Dara’s Theme and other dramatic tunes

Their repertoire has gone largely undocumented morersquos the pity As we gear up expectantly for another welcome New Yearrsquos night of naataks enjoyed on stage after punishing seasons of online viewing itrsquos time to offer tribute to a trio of music men Pepping up the plays of 20thcentury Parsi dramatists in very different ways each has left a deep and distinct impressionHMVrsquos blueeyed boy from the 1950s Kersi Mistry composed piano notes for film song recordings with the same consummate ease and adeptness that he brought to stage histrionics Devising dramatic tracks for naatak nights was as much a pleasure for the virtuoso as actingMistry playing a womanrsquos role in a playCollecting photographs from the families of these music makers as part of my research for a book on Parsi theatre I lookedmdashand then looked againmdashat a particular print The ldquoladyrdquo wearing an embroidered korbordered sari with the traditional sor draped on her right shoulder over a longsleeved blouse was none other than Kersi Mistry Relied upon to substitute any actor or actress who failed to show up for a farce whose notes he was scoring the music director would slip behind the curtain to emerge as that character and return to conduct his orchestramdashall in marvellously swift smooth transition It was the age of singing stars and Mistry had melody in his genes The son of Phirozshah Mistry credited with music direction of classic blockbusters like the first talkie Ardeshir Iranirsquos Alam Ara he sang as well as played the piano and harmonium competently A tabalchi in his fatherrsquos orchestra suggested the boy learn the Indian instrument for a start Later a selftaught keyboard and accordion player Mistry cut records with bandleader Goody Seervai and hit jingles for HMVDara Mehta prolific composer of lyricsGrowing up near the vibrant Pila House district Mistry was a regular member of the audience watching social melodramas Phirozshah had travelled to Rangoon with a drama troupe The proprietors and performers of Baliwalla Theatres were known to the Mistrys Munnibai their famed actress appreciated his musical accompaniment and encouraged him to familiarise himself with serious plays Back in the day those typically brimmed with declamatory acting in maudlin romances or exaggerated bloodandthunder finales of epics including Firdausirsquos tragedy of Rustam and Sohrab from the Persian 10thcentury ShahnamehSo it was that several theatrical strands wove together to influence Kersi Mistryrsquos formative years The acclaimed playwright Pijam Pherozeshah Jehangirjee Marzban father of Adi Marzban was a family friend of the Mistrys Their Transvaal Terrace home rang with sounds of late evening rehearsals and concerts stretching all night Impressed with his aptitude once HMV employed Mistry as a pianist he began rubbing shoulders with Talat Mahmood Manna Dey Mohammed Rafi Mukesh and Lata MangeshkarSarosh Bhabha in the studio room with his son KaizadBut Mistry stayed immensely attached to the stage Stacks of sepiatinted albums vintage medals and coins honour his contribution to 1950srsquo60s plays celebrating silver jubilee runs A delightful audio clip fortunately still doing the rounds has Adi Marzban himself preface a medley sung by Mistryrsquos ensemble announcing ldquosaravsar na Parsi geetrdquo presented by ldquojaaneeta sangeetkaar Kersi Mistry madhur awaaj ni Jaloo Bhesania neh elok no chorus grouprdquoThough not all his lyrics have instant recall today the tinkling tunes of Dara Mehta father of veteran actor Pervez Mehta once totally lit up the productions of Minoo Nariman Pheroze Antia and Marzban At the Tata Theatre performances of Khushi Khushali a revue of Dara Mehtarsquos lilting numbers staged for Navroze a few years ago not many listeners traced these back to theatreThe lyricist of around 1200 songs for Parsi Gujarati plays between the 1940s and the 1970s Mehta spent his childhood around Khetwadi That was close to the thrill and thrall of every spectacular show unfolding before his young eyes Skimping and saving to buy fiveanna tickets he gave himself up to the magical whirl of musicals Mehta soon realised he was restless consigned to waiting on customers in the sandalwood shop where he was employed opposite Cama Baug Agiary He turned heart and mind to where they belonged the colourful world of music and dramaIn the heyday of this theatre of the 19th and early 20th century troupes owned by Parsis and featuring a