Shravan Rathod - Nadeem Saifi

The words spell melody and rhythm. Nadeem Shravan have been among the most prolific composer duos in the 90s. Their name is also synonymous with success. The guys who have given us numerous hits starting from 'Aashiqui' through 'Saajan', 'Phool Aur Kaante' and Raja 'Hindustani' till 'Pardes' are in a class of their own.

Their association dates back to 1972 when they met each other at a function. Their first Hindi film assignment was 'Maine Jeena Seekh Liya' in 1981. But they were stuck with the B-grade films until they got three big films in the form of 'Ilaka', 'Hisaab Khoon Ka' and 'Lashkar'. Though the films were big, the music wasn't anything to be talked about.

'Aashiqui' (1990) changed all that. Music Moghul Gulshan Kumar gave them the break and the film saw the emergence of 3 superstars- Nadeem, Shravan and Kumar Sanu. Can anyone forget 'Sanson ki zaroorat', 'nazar ke saamane jigar ke paas', 'dheere dheere se meri zindagi me aana', 'ab tere bin je lenge hum' and "Jaanejigar Jaaneman". Aashiqui ranks in the lot of the few films that have had a hit in each song. The Lions had tasted blood. Their success was overdue and they were not going to slip it away now. The joy ride continued with 'Saajan', 'Dil hai ke maanta nahin', 'Sadak', 'Dilwale' and 'Phool Aur Kaante'. Whether it was 'Chehra kya dekhte ho'(Salaami), 'Adayen bhi hain'(dil hai ke manta nahin) 'sochenge tumhe pyar'(deewana), 'aaj raat chandni hai'(Kal ki awaaz), they all had the distinct stamp of Nadeem Shravan. What made them different from the other composers is their beats. 

They have composed all kinds of music, be it fast-track, sentimental or dance numbers. But their forte was always melody. Another remarkable thing about their music was it was easy on the ears and did not take time to impress the listeners. It has been said that they don't have much variety; that they did not experiment too much. But this is where their strength lay i.e. delivering the music that is traditionally Indian, yet having a hint of modernity woven around it. But Nadeem Shravan wanted to prove to the whole world that they could be "conventionally different", if they chose to be. For this they needed the support of a director whose script required all kinds of music and who could give them a free hand in composing. When Subhash Ghai's 'Pardes' was released, a noted music critic said: "Nadeem Shravan should stop composing music... because there can't be anything better then this...Nadeem Shravan have reached their peak.". The film had everything.. melodious love songs(do dil mil rahe hain), pop(My first day in America), pain(Ye dil Deewana), Qawwali(Nahin hona tha) and the best of all (I Love my india). Said Nadeem:

"I love my India was not a mere song but it continues to convey my feelings for the country".

They have got the maximum hits with Kumar Sanu, Anuradha Paudwal, Alka Yagnik, Udit Narayan, Vinod Rathod and now, Sonu Nigam. They have worked with lyricists like Anand Bakshi, Faaiz Anwar, Hasrat Jaipuri, Rani Malik, and many others, but their tuning seems to fit best with Sameer. When they arrived on the music scene, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Anand Milind were at the top. But subsequently their hard worked paid and they gave various hits in a row. The awards they won for all these were:

1990 (Aashiqui)
1991 (Saajan)
1992 (Deewana)
1996 (Raja Hindustani)

Their runaway success was rudely interrupted when Nadeem got implicated in the the murder of their godfather Gulshan Kumar of T-series. And due to the severity of the implication he has to remain in England to clear his name. Under these circumstances the duo couldn't carry on with their job and disappeared from the music scene. Just when the industry had almost forgotten them, they made a comeback after a gap of two-and-a-half years with Kuku Kohli's new film "Yeh Dil Aashiqana". Mukesh Bhatt followed this up with signing them for 'Qasoor'. Using technology, Nadeem and Shravan have managed to bridge the geographical distance between Mumbai and London. With the success of the tracks of 'Dhadkan', Nadeem Shravan are well on their comeback trail.

submitted by Anjaan

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