I discovered this morning that I hadn’t written about one of my all time favourite songs. I checked and cross checked my blog with thousands of posts and discovered that it was indeed true.
The song is one of the most endearing – and enduring – romantic duets composed by Salil Chowdhury, by far my personal favourite of all composers in Bollywood in the nearly hundred years since movies got a voice (& in Bharat, Bollywood got the USP that differentiates it from other movie making centres in the West, that of always having musical scores specifically composed for the movie, and very rarely using standalone musical tracks).
Usne Kaha Tha was a wonderful film that I saw on DD Mumbai’s Sunday evening show in the 70s. You’d not immediately guess the theme of the movie by the name nor the frothy, treacly, honey soaked sweetness of this song, sung in a typical Made-For-Bollywood backdrop for a romantic song: a rain-drenched evening amidst the fields and copses in a village, loveis very much in the air and the hormones are spiking giving a Dopamine high . It’s a typical and an easily identifiable Salilda creation: a wonderful melody, lilting and infectious, a cheery tune in praise of nature and love and all things bright and beautiful, and of young hearts in love (myself included- theeternal romantic in me is attracted to such melodies like bees to nectar), and shyly admitting to one other the helplessness of their state.
The lyrics by Shailendra are just superb. What can I say about the unquestionable genius of Salilda that has brought so much joy to billions of Indians over the last seventy years (& will undoubtedly continue to do so for all timesto come) that I haven’t already said. He makes me fall in love and gasp with wonderment at his amazing oeuvre every single time I revisit his work.
तलत: आहा रिमझिम के ये प्यारे प्यारे गीत लिए आई रात सुहानी देखो प्रीत लिए मीत मेरे सुनो ज़रा हवा कहे क्या, आ ... सुनो तो ज़रा, झींगर बोले चीकीमीकी चीकीमीकी रिमझिम के ये प्यारे प्यारे गीत लिए Then Lata repeats it
त: (खोई सी भीगी भीगी रात झूमे आँखों में सपनो की बारात झूमे ) - २ दिल की ये दुनिया आज बादलों के साथ झूमे आहा रिमझिम के ये ...
ल: (आ जाओ दिल में बसा लूँ तुम्हें आँखों का कजरा बना लूँ तुम्हें ) - २ जालिम ज़माने की निगाहों से छुपा लूँ तुम्हें आहा रिमझिम के ये ...
त: (हाथों में तेरे मेरा हाथ रहे दिल से जो निकली है वो बात रहे ) - २ मेरा तुम्हारा सारी ज़िन्दगी का साथ रहे आहा रिमझिम के ये ...
Imagine you’ve been working hard in the morning and done the stressful work. The high energy activities of the first part of the day are over and you sit down to a sumptuous meal. You have a bar of chocolate or maybe a cup of coffee or if you’re a Bongobandhu, a Mishti to round it off. And now you get up and put some music in sync with your satisfied mood, one of happiness and satiation with the work you have done and the lovely meal, the taste lingers on in your mouth. If you are a Hindustani Classical Music aficionado like me, you would choose a type of Sarang, Bhimpalasi, Or Multani or Pilu. The four form the most important of the afternoon raags and these individually tend to create a pensive and introspective mood more in keeping with the time of the day. The energy of the late-morning ragas is left behind and a peaceful and sombre mood is brought into effect. I played the raag Pilu today after lunch and the effect was fantastic. Calming and induced a sense of being suspended in the time-space-continuum with all the hustle and bustle of the early morning done with and a time to relax and think, even be meditative about your current actions and plan for the future. Pilu/ Piloo is an Audav- Sampoorna Raag, as Rishabh and Dhaivat are excluded in Aaroh. The Avaroha has all seven swaras, and uses both Gandhars, both Dhaivats and both Nishads. The other four are only used as Shuddha Swaras. One of the most wonderful examples of the raag in Bollywood comes from an unexpected source.
The movie, incidentally marks the last film appearance of Guru Dutt, who unfortunately passed away later in the year of its release. Saanjh Sur Savera has the unusual lead pair of Guru Dutt with Meena Kumari. A weepy melodrama I remember having watched in Secunderabad when Dad was posted in Hakimpet, and has Meena Kumari at her patented sacrificial-lamb finest, somehow made bearable by the presence of Guru Dutt and director Hrishikesh Mukherjee’s light touch, as well as the then popular second romantic pairing of Mehmood and Shubha Khote.
The plot is like extremely corny, to say the least. Meena Kumari loses her father and the dad’s best friend, an Advocate (Manmohan Krishna) takes her into his house. She discovers he has fixed his daughter’s wedding (Zeb Rehman, who does have a limited facial similarity with Meena Kumari ) with a prosperous Doctor in Mumbai. In keeping with the arranged marriages of the time, the good doctor has never met his prospective bride nor seen her.
