In my last post I covered Ravi’s best solo songs for Rafi. He composed about 250 songs for Rafi, including duets. It is a huge number in absolute as well as relative terms. Only two, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Shankar-Jaikishan, have undisputedly composed more Rafi songs than him, as can be expected. Chitragupta is in the same range or marginally more than him. About 42% of these songs are duets, including male-male duets, and songs having more than two singers. Over 100 duets is a significant number, and several of them are so good, no discussion on Ravi’s songs for Rafi is complete without mentioning his duets.
Incomparable Sachin Dev Burman
By HQ Chowdhury
Published by Blue Pencil, New Delhi, 2018
₹599 (Available for less on Amazon); pp 437
Among all the biographies of SD Burman – I am aware of at least four, all well known – the ‘Incomparable Sachin Dev Burman’ by HQ Chowdhury of Bangladesh, first published in Bangladesh by TOITOMBOOR in 2011, was always mentioned with great respect. Therefore, when my post on his non-film (Hindi) songs on his death anniversary on October 31, 2012 sowed the seeds of a long series on SD Burman, I was very keen to get a copy of this book to make myself better informed on the maestro. But alas, the book was not available anywhere, not even in Bangladesh, as it was out of print. Nevertheless, the series on SD Burman turned out to be the longest one among all the greats I have covered on SoY. This was propelled also by the readers, because twice when I thought I had declared the series ‘closed’, the readers mentioned that some more singers were still left for whom SD Burman had given their career best songs. And, thus, in three phases he got the most exhaustive coverage on the blog. Along the way I discovered a huge treasure trove of Bengali songs sung by him of such incredible beauty that I wrote on it, describing it as the ultimate SD Burman, despite my handicap of not knowing the language, by taking the help of some Bengali friends.
How I wished then I had access to Mr Chowdhury’s book! However, it was a great pleasure to see him visit and interact on the blog. I also had occasion to exchange some mails with him on some queries. When all this was long past gone, I was pleasantly surprised to find that the book has been recently published in a revised and updated second edition, in Delhi, and to enhance my delight, a fellow blogger-editor, Antara Nanda Mondal, whom I admire a great deal, was associated with the project. When I congratulated her, she very kindly sent me a copy of the book. That in itself was not a compelling reason for writing its review, but along the way, another acknowledged authority on SD Burman, who has spent his lifetime studying him and interviewing people associated with him, has been in touch with me to explore the best way to get his materials out in the public domain. I realise that Songs of Yore cannot do full justice to his materials; it has to be another book, or a platform dedicated to SD Burman, but I have agreed to post in October at least three articles written by him, making October 2019 the month of SD Burman. Incidentally, October starts with SD Burman (b. 1 October 1906) and ends with him (d. 31 October 1975).
SD Burman: A music director or a singer?
I have been quite unequivocal that I place Naushad at the pinnacle among music directors. I was also very fond of the music of Roshan and Chitragupta. And I kept the New Theatres stalwarts at a special pedestal, not to be compared with anyone. But when it came to singing, SD Burman with his mere about a dozen (14 to be exact) Hindi film songs and some non-film songs I was aware of, was out of this world for me. My discovery of his Bengali songs only consolidated my romance for SD Burman as a singer. It was interesting to see the anchor, at the launch of the book in Delhi, ask Mr Chowdhury precisely this question, and he was quite unambiguous. It depends in what context this question is asked; for the lovers of Hindi film songs, he is a great music director. If you are asking the same question in Bengal, SD Burman is among the greatest singers the state has produced.
And therein lies the special importance of Mr Chowdhury’s book. You get a vivid picture of SD Burman’s place among the greatest singers. He had a sound training in classical music and, in his time, he sang in concerts along with the likes of Ustad Fayyaz Khan and Ustad Abdul Karim Khan. Everyone recognised the emotional appeal of his singing, because he had absorbed his music from the sounds of the birds, rivers, nature around him, and from boatmen, his servants and wandering minstrels. He regarded folk as the soul of classical music, and made a distinct impact in Hindi film music with his beautiful use of folk elements and instruments in his compositions.
The book does full justice to SD Burman’s career as a music director as well. No matter who is your favourite – like mine Naushad – you can’t but agree that there are at least two aspects that set him above everyone. One, no one else has composed for such a large number of singers some of their all-time great songs. Just think of:
Rafi – Hum bekhudi mein tumko pukare chale gaye; Kahin bekhayal ho ke; Din dhal jaye haye raat na jaye
Kishore Kumar – Mere labon pe dekho aaj bhi taraane hain; Dukhi man mere; Khwab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat; Ye dil na hota bechara; Mere sapnon ki raani kab ayegi tu
Manna Dey – Upar gagan vishal; Hato kaahe ko jhoothi banaao batiyan; Mat ro mata lal tere bahutere; Kisne chilman se maara nazara mujhe
Hemant Kumar – Ye raat ye chaandni phir kahan; Jaane wo kaise log the jinke pyar ko pyar mila; Hai apna dil to awara; Na tum humein jaano na hum tumhein jaane
Talat Mahmood – Jaayein to jaayein kahan; Mitwa laagi ye kaisi unbujh aag; Jalte hain jiske liye
Mukesh – Chal ri sajni; Ae dil-e-awara chal; O jaanewale ho sake to laut ke ana
Lata Mangeshkar – Ye thandhi hawaayein; Jhan jhan jhan jhan payal baaje; Mora gora ang lai ke; Jogi jabse tu aya mere dware; Raat ka sama jhoome chandrama
Asha Bhosle – Nazar laagi raja tore bangle par; Ab ke baras bhej bhaiya ko; Sach huye sapne mere; Koi aya dhadkan kahti hai; Tujhe mili roshni mujhko andhers
Geeta Dutt – Mera sundar sapna beet gaya; Tadbeer se bigdi hui taqdeer bana le; Aaj ki raat piya dil na todo; Jaane kya tune kahi; Aaj sajan mohe ang laga le; Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam
Suman Kalyanpur – Chhodo chhodo mori bainya saanwre; Na tum humein jaano
Suraiya – Nain deewane; Man more hua matwala
Shamshad Begum – Ye duniya roop ki chor; Duniya ka maza le lo duniya tumhari hai; Sainya dil mein ana re
Mind you, this is a list of only solo songs. The above singers in different combinations have also given matchless duets.
