Pyarelal Santoshi: Jack of All Trades?

Guest article by DP Rangan as a tribute to the polymath PL Santoshi, the lyricist, dialogue & script writer, actor, singer, producer, director

(Most of us with some familiarity about our vintage films know PL Santoshi as one of the prominent lyricists. His association with C Ramchandra in several blockbusters made his name quite well-known. But very few of us know about his other talents as comes out in this article by DP Rangan. After reading this article you would know that he also produced and directed films, acted and sang in some films, and wrote dialogues, stories, and scripts. One can’t but bow to such a talent.

Mr Rangan has chosen to present his tribute on the 105th birth anniversary of C Ramchandra in recognition of Santoshi’s most prominent association with him. SOY regulars are quite familiar with Mr Rangan. For a septuagenarian with a non-Hindi background to do this kind of thorough work is awe inspiring. Thanks a lot Mr Rangan. – AK)

In one of my earlier posts on lyricists, I had stated that with the advent of talkies from 1931 in India, the triumvirate of  music director, singer and lyricist constituted a major element of film production. It has continued to be so till date, but with a progressive decline in quality over years, particularly in the twenty first century.

Film industry is a conglomerate of different disciplines as is revealed in the details of names of various individuals along with their role at the start of the film projected on the silver screen in the auditorium. I can think of a few constituents – lyricist, dialogue writer, story writer, screen writer, scenario, art director, special effects, actor, producer, director et al.

Pyarelal Santoshi (PS as I will refer to him hereafter) was born Pyarelal Shrivastav on 7th August 1916 in Jabalpur (Central Provinces in those days) in a school head master’s house. From early in life he had a penchant for writing poetry and participated in Kavi Sammelans in schools. He was introduced to films during a shooting in his home town as a dialogue assistant.

He moved to Bombay in search of opportunities in the film world in the late 1930s. In 1937 he joined as a personal assistant to film producer Jaddan Bai (mother of Nargis) and did a bit role in her film Moti Ka Haar (1937) and wrote a few songs too. In the same year he wrote four songs for the film Jeevan Swapna, another Jaddan Bai venture. He joined Ranjeet Movietone in 1937 itself and was a lyricist for 19 movies under their banner till 1941. Most of these movies had Gyan Dutt as music director and a few by Khemchand Prakash (Paagal 1940 and Pardesi 1941). He worked for Bombay Talkies and Prakash Pictures. He then got an opportunity to be the director of the Prabhat Film Company’s Hum Ek Hain (1946), a maiden venture on his part, and wrote dialogues and lyrics in addition. Dev Anand and Rehana had their debut as hero and heroine in this film. PS had a crush on Rehana and got her role in other films, but unfortunately for him it was one-sided.

I came across five films apart from this where he penned songs –  Jeewan Swapna 1937 (4 songs), Adhoori Kahani 1939 (1/12), Paagal 1940 (PS and D N Mahok as lyric writers), Actress 1948 (1/10), Sangram 1950 (1/7)*.

(* No. of songs attributable to PS as against total number of songs in the movie).

Pyarelal Santoshi was a class by himself. Adages are illustrative and not absolute truths.  The one – Jack of all trades but master of none – fails in the case of PS. I am truly amazed to see that he had also handled other portfolios in the cine industry besides writing songs for films. On a rough analysis, of about 116 films he was involved with from 1936 to 2015, the following picture emerges.

(Source: https://www.cinestaan.com/people/pyarelal-santoshi-70884/filmography)

If we assume that Producer/Director is at the apex of the pyramid in the industry, he was a Producer/Director rolled into one for the following four films plus the other hats he put on in them:

Khidki (1948): + Story, Screen, Dialogue writer, Lyricist
Apni Chhaya (1950): + Story, Dialogue writer, Lyricist
Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo (1952): + Dialogue Writer, Lyricist
Miss Chalbaaz (1961): + Screen Writer, Special Effects

In several films he took up assignments as – Screen Writer/Dialogue Writer/Story Writer.  For the film Sargam (1950) he was Director/Scene Writer/Story Writer/Dialogue Writer/Scenario and Lyricist. I have given an illustrative example of his multi-faceted talents.  The very fact he had other roles besides as a lyricist for 42 films out of 116 speaks for itself.

A review of his presence in the film industry from 1936 to 2015 is as follows:

His career took off from 1936  as a lyricist in Vish Vaman and ended with Shaandar in 2015 as a lyricist. From 1940 to 1959 (20 years) he was associated with 66 films in very many aspects of a film besides writing songs and it was almost continuous with no assignments in just two years, i.e.,  1944 and 1945.  These were his active years with a steady workload.  From 1960 to 1979 (12 out of a maximum 20 years with many intermittent breaks) his involvement was just 30 movies.  The long hiatus between 1981 and 2015 remains a puzzle as I could not establish the reason for it.