Zeb Rehman, (aka Preeti Bala, the name she started her film career with) who is in college in Delhi is already in love with a scoundrel called Ramesh. Meena Kumari and the prospective bride’s brother (Mehmood who is a tabla player and has the weirdest of ideas and personal convictions to say the least: just one gem: Women and Music Don’t go well together) help the father with planning the wedding. She goes through with the wedding, but “faints” at the end of it and is carried up to bed and given time to recover.
Predictably, she is gone the next morning and has left a note saying she has eloped with Ramesh. It’s not clear to me why she goes through the wedding in the first place since her basic plan is to marry Ramesh—she could have pretended to faint before it was over, saving many people (including the then perennially suffering Meena Kumari) a lot of misery—but of course there would be no plot left then. The good advocate now tries to commit suicide as his family name is now irretrievably stained, but only gets so far as to suffer a heart attack instead. To save him, instead of getting a good Doctor (excuse me, Wasn’t the groom a famous doctor??)Mehmood gets the Pappuesque idea that Meena Kumari takes Zeb’s place as the bride, since the groom and his family have not seen Zeb’s face yet. This means of course that when the truth comes out (as it always does) Meena Kumari’s name will be mud, her honour will be in tatters and she’ll lose any chance at ever getting personal happiness. Bollywood had decided Meena Kumari’s legendary stature as a tear jerker par excellence should never be wasted even a single time. After knowing this brilliant kernel, if you still want to go ahead and watch, do it, but remember what you are getting into. The song is a wonderful duet that Shankar Jaikishan composed based on the Raag Pilu and is rendered so wonderfully by Rafisaab and Suman Kalyanpur. It must be the period that Rafisaab and Latadidi had clashed on the royalty issue, with Rafisaab taking the line the singers had been paid for the singing and could not demand any more, and Latadidi demanding a share of the royalty for the singers. The argument snow balled out of control and this meant the two: Rafisaab and Latadidi weren’t doing any duets together for a few years. One (wo)man’s folly is another (wo)man’s good luck and Suman Kalyanpur took the opportunity that presented itself unexpectedly and suddenly and grabbed it pretty much with both hands. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGn-YN5yP3Y
Why does a tabalchi sit down in an eminently transparent (ineffective, I must say) disguise of John Lennon like shades and a rather luxuriant outgrowth of facial fungus (suitably greyed and silvered) as the Ustad and starts singing with Tanpura across his legs, which mysteriously plays itself. The lady, surprised at the music teacher’s voice (Rafisaab), breaks out into song herself (Suman Kalyanpur). While she doesn’t like the lecherous old man who suddenly gets up from his seat and starts making a pass at her, (and quite clearly shows her disgust too), she is happy at his doffing the jaalidar topi to reveal his undyed hair (and his id in the process) and indulges in antics that are typically Mehmood’s USP. Hasrat Jaipuri’s lyrics are fabulous and Shankar Jaikishan in the 60s were top of the heap. The two singers gel quite well and the song is a very memorable one.
अजहुँ ना आए बालमा, सावन बीता जाए हाय रे, सावन बीता जाए आ, अजहुँ ना आए बालमा, सावन बीता जाए हाय रे, सावन बीता जाए हॉं, अजहुँ ना आए बालमा, सावन बीता जाए हाय रे, सावन बीता जाए
नींद भी अँखियन द्वार ना आए… नींद भी अँखियन द्वार ना आए, तोसे मिलन की आस भी जाए नींद भी अँखियन द्वार ना आए, तोसे मिलन की आस भी जाए
आई बहार, खिले फुलवा… आ, आई बहार, खिले फुलवा… आई बहार, खिले फुलवा, मोरे सपने कौन सजाए?
आ, अजहुँ ना आए बालमा, सावन बीता जाए हाय रे, सावन बीता जाए हाँ, अजहुँ ना आए बालमा, सावन बीता जाए हाय रे, सावन बीता जाए
चाँद को बदरा गरवा लगाए… चाँद को बदरा गरवा लगाए, और भी मोरा मन ललचाए चाँद को बदरा गरवा लगाए, और भी मोरा मन ललचाए
आ, अजहुँ ना आए बालमा, सावन बीता जाए रे सावन बीता जाए हाँ, अजहुँ ना आए बालमा, सावन बीता जाए हाय रे, सावन बीता जाए
हाय रे, सावन बीता जाए हाय रे, सावन बीता जाए
And the clip which started the entire thought process : my favourite flautist, the one and only Pandit Hariprasad Chourasia , my favourite exponent of the instrument. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOtSjWMKdZI
Stay safe, folks and stay healthy. Hope you like the raag as much as I do.
I went to sleep after an unusually hot and humid day (in September!!) with an extremely ectopic weather for the city I’ve stayed in for four decades. My surprise and silent protest probably reached the ears of the man above. Through the night something changed and we woke up to a day that was extremely unusual, but at the other end of the spectrum, with dark thick clouds and a steady drizzle that was more reminiscent of June, not September.
