How Raj Khosla almost rejected a classic tune

Mint

28-05-2025

The piece de resistance, the film's crowning glory, happens to be an exquisite piece of music that has made whole generations swoon. But if Manoj Kumar is to be believed, Raj himself almost came in the way of one of his greatest musical artefacts. The actor reminisced, 'I got a call from Madan Mohan one day. 'Raj Khosla has lost his mind," Madan said. 'Ek gaana sunaya. Usko pasand nahi aaya. I made him hear a song. He didn't like it. You come and handle this please".'
Manoj Kumar didn't want to intervene. It was Raj Khosla's film, after all. He chose to speak to N.N. Sippy instead. There were only a few days left for the shoot and the song was yet to be finalized. What was to be done? Sippy concurred with the music director. He, too, wanted Manoj Kumar to approach Raj Khosla and sort this out. Meanwhile, Madan Mohan made Kumar listen to the song. Kumar was silent for a bit, then said, 'Don't tell me that Raj didn't like THIS song!' It was obviously a brilliant composition. One of Raj Khosla's great strengths as an artist and a filmmaker was the ability to appreciate good music. And he hadn't liked this? Kumar was flabbergasted.
Raj winced when Manoj Kumar told him about the song. 'Let's not talk about that song. It's really bad,' he said. No way was he going to give it a listen again. But on his lead actor's repeated insistence, the director reluctantly agreed to let Madan Mohan play the song to him once more. Raj was astonished – it was one of the best tunes he had heard. And this was a song he was about to let go? 'How incredibly stupid of me,' he exclaimed. According to Kumar, Raj even picked up his own shoe to hit himself.
The song in question was 'Lag ja gale', a ditty that one might say continues to be Madan Mohan's most popular creation (with over 277 million views on YouTube). The incident was also an example of the filmmaker's keen instinct to spot and nurture talent. He had seen how good Kumar could be and allowed him a free hand to suggest and make changes. In turn, Kumar would often come up with ideas that would enrich the film. Once, when the crew was in Shimla and the shooting about to start, Manoj Kumar felt that the script could do with a bit of tightening. He reworked it and even wrote a few scenes.
As we have examined before, the music in Raj's films is inextricable from the visuals. Nowhere is this more evident than in 'Lag ja gale'. While the tune has developed a cult following of its own over the years, no one can think of it and not be reminded of the exquisite way in which it was shot. Raj and his team went to great lengths to heighten the mystery in Sadhana's character. In the song, as Sadhana pines over Dr Anand (Manoj Kumar), the camera almost caresses her. The shadow of the coconut leaves on her face and the subtle moonlight lend her an ethereal quality.
The song was shot at Filmalaya Studios, according to Manoj Kumar. Raj and the cinematographer K.H. Kapadia toiled for hours to get the right look. The high-contrast lighting and evocative play of light and shadow, chiaroscuro-like, is coupled with Raj's penchant for close-ups, an obsession that he inherited from Guru Dutt. The combination of these elements, along with the buttery camera movement gives 'Lag ja gale' the timeless visual appeal that the song so richly deserves. In an online discussion hosted by Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) commemorating Raj Khosla's birth anniversary, filmmaker and historian Karan Bali highlighted the Khosla– Kapadia magic in 'Lag ja gale', with specific emphasis on the low-key lighting: 'It adds to Sadhana's mystery, it adds to the confusion that Manoj Kumar is going through, and the way he Khosla makes Sadhana walk so that her face is always within light…' Bali went on to juxtapose how Raj Khosla lit Sadhana so richly compared to the relatively flatter cinematography of the Tamil (Yaar Nee?, 1966) and Telugu (Aame Evaru?, 1966) remakes of Woh Kaun Thi?, both of which featured Jayalalithaa reprising Sadhana's role.
Hindi film songs number in the tens of thousands, right from the first strands performed in Alam Ara (1931) to the latest Spotify sensations. But of all the songs that could be said to comprise the soul of Hindi film music, 'Lag ja gale' stands tall. In 2016, on her 87th birthday, Lata Mangeshkar listed six favourites from her glittering repertoire. 'Lag ja gale' was one of them. Sanjeev Kohli explained how even for the great Lata, it was a difficult song to pull off, what with all the murkis and the variations added by Madan Mohan and the singer herself.
Effervescent as a little schoolgirl, Lata ji told me, 'When we recorded the song, everybody was happy with it. Raj Khosla loved it. All of us were satisfied. Once the recording was over, Madan bhaiyya aaye aur mujhe gale laga kar rone lage. Madan bhaiyya came and hugging me, started crying. The song… created history.' History indeed. Today, six decades after release, the song still plays in pubs and clubs haunted by 20-somethings. Filmmakers have repurposed it variously in their films, including Karan Johar in Bombay Talkies and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, and Tigmanshu Dhulia for the Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster franchise.
Excerpted with permission from 'Raj Khosla: The Authorized Biography' by Amborish Roychoudhury with Anita Khosla and Uma Khosla Kapur, published by Hachette India.
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