A tribute on his passing away
I saw a small news item tucked away deep inside the Times of India’s today’s edition stating that music director Daan Singh passed away at his Jaipur home of liver ailment at the age of 78 on Saturday June 18. If you are not a keen reader or aware of Daan Singh’s music you are quite likely to have missed the news item.
He was one of the most neglected music directors of Hindi films, yet he composed some everlasting melodies for Mukesh. The paper also quotes Nitin Mukesh offering profuse praise for him.
There was a time when I was a Mukesh-obsessed fan and one particular song which whirled inside me again and again like a record stuck in its groove was Gham-e-dl kisse kahun, without knowing its composer or film. Much later I came to know that it was from a film titled Bhool Na Jana, which never got released and its music director was Daan Singh. It is amazing that not only this song but several more from this film survive. These songs are extremely melodious.
His special talent with Mukesh got further acclaim with two iconic songs of Shashi Kapoor- Sharmila Tagore starrer My Love (1970)
The news of his passing away reminded me of my planned series on Forgotten Composers, Unforgotten Melodies, which I mentioned in my last post. Daan Singh would have surely figured some time down the line, but now I am advancing it and making him the first in my series. It is a sad way to start the series with an obituary for a composer I hugely admired.
You are now invited to listen to some great Daan Singh melodies as my tribute to him.
1. Gham-e-dil kisse kahoon by Mukesh from Bhool Na Jana (1965), lyrics Dr Hari Ram Acharya
2. Pukaro mujhe naam lekar pukaro by Mukesh from Bhool Na Jana, lyrics Gulzaar
3. Gora gora mukhda by Mukesh from Bhool Na Jana, lyrics Gulzar
Now this is a fast song from the same film but maintains all the grace of Mukesh.
4. Laga mohe ab ki baar by Asha Bhosle from Toofan (1969), lyricist Akhtar Romani
A completely different tack now. A fast dance number by Asha Bhosle for Helen, but quite a treat.
5. Wo tere pyar ka gham by Mukesh from My Love (1970), lyrics Anand Bakshi
Who has not heard the two great Mukesh solos from My Love?
6. Zikr hota hai jab qayamat ka by Mukesh from My Love, lyrics Anand Bakshi
And finally a live Dan Singh video of a function in Jaipur in which he pays tribute to his favourite singer Mukesh:
Daan Singh’s image is courtesy the Times of India
{ 63 comments… read them below or add one }
Yes, I read about the passing away of Daan Singh too. Sad… another person from the classic era gone.
Thanks for this post – I hadn’t heard any of the songs before, except for the ones from My Love. I’d actually bought the VCD of that film only because I liked the songs so much!
@dustedoff
You are welcome. As I have mentioned, my favourites are Bhool Na Jana songs, particularly Gham-e-dil kis se kahun.
Like dustedoff I am familiar with the two songs from My Love, but I didn’t remember the name of the composer. Thanks for reminding us.
Hello AK,
I share your sentiments that – It is truly sad to begin a series – Forgotten Composers, Unforgotten Melodies; with an obituary. Never the less, this obituary is to a very talented composer whom limelight eluded. I plead ignorance about his other songs but I distinctly remember – Zikr Hota Hai Jab Kayamat Ka.
Thanks again for throwing light on the work of this talented composer. While I look forward to more in this series, I sincerely pray God to bless and rest the departed soul in peace. Regards – KRV
@Subodh Agrawal, KR Vaishampayan
I seem to be only one who was crazy about Gham-e-dil kis se kahun. One thing I find quite interesting about these niche composers is the way they specialised or focussed on one type of songs or singer. If Daan Singh’s favourite was Mukesh, there would be some who would only do Rafi.
Hello AK,
Please throw some light on Surhid Kar too. KRV
@KR Vaishampayan
In one of my blogs the most famous song of Suhrid Kar Saath ho tum aur raat jawan, a Mukesh-Asha Bhosle duet from Kanch Ki Gudiya, has been mentioned and its Youtube link also embedded. If I find some more of his good songs, I would surely write on him. But thanks for mentioning him. Another music lover friend of mine and a regular reader, who does not post his comments but conveys it to me orally, has refreshed my memory about a number of wonderful songs by totally obscure and forgotten composers. It is truly amazing to find so many of one ot two song wonders. This is going to be a collaborative effort, and with the help of music lovers like you, we should be able to remember all such great songs in an organised way.
