Govindrao Tembe

11 Pages·1991·2.9 MB·English

by  Divekar, Charushila

Govindrao Tembe
CHARUSHILA DlVEKAR
6February1932isan important date in thecultural lifeofMaharashtra.
On that day, at a studio in Kolhapur, the shapely Gulab Bai blew
the Tutari for Prabhat Films, creating a banner that was to become
familiar among cinegoers in many parts of the country. The air was filled
withthe drone of the Tanpura, followed by a tune in raga Deskar. This
voiceless banner of Prabhat Film Company created a great impact on all
spectators.
Though A/am Ara (directed by ArdeshirIrani, produced by the Imperial
Film Company, and first screened in Bombay on 14 March 1931) isusually
accepted as the first talkie in India, two short films (produced by the
Krishna film company and Modern Theatres) preceded it. They were
screened simultaneously in Bombay a month before the release of A/am
Ara. Modern Theatres also released Leite Majnushortly afterwards. These
films included songs, dances, and farces. For A/am Ara, Phirozeshah
Mistry and B. Irani composed the music, borrowing tunes from various
stage plays.
In the next four years, about 27 films were produced in four Indian
la?guages (three in Bengali, one each in Tamil and Telugu, and the rest in
Hindi), Among these - musically speaking- Shirin Farhad (Modern
Theatres) was a major film - it had 17songs. The film ran for 14weeks in
Bombay. Compared to the earlier films, Shirin Farhad employed an
a~vanced technique of recording. Jahanara's tuneful voice in a major ~ole
with Master Nissar was among its musical attractions. The Urdu-Hindi
I?nguage of the film was difficult, but the songs were adequate compensa
tion.
Illiteracy among the masses might have been a reason for the quick
popularityofthe talkie in India. Less than 20percentofthepopulationwas
then literate. Many of the silent movies, however brilliantly and artistically
produced, failed to attract viewers who could not read the subtitles.On the
oth~r hand, these viewers were able to hear dialoguesand enjoy the t~lkies
i~ ~opulanty
easily. Jl:'!usic, of course, was another important factor the of
th~
talkies. Companies like Prabhat were quick to realize this and invest
Suitably in music.
Sang""t Natak No. 100 : April-June 1991
.w
CHARUSlIIlA D1VEKAR
Prabhat's Ayodhyecha Raja was the first Marathi talkie. Interestingly,
this film and the first silent film in Marathi (Dadasaheb Phalke's Raja
Harishchandra, 1913), were both based on the story of Raja Harishehan
dra. (Sarya,-adiRajaHarishchandraand Harishchandra were otherfilmson
the subject, produced by Modern Theatres and the Krishna filmcompany
respectively.) GovindraoTembe, who composedthe musicfor Ayodhyecha
Raja, became the first music director in Marathi films: he also wrote the
lyrics for this Prabhat production.
AyodhyechaRajaproved to be a popular filmwhichlaidthe foundations
ofthe Marathi talkie. It wasdescribed inanadvertisement as"'Ayodhyaka
Raja, the first talking, singing production of Prabhat", Six names were
included in the credits: Director, V. Shantararn;Sound, V. Damle;Art.S,
Fattelal; Music, Govindrao Tembe; Dialogues, N.V. Kulkarni; Photogra
phy, R. Dhaiber. Govindrao had actually three jobs in the film-asmusic
director, lyricist, and hero!
In two years Prabhat produced five films: Ayodhyecha Raja, Agnikan·
kan, Maya Machhindra, Sairandhri(in Hindi and Marathi), and Simhagad.
Govindrao continued to work in multiple capacities in these films.
The excitement created by the first three Prabhat films is comparableto
the sensation Kiroskar's first three plays, first staged around the 18801,
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Courtesy: Society of
Indian Record Collectors.
GOVINDRAO TEMBE 41
createdin Maharashtra. Gradually, the talkies became more popular than
thetheatre-firstly because each person in the auditorium could hear the
dialogueclearly, secondly because filmswere more affordable than theatre.
