In our journey in the Time Machine to yearwise review of the best songs of a year, we now enter what is the single most important year in the history of film music. The evolution of Hindi film music can be seen as gradual changes, shaken with major tectonic shifts once in a while. One such tremor happened in 1969 with Aradhana which marked the resurgence of a new Kishore Kumar who became the voice of every hero. It also led to a new kind of sound and musical style which would herald the decline of erstwhile doyens like Naushad, C Ramchandra, OP Nayyar and Shankar-Jaikishan, leaving only SD Burman with his fresh sound unscathed, and emergence of RD Burman as the industry standard. Compared to this, 1949 was a Tsunami. Lata Mangeshkar who had an inconspicuous debut a couple of years earlier, and was gradually being noticed in 1948, burst forth on the scene in 1949 as the would-be defining voice of female playback singing, and marking the beginning of the end of the old courtesan/ theatrical style singing of the vintage singers. Shankar-Jaikishan with their very first film Barsaat shook the music scene with a different kind of orchestration and musical style which was easy on ears. At a very young age they would break into the rarefied world of top music directors and would stay there for two decades.
Naushad and C Ramchandra were two titans vying of for supremacy. S-J’s mentors and the first duo of Hindi films Husnlal-Bhagatram were near their top. Earlier era stalwarts like Khemchand Praksh and Anil Biswas also gave some of their landmark songs in the year. There were several others such as Shyam Sundar, Ghulam Mohammad etc who gave everlasting songs. I consider 1949 not only as the most important watershed in the history of film music, but also the year which gave the largest number of all-time great songs for Lata Mangehskar and some other singers.
Musical landmarks
When they did Barsaat Shankar was 27 and Jaikishan barely 20. At that age, one is awed by the towering giants. But they show supreme confidence in breaking a new ground with orchestration which bore no similarity to anything hitherto known. This was the most prolific year for Naushad with Andaz, Chandni Raat, Dillagi and Dulari, all with outstanding music. These films show an interesting passing of the baton from Shamshad Begum to Lata Mangeshkar. Never before or later he gave music for as many films. C Ramchandra is even more prolific in numbers. His films, too, in the year show a similar transition from the Vintage to the would-be Gold Standard Lata Mangeshkar. We have discussed this in detail earlier in Patanga where this phenomenon is seen most prominently. The Master’s Master Khemchand Prakash writes history with Ayega anewala in Mahal. This film, too, has equally significant presence of the vintage era female singers like Zohrabai Ambalewali and Rajkumari. Badi Bahan was one of the biggest hits of the year on the strength of Husnlal-Bhagatram’s music. This film has some of the career-best songs of Suraiya. HB had a good number of films in the year with more outstanding songs by his favourite singers Suraiya, Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar.
Other important musical compositions
Khemchand Prakash shows his immense diversity with Rimjhim which has Kishore Kumar’s Jagmag karta in KL Saigal style and some great Shamshad Begum songs such as Na tum aye na neend ayi. In Sawan Aya Re he gave Amirbai Karnataki’s mellifluous Main to gawan chali hun kaahe bole papiha and Khan Mastana’s one of the career best Khushi ki aas rahi dil ko aur khushi na mili.
The Roll of Honour of great songs and music directors does not end here. Lata Mangehskar’s dominance in the year would not be complete without Saajan ki galiyan chhod chale (Bazaar) and Baharein phir bhi ayengi (Lahore) by Shyam Sundar and Haye chanda gaye pardes (Chakori) by Hansraj Bahal. These Punjab-school stalwarts had some more everlasting songs, such as Hansraj Bahal’s in Karwat and Raat Ki Rani. Who can forget Vinod’s La ra lappa la ra rappa. Sunehre Din by Gyan Dutt had some absolutely mesmerizing songs by Shamshad Begum (Thandi thandi hawa jo aye), Mukesh (Baharon ne jise chheda hai) and a duet by the two (Maine dekhi jag ki reet meet sab jhoothe pad gaye). One can go on endlessly but we can let it rest here, and take it up in greater detail when we come to category-wise Wrap Ups.
And, lastly, who can forget the Mukesh-Lata duet Ye duniya hai yahan dil ka lagana kisko ata hai by the Unlucky Genius Ghulam Mohammad from Shair. In a display of his diversity he composes some outstanding songs for Rafi (and Lata Mangeshkar) in Paras.
Debut
Roshan debuted with Kedar Sharma’s Neki Aur Bedi which bombed. But as we wold see it has some great songs. The grandest debut was of Shankar Jaikishan with Barsaat. Raj Kapoor had met them in Prithvi Theatres where they were employed as orchestra musicians. RK found them more suited to his vision of music than Ram Ganguli, the Prithvi old-timer, who had composed for his debut production Aag in which Shankar Jaikishan were assistants to him. What a landmark film Barsaat turned out to be. With all the songs becoming superhit, it was also the launch pad of many successful careers. Nimmi born Nawab Banu, daughter of the yesteryear actor-singer, Waheedan Bai, had her debut in Barsaat, and also got her screen name. She fulfilled her ambition of buying a Cadillac from her first movie. Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri as lyricists too debuted with Barsaat. The two lyricsists and the duo S-J alongwith Mukesh, as the voice of Raj Kapoor, would have a long association, making RK Films a hallmark of musical excellence. Ramanand Sagar as the writer of story, screenplay and dialogues was another remarkable debut with this film.
Khayyam debuted as independent music director with Parda under the name Sharmaji. It would take him about four years to start giving music under his name Khayam. OP Nayyar started his entry in Bombay film world with Kaneez for which he gave background music.
Mubarak Begum acted and sang for the first time in Aaiye. We have heard her debut song Mohe aane lagi angadayi, sung in a very conspicuous her idol Suraiya’s style. Sudha Malhotra started her singing career with The Last Message (Chal raha swaraj ka jhagda). It is now established that her claim of the doyen Anil Biswas having introduced her in Arzoo (1950) with Mila gaye nain is wrong.
That brings me to another famous break given by Anil Biswas in Arzoo – Talat Mahmood with the iconic Ae dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal. We know that Talat had a long career with geets and ghazals on AIR/ HMV records, followed by acting and singing in Calcutta under the name Tapan Kumar. Not counting Samapti made by Uma Productions Calcutta, Talat has sung in at least two Bombay based films in 1949 – Rakhi and Swayam Siddha. Therefore, which was his first Hindi film song in Bombay? Are we going to see another Sudha Malhotra discovery?
Lyricists Asad Bhopali with Duniya, SH Bihari with Laadli and Anjum Jaipuri with Shaukeen also began their career in 1949.
Fact file and Trivia
Ayega anewala record mentioned ‘Kamini’ as the singer – the screen name of Madhubala. When the song became a rage, and hundreds of letters poured to know the name of the real singer, radio producers contacted HMV, and Lata Mangeshkar was mentioned on the radio. Since then it became a practice to mention the playback singer’s name. Barsaat became the first film when the film credits mentioned the name of playback singer. This source mentions that Kamal Amrohi wrote the opening lines Khamoh hai zamana and Nakhshab wrote the rest of the lyrics, but the whole song is credited to the latter. It further mentions that Kamal Amrohi wrote the opening lines of Ghabra ke jo hum sar ko and Arzoo Lakhanvi wrote the rest, but this too is credited to Nakhshab Jarachavi. How this song was recorded is described by Lata Mangeshkar in an interview to Javed Akhtar here. Iraan Ki Ek Raat was the last movie directed by the legendary PC Barua, a New Theatres stalwart, famous for Devdas (1935).
As we have seen, several legends are associated with Barsaat. Here is another. It had a scene of Raj Kapoor playing the violin to a lovelorn Nargis leaning on his arms. This was adapted as the iconic logo for RK films. Here is the logo and the scene in inset.
In Dillagi, both Shyam (hero) and Shyam Kumar (negative character) acted. Songs picturised on Shyam were actually sung by Shyam Kumar, but many sources mention just Shyam as the singer, which creates an erroneous impression that actually Shyam himself was the singer; whereas the fact is that Shyam never sang any songs. Shyman Kumar had also acted in some films as a hero. He was also a playback singer, but it seems he never sang for himself. If you are confused you have to blame Arunji. We were so blissful in our ignorance until he started clarifying same name confusions.
Censorship was introduced in India by an Act of Parliament.
Comedian VH Desai, who had a funny and irritating role as a busybody in Andaaz, died of heart attack in the year.
In one of her rare associations with Naushad, Geeta Roy sings Tu mera chand main teri chandni towards the end of Dillagi.