The song popped up into my head immediately, perhaps because I had written a couple of days ago about Raj Kapoor’s vocal doppelganger, Mukesh, somehow landing up in a very unfair and restrictive contract that didn’t allow him to sing for others (which included R K Films) opening the door to an undercelebrated genius of Bollywood, a complete singer in his own right, Manna Dey to enter, albeit for a brief period, Mukesh’s bastion, RK Films. It is one of the very best of romantic duets of all time. Shankar Jaikishan (the ruling duo of romance), Shailendra, Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar, Raj Kapoor and Nargis make for an amazingly heady mix that’s high on addictive potential. https://youtu.be/-wGDnGMfmf8?si=N8se71kC0mYm-5Bu
ये रात भीगी भीगी, ये मस्त फिजायें उठा धीरे धीरे, वो चाँद प्यारा प्यारा क्यों आग सी लगा के गुमसुम है चांदनी सोने भी नहीं देता, मौसम का ये इशारा
इठलाती हवा, नीलम सा गगन कलियों पे ये बेहोशी की नमी ऐसे में भी क्यों बेचैन है दिल जीवन में न जाने क्या है कमी
जो दिन के उजाले में न मिला दिल ढूंढें ऐसे सपने को इस रात की जगमग में डूबी मैं ढूंढ रही हूँ अपने को
ऐसे में कहीं क्या कोई नहीं भूले से जो हमको याद करे एक हल्की सी मुस्कान से जो सपनों का जहाँ आबाद करे
A wonderful composition based mainly on Kirwani, this is one of my most favourite duets of six decades of listening in to Bollywood. Anant Thakur directed a masterpiece, an adaptation of It happened one night actually, but a very lovable one that to me had some elements of Roman Holiday. Amazing on-screen chemistry between the lead pair, too, in what was, sadly to be their last film together as lead pair. They only appeared together in the one song sequence in Jaagte Raho (Jaago Mohan Pyaare). AVM made this amazing movie and laughed all the way to the bank, recovering their investment more than 15 times over, making it a huge superhit that year at the box office. https://youtu.be/f1DZxkiMjRo?si=AULsqIcG9Bi9L6lC
Stay healthy and happy folks. I’ll get lost in this, one of my absolutely favourite songs of all time through the day. Have a great, memorable weekend. I am sure to get soaked.
After the precise and well orchestrated lunar landing last evening, shown live to an audience of a billion, my thoughts were naturally on the home planet’s twin, it’s soulmate , it’s largest satellite. Romanticized in verse, it has fascinated many an observer over thousands of years.
I woke up thinking of this song. One of the few with both sisters doing the vocal honours. The movie, Sharada has Raj Kapoor with Meena Kumari in the lead. Shyama has an important role. The musical score is by Annasaheb (C Ramachandra). https://youtu.be/TYxifE-oYC8?si=geClIywm578ZXAMa
Meena Kumari looks cute and gets a role that’s quite mixed up. Raj Kapoor falls in love with her when he meets her as an impoverished young lady in an Ashram. He promises to return and marry her after getting parental approval. He does and is shocked to find her already married to an older, richer guy. Imagine his shock! Imagine his greater shock when he finds she has married none other than his own father. Now the paramour-turned-stepmother turns matchmaker and gets Raj Kapoor married to Shyama who joins the gang of the shocked when she discovers her stepmother-in-law and her darling hubby have been dating one other.
L V Prasad made this Hindi version of a superhit Tamizh film Edhir Paradhathu. The Filmfare for the best actress that year went to Nargis for Mother India. Meena Kumari‘s powerful role didn’t get the Filmfare but Shyama did get it for BestSupporting Actress. Raj Kapoor and Meena Kumari later worked together in a movie whose title was a recurring one in Dumb Charades, Char Dil Char Rahein. The music by C Ramachandra is fabulous. Surprisingly Lata Mangeshkar gets a smaller piece of the pie, Asha Bhosle gets more songs from him. Rajinder Krishan was a constant lyricist for Annasaheb and he writes beautifully. How does the emplaned Raj Kapoor hear the song sung on terra firma while he is in mid air beats me. The director overused his creative license and stretched credulity beyond limits.
ओ चाँद जहाँ वो जाए ओ चाँद जहाँ वो जाए तू भी साथ चले जाना कैसे है, कहाँ है वो हर रात खबर लाना ओ चाँद जहाँ वो जाए ओ चाँद
वो राह अगर भूले, आ वो राह अगर भूले तू राह दिखा देना परदेस में राही को मंज़िल का पता देना है पहला सफ़र उनका और देश है अनजाना हर रात खबर लाना ओ चाँद जहाँ वो जाए ओ चाँद
आ कहना मेरे होठों पर, आ कहना मेरे होठों पर रुकती हुई आहें हैं या रास्ता उनका है या रास्ता उनका है या मेरी निगाहें हैं बेताब मुहब्बत का बेताब है अफ़साना ओ चाँद जहाँ वो जाए ओ चाँद
है चाँद क़सम मेरी कुछ और ना तू कहना है चाँद क़सम मेरी कुछ और ना तू कहना कहना के मेरा तुम बिन मुश्किल है यहाँ रहना कहना के मेरा तुम बिन मुश्किल है यहाँ रहना एक दर्द के मारे को अच्छा नही तड़पाना हर रात खबर लाना ओ चाँद जहाँ वो जाए ओ चाँद जहाँ वो जाए ओ चाँद
Typical melodrama from Bollywood. Meena Kumari looks lovely. The late 50s movie means she was in her 20s and Amrohi was yet to torture her with his Kamal.