Govindrao Tembe himself, who formerly belonged to the stage and had
onceremarked that films were an utterly shameless 'business', now gained
bythe rising popularityof the talkies. Films brought him fame and money!
(Asamatter of record, GovindraoTembe had guided V. Shantaram for his
debutonthe stage. V. Shantaram in turn gratefullyinstalled Govindrao as
the music director of the first Marathi talkie.) .
Govindrao composed the music for 22 films-ten each in Hindi and
Marathi,and one in Urdu. Except for Saudagar (1938), he wrote the lyrics
aswellfor each of the Marathi films. He used more or less identical tunes
for Marathi and Hindi versions of a film (except in Maya Machhindra, in
whichthe Marathisong 'TarakamandaJa'isdifferent from 'Chhodakash ko
sitare'.
Inall, Govindrao Tembe composed 115film songs; In most of hissongs,
he.usedthe known, popular ragas like Mand, Tilang, Kafi, Tilak-Karnod,
B~lmpalas, Bageshri, Bhoop, Sarang, Des, and Bhairav, Together with
this,he relied on ragassung by the Khayal singers-Gauri, Lalit-pancharn,
Deva-gandhar, Duguri-as well as those which belong to the corpus of
Thumri: Shivaranjani, Gara, Badi Jhinjhoti, etc. He also employed a
then-uncommon raga,Jaijaiwanti, whichwaspopularized in stage musicby
Ramkrishnabua Vaze. TaJas associated with Khayal and light classical .
music were both used by him. . '
The influence ofstage music is dl:C'llrly seen in the early development of
film music in Maharashtra. Indeed, the talkie meant replacement of
characterson the stage by those onthe screen. Thusafilmwasdesignedina
mannersimilar to a play, with songs, dances, and the rest. The earlyfilms,
more.or less, were a camera-eye view of a play. However, ~ecause of the
technical requirements of music recording, songs of a given duration
became an unique feature of films, as distinguished from the theatre. FII~
music was music within a specific time-frame-r-a new .ge?re of music
a.ltogether. Filmmusic brought with it an effectivewayofsmgmgwhere the
SJn~er's pro~uced
art was compressed within the given time-frame; it also
lyricsofhigh literary value. Peoplebecameawareof background musicand .
an attractive use of voice in combination with instruments.
Asalyricist, Govindraodisplayed anabilitytochoosethe right words for
a particular scene. Musically his ·accent was on 'sweet' sounds. In
A ' . I laces
yodhyecha Reie however some of the songs seem unessenna ,In P
'hcavy', on ac'co"unt of their strong classical flavour (for exampIe,
'Sall'apaJanavina nahi manava). II is also to be noted that "vishnupant
42 CHARUSHILA DIVEKAR
Darnle's expert recording contributed to the appeal of the songs which
became popular and hundreds of discs of which were sold.
The influence of theatre on Govindrao Tembe is seen in lris song
constructions. A play usually ends with a Bberetnvekye. In Ayodhyecha
Raja too,togetherwiththe last song,in Bhairavi, the Bharatavakyaflashes
on the screen: "Let Prabhat arrive, destroying the darkness". Tembe had
purposefully put a stress on the word 'prabhat' while composing thesong.
an obvious reference to the Prabhat Film Company!
Among the'songs, 'Bala zap ka yeina' (raga Kafi, tala Keharwa) would
have sounded more natural had it been without the orchestra. As itis,the
instrumentsplaya line, tobe repeated bythe queen inschoolgirlishfashion.
A prayer-'He Chandramauli udara' (raga Duguri, tala Tritala)-and a
song-'Dhanya charanP (raga Gauri, talaTritala)-which Taramati sings
while pounding grain seem natural in the contextofthe action while'Sam
palana vina' (raga Tilang, tala Dadra) and 'Vandana Mahadeva' (raga
Sarang, tala Dadra) are more like stage songs of the period, deliberately
incorporated for their musical contenl. A song sung in praise of the king
and the queen on their arrival at the court is very apt and lifelike. Inthe
song 'Jai jai rajadhiraj' (raga Tilak-Karnod, tala Ektala), the use of the
medium tempo (madhya laya)creates the desired effect ofcourtly homage.