LIST OF MEMORABLE SONGS
Aaiye: Lyrics Nakhshab Jarachavi, Music Shaukat Haidari (Nashad)
1. Mohe aane lagi angadayi – Mubarak Begum
Amar Kahani: Lyrics Rajendra Krishna, Music Husnlal-Bhagatram
2. Khushiyon ka zamana beet gaya – Suraiya
Andaz: Lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, Music Naushad
3. Hum aaj kahin dil kho baithe – Mukesh
4. Tu kahe agar jeevan bhar – Mukesh
5. Koi mere dil mein khushi ban ke aya – Lata Mangeshkar
6. Toote na dil toote na – Mukesh
7. Jhoom jhoom ke nacho aaj – Mukesh
8. Yun to aapas mein bigadate hain khafa hote hain – Rafi & Lata Mangeshkar
9. Uthaye ja unke sitam – Lata Mangeshkar
Badi Bahan: Lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, Rajendra Krishna, Music Husnlal-Bhagatram
10. Chup chup khade ho zaroor koi baat hai – Premlata and Lata Mangeshkar
11. Wo paas rahein ya door rahein – Suraiya
12. Chale jana nahi nain mila ke – Lata Mangeshkar
13. Jo dil mein khushi ban ke aye – Lata Mangeshkar
14. Tum mujhko bhool jaao – Suraiya
15. Likhanewale ne likh di meri taqdeer mein barbadi – Suraiya
16. Mohabbat ke dhokhe mein koi na aaye – Rafi
17. Bigadi bananewale – Suraiya
Baalam: Lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, Music Husnlal-Bhagatram
18. Duniyawalo mujhe bataao kya hai sachcha pyar – Rafi and SD Batish/ Lata Mangeshkar and Suraiya
Barsaat – Music Shankar Jaikishan
19. Hawa mein udata jaaye – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Ramesh Bakshi)
20. Jiya beqaraar hai – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri)
21. Barsaat mein humse mile tum sajan tumse mile hum – Lata Mangeshkar – lyrics Shailendra
22. Mujhe kisi se pyar ho gaya – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Jalal Malihabadi)
23. Meri aankhon mein bas gaya koi re – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri)
24.Tirchhi nazar hai patli kamar hai – Mukesh & Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Shailendra)
25. Main zindagi mei hardam rota hi raha hun – Rafi (lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri)
26. Ab mera kaun sahara – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri)
27. Chhod gaye baalam mujhe haaye akela chhod gaye – Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar (lyricsHasrat Jaipuri)
28. Bichhade huye pardesi ek bar to aana tu – Lata Mangeshkar (lyricsHasrat Jaipuri)
Bazaar: Lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, Music Shyam Sundar
29. Ram qasam main ghunghat ke pat na kholun re – Rajkumari and Satish Batra
30. Chhalla de ja nishani teri meharbani – Shamshad Begum, Rafi and SD Batish
31. Ae mohabbat unse milne ka bahana ban gaya – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar
32. Zara sun lo hum apne pyar ka afsana kahte hain – Lata Mangeshkar and Rajkumari
33. Saajan ki galiyan chhod chale – Lata Mangeshkar
34. Apni nazar se door wo unki nazar se door hum – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar
35. Bhoolnewale ye duniya… Ae dil unko yaad na karna – Lata Mangeshkar
Chakori: Lyrics Mulk Raj Bhakhri, Music Hans Raj Bahal
36. Haye chanda gaye pardes – Lata Mangeshkar
Chandni Raat: Lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, Music Naushad
37. Aankh mili dil chala gaya – Shamshad Begum
38. Chheen ke dil kyun pher li aankhen – Rafi and Shamshad Begum
39. Kaise baje dil ka sitar – Rafi and Shamshad Begum
40. Khabar kya thi ki gham khana padega – Rafi and Shamshad Begum
41. Do din ki khushi raas na ayi mere jee ko – Shamshad Begum
42. Chhaya meri ummmeed ki duniya mein andhera – Shamshad Begum
43. Sainya se bichhud gayi ho more Ram – Amirbai Karnataki and Sadat Khan
44. Dil ho unhe mubarak jo dil ko dhoondte hain – Rafi
Char Din: Lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, Music Shyam Sundar
45. Haseenon ki adayein bhi..Haye ye bhoi sooratwale – Rafi, SD Batish & Rajkumari/ Iqbal, Zohra Ambalewali/ Lata Mangeshkar
Dada: Music Nashad (Shaukat Dehalvi)
46. Tera kisi se pyar tha tu wo zamana bhool ja – Mukesh and Surinder Kaur (lyrics Shevan Rizvi)
Dillagi: Lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, Music Naushad
47. Murliwale murli baja – Suraiya
48. Meri pyari patang – Uma Devi and Shamshad Begum
49. Tu mera chand main teri chandni – Shyam Kumar and Suraiya
50. Tera khayal dil se bhulaya na jayega – Suraiya
51. Is duniya mein ae dilwalo dil ka lagana khel nahi – Rafi
52. Char din ki chandini phir andheri raat hai – Suraiya
53. Nirala mohabbat ka dastoor dekha – Suraiya
54. Tere kooche mein armanon ki duniya le ke aya hun – Rafi
55. Zalim zamana mujho tumse chhuda raha hai – Shyam Kumar and Suraiya
Dulari: Lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, Music Naushad
56. Ae dil tujhe qasam hai tu himmat na harna – Lata Mangeshkar
57. Aankhon mein aa ja dil mein sama ja – Lata Mangeshkar
58. Na wo humse juda honge na ulfat dil se niklegi – Lata Mangeshkar
59. Mohabbat hamari zamana hamara – Lata Mangeshkar
60. Raat rageeli mast nazaare – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar
61. Mil mil ke gayenge ho – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar
62. Suhani raat dhal chuki – Rafi
63. Chandni ayi ban ke pyar – Shamshad Begum
64. Na bol pi pi more angana – Shamshad Begum
Duniya: Music C Ramchandra
65. Is waade ka matlab kya samjhun – Rafi
66. Arman lute dil toot gaya – Suraiya
67. Kismet ke likhe ko mita na sake – Rafi and Suraiya
68. Rona hai to ro chupke chupke – Rafi
Ek Thi Ladki: Lyrics Aziz Kashmiri, Music Vinod
69. Lara lappa lara lappa – Lata Mangeshkar, Rafi and Durrani
70. Ghat kari matwari ghir ayi rasiya re – Zeenat Begum
71. Ab haal-e-dil ya haal-e-jigar kuchh na poochhiye – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar
72. Mere dil ke tadapane ka tamasha dekhnewale – Lata Mangeshkar
Jal Tarang: Music Huslal-Bhagatram
73. Zara tumne dekha to pyar aa gaya – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Kaif Irfani)
Jeet: Lyrics Prem Dhawan, Music Anil Biswas (and Shyam Babu Pathak)
74. Chahe kitni kathin dagar ho – Shankar Dasgupta and Suraiya
75. Tum meet mere tum pran mere – Suraiya
76. Mast pawan hai chanchal dhara – Lata Mangeshkar
77. Kuchh phool khile armanon ke – Suraiya
78. Tum man ki peeda kya samjho – Suraiya
Kamal: Music SD Burman
79. Meri kashti ko mohabbat ka kinara mil gaya – Geeta Roy (lyrics Raja Mehdi Ali Khan)
Kaneez: Music Ghulam Haider
80. Tum kya jano mere mathe ki bindiya ka mol – GM Durrani and Shamshad Begum (lyrics Shatir Ghazanavi)
81. Salaam-e-mohabbat ka matlab bata do – Zeenat Begum (lyrics Hasrat Lakhanavi)
Karwat: Music Hans Raj Bahal
82. Nigahein milane ko ji chahta hai – Paro Devi/Satish (lyrics Saifuddin Saif)
Laadli: Music Anil Biswas
83. Aankhen kah gayin dil ki baat – SD Batish (lyrics Dr Safdar Aah)
84. Tumhare bulane ko ji chahta hai – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Bahzad Lakhanavi)
Lahore: Lyrics Rajendra Krishna, Music Shyam Sundar
85. Duniya hamare pyar ki yunhi jawan rahe – Karan Dewan and Lata Mangeshkar
86. Nazar se door janewale….Baharein phir bhi ayengi – Lata Mangeshkar
Lekh: Music Krishna Dayal
87. Badra ki chhaon tale nanhi nanhi bundiya – Mukesh and Suraiya (lyrics Qamar Jalalabdi)
88. Seene pe mere barq gira kar chale gaye – Suraiya (lyrics AN Khanna)
Mahal: Lyrics Nakhshab Jarachavi, Music Khemchand Prakash
89. Khamosh hai zamana…Ayega anewala – Lata Mangeshkar
90. Chhun chhun ghungharwa baje..Ye raat phir na ayegi – Zohrabai Ambalewali and Rajkumari
91. Mushqil hai bahut mushqil – Lata Mangeshkar
92. Ghabra ke jo hum sar ko takrayein to achchha ho – Rajkumari
93. Ek teer chala dil pe laga haye mera dil – Rajkumari
94. Dil ne phir yaad kiya bewafa laut bhi aa – Lata Mangeshkar
Naach: Music Husnlal-Bhagatram
95. Chhaya saman suhana – Rafi and Suraiya (lyrics Kaif Irfani)
Namoona: Music C Ramchandra
96. Zulm tumhare sah na sake…Ek thes lagi – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Nakhshab Jarachavi)
97. Tamtam se jhanko na Raniji – Shamshad Begum (lyrics PL Santoshi)
Neki Aur Badi: Lyrics Kidar Sharna, Music Roshan
98. Humein bhane lage dil lagane lage – Rajkumari
99. Kyon ji scent lagaya hai – Firoz Dastoor and Amirbai Karnataki
Nishan: Lyrics Pt Indra, Music Rajeshwar Rao, MD Parthasarathi and BK Kalla
100. Jaiyo jaiyo sipahiya bazaar – Shamshad Begum
101. More angana mein balma aaye main sharmayi – Shamshad Begum and Moti
102. Pardes na jaiyo mausam salona hai barsaat ka – Zohrabai Ambalewali and Moti
Paras: Lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, Music Ghulam Mohammad
103. Dil le ke chhupnewale – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar
104. Dil ki lagi ne humko deewana karke chhoda – Rafi
Parda: Music Sharmaji
105. Mere pyare sanam ki hai pyari gali – Asha Bhosle (lyrics Ramanand)
106. Miyanji chori chori mulaqat na karo – Zohrabai Ambalewali (Ramanand)
Patanga: Lyrics Rajendra Krishna, Music C Ramchandra
107. Gore gore mukhade pe gesu jo chha gaye – Shamshad Begum
108. Duniya ko yare phool aur sitare – Shamshad Begum
109. Jisne is duniya mein…O dilwalo dil ka lagana achchha hai – Chitalkar and Shamshad Begum
110. Mere piya gaye Rangoon – Chitalakr and Shamshad Begum
111. Pyar ke jahan ki nirali sarkar hai – Lata Mangeshkar and Shamshad Begum
112. Namaste namaste pahle to ho gayi namaste Namaste – Chitalkar, Rafi, Shamshad Begum and Mohantara
113. Bolo ji dil loge to kya kya doge – Rafi and Shamshad Begum
114. Dil se bhula do tum humein – Lata Mangeshkar
115. Thukra ke janewale..O janewale tune armanon ki – Lata Mangeshkar
116. Mohabbat ki khushi…Kabhi khamosh ho jana – Lata Mangeshkar
Rakhi: Lyrics Sarshar Sailani, Music Husnlal-Bhagatram
117. Teri gali se bahut..Dil par kisi ka teer-e-nazar kha ke rah gaye – Talat Mahmood
Raat Ki Rani: Music Hansraj Bahal
118. Duniya ki sabha pal chhin hi sahi – Geeat Roy (lyrics Rajendra Krishna)
119. Jin raaton mein neend ud jati hai – Rafi (lyrics Arzoo Lakhanavi)
120. Sun to lo mera afsana – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics A Shah Shikarpuri)
Ram Vivah: Music Shankar Rao Vyas
121. Hey chandravadan chanda ki kiran – Rajkumari
Rimjhim: Music Khemchand Prakash
122. Jagmag jagmag karta nikla chand poonam ka pyara – Kishore Kumar (lyrics Bharat Vyas)
