Rajendra Krishna with Chitragupta and Ravi: Reaching for the skies

Guest article by Hans Jakhar in continuation of his series on Rajendra Krishna

(When some readers observed that the lyricists have not been give their due importance on SOY, Hans Jakhar offered to write a series of articles on Rajendra Krishna’s combination with different music directors. He has already written two articles in the series on his association with two of his most famous combinations – with C Ramchandra and Madan Mohan. Continuing the series, in this article he covers Rajendra Krishna’s prolific combination with two other music directors, Chitragupta and Ravi. Among his several guest articles, he had earlier written on Shakeel Badayuni’s combination with Ravi.

Not everyone relates to lyrics as intensely as Hans Jakhar does. In most music lovers’ mind a great song is associated with the voice (singer) and the tune (music director). We often lose sight of the contribution of the lyricist, except for a very few prominent ones. Hans has shown his special expertise in analysing the lyrics of a song.

Once Hans takes up a work, he does a thorough job of it in spite of time constraints. He has done this article in face of his personal difficulties. Thank you Hans for another thorough article on a lyricist-music director combination. – AK)

With Chitragupta and Ravi we move into the Rafi territory. It is not that C Ramchandra (CR) or Madan Mohan (MM) did not use Rafi enough, but their main focus was Lata Mangeshkar. CR did not care for Rafi after he got settled with Lata Mangeshkar, and even for MM, Rafi was in an assisting role. When in the 1960s MM used Rafi on a larger scale his use of Rajendra Krishna declined due to Raja Mehdi Ali Khan and Kaifi Azmi getting the lion’s share of good Rafi songs in that phase of his association with MM.

I would write in detail on singer preferences and use of various lyricists by Chitratupta and Ravi in their respective portions, but here I give one more statistic. Whenever I write on someone, I make a list of his/her songs and mark against the list the prominently remembered quality songs. Likewise I made a list of all four MDs CR, MM, Chitragupta and Ravi. I give here the rough percentages of the prominent songs of the four. CR had around 35%, MM 52%, Chitragupta 68% and Ravi 75%. Though I try my best to be neutral but personal preferences may have crept in the data analysis. But this gives a rough idea and shows that it corresponds to my theory of progressive use of Rafi by each. This data is only restricted to songs written by Rajendra Krishna.

Now I proceed to give some traits of Rajendra Krishna’s lyrics. As I had already said, RK had the ability to write exactly according to the given situation. This characteristic of his is manifest in the eternal classic song ‘Chal ud ja re panchhi’. This song has four antaras for three different situations. The song starts with titles when Balraj Sahni’s father is at the death bed. The first antara in general talks about ephemeral nature of life at the time the soul is departing. The second antara is in a situation when Balraj Sahni, who has set up the whole business, departs for the village house after his brother claims share. The lines of the antara,

तूने तिनका तिनका चुनकर नगरी एक बसाईं
बारिश में तेरी भीगी पाँखें धूप में गर्मी खाई
ग़म न कर जो तेरी मेहनत तेरे काम न आई
अच्छा है कुछ ले जाने से देकर ही कुछ जाना

exactly depict the mindset of Balraj Sahni. The third and fourth antaras come when wives of younger brothers of Balraj Sahni taunt Nanda about her being a child-widow and she decides to go to her sasural. The third antara exactly depicts thoughts from her perspective.

भूल जा अब वो मस्त हवा वो उड़ना डाली डाली
जग की आँख का कांटा बन गयी चाल तेरी मतवाली
कौन भला उस बाग़ को पूछे हो न जिसका माली
तेरी  किस्मत में लिखा है जीते जी मर जाना

Now the camera shifts to her childhood playmate Jagdeep and the fourth antara talks about their relationship.

रोते हैं वो  पंख पखेरू साथ तेरे जो खेले
जिनके साथ लगाए तूने अरमानों के मेले
भीगी अँखियों से ही उनकी आज दुआएं ले ले
किसको पता अब इस नगरी में कब हो तेरा आना

Another aspect of Rajendra Krishna’s lyrics which I have noticed is his writing with equal felicity from the male and female perspectives. I have given examples in the earlier parts, and this aspect continues with these two music directors as well. Here I mention the song ‘Ek raat men do do chand khile‘ which is a duet of Mukesh and Lata. Here reference to ‘chaand‘ comes from the male side. Later, in the 1969 film Doli he wrote ‘Aaj main dekhun jidhar jidhar, na jaane kyun udhar udhar mujhe do do chaand nazar aayein‘ from female perspective. Some examples would be mentioned in the descriptions of songs too.