Background music is used continuously through the film. This helps in
masking the noise of the camera, which was loud enough to be caught by
the soundtrack in those days. .This may also be the reason for the
high-pitched and loud dialogue, which now appears unnatural.
The music of Ayodbycch« Raja bore the stamp of Maharashtra's music
and hence did not gain much popularity in the North. On the other hand,
Agnikankanhad astory whichappealed to the taste ofNorthern audiences.
It seems that tunes based on Ghazals and Quawwalis were consciously
chosen for this film. These tunes did not appeal to the Marathi audience,
though the film'was well received in the North. .
Only three of the 15songs in Agnikankan are firmly based on classical
music-for example 'Radhe ituke kashala' (raga Mishra Kafi, ra1a
Keharwa) Or 'Tuchi amha tat mata' (raga Bhoop, tala Roopak). Other
songs like 'KaJchakra na kana thambave' (Keharwa Dadra) and 'Manas
mandirbhang' (Keharwa Dadra), etc. have Ghazal tunes. A Lavani tune15
used for the song 'Lsgbegin ain duperi' (tala Keharwa), which describesa
young wo~an. A martial song such as 'Zunjar virsardar' (ragaMand,tala
Keharwa) IS also included. The musicof Agnikankan, on the whole,seel1lS
to have been composed to cater to the taste ofnorth Indian audiences.ItIS
not surprising, therefore, that Pendharkar(the directorofShyam Cinetone
of Kolhapur should have remarked thus on the music of the film~
GOVINDRAO TEMBE 43
The music of the film is very disappointing. The subtlety and purposefulness of
AycxihJechaRajais missing. GovindraoTembehasalteredhisownstage tunes forthe
songsinAgnikankan.Thelyricsaregoodbutthemusicneitherreflectshiscreativemind
norsuggests aesthetic ideas in which Govindrao excels.
Maya Machhindra, however, had songs which became popular among
Hindi and Marathi listeners alike. The gramophone records of the songs
soldinlargequantitiesinboth language regions. Of the 19songsinthefilm,
Govindrao himself sang four as the hero Machhindranath. All the four
songs are characterized by gayaki ang, that is, by the vocalist's style of
music-making. Besides these, there are a fewgame songs in the filmssuch
as 'Tipari khelu ya' or 'Gumphu ya goph'. In addition, there are dance
songsanda group prayer ofhigh musical quality. Inthisfilm, as inseveral
others, Govindrao capably shouldered various responsibilities apart from
composingthe music:he wrote the lyrics,dialogue,and thestoryofthefilm.
besides acting the lead role. Govindrao once spoke thus about the fame
achieved by the film:
Thistalkie placed Prabhat onthe top rung[amongfilmcompanies].Later.for many
years.IwasintroducedintheNorthwithconsiderableadmirationasMachhindranath...
forSOmetimeatleast.thename Ihadearnedwithhardworkasaharmoniumplayerwas
relegated to the background (by my performance as] Machhindranath.
In Simhagad, all the songs except a Powada (a ballad-like composition)
are sung by Govindrao Tembe himself. Kamalkumari sung three songs:
'Suman he adara', 'Hakuthwarichhar,'Devs he dayasagara'.Thesewere
fortragicsituationsand did not leave much scope for musicalingenuity. In
'Lebiri, the text of the Powada itself created the proper effect, though
Govindrao also, as composer, employed an appropriate tune for.~t. Two
other songs in the film evoke admiration: a Lavani, 'Yeda zala]JY, and
'Suprabhdtisuryanighe' (ragaMand, talaDadra)sungbyJagatSingh,who
apJX:arsinthe filmostensiblyonlytosingthe song. Onthe whole,however,
GOVtndrao's music is overshadowed by his own dialogue. .
