata Mangeshkar
Love In Shimla-1960
Love in Shimla was the debut film for Joy Mukherjee ( and also the first of a “Love in” trilogy for him ) and also the actress Sadhana. Joy’s father Sashadar Mukherjee was the producer ; later Joy’s Love in Tokyo -1966 became a great musical hit ( composed by Shankar Jaikishan) ; however the last one -Love In Bombay-initially started in 1971 got immensely delayed and was finally released in 2013. It didn’t succeed in box office.
Anyhow, coming back to Shimla, this film had outstanding music by IQ-I have listed six songs out of a dozen songs in the movie! The first one is a delightful Urdu alphabet ‘tutor’ with Rafi excelling throughout the song. Gaal Gulabi Kiske was a craze during those times and like many IQ’s tunes, was unconventional. The next three songs are delightful romantic duets , with each one having a different flavour-especially that cute “ tick-tick-tick-aaee” part in the Hasinon Ki Sawari . Yun Zindagi Ke Raaste brings out the pangs of separation and Rafi , in his typical style excels with a passionate singing.
5. Alif Zabar Aa Alif Zere-Rajendar Krishan-Mohammad Rafi & Sudha Malhotra
6. Gaal Gulabi Kiske Hain-Rajendar Krishan- Mohammad Rafi
7. Love Ka Matlab Pyar-Rajendar Krishan- Mohammad Rafi & Asha Bhosle
8. Hasinon Ki Sawari-Rajendar Krishan- Mohammad Rafi & Suman Kalyanpur
9. Ae Baby Ae Ji Jee Idhar Aao-Rajendar Krishan- Mohammad Rafi & Asha Bhosle
10. Yun Zindagi Ke Raaste Sawarte Gaye-Rajendra Krishan-Mohammad Rafi
Umar Qaid-1961
I heard in an interview by IQ that he originally intended the song Mujhe Raat Din Yeh Khayal Hai to be sung by Rafi but due to some reasons this was ultimately sung by Mukesh. It may sound a bit high in octaves for Mukesh , but no doubt, he made it into one the greatest compositions of IQ. The next song I have listed, may sound a bit like a typical OPN-Asha combination song . This was also maybe the only film in which Hasrat Jaipuri wrote for IQ. Incidentally he does not seem to have any particular association with one or two lyricists unlike other composers who mostly worked with only few lyricists .
11. Mujhe Raat Din Yeh Khayal Hai-Hasrat Jaipuri-Mukesh
12. O Piya Jana Na-Hasrat Jaipuri-Asha Bhosle
Banarasi Thug-1962
Lata might have sung only few songs under the baton of IQ, but whatever she sang are too good. The first one in my list-Yaad Suhani Teri can be easily considered as one from the top ten legendary composers , with an unusually fast paced rhythm for a pathos. The next song -Aaj Mausam Ki Masti Mein has an interesting story behind it. This song -a duet by Rafi and Lata did not click when it was released but the same tune , with some slight tweaking and instead of Lata , Asha pairing with Rafi for Ek Chameli Ke Mandve Tale for the film Cha Cha Cha , just two years later , made it into an immortal composition for IQ! People’s- I really do not know why the former did not click-maybe the excellent poetry of Makhdoom Mohiuddin, IQ’s close associate made the difference. One of the best odes to a loving pair in Hindi film music-incidentally IQ narrated in his interview that usually Makhdoom Mohiuddin was averse to using his poetry for films, but in this case , due to IQ’s request he agreed. Much later, in 1978 , Jaidev composed a great song with MM’s poetry-Aapki Yaad Aati Rahi..Raatbar for the film Gaman that fetched a National Award for the singer Chaya Ganguly and also for Jaidev for music direction.
The third song from this film listed here is one more forgotten gem of IQ-Rafi combination.