With CHITRAGUPTA

Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar were Chitragupta’s main singers. While Rafi was with him from quite early and was instrumental in Chitragupta first hit film Sindbad the Sailor (1952). After his blockbuster Tulsidas in 1954, Lata Mangeshkar decided to sing for Chitragupta. Her first film with him was Shiv Bhakt in 1955. Prior to that Asha Bhosle was his main female singer and was replaced by Lata Mangeshkar since 1955. After Bhabhi‘s rollicking success Lata’s place was cemented. Just like Naushad, Chitragupta too had these two as his main singers, once he discovered them.

Lata Mangeshkar had a special relationship with Chitragupta which never broke and will be seen in the stats which follow. Chitragupta had 93 songs in 13 films with Rajendra Krishna, between 1957 and 1969. Details are known for 92 songs, out of which 67 (male 28, female 39) are solos and 25 duets (MF-17, FF-5, MM-2 and Triad-1). More than the solos, the duets will show their special relationship. Madan Mohan composed 75 songs written by Rajendra Krishna out of which 57 were MF duets. Lata Mangeshkar lent her voice in just 15 of them and only 4 of them she sang with Rafi. On the other hand of Chitragupta’s 17 MF duets, Lata Mangeshkar’ voice was in 15 of them of which she sang 7 with Rafi. Rafi had one song each with Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt. She was ready to sing more with Rafi for Chitragupta as also more duets overall. Same is the case with other lyricists and Lata Mangeshkar has sung a number of great duets with Rafi for Chitragupta, even when she was refusing others (the only other exception was Naushad). I have read that when she stopped rehearsing for songs Naushad and Chitragupta were the two exception to whom she did not refuse rehearsals. Chitragupta was also among the few MDs for whom she readily accepted fee cuts. Chitragupta on his part was also loyal, even in the era when she was not singing with Rafi and gave her more duets with other male singers than any other MD.

Coming to the solos, Lata Mangeshkar sang 33 out of 39 female solos, 2 each going to Asha Bhosle and Geeta Dutt and one each to Suman Kalyanpur and Usha Mangeshkar. On the male side Rafi was in absolute command getting 27 out of 28, the sole exception being Hemant Kumar who got ‘Din raat badalte hain’.

As regards the lyricists, Chitragupta composed more than 150 songs written by Majrooh Sultanpuri and Prem Dhawan, who were by far his main lyricists. Then comes GS Nepali who had 118 songs, followed by Rajendra Krishna with 93. Nepali gave blockbusters like Tulsidas and Shiv Bhakt, but was discarded after Chitragupta moved into the social film era after Bhabhi. Though Chitragupta had the best success rate with Rajendra Krishna, he does not appear to be his first choice as a lyricist. This is clear from the fact that out of 13 films, Rajendra Krishna wrote dialogues also in 10, which means he was chosen by producer/director rather than Chitragupta. Of the remaining 3 films, 2 films are not available and it is not clear whether Rajendra Krishna wrote dialogues for them or not. There is only one film Kangan (1959) in which he was not the dialogue writer.

Here are the songs for the duo in chronological order. Like the other two music directors covered earlier, a number of gems have been reluctantly left out.

1. Jawan ho ya budhiya – Bhabhi – 1957 – Mohammad Rafi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYEpT9LZ7-Q

This film was a treasure house of gems with each song of a very high quality. They were distributed between Chitragupta’s favourite singers Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar, barring the all-male triad, Laila Laila pukarun main ban mein (Rafi, Manna Dey, S Balbir). This song I have selected for its razor-sharp lyrics. You may agree or disagree with them, but you will certainly find many characters in our society conforming to the qualities detailed by Rajendra Krishna. Third antara:

चलने में तेज जैसे सूई घड़ियाल की
लाये ये निकाल के खबर पाताल की
मीठी है जबान की झूठी है जहान की
दिल की है खोटी तो कच्ची भी है कान की
काली हो या गोरी है बैरी इंसान की

Since the character singing the song is studying medicine Rajendra Krishna has also kept the following lines which come to the mind of a medical man studying Chemistry.