Hello AK,
I couldn’t have agreed with you more. I am in for the collaborative efforts. Currently, I am trying to compile a list of Duets; say – Rafi-Lata/Aasha/Suman; Manna Dey-Lata/Aasha/Suman; or Talat-Lata/Aasha/Suman et al. I know it’s a tall order and time consuming. But as Dr. Kalam says – Intezar karnewalon ko utna hi milta hai jo koshish karn walon ke baad bachta hai. In a nutshell, I am in for efforts. During one such expedition, I cam across songs of Mai Aur Mera Bhai – by C.Arjun. The starting point was – Mukesh-Aash duet – MAI ABHI GAIR HUN MUZKO ABHI APANA NA KAHO. And lo and behold…I un-expectadly landed up with a Rafi gem – GORI ZULM KAREN ZULAFA KA BIKHAR JAANA. I am sure, you can imagine my joy.
So, let’s work together for the common joy and pass it to on to other unknown music lovers like us. Regards and thanks – KRV
@KR Vaishampayan
What a gem of song this Main abhi ghair hum mujhko apna na bana. Mukesh and Asha Bhosle have given some truly eternal songs. You have given me some material for my future blog. Thanks.
Hello AK,
You are more than welcome. And I promise to extend whatever help I can extend. Regards – K R Vaishampayan
tribute to a great musician. pl see my an article on daan singh ji at- mohallalive.com
Hello Madhu Talwarji,
I read your article. The poignant story of Daan Singhji is the saddest comment on the deceit full of glitz & glamour world of cinema. I for one was touched to the core. He definitely deserved better treatment. Thanks God, you befriended him. Regards – KRV
@Ish Madhu Talwar
Your moving write-up about Daan Singh brought him alive to us fans for whom Daan Singh was just a name – for many even his name was unknown even though they knew his songs. Thanks for visiting this site and bringing Daan Singh closer to us, now we can also feel him as a person.
Incindentally only, my close friend forwarded SMS informing of this event.
The golden Period of Film Music has several such composers, no less taleneted than the-then famous names, but gravely unlucky – either the film for which they compose do not become poular or never get released – hence their talent takes backseat to pouplarity.
One really shudders to think how these people would have faced thier ‘failure’ [ no fault of thiers, but branded ‘not sucessful’ nevertheless!!
I had heard the songs of My Love but never knew who the composer was. Then I heard Pukaro mujhe naam lekar pukaro and instantly fell in love with it. That’s when I found out about Daan Singh. I’ve been listening to his songs quite a lot these days. It being Mukesh’s death aaniversary today, there was some discussion going on about Gham-e-dil kis se kahoon and I was searching for it’s lyrics and that’s how I landed up here. I didn’t find what I was looking for but am very glad that came over. It’s a great post. Am off to read about Vinod next. He’s another person whom I have discovered recently. Had heard couple of his songs before but never knew who had composed them until few weeks ago.
@The song was such a great favourite of mine that I should have given its lyrics. Here it is:
ग़म-ए-दिल किससे कहूं कोई भी ग़मख़्वार नहीं
हैं सभी ग़ैर यहां
ज़ख्मे-ए-दिल की ये जलन क़ाबिल-ए-इज़हार नहीं
चुप सा रहना है यहां
सिलसिला टूट गया प्यार के अफ़सानों का
हो गया ख़ाक चमन
तिनके बिखरा के गई वो एक पुरज़ुल्म हवा
रह गये ग़म के निशां
ग़म-ए-दिल किस से कहूं कोई भी ग़मख़्वार नहीं
हैं सभी ग़ैर यहां
आज अश्क़ों में बहे जाते हैं टूटे सपने
और ये दौर-ए-सितम
किससे फ़रियाद करें कौन सुने दिल की ज़ुबां
है ये बेदर्द जहां
ग़म-ए-दिल किससे कहूं कई भी ग़मख़्वार नहीं
हैं सभी ग़ैर यहां
Thank you so much! 🙂
AK ji,
I have some info about DAAN SINGH.