123. Na tum aye na neend ayi rumhari yaad hi ayi – Shamshad Begum (lyrics Bharat Vyas)
Sanwariya: Lyrics PL Santoshi, Music C Ramchandra
124. Dua denewale humein do duayein – Chitalkar and Lalita Deulkar
Sawan Aya Re: Music Khemchand Prakash
125. Main to chanda si gori naar – Shamshad Begum (lyrics ‘Gulshan’ Jalalabadi)
126. Pahne pili sari..Main to gawan chali hun – Amirbai Karnataki (lyrics Rammoorti Caturvedi)
127. Khushi ki aas rahi dil ko aur khushi na mili – Khan Mastana (lyrics Arzoo Lakhanavi)
128. Ae dil na mujhe yaad dila yaadein purani – Rafi and Shamshad Begum (lyrics Bharat Vyas)
Shabnam: Lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, Muisc SD Burman
129. Ye duniya roop ki chor – Shamshad Begum
130. Mera dil tadpa ke kahan chala – Geeta Roy
131. Tu mahal mein rahnewali – Mukesh and Shamshad Begum
132. Dekho ayi pahli mohabbat ki raat – Shamshad Begum and chorus
133. Pyar mein tumne dhokha seekha – Mukesh and Shamshad Begum
134. Qismat mein bichhadna tha – Mukesh and Geeta Roy
135. Qadar meri na jani chhod ke janewale – Shamshad Begum
Shair: Lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, Music Ghulam Mohammad
136. Tu door hai aankhon se – Lata Mangeshkar
137. Do bichhade huye dil aapas mein gaye mil – GM Durrani and Lata Mangehkar
138. Ye duniya hai yahan dil ka lagana kisko ata hai – Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar
Singaar: Music Khursheed Anwar
139. Dhadak dhadak tere bin mera jiyra sagri rain sataye re – Suraiya (lyrics DN Madhok)
140. Ari O mohe chhed gaya – Rajkumari and Pushpa Hans (lyrics DN Madhok)
141. Kaun samjhega..Din aane ke dhang niraale hain – Surinder Kaur (lyrics Nakhshab Jarachavi)
Sipahiya: Music C Ramchandra
142. Chahte ho gar..Ankhen ladana chhod do – Chitalkar (lyrics Rammoorti Chaturvedi)
143. Mere sipahiya hamari gali aiyo tumhe meri qasam – Chitalkar and Shamshad Begum (lyrics Raj Kunwar)
144. Hansi hansi na rahi aur khushi khushi na rahi – Lata Mangeshkar (Arzoo Lakahanavi)
145. Dard jaga ke thes laga ke chale gaye haye chale gaye – Lata Mangeshkar (Rammoorti Chaturvedi)
Sunehre Din: Music Gyan Dutt
146. Baharon ne jise chheda hai – Mukesh (lyrics Shevan Rizvi)
147. Lo ji sun lo tumse kahte hain – Mukesh and Surinder Kaur (lyrics DN Madhok)
148. Jiya ka diya piya tim tim – Shamshad Begum and Geeta Dutt (Shekhar)
149. Maine dekhi jag ki reet – Mukesh and Shamshad Begum (lyrics DN Madhok)
150. Tum sang ankhiyan mila ke – Surinder Kaur (lyrics DN Madhok)
151. Thandi thandi hawa jo aye koi chhoti si badariya ko – Surinder Kaur (DN Madhok)
Swayam Siddha: Lyrics Bhawani Prasad Mishra, Music Prafulla Kumar Chaudhary
152. Jo beet gaya so beet gaya – Talat Mahmood
Thes: Lyrics Kidar Sharma, Music Snehal Bhatkar
153. Hum bhi aseer-e-gham hain – Rajkumari
154. Baat to kuchh bhi nahi – Mukesh and Rafi
155. Bolo bolo sajan kuchh to bolo – Mukesh and Rajkumari
Zevarat: Lyrics Habib Sarhadi, Music Hansraj Bahal
156. Saajan ki ot leke – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar
157. Chale aao chale aao mujhe tumse mohabbat hai – Lata Mangeshkar
Special songs
As the readers are aware, an important part of these reviews are ‘Special’ songs which would not fit in any conventional best list, yet they are unique in many respects, and they need to be specially remembered.
1. Ari O mohe chhed gaya by Rajkumar and Pushpa Hans from Singaar, lyrics DN Madhok, music Khursheed Anwar
This is a fabulous dance song in the tradition of O jaanewale baalamwa laut ke aa. Cuckoo is always charming. The male dancer has been identified in some YT links as the famous lyricist Prem Dhawan who also gave music for some well-known films such as Shaheed (1965).
2. Kaun samjhega..Din aane ke dhang niraale hain by Surinder Kaur from Singaar, lyrics Nakhshab Jarachavi, music Khursheed Anwar
From the same film here is another dance, now by the leading lady. Therefore, you have a contrast from Cuckoo’s dance. Yet, the gorgeous voice of the doyenne from Punjab, Surinder Kaur, and delicate movements of the Venus Madhubala make it beautiful.
3. Ram qasam main ghunghat ke pat na kholun re by Rajkumari from Bazaar, lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, music Shyam Sundar
We have seen Yaqub in drag earlier, dancing to Inhi logon ne in Aabroo (1943), composed by Govind Ram. He does a very cute drag act again, with Mishra (?).
4. Kyunji scent lagaya hai by Firoz Dastur and Amirbai Karnataki from Neki Aur Badi (1949), lyrics Kidar Sharma, music Roshan
Roshan’s debut was a disaster. But now its songs are available on YT. This superb duet will linger with you for a long time. Amirbai was a leading singer of her time. Firoz Dastur, besides singing in films, was a renowned classical singer of Kirana gharana. His full-throated, melodious singing in the duet shows his professional training and years of riyaaz. No wonder Kidar Sharma saw Roshan’s talent and persisted with him in Bawre Nain next year. And the rest, as they say, is history.
5. Nigahein milane ko ji chahta hai by Paro Devi/Satish from Karwat (1949), lyrics Saifuddin ‘Saif’, music Hans Raj Bahal
A wonderful twin song. Its mukhda was later used in the famous qawwali in Dil Hi To Hai composed by Roshan. In an exception to my general theory the female version is better.
Female version
Male version
6. Duniyawalo mujhe bataao kya hai sachcha pyaar by Rafi-SD Batish/Lata-Suraiya from Baalam, lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, music Husnlal-Bhagatram
While twin solos are very common, twin duets are extremely rare. The only other example of a double version duet with different sets of singers I know of is Jabse hum tum baharon mein from Main Shadi Karne Chala (1962), composed by Chitragupta – one version by Mukesh and Kamal Barot and the other by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur. You can enjoy both the versions here. A rare male-male and female-female Twin duet song came in this year. This was brought to our notice first by Mumbaikar8.
Male-male duet
Female-female duet
7. Haseenon ki adayein bhi..Haye ye bholi sooratwle dil ka lagana kya jane by Rafi, SD Batish & Rajkumari/ Iqbal, Zohra Ambalewali and Lata Mangeshkar
If you think a twin double was rare, this year saw an even rarer twin triad songs – one version sung by Rafi, SD Batish and Rajkumari, and another version by Iqbal, Zohrabai Ambalewali and Lata Mangehkar. Here is a combined link of this song. While HFGK lists it as two different songs as I have mentioned, there is some doubt whether it was a single song and whether there were six or more singers. In that case, too, it would be an exceptional song with so many distinct singers except the chorus.
8. Jaiyo jaiyo sipahiya bazaar by Shamshad Begum from Nishan, lyrics Pt Indra, music Rajeshwar Rao
If 1949 had some unique multiple version songs, it also had at least two multiple-language songs, both by Shamshad Begum. We have already seen one – Ye duniya roop ki chor from Shabnam while discussing Shamshad Begum’s songs by SD Burman. Here is another one from this fantasy-action thriller from South. P Bhanumati is as charming as Kamini Kaushal. A special attraction is SD Burman’s Rongila rongila rongila re in the Bengali part, which was later adapted by him as Aan milo aan milo Shyam saanwre for Devdas (1955).
9. Baat to kuchh bhi nahi by Mukesh and Rafi from Thes (1949), lyrics Kidar Sharma, music Snehal Bhatkar
A Rafi-Mukesh duet is very rare. This one must be one of their earliest. A slow-paced soothing song.
10. Aankhen kah gayin dil ki baat by SD Batish from Laadli (1949), lyrics Safdar ‘Aah’, music Anil Biswas
Tumhare bulane ko dil chahta hai by Lata Mangeshkar from this film is one of her career best. This song overpowered other good songs from this film. A trained singer in classical music, SD Batish, however, is not among prominent playback singers. He is one of the voices in several well-know qawwalis and multiple-singer songs. The best I know of is Manmohan man mein ho tumhi with Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur from Kaise Kahun (1964), composed by SD Burman. Here is a rare solo by him which bears the class of the maestro Anil Biswas.
Readers may be surprised that I have posted only ten special songs whereas in the overview of 1950 I had given fifteen. In 1949, even 30 would not suffice. I propose to post some special songs in each of the category-wise Wrap Ups. I stop here, and present it before the knowledgeable readers for their comments and nominations for:
And the winners are?
Best male playback singer
Best ‘other’ female playback singer
Best songs of Lata Mangeshkar
Best duets
Best music director
Acknowledgements:
1. Surjit Singh’s site has excellent two-part article on the songs of 1949.
http://films.hindi-movies-songs.com/articles/1949-1.html
http://films.hindi-movies-songs.com/articles/1949-2.html
2. Atul Song A Day
3. Hindi Film Geet Kosh
4. YouTube
{ 107 comments… read them below or add one }
AK
You never cease to amaze with your amazonian skills and efforts. Just when I thought you had reached a zenith in imagination with your previous post, you go on a different track and have begun your favourite pasttime of raising controversies in best song judgement. It is now the turn of forties to be dissected. There would be claims galore for inclusion of more songs or omitted by you in your list. Let me see whether I can add even a single song.
AK
I do beg to differ with you. There is another song of Shamshad Begum in Nishan sung for P Banumathi herself a versatile singer. The song is a replica of what was sung in the Tamil version called – Aboorva Sagodarargal – which begins as “Maanum mayilum addum cholai”. Mr. Venkataraman will bear me out. It is sung in a sweet manner unlike her usual voice. This could have been added by you. Opinions differ. This is a precursor of many more such comments. If Bhatiaji works overtime, you will have a tough time defending your choice.
https://youtu.be/XwvLc2d1rYY
DP Rangan,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. I was aware of Teri meri ye kahani. Thanks for adding it. The game is afoot now.