Stay happy, folks. I saw this movie on DD Mumbai’s weekend show and I don’t think I can really recommend it
After I posted a couplet based on a reflection, the thoughts in my mind were all about reflections.
The song that came to the top of my head is this one, an eternal favourite. It is an amazing song and one of the best of the genre.
The movie, Maya, was about a rich boy who falls in love with a very poor, simple girl is very similar to another Dev Anand movie, Asli Naqli which was released a year later. The first was made with Mala Sinha, the second with Sadhana, both very good actresses who were top of the heap. And yet the one which was released first didn’t do as well commercially as the second one. Despite Dev Anand and Mala Sinha, and a good storyline, it was Salil Chowdhury’s fantastic music which contributed to the movie’s success. https://youtu.be/tKM58M7nwk0
The song is typical of Salilda right from the first notes on the flute. Salilda, Majrooh, Latadidi and Rafisaab can always be trusted to mesmerize their audience, and they do exactly that.
तस्वीर तेरी दिल में जिस दिन से उतारी है
तस्वीर तेरी दिल में जिस दिन से उतारी है फिरूँ तुझे संग ले के नए-नए रंग ले के सपनों की महफ़िल में
तस्वीर तेरी दिल में जिस दिन से उतारी है फिरूँ तुझे संग ले के नए-नए रंग ले के सपनों की महफ़िल में तस्वीर तेरी दिल में
माथे की बिंदिया तू है सनम नैनों का कजरा पिया तेरा ग़म माथे की बिंदिया तू है सनम नैनों का कजरा पिया तेरा ग़म नैन के नीचे-नीचे रहूँ तेरे पीछे-पीछे चलूँ किसी मंज़िल में तस्वीर तेरी दिल में जिस दिन से उतारी है फिरूँ तुझे संग ले के नए-नए रंग ले के सपनों की महफ़िल में तस्वीर तेरी दिल में
तुम से नज़र जब गई है मिल जहाँ है कदम तेरे, वहीं मेरा दिल तुम से नज़र जब गई है मिल जहाँ है कदम तेरे, वहीं मेरा दिल झुके जहाँ पलकें तेरी खुले जहाँ ज़ुल्फ़ें तेरी रहूँ उसी मंज़िल में तस्वीर तेरी दिल में जिस दिन से उतारी है फिरूँ तुझे संग ले के नए-नए रंग ले के सपनों की महफ़िल में तस्वीर तेरी दिल में
तूफ़ान उठाएगी दुनिया मगर रूक न सकेगा दिल का सफ़र तूफ़ान उठाएगी दुनिया मगर रूक न सकेगा दिल का सफ़र
यूँ ही नज़र मिलती होगी यूँ ही शमा जलती होगी तेरी-मेरी मंज़िल में
तस्वीर तेरी दिल में जिस दिन से उतारी है फिरूँ तुझे संग ले के नए-नए रंग ले के सपनों की महफ़िल में तस्वीर तेरी दिल में(तस्वीर तेरी दिल में) जिस दिन से उतारी है(जिस दिन से उतारी है) फिरूँ तुझे संग ले के(फिरूँ तुझे संग ले के) नए-नए रंग ले के(नए-नए रंग ले के) सपनों की महफ़िल में(सपनों की महफ़िल में) तस्वीर तेरी दिल में(तस्वीर तेरी दिल में)
Amazing vocal emoting by both Rafisaab and Latadidi. The composition is just fabulousness expressed through musical notes. One romantic duet no one will ever forget. https://youtu.be/IutdDqYmT58
Stay healthy and happy, folks. May you all love the song by my most favourite composer and seek to revive and live such memories
The morning oldies program on the local FM station is a must listen for both of us. When I am leaving for the hospital, the car audio plays it, or else the home radio plays it as well. We heard this song after ages today.
Of all the great male singers in Bollywood, each has a distinct, separate vocal identity. One can identify a Rafisaab from Mukeshji from Manna da from Talat from Kishoreda from Hemantada from others very easily just a few seconds into the song. There is no convergence/overlap between two singers at all (unlike Lata didi and Suman Kalyanpur, where so many get fooled into believing many songs by the latter are by the Badi Behen) . Of all the male singers for romantic duets, I love Hemantada the most. He brings in a unique quality that’s a heady mix of love, desire, teasing, passion, persuasion and even detachment that’s so different from all others. It would be tough for any woman not to fall in love with the voice and accede to the demand.