The other point which Mr Chowdhury highlights is, SD Burman always sounded contemporary and he evolved himself with the times. That is why when his stalwart peers fell by the wayside, he could hold his own even in the 70s till his death, when the music style had changed significantly.
SD Burman was the Ring Master of his singers; he would rehearse a song with several singers, no one knowing whom he would finally choose. It was amazing that he could shuffle Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Hemant Kumar and Talat Mahmood around the same time for Dev Anand. He knew and saw with his divya chakshu which song would sound the best in the voice of which singer, and in this he would brook no interference from the director, producer or the hero. His great talent with a variety of singers also helped him during his 5-years’ hiatus with Lata Mangeshkar – so what if she was not there, there were Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle, for whom he composed some immortal songs.
SD Burman: A royal prince surrendered to music
But I have jumped ahead; Mr Chowdhury has written the book in a linear manner, starting from SD Burman’s family background, to his early formative years, to his Calcutta days in three chapters, and to his Bombay days in five chapters. His ancestors were the rulers of Tripura state, but some technical issues in succession forced his father’s branch to move to Comilla (now in Bangladesh), where SD Burman was born. Later, the family were rehabilitated in Agartala and were also given some administrative responsibilities, but Sachin Karta was not meant for princely duties. He had surrendered himself to the folk music of Bengal and music had subsumed him. He tried to pursue MA in English in Calcutta, but this distracted him from his main passion. He cut his first record of a Bengali song in 1932, and soon he was creating waves. In the 1930s and 40s, he was among the most highly regarded and successful singers of Bengali songs. He continued recording Bengali songs even when he was a successful music director in Bombay. He sung a total of 170-plus songs, including Hindi and Bengali film songs.
Interestingly, Mr Chowdhury’s next Chapter 11, titled ‘His Music’, starts with the question: “Is Dada a singer-composer or a composer-singer?” The book also contains interviews of various singers and others and their tributes to SD Burman.
SD Burman gave importance to voice and emotion in a song, therefore, his orchestra was minimal. He was also fastidious about what exactly he wanted, and would threw out if an extra violinist was called for the recording.
The book dispels many myths about RD Burman being the real composer of some songs of Aradhana, and debunks attempts by some quarters to undermine SD Burman and show the son in a better light than the father.
SD Burman: The Man
The book describes with fondness some fascinating and amusing aspects about SD Burman, the Man: his love for paan; his passion for football; his stinginess; his nostalgia for Comilla and East Bengal; his heavy East Bengal accent and his difficulty with Hindi, which he could not overcome despite his three decades in Bombay. You get a lovely picture of a temperamental avuncular man, Dada (elder brother) for everyone, who would be in a foul mood if his favourite football team, East Bengal, lost, when everyone knew the recording had to be cancelled; and if the team won he would host lunch for everyone, which was but a rare occurrence; a simple, innocent man who was clueless about money matters; the anchor in his life, his wife Meera Dev Burman, who was extremely possessive of him, which also led to some rumours about strains in their family life.
SD Burman’s career as a singer and music director
I have read only one other biography of SD Burman, and Mr Chowdhury’s clearly scores with an exhaustive list of songs sung by him, and films with details of songs composed by him.
Is the book flawless?
Is the book flawless? No work of this magnitude can be. There are some inadvertent errors and omissions, and lack of clarity at some places, which I have shared with Mr Chowdhury. One such is misattribution of Ye hawa ye raat ye chaandni (Sangdil) to Khayyam (instead of Sajjad Hussain). Another is the omission of Megh de paani de chhaya de ram (Guide)from the list of ‘Songs sung by Dada’. At a couple of places in the list, the information given is likely to create some confusion.
But there is one problem with the book that lies at the door of the editors/publishers. There are long passages interspersed within the text, containing quotes or citations from third persons. These sometimes run into several pages, and one is lost whether it is said by the author or by another person. You have to trawl to find where the quotation started and where it would end. This problem had an easy solution. The neatest is to separate it from the main text by font change or giving it a right indent. Another common practice followed is to start each para with a single quote, as long as the citation continues, and finally close with a double quotation mark. I hope when the book comes up for the third edition, and I wish it does, these will be cleaned up.
Since I am talking of a would-be third edition, let me give another suggestion to enhance the book. SD Burman adapted about 40 of his Bengali songs into Hindi as either non-film songs sung by himself, or film songs, some sung by himself and the rest by other playback singers like Rafi, Lata Mangeshkar, Suraiya etc. Since there is already an exhaustive list of all his songs, it should be possible and would be useful if these songs and their adaptations are mentioned at one place. And lastly, wouldn’t it sound better to add the definite article to the title of the book, i.e. ‘The Incomparable Sachin Dev Burman’?
Nevertheless, the book is truly a labour of love, and rightly deserves all the acclaim it has got. Its reincarnation in the revised and updated second edition is a boon for those who were looking for the book. If you love your SD Burman, this is a must-have book.