There is a longer version of the song. The piano interlude in the beginning is very pleasant to hear. Hero and heroine match strokes on the piano. Piano background blends perfectly with the song unlike many contrived ones in many songs I have seen or even the absence of even a single note from this instrument though the scene exhibits the hero or heroine sitting before it.
https://youtu.be/xJUbCnJ2ZhY
AK ji,
Kudos for taking up this all-important year in the annals of Hindi Film Music. Please accept my highest appreciations and thanks for your efforts.
I am of the opinion that this particular year can have no real winners in any category because of the plethora of melody and very talented contribution of many artists.
The year 1949 is itself the biggest winner in all categories.
Its worth nothing that Suraiya acted and sang in about 11 movies in this year.
How this post will end on the blog will be very interesting as well as challenging.
Thanks and congratulations, AK; another feather in your crown.
AK ji;
A splendid collection supplemented by majestic work . 1949 being the year of game changer in the history of vintage musical era ; choosing best out of very best will be really a very tough call for all of us . Once again many congratulations in bringing out the wonderful article .
Rangan ji ;
This time I will be looking at calendar and not watch for my overtime .
Wow! What a year! My internet connection is finally showing signs of life – the prayers of SoY family must have had some effect – and I am going to savour these songs over the next few days before coming back with my list. It will be tough to choose between so many gems.
I can’t recall nearly half the songs from their titles. Looking forward to the pleasure of discovery. Hopefully some of them will trump (Let me use this word once, before we ban it from the dictionary) songs with greater recall value.
AK,
Oh! It’s already that time of the year. Exciting Countdown for the year 1949 is on!
As obvious, by my lack of presence I may not be able to go “all in” this year.
I surely will try my best.
Shall return soon.
AK,
FORGOT to address something.
“This was brought to our notice first by Mumbaikar8.”
क्या खाते हो भाई to maintain this elephant sharp memory.
I keep kicking myself “अपनी तो आधी जिन्दंगी याद करने में गुज़र गयी”
Very nice collection AK. Wonderful songs some interesting changes in orchestration , the arrangement of the Mahal songs never ceases to fascinate me. I would like to put forward three songs by Sajjad Hussain . Not to be included in your best of list and not very well known but you can see the genesis of other songs in these compositions.
This one by Rafi with Sajjad’s use of the dadra taal to provide that semblance of unbalance.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMfNmYcKGuI
From the same film this interesting duet by Rafi and Surinder Kaur, especially the orchestration. The song is almost not a song it is so so conversational.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKNDEpqQoq8
This solo by Surinder Kaur some very interesting changes in the structure you need some stellar breath control to sing this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmM661ZbLN0
To continue, I believe in Roop Lekha Nisar Bazmi either assisted Sajjad or composed some song , one is never quite sure when Sajjad would leave a film.
But here are two lovely compositions by Nisar Bazmi this one sung by Uma Devi in one of your favourite raga’s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C19gjGwg9Oc
And this a duet Uma Devi with K S Ragi again you’ll recognize the raga.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PAL8ceXvfE
Nisar Bazmi could not get his due in India perhaps and had to emigrate to Pakistan. At least “Ranjish hi sahi” is still sung in both countries.
DP Rangan,
It is a lovely song and lovely picturisation. Thanks a lot for adding it.
Mahesh,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. The year 1949 is the winner – very well said. Yet I think the discovery would be very interesting.
Dinesh,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation.
KS Bhatiaji,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation.
Subodh,
What a relief to know your internet has started working. Looking forward to your participation and your articles.
Mumbaikar8,
Where are you off to? Now the internet is in your palm. Looking forward to your substantive participation in the countdown. About your surprised appreciation, my memory is very bad. But I keep note of very important contributions by the readers.
SSW,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. the songs of Roop Lekha grows on you. Thanks a lot for adding these songs. It seems Sajjad Husain was officially not recognised as the music director of this film.
The songs of Hamari Kismat too are very nice. Pag pag thokar khaye jawani and Ye bi hai koi reet anokhi reminds me of Khemchand Prakash and Naushad’s familiar compositions, such as Aaj kahan jaake nazar takrayi from Anokhi Ada. Beautiful songs all the same. Thanks again.
Yes it seems the official MD title was granted to Khan Mastana though the three songs I have linked to were Sajjad’s. It seems Khan Mastana was given credit for two of those compositions too though Sajjad’s creations are unmistakable. You can recognize his touch.
Almost all Hindi film music historians have unequivocally considered the post-Independence 5 year period – 1948 to 1952 – as the most formative period of the 1948-1968 two decades of HFM.
As always, AKji has indeed the stage so well with well-researched, well-presented opening gambit that leaves all SoY readers a very wide latitude in dealing with the subject.
To me, the overview article itself would take some to soak in before I start sharpening my saw for undertaking the in-depth journey.
Ashokji,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Looking forward to your in-depth comments.
AKji,
Thanks for yet another colossal effort and the post should generate a very interesting and intensive debate. Like the previous years, I will take some time to go through the post and deliberate over the songs mentioned in your exhaustive list and come up with my comments and preference in each category, in installments. I have not done my homework this year. More about it later. Until then, thanks once again for this wonderful post.
Venkataramanji,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Like in earlier years,we would again eagerly wait for your comments which add a great deal of value.
AK
Difficult to understand the drift of your thought in selecting songs. In Sipahiya, you have omitted a nice duet by Cithalkar and Lata Mangeshkar – Aye Ankh Ab Na Rona
https://youtu.be/m2HeXH5ScQM
As expected film is not traceable in You Tube and this video is not live
DP Rangan,
There is no mystery. I try to briefly listen to most of the songs available in a year and select the better among them. Another factor is that the list of songs cannot be kept too unwieldy. However, Ae aankh ab na rona is a very good song and could have been included in the list.
AK ji ;
In these beautiful selected songs I wish Lahore songs deserve to be included either in the main stream or in special songs catg. One can not forget Lata’s , one of her best song , Baharen phir bhi ayengi and her duet with Karan Diwan….Duniya hamare pyar ki yun hi jawan rahe . Shyam Sunder gave beautiful compositions in this movie .
Duniya hamari pyar ki…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emO9aQbCHcs
Baharein phir bhi ayengi….
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf70Ahqy-p4
KS Bhatiaji,
Perhaps you missed to see that Lahore songs already figure in the list at #85, 86 and they would surely come up in main awards.
AK ji;
Thanks . Such mistakes do happen with me when the choice is big; sorry for that .
How about this song from Amar Kahani, 1949
Yaad aarahai dilko
https://youtu.be/WtwXcitboeA
DP Rangan,
Yaad aa raga hai dil ko is quite a nice song. But that is as far as it goes. It is exactly like countless HB-Suraiya songs.
I do remember Film “Garibi” 1949 and its songs composed by Bulo c. Rani. I had liked various songs of this movie. We, many relatives had gone to see this movie not particularly for it but to visit newly constructed Liberty Theatre . We did like both the movie and the theatre. I still love those songs, may be out of nostalgia.
AK ji,
My choice-
1. Best male PB singer- Muesh…Tu kahe agar- Andaz
2.Best other female PB singer-Shamshad begum…Na bol pi pi-Dulari
3.Best Lata song- Saajan ki galiyan…Bazaar
4.Best Duet- Lata/Rafi/Durani….Lara lappa- Ek thi ladki
5. Best MD- NAUSHAD…Andaz.
Thanks.
-AD
addendum…
If you decide that lara lappa is not a Duet, then my choice is
Chup chup khade ho…Lata and premlata- Badi Behan
-AD
Arunji,
You are always very clear with your choices. I should clarify all the songs having two or more singers of any gender are treated as duets.
Just ticking off some I remember off-hand and listen to now and then.
Best male playback singer:
Tu kahe agar jeevan bhar – Mukesh
Best ‘other’ female playback singer:
teri meri yeh kahani, Shamshad Begum, Nishan
Best songs of Lata Mangeshkar:
Chale jana nahi nain mila ke – Lata Mangeshkar
Best duets:
Female-female duet
Pyar ke jahan ki nirali sarkar hai – Lata Mangeshkar and Shamshad Begum
Male-Female Duet
Kyon ji scent lagaya hai – Firoz Dastoor and Amirbai Karnataki
Best music director Nauashad
AK Ji, In song 5, you said “In an exception to my general theory the female version is better.” I thought that your theory was the opposite of this.
Gaddeswarupji,
Thanks for your your ranking. As for song #5, please read my sentence again. My general theory is that in twin songs generally the male version is better. Therefore, the exception when the female version sounds better.
AK Ji at 34, Agreed. I misread.
a very happy new year (1949) to all SoY members.
a salute to AKji for his incessant service for ohfm. His passion is matchless.
exhaustive collection of songs from a big big year. It’s not possible to choose a single from a series of best ever Soundtracks like..Barsaat, Dulari, Andaaz, Mahal, BadiBahan, Dillagi, Patanga and many more.
missing one of my favorites:
main woh dulhan hun
raas na aaya jise singaar
main woh chaman hun jis men
na aayi kabhi bahaar
another Rajkumari terrific solo from
PARDA : too sweet
ae dil tere ghamon ka
main kahu kis se fasana
bedard ye duniya hai to
zaalim hai zamaana
the year was a zenith for Husnlal-Bhagatram..had many films in that year.
Saavan Bhado was one of their obscure movies of that era which has wonderful songs.
i love very much Lata’s ” teri is do rangi duniya men koi khush kismat koi bad kismat” from Saavan Bhado.
Lata has also three other solos. All are gems.
Teri ankhiyan saajan chor chor
Tum bin raja nahin mai ka chain
Sau sau gham ne ghera, ek dil mera
and a great duet with zohrabai
chhup chhup rona sikha
tere sang milaake
Lut gayi umeedon ki duniya
khoon hua armaanon ka
apnon ne barbaad kiya
kya shikwa kare begaanon ka
Lut gaya din raat ka aaram kyun…
Jignesh,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. You always come up with unique songs. These will come handy later during discussions.
AK Ji,
Now this is as per your declarations so many times, the tsunami year of Lata Mangeshkar.
How she stormed the Hindi film music, and established herself as the most dominating factor in female singing, began this year
A few more of her great songs are as under
Zindagi ki roshni to kho gayi
Ik andheri raat bas main so gayi,
Film Ladli MD Anil Biswas
https://youtu.be/5z9Qpj8saI4
Two songs from Bholi.
MD Pandit Govindram
Itna bhi beqason ko na aasman sataye
Ki dil Ka dard lab pe Fariyad ban ke aaye
https://youtu.be/jsjqoh-Dngw
Dil todne wale
Kya toone kiya hai
https://youtu.be/T_QrphTctrU
To be continued…
AKji,
I was waiting for this. Truly a remarkable year for Lata and otherwise.