Salrandhriisthe first Indian colour talkieproduced inMarathi.The film
proved to be a flop because the colour technique was defective. Th~ film
also allowed inadequate time for the songs.to register on the audl~~ce.
Evenso,'Nevbaharyel a lovesong isrememberedfor itspoeticqualities,
•tteeaatness of composition" and sweetness. Of the m.ne songs mm t~hee fillm,.
Ku~um mu~1J
kutikum amit' (ragaTilak-Kamod, talaRupak) and 'ManJu
pansaya' (raga Mand, tala Keharwa) have a potential for musical
elaboration. For dance effects in any film 'Nsv baharye' (raga Kafi, tala
Bhajni) would be ideal. '
t,
.. .
t '.
~
,.'.
The Prsbtuubanner.
Courtesy: Narayan Mulani.
While discussing the factors that brought success to Prabhat, Ganesh .
Rango Bhide writes:
Govindrao has lured the whole of Hindustan by his dialogues as well asmusic.The
magicofhisfingersandvoicehavesucceededequally. Hisvoice.thoughnotassweetas
Balagandharva's,certainlyhasacaptivatingcharm.Itistruethathissongsarcnotfora.'y
layman.Anybodycanrecallthepleasure affordedbyHarishchandra'ssongs.Manymust
have experienced the power of 'Mahamantraseva'which used to spread a hushovera
noisy audience.
Govindrao Ternbe's association with Prabhat ended with the releaseof
Sairandhri. Bythen he had finalized plans to launch his own filmcompany.
Shalini Cinetone, with the help of Akkasaheb Maharaj and Baburao
Painter. Usha was the first film produced under the new banner. Baburao
Painter directed the film while Govindrao performed a four-fold task-as
storywriter. lyricist, composer and actor (in the role ofKrishna).Thesong
'Jayati jai Kailas' (raga Bhoop, tala Rupak) in the film is sung by the
Shivegenes in praise of Shiva. The song is melodiousand can be sungeve~
today. Govindrao as Krishna had only one song- 'Namami tat sharanam
- composed in Lalit-pancharn, an unfamiliar raga. It is also composed.
appropriately, in a tala (Ektala) commoner in Khayal than in popular
music.
o
Shalini Cinetone then produced Savkari Pssh, also directed by Babura
Painter. This was the first Marathi talkie with a rural context and story·
'Pritichi vat keteri, a Lavani sung bya female singer, is a diadacticsongIn
this film. .
The weekly Nirbhid in its issue of 9 August 1936 analyzes the film thUS:
The song'Sonyachyagakuncbiveri', sungbyafarmer'sdaughter-in-Iaw,"ischarming
GOVINDRAO TEMBE 45
though very simple. The inclusion of Powada indicates the affinity of the film to a
farmer's life. [The music of] Mehboobjan, a famous singer, is sweet to the ear.
In its next issue (16 August 1936), Nirbhid says:
Wherewould there be room forasong ina simple farmer's life? The sweetmusic of
Mehboobjan (a singer from Solapur) seems to be specially included to compensate for
thislackofmusic! Inaway. the filmisamusicalfeast-thoughaminorone.Sarja's(the
farmer's daughter-in-law's] song adds to the reaJistic treatment in the film. while
Mehboobjan's songs satisfy those who 3fe fond of melodious and rhythmic music.
Pratibha, GovindraoTernbe's next film, wasunsuccessful. Durga Khote,
the heroine of the film, was not a good singer. But a great talent was
discoveredin Hirabai Barodekar, who appeared asthe princess's maid and
sang the three songs very well: 'Vilasini baja' (raga Tilak-Kamod), 'Aj
sumangaJhot' (raga Kafi, taJa Keharwa), and 'Suman he vahiJe' (raga
Jaijaiwanti, taJa Tritala). The good lyrics, the attractive tunes, and
lIirabai'svoicecombined to make these songs very popular.The twoother
songs in the film are also inimitable and became very popular as well:
'Vidhitanaye sharade', (raga Badi Jhinjhoti, taJa Dadra) and 'Kanak
KamaJavan' (raga Jaijaiwanti, taJa Jhaptala).