cosmopolitan mix of actors held grand shows across the country When silent films graduated to the talkies in the 1930s there were fewer takers for stagecraft To revive Parsi Gujarati theatre producers strategically enlivened their productions with the insertion of popular ditties Staunchly invested in old plays Mehta saw this as both chance and challenge He scripted songs for Baliwalla Theatresrsquo Khuda ne Manzoor Karmaayla Phool Chhatti na Lekh and Maay ni Mamta For Jhupri nu Jhaver he had to overnight churn out a dozen songs some comic some serious An instantly catchy hit was Mara Mara Sam about a man swearing equal devotion to four womenApart from sparkling original compositions Dara scored fresh lyrics for film numbers by Kishore Kumar and chartbusters from Raj Kapoor movies The Darling Orchestra which played under his baton for wedding and Navjote parties carried on being conducted by his son Marazban Mehta As Sam Kerawalla who directed Khushi Khushali says ldquoHe wrote for anybody who wanted a songrdquoKerawalla recalls another dear friend Sarosh Bhabha who was insatiably curious about all things sonic ever since he wondered which wires went where with Grundig recorders set up for an early1960s Marzban variety revue at Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan The man behind evocatively layered music compilations in the foremost Gujarati and English plays for over half a century Bhabha with his son Kaizad treated at least two generations of audiences to soundscapes which were always uniqueA drama critic of a national daily lost for the name to mention for music credits of the Indian National Theatre INT play Lafra Sadan said to herself ldquoItrsquos got to be Sarosh Bhabhardquo On checking it was indeed him With his son Kaizad he created a rich audio landscape that served to smoothly propel plots of every genre from farce to whodunitThe son of the singer and stage manager Minoo Bhabha Sarosh started experimenting with his metier from his Lamington Road flat where a room doubled as studio He trained as an apprentice with sound engineer Minoo Katrak at Film Centre in Tardeo Among the first plays he worked on were written by Adi Marzbanrsquos brother Rustom Lulu He scored the music for Rustamrsquos wife Mitha Marzbanrsquos dance shows tooFrom 1965 he worked with choreographer Jeannie Naoroji on her fashion shows ldquoSarosh and Kaizadrsquos talents are irreplaceablerdquo she had said ldquoThe way they chose music understanding genres from European classical to modern jazz beautifully matched the mood and model walking to it With Kaizad I saw a spark rare in a child his age and knew this was his forterdquo As a schoolboy not quite eight Kaizad expressed a keenness to assist his father He rarely fell asleep on being sent to bed Artistic discussions humming through the hallway kept him awake Veterans such as Marzban Burjor Patel Dinyar Contractor Jimmy Pocha and Kerawalla with INT directors and technical specialists dropped in late night after rehearsals ldquoIt was a privilege growing up with these fantastic personalitiesrdquo says Kaizad ldquoThey taught theatre kids a whole lot about excellence and attitude My fatherrsquos influence was tremendous He would compile so very thoughtfully and skillfully I handled more on the production side Dad introduced me to every kind of music composed The justright embellishment innovatively used is critical to the action of a playrdquoKaizad cites two INT examples as ldquotrue sonically textured productionsrdquo The murder mystery Hello Inspector was one such The haunting power of a piece like Stravinskyrsquos Rite of Spring with its irregular metre and dynamic scales drove the nailbiting suspense in Solmi January ni Madhraatemdashadapted from Ayn Randrsquos courtroom thriller Night of January 16th Sarosh Bhabha enriched his repertoire with artistes of the stature of Pandit Ravi Shankar and Pankaj Udhas touring America and Russia with them But experimenting with sound for theatre was what he found most gratifying He was as proud to be associated with plays staged for charity by the cityrsquos leading doctors who formed the Parsi Medical Amateurs groupmdashldquoWe were all in it together If it was a Sunday in Bombay people were at the theatre Our work never felt like work It was fun and learning with your best friendsrdquoAuthorpublisher Meher Marfatia writes fortnightly on everything that makes her love Mumbai and adore Bombay You can reach her at mehermarfatiamiddaycomwwwmeher marfatiacom