And before I part, I can’t help sharing two songs from the Ultimate SD Burman: Ami chhinu eka, which has several legends behind it, discussed on this blog earlier, and especially mentioned in the book; and Ki kori ami ki kori, bone phagun mone aagun, my great favourite and number one in my list.
Aami chhinu eka (1940), lyrics Sailen Roy/Ajoy Bhattachrya (?), composed and sung by SD Burman
Ki kori aami ki kori, bone phagun mone aagun (1961), lyrics Robi Guha Majumdar, composed and sung by SD Burman
A tribute to Rafi on his 39th death anniversary (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980)
Rafi being undoubtedly the most versatile playback singer of the Golden Era, he sang a number of great songs for many music directors. For most composers, he was their leading singer. Who gave the greatest songs for Rafi? I put Naushad, SD Burman, OP Nayyar, Roshan and Shankar-Jaikishan in the Elite Five. Immediately in the next level would be a number of composers, such as Madan Mohan, Chitragupta and Ravi, and if you go further in time, Laxmikant-Pyarelal. Ravi’s output for Rafi songs (250, including duets) was huge, outnumbered only by Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Shankar-Jaikishan, who were hit machines. It is comparable to Chitragupta’s 259 songs for Rafi; and it is comfortably ahead of other music directors, including those in the elite group. But is it only about quantity? Where would these figure among Rafi’s most iconic and greatest songs. (Note: Hans mentioned in comments on my first post on Ravi that he gave 234 songs for Rafi, but I am going by the detailed Excel sheet of Rafi songs prepared by Muveen, which I have shared with many readers earlier.)
Having a shelter over one’s head is one of the basic needs of humans. Having one’s own house used to be the lifetime’s dream. It happened only once at the time of retirement when one pooled in all the savings to make this investment. But this meant buying sand, cement, steel, stone-chips, cables, tiles, bathroom, electric fittings, and dealing with masons, carpenters, electricians and plumbers. You supervised in grime and dust, and dealt with cantankerous and recalcitrant workmen. Till a generation back this was how a middle class person got his house made. It was far from the romance of ‘Chhota sa ghar hoga baadalon ki chhaon mein’.
Guest article by DP Rangan as a tribute to Bharat Vyas on his 37th death anniversary (18 December 1918 – 4 July 1982)
(One oft-repeated complaint against Songs of Yore is that it does not give due importance to the lyricists. I have given my reasons from time to time, which may not be very convincing. I do not know whether DP Rangan was guided by altruistic motives to come to the rescue of the blog, but his offer to write on Bharat Vyas came as a big surprise. By now we are aware of his tremendous enthusiasm and capacity to write on different themes – this is his 19th guest article – but one thought familiarity with the language was necessary for writing on lyricists. For Mr Ranagn, no challenge is too great to deter him. The result is a comprehensive write-up on Bharat Vyas, one of the most respected lyricists for elegance of his language. The two Excel sheets he has prepared of Bharat Vyas’s Filmography would challenge anyone priding himself as a number-cruncher. My compliments and thanks to Mr Rangan for a very painstaking article. – AK)
Invention of moving films for single viewer by Edison of USA and its further enhancement by Lamar brothers of France for simultaneous view by many in a sort of theatre had added new dimensions to entertainment for the people and the fever grew exponentially from then on. The epoch of silent movies started at the turn of the last century, but introduction of talkies in 1927 in the USA revolutionised picture viewing throughout the world and India joined the bandwagon almost from inception. The first talkie, Aalam Ara, was released in Mumbai in 1931 to a riotous start with the necessity of police intervention for control.
And the SoY Award for the Best Male Playback Singer goes to?
Now we come to category-wise discussion of the best songs, following from my overview post on the Best songs of 1946. Understandably, the total number of MEMORABLE SONGS mentioned in the post (81) was the lowest so far in the series on year-wise reviews. Since we are going back year to year, this is a function of entering into less and less familiar territory. The male solos in the list were 22 in number, divided among the following singers:
A tribute to Hemant Kumar on his 99th birth anniversary (16 June 1920 – 26 September 1989)
I had written on the best duets of Hemant Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar in my first year of blogging. Then I had said: “Hemant Kumar in his voice brought the beauty of Bengal and melody of Rabindra Sangeet. When he joined with Lata Mangeshkar the effect was magical. Easily the best duets of Hindi films are of Hemant-Lata”. I further described these duets as the ultimate in melody. Now Songs of Yore has entered the tenth year, and Hemant Kumar would have entered his centenary year today. All this while I have been struck by the beauty of his fascinating duets with ‘other’ singers like Geeta Dutt and Asha Bhosle, and was looking for some opportunity to write a post on them. While Lata Mangeshkar personified melody and sweetness with Hemant Kumar, the ‘other’ singers brought their own unique verve and joy, and combining with his deep melodious voice created a different kind of charming effect.
After about the fifth year, I have been approaching each anniversary of the Songs of Yore with some apprehension whether it has been able to hold the readers’ interest and maintain quality. As I look back on the ninth year completing today, I am quite satisfied, and a great deal of the credit goes to the readers who have continued to participate with high-quality comments. Some readers have taken the trouble of writing guest articles which have significantly enhanced the blog. I owe my heartfelt thanks to all the readers.