The movie Saheli had music clearly identifiable as by Kalyanji Anandji and vocals by Hemanta Kumar Mukhopadhyaya and Lata Mangeshkar (who actually sounds like Suman Kalyanpur ). The romantic pair is Pradeep Kumar and Kalpana. A wonderful song, I actually liked the German Shepherd more than Pradeep Kumar. You’ll see the handsome guy at the beginning of this clip tugging at Kalpana . Unfortunately she dumps him and goes with PK on a Vespa to a lonely road in Aarey Milk Colony, a frequent sighting in movies of the time. Life (& movie making) was so simple those days… Check it out. https://youtu.be/Pd2wvu3aj1s
The lyrics are by Indeevar (whose real name was Shyamlal Babu Rai ).
इतना तो कह दो हमसे तुमसे ही प्यार है तुमसे ही प्यार है इतना तो कह दो हमसे तुमसे ही प्यार है तुमसे ही प्यार है मेरी खामोशी सजना मेरा इक़रार है मेरा इक़रार है
बालों में टाँक दून गर मैं दिल के फूल को कर डौगी माफ़ क्या तुम मेरी इस भूल को तेरी हर भूल से भी तुझसे भी प्यार है तेरे क़दमों में सइयां मेरे संसार है मेरे संसार है इतना तो कह दो हमसे तुमसे ही प्यार है
तुमसे ही प्यार है मेरी खामोशी सजना मेरा इकरार है मेरा इकरार है
जितना बेताब है दिल उतना मज़बूर है तुम से माँगा है तुमको बोलो मंजूर है दे दी है उम्र तुमको दिल भी तुमको दिया अब मेरा अपना क्या है क्या दूँ तुमको पिया क्या दूँ तुमको पिया इतना तो कह दो हमसे तुमसे ही प्यार है तुमसे ही प्यार है मेरी खामोशी सजना मेरा इक़रार है मेरा इक़रार है
Have a wonderful day ahead folks. Enjoy your weekend. I will oxygenate myself
One normally doesn’t quite associate this male singer with this genre of songs. One expects Prabodh Chandra aka Manna Dey to sing a variety of songs, principally those with an Indian Classical Music base or humorous, even rollicking rock and roll type of songs, but very few would expect an out-and-out romantic song from the legend, who was rightfully considered one of the most versatile and celebrated vocalists in Bollywood history. He should be credited in a large measure for success of Indian classical music in Bollywood. He is best known for bringing in Indian classical music in a totally different framework that marked the golden period of Bollywood music.
But he does have a number of romantic songs to his credit. Those may be few but are very memorable. This one is from a late 60s movie, Jyoti, with easily identifiable music by Sachindev Burman. The song with lyrics by Anand Bakshi is just sublime. https://youtu.be/p3A4ODkMGpo
The movie, made by Dulal Guha cast Sanjeev Kumar, (easily the best actor in my younger days) & Nivedita. Aruna Irani and a child actor Suraj have important roles too as do Abhi Bhattacharya and Tarun Bose.
Nivedita is a rather good looking actress who debuted in Shagoon (Tum apna ranj-o-gham) with the actor (who couldn’t act, one more member of the hoary Bollywood tradition) Kamaljeet Rekhi (whose sole fame to claimis his managing to get the great Waheeda Rehman to fall in love with him -impossible things do happen). In that movie she is credited as Libby Rana. She acted in around 10 more movies but faded away from Bollywood and as she herself said in an interview, in 2006, “Okay yes, I was in the movies once. It was fun but you can’t hang on unless you want to suffer on Sunset Boulevard.” She did, after Shagoon, movies like Tu hi meri zindagi, Farishta, Sapna, Bank Robbery, this one, Jyoti, Dharti Kahe Pukar ke, Haveli, Rocky Mera Naam and did Sabse Bada Rupaiya (with Mehmood) before taking a two decades longhiatus and reappearing with Jaan in the mid 90s. You’d recall barely 3-4 out of the names listed and little wonder her career didn’t quite take off.
The lyrics by Anand Bakshi are extremely joyous and optimistic, too. Reminds me of Neeraj‘s style. Anand Bakshi was a wonderful lyricist of this genre and enjoyed the most fruitful period in his partnerships with Laxmikant Pyarelal and Rajesh Khanna.