Daan Singh was born in 1927 at Jaipur,Rajasthan.He was inclined towards music from early childhood.In the 40s,he came to Bombay and became an assistant to Khemchand Prakash.After few years,he went back to Jaipur and joined AIR Jaipur as a Music Asst.
In 1963,when J.P.Sharma produced BHOOL NA JAANAA,based on China attack,Daan Singh became the Music Director.After recording
7 songs of the film,the Govt.stopped its production and it was never released.
Meanwhile he got 3 more films,Ret ki ganga,Matlabi and Bahadur shah jafar,but after few recordings,all the 3 films were shelved.
His first released film was TOOFAN-1969 and in 1970 My love was released.
He was a simple man and never asked for work.Such people hardly succeed in Film Industry.Out of 6 films,4 films were shelved.He was soon known as ‘unlucky’ and stopped getting films.He returned to Jaipur and became Stn Music Director in AIR,Jaipur.
His BAWANDAR in 2001 and BHOBHAR(Rajasthani) in 2010 also did not see the light of the day.
His wife,Uma Yagnik always regretted that people took his advantage.
He died in Jaipur on 18-6-2011.
DAAN SINGH was truely a ‘Shapit Gandharva’.
-AD
Deshmukhji
This is tremendous and fills a lot of details about his life. A friend of mine, who has great information on old film songs, mentioned that Daan Singh also had a long sting in South Africa. While I could not verify this, I did read somewhere that My Love was picturised in South Africa, and perhaps this might have led to my firend’s impression that Daan Singh spent a number of years in Africa. Since I coluld not get authentic information (I did try to contact his friends in Jaipur), I did not mention in my article. Any info on this?
AK ji,
I am sorry,but I do not have such info about Daan Singh.It is mentioned nowhere,so I tend to believe that he never went to SA.There may be some misconception,as the film had scenes from SA.
-AD
Could anybody upload the Original & Complete song; BAHI HAI JAWAN KHOON KI AAJ DHARA UTHO HIND KI SAR ZAMIN NAY PUKARA . . . Film ” Bhool Na Jaana” Sung by Manna Day, Lyrics by Dr. Hariram Acharya and Music Director Late Dan Singh.
Here is your song:
Bahi hai jawan khoon ki aaj dhara by Manna Dey from Bhool Na Jana (1965), lyrics Hariram Acharya, music Daan Singh
Another film was “Ramu To Diwaana Hai”.
We are a society dedicated to the memory of the musical greats of the golden era. I will be doing a show on forgotten composers, unforgettable songs in November as a trilogy to my programmes on The Cinema Centenary. They deserve recognition. Glad I found this site whilst researching
Shikha ji, please contact me for any help that you need regarding the “correct information” of the songs.
My mail ID is: kaushik.liebhaber@gmail.com
can someone enlighten me with some old melodies of forgoton songs like kahan najar takrai dil yeh kis par aya tu kahan main kahan kaisa dil ….. sung by mohinder kapoor …..who is the music director and what film? and likewise information for the song…..nazar na phero humse ….. film is deedar but who is the male singer of this shamshad duet filmed on ashok kumar and nargis ?
Here are your songs:
Kahan nazar takrai by Mahendra Kapoor from Magic Ring (1964), lyrics Zafar Rahi, music Suresh Kumar
Nazar phero na humse by GM Durrani and Shamshad Begum from Deedar (1951), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad
1) The song of Mahendra Kapoor was from film “Aadhi Raat Ke Baad”; the music director was Chitragupta.
2) The male singer of the duet song of “Deedar” was G.M. Durrani.
Oh sorry, the song of “Aadhi Raat Ke Baad” was sung by Rafi saab; not Mahendra Kapoor. And this is another song, not the one that you referred to.