He was a Director for 20 more films in addition to the 4 movies as a Producer Director. Some of the major films were Shehnai (1947), Sargam (1950), Hum Panchi Ek Daal Ke (1957), Barsaat ki Raat (1960), Opera House (1961), Dil Hi Tho Hai (1963).  No other lyricist could match this I surmise. During his long innings he paired with most of the frontline music directors as Gyan Dutt, Vinod, Khemchand Prakash, Naushad, S D Burman, S N Tripathi, Roshan, Ravi, N Dutta, O P Nayyar, Madan Mohan, and Kalyanji-Anandji.  His association with C. Ramchandra was a special one and the results were a string of great songs and this will be discussed separately.

A rough analysis of a few sample of the movies he was involved in various capacities could be classified as under:

Any lyricist worth his salt has to pen music suited to the movie and also the situation/scene in it where the song is introduced as –  devotional,  trivial,  humorous, romantic, philosophical, pathos-laden etc.  Several songs could also be peppered with meaningless words as “ hee, hoo,  tarara etc.” PS was always the man for the occasion and brought to life the scenes most realistically with his lyrics.  I will try to illustrate this trait of his with a few songs from his films.

1. Mujhe Ram se koi mila de by Vishnupant Pagnis from Sant Tulsidas (1939), music Gyan Dutt

The singer and Leela Chitnis are the lead actors. He is requesting assistance for meeting Ram.

2. Meri aayeen hai teen bhabhiyaan by Zohrabai Ambalewali & Amirbai Karnataki from Hum Ek Hain (1946), music Husnlal Bhagatram

When the newly-wed brother enters the house with the bride and two more brothers already married are there too, their little sister sings this humorous song pulling the legs of her “bhabies”. Early in his career PS shows his ability to wax eloquent with sentences as – Ae ri nanadiya pyari nanadiya, apne bhaiya se humko manga do gaadi. The two frontline singers of that time complete the scene by their elegant singing.

3. Naach mere mor zara naach by Manna Dey from Tere Dwar Khada Bhagwan (1964), music Shanti Kumar Desai

This is one of the three songs written by PS out of ten for the movie.  This song is in praise of God in general and there is a passing reference to Brindavan Kanhaiya.

4. Laddu bhi hai peda bhi hai by Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhonsle & chorus from Chham Chhama Chham (1952), music O P Nayyar

The title itself implies what sort of movie it would be and as expected Kishore Kumar is the hero. This song talks about various eating delicacies and how they are tasteless before love.  All eleven songs are by PS.  Early year O P Nayyar is quite distinct from his later year compositions.

5. Oh main hun postman by Asha Bhonsle & others from Haa Haa Hee Hee Ho Ho (1955), music Vinod (Eric Roberts)

Sajjan and Shyama are in leading roles in this comic movie.  PS was also director of the movie.  There is no live video and I imagine the heroine is describing herself as a postman and what all she is doing. In modern days with letter writing becoming a rare occurrence, postman is a shadowy figure and does not trouble us even during Deepavali.

6. Chalo chalo re sakhi madhuban mein by Suraiya & Rajkumari from Station Master (1942), music Naushad

The picture revolves around the railway station and its station master.  PS wrote the story for this movie.  He was one of the four lyricists (7 out of 12 songs).  This song portrays Ratnamala running over the rails with two children in tow and singing gaily in anticipation of arrival of her  love in the approaching train. The other songs of the movie penned by him shows his ability to integrate them to the theme of the movie. Naushad’s music was tailor-made for the movie and this song is an example.

7. Aaya basant sakhi by Parul Ghosh & Arun Kumar from Basant (1942), music Pannalal Ghosh

A dance song on stage on the theme of Holi festival in Brindavan which has been well portrayed by Mumtaz Ali and Mumtaz Shanti and the lyrics are most appropriate. Music was composed by Anil Biswas, brother in law of Pannalal Ghosh, but credit was given to the latter to avoid contractual complications.  A few more songs from the film were also very popular.

8. Suno suno re kahani by Asha Bhosle, Suman Kalyanpur and Usha Mangeshkar from Hum Panchhi Ek Daal Ke (1957), music N Dutta

A children’s’ film, it won an award for the best Children’s Film at the 5^th National  Film Awards.  PS again showed his mettle in writing this song for children and the three singers have completed the picture. Icing on the cake was this sweet tune by N Dutta.  PS also directed this film jointly with Honee Anhonee.

I left out songs from other well known films, such as – Anhonee (Roshan), Post Box 999 (Kalyanji-Anandji debut), Barsaat Ki Raat (Roshan). PS was Director and Screenwriter for Barsaat Ki Raat and the lyrics were by Sahir Ludhiyanavi.

Pyarelal Santoshi and C Ramchandra

Most of the frontline lyricists established a special relationship with a music director. They were associated with him for quite a number of prominent movies and worked as a team.  PS had one such association with C Ramchandra and the results were songs of all categories which have stood the test of time. PS wrote many non-serious lyrics with meaningless phrases which Chitalkar composed successfully and the audience liked the tunes tremendously. Prime examples are – Main hoon ek khalasi, mera naam hai Bhimpalasi; Sa re ga re sa ni, tinak tin tani (both Sargam), Shin Shinaki Bubla Boo from the movie by the same named. He was thus a pioneer in this type of song writing and other lyricists adopted this  in many subsequent movies over the years. All the songs listed below were written by Pyarelal Santoshi and set to music by C Ramchandra.