‘Chaar boondein nakhra, aath boondein jhagda,
Jhooth baarah boondein to solah boondein lafda,
Wah wah wah wah kaisa banaya toone ragda’
(Here ragda means mixture)

2. Aadmi charag hai uski chalegi kya chalti hawa ke saamne – Barkha – 1959 – Rafi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5u_VSHyav_0

A top class majhi song with a difference or you may call it a modern (though more than 60 years old) majhi song with antics of Jagdeep. The lyrics are philosophical including kismat and Karma theory with a great tune and rendition. The film is based on love of bhai-behan in which Jagdeep and Nanda are siblings. There is another similarly philosophical song but poignant ‘Sur badle kaise kaise dekho kismat ki shehnai’.

3. Tadpaoge tadpa lo hum tadap tadap kar bhi tumhare geet gayenge – Barkha – Lata Mangeshkar

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CakDDkF-Qv4

In this Shubha Khote, who is playing spoilsport in the film, takes the aggressive role and Rajendra Krishna comes up with lyrics from her side with Anant Kumar in a docile role. I give here the third antara:

देख निशाने पर रखा है कबसे मैंने दिल
तीर चला क्या सोच रहा है ओ भोले क़ातिल
क्या पता मौत ही प्यार की हो मंज़िल

In the first antara he uses the word ‘parda’ to denote ‘doori’. Like in Baarish, where he wrote both side songs, Rajendra Krishna also wrote another song in this film in which Jagdeep is talking and Shubha Khote is listening. You can listen to both songs to see how differently Rajendra Krishna tackles the lyrics in the two different situations. The link of the other song ‘Pyar kiya nahin jata ho jata hai meri jaan‘ is also given here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4RPnNW-qNI

4. Bees baras tak lakh sambhala chala gaya par janewala – Kangan – 1959 – Geeta Dutt

Bees baras tak lakh sambhala, chala gaya par janewala,
Na tooti koi khidki vidki na toota koi taala,
Dil ho gaya chori’

This is the mukhada of the dance song on the occasion of the wedding reception. This one and the previous one I held back from posting in the door/window post, This one is specifically great and counting this alongwith ‘Sham dhale‘ and ‘Mere samne wali’, everybody will agree Rajendra Kishna has the three best khidki songs to his credit. Sanjeev Kumar starrer Uljhan was made on the same theme as this film.

5. Din raat badalte hain haalaat badalte hain – Naya Sansar – 1959 – Hemant Kumar

Chitragupta gave very few songs to Hemant Kumar, 4 solos and 2 duets as per my record. These were all in the years 1958 and 59 and this was the last song. And what a song it turned out to be. It is included in all the selections of Hemant. I think this is the favourite of all, so nothing much to say.

6. Laage unki suratiya kuchh aisi bhali, jaise kauwe ki chonch men anaar ki kali – Ma Baap – 1960 – Lata

As is clear from the mukhada, this is a fun song. Kamini Kadam is in love with Rajendra Kumar and Anwar Hussain is being promoted as a husband for her. She is making fun of him to dissuade him. Lyrics are full of comical effect. In the first antara she is sarcastic ‘Baatein wo karte hain aisi kamaal ki, jaise umariya ho pandrah saal ki’, but in the second she starts criticising directly:

चिपकू भी ऐसे हैं जाने का नाम न लें
घड़ी है बांध रखी लेकिन काम न लें
जहाँ भी थम गए समझो के जम गए
दिन से रात हुई, रात भी ढली

7. Teri shokh nazar ka ishara – Patang – 1960 – Mukesh and Lata

Patang was a musical bonanza with two Lata Mangeshkar solos, three Rafi solos (one of them with two versions) and two Lata-Mukesh duets. I could have included the eternal Lata gem ‘Rang dil ki dhadkan bhi laati to hogi’, but this was a chance also to showcase Mukesh. This is a pure romantic song, with usually good lyrics.

