Manoj Muntashir Reveals Prithviraj Kapoor, Raj Kapoor United Shankar-Jaikishan

Manoj was seen sharing a heartfelt anecdote about how the legendary music duo Shankar-Jaikishan first met.

Recalling the beautiful coincidence that brought the iconic duo together, Manoj shared, "Main batata hoon ki Shankarji aur Jaikishanji mile kaise ittefaq se. Shankarji Hyderabad se aaye the aur ek film producer ke yahan kaam maangne ke liye chakkar lagaya karte the. Woh producer unhe hafton aur mahino tak ghumata raha. Ek din Shankarji ne notice kiya ki ek ladka (Jaikishanji) sofa ke kone mein baitha rehta hai. Unhone poocha, 'Tum yahan kyun aaye ho?' Us ladke ne kaha ki woh bhi kaam dhoondhne aaya hai. Jab Shankarji ne poocha ki kya karte ho, toh usne kaha, 'Main harmonium bajata hoon.'"

(I'll tell you how Shankarji and Jaikishanji met by chance. Shankarji had come from Hyderabad and used to make frequent rounds to a film producer's office looking for work. That producer kept making him wait for weeks and even months. One day, Shankarji noticed a young man (Jaikishanji) sitting quietly in a corner of the sofa. He asked him, 'Why have you come here?' The young man replied that he too had come looking for work. When Shankarji asked what he did, he said, 'I play the harmonium.)

He further added, "Yeh wahi waqt tha jab Shankarji Prithvi Theatre mein tabla bajaya karte the. Shankarji turant Jaikishanji ko Prithviraj Kapoor ke paas le gaye aur kaha, 'Papaji, achha ladka hai, isse kaam de dijiye.' Dono ko saath mein kaam mil gaya. Wahin unki mulaqat Raj Kapoor sahab se hui, jo apni doosri film bana rahe the. Unki pehli film Aag ka music Ram Ganguly ne diya tha, aur Shankarji-Jaikishanji kuch din unke assistants bhi rahe. Phir Raj Kapoor sahab ne unhe apni doosri film ka music dene ka mauka diya. Yeh jodi literally Prithvi Theatre mein bani thi. Aur phir waqt ka aisa khel dekhiye ki jis jodi ki shuruaat Prithvi Theatre mein hui, unke gaane sunne ke liye theatres ke bahar lambi line lagne lagi."

(This was around the same time when Shankarji used to play the tabla at Prithvi Theatre. Shankarji immediately took Jaikishanji to Prithviraj Kapoor and said, 'Papaji, he's a good boy, please give him some work.' Both of them ended up getting work together.

It was there that they met Raj Kapoor saab, who was making his second film. The music for his first film, Aag, had been composed by Ram Ganguly, and for some time, Shankarji and Jaikishanji also worked as his assistants. Later, Raj Kapoor gave them the opportunity to compose the music for his second film.

This duo was literally formed at Prithvi Theatre. And then, see how time played its part, the partnership that began at Prithvi Theatre went on to create songs so loved that people would stand in long queues outside theatres just to watch films featuring their music)

Talking about the legendary composer duo Shankar-Jaikishan, he went on to become one of the most influential names in Hindi cinema music across the 1950s, 60s, and 70s.

Their unforgettable compositions include Awara Hoon from Awaara, Pyar Hua Ikrar Hua*l from Shree 420, Yeh Mera Prem Patra from Sangam, and Baharon Phool Barsao from Suraj and many more.

- IANS