This is gonna be a photo finish. For my most favorite album there is a tie between Dulari and Mahal.
Also, let me put my top ten Lata songs for the year (attempting for the first time :-)) in no particular order and one from each film-
* Uthaye ja unke sitam Andaz Naushad
* Chale jana nahi Badi Bahan HB
* Meri Ankhon main bas gaya Barsaat SJ
* Saajan ki Galiyan Bazaar Shyam Sundar
* Mohabbat hamari zamana Dulari Naushad
* Tumhare bulane ko Laadli AB
* Baharein Phir bhi aayengi Lahore Shyam Sundar
* Mushqil hai bahut mushqil Mahal Khemchand Prakash
* Dil se bhula do tum hamein Patanga CR
* Dard jaga ke Sipahiya CR
Will try for other categories later.
Sharmaji ,
also
Meena Kapoor’s classic
Ek chhoti si chingaari
Main ek chhoti si chingaari
from Laadli
AKji
why did you skip the all time hit “Kaun sune fariyaad hamaari ” ???
on the other hand
first time listening “na wo humse judaa honge”. I have full album of Dulaari since years, but this song wasnt in it !!
AK Ji,
A solo and a duet from Lahore by Lata, composed by Shyamsundar
Toote hue armaano ki duniya,
https://youtu.be/1pLPypH6IJc
Sunlo sajan meri baat.
Hearing the song, one would immediately be reminded of Aise rasiya ka kya aitbaar, composed again by Shyamsundar, and sung by Rafi Lata.
This song is technically a duet, because of an aalap in the middle of the song.
There is something more about the song.
By most uploads, the male singer is mentioned as Karan Diwan, but to my ears, it seems Rafi.
Knowledgeable readers are requested to throw some light on it.
https://youtu.be/gJ6WI1vI0lA
Dear Jignesh,
I was well aware of the Meena Kapoor song, but I’ve firstly concentrated on Lata only. Others I will come later.
Sidharth Ji,
Wonderful list of Lata songs you’ve compiled, and choice may vary about the order of preference, but they seem to be the toppers.
To be continued…
Arvinder Sharmaji,
Thanks for your addition of Lata songs. I must be hearing these for the first time. You have rightly said, it was the yeal of Lata tsunami many times over.
In Sun lo sanan meri baat the aalap is too short to identy the voice definitely, but I would also go with Rafi.
Siddharth,
Your top ten Lata list hits the nail. I can see at least 6-7 of these figuring in every list.
Jignesh,
In a year when Lata Mangeshkar overwhelmed, I was going by more familiar among them. Thanks for adding Kaun sune fariyad hamari.
AK ji ;
This post is a mind blowing excercise . A very difficult to Choose best among the bests . Anyway having done my home work I would like to list a few of the song in each catg. that may find common in other’s lists as well .
A. Best Male singer……
1. Mukesh…..jhoom jhoom ke naacho aaj…..Andaz
2.Rafi………..is duniya mein aye dil walo……Dillagi
3.Rafi…………suhaani raat dhal chukee………Dulari
………………and my choice is Rafi for…..suhaani raat dhal….
B. Best other Female singer…….
1. Suraiya…..Woh paas raahein ya door rahen…..Badi Bahen
2. Suraiya ….Tera khayal dil se…….Dillagi
3.Shamshad begam…..Chandni aayi ban ke …..Dulari
4. Shamshad begam….Na bol pei pei……Dulari
5.Raj kumari……Ek teer chala..haye mera dil……Mahal
….and my choice is Raj kumari for ….Ek teer chala….Mahal
C.Best songs of Lata…….
1. Uthaye ja unke seetam…….Andaz
2. Barsaat mein hum se milye tum….Barsaat
3. Tumhein bhulaney ko jee cahata ……Laadli
4. Mushkil hai chhahat ka mita denaa……Mahal
5. Dil ne phir yaad kiya……Mahal
6. Ayega aane wala ayega…..Mahal
…….and my choice is Ayega aane wala……Mahal
D.Best Duets……..
1. Chup chup kahre ho….Lata, Premlata….Badi bahen.
2. Chhod gaye balam….Mukesh, Lata….Barsaat
3. Tu mera chand main teri chandni…..Shyam, Suraiya…..Dillagi
4. zalim zamaana mujhko yeh din……Shyam, Suraiya……Dillagi
5. Raat rangili mast nazare …….Rafi, Lata…..Dullari
6.Mere piya gaye rangoon…….CR, Shamshad…..Patanga
7. Laara lappa lara lappa…….Rafi ,Lata ,Durrani….Ek Thi Ladki
…..and my choice is…Zalim zammana Shyam, Suraiya in Dillagi
E. Best Music Director…..[ in the order of ranking]
1. Naushad …….Dullari , Andaz Dillagi
2. Khemchand Prakash……Mahal
3. Shanker Jaikishan ……Barsaat [ for giving hits as debutant MDs against many successful MDs ]
KS Bhatiaji,
In your list Rajkumari’s Ghabra ke jo hum sar ko seems to be an omission.
AK ji ;
Yes , ghabra ke jo hum….is a beauty by itself and should be there at par with the other song mentioned at B[6] .
I was also looking for Lata ji’s song …..Tod diya dil mera tune aree bewaff……from Andaz as it was not mentioned in your listing.
KS Bhatiaji,
I was aware some people would mention Tod diya dil mera, but I was going by relative merit, and trying to keep the list manageable.
After looking at the bulging and staggering list of the memorable songs numbering 157 just in one year of 1949, one has to look at this year with awe, wonder and surprize. This year certainly has given curtain down calls for a few olden goodies to usher in the new sharp and shining with the promise of the dawn lights of the aurora, the listeners of the period must have been lost in blindly and submerged in the Tsunami wave. I think that this was a height of the creativity in the department of music more than the story writing though occasionally sparkling shooting stars like the stories of Mahal, Andaz and Barasaat must have amazed the film goers of that period. Most of the stories of the many films were run of the mill like the stories churned out chocolaty tripes published by Mills and Boons the romatntic novels’ for the teenagers. Music certainly did the witchcraft and that became the deciding factor of the future films and even the later daring Producers directors like B.R.Chopra boldly tried out a film or two without music and never again did that experiment. The music gripped the body of the film and the film makers, like the iron cufflinks and that excluded the universal audience and the Indian films became films exclusively for the sub-continental audience. Indian filmmakers excelled in one area and none in the other. Though, later films like Ăwārā made a striking influence on the Soviet Russia and Middle Eastern countries. The roots and branches of all this and future of the Indian film industry seemed to be congregated into this one year. Perhaps the Indian Independence was the force of the freedom for the film makers as well.
We have to give generous praise to AK for painting the picture of 1949 with three dimensional colours and brought out the forgotten landmark year alive in front of our physical eyes and ears and inward eyes as well.
Shalan Lal
Shalan Lal,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. I would wait for your substantive views of your best favourites in different categories.
AK @ 54
And the winners are?
Following is my verdict made on my listening ears and reflections long after the event of 1949. I was very small at that time and listening to music mainly from the winding gramophone as I did not like the darkness of theatre and would cry and was immediately taken out.
Best male playback singer
4. Tu kahe agar jeevan bhar – Mukesh Andaz
6. Toote na dil toote na – Mukesh Andaz
Best Lyricist: Majrooh who showed high quality of poetry, choice of words and musicality in his verses.
Best ‘other’ female playback singers
70. Ghat kari matwari ghir ayi rasiya re – Zeenat Begum Ek Thi Laraki
92. Ghabra ke jo hum sar ko takrayein to achchha ho – Rajkumari Mahal
93. Ek teer chala dil pe laga haye mera dil – Rajkumari Mahal
(If Lata would not have arrived in the filmy music world the veteran Rajkumari would have ably led all the melodies in the film Mahal with the same effect as Lata created)
121. Hey chandravadan chanda ki kiran – Rajkumari Ram Vivah
126. Pahne pili sari..Main to gawan chali hun – Amirbai Karnataki (lyrics Rammoorti Caturvedi) Sawan Aya Re
129. Ye duniya roop ki chor – Shamshad Begum Shabnam
130. Mera dil tadpa ke kahan chala – Geeta Roy ditto
Best songs of Lata Mangeshkar
12. Chale jana nahi nain mila ke – Lata Mangeshkar Bari Bahen
9. Uthaye ja unke sitam – Lata Mangeshkar Andaz
9 A. Meri Ladli Re Meri Ladli Re Bani Hai Tu ditto
(The above song started children’s birthday party songs. It was equally popular as other songs of Andaz. Lata showed in short time that she could handle all kinds of melodies and rhythms.)
19. Hawa mein udata jaaye – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Ramesh Bakshi) Barsaat
22. Mujhe kisi se pyar ho gaya – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Jalal Malihabadi) ditto
(At the end of the above song Nargis swoons on the left arm of RK giving the RK trademark)
23. Meri aankhon mein bas gaya koi re – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri) ditto
114. Dil se bhula do tum humein – Lata Mangeshkar Patanga
115. Thukra ke janewale..O janewale tune armanon ki – Lata Mangeshkar ditto
116. Mohabbat ki khushi…Kabhi khamosh ho jana – Lata Mangeshkar ditto
33. Saajan ki galiyan chhod chale – Lata Mangeshkar Bazaar
84. Tumhare bulane ko, ji chahta hai – Lata Mangeshkar (lyrics Bahzad Lakhanavi) Ladli (The sweetness of this song exceeds that of fresh honey.)
89. Khamosh hai zamana…Ayega anewala – Lata Mangeshkar Mahal
(The song created thrilling dream and drama first time on the Indian screen and lata handled suspense and other emotions in her singing.)
Best duets
5. Nigahein milane ko ji chahta hai by Paro Devi/Satish from Karwat (1949), lyrics Saifuddin ‘Saif’, music Hans Raj Bahal
31. Ae mohabbat unse milne ka bahana ban gaya – Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar Bazaar
74. Chahe kitni kathin dagar ho – Shankar Dasgupta and Suraiya Jeet
133. Pyar mein tumne dhokha seekha – Mukesh and Shamshad Begum Shabnam
149. Maine dekhi jag ki reet – Mukesh and Shamshad Begum (lyrics DN Madhok) Sunhare Din
Best music director
Shankar Jaikishan as Barasaat ran 75 weeks at the Liberty film theatre, Bombay
Shalan Lal
Shalan Lal,
This is a great list. On the best MD, you are very unequivocal about SJ. No room for Naushad, C Ramchandra?