Saungadi, the next film produced by Shalini Cinetone, failed in spite of
contributions as varied as Mama Varerkar's story, Parshwanath Altekar's
direction, Govindrao's own music and lyrics, Shanta Hublikar's singing,
andperformances byNayampalli,Anantrao Varerkar,andVimalSardesai.
Thefilm wasreleased when Hindu-Muslim riots were raging.From the four
films that failed (Usha, Pratibha, Sairandhri and Saungacb), only three
songsproved to be popular:'Nsv baharyei' from Sairandhri,'Vidhitanaye
Sharade' and 'Kanak ksmslsveri' from Pratibha.
The PrabhatFilmCompanywasthefirstto usebackgroundmusicinfilms
a?d Govindrao was thus the first composer ofsuch music. The language of
cmema,both audio and visual, lacks continuity. Backgroundmusicin films
therefore serves to connect two different visuals or scenes, besides
expressing the emotions of the characters. Dialogue in the form of
conversation does not require background music, which has to create .its
effect indirectly. In its emotive role, background music is an effective
l~st~m~nt, making an impact on the audience hard to achievebyw~rdsor
hlstnomcs alone. It is on this basis that we need to assess Govmdrao
Tembc's background music.
TI11 Simhagad (1933), no specially composed music was used a~
background music inGovindrao's films. Stage songs like 'Khara to prema
46 CHARUSHILA DIVEKAR
and'Vima!adhara', or known classicalcompositionsor dhuns inShankara,
Piloo, Adana, etc. were played back. The music was often irrelevant tothe
scenes inquestion. For example, in Maya Machhindra,the scenewherethe
victorious queen Kilotala comes to the throne riding a horse demands
'heroic' music. But 'Khara toprema', which extols the sentimentoflove,is
the song that comes on! Agniksnken in its 12th scene also provides an
instance of musical mismatch. A gat in Sohoni is used here as background
musicto express a queen's disappointment. Raga Puriya would havesuited
the situation better.
On the whole, itseems that GovindraoTembe has given lessattentionto
background musicthan to the songsin hisfilms. There are, ofcourse,some
'exceptions, For example, in Ayodhyecha Raja, the music played backon
the arrival ofthe royal couple at thecourtcreatesa majestic atmosphere.In
the last scene of Simhagad, Tanaji's death is accompanied by the sadnotes
of ragaLalit, enhancing the total effect. From Pratibha onwards, onefinds
a better use of musicin Govindrao's films. Music is used (unlike hisearly
practice) only where it isrequired. Some more instruments are employed,
At Prabhat, the Sarangi, violin, Tabla, harmonium, organ, hafaphoneand
sometimes the Sundri and Tasha were the instruments included in the
orchestra. At Govindrao's own Shalini Cinetone, besides the instruments
named, the clarinet, Jaitarang, flute, guitar, Ghungru, etc. were also
played. For example, in Usha, Aniruddha follows a guitar tune to reach
Usha's palace. In a mythological film like Usha, the use of the Veena
instead of the guitar would have been more appropriate. Incidentally,
Govindrao had played the guitarhimselfforthe titlemusicof Prabhat films;
he was better known as a harmonium player.
Talking of Govindrao Ternbe's work after Prabhat, Shyamsunder had
had written:
Govindrao hasnotaddedmuch tohisartafter·SairandhriwithRajmukut. Hehasgiven
onemoreblowtohisowndiminishingfame.Itisprovedoncemorethatartandartists~
as capricious as Laxmi, the goddess of wealth, and Laxmi-putras.