(After the earlier two articles covering the 1930s and 1940s, Shalan Lal concludes her three-part thesis on chorus songs with the Golden Decade of the 1950s. As we have come to expect from her, these articles do not merely present the representative songs of the period, but also take us into the evolution of the song-making system, from the birth of talkies in 1931 to the 50s, and its impact on the popular culture. She highlights the factors that make the fifties such a fascinating period. I thank her for her diligent work and valuable contribution towards studying a specific type of songs, which are generally subsumed in the general category of duets. Songs have been numbered continuously from the first part.– AK)
Three Decades of Chorus Songs
Introduction and the Third Decade 1951-60
Now we come to the enthralling, exciting and incredible fifties, i.e. the dazzling golden age of the Hindi film songs and dances, stardust all around, gossips and the rise of filmy journals in most of the 18 states with various languages and dialects of India. Places where Gandhi and Nehru did not reach, there the Hindi films and songs and filmy stories reached, seducing the audience. Winding gramophone records played songs at religious festivals and jatras. Film posters and hoardings went up all over the place around which the monkeys and birds happily chirped and twitted.
Harmandir Singh ‘Hamraz’, in the eighties, brooded for a long time on his curiosity about the film songs and their origin and decided to find out which song was from which film, who sang it and who composed the melody etc. He made many trips to Bombay from his base in Kanpur where he was working for a bank. Only a few people had some memories and memorabilia, many film studios were in ruins and occupied by the homeless, beggars, vagabonds and all kinds of suspicious characters squatting in filth. However things were difficult, Harmandirji was not going to be put off. He found the people who would give him information and willingly part with the film booklets, posters and their memories etc.
With all the difficulties and all the stone-walls he faced he finally managed to create brick by brick some order in his information. Eventually he brought out a voluminous book about the songs of the films that were made in the 1950s. Why fifties? Because whenever a film music was played either on radio or in any roadside stall or in a shantytown or in a sophisticated residential bank quarters or some restaurants only the fifties music was played. In the seventies and eighties the film music was not that appealing in the films.
But his fifties book suddenly caught up the eyes of fans of music, journalists and those people who were once or still in the film world. He was showered with letters of praise and phone calls etc. and he became a celebrity. He then got himself busy in working on the songs of forties, then on to the sixties, and lastly on the 1930s as this was the most difficult decade to find information on. After a hiatus of some years he also brought out Volume V for the decade of 1971-80, and Volume VI for half the decade 1981-85.
His monumental six volumes of a dictionary or an encyclopaedia of the Hindi film songs is worth double doctorate from reputed universities. Without these works I would not have been able to write posts as I have done, nor so many blogs or research on film music would have been possible. So I am extremely grateful and indebted to him, and I have no hesitation in saying that he should have been given highest awards for his contribution towards information regarding Hindi film music.
Now my last lap of this post is about the “Hallucinating Fifties”!
The fifties started with full throttle in the top gear with music, songs and dances. All cinema houses got overflooded with the cinema goers rushing to see the films. More cinema houses were built with many facilities for the audience to relax and enjoy all over India in big cities and small towns. Previously there were no toilets for women. But many theatre owners considered and created them for ‘Ladies’ in newly built pleasure places for the film showrooms. Most of the English Theatres in the downtown Bombay called Fort Area had already built in ‘Ladies’ as they were for the ladies of the British Raj.
Following is the scene of the ‘Capitol Theatre’ at the right side of Bombay’s ‘Victoria Terminus’ generally known as VT in fifties. Now the VT is called a mouthful name ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus’. During the heydays of the British, the Capitol Theatre was for the opera, western music, and English plays and films for the British audiences. Inside and outside the building is an architectural wonder and heritage. But in the fifties it started showing Hindi films. It is built of stones from Rajasthan then Rajputana.
Look at the police in pagadi in the left that was yellow and the police were called ‘Pili Pagadi’.
The first most watched film of the fifties was Albela (1951), made by Bhagwan Arts, music by C Ramchandra and acted in by Bhagwan and Geeta Bali.
So far Bhagwan had made only cheap films along with his Pehlwan actor Baburao and enjoyed comical chases and what was called ‘stunt’ fights in crime thrillers. But his onetime-partner in films, C Ramchandra, who from the middle of the forties started composing music and singing in films, suggested to him to make a social film. So Bhagwan wrote the story and script of the film about a starry-eyed film addict watcher. C Ramchandra got Rajendra Krishna to write the lyrics and he composed lilting and dancing numbers. Except two or three songs out of twelve, he composed them on light tunes based on the Latin American music. The film became a huge success and to date it is remembered for its music and dances of Bhagwan.
At the end of forties Roop K Shorey wrote the story and script, and became producer-director of the film, Ek Thi Ladki (1949). The music was composed by a youthful Punjabi music director Vinod. The film had a riot of songs, chase and comedy with Meena Shorey, Motilal, Majnu etc. All songs in this film were great and one particular chorus song based broadly on the Punjabi rhythm cycle and tune, Lara lappa lara lappa laai rakhda, Aadidappa Aadidappa laai rakhadada, created a storm. The song was well choreographed and first time comically based on the differences between male and female. To date this song is remembered.
For the film Albela, C.Ramchandra composed a similar song on the comical differences between men and women. All the songs in Albela became super hit and made the film a great box office success. For my next choice I choose the song:
23. भोलीसूरतदिलकेखोटे by C Ramchandra, Lata Mangeshkar and chorus from Albela (1951), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music C Ramchandra
चि: भोली सूरत दिल के खोटे
नाम बड़े और दरशन छोटे, दरशन छोटे
ल: नये ज़माने के ये छैला, उजले कपड़े दिल है मैला
रंग-रंगी इनकी टाई, घर में लेकिन कड़की छाई
को: कड़की छाई, कड़की छाई, कड़की छाई
ल: रंग-रंगी इनकी टाई, घर में लेकिन कड़की छाई
फैशन में दिल इनके खोटे
नाम बड़े और दरशन छोटे …
चि: नये ज़माने की ये नारी ऊँची सैण्डल बाँकी साड़ी
नैनों में कजरा होंठों पे लाली
को: हाथ में कंगन कान में बाली, कान में बाली
चि: नैनों में कजरा होंठों पे लाली
नखरे बड़े मोटे मोटे,
नाम बड़े और दरशन छोटे …
ल : हुस्न और इश्क़ की ये लड़ाई, शुरू से जग में होती आयी
चि: ना कोई जीते ना कोई हारे, अजी क्यों न दिल मिल जायें प्यारे
दो : न हम बड़े न तुम छोटे
नाम बड़े और दरशन छोटे …
The next chorus is composed by Salil Chowdhury who spent a great deal of his early time at the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), Calcutta. He was an all-round musician, a story and script writer of many Hindi and Bengali films. There was an exhibition of the American-European films for the first time in Delhi. Nehru inaugurated it and made some snide remarks about escapist films of the Indian film makers. There was an immediate response and many producers made films that had stark realism in them. Do Bigha Zameen was one of them and very much appreciated for the great acting of Balraj Sahni.