AK ji ;
I too was a little confused as to whom should I vote as best MD .
[A]…. KS Bhatia , as a youth will vote for SJ …..as during those days we used to sing and hum Barsaat songs all the time . In most of the public places, markets , marriages , radio……nothing but Barsaat songs were heard .
[B]……KS Bhatia , as a middle aged person , when horizon widdened to listen to other quality songs ……..will vote for Naushad for Dullari, Andaz and Dillagi .
[C]……KS Bhatia , as of now , will vote for Khemchand Prakash for the excellent and exceptional songs by all the playback artistes for the movie Mahal . The vote goes to Naushad as well as he was Asstt, MD of Mahal .
KS Bhatiaji,
This is an interesting perspective.
Comments @ 56 & 57
Barasaat was seventyfive weeks at the Liberty was a deciding factor. The Liberty is a very huge audience capacity newly built theatre then, had Andaz running for six weeks only until Barasaat took over. No other film made that kind of success later on at the Liberty.
Sholey ran more than three years in Bombay but not all in one theatre.
There were many MDs I consider who were superior to SJ in musicality but they all had their names written in the gold in the decade of forties. As AK mentioned SJ were young and in their twenties who had huge success after the Barasaat and they did not look back or were subdued by the glories of AB, Naushad, C.Ramchandra etc. They left them far behind sulking. They became a phenomenon in the music world. So my verdict is according to their success. This does not mean I do not or did not enjoy the Music of the veterans.
Shalan Lal
Sholey ran more than three years in Bombay but not all in one theatre.
@Shalan Lal, for what it’s worth, Sholay ran for five years – from 1975 to 1980 – at one single theatre, Minerva, in Bombay.
Bhatiaji
you brought new dimensions to view the scene. मज़ा आ गया !
I am also voting for KP for his extra ordinary music for Mahal.
Jignesh Kotadia ji;
Thanks for the ditto vote . Now waiting for the veto. I think many of SoY members of our age group will agree to the ranking as proposed .
Anu Warrier @ 60
As you have insisted, it must be true that Sholay might have ran for five years at the Minerva.
But my memory is different that I saw it in another film theatre the name of which I cannot remember.
Perhaps Mr Arun Kumar Dehsmukha may throw some light on this matter.
But whatever the truth is, it will not harm what I have mentioned about Barasaat and my reasons for SJ being the domineering in the year 1949.
Then again we have to give allowance to each other for their choice for selecting the Best Musician of the year accorsing to their choice and equally respect their decision.
Thanks for your information.
Shalan Lal
AK ji,
SHOLEY-75 was released in Minerva Theatre in Bombay on 15-8-1975 and it ran in that theatre alone for 286 weeks, i.e. 5 years 6 months and 2 weeks at a stretch, without any break. It created many records. Other than Bombay, the film was released at other centres only in October 1975 onwards.
Ref. obituary of G.P.Sippy by Haresh Pandya in New York Times dated
27th Dec 2007.
-AD
Arunji,
Thanks a lot for this information. This is what I had known. I think this record was beaten by Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge.
AKD @64 & AK @65
Arunkumar D you are a golden mine of information. Your correctenss will win Anu W more points.
Just as the information point do the theatres Liberty and Minarva have the same sitting capacity? Further more Liberty at that time was first Indian film theatre that had Air Condition and push back chairs for luxury.
Shalan
AK ji, / Shalan Lal ji,
Minerva Theatre had 1501 seats.
For film Sholey, some seats were removed to get better sound in Stereophonic, still it had 1390 seats.
Liberty had only 1200 seats throughout for all films.
-AD
REGAL , built in 1933, was the first A/C Film Theatre in India,as per Lima Record Book.
-AD
Arunkumar Deshmukh @67 & 68
Your information is very enriching. I wonder if any one has done the history of Film/Play theatres in Bombay/Mumbai. It will be wonderful to read the rise and fall of the film culture in Bombay.
Thanks for your very interesting information.
Shalan Lal
KS Bhatiaji @57,
The stages are also relevant to the 3 MDs w.r.t to their careers.
As of now I would say it is a close race.
I find another omission in the comprehensive list.
Film – Sampatti (1949) Lyrist Pt. Bhushan, Music Timir Baran
Here is a Talat Mahmood solo – Haaye Maine Kya Kiya
https://youtu.be/4l40xhUyEyM
There are two more duets by Talat Mahmood and Superwa Sarkar
AK ji
You have rightly nominated 1949 to be the single most important year in Hindi film music (may I add, “after the introduction of playback singing”).
157 songs have been listed. It is important to observe the statistical fact that females dominate the list. I noticed that 22 male solo songs have been listed, the distribution among singers is:
Mohd Rafi 11
Mukesh 05
Talat Mahmood 02
Chitalkat, Khan Mastana,
SD Batish and Kishore Kumar 01 each
Both Rafi and Mukesh got to sing many excellent songs. After careful listening, I shortlisted the two best male solos to be:
Tu kahe agar (Andaz) and Suhani Raat Dhal chuki (Dulari).
The Mukhda/sthayee of ‘Suhani raat’ starts beautifully with initial notes of sa re sa sa re. The first line of the antara ‘nazaare apni mastiyan’ suddenly takes the listeners to higher pitch octave (taar saptak) and touches very high notes dha and pancham. This is quite an unconventional composition because of this factor. Yet Mohammad Rafi has sung with silken smoothness and with great skill. In the next antara ‘tadap rahe hain hum’, the notes are comparatively sedate. Thus we notice that Naushad and Shakeel had great understanding of each others’ thought process. Rafi has sung this song with such finesse that music directors noted that here was a naturally gifted singer with impeccable diction and presentation skill.
Matching the beauty of ‘suhani raat’ is the song ‘tu kahe agar’. The early songs of Mukesh gave a hint that he was much influenced by the singing technique of the great KL Saigal. In this song Mukesh shifts into his own style. In the middle of the first antara, he sings the high pitch notes ‘mein raag hoon tu veena hai’ magnificently. Naushad has used western instruments in ample measure in this song. Furthermore, percussion instruments (including ghatam and jhankar instruments) have been used skillfully in order to support the dancer on the screen. The beat patterns change a number of times. (This method was used often by OP Nayyar and Shankar Jaikishan). Thus I would say that this was a trend –setting song. Before 1949, the flow of songs was generally docile. Now songs like ‘tu kahe agar’, ‘lara lappa’ and ‘chup-chup khade ho jaroor koi’ made use of quicker tempo and fast paced interludes, much to the delight of a nation which had got freedom recently.
I vote for sharing of prize between the above two songs of Rafi and Mukesh.
Tyagiji,
Thanks for your very erudite explanation about your choice. Suhani raat dhal chuki is the first landmark song of Rafi. It still has a towering presence among his all time greats. Mukesh’s all songs in Andaaz are outstanding. It is a difficultt choice, but I agree that Tu kahe agar is unique for Mukesh’ smooth glide to and from high notes.
Mr. Tyagi that is a very nice paragraph. I agree with you on the movements of the notes, though to me the “Suhaani raat” goes “sa re slide to sa, sa re ma”, the slide to the madhyam is quite interesting as you would expect a Pahadi based raga to touch “ga” but here it just slides through to the ma. One of Naushad’s best compositions in my opinion and judicious use of the muted trumpet , the guitar, the oboe or cor anglais (I cannot figure out which) and the piano. The most interesting thing is the sitar following Rafi’s voice throughout the antaras almost like a voice violin.
AK and SSW
Thanks for kind appreciation. SSW has so nicely commented on flow to madhyam in the antara of suhani raat, skipping gandhara swar. AK has reinfo
rced the view that it is a landmark song.
Arun Kumar Deshmukh @68 ;
The closing of Regal cinema at , c p, new delhi is a sad news for fans of classic cinemas . The musical journey really took off from the various cinema halls of c.p . which we have enjoyed over a long period of time.
It was a great welcome feeling when we were greeted by a beautiful musical instrumental music which was played before and after the show. I have checked up on YT . It is not there . Some one posting the link will be a great service .
@76
If this information is correct, it is sad news indeed. Another iconic landmark has been silenced. Your observation about instrumental being played before and after show is correct. I have heard a very nice piece played on the piano as we wander in the lobby prior to show. The same music I have heard for several years. It must be a copy of some western tune. It could be a Chopin piece. I have only a memory of it.
Here are my best ten songs of Lata Mangeshkar for the year 1949.
1. Aayega Aanewala , film Mahal, lyrics Nakhshab Jaaravchi, music Khemchand Prakash
2. Barsat Me Humse Mile Tum Sajan, film Barsaat, lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar-Jaikishan
3. Hawa Mein Udta Jaye, film Barsaat, lyrics Ramesh Shastry, music Shankar-Jaikishan
4. Uthaye Ja Unke Sitam Aur Jiye Ja, film Andaz, lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Naushad
5. Chale Jana Nahi Nain Milake, film Badi Behan, lyrics Rajendra Krishan, music Husnlal-Bhagatram
6. Tumhaare Bulaane Ko Ji Chaahataa Hai, film Laadli, lyrics Prem Dhawan, music Anil Biswas
7. Ai Dil Tujhe Kasam Hai, film Dulari, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad
8. Ghir Ghir Ke Aayi Badariya, film EK thi ladki, lyrics Aziz Kashmiri, music Vinod
9. Bahaaren Phir Bhi Aayengi, film Lahore, lyrics Rajendra Krishan, music Shyamsundar
10. Mere Dil Ke Tadapne Ka Tamasha Dekhne, film EK thi ladki, lyrics Aziz Kashmiri, music Vinod
The above song (#10) was repeated in the film Sabzbaag in the year 1951. On that count if this song gets disqualified, then any of the following songs can replace the above song.
10a. Tu door hai aankhon se, film Shair, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Ghulam Mohammad
10b. Zindagi Ki Roshni To Kha Gayi, film Laadli, lyrics Chandrasekhar Pandey, music Anil Biswas
10c. Sajan Ki Galiyan Chhod Chale, film Bazaar, lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, music Shyamsundar
Venkataramanji,
Thanks a lot for your comments. I was waiting for your response. You have a lot of choices for Lata Mangeshkar. Did you consciously leave out Patanga (CR)?
The high point of this series has been your statistical analysis. Is that also on the anvil?
Akji,
I could not complete the necessary groundwork due to several reasons. Hence I am ill equipped to do any statistical analysis for 1949. Moreover, the numbers of films for the four years from 1946 to 1949 were very high and hence the number songs too. In fact, if I am not mistaken, the year 1949 had the second highest number of films for the period 1941-1970.
