My dad Charanjit Singh Panesar used to be an ace musician with all the greats like Shankar Jaikishen, Laxmikant Pyarelal, Rd Burman. He travelled on shows with Mukeshji and Kishore Kumar. He played the mandolin, clavioline, Hawaiian guitar and the transicord. He introduced the bass guitar to Bollywood.
As kids, me and my sister Rajee went to meet my dad on the recording of Palay Khan (1986). They were recording Kabul se aaya hai which Ashaji was singing. Pancham da took the beats from a LP record of a Swedish music band called Yello. Those days he had a Revox quarter inch recorder on which he recorded and played it in a loop. He started the first system of “sampling” which is now prevalent globally and in Bollywood in a big way. Pancham da would give me a Cadbury chocolate every time I went to the studio. It continued for a long time and I would complain good humouredly that I’m a big boy now. He would say shut up, you are a kid for me.
When I joined Pancham da on Parinda (1989) I saw Ashaji singing two numbers. And it was sheer delight.
I first approached her, somewhat hesitantly, to sing for a television serial I was working on. I wasn’t sure if she would agree, but her response was immediate and disarmingly warm: “Of course, I’ll do it.” She wasn’t familiar with the route to the studio, so I suggested she come over to my place and we could go together. When she arrived and I went down to receive her, she greeted me with a playful reproach: she had reached my building, and yet I hadn’t even invited her upstairs. So we went up together. At home, she met my first child, Joshua, and was delighted to spend time with him. In a lighter vein, she teased me about not inviting her to my wedding, adding, half in jest, half in earnest, that artistes should never marry, as relationships invariably affect professional lives. In the years that followed, whether we met on the sets of Indian Idol or at various functions, what stayed with me was her remarkable warmth. She never forgot my children’s names, Joshua and my daughter, Rachel, and would always ask after them with genuine affection.
When I was signed up as a music director for Madhur Bhandarkar’s Satta (2003), she sang two songs for me – Gungunati hai and More Saiyan. At the sitting she said I’ve carried this boy in my arms as a child now he’s making me sing. After she sang Gungunati hai, she called me after reaching home and said she wasn’t happy. She came back and recorded it again. She recorded the song five times over. Until I had to tell her Ashaji it’s absolutely brilliant. Look at the dedication of an artiste over 70. How much they worked on their craft. When we were recording the second item number song she asked me to partially draw the curtains on the sound booth. She said she makes a lot of faces while singing such types of songs and she feels odd if everyone is watching.
You just need to pay attention to what these greats say, there’s so much to learn from them every single time.
Also Read: Adnan Sami talks about his connection with Ashaji Bhosle
By
