An introduction to the music of Sudhir Phadke through his Hindi film songs.
Sudhir Phadke, affectionately called Babuji, was a giant in the field of music. Born Shriram Phadke in Kolhapur, Maharashtra, he is relatively less known for the music he composed for Hindi films.
His best-known work is Geet Ramayan, a magnum opus consisting of 56 songs, a re-telling of the Ramayana with lyrics written by Gajanan Digambar Madgulkar (Ga Di Ma) and composed and sung by Babuji himself. The series had a hugely successful run through 56 Sundays in 1955-1956 on All India Radio. Since then, it has seen repeat runs on the radio, translations into several languages, many live performances and is enjoyed by many.
While Babuji composed for over a hundred Marathi films and was known for his Bhavgeet songs, he worked for only nineteen Hindi films.
Here are five of his Hindi films songs I particularly like:
"Baandh Preeti Phool Dor" (Malti Madhav, 1951)
This post may seem as much about Pandit Narendra Sharma’s poetry and Lata Mangeskhar’s voice, as it is about Sudhir Phadke’s music. It just so happens that the three of them formed a fantastic team. “Baandh Preeti Phool Dor” has each of the them excelling in their departments. One of the things I love about this song is how pleasing the words sound and how the meter of the lyrics enhances the song’s beauty.
"Din Hai Suhana Aaj Pehli Tarikh Hai" (Pehli Tarikh, 1954)
This song is an outlier in this post. The singer is Kishore Kumar (not Lata Mangeshkar), the lyricist is Qamar Jalalabadi (not Pandit Narendra Sharma) and the genre is anything but classical. Qamar Jalalabadi’s lyrics brilliantly capture the joy of the working class on salary day. The has become an integral part of Indian pop culture. Thanks to the song’s everlasting relevance, it has been played on the first of every month on Radio Ceylon since the 1950s.
"Aise Hain Sukh Sapan Hamare" (Ratnaghar, 1955)
This is a lovely Lata solo filled with melancholy and deep sense of yearning. For me, other than Lata’s singing, the highlight of this song is the subtle use of wind instruments (I think I hear a saxophone and a clarinet) and Pandit Narendra Sharma’s searing expression of unfulfilled desires.
"Ja Re Chandra Aur Kahin Ja" (Sajni, 1956)
Ja Re Chandra is a stunning melody, rendered exceedingly well by Lata Mangeshkar. Babuji kept the arrangement very simple. A flute and tabla adorn the song and Lata’s voice carries it through.
"Jyoti Kalash Chhalke" (Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan, 1961)
“Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan” was easily Sudhir Phadke’s best work for Hindi films. The film’s music had a classical base, made very good use of Lata Mangeshkar’s divine voice and had chaste, even Sanskritised, Hindi lyrics, which set it apart from for the Urdu-infused lyrics prevalent at that time. Based on Raag Bhupali, “Jyoti Kalash Chhalke”, for me, is the best song from Sudhir Phadke’s best film album. I am picking only one song from Bhabhi Ki Chudiyan although the entire album is worth a listen.
Bonus: A Marathi song and a little anecdote from a blogpost written by composer Kaushal S Inamdar:
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