I relied on your master list (which I feel was exhaustive enough) and listened to all the songs (female solos) mentioned in your list before I posted my preference. Some of the songs from Patanga were very much there in my previous list, so you can say that it was a conscious decision to leave out the songs of Patanga. Time was running out and I felt you will be coming out with your first wrap-up within this month so I did a quick listening before selecting my preference.
Here are my best ten songs of other female singers for the year 1949.
1. Aye Chaand Tere Sath To Rahte Hai Sitare by Surinder Kaur, film Dada, lyrics Shewan Rizvi, music Nashad
2. Chandni Aayi Banke Pyar, O Sajna, O Sajna by Shamshad Begum, film Dulari, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad
3. Dhadak dhadak tere bin mera jiyra sagri rain sataye re by Suraiya, film Singaar, lyrics D N Madhok, music Khursheed Anwar
4. Duniya ki sabha pal chhin hi sahi by Geeta Dutt, film Raat Ki Raani, lyrics Rajendra Krishan, music Hansraj Behl
5. Ghabaraa Ke Jo Ham Sar Ko Takaraaen To Achchhaa Ho by Rajkumari, film Mahal, lyrics Nakhshab Jaaravchi, music Khemchand Prakash
6. Ghat Kari Matwari Ghir Aayi Rasiya Re by Zeenat Begum, film EK thi ladki, lyrics Aziz Kashmiri, music Vinod
7. He Chandravadan Chanda Ki Kiran by Rajkumari, film Ram Vivah, lyrics (?), music Shankar Rao Vyas
8. Naa Bol Pee Pee More Angana by Shamshad Begum, film Dulari, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad
9. Nigahe Milane Ko Ji Chahta Hai by Paro Devi, film Karwat, lyrics Saiffuddin Saif, music Hansraj Behl
10. Woh Pass Rahe,film Badi Behan by Suraiya, lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, music Husnlal-Bhagatram
Venkataramanji,
In ‘others’ I find more songs which would not occur to me at the first instance. I would have to listen to #1, 3, 4 and 7 again.
Thanks a lot for your comments.
AKji
I am posting two songs, one each of Surendra and G M Durrani, which could have been included in the master list.
Itni Si Kahani Hai by G M Durrani, film Aaiye, lyrics Nakshab Jarchavi, music Shaukat Dehlvi Nashad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-d-wplPWzc
Jhum Jhum Ke Nach Re Manawa Nach Re Manawa by Surendra, film Kamal, lyrics Prem Dhawan, music S D Burman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tw8swJ6lRso
N Venkatraman ji ;
Wow ! Simply great uploads . Heard for the first time . G M Durrani’ s song is one of his best . Thanks for posting the same .
Please listen to these two songs.
Thukaraa Ke Hamen Chal Die Begaanaa Samajh Kar by Md.Rafi, film Balam, lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, music Husnlal-Bhagatram
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L62OXrkRkbg
Mere Bhagwan Tu Mujhko Yu Hi by Md.Rafi, film Bazaar, lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, music Shyamsundar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzTJ1QLyUPw
Venkataramanji,
Among the songs you have posted, Jhoom jhoom ke naach re manwa by Surendra is an inadvertent omission. It should have been in the main list. Thanks for mentioning it.
Surendra once again in Kamal
https://youtu.be/r871yYz2ny0
Lata in Uddhar
https://youtu.be/dGeuCsOTmBQ
Suraiyya and Rafi in Naach
https://youtu.be/DYHfYxGEkgw
Bholi with Govindram’s music has 10 songs and 8 of them feature Shamshad Begum which I am yet to explore.
The remaining two are in the voice of …..
well here they are.
https://youtu.be/T_QrphTctrU?list=PLJPVnRREEEL7cO2i-_Zl_Aj52I-9CnXVu
https://youtu.be/jsjqoh-Dngw
Mahesh,
You have proved your words, I had indeed missed some very nice songs. From your contribution my pick is the Rafi-Suraiya duet from Naach – Ae ishq humein barbaad na kar. It deserves a place in the main list. Surendra’s from Kamal – Ab raat gayi hai beet re is his usual very melodious standard. He never disappointed. Lata Mangeshkar’s Dil todnewale from Bhooli is also very good. (It seems both the links from this film are of the same song.) Thanks a lot for these additions.
AK ji;
Mahesh ji have really added fantastic songs that qualifies to be included in the listing of best songs . Govindram also deserves to be in the league of best MDs .
Mahesh ji , thanks for posting the songs.
AKji,
The year 1949 was a great year male solos and Md.Rafi stood out in comparison with others. Besides Mukesh, the ‘other’ male singers like Khan Mastana, Kishore Kumar, S D Batish, Satish, Surendra, Talat Mahmood and G M Durrani also came out with some good numbers. I have picked four singers from this list.
Here is my final list of male solo songs for the year 1949.
1. Jhum Jhum Ke Nacho Aaj Nacho Aaj by Mukesh, film Andaz, lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Naushad
2. Tu Kahe Agar Jiwan Bhar Main Geet Sunata by Mukesh, film Andaz, lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music Naushad
3. Main Zindagi Men Haradam Rotaa Hi Rahaa Hun by Md.Rafi, film Barsaat, lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Shankar-Jaikishan
4. Tere Kuche Me Armano Ki Duniya Le Ke by Md.Rafi, Film Dillagi, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad
5. Is Duniya Mein by Md.Rafi, film Dillagi, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad
6. Suhani Raat Dhal Chuki by Md.Rafi, film Dulari, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad
7. Jin raaton mein neend ud jati hai by Md.Rafi, film Raat Ki Raani, lyrics Arzoo Lakhnavi, music Hansraj Behl
8. Khushi ki aas rahi dil ko aur khushi na mili by Khan Mastaana, film Sawan Aaye Re, lyrics Arzoo Lakhnavi, music Khemchand Prakash
9. Aankhe Keh Gayi Dil Ki Baat by S D Batish, film Laadli, lyrics Safdar Aah, music Anil Biswas
10. Jagmag jagmag karta nikla chand poonam ka pyara by Kishore Kumar, film Rhim Jhim, lyrics Bharat Vyas, music Khemchand Prakash
Or
Jhum Jhum Ke Nach Re Manawa Nach Re Manawa by Surendra, film Kamal, lyrics Prem Dhawan, music S D Burman
Venkataramanji,
This is a perfect list. But I am sure when you come to female solos, the numbers are many times larger.
https://youtu.be/4l40xhUyEyM
https://youtu.be/lKF8Tiz-myU
https://youtu.be/CbIu_w8s_rg
A few Talat saab’s solos.
ksbhatia ji @89. Agreed. Govindram and also Gyan Dutt are highly underrated.
Mahesh,
Somehow these songs never came to public consciousness, hence the notion that Talat Mahmood’s playback career started with Ae dil mujhe aisi jagah le chal from Aarzoo (1950).
Man ki maina bol rahi hai is an interesting song. There seems to be a conscious effort to follow KL Saigal’s style.
By the way can someone confirm once for all whether the name of the film is ‘Samaapti’ or ‘Sampatti’?
HFGK says Sampatti.
A film poster painting ? on his home page says Samapti.
A very good doubt indeed.
Akji,
True, the female solos are many times larger than the male solos or for that matter even the duets. Since you have a separate slot for Lata Mangeshkar’s songs, it will not make much of difference. Yes, we may miss out some of her good songs. But when it comes to ‘other’ female singers it may make a difference. But the way in which you comb-out the songs from the gamut of songs for each year, I feel majority of the songs that would call for consideration would be covered. Yet, we may miss out some of the good songs, especially from lesser known films. Well, we have vigilant contributors like Maheshji and others to cover the lapses, if any.
BTW, I missed to mention the best male singer for the year 1949 in my previous comment and choice is Md. Rafi.
AKji,
Here’s my list for best songs in various categories –
Best ‘other’ female playback singer –
Wo paas rahein ya door rahein – Badi Bahan- Suraiya – HB
Murliwale murli baja – Dillagi – Suraiya – Naushad
Chandni ayi ban ke pyar – Dulari – Shamshad Begum – Naushad
Ghabra ke jo hum sar ko takrayein to achchha ho – Mahal – Rajkumari – Khemchand Prakash
Duniya ko pyare phool aur sitare – Patanga – Shamshad Begum – CR
Ghat kari matwari ghir ayi rasiya re – Ek Thi Ladki – Zeenat Begum – Vinod
Tum meet mere tum pran mere – Jeet – Suraiya – AB
Meri kashti ko mohabbat ka kinara mil gaya – Kamal – Geeta Roy – SDB
Mere pyare sanam ki hai pyari gali – Parda – Asha Bhosle – Sharmaji
Duniya ki sabha pal chhin hi sahi – Raat Ki Rani – Geeta Dutt – Hansraj Behl
Best Duets – This is the most competitive category. I am listing 12 MF duets songs as my fav –
Maine dekhi jag ki reet – Sunehre Din – Mukesh/Shamshad Begum – Gyan Dutt
Ae mohabbat unse milne ka bahana ban gaya – Bazaar – Rafi/Lata Mangeshkar – Shyam Sundar
Tu mera chand main teri chandni – Dillagi – Shyam Kumar/Suraiya – Naushad
Mil mil ke gayenge ho – Dulari – Rafi/Lata Mangeshkar – Naushad
Chahe kitni kathin dagar ho – Jeet – Shankar Dasgupta/Suraiya – AB
Duniya hamare pyar ki yunhi jawan rahe – Lahore – Karan Dewan/Lata Mangeshkar – Shyam Sundar
Zara tumne dekha to pyar ho gaya – Jal tarang – Rafi/Lata Mangeshkar – HB
More angana mein balma aaye main sharmayi – Nishan- Shamshad Begum/Moti – Rajeshwar Rao, MD Parthasarathi and BK Kalla
Dil le ke chhupnewale – Paras – Rafi/Lata Mangeshkar – Ghulam Mohammad
Mere piya gaye Rangoon – Patanga – Chitalkar/Shamshad Begum – CR
Ye duniya hai yahan dil ka lagana kisko ata hai – Shair – Mukesh/Lata Mangeshkar – Ghulam Mohammad
Tirchhi nazar hai patli kamar hai – Barsaat – Mukesh/Lata Mangeshkar – SJ
Other Duets ( MM, FF, Multiple)
Chup chup khade ho zaroor koi baat hai – Badi Bahan – Premlata/Lata Mangeshkar – HB
Chhun chhun ghungharwa baje..Ye raat phir na ayegi – Mahal – Zohrabai Ambalewali/Rajkumari – Khemchand Prakash
Pyar ke jahan ki nirali sarkar hai – Patanga – Lata Mangeshkar/ Shamshad Begum – CR
Lara lappa lara lappa – Ek Thi Ladki – Lata Mangeshkar, Rafi and Durrani – Vinod
Zara sun lo hum apne pyar ka afsana kahte hain – Bazaar- Lata Mangeshkar/Rajkumari – Shyam Sundar
Baat to kuchh bhi nahi – Thes – Mukesh and Rafi – Snehal Bhatkar
Siddharth,
Thanks a lot for sharing your other choices. In the male solo it was really a toss-up between the two great singers.