सोचके ये गगन झूमे सोचके ये गगन झूमे अभी चाँद निकल आएगा झिलमिल चमकेंगे तारे सोचके ये गगन झूमे चाँद जब निकल आएगा देखेगा ना कोई गगन को चाँद को ही देखेंगे सारे चाँद जब निकल आएगा
फूल जो खिले ना तो कैसे ओ ओ फूल जो खिले ना तो कैसे बागों में आए बहार ओ ओ दीप ना जले तो साँवरिया कैसे मिटे अँधकार रात देखो कितनी है काली अभी चाँद निकल आएगा झिलमिल चमकेंगे तारे सोचके ये गगन झूमे
चाँद से भी तुम हसीन हो, चाँद से भी तुम हसीन हो नज़दीक आओ ज़रा ओ ओ चाँद के निकलने तलक तो, तुम जगमगाओ ज़रा रात देखो कितनी है काली अभी चाँद निकल आएगा झिलमिल चमकेंगे तारे सोचके ये गगन झूमे
Absolutely captivating, sublime singing by both Lata Mangeshkar and Manna Dey. I wonder why Mannada didn’t get many more of these songs. https://youtu.be/XpaDlOI-9Hk
Have a wonderful day ahead folks. The morning oldies programmer read my mind and just played this song. Stay blessed. It is going to be a rainy day today as well. Stay safe
The rains have by and large played truant this year. In the shower over the weekend that I was caught up in, I went back in time by some six decades. I remember watching this movie during a vacation in Pune in the 60s, probably in Vijay. Some movies stick in your mind forever.
The movie was made by the greatest showman in Bollywood history, Raj Kapoor. He used a story by Khwaja Ahmed Abbas who collaborated with him a great deal so much so that he almost was part of the Team RK.
This is a famous still frame from the movie. Guess who are the three children who are going for a walk in the rain.
Raj Kapoor’s fascination and indeed, obsession (carefully cultivated, of course, he was a smart cookie , a very savvy businessman) with the Chaplinesque persona of a naïve poor country bumpkin who lands up in a big, bad city without a penny in his pocket in search of a livelihood and getting blinded by the glitz and glamour of the city life to the point where he willy-nilly is dragged/coerced/enticed into doing something very immoral (spurious drug trade in Anari, and a Ponzi scheme involving promises of cheap, affordable housing for the urban poor in this movie), his falling in love with a lady with moral compass in the right place who frowns upon his greed /unethical behaviour and leans on him enough to lead him back to a life of moral rectitude are shared in these movies. What he touched upon in Awaara, he exploited fully in this movie, called Shri 420 (after the section in IPC on cheating) & later in Anari as well.
The movie starts with a penniless orphaned Ranbir Raj (Raj Kapoor, of course) comes to Bombay to make his fortune with his meagre belongings and an upbeat song on his lips (Mera Joota Hai Japani) He pawns his only real possession of value, a gold medal, gambles with the little money he has as he is lured into thinking this is a great way to get rich quickly, loses everything, & the miniscule balance is pilfered by a pick-pocket. He ends up on the beach, meets a kind hearted teacher who runs a private school for young kids, and both fall in love (How and why does she fall for him, I can’t figure out, as he has little to show but his empty pockets and the famous blue eyes). He finds a sundry job in a laundry. When he goes to deliver some clothes to Nadira, she notices that his skills as a card sharper, gets him to accompany her to a casino of sorts, where he wins Rs. 20000/-, which of course is predictably pocketed by the lady. Then a rich industrialist, Nemo (that was actually the name the corpulent actor used in movies) who goes by an improbable name of Sonanand Dharmachand, sees the promising fall guy in the naïve Raj, and hires and the guy thinks he is on his way to a wealthy life. The upright teacher (Nargis who sings nonsense verse like Ichak Dana…) watches the illogical rapid rise up the social ladder to (presumably ill found) riches, and decides to break up with him. Nemo brainwashes Raj Kapoor that in order to make money one must never discriminate between the rich and poor, the motto of the CONgress. So a Ponzi scheme is launched to offer homes to the homeless for a piffling sum of Rs.100/- (which wasn’t a huge amount in the mid 50s). The denouement is along utterly predictable lines even by those times, for सत्यमेव जयते has to happen, after all.
I loved the musical score by Shankar Jaikishan, an inseparable part of Team RK (who were axed unfairly after the debacle of Mera Naam Joker, which was actually RK’s fault, not theirs, the music was excellent, and Manna Dey even picked up the awards for E bhai jara dekh ke chalo) with lyrics by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri. I love the folksy songs, one of which I have covered in a previous blog 2 years ago. https://abchandorkar.wordpress.com/2021/02/07/the-beauty-of-simplicity/
I’ve also covered Nadira’s famous sultry dance sequence based on a Waltz before, twice as a single song as well as in my radio program on songs based on Waltz. The song is wonderful and also noteworthy as the most beautiful Sadhana Shivdasani debuted as an extra dancing in the group around Nadira. But I really love this song that shows simple, heartfelt love. The picturization is just sublime and makes one go a bit soft inside. https://youtu.be/oXLzfldeDcM
A beautiful, beautiful romantic duet by Manna Dey and Lata Mangeshkar (the former chosen despite Mukesh’s presence in the project) with absolutely divine lyrics by Shailendra.
प्यार हुआ इक़रार हुआ है प्यार से फिर क्यों डरता है दिल (कहता है दिल, रस्ता मुश्किल मालूम नहीं है कहाँ मंज़िल ) - २ प्यार हुआ इक़रार हुआ ...
