Beyond the enigma

Music composer Pyarelal Sharma, of the Laxmikant-Pyarelal team, always stressed on how his partner and friend Laxmikant listened to everything he ever told him, without any questions. But the one situation where Pyarelal listened to his friend was when he wanted to leave India in the ‘60s to become a Western music player and Laxmikant suggested that they get together and make music in Mumbai instead. After all, they had worked on so many films as musicians first, and then as assistants and arrangers. The result was the birth of Hindi cinema’s most successful (an unmatched 25 years as numero uno film composers in a career span of 36 years), prolific (480-plus films) and versatile (from Sur Sangam to Karz) music composers ever.

They were single-handedly responsible for the signature tunes of more stars than anyone else, and also have many chart-toppers to their credit. From V Shantaram and Raj Kapoor to Subhash Ghai and Mahesh Bhatt; from actors Dilip Kumar and Nutan to Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit — they have worked with them all.

When Laxmikant passed away in 1998, Pyarelal, who usually looked after the orchestration and recording while Laxmikant concentrated on the composition, singers and business angles, became rudderless for a while. A surprising factor considering Laxmikant’s widely-read statement that Pyarelal was the only “complete” musician in the industry who, he said, knew Indian and Western classical music, could compose melodies, arrange and record them, play multiple instruments and conduct an orchestra.

He could also read and write Indian and Western notations. Some half-hearted efforts at working on some albums and serials apart, Pyarebhai, as he is known within the industry, seemed to be a spent force.

But the truth was anything but that. “We had lost ground after 1995, when Laxmiji was still alive,” admits Pyarelal. “But for me, every day was about waking up in the morning and working on music.” The values imbibed from his late iconic father, Pandit Ramprasad Sharma, who has taught half the musicians and composers in the industry, ensured that the veteran reverentially touches the piano before hitting the first notes of the day.

Today, Pyarelal looks back on the duo’s unparalleled innings in films as one long chapter in his life. “We learned and trained under the shadow of brilliant composers and got so much pyaar from Latabai, who even reserved eight recording days in a month only for us, and izzat from our fans.”

Getting emotional about his partner and friend of 48 years, Pyarelal says, “I honestly feel that he is still with me.” For over five years now, Pyarelal has been musically active in what he calls the new chapter of his musical life. In 2004, Pyarelal visited the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan’s London branch on an invitation from its chief, John Moore, who wanted him to write eight lines of music. The composer wrote in Indian, Japanese, Malaysian and Arabic styles, besides Western music.

Says Pyarelal, “Shankar and Jaikishan were our main teachers and idols, but we picked up a lot from studying the music of giant pioneers like Pt Dhaniram, Khemchand Prakash, Bulo C Rani, O P Nayyar, Naushad, S D Burman and many others.”

For many years, Pyarelal, now 68, would spend two months at the Trinity College of Music in London interacting with the musicians and students there. On October 27, 2007, Pyarelal performed at the Royal Festival Hall with musicians from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. In the same year, the Birmingham Quartet performed his music too.

Another achievement, however modest, was an album with top French singer Pascal, called Pascal Of Bollywood. “We recorded with this Indian music buff in Paris and he sang not just our songs but those of other composers as well as regional film numbers under my supervision,” says Pyarelal, who conducted the orchestra.

For many years, the maestro had a dream — to compose a symphony, which  has now been realised. He elaborates, “For 11 months, every single day from 11 to 2.30 during the day and 5 to 8 in the evening, I worked on this piece.” In 2008, Pyarelal flew to Los Angeles to register his symphony. The certificate proudly occupies a place in his living room.

“The symphony will remain in their museum,” says the composer. Titled Indian Summer, it has elements from film music. Another symphony, called Om Shivam (First) in A-Minor, will soon be registered.

Back home, Pyarelal is active too. “A ‘Laxmikant-Pyarelal Nite’ held a few months back in Mumbai was such a success that crowds thronged outside the auditorium and tickets were sold at a premium. We are now having another show on May 7. I am also making appearances on reality shows but only on my terms. I believe in guiding contestants, not mocking them.”

And will films happen? Says Pyarelal, “Only if people are ready to work on my terms and allow me to continue work under the name of Laxmikant-Pyarelal.”