One
of the most talented music directors that Punjab has
produced was Vinod. His real name was Eric Roberts but
for the film industry he chose a more familiar name
Vinod. Vinod got a good break when he composed music
for Hindi film Ek Thi Ladki (1949). The film was a success
and its song “Lara lappa lara lappa layi rakhda, addi
tappa addi tappa layi rakhda” sung by Lata Mangeshkar.
G. M. Durrani and Mohd. Rafi became an instant hit.
The number was based on a Pahari folk tune of Kangra.
Among some of Vinod’s best-known creations were the
musical compositions of Anmol Rattan (1950), Wafaa(1950),
Sabaz Bagh(1951), Aag ka Dariya(1953), Laadla(1954)
and Makhi Choos(1956). Although Vinod composed music
for 32 films, but most of these films were under small
banners and the music of many were let down by the film’s
poor showing at the box office.
Geeta Dutt sang a handful of songs for Vinod with half
of them coming for low budget films in the later part
of his career like Makheechoos and Sheikh Chilli. She
sang three lovely songs for Vinod in Tara (1949). “Ek
yaad teri hain” is a sweet melody from Tara. The same
year saw the release of Vinod’s most popular musical
Ek thi Ladki. Lata walked away with all the (well deserved)
applause for the super |
