Manoj Kumar had an ear for music: veteran composer Anandji Virji Shah

Veteran actor-filmmaker Manoj Kumar portrayed India in his films through story and songs with utmost honesty, said Anandji Virji Shah, one-half of the iconic music composer duo Kalyanji-Anandji who had a long-standing creative relationship with the late star.

Kalyanji-Anandji scored music for several of Kumar’s movies such as ‘Himalay Ki God Mein’ (1965), ‘Upkar’ (1967), ‘Purab Aur Paschim’ (1970) and ‘Kalyug Aur Ramayan’ (1987).

Kumar, who came to be known as ‘Bharat Kumar’ for his roles in a series of superhit patriotic films, died on Friday in a hospital following age-related issues. He was 87.

“Manoj Kumar was a fantastic director. He had an ear for music. He was also skilled at editing and writing stories and possessed a deep knowledge of India's history. So, when he depicted India in his films, whether it was ‘Purab Aur Paschim’ or ‘Upkar’, he remained honest in his portrayal and emotions through stories and songs and that’s why they resonated with people. He was very dedicated to his work and never got upset if somebody made any suggestions,” Anandji told PTI in an interview.

The song ‘Mere desh ki dharti’ from ‘Upkar’, which marked Kumar’s directorial debut, was a landmark moment in their collaboration. Picturised on Kumar, the track was penned by Gulshan Kumar Mehta and sung by Mahendra Kapoor. The song, a heartfelt anthem that sings about India’s agricultural richness, evokes a sense of national pride even today.

According to the 92-year-old composer, Kumar’s openness to feedback made their creative endeavours not only fruitful but also joyful.

“This song would not have been made without Manoj ji and all the other people who were part of it. We just followed the story and character brief given to us by Manoj ji,” said Shah, adding it took them over 12 hours to compose the track.

He recalled, “The song was originally written by Gulshan Bawra ji and it was written as ‘Iss desh ki dharti’. We used to work as a team, so we said, ‘Let’s make it ‘Mere desh ki dharti’ because it becomes personal and musically’ and it sounded better.”

Anandji said it was Kumar’s idea to place the song ‘Kasme waade pyaar wafa’ in ‘Upkar’ right before the film’s interval. In the film, Kumar played Bharat, who was both a farmer and a soldier, the two pillars of the country. It also starred Prem Chopra, Asha Parekh, Kamini Kaushal, Pran and Madan Puri.