दिल कहे इस मांग को, मैं तारों से संवार दूँ तुमसे नया संसार लूँ, तुमको नया संसार दूँ चाँद और सूरज, दीप गगन के इस धरती पे उतार दूँ आहा हा आहा हा, आ ... प्यार हुआ इक़रार हुआ ...
रातों दसों दिशाओं से, कहेंगी अपनी कहानियाँ प्रीत हमारे प्यार की, दोहराएंगी जवानियाँ मैं न रहूँगी, तुम न रहोगे फिर भी रहेंगी निशानियाँ आहा हा आहा हा, आ ... प्यार हुआ इक़रार हुआ ...
In case you’ve not known nor guessed it, the three children in the sequence are Raj Kapoor’s own: the 3 oldest ones: Randheer, Ritu and Rishi Kapoor.
Have a great day ahead, folks. I will get lost in the song as a salve for the pain. https://youtu.be/De97CquuHcI
After the dreamy start to the day with the cloud descending on the mountain, the first thought that popped up and a song that played in my mind was this one. Two actors with hugely different, rather tragic life stories. Both looked far and wide for love and happiness and were, to differing extents, unsuccessful. Kishore Kumar, otherwise known as something of an eccentric extrovert and a jovial, effervescent actor, singer, composer and even producer/director, was pretty much a sad, introverted and even melancholy person. A much deeper thinker than his on-screen frivolity would have us believe. The movies he made himself show us this aspect, which could be one reason they didn’t do so very well commercially, as the audience didn’t expect to see this facet of Kishoreda’s persona at all. Meena Kumari who stepped into the big bad world of Bollywood as a child actress, got more than a fair share of sad, tragic roles than she would have bargained for and the roles got through to her psyche. Being distinctly unlucky to be in a series of fruitless relationships (pun unintended) didn’t help either. Azaad was a rare, very joyous role that came her way ( as also Dilip Kumar’s way, the poor guy was so badly affected he had to seek the services of a shrink to get out of the deep blue funk his being continually saddled with tragic roles got him into). Meena Kumari and Kishore Kumar got together to make a few memorable movies. 7 all told. From Tamasha in 1952, through Ilzaam in 54, Rukhsana in 55, Naya Andaz and Memsahib in 56, Miss Mary in 57 to the last one, Shararat in 59, they made joyous, fun movies that show a very happy leading lady who was quite pretty. She died aged just 38, he was just 58.
Such a joyous, dreamy song that shows both in a way I would remember them by.
Naya Andaz had a plot somewhat similar to Albela, with the male lead rising from a humble background to enter the world of showbiz and theater and fall in love with the beauteous leading lady. But Naya Andaz has a big fly in the ointment, Pran, up to his usual villainy. Jayant the father of Imtiaz and Amjad Khan plays a kind of sidekick to the theater owner Pran, despite being Meena Kumari’s brother. The music is by O P Nayyar (minus the signature beat) & the lovely lyrics are by Jan Nisar Akhtar.
मेरी नींदों में तुम, मेरे ख़्वाबों में तुम हो चुके हम तुम्हारी मोहब्बत में गुम मेरी नींदों में तुम, मेरे ख़्वाबों में तुम हो चुके हम तुम्हारी मोहब्बत में गुम
मन की बीना की धुन, तू बलम आज सुन मेरी नज़रों ने तुझको लिया आज चुन मन की बीना की धुन, तू बलम आज सुन मेरी नज़रों ने तुझको लिया आज चुन मन की बीना की धुन, तू बलम आज सुन
मेरे दिल की लगी तू, मेरी ज़िंदगी तू मेरी हर नज़र है तेरी दास्तां मेरे दिल की लगी तू, मेरी ज़िंदगी तू मेरी हर नज़र है तेरी दास्तां
मेरे दिल की बहारें तुम्हीको पुकारें तुम्ही से है आबाद मेरा जहाँ मेरे दिल की बहारें तुम्हीको पुकारें तुम्ही से है आबाद मेरा जहाँ
तू मेरा नाज़ है, मेरा अंदाज़ है, दिल की आवाज़ है
मेरे नींदों में तुम, मेरे ख्वाबों में तुम हो चुके हम तुम्हारी मोहब्बत में गुम
मन की बीना की धुन, तू बलम आज सुन मेरी नज़रों ने तुझको लिया आज चुन मन की बीना की धुन, तू बालम आज सुन मेरी नज़रोंने तुझको लिया आज चुन मन की बीना की धुन, तू बालम आज सुन
दिल पे छाई खुशी है, लबों पर हसीं है इन्हें है तेरे प्यार की चाँदनी
झूमती हैं निगाहें, नशा छा रहा है के दिल गा रहा है तेरी रागिनी
हौले-हौले सजन, मेरा केहता है मन अब तो लागी लगन
मेरी नींदो में तुम, मेरे ख़्वाबों में तुम हो चुके हम तुम्हारी मोहब्बत में गुम
मन की बीना की धुन, तू बलम आज सुन
तुम मेरे हो गए हो तो ये चाँद-तारे ये सारे नज़ारे मेरे हो गए
दिल हुआ है दीवाना, समा है सुहाना कहीं क्या तेरे प्यार में खो गए
रातें गाने लगीं, गुनगुनाने लगीं नींद छाने लगी
मेरे नींदों में तुम, मेरे ख़्वाबों में तुम हो चुके हम तुम्हारी मोहब्बत में गुम
मन की बीना की धुन, तू बलम आज सुन
The duet, sung by Kishore Kumar and Shamshad is wonderful, with a Waltz like cadence. Truly uplifting to the spirit.
