Pyarelal, who started training at the age of eight, would practice for ten hours every day. At the age of 12, he got a job at Mumbai's Ranjit studio as a violinist in an orchestra. He would get Rs 85 a month, and soon became the bread winner of the family. It was at the Ranjit studio that Pyarelal met his lifelong companion Laxmikant.
On speculations that Laxmikant was in charge of the artistic end while he took care of the business aspect, Pyarelal has this to say: "We would prepare a tune each and select the better of the two in the studio. Sometimes, we would sit together and make tunes; sometimes we thought of tunes from home that turned out to be similar.
"Laxmi and me never made our differences in public. We would sort it out when we were alone. He was a better businessman than me. I was very short-tempered like my father. He would treat me with lots of love and care. I always think that the song Ek pyaar ka nagama hai from Shor is based on our life.
"Moreover, people often thought that Laxmikant Pyarelal was one name. When I was getting married, my wife's relatives believed she was getting married to Laxmikant Pyarelal. Just Pyarelal did not mean anything to them," he laughed.
When Pyarelal turned 20, the duo got their first film Hum Tum Aur Woh. But it never got released. Their next three films suffered the same fate. Their work was finally noticed and appreciated in their fifth movie, Parasmani. Their next film, Dosti, was a huge hit.
The veteran composer believes that copying music is common and that they tried to adapt to changing trends. "There was a lot of pressure from actors and producers. For instance, the song Jumma chumma was in the movie Hum just because of the pressure from Amitabh Bachchan. Out of the 500 odd movies that we have done, we must have copied 50 songs because of pressure. "We worked with various producers and directors but our favourite was Subhash Ghai. We got an award for Om shanti om from Karz," he says.
Laxmikant's demise did have its effect on Pyarelal but he was not disheartened. He was determined to recreate the magic they had weaved for decades.
"I never thought my right hand has gone; what would I do without him. I was strong enough. But I fell sick after his death. I used to drink a lot and chew tobacco. I was in bed for six years. Since then, I have given up alcohol. Now I am fine and work for six hours everyday. Within the next two years, you will again see Laxmikant-Pyarelal's name on big screen again," he said.
Excerpts from:http://www.rediff.com/movies/2007/feb/05pyarelal.htm
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