8. Tu aap hai apna chor kahe rapat kare kotwali – Patang – Rafi

This film has three Rafi solos with one of them having a sad version also. All except the sad version are lip-synced by Om Prakash. ‘Ye duniya patang’ showcases vagaries of life with duniya taken as life, and further compared with patang. We can call it double imagery. ‘Ye duniya badi luteri‘ shows people who are duping others. This song being discussed talks about looking into your inner self instead of reaching to god for everything. In his inimitable style Rajendra Krishna compares god with thanedar and temple as kotwali. All these solos show RK’s grip on the simple language which mesmerized common cinegoers.

9. Tumhin ho mata pita tumhin ho – Main Chup Rahungi – 1962 – Lata

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrXdnAwmUhA

This film had seven songs, all hits and all with Rafi and Lata, the favourites of Chitragupta: Two Rafi solos, two Lata solos, two great romantic duets and one duet parody song. The reason for selecting this one is simple. It was used in some schools as daily prayer and where it was not a daily prayer, it was at some time or other sung on stage on Saturdays.

10. Tere poojan ko bhagwan banaun bank main aalishan – Shaadi – 1962 – Rafi

This film had two strugglers, Manoj Kumar and Dharmendra, in it. Om Prakash plays a miserly moneylender. In this song he is doing the aarti of money and Rajendra Krishna again weaves a spell with his words and the rest is done by Chitragupta and Rafi. Must listen song.

11. Ja aur kahin ro shehnai, ab main hoon aur meri tanhai – Shadi – Lata

There are three prominent songs where Rajendra Krishna used ‘shehnai’ for translating his thoughts. In Barkha song ‘Sur badle kaise kaise dekho kismat ki shehnai‘ he uses it to show the ups and downs of life. In Shehnai he again mentions life’s philosophy with the song ‘Kya ajab saaz hai ye shehnai do hi sur ka ye khel saara hai‘. Here in this song ‘shehnai’ is being addressed as if it is a living being. In this gem of a song there are just 54 words in the mukhda and 3 antaras and most of them are of one or two letters. Picturisation is also special as the first two antaras are sung by the inner self of Saira Bano and in the 3rd this aatma is shown as entering her body and she lip-syncs this one.

12. Krishna O kaale Krishna tune ye kya kiya – Main Bhi Ladki Hoon – 1964 – Lata

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DH9YfoQk_RI

In this film about the travails of a dusky Meena Kumari, the widower Rajaji wishes for a beautiful daughter-in-law, but his son Dharmendra gets to marry her by some conspiracy. All are shocked by this trickery, but she wins them all by her nature. Meena Kumari excelled in such emotional roles. A strong emotional song was the need of the scene and, as always, Rajendra Krishna found fitting lyrics. This song was extremely popular in its days, but slowly went out of public radar, but for me this has always been in the frontline songs of Lata. ‘Poojen sabhi kaale bhagwan ko, aur thukrayen sab kaale insaan ko‘ and ‘Soorat to kaali chhipa na sakun, kitna ujla hai dil ye dikha na sakun‘ with ‘Dil mujhko achha diya tha agar, kyun na di tumne duniya ko acchi nazar‘ are some strong lyrics which leave an impact on the mind.

13. Dar dar ki thokaro itna mujhe bata do – Mera Qasoor Kya Hai – 1964 – Lata Mangeshkar

This song was another gem from a film which did not do well at the box-office, but was constantly heard on the radio. Lyricists used single line mukhda in many songs, but Rajendra Krishna used this device more than most of them. In the first antara she asks what for she has got the punishment. The second one talks about her lover and says ‘Usne mujhe banaya tha apne gale ka haar/ Main uska aitbaar thi wo mera aitbaar/ Kyun aaj kah raha hai wahi door ja ke ro‘ then in the third she tells she is beqasoor and ‘Phir kisliye ye hukam gunahon ke daag dho’.

14. Ji lagta nahin apna in desi nazaaron men – Pyar Ka Sapna – 1969 – Rafi

Biswajeet is enamoured with European style of life and for this he even leaves his wedded wife. Rajendra Krishna binds public perception about ‘vilayat’ life style with mind blowing lyrics.

