Best songs of 1946: Wrap Up 3

And the SoY award for the best duet goes to?

In the year-wise reviews of the best songs, as we entered pre-1949, we gradually encountered less and less familiar songs. It became quite pronounced in 1946, in which I could include only 81 MEMORABLE songs in my Overview post, which is far less than the number in the later years, in absolute as well as relative terms. The level of unknown can be gauged from the fact that out of 1270 known song-titles, nothing is known about the singers of about 740 songs, i.e. 58% of all the songs. Of the remaining 534 songs whose singers are credited, here is a chart giving break-up of male solos, female solos and duets. This chart was also included in the Wrap Up 2 relating to the best female solos of 1946.

A picture is worth a thousand words. The total number of duets is more than double of male solos, and about half of female solos, i.e. the ratio of male solos, female solos and duets is 1: 4.04: 2.08, or say 1:4:2. This is in line with the general long-term average of the different types of songs. However, the ratio of MEMORABLE songs is far off from the ratio of the total songs. For male solos, female solos and the duets, the relative ratio of MEMORABLE songs is 1: 1.54: 1.14. That is male solos had relatively far more memorable songs, apparently because of KL Saigal and Surendra factor, and Rafi and other singers also getting many great songs. Female solos is a big loser, possibly because of the absence of Lata Mangeshkar as the Pole Star. Mr Venkataraman has given a very perceptive analysis in his comments on this divergence. The duets hold their position relative to the total.

I must have lost several readers by now. Getting out of statistics, 25 duets in the list of memorable songs include many duets which have achieved iconic status. But more importantly, many readers have gone really deep into the vast sea of the unknown and posted many songs which turn out to be outstanding and some ought to have been included in the Master List. Neeruahaf, KS Bhatia, Mumbaikar8 and N Venkataraman deserve special mention for their effort in finding unknown gems. I would post some of them in the ‘Special Songs’.

Rarely a particular song becomes a runaway winner as was Awaz de kahan hai. This is similar to support for KL Saigal (Shahjahan) for male solos, and Noorjahan’s Jawan hai mohabbat for female solos. I may mention here that the star music director in all the these categories is Naushad, about whom we would get to talk more in the concluding Wrap Up.

Naghma, Canasya, Shalan Lal, Arunji were unreservedly for Aawaz de kahan hai. Anup gave a tie to Awaz de kahan hai with Ek yaad kisi ki yaad rahi. Venkataramanji gave a list of his best ten, including one – Main jab chhdeun prem tarana by Rafi and Mohantara Talpade from Amar Raj, lyrics Pt Fani, music Firoze Nizami – which was not in the Master List. In conclusion he gave tie between Awaz de kahan hai Ek yaad kisi ki yaad rahi and Ja parwane ja for the best spot. The ‘Best’ choices are all familiar territory and all the three duets are spell-binding.

Neeruahaf is really fascinated by the unknown. She also came up with a unique stepwise screening process. Level 1 are the songs that mesmerised us, and naturally feature in the Master List. Level 2 are favourites, some of which may not be in the Master List. The Level 3 is the complete unknown which cannot feature in the Master List, and which she discovered only during the dredging deep for this series. Her choice for the three Levels are as under:

Level 1:
Ek yaad kisi ki yaad rahi
Level 2:
Awaz de kahan hai
Level 3:
(a)    Do hi lafzon ka tha ye fasana by AR Qureshi and Naseem Akhtar from Wamiq Azra
(b)    Main jab chhedun prem tarana by Rafi and Mohantara Talpade from Amar Raj

Her choice for the best duet is Do hi lafzon ka tha ye fasana by AR Qureshi & Naseem Akhtar from Wamiq Azra, lyrics Tanveer Naqvi, music AR Qureshi. I heard this song carefully, but I am really impressed by her choice at Level 3(b), Main jab chhedun prem tarana, which is not in my Master List, and I have included it in ‘Special songs’. This is the category of newly discovered gems, or songs which have some unique feature about them, or simply outstanding and even well-known songs but they are not likely to make the final cut in a big field. So here are the ‘Special songs’ before I come to the Main List of best ten.

Special songs

1. Main jab chhedun prem tarana by Rafi and Mohantara Talpade from Amar Raj, lyrics Pt. Fani, music Firoze Nizami

Rafi did have a good number of solos in the year. However, in duets though some figure in my Master List, there is none which can be treated as a landmark song of the year or his career, unlike the iconic duets mentioned above. Therefore, let me start with this Rafi-Mohantara Talpade duet which has become big favourite of Neeruahaf and Venkataramanji. Mohantara leads in a firm and clear-throated voice. Rafi follows her. Though the song is ‘new’ for most of us, the signs of Rafi’s greatness are clear in his voice modulation and comfort with classical-based tune.

