A melodious plaint….

Whenever I hear the first bars of the introduction to this song, I am transported back by half a century to my cousin’s PG. Deepak Borker (since he was from Goa, he spelt it with a ~ker rather than the ~kar that’s the norm with Maharashtrian names). He used to fancy he could do a fair imitation of Talat Mahmood, an opinion which was definitely not shared by anyone else on the planet. His whining, wailing notes were better suited to another activity that recurs multiple times a day than singing and his rendition of this song actually mortified me. I dreaded the thought of actually listening to the original song, not having heard Talat much till that point in time. Deepak is now something of a local Vijay Mallya in Goa and I wonder if he continues to inflict the auditory equivalent of the Goan Inquisition on those close to him, kind of a radical counterpoint to the Susegaat attitude.

The original song is truly marvellous. Talat Mahmood, the undisputed Emperor of the Blues, infuses the plaint with the deepest and the darkest hues of blue in his unique tremolo. https://youtu.be/eYcAlJs60BM

In fact all of us owe a huge debt for this unique emotion soaked (most often with an unimaginable amount of pain, but sometimes also with joy and love) voice to Anil Biswas. Talat Mahmood auditioned with Anil da and the Bheeshmapitamah instantly saw the unique tonal quality of the voice. Talat was then already famous for his rendition of ghazals on All India Radio, despite having started with training in Hindustani Classical Music at the Marris College of Music in Lucknow (now the Bhatkhande Music Institute) . His Tasweer Teri Dil mera behla na sakegi is still very famous. Anil Biswas then asked Talat to report for the recording next morning. After he heard Talat sing in the recording studio, he was shocked. The USP was missing. In order to impress Anilda , Talat sang like the other singers of the time, and cut out the tremolo totally. Anil da noticed this immediately and admonished him, saying that quiver was truly unique and that helped differentiate his singing from the rest. Thankfully Talat acquiesced to the suggestion and a singer-with-a-difference was born.

The movie, Dil-e-Nadaan was produced under the banner of Kardar Productions Ltd. by A R Kardar, the story and dialogue were handled by the story department of Kardar Production Ltd unit (sic). Dwarka Divecha was the gifted lensman and Ghulam Mohammed , the incredibly gifted composer lent his magical touch to Shakeel Badayuni’s lyrics. Ghulam Mohammad had worked as an assistant to both Anil Biswas and Naushad Ali and the choice of singer/lyricist reflects that.

The movie was Talat Mahmood’s debut acting role, and he was actually introduced as the “Singing Star Talat Mahmood”. The posters actually mutilated his name as Talat Mahmoom.

Peace Kanwal his leading lady also debuted in this film and shared a love triangle with Shyama. The film failed at the box-office in spite of several popular songs.

The story was a love triangle, with the two sisters played by Shyama and Peace Kanwal, in love with the same man (Talat Mahmood).

The lyrics are sublime, Shakil Badayuni at his best.

ज़िंदगी देने वाले सुन
तेरी दुनिया से दिल भर गया
मैं यहाँ जीते जी मर गया

रात कटती नहीं दिन गुज़रता नहीं
ज़ख़्म ऐसा दिया है के भरता नहीं
आँख वीरान है, दिल परेशान है, ग़म का सामान है
जैसे जादू कोई कर गया
ज़िंदगी देने वाले सुन ...

बेख़ता तूने मुझ से खुशी छीन ली
ज़िंदा रखा मगर ज़िंदगी छीन ली
कर दिया दिल का खूँ, चुप कहाँ तक रहूँ, साफ़ क्यूँ ना कहूँ
तू खुशी से मेरी जल गया
ज़िंदगी देने वाले सुन ...

I can (& do) listen to these melodies in a loop. Once is just not enough. https://youtu.be/_GOTCtbz8bo