Evaluating the work of Govindrao Tembe as a composer, one mightsay
that he could never shake off the influence of classical music'both infilms
and in theatre. With Manapaman (1911), Tembe brought on the Marat~
stage the light flavour of the Poorab baj as also the Khayal traditionIn
Dhairyadhar's songs. His technique developed and grew further while
composing for Swayamvar (1916). His film songs therefore were po~u1ar.
People went to see Prabhat films-Ayodhyecha Raja, Maya Machhmdra,
etc.-for the songs. These micro-editions (of four to five minutes) ofthe
GOVINDRAO TEMBE 47
stage song had an immediate, wider appeal. It was in part a question of
audibility,since the filmsongswere heard with equalclarity bythe audience
inthegallery,stall, and box of the theatre. College studentshummed these
songs!
Govindrao's music composition did not bear the stamp of his style of
playingthe harmonium or anyother instrument. In those davs,everyactor
hadtosinghisown songs. Govindrao always composed histunesaccording
tothe musical ability of the actor or actress. His songs were so composed
thatthey could be sung either in shadja or madhyama, depending on the
occasion.
Keshavrao Bhole (b. 1893) and Master Krishnarao (b. -1898) were
Govindrao Tembe's successors in music. Bhole was well known for his
musicinthe play Andhalyanchi Shala; his music was closer to bbevgect,a
form of light music. On the other hand, Master Krishnarao had a strong
groundinginclassical music. He composed initially for the theatre. but with
Dharmarma entered the film world as a composer. -
Inconclusion, it would be fair to say of the musicof Govindrao Tembe
that, considering the musical background of the audience ofhis times. his
attempttocombine prevailing tasteswith art musicdeservesrecognition. 0
(Translared from 'he Maralhi by Varsha Pcndse-Joglckar.)
APPEI>DIX I
GOl'indrao Tembe:
A Brief Chronology
5 June 1881: Born. .
1911: Composed music for Manapaman.
1912: Started acting for KirloskarTheatre Company.
"1913:EstablishedGandharvaTheatreCompanywithBalagandharvaandGanpatraoRodas.
1915: Estabtished Shivraj Theatre Company.
1921·1930: Worked for the Maharaja of Mysore.
1924: Staged Ihe play Pstsvsrdhsn, .
~bout
1926:Started writing music and theatre.
1932:Workedasmusiccomposer lyricist andheroofthefirst Marathi film. Ayodhyecha
Raja. . ,
Calc~lla.
1934: Acted for East India Film Company,
1938· CUI hi . .
. IS first·dlS': (harmonium).
48 CHARUSHILA DIVEKAR
1939: Studied opera on a visit abroad.
1954: Wrote and presented the musicals Mahashweta and Jayadeva.
9 October 1955: Died.
APPEliDIX1
Bibliography
BOOKS
1. Bharatiya Chalatchitra ka Itihas: Firoze Rangoonwalla; Rajpal & Sons, Delhi, 1975.
2. Hindi Film Gee! Kosh: (Vals 1 & 2): HaT Mandir Singh 'Hamraz"; Satinder Kaur,
Kanpur, 1984, 1988 (respectively).
3. Jeevan Vyasang: GovindraoTembe; GovindraoTembeSmarakSamiti, Kolhapur,1956.
4. Maza Jeevan Vibar: Govindrao Tembe.
5. Mazhe Sangeet: Keshavrao Bhole: Mauz Prakashan, Bombay, 1964.
6. Sengeetetil Gtureni: N.R. Marulkar, Shantabai Marulkar, R.C. Sadashiv; Pune.1962,
7. Sangeet Ratnakar: G.H. Tarlekar; Maharashtra Rajya Sahitya Sanskriti Mandai,
Bombay, 1975.
8. Shantaram: V. Shantaram, Kiran Shantaram; Rajkamal Kala Mandir, Bombay,1986.
PERIODICALS
1. Chitrasharada (special issue: 'Golden Jubilee of Marathi Films'), 1982.
2. Nirbhid, 9 & 16 August 1936.
3. l'Tabhat, 1933.
4. Pretibbe, November 1936.
Appendix 3 (foldout)-'J