I am delighted to hear and enjoyed both the melodies.Many many thanks for that.Any listing of films of music director Suresh kumar? I faintly remember is he the same person who once gave music for one of the Dara singh movies of the 60’s. Now coming back to above song by mohinder kapoor which i used to listen when i was about 16 or17 years old i was stunned by the rythem , beats and melody beutifully moulded one in all. After so many years i am getting the same pleasure listening to the above melody. The rythem and beats very closely matches that of Dattaram C Arjun and Kalayanji Anandji eg. aye mere dil laherake chal .. .. sung by mukesh in the movie Ishara a Joy mukreji Vyjantimala starrer. Overall effect is excellent. Again many many thanks.
You are welcome. We should thank YT and I heard the Mahendra Kapoor song for the first time. It is excellent, and is capable of creating an impact as you have described. It is so interesting how some memories remain etched forever. I am not very familiar with the works of Suresh Kumar. But in my series on ‘Forgotten Composers Unforgettable Melodies’, there are several on my radar screen who should appear by and by.
Yes; you are right,good melodies never fades.The fast notes of the above song reminds me of Dattaram’s….musti bhara hai sama…and interludes of C Arjun’s….in pyar ki rahon main….duet of asha rafi inPuranmilan. Similar such notes can be heard in Ravi’s song…..Do nain mele do phool khele duniya main bahar aai…from Graasthi starring asha parekh pradeep kumar as well as shanker jaikishan’s ……tu ne mera dil liya jane kaisa jadu kiya……sung by kishor, geeta dutt in Shararat. Lastly Ravinder jain’s….. Do panchi do tinke janey leke chale hain kahan……almost resembles these melodies. I call them as step ladder melodies. Each song moulded in beautiful melody and rhythm. My salute to all the creaters. And thanks AK for sharing.
Ak ji,I would like to know the contribution of dattaram and sebistion ,astt.music directors of shanker jaikishan to the melodies composed by the duos. I know dattaram as music director of some movies; but what about sebistion?
KS Bhatia
Dattaram and Sebastian both were integral to SJ’s music. Dattaram was the master of rhythm; his tabla beat was so famous that it was called ‘Dattu theka’. He was also very close to them personally. He met Shankar in a gym well before they were into films. He became associated with them from Prithvi Theatre days. He was their Assistant in many films, and continued his association with them even after he became an independent composer when he gave some memorable music on his own. He is the one who played the duff in many well known songs of Raj Kapoor such as Mere naam Raju gharana anaam.
As an arranger Sebastain remained in the background, but the fame of SJ for their distinct orchestration is to a large extent due to him. He arranged for some other composers also, such as OP Nayyar and Salil Chaudhary. It is to his credit that he could maintain distinct identity for each of them. The parallel melodies we hear in many of SJ’s songs are attributed to him. Two very good articles on Sebastian are here.
http://hindi-films-songs.com/books/Sebastian_DSouza.pdf
http://shankarjaikishan.blogspot.in/2006/08/sebastian-dsouza-musical-legend-paying.html
AK ji, Thanks for posting the very informative articles. The richness of SJ’s musical melodies were beautifully moulded by Dattaram and Sebastian and that reflected in their prelude, interludes of various songs as well as background music of movie scenes. Usually their songs carried the same interludes for first and third stanzas ; the second one always carried different interlude. There are ,however, some examples where three different interludes were used for three stanzas. Like…..Ajeeb dastan hai yeh…..from Dil apna aur preet parai…..and….Aa jao tarpte hain arman…..from Awara. These were the integral part of the melodies and one has to hum them along with the lyrics. One cannot sing Awara hoon without humming accordion.
Same with Mera joota hai Japani which can’t be imagined without its opening prelude.
There were some good songs in some of the late Dara Singh,s movies which I have seen in my childhood and which I am not able to recollect. I think Pehli Jhalak was the first one and there was one wrestling bout between him and Om prakash. I would like to update myself with his songs and movies of the years gone by. Can someone guide me please.
KS Bhatia,
Dara Singh’s filmography
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0802107/filmoyear lists 188 films, some of which are very well known, and you would get hundreds of songs ‘in’ these films. But the interesting search is songs picturised on Dara Singh. These won’t be too many that one can instantly recall.