15. Haseenon ki ankhon ka tara rahunga – Pyar Ka Sapna – Rafi

This is filmed on Johnny Walker, so Rajendra Krishna had to fit lyrics for him which he does admirably.

London men soun to Paris men jaagun,
marzi se uthun to marji se bhaagun,
kisi ik jagah na dubara rahunga

The antics of Johnny Walker and his typical dance make the song worth watching.

With RAVI

Ravi has been extensively covered on SOY. So a number of his songs with Rajendra Krishna – 22 to be precise – have been covered. Rajendra Krishna was his main lyricist who wrote 139 songs for him in 21 films. Ravi had two more centurions in great lyricists Sahir Ludhiyanavi and Shakeel Badayuni. Even Prem Dhawan with 58 songs performed quite admirably with him and had more memorable songs with him than Chitragupta despite having written about three times of the songs he wrote for Ravi. Ravi’s method of allowing more freedom to his lyricists bore great results in terms of quality.

As regards singers, Ravi’s songs with Rajendra Krishna also had about the same proportion. Rafi and Asha Bhosle were his main singers, with Lata Mangeshkar also used for good measure. After entry of Mahendra Kapoor via BR Films he too had a number of songs. Out of the 139 songs 106 were solos (51 female and 55 male) and 33 duets (MF-27, FF-4, MM-1 and Triad-1). Of the female solos Asha Bhosle got 41 and Lata the remaining 10. Similarly the 27 MF duets were distributed among both the sisters, Asha Bhosle getting 22 (13 of them with Rafi) and Lata Mangeshkar 5 (Rafi-1). In the FF category, too, Asha Bhosle was in all the four FF duets, Lata Mangeshkar being with her in two of them. In the male solos field there was a lot more variety than Chitragupta. Rafi got 39 with MK getting 10, and 2 each to Kishore Kumar, Mukesh and Manna Dey.

Now over to the songs and like all others a number of great songs have been left out. I specially had to work hard because Ravi had a lot of hit films and in most of them the whole score of the film were hits.

1. Le lo choodiyan main laya nirali rangdar – Ghar Ki Laaj – 1960 – Rafi

Johnny Walker again in the garb of choodiwala to meet his girlfriend. Rajendra Krishna again finds words of praise for the choodis as ‘haath ki shobha, dil ki thandak, nainon ka khumar‘ and ‘shauk hai ameer ka, gareeb ka hai gahna’ and shows how closely he observed society. Rest is done by Ravi and Rafi. You can see how differently Rafi tackles the same JohnnyW in two different situations.

2. Saaz bajta rahe raks hota rahe – Modern Girl – 1961 – Asha Bhosle

This film had songs like ‘Nazar uthne se pehli hi jhuka leti’ (Rafi), ‘Kabhi inkaar karte ho, kabhi ikraar karte ho’ (Mukesh) and the parody song ‘Tod diya chashma mera tune are O bewafa‘ which were quite popular, but I have selected this one over them for variety. In this long song with 5 antaras various fun activities of young people in particular are shown throughout, with the song basically saying enjoy life while it is favourable. Lines like ‘Gulbadan chandni mein nahate rahein, aag lehron ke dil men lagaate rahein‘ and ‘Phool baagon se zulfon mein aate rahein, naaginon ke dilon ko lubhate rahein‘ are fitting the theme. And there is a blooper too, when he slips in ‘Husn sota rahe, ishq rota rahe’.

3. Maine apni shama bujha kar – Nazrana – 1961 – Lata Mangeshkar

Vyjayanthimala is the younger sister of Usha Kiran who works and educates her sister. Raj Kapoor and Vyjayanthimala love each other, but when she comes to know that Usha Kiran loves Raj Kapoor she makes him marry her sister. This song is a background song just after the marriage of Usha Kiran and Raj Kapoor, from the point of view of Vyjayanthimala. A very soft song and one of the finest background songs sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Lata has three solos in this film, all are great. Mele hain charagon ke has been posted by AK in Ravi-Lata post. The third one is filmed on Usha Kiran – ‘Dekha hai tumne jidhar jidhar’. All three songs show the mastery of lyrics on the part of Rajendra Krishna.