2. Man ki sooni nagariya suhanee bani by Rafi and Amirbai Karnataki from Sona Chaandi, lyrics Khavar Zaman, music Tufail Faruqui

But my favourite among ‘new’ songs is another Rafi duet, now featuring with Amirbai Karnataki. This was added by one of the SoY star guest writers, DP Rangan. This also has Amribai singing in a full-throated, confident style, and Rafi seems to be following her tentatively. But overall this song is so good that Mr Rangan need not have been defensive for not being knowledgeable enough about songs of the years 1946.

3. Mere sapno ki Rani by KL Saigal, Rafi and chorus from Shahjahan, lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Naushad

Is this song a duet, or a KL Saigal solo or a chorus? Had it not been for its historical significance of this being the first and the only song in which Rafi got to sing with his idol, KL Saigal, I would have treated it as a Saigal solo. I have mentioned earlier that for classification, a chorus with one lead and credited singer I put as that singer’s solo, and with two or more identified singers as a duet. I don’t have a separate category for ‘chorus’, except for a rare pure chorus like Naacho gaao naacho (Amrapali, 1966). But in this song Rafi is not only credited, in the last one line ‘Ruhi Ruhi, Ruhi, mere sapno ki Rani’, his voice is quite recognisable. But the most important reason is that I am duty-bound to someone who does not forget (and does not forgive 🙂 ).

4. Shor na karna gulshan mein by Moti & Noorjahan from Dil, music Zafar Khursheed

Which is the most parodied song? Dheere se jana bagiyan mein, SD Burman’s non-film song appears to be a special favourite of parody makers.

5. Oonchi haveli banwa do Munimji by Mohantara Talpade and Hameeda Bano from Phulwari, lyrics Pt Indra, music Hansraj Bahal

Mentioned by Dr Shetty in his comments, this song is representative of the Vintage Era female singing with both the singers singing in full-throated voice. Such lyrics do not refer to a situation in a film story-line; my guess is it is a stage performance song, where the emphasis is on entertainment.

6. Babu babu re dil ko bachana zara by SD Burman and SL Puri from Eight Days, lyrics Gopal Singh Nepali, music SD Burman

We celebrated last October as the month of Sachin Dev Burman and one point of discussion was about his unique style of singing. He was regraded as a great singer in Bengal. Though his singing career started in 1932, his first song in Hindi films, Prem ki pyari nishani, was in 1941 in the film Tajmahal, under another music director. Thus his first song(s) under his own baton were in Eight Days in 1946. We have heard his solo Ummeed bhara panchhi in the Wrap Up 1 on solos. This duet is equally enjoyable, cementing his reputation as a singer with a unique voice.

BEST TEN

The first three songs in the list make automatic entry. The next six come automatically from the Master List in the overview post. For the tenth position I have included an unusual, and hitherto unheard song, as it provides a balance by including Rafi, and the song is very infectious.

1-2. Aawaz de kahan hai duniya meri jawaan hai by Surendra and Noorjahan from Anmol Ghadi, lyrics Tanveer Naqvi, music Naushad

1-2. Ek yaad kisi ki yaad rahi aur saari duniya bhool gaye by GM Durrani and Shamshad Begum from Shama (1946), lyrics Ehsaan Rizvi, music Ghulam Haider

If you have to pick one song of GM Durrani, this would be it. It has a solo version, too, in his voice. This was the absolute peak of Durrani. It is very difficult to choose between this and Aawaz de kahan hai for the No. 1 spot. It is fair that both are declared the joint winners.

3. Ja parwaane ja by Mukesh and Hameeda Bano from Rajputani, lyrics Pt. Indra, music Bulo C Rani

Mukesh had the first mover advantage among his peer great playback singers. That gave him many outstanding duets with Vintage Era female singers. Ja parwaane ja is among the most famous such duets.

4. Kabhi yaad kar ke gali par kar ke chali ana hamaare angana by Chitalkar and Binapani Mukherjee from Safar, lyrics Gopal Singh ‘Nepali’, music C Ramchandra

Was C Ramchnadra a ‘singer’? I don’t know, but he had a Midas touch, whatever he sung as Chitalkar turned out to be gold. This one was roaringly popular.