Here is one on him from the film Faulad:
Dil hai hamara phool se najuk by Rafi from Faulad (1963), lyrics Farooq Qaiser, music GS Kohli
Here is another one on almost Dara Singh, i.e. his brother Randhawa. This song is very well known:
Main to tere hseen khayalon meinn kho gaya by Rafi from Sangram (1965), lyrics Aish Kanwal, Lala Asar Sattar
i have one question, Akji
Were Lala asad sattar a Trio OR a single person ??
Jignesh,
They are a trio. If I include them in the series on Forgotten Composers, they would figure as one.
Thanq Akji for the info
I had a confusion abt this fact. I have searched many links on internet to clarify this confusion,,, whether they r trio or a single man,,, but cudnt get enough info abt Lala_asad_sattar
Except this link of Raju bharatan’s article in which he mentions L-A-S as three instrumentalists turned MDs.(16th paragraph) http://giitaayan.com/satish/art-109.htm
Congratulations to you for providing us with the huge data of music,melodies,lyricists,singers,and music directors.Please keep up.Wish you all the best for this commendable work.
AP Patel,
Thanks a lot for your compliments and kind words. It is the readers’ support that keeps this blog going.
AKji, Some times while listening to some melodies we feel the song as if we have listened twenty or thirty years earlier also ; may be in the form of interlude or background music of some scenes . For example….Na mangoon sona chandi …..from Bobby is very much similar to background score of Raj Nargis beach scene in Awara. The tune again is based on Goan folk music and is having flavour of Shanker Jaikishan’s astt Sebistian .Similarly. interlude following…Do Dillon ka tha yeh karwaan …….from Veer Zara is almost same as prelude of…..Kadam baheke bahek piya darrak dharrak jaye Piyar teri duniya mein hum bhi chale aaye…….from Aakhri Dao. Of course the music of both films is by the great Madan mohan. Likewise the second stanza tune of…….Albela main ek matwala…..song from Miss India picturised on Nargis is similar to mukhra of …..Tumre sang to rain betai kahan betaun din …..from Sagina Mahto song picturised on Dilip Kumar and Saira Banuji.Both the songs composed by SDBurman. The listing goes on as you dig into yester years melodies ;of course one has to have flavour and time to enjoy with your ears and eyes open For me the Jukebox of yester years, or the golden era , has turned out to be Jullebox . At the end I would like to add one more example……There is one scene in Chalti ka naam gaadi in which Mohan Chottii is humming a tune Tara ri tara ri tara ri while dancing with a pinup calander . This scene reminds me of the song picturised on Raj kapoor Suraiya? probably from Lahore but I am not sure. The music is by Naushad sahib and has beautiful occastraization based on Waltz. The listing is going on and will follow later on.
KS Bhatia
On Tarari tara ri you are almost there. The film is Dastaan. I must say you have tremendous recall capacity.
Thanks AKji; one correction . The song….Kadam baheke baheke jia tharak tharak jaiye…….is from Bank Manager and not from Akhari Dao. Confusion because both the movies starred the yester years handsome actor Shekhar and music for both the movies was by the great Madan Mohan. By the way any trace of the actor Shekher? The last I know is that he migrated to Canada some time in 60s. What happened later on is not known .Any idea?
AKji, Going thru a series of forgotten singers I came thru beautiful melodious sad songs of Anmol Ghadi …..kyun yaad aa rahe hain gujre huai zamaney…..by Surendra Nath……and……kyun uneh dil diya hai yeh kya kiya…….a duet by Surendra Nath and Suraiya . What feelings and what emotions all moulded in the beautiful melody. It almost reminds you of Talat’s sad songs. A great work by the master Naushad . Any article on him i would like to know.
KS Bhatia,
Not yet. But Naushad, Surendra and the songs you have mentioned are my great favourites. They should come sometime prominently.
If I am not wrong Daan Singh was from Rajasthan and lived in Jaipur. Thank you for reviving the golden era here on the net. It is a blessing for those of us who feel out place in the era of sheela ki jawani.