AK Ji,
Listening to the duets (including the triads etc.), I found the year 1949 had so many beautiful songs in this genre, too. I had a wonderful time listening to more than double the number of songs (duets) mentioned your main list. It was an enjoyable exercise. Justly the year 1949, with plenty of good songs in all categories, was a memorable year.
After culling out, I could bring down the numbers to 55, and further to 26 songs, which was yet very large. 47 songs from your master list were there in this first list of mine. The second list had only one song which was not there in your main list.
In the initial pruning process, I had to leave out some good listenable songs like Dar Naa Mohabbat Karle (Shamshad Begum- Lata Mangeshkar, Andaz, Majrooh Sultanpuri, Naushad), Sun Lo Sajan Meri Baat (Karan Dewan-Lata Mangeshkar, Lahore, Rajendra Krishan, Shyamsundar), Tadapaa Ke Mujhe Ab Chhod Diyaa ( Md.Rafi-Lata Mangeshkar, Namoona, ????, C Ramchandra), Tera Kisi Se Pyar Tha Tu Wo Zamana (Mukesh-Surinder Kaur, Dada, Shewan Rizvi, Nashad), Kabhi Chandni Raaton Mein (Md.Rafi-Surinder Kaur, Rooplekha, Khumar Barabankwi?, Sajjad Hussain?), Chhun Chhun Ghungharavaa, Ye Raat Phir Na Aayegi (Rajkumari-Zohrabai Ambalevali, Mahal, Nakhshab Jaaravchi, Khemchand Prakash) etc.
Here I would like to mention that the more I listen to Vinod’s compositions, my admiration for him appreciates. When I finally selected my final ten, I could not omit any of three songs/duets from Ek Thi Ladki. Lara Lappa Lara Lappa Laayi Rakhada was a popular choice, but the other two songs, Ab Hale Dil Ya Hale Jigar Kuch Na Puchiye and Ye Shokh Sitare Ik Shokh Nazar Ki Tarah were too good. Wonderful composition, with the right subtle pauses, adds to dramatic effect of the song and nice, simple use of instruments/ orchestration. And superb rendition by Md. Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar. Many may not share my enthusiasm, but I would be disappointed if these duets get omitted. Similarly another duet, De Dhil De Dhil O Ree Sakhee (Meri Pyari Patang Chali Baadal Ke Sang), by Shamshad Begum and Uma Devi needs to be discussed and appreciated by music lovers. Only Naushad could have brought the best out of these two singers in rendering of this song. The change of rhythm is very appealing. In this part is called taal Pherta/ferta. Ashwin Bhandarkar Ji will be able to tell more about this. And there are three duets composed by Naushad in my final ten, I had to leave out another three, to accommodate few songs of other composers/singers.
Finally I had to exclude 16 song/duets, some of them with much reluctance.
And here is my final selection of best ten duets for the year 1949. (Not in any particular order)
1. Chhod Gaye Balam, Mujhe Haay Akela Chod Gaye by Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar, film Barsaat, lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Shankar-Jaikishan
2. Too Mera Chand, Mai Teree Chandanee by Shyam and Suraiya, film Dillagi, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad
3. Rat Rangilee Mast Najare by Md.Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar, film Dulari, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad
4. De Dhil De Dhil O Ree Sakhee (Meri Pyari Patang Chali Baadal Ke Sang) by Shamshad Begum and Uma Devi, film Dillagi, lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad
5. Ab Hale Dil Ya Hale Jigar Kuch Na Puchiye by Md.Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar, film Ek thi Ladki, lyrics Aziz Kashmiri, music Vinod
6. Ye Shokh Sitare Ik Shokh Nazar Ki Tarah by Md.Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar, film Ek thi Ladki, lyrics Aziz Kashmiri, music Vinod
7. Lara Lappa Lara Lappa Laayi Rakhada by Lata Mangeshkar, Md.Rafi and G M Durrani, film Ek thi Ladki, lyrics Aziz Kashmiri, music Vinod
8. Chup Chup Khade Ho Jarur Koyi Bat Hai by Lata Mangeshkar and Premlata, film Badi Behan, lyrics Qamar Jalalabadi, music Husnlal-Bhagatram
9. Jisne is duniya mein…O dilwalo dil ka lagana achchha hai by C Ramchandra and Shamshad Begum, lyrics Rajendra Krishan, music C Ramchandra
10. Mere piya gaye Rangoon by C Ramchandra and Shamshad Begum, lyrics Rajendra Krishan, music C Ramchandra
Venkataramanji,
I am impressed by your exercise. I entirely share your enthusiasm for Ab haal-e-dil and Meri pyari patang. I have some reservations on #3 and 6, I would choose some other songs.
N Venkatraman ji ;
Thanks for your in depth study of the duet songs of 1949. Really Naushad , Vinod, C Ramchander, Husanlal Bhagatram and Shankar Jaikishan ruled that year Each of them brought out very best that year. One thing I have noticed is that there was a race amongst them to use as many instruments in their compositions leading to enhancing the beauty of interludes and orchestration. Shankar Jaikishan in their very first movie followed Naushad’s footsteps using long preludes and interludes and succeeded very well.
I entierly agree with your top ten listing except for song # 6 . I would like to replace it with Barsaat’s duet …..patli kamar hai….for it is a unique combination of sad and happy song , nice lyrics…..tuj bin naino ki barsaatein lakh manaoon rok na paayun[ Lata ], mai behte dariya ka paani kayi kinaroan se beh jaaoan[ Mukesh ]…..and more over a first club cabaret of the bollywood movies .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPhjCfvnDTo
As far as Vinod is concerned I too was bowled over by Ek Thi Ladki and later on Dholak songs. It is sad he was lost between the presence of bigwigs MDs of those times .
KS Bhatiaji,
Not to quibble, but Dholak was probably composed by Shyam Sundar.
AK ji;
SO sorry . Surely my mistake. May be to me the style of both the MDs quite matches.
AK Ji & Bhatia Ji,
Thanks for the appreciative words.
I am glad that, we do agree on the majority of the songs. Yet, I am saddened to find that the song Ye Shokh Sitare Ik Shokh Nazar Ki Tarah did not find your favour. OK, so be it.
Bhatia Ji’s wants to replace it with Patali Kamar hai tirachi nazar hai. He gives his reasons too. I agree it is a good song. Bhatia Ji, I would be thankful if you do me the favour of including this song (#6), in your list of ‘Sitare’ or Chand (ani) songs, if you have not posted the song before.
AK Ji you have reservations on songs #3 and 6. I hope you will replace song #3 with another Naushad’s composition. Saiya Se Bichhad Gayee Ho More Ram by Amirbai Karnataki and Sadat Khan is also good song. Your alternative/likely choice for song #6, I guess, would be one among the following songs Maine dekhi jag ki reet meet sab jhoothe pad gaye, Ye duniya hai yahan dil ka lagana kisko ata hai, Dil leke chupnewale.
Venkataramanji,
You have hit the nail on the head. The songs you have mentioned are all outstanding and my favourites.
Akji,
I present my observations and my choice of best music directors for the year 1949.
In the year 1949, not less than 85 MDs composed music for roughly 160 films involving approximately 1450 songs.
The top 15 MDs in terms of numbers were Husnlal-Bhagatram (9), Hansraj Behl (6), C Ramchandra (6), Bulo C Rani (6), Pt. Gobindram (5), A R Qureshi (5), Sudhir Phadke (5), Naushad Ali (4), Chitragupt (4), Narayana Rao (4), Ghulam Mohammad (3), Hanuman Prasad (3), Shyam Sundar (3), Vasant Desai (3) and Khemchand Prakash (3). Besides, Hansraj Behl had composed music for one more film along with Ghulam Hyder. In all 70 films.
Anil Biswas, S D Burman, Vinod, Pankaj Mullick, A Karim, Anna Sahib, Nizar Bazmi, Ram Prasad and Shyam Babu Pathak had 2 films each. Anil Biswas and Shyam Babu Pathak together had composed music for 1 film and likewise Ram Prasad had one more film. Total 20 films.
24 MDs were involved in composing music for 90 films.
During our selection of songs in different categories, the songs composed by Naushad, Husnlal-Bhagatram, Hansraj Behl, Khemchand Prakash, Vinod, S D Burman, Anil Biswas, C Ramchandra,Ghulam Mohammad, Shyam Sunder, Gyan Dutt(1), Kursheed Anwar(1), Shankar-Jaikishan (1) and few other MDs dominated the discussions. Understandably our selection for the best MD(s) would be restricted to this list.
Both C Ramachandra and Husnlal-Bhagatram had a good number of films this year. If Husnlal-Bhagatram had Badi Behan, C Ramchandra had Patanga to showcase. Husnlal and Bhagtram were at their peak in 1949, composing some wonderful female solos and a duet (FF). C Ramchandra also had a good number of female solos and wonderful duets, and a male solo too. Khemchand Prakash too was at his zenith this year. Besides his exceptional music for Mahal, the movies Sawan Aya Re (Khan Mastana’s solo and Amirbai’s solo) and Rhimjhim too had some outstanding songs. Shankar-Jaikishan, with his music for Barsaat in his debut year, brought a new dimension to Hindi Film music, and set a new trend. Naushad was way ahead of all other MDs in every category, in my view, and I would elaborate no further. Thus my choice of best music directors for the year 1949, in order of preference is
1. Naushad Ali
2. Khemchand Prakash
3. Shankar-Jaikishan
4. C Ramchandra
5. Husnlal-Bhagatram
Venkataramanji,
Thanks a lot for your very comprehensive analysis. This would be very useful for me.
Khursheed Anwar was adjudged as the Best Music Director in film Singaar (1949) for Clare Award which was later renamed as Filmfare Awards in 1953. The male dancer in film Singaar song – Ari O Mohe Ched Gaya is Surya Kumar. Prem Dhawan danced in another scene (no song just dance) of Singaar.