Alternative arrangements….

It is indeed true that Bollywood film music is the lifeline , the USP by which we remember the product over a period of time. Many a time you’ll remember the music , particularly the songs long after, sometimes decades after you’ve forgotten the movie in which they appear. So when a couple of lines or sometimes even a few bars of the song are played in a quiz contest, the song will be recognized, the ones with the truly remarkable memory would recall the movie/lead pair/composer but nothing of the movie.

This is one outstanding example. The amazing romantic duet is from a movie called Tu nahin aur sahi. Not much is hidden after you’ve read the title. All that remains is to find out if it is a case of ek phool do mali or ek mali do phool.

Triangles is certainly Bollywood’s favourite shape and that’s all that they do. The movie had Pradeep Kumar in the lead with Kumkum and Nishi as the two lasses he has to choose from. (The director of course doesn’t ask the lasses if they want to pick him!) https://youtu.be/AxJCie-v3cA

The movie was directed by Brij Sadanah, the director of some hit films over 3 decades, who died sadly in a rather gruesome and tragic manner fuelled by his own devil’s, alcohol and easy access to a firearm. That resulted in the loss of the lives of his daughter, his wife (the leading lady called Sayeeda) and almost killed his son, before he killed himself.

The music was by Ravi Sharma, while the lyrics for this song are by Asad Bhopali. The picturization is quaint, in a single bogie. The lady is Nishi, the “aur” in the movie. Kumkum is the “tu” in the plot/casting. Pradeep Kumar shows the admirable stoic expressions which give very little away as the lady looks expectantly at him. But then that was the 60s , with lower budgets, and equipment and techniques still evolving… and of course that is the handsome, pretty pleasantly immobile face of Pradeep Kumar. Check this out. https://youtu.be/jfTJCXJoJlI

Stay happy and healthy folks. Many would remember the song, those who recall the movie with its details would definitely be a small fraction of the film music loving audience of a billion plus Indians