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Film composer S Mohinder passes away
By - Avijit Ghosh | TNN | Sep 6, 2020, 21:51 IST
Film composer S Mohinder, who received the national award for best music director in the Punjabi blockbuster, Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai (1969), and who is best remembered for the wistful melody, Guzra hua zamana aata nahi dobara (film: Shirin Farhad, 1956), passed away after a heart attack at his Oshiwara residence in Mumbai on Sunday. The last of a generation, he would have turned 95 on Tuesday. In a Hindi tweet, Lata Mangeshkar described him as “a very good music director and an extremely nice gentleman.”
“When my father won the award, the first to congratulate him was SD Burman, whose Aradhana was in contention for the same prize,” his daughter Nareen Chopra told TOI on phone. Interestingly, Burman senior won the best male playback award for Aradhana’s title track.
Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai (1969) had some memorable devotionals sung by Mohd Rafi, Manna Dey, Asha Bhonsle and others. “The touching compositions helped enormously in the film’s success,” says Jasbir Singh, a fan of Mohinder’s music.
His full name was Mohinder Singh Sarna. Born in Sillianwala in Montogomery district (now Sahiwal, Pakistan), he barely survived the Partition riots. “A coolie on the Lahore railway station platform told him that riots had broken out and that he must take the train to Bombay to survive. He did and stayed at a gurdwara in Dadar where he later also served as a raagi (musician who sings Gurbani). He was paid Rs 10 per week,” Nareen remembers.
His film career began with Sehra (1948) and lasted over three decades. “He was helped by several people such as Suraiya, K Asif, S Mukherjee, Madhubala. He was close to Madhubala’s family and Prithivraj Kapoor,” she recalls.
Mohinder’s tunes often carried the distinctive flavor of Punjab. His other well-known films include, Mehlon Ke Khwab, which had several zestful tracks sung by Kishore Kumar, Paapi, Naata (a home production of Madhubala), Picnic and Reporter Raju, the debut film of Feroz Khan. In his book, Dhuno Ki Yaatra, Pankaj Rag writes that Mohinder was also initially signed for Anarkali but ultimately the deal did not materialize. Mohinder’s last film was Dahej (1981), which included a musical tribute to Sanjay Gandhi, Amar Rahe Sanjay.
In the early Eighties, Mohinder settled in New York. He came back to Mumbai in 2013. Despite developing a mild case of Parkinson’s sometime back, Nareen says, he was cheerful till the very end. “He used to be a rockstar at parties. He sang, people danced,” she says. There is, however, a regret. Asha Bhonsle had called him on phone a few days ago. Mohinder was sleeping then and they couldn’t talk. He was supposed to call back. Says Nareen, “He was also to meet Lata-ji, who used to say, he gave me one of my finest songs (Gujra hua zamana). That also never happened.