24. हरियालासावनढोलबजाताआया by Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar and chorus from Do Bigha Zameen (1953), lyrics Shailendra, music Salil Chaudhary
म: धिन तक तक तक तक
तगिन तगिन गिन गिन रे ए ए
को: उड़ जग जग उड़ जग जगी
ल: हरियाला सावन ढोल बजाता आया
हरियाला सावन ढोल बजाता आया
धिन तक तक मन के मोर नचाता आया
मिट्टी में जान जगाता आया
धरती पहनेगी हरी चुनरिया
बनके दुल्हनिया म: हे ए ए
एक अगन बुझी एक अगन लगी
मन मगन हुआ एक लगन लगी को: या याई याई या रे
या याई याई या रे
म: बैठ न तू मन मारे
को: आ गगन तले देख पवन चले
ल: आजा मिलजुल के गाएं
जीवन क गीत नया
ल: ऐसे बीज बिछा रे को: सुख चैन उगे दुख दर्द मिटे म: नैनों में नाचे रे
सपनों का धान हरा
को: हरियाला सावन धोल बजाता आया..
If there was one film that made the decade dazzling like Hollywood at its zenith, with all the skills in creating a mammoth film, it had to be Aawara. Raj Kapoor catapulted himself from a failure to success with a small budget film Barsaat into the razzmatazz of the Bollywood of the tinsel town, and by the power of Aawara he parachuted himself into the International film world as the Indian ‘Orson Welles’, a great film maker of dignity.
So my next choice for the chorus song is from the film Aawara. It is very artistic and a metaphoric song that has three parts and a dream sequence never ever dreamed by any filmmaker earlier. Stage design-wise it is artistic at par with the great European modern artists’ art work.
25. Tere bina aag ye chandni (तेरेबिनाआगयेचांदनी) by Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar and chorus from Aawara (1951), lyrics Shailendra, music Shankar-Jaikishan
Part 1
Rita in Lata’s voice: Aa aa aa aa
Tere bina aag ye chandni
Tu aaja tu aaja
Tere bina aag ye chandni
Tu aaja tu aaja
Tere bina besuri bansuri
Ye meri zindagi dard ki ragini
Tu aaja tu aaja
Tu aaja tu aaja
Tu aaja tu aaja
Part 2: Backed by the chorus
Raj in Manna Dey’s voice: Ye nahi ye nahi hai zindagi
Zindagi ye nahi zindagi
Zindagi ki ye chita mein
Zinda jal raha hun haaye
Saans ke ye aag ke
Ye teer cheerte hain aar paar
Oooh Oooh, Oooh
Mujhko ye narak na chahiye
Mujhko phool mujhko preet mujhko geet chahiye
Mujhko chahiye bahar
Mujhko chahiye bahar
Mujhko chahiye bahar
Mujhko chahiye bahar
Part 3 Chorus
Om Namah Shivay
Ghar aya mera pardesi
Part 3 continues
Rita in Lata’s voice supported by the Chorus Aa aa aa aa aa aa
Ghar aya mera pardesi pyas bujhi meri ankhiyan ki
Tu mere man ka moti hai, in nainon ki jyoti hai
Yaad hai mere bachpan ki,
Ghar aya mera pardesi
Aa aa aa aa aa aa
Ab dil tod ke mat jana
Roti chhod ke mat jana
Kasam tujhe meri ansuwan ki
Ghar aya mera pardesi
Aa aa aa aa aa aa
(Music: Tabla and other instruments)
Aa aa aa aa aa aa
(End of the dream sequence, choreographed and directed by Madam Simki)
My next chorus song is from the Guru Dutt film Jaal (1952).. This film made Dev Anand a glorious matinee idol and achieved the success he was chasing from his days with Guru Dutt in the Prabhat Film Company which was limping without V Shantaram.
I find it difficult to choose one chorus song from Jaal as they are so good. So do not blame me for my choice.