13. Yaad Suhani Teri-Prem Dhawan-Lata Mangeshkar
14. Aaj Mausam Ki Masti Mein-Akhtar Romani- Mohammad Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar
15. Ab Muhabbat Mein Jo Pehle Thi Wo Taaseer Nahin-Akhtar Warsi- Mohammad Rafi-with few starting lines by Mallika
Ye Dil Kisko Doon-1963
We now come to one more film of IQ that had some excellent, evergreen songs. Phir Aane Laga Yaad by Rafi is quintessential IQ style with that unusual percussion arrangement for which he was well-known. Usha Khanna with just one line repeated by her throughout the song-Pyaar Ka Aalam, made her mark ( maybe do I see some influence of IQ in her later compositions as a music director ?!). IQ did a masterstroke by bringing together an unusual pair of Asha Bhosle and Mubarak Begum for the song Hume Dum Daike Sauthan-a typical mujra style. The third song-a duet by Rafi and Asha-Kitni Haseen Ho Tum is truly a masterpiece by IQ -we really wonder what happened to this creative genius after 1964 that he could not come up with such an “ ahead of its time” tune like Kitni Haseen Ho Tum.
16. Phir Aane Laga Yaad Wohi-Qamar Jalalabadi- Mohammad Rafi & Usha Khanna
17. Hume Dam Daike Sautan-Qamar Jalalabadi-Mubarak Begum & Asha Bhosle
18. Kitni Haseen Ho Tum-Qamar Jalalabadi-Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle
Cha Cha Cha-1964
It is very rare for me to include all songs from a particular film in my blog. But there was no way I could leave out any song from this magnum opus of IQ or should we say his swan song(s)?! The perfectly synchronised singing by Rafi and Asha , the exquisite Urdu poetry of Makhdoom Mohiuddin , the excellent orchestration of IQ all make Ek Chameli Ke Mandve Tale a masterpiece that can take its place among the other great compositions of stalwart composers of Hindi film music. The next three solo songs of Rafi cannot be described in words-they are sheer magical ones created by IQ , written by stalwarts Neeraj and Bharat Vyas and taken to astronomical heights by the one and only Rafi! Who Hum Na The and Subah Na Aaayee are two well-known songs, but Ek Lali Ghar Se Chali is often ignored by many-a classical master stroke by IQ.
The last song-Rafi whispers in infrasonic frequency range in certain parts and then comes back to the audible frequency -one more example of IQ’s unconventional tunes.
19. Ek Chameli Ki Mandve Thale-Makhdoom Mohiuddin- Mohammad Rafi & Asha Bhosle
20. Ek Lali Ghar Se Chali -Bharat Vyas- Mohammad Rafi
21. Subah Na Aayee Shaam Na Aayee-Neeraj – Mohammad Rafi
22. Woh Hum Na The Woh Tum Na the-Neeraj – Mohammad Rafi
23. Tumse Mano Na Mano Tumse-Bharat Vyas- Mohammad Rafi & Asha Bhosle
Qawwali Ki Raat-1964
As mentioned earlier , after the scintillating music in Cha Cha Cha , it appears as if there was some creative vacuum in IQ. Though he did compose for few more years, that brilliant spark in his compositions was not there. With some difficulty , I could identify two songs that are worth mentioning. For a qawwali, this is unusually very short but with Rafi and Shamshad lending their vocals, this is good to hear.
24. Jaate Jaate Ek Nazar Bhar Dekh Lo-Shewan Rizvi-Mohammad Rafi & Shamshad Begum
Dastan-E-Laila Majnu-1974
I never knew this song was composed by IQ till I was working on this blog-one of his last memorable songs.
25. Pukarti Hai Mohabbat Kareeb-Jaan Nissar Akhtar-Mohammad Rafi & Suman Kalyanpur
Acknowledgement & Disclaimer
I sincerely thank the publishers of following blogsites & Internet sources for the information that I could gather for this article:
- You Tube -especially for the Vividh Bharati interview of Iqbal Qureshi
- Wikipedia
The songs mentioned are from the popular, public domain and have been embedded here only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. The photograph is taken from the internet, duly recognizing the full copyrights for the same to the original creator or the site where they were originally displayed .This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights.