Here is one of my favorite song from Hamari Yaad Aayegi 1961 crafted by Snehal Bhatkar. Will appreciate if you could do a post on him.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edLpK_rsOuQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Gg5-uytnT0
Peace,
Desi Girl
Desi Girl,
Welcome to SoY. I have mentioned in the first para of my post that he passed away at his home in Jaipur.
Snehal Bhatkar is a wonderful composer. Both the songs – in fact the entire score of Hamari Yaad Ayegi – was stunningly beautiful. Farishton ki nagri mein has earlier figured somewhere in this blog. Snehal Bhatkar deserves a special post. Insha Allah, someday.
Thanks for visiting.
the above mentioned music director sureshkumar also composed music for rustom e rome ,tarzan ki mehbooba ,tarzan aur jalpari
MD Lala was an ace Dholki player, he was a hand picked member of C. Ramchandra’s orchestra. But Asad and Sattar were C. Ramchandra’s friends.
Janab MD “DAAN SINGH” Aur “LALA’ “ASAR” “SATTAR” Ke Mutaliq Bohot Kuchh Jankaari Huyi, Aap Ka Be-had Shukriya, Music Ke Hawale Se Aap Ka Kaam Bohot Yaadgaar Hai, Agar Munasib Khayal Karen Tou MD “RAM LAL JI” Aur MD “SUDHIR SEN” Ke Mutaliq Information Cheye Ho Gi, Mere Question Ka Zuroor Jawab Dijiye Ga , Thanks =Waheed=
Janab Bhatti Saheb,
Welcome to Songs of Yore, and thanks a lot for your compliments. I am aware of Ram Lal’s music, mainly because of Sehra. I am not sure if I know about Sudhir Sen. In this series I do plan to cover some more MDs.
AK ji,
SUDHIR SEN was a composer in the 70s. I could get only 2 films on his name
Saat Phere-70 and
Mangetar-72.
No information is available about him,more than this. Same period,one Sudhir sen was a hindi film director too. may be he is the same ?
-AD
Arunji,
Thanks a lot for the info. I doubt if he gave any everlasting songs as the other composers covered in the series.
Ramlal scored the music for another big hit film, apart from “Sehra”. It was “Geet Gaya Paththaron Ne”. Basically, he was the arranger/ assistant of Vasant Desai and Madan Mohan.
AK’ji ; Its a long time of an art . on forgotten MDs . I am really interested in MDs who have given music for Dara singh movies ; like G S Kohli . Any other MD on your radar ? Similarly on Surendra nath , the singer , who was masterly moulded by Naushad sahib during mid 40s and 50s . The current youth are unaware of such great singers . They need to be updated on vintage singers .
KS Bhatiaji,
Good that you reminded me. I still have some forgotten composers on my radar. It is a crowded year with Naushad and CR. But let me see. On Surendra, his association with Anil Biswas has been covered in detail. In Naushad year their combo should surely figure in some way.
The song ‘Nigahen Na Phero Chale Jayenge Hum’ is another one which is memorable even though the film ‘Black Prince’ of the year 1959-60 never saw the light of the day. I think the not so familiar music director was Dulal Sen. I would like to know more about the music director.
Dharmapada Bhutan,
Welcome to SoY and thanks a lot for your comments. Nigaahein na phero chale jayenge hum is a beautiful twin song by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur solos. It is sad that the film never got released. I am not aware of any other song of Dulal Sen. I have covered those MDs in the series on ‘Forgotten Composers, Unforgettable Melodies’ who had a reasonable number of great songs. But you have inspired me to know more about Dulal Sen.
At the outset, let us pay our tribute to this great mugic composer on his death anniversary. Bollywood is remembered as mahanagari. There are thousands of thousands talented personalities, who due to one or another reasons could not get due recognized, for which they are truly claimer. Daan Singh is one of them. Whatever, reasons may be, but one thing is confirm that the name of Daan Singh can never be erased from the memory of Hindustani Film Music, lovers and no history of Hindustani Film Music would be complete without mention of songs composed by him. We once again pay our respectful tribute to Daan Singh.
Suresh Sarvaiya,
Welcome to Songs Of Yore. Thanks for visiting the post on Daan Singh. We all join you in paying our tribute to him.