26. पिघलाहैसोनादूरगगनपरby Lata Mangeshkar and chorus from Jaal (1952), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanavi, music SD Burman
ल: पिघला है सोना दूर गगन पर
फ़ैल रहें हैं शाम के साये
को: भगवन तेरी सुन्दर रचना कितनी प्यारी है
तेरी महिमा के गुण गाता हर नर-नारी है
ल: खामोशी कुछ बोल रही हैं
भेद अनोखे खोल रही हैं
पंख पखेरू सोच में ग़ुम हैं
पेड़ खड़े है सिर झुकाए
पिघला है सोना …
को: भगवन तेरी सुन्दर रचना कितनी प्यारी है
तेरी महिमा के गुण गाता हर नर-नारी है
धुंधले धुंधले मस्त नज़ारे
उड़ते बादल मुड़ते धारे
छुप के नज़र से जाने ये किसने
रंग रंगीले ये खेल रचाए
पिघला है सोना …
कोई भी उठता राज़ न जाने
एक हक़ीक़त लाख़ फ़साने
एक ही जलवा शाम सवेरे
भेस बदल कर सामने आए
पिघला है सोना …
The next choice is from the weird and wonderful film Udan Khatola (1955) made by Sunny Arts. SU Sunny was a close friend of Naushad and probably he was financed by Naushad himself. The film is based on an imaginary island dominated by women reminding the Prabhat film called Wahan (1937). A plane comes and crashes on this island and Dililip Kumar finds himself being looked after by pretty women – a dream of every man sitting in the stalls of the cinema houses. ‘Aage parde par dekhiye…’
HFGK calls this melody as chorus. ‘Haiya re….more sainyaji utarenge paar ho, nadiya dhire baho…. – this was a classical ditty usually sung for hours by some Khan Saheb developing all the classical khubiyan. But here Naushad made it sugar-sweet in Lata and chorus voices. All the songs in this film are of high octane and sweet. In this Naushad used all the skills he learned in his boyhood days when he was working in live orchestra for the silent films in Lucknow.
27. ओमोरेसैंयाजीउतरेंगेपारहोनदियाधीरेबहोby Lata Mangeshkar and chorus from Udan Khatola (1955), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad
(हैय्या हो हैय्या रे हैय्या, हैय्या हो)
ओ मोरे सैंया जी
ओ मोरे सैंया जी उतरेंगे पार हो
नदिया धीरे बहो
मोरे सैंया जी
को: धीरे बहो धीरे धीरे धीरे बहो नदिया हैय्या हो
चंचल धारा बहता पानी बहता पानी
(हैय्या हो हैय्या रे हैय्या)
जलथल नदिया हो जलथल नदिया
(हैय्या हो हैय्या रे हैय्या)
नाव पुरानी सर पे खड़ा मँझधार हो
(हैय्या रे हैय्या)
सर पे खड़ा मँझधार हो
नदिया धीरे बहो, मोरे सैंया जी …
दुनिया माने ओ दुनिया माने
(धीरे बहो धीरे धीरे धीरे बहो नदिया हैय्या हो हैय्या)
मन का सागर कोऊ न जाने, कोऊ न जाने
(हैय्या हो हैय्या)
मैं जानूँ या मोरा यार हो
(हैय्या रे हैय्या)
मैं जानूँ या मोरा यार हो
नदिया धीरे बहो, मोरे सैंया जी …
को: धीरे बहो …
चलती नैया रोके आँधी रोके आँधी
(हैय्या हो हैय्या रे हैय्या, हैय्या हो)
चुप चुप देखे हो चुप चुप देखे
(हैय्या हो हैय्या रे हैय्या)
बेबस माँझी छूटे जाये पतवार हो
(हैय्या रे हैय्या)
छूटे जाये पतवार हो
नदिया धीरे बहो, मोरे सैंया जी …
Now my next chorus song is from the film Jhanak Jhanak Paayal Baaje (1955). This is all colour film and right from the title song the colours are blown all over the screen if not on the audience. This film is wrongly patriotic as the Indian dances are better and spiritually on the higher plane than the corrupting Western ballroom or Latin cabaret type dances. Kathak was the main theme and Gopi Krishna, a great exponent of the Kathak, was the choreographer and hero of the film. Shantaram chose Sandhya, his third wife, as the heroine of this colourful film. Sandhya was not a dancer, nor so much an actor either, but it was pride and ego of Shantaram that he could extract best performance from any naive person or a wooden block.
This film made an end of Black and White films era in the Bollywood. Shantaram’s confidence, Sandhya’s dedication and Gopi Krishna’s exceptional dance led this film to win several awards in India and wide acclaim abroad.
28. मुरलीमनोहरकृष्णकन्हैयाजमुनाकेतटपेविराजेहैंby Manna Dey, Lata Mangeshkar and chorus from Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baaje (1955), lyrics Diwan Sharar, music Vasant Desai
बोल : मुरली मनोहर कृष्ण कन्हैया
जमुना के तट पे विराजे हैं
मुरली मनोहर कृष्ण कन्हैया
जमुना के तट पे विराजे हैं
मोर मुकुट पर कानों में कुण्डल
कर में मुरलिया मुरलिया मुरलिया साजे है
इतने में दी दिखाई राधा
राधा राधा राधा
पनघट पर से आय रही
कतराय रही
शरमाय रही
मुसकाय रही बलखाय रही
इधर बंशी में लहर सी उठी
कृष्ण के मुख पर सजने लगी
पर आप ही आप से बजने लगी बजने लगी बजने लगी
लम्बा सा घूँघट काढ़ लिया
बंशी के सुरों पर झूम गई
हर सरत डगरिया मोह ली
मोहन की ओर ही दुमकित दुमकित दुमकित धूम गई
फिर कृष्ण कन्हैया नटखट ने
राधा की कलैया थाम लई
राधा ने पुकारा
राधा ने पुकारा
हाय दई कोई आओ सखी कोई आओ सखी
फिर हाथ छुड़ा कर बोली हटो
फिर हाथ छुड़ा कर बोली हटो
अब जावो डगरिया छोड़ मोरी
कहा कृष्ण ने चुप रह
वरना दूँगा गगरिया फोड़ तोरी
राधा तब उसकी शोख़ी पर कुछ बिगड़ी भी
मुसकाई भी
फिर कॄष्ण से पूछा
कौन हो तुम क्या नाम है जी
क्या काम है जी क्या काम है जी
म : ओ
हमें गोप ग्वाला कहते हैं -२
और कृष्ण दिया है नाम हमें नाम हमें
कोई नटवर गिरधर कहता है -२
और कोई कहे घनश्याम हमें
ल : घनश्याम नहीं तुम काले हो -२
तुम नटखट हो मतवाले हो मतवाले हो
चितचोर हो माखन चोर नहीं -२
सुख-चैन चुराने वाले हो
घनश्याम नहीं
बोल : राधा ने उनको हाथ दिया
और कृष्ण ने उनका साथ दिया
