Lata Mangeshkar christened him 'The Emperor Of Ghazals'. She should know because it is in her voice that Madan Mohan created all those masterpieces that set an impossibly high standard for ghazals in films. The irony of the fact is that Madan Mohan couldn't combine class and mass appeal the way an S.D.Burman or Shanker-Jaikishan could. He composed the only way he knew to - with great respect for each of his tunes.

MADAN MOHAN Madan Mohan was the son of Rai Bahadur Chunnilal, one of the big names of the 30's and 40's, and a partner in Bombay Talkies and then Filmistan. Madan Mohan was sent to Dehradun to join the army on the insistence of his father. Once he was posted at Delhi, he quit the Army and went to Lucknow to do what he wanted to do, i.e to join A.I.R.

His musical roots strengthened in Lucknow because he came across famous people like Ustad Faiyyaz Khan, Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, Roshan Ara Begum, Begum Akhtar, Siddheshwari Devi, and Talat Mehmood, all renowned names in the field of classical music and ghazal singing.He carried their influence with him always, which was clearly evident by his music compositions in his career, and one of the main reasons why he excelled in aesthetic composition inspite of having no formal training in music.

Madan Mohan came to Bombay in the late 40's, and assisted S. D. Burman and Shyam Sunder for a brief spell, for films being made by filmistan studios.Madan's first big commercial break was Bhai Bhai in 1956.

But after his film 'Ankhen' Madan and Lata became a great team together and Lata sang for almost all his films. Lata Mangeshkar was the last word for him.The sweetness Madan achieved here in Lata Mangeshkar’s voice is something rare in his repertory. It was never enough that there was enough of only Lata in a Madan tune. Lata used to call Madan ‘Ghazal Ka Shehzadaa’. ‘Woh chup rahen to mere dil ke daag jalte hain’ from the film Jahan Ara and ‘Maine raang li aaj chunariya’ from Dulhan Ek Raat Ki are some others of his compositions.He scored for a theme in mime like Chetan Anand's Heer Ranjha.

Madan Mohan made excellent use of voices of Talat Mahmood and Mohd. Rafi as well. His favourite lyricists were Raja Mehndi Ali Khan, Rajendra Krishan, and Kaifi Azmi. Majrooh Sultanpuri and Sahir Ludhianvi also wrote for him for a few films.

He was known as the Ghazal Samrat of Indian Music. He died on July 14th, in the year 1975. He did not live to see the success of two of his very big hits 'Mausam' and 'Laila Majnu'. Most Popular films of Madan Mohan are 'Ashiyana, Madhosh, Baghi, Bhai Bhai, Mastane, Gateway Of India, Dekh Kabeera Roya, Adalat, Chacha Zindabad, Manmauji, Sanjog, Woh Kaun Thi, Jahan Ara, Ghazal, Sharabi, Mera Saaya, Neela Akash, Ek Kali Muskayi, Chirag, Dastak, Heer Ranjha, Haste Zakhma, Mausam, etc.

His peerless classicism while tuning a variety of songs like ‘Nainon mien badra chaye’ in Mera Saaya. ‘Naino mein badra chaye’ is another classic, from the film Mera Saaya. Reportedly there is no composer more difficult to please at a recording than Madan Mohan. He took the life out of the artists because he staked his reputation on his compositions .

Madan Mohan was totally different from other composers in the late l94O and early 195O's.Madan Mohan compositions never displayed traces of his Punjabi roots.Later in the l970's, Madan composed to live up to his reputation as the ‘Ghazal King’, which cramped his style in the matter of being a freewheeler composer.

He was particularly fond of the song Yeh duniya yeh mehfil in Heer Ranjha because of the variety in arrangement. His own favourite composition was 'Sawan ke mahine main' from Sharabi. He would sing the song for his friends at private gatherings.