5. Teri nazar mein main rahun, meri nazar mein tu by Surendra and Suraiya from 1857, lyrics Shevan Rizvi, music Sajjad Hussain

I am surprised at the relative anonymity of Teri nazar mein main rahun. After becoming familiar with the song in the Internet era, I am always charmed by it, and I would have been quite happy to place it at a much higher place than No. 5. Surendra and Suraiya both are at their sweetest, and Sajjad Hussain, famous for his unique composition, comes up with ace.

6. Lagat nazar tori chhalaiya more by Mukesh and Sushila Rani Patel from Gwalan, lyrics Pt. Indra, music Hansraj Bahal

This great Mukesh vintage duet too is a gift of the Internet era, and now there would hardly be a Mukesh fan who is not aware of this song. Hansraj Bahal in his debut year came up with one after another great song in Gwalan, as well as Phulwari and Pujari.

7. Saagar mein uthi do mauzein by Amar and Amirbai Karnataki from Keemat, lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Naushad

The superlative success of Anmol Ghadi and Shahjahan eclipsed Naushad’s songs in Keemat. Out of nine songs at least four will hold you spellbound. Fortunately, the songs are available on the YouTube. Amirbai Karnataki was one of Naushad’s prominent female singers in his pre-Lata Mangeshkar days. He quickly dispensed with Amirbai, Zohrabi Ambalewali etc. after the Lata-Tsunami. Only Shamshad Begum barely survived in his scheme. Amar was one of the male singers along with Shyam Kumar and GM Durrani (and, of course, Surendra) he tried during his pre-Rafi days. This Vintage Era duet is one of the best songs of the film.

8. O sajni saawan ki kaali ghataayein dil ko tadpaayein to kya karun by Khan Mastana and Shamshad Begum from Panditji, lyrics Dukhi Amritsari, music Khan Aziz

What is the criteria of including an unknown song into the Main List? If the tune buzzes into your ears and makes you yearn to listen to it repeatedly. O sajni is this type of song. The singers and the lyricist are uncredited in HFGK. Shamshad Begum’s voice is quite identifiable. The male voice and the lyricist have been identified in this upload. This is a perfect Barahmasa song.

9. Kya jaadu hai tere paas piya by Mukesh and Shamshad Begum from Chehra, lyrics IC Kapoor, music MA Mukhtar

1946 was a very productive year for Mukesh, especially for duets. Here is another of his vintage duets you feel like listening to again and again.

10. Rookhi sookhi main kha lungi…Saawan mein garwa laga lungi paas bula lo more Raja by Rafi & Hameeda Bano from Insaaf, lyrics DN Madhok, music HP Das

I mentioned earlier that none of the Rafi duets in the year achieved the same fame as the iconic duets like Aawaz de kahan hai, or Ek yaad kisi ki yaad rahi, or Kabhi yaad karke gali paar ke. But on careful listening I am floored by this Rafi-Hameeda Bano duet. You would rarely come across wackier lyrics. Our women were supposed to be modest, but the Vintage Era female singers were quite brazen in taking the lead to express their desire for union with their lovers. Here the man mentions many practical difficulties; the moody Darogaji does not give leave, and does not allow him to call her; but she is confident that she would bring him around. But he is more difficult (gusse ka Hitler), and what to talk of her, he does not even care for the Baap. But she does not let go, she can persuade him in minutes. Who is this Darogaji in the song? He does not seem to be the SHO. Is he the father of the hesitant man? I think not. He is a little elevated than the sipahiya in some Vintage Era songs, with the slight variation that his comic persona has been garnished with faux anger.

रूखी सूखी मैं खा लूंगी, पास बुला लो मोरे राजा
हो सावन में गरवा लगा लूंगी
पास बुला लो मोरे राजा

छुट्टी न देवे दरोगा मिजाजी, तोहे बुलाने पे होवे न राजी
राजा उसे मैं समझा लूंगी पास बुला लो मोरे राजा

गुस्से का हिटलर है वो राम जाने, तेरी तो क्या बाप की भी न माने
मिनटों में उसको मना लूंगी
सावन में गरवा लगा लूंगी
पास बुला लो मोरे राजा

I am happy to include this ‘unknown’ duet to the Main List of the best ten duets.

In conclusion,

The Award for the best duet for the year 1946 goes jointly to:

Aawaz de kahan hai – Surendra and Noorjehan (Anmol Ghadi, Naushad), and
Ek yaad kisi ki yaad rahi – GM Durrani and Shamshad Begum (Shama, Ghulam Haider)

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:
The song links have been added from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over these songs, which rests with the respective owners, such as Saregama India Limited and others.

Tagged as: Best duets