The running around early today on 1st July, called in India as Doctor’s Day, to commemorate a famous Physician who contributed much to the medical, social and political fields , Dr Bidhan Chandra Roy. A lot of my faithful readers sent me scores of message including Nick Maneckshaw from Philadelphia asking me if I had forgotten to post the song.
This is yet another truly beautiful song which gives me much more pleasure listening to it, than the clip would give on being viewed.
Dame Fortune, like most others of the female sex, is generally most indulgent to the nimble-mettled blockheads.
Thomas Otway
A movie called Kanoon Aur Mujrim is hardly going to get me into the theatres ever, and this was truly no exception. The song is another matter altogether. For the record, the movie was made by S C Jethani and Directed by Sham Jethani and Jiwan Kumar. The movie had some names in the starcast which would surely make this a very likely (and difficult to answer, too) question in quiz competitions. The lead pair is Vijendra Mittal,( one of the most unlikely of men who anyone could ever think of as being anything remotely connected to being a H E R O) and Madhu Malini (The lady has a sweet face, alright and has a passably svelte and attractive figure but I couldn’t quite figure why someone made her walk like a camel with a sore back or buckling knees when shooting this song) The man’s claim to fame is he shares his first name with a tall handsome actor with a great voice and who actually could act. The last name of course is shared with the Steel Magnate. A Google search on the man actually threw up Laxmi Mittal’s picture. There are enough foolhardy/ brave/ drunker gamblers in Bollywood to actually cast him in two movies: Agent 009 and this one, Kanoon Aur Mujrim. A single look at the video clip is sufficient to expel the remotest chance of your watching the movie anywhere, ever. At the most charitable, he looks like a heavily sandpapered version of Kadar Khan, the professor turned funny and part time villain with a face akin to the surface of the moon seen through a 2000 mm lens. The lady’s (Madhu Malini) face and appearance indicated she would enjoy a longer run, and a quick check on her filmography showed she had indeed acted in about 50 odd movies in all the four South Indian languages and a majority of them were actually Hindi Films. Check the song out first. https://youtu.be/E1Psgsbg1JM
The movie had several other ignobles padding up the cast: Bharat Kapoor, Padma Khanna and the two Talpade siblings (Meena and Jayashree). The music was by C Arjun, The C stands for Chandnani.
C Arjun, who should rank among the top composers of Bollywood on merit because of his timeless creations. It was characteristic of the period that in a crowded field of many highly talented composers, some were consigned to B or C grade films for no fault of theirs. C Arjun was one of them. But his music truly towers over the stature of his films. Only one song of his – Paas baitho tabiyat bahal jayegi sung by Rafisaab is enough to give him immortality. Much later his C grade film Jai Santoshi Maa, released in the year of the mighty Sholay and Deewar, established itself as one of the highest grossing films ever on the strength of his music. Incidentally while Sholay was enjoying a massive run (more than 5 years in one theatre) and became a juggernaut which crushed all other films of the year, Jai Santoshi Maa got a very loyal clientele and raked in the moolah by the truckload despite being an utterly trashily made movie.
Originally a Sindhi, he was born on September 1, 1933. After partition his family settled in Baroda. He inherited his musical talent from his father who was a singer. He became assistant to another Sindhi music director Bulo C Rani. He started his career with composing for a Sindhi film Abana. (Some Family Physicians know the word for a product which promises everything under the skies and even the skies but does nothing of the kind) His first Hindi film was Road no 303 . Off and on he got films under nondescript banners with B/C grade cast. That he created memorable music nevertheless did not do much to change his fortunes. His teaming with the lyricist Jaan Nisar Akhtar would rank at par with the best of Sahir Ludhiyanvi’s composed by SD Burman or Roshan. He also composed a number of non film songs. He died at a relatively young age of 59 of heart attack that he suffered at a recording studio. I love this song with Suresh Wadkar and Usha Mangeshkar, who also sang the famous Jai Santoshi Maa song, which was a huge hit and achieved stratospheric popularity.
So this song will go into the category of lovely melodies where one should never be stupid/ foolhardy to watch the movie. Have a great day ahead and a lovely rainy weekend. Stay safe.
Aniruddha Chandorkar 