कुछ बात हुई कुछ घात हुई
इतने में सूरज डूब गया -२
राधा की पायल जाग उठी
दोनों में कला की राग उठी
अब रैन को दीप सँवारे थे
और नील गगन पे तारे थे
रैन को दीप सँवारे थे
और नील गगन पे तारे थे
राधा को विदा के इशारे
राधा को विदा के इशारे थे
राधा ने आँचल बाँध लिया
मुरली को सम्भाला माधव ने
My next song choice is from the film Naya Daur that became famous for a very unseal theme of building a road and tonga race, and patriotic pride of the Indian country etc. The story was by BR.Chopra who was famous for unusual stories and directed it as well. Earlier this picture had Madhubala as heroine and Dilip Kumar as the hero, but Madhubala’s father did not want a son of fruit seller, Dilip Kumar, hobnobbing with his daughter who was born in a shanty town of Chandani Chouk of Old Delhi that once Sanjay Gandhi tried to clear with force. Attaulla Khan had Dickensian ‘Great Expectations’ for his daughter apart from his main earning from her for the upkeep of his other daughters and his own luxuries. The affair of Dilip aka Yusuf Khan and Madhubala was mentioned in the Girgaon Court when BR.Chopra took Madhubala’s father to the court for breaking the contract of his daughter. The film also became popular for OP Nayyar’s melodious songs and music with his Punjabi stomping beat. It gave a riot of happiness to the fifties’ audience and still creates waves of joy in the fans of OP.
29. येदेशहैवीरजवानोंकाअलबेलोंकामस्तानोंकाby Mohammad Rafi and chorus from Naya Daur (1957), lyrics Sahir Ludhiyanavi, music OP Nayyar
ये देश है वीर जवानों का अलबेलों का मस्तानों का
ओ …
इस देश का यारों … होय!!
इस देश का यारों क्या कहना
ये देश है दुनिया का गहना
ओ… ओ…
यहाँ चौड़ी छाती वीरों की
यहाँ भोली शक्लें हीरों की
यहाँ गाते हैं राँझे … ह ओय!!
यहाँ गाते हैं राँझे मस्ती में
मस्ती में झूमें बस्ती में
ओ… ओ…
पेड़ों पे बहारें झूलों की
राहों में कतारें फूलों की
यहाँ हँसता है सावन … ओय!!
यहाँ हँसता है सावन बालों में
खिलती हैं कलियाँ गालों में
ओ… ओ…
कहीं दंगल शोख जवानों के
कहीं करतब तीर कमानों के
यहाँ नित नित मेले … ओय!!
यहाँ नित नित मेले सजते हैं
नित ढोल और ताशे बजते हैं
ओ… ओ…
दिलबर के लिये दिलदार हैं हम
दुश्मन के लिये तलवार हैं हम
मैदां में अगर हम … ह ओय!!
मैदां में अगर हम डट जाएं
मुश्किल है के पीछे हट जाएं
हुर्र हे !! हा!!
हुर्र हे !! हा!!
हुर्र हे !! हा!!
My last stop is at Tumsa Nahin Dekha. So this long journey into the ‘Chorus songs in the Hindi films’ comes to an end with delights of meeting OP Nayyar and Shammi Kapoor again with his new Yahoo image. All the credits go to the O.P.’s out of the world music and melodies. Really?
30. देखोक़समसेक़समसेकहतेहैंतुमसेहाँ by Mohammad Rafi, Asha Bhosle and chorus from Tumsa Nahin Dekha (1957), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music OP Nayyar
देखो क़सम से क़सम से कहते हैं तुमसे हाँ
तुम भी जलोगे हाथ मलोगे रुठ के हमसे हाँ
रात है दीवानी मस्त है फ़िज़ाएं
चांदनी सुहानी सर्द है हवाएं
तुम भी अकेले हम भी अकेले कहते हैं तुमसे हाँ
तुम भी जलोगे हाथ मलोगे रुठ के हमसे हाँ
जाते हो तो जाओ चल दिये जी हम भी
जाते हो तो जाओ चल दिये जी हम भी
आओ या ना आओ अब नहीं है ग़म भी
आओ या ना आओ अब नहीं ग़म भी
हम भी अकेले तुम भी अकेले कहते हैं तुमसे हाँ
तुम भी जलोगे हाथ मलोगे रुठ के हमसे हाँ
क्या लगाई तुमने ये क़सम क़सम से
क्या लगाई तुमने ये क़सम क़सम से
लो ठहर गये हम कुछ कहो भी हम से
लो ठहर गये हम कुछ कहो भी हम से
बनके न चलिये तनके न चलिये कहते हैं तुमसे हाँ
तुम भी जलोगे हाथ मलोगे रुठ के हमसे हाँ
(I didn’t see or hear any chorus in the song. But since it is such a nice song, and Shalan Lal has transcribed the lyrics with such great effort, I have retained the song. – AK)
31. सरपेटोपीलालby Mohammad Rafi, Asha Bhosle and chorus fromTumsa Nahi Dekha (1957), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music OP Nayyar
सर पर टोपी लाल, हाथ में रेशम का रूमाल, हो, तेरा क्या कहना
गोरे-गोरे गाल पे उलझे-उलझे बाल, हो, तेरा क्या कहना
मेरा दिल तो जान-ए-जां, चुराके चली कहाँ, नशे में भरी-भरी
चुराऊँ मैं दिल तेरा, जिगर भी नहीं मेरा, उमर भी नहीं मेरी
बहकी-बहकी चाल, हाय, लचके जैसे डाल, हो, तेरा क्या कहना
सर पे टोपी …
हो, ये क्यों दिल पे हाथ है, वो क्या ऐसी बात है, हमें भी बताइए
भला इतनी दूर से, कहूँ क्या हुज़ूर से, मेरे पास आइए
हो हो के बेहाल बालमा, ये सतरँगी चाल, हो, तेरा क्या कहना
गोरे गोरे गाल …
तमन्ना थी कम-से-कम, कोई फूल बनके हम तेरी ज़ुल्फ़ चूमते
रही आरज़ू सनम, तेरा रूप लेके हम, शराबी से झूमते
बहकी-बहकी चाल, हाय, लचके जैसे डाल, हो, तेरा क्या कहना
सर पे टोपी …
Epilogue 1: From the studio-based musicians of the thirties to the all-round cinematic art musicians of the fifties, from the huge microphones and heavy recording equipments, and learning on the job as one goes into the recording of the songs, to the sophistication of purpose-built sound recording studios of the fifties, specially trained sound engineers, and film songs becoming almost stars in the films with stardust around them is a very long journey. Making music with non-sensual sounds like ‘Aha, Aha’ and ‘Lul Lul Laa!’ etc, the musicians along with the lyricists and “Adidappa” music directors accomplished to create lyrical and lilting melodies in the voices of angelic singers like Lata, Gita, Samshad, Asha, Rafi, Mukesh, Manna Dey. The almost heavenly music is an act far too superior to what happened in the Hollywood. Of course the Hollywood had advantage of more attractions, techniques, money and historically advanced European civilization behind them while India had to struggle out of the colonised effects and without the advantage of the renaissance and enlightenment of all round freedom. But Bollywood was now a real challenge to the Hollywood.