9. Aana meri jaan meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday by Chitalkar, Meena Kapur & Shamshad Begum from Shehnai (1947)

This film was released on 15^th August 1947. Besides writing songs, Pyarelal Santoshi played other roles too – Director / Story Writer and Dialogue Writer.  This was the first association of the lyricist and the music director C Ramchandra. The combination flourished thereafter. There were ten songs of which nine were non-serious and this song topped the list. PS wrote near perfect lyrics to match the comic scene enacted by a petit maître Mumtaz Ali, a conservative Dulari and a flamboyant Rehana, This song will hold its niche among listeners of film songs for ever.  While Dulari evades his importunes, Rehana in the later part of the song enters as a vamp and invites him using cozy language.  Look at the lyrics – Oh my sahab come come, tum Romeo Juliet hum, o dear come hear don’t fear, ye gaon ki negative ladki hai, ye dil ki beating kya jaane, ye love ki meening kya jaane. PS was far ahead of the competition in 1947 and this composition alone is enough to confer him a high pedestal.

10. Maari gali maa aao jo Suratwala te piya by Lata Mangeshkar from Namoona (1949)

This is one the four songs written by PS and the other five were shared by four other lyricists, a trend which prevailed then. The beginning line looks like Gujarati and Cuckoo is teasing two standby individuals calling them as ‘Suratwale, Punawale’. The streak of humour running through this song and the matching lilting tune by CR is a great combination. Lata Mangeshkar does full justice to it.

11. Main hoon ek khalasi mera namm hai Bhimpalasi by Chitalkar from Sargam (1950)

PS singlehanded handled many portfolios of the film except that of Producer –  Director/Screen writer/Story Writer/Dialogue Writer/Scenario.  There are ten songs all penned by PS who portrays all situations, serious, light and classical  with matching lyrics.  This one is a light teaser on a stage and the performer is Raj Kapoor.

12. Jab dil ko sataave gham tu chhed sakhi sargam by Lata Mangeshkar from Sargam (1950)

PS is equally at home in penning classical raag-based song like this one which has raags Asavari+Devgandhar+Jaunpuri (as per KL Pandey’s Hindi Cine Raag Encyclopaedia).  Lata Mangeshkar is accompanied by the celebrated classical singer Saraswati Rane.

13. Teri gali mein koi deewana by Lata Mangeshkar from Sangeeta (1950)

PS dwells on the perils and uncertainties of being in love.  This is a sad song from the movie. Besides writing the lyrics he was also story and dialogue writer.

14. Kahnewale sach kah gaye hain by Mohammad Rafi & Chitalkar from Nirala (1950)

PS handled story writing and dialogue writing besides penning songs.  A Dev Anand and Madhubala film, primarily a tragedy – both happy and sad songs are there and I choose this teaser by Mumtaz Ali and his sidekick ogling at the village girls.

15. Kaun hai aisa mehfil mein by Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar & Chorus from Shin Shinaki Boobla Boo (1952)

PS was Producer/Director and dialogue writer for the film.  Ranjan and PS flame Rehna were the principal actors.  I choose this light nice duet, sung very well by a young Kishore Kumar, rarely used by Chitalkar. The film was temporarily banned by film censors. It is averred that PS, put out by the indifferent attitude of Rehana to his overtures, felt sad and wrote a pathos-laden song in the movie – Tum kya jaano tumhari yaad mein hum kitna roye.

16. Aaja tu raja mausam bahar hai by Asha Bhonsle & Sudha Malhotra from Raj Tilak (1958)

A historical extravaganza from the banner of Gemini – the main actors were Gemini Ganesan, Pran, Vyjayanthimala and Padmini.  The story revolves around the famous AKji formulae of G-B-G.  Padmini, one of the Travancore sisters and a noted dancer, starts the dance in a sedate manner and the first antara is likewise versed.  Vyjayanthimala, seeing note of appreciation by Gemini Sanesan and vying for his love, gets up and joins the dance.  She is doing a wild pirouette teasing Padmini with her reply.  Two great dancers put up a memorable performance and Chitalkar’s magic is there to be enjoyed.  PS  wrote the lyrics to match the dance tempo for each and even today this song is loved by listeners. (Note: Mr Rangan refers to a G-type of love triangle which has Girl 1, Girl 2 and Boy 1. I developed the mathematical theory of love triangles long ago in my ‘serious’ review of the film ‘Sangam’ – AK)

PS had a long innings in the film world from 1936 to 1979 and had written about 650 songs for nearly 100 movies.  He played multifarious roles in the industry and was a producer/director for 4 movies.  He received handsome remuneration from the industry and at one time charged as much as a lakh of rupees for a movie. He was not financially prudent and squandered his earnings and as his presence wound down he became bankrupt and was in heavy debt. During his closing years he was on dialysis due to kidney failure and breathed his last in Mumbai on 7th September, 1978 due to heart failure. In his heydays he was in the top rung of the ladder and admired by the film fraternity. The saying – veni, vidi, vici and poeta nascitur non fit – would be most appropriate for him.

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:
The YT links of songs have been embedded only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog claims no copyright over the songs, which belongs to the respective owners.