Here ends my loitering voyage into the Chorus songs in the Hindi films with the Third Decade (1951-60).
Readers are invited when to comment and post their chorus songs from the decade covered under the post and also beyond.
Epilogue 2
From the beginning of this Merry Month of May, Indian newspapers started flashing the news that RK children were going to sell the RK Studios. At first I thought another entrepreneur would come and buy it, keeping the RK legacy intact in the studio. But in a few days, news flashed in the newspapers that the RK Studios has been sold to the Godrej Properties.
The newspapers published pictures of the gate of the RK Studios, which was in a dilapidated state, and the RK emblem adapted from a scene in the film Barsaat (1949) was falling apart. But the newspapers also said that the Godrej Properties were planning to develop a luxury residential complex there. It is so sad, so hurtful, so ironical and so cruel that all the love of Raj Kapoor for the film art has come to this state.
Remember the scene from the film Shri 420 in the song, Pyar hua iqaraar hua…Main na rahungi, tum na rahoge phir bhi rahengi nishaaniyan, and a shot of Raj Kapoor’s little children walking hurriedly in the rain was seen. We loved that as we loved the song. It gives bitterness to my pen to say these were the Nishaaniyan-children who sold the RK Studios.
The Sanskrit words come to mind: “Kaalaya tasmai namah!” Time is the ultimate destroyer, hence I bow to it!
Acknowledgement and Disclaimer: The images have been sourced from the Internet and the song links have been embedded from the YouTube, only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog acknowledges that the copyright over the images and songs rests with the respective owners.
(In the first part of her three-part dissertation on chorus songs in the films of yore, Shalan Lal covered the first decade of the 1930s, dominated by three major studios: The New Theatres of Calcutta, Bombay Talkies of Bombay and Prabhat Film Company of Poona. This was published on 2 May 2019. The second part, dealing with the second decade of the 1940s, and chorus songs from this era, gives a good insight into the main trends during this period and style of music. I compliment Shalan Lal on another well-researched article and thank her on behalf of the readers for her painstaking work. Shalan Lal is a UK-based academic. – AK)
Three Decades of Chorus Songs
Introduction and the Second Decade 1941-50
Now into the tuneful forties.
In this section we discuss how the choruses and musical accompaniment in the films already established by the studio-based film companies had been used by the other companies to further the art of songs and chorus songs to their advantage.
The three film companies, New Theatres, Prabhat, and Bombay Talkies, mentioned in the first part of this series, developed internal institutional troubles and towards the end of the forties they were going to be dissolved or go limping to vanish; so more or less individual music directors became independent and allowed themselves to be hired by the film companies and the individual entrepreneurs to do contracted piece-work and free to do work for other companies on contracts. The reason for this was that the studios themselves would go on renting their space and facilities to other companies as well. Music directors would hire outside halls to rehearse their songs. As playback became gradually became the norm, the recording studios would need their studios booked in advanced.
AK on Rafi ‘s songs for “not the top heroes”Gandhi Vadlapatla, I remember one of Rafi's best patriotic songs, Jahan daal daal par sone ki chidiya karti hai basera...
In my last post I covered Ravi’s best solo songs for Rafi. He composed about 250 songs for Rafi, including duets. It is a huge number in absolute as well as relative terms. Only two, Laxmikant-Pyarelal and Shankar-Jaikishan, have undisputedly composed more Rafi songs than him, as can be expected. Chitragupta is in the same range or marginally more than him. About 42% of these songs are duets, including male-male duets, and songs having more than two singers. Over 100 duets is a significant number, and several of them are so good, no discussion on Ravi’s songs for Rafi is complete without mentioning his duets.
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