4. Baazi kisi ne pyar ki jeeti ya haar di – Nazrana – Rafi

This song has two antaras, one each for two different situations with fitting lyrics for each situation. Despite Raj Kapoor, this song was given to Rafi by Ravi and this is by far the best song in the film. This film was such a flop that this was never shown even in re-runs which were quite frequent in the 60s and 70s. I wanted to see it for its great score but, could not get to see it before the internet age. There was another flop film Pyar Ka Sagar in the same year in which Ravi gave two great solos to Mukesh, filmed on Rajendra Kumar. This film I could watch in its re-run. I don’t know whether Ravi stopped using Mukesh because of these flops or because of Mahendra Kapoor who came to him around the same time.

5. Hai bahaar-e-baag-e-duniya chand roz – Bombay Ka Chor – 1962 – Rafi

This is one of the top philosophical songs of Hindi films like ‘Ye zindagi ke mele‘ and again Rafi is the singer. I intended to include Kishore Kumar’s song ‘Hasrat hi rahi humse bhi kabhi koi pyar karta‘ which is my favourite, but that has not escaped the eyes of AK. So I got this one from this film. The lyrics are just great. I will specially mention the first antara here.

Laakh dara aur sikandar ho gaye,
Aaj bolo wo kahan sab kho gaye,
Aayi hichki maut ki aur so gaye,
Har kisi ka hai basera chand roz

When I see such lyrics I remember the remarks of Manek Premchand, who equated Rajendra Krishna with a lizard who would look lazy and suddenly find some fitting words and pounce like the lizard.

6. Sitaro aaj to hum bhi tumhare sath jagenge – Rakhi – 1962 – Asha Bhosle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CaztRm6nLY

This film was again a treasure trove of gems, with three great Rafi solos, two Lata solos and one Lata-Mukesh duet. Two have been posted by AK. I post here this Asha Bhosle solo with fitting lyrics. The song was filmed on Ameeta who was almost a stepney in this bhai-behan film.

7. Koi mujhse poochhe ke tum mere kya ho – Ye Raste Hain Pyar Ke – 1963 – Rafi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVnf7o8_szw

This song was the favourite of Bhatiaji, who posted it a number of times. This song is a point of zenith in the career of all the three: Rajendra Krishna, Ravi and Rafi. This song in two parts shows the contrast in two totally different situations. Rajendra Krishna shows his art and craft in both situations. ‘Zulf lehrayi teri aur meri taqdeer bani’ turns into ‘Zulf nagin bhi banegi mujhe maloom na tha‘. ‘Dahke hue rukhsar‘ have become ‘Rukhsaron mein garmi ka koi naam nahin‘ and ‘Makhmoor nigahen‘ has ‘Wafa ka koi paigam nahin’. Reply to ‘Koi mujhse poochhe ke tum mere kya ho‘ has turned from ‘Mere pyar ki ik haseen iltija ho’ to ‘Wafa jisne looti wohi bewafa ho’. Ravi gave the song ‘now recital, now song’ presentation and Rafi is always Rafi, ever-ready for everything.

8. Ye raste hain pyar ke chalna sambhal sambhal ke – Ye Raste Hain Pyar Ke – Asha Bhosle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPf3ffpXdGk

This is one of the most famous title songs of Hindi film music. Shashikala who played the role of a teaser for Mala Sinha in Gumrah, is here shown lip-syncing a song of caution to Leela Naidu – though indirectly. The lyrics are as always superbly woven and Asha Bhosle has instilled proper emotions for the situation.

9. Na jhatko zulf se paani ye moti foot jayenge – Shehnai – 1964 – Rafi

This is one of the most romantic songs of Hindi film music. Director SD Narang has to be given credit for picturisation which is just outstanding. Rajshri would find herself flatteringly mesmerizing on watching it. Ravi and Rafi had this knack of producing romantic song after song whether it be Guru Dutt (Chaudhvin ka chaand ho), Shammi Kapoor (Jaane bahar husn tera), Joy Mukherjee (Husn se chand bhi sharmaya hai), Manoj Kumar (Door rah kar na karo baat) or the most unlikely hero Vijay Kumar (Zara sun haseena-e-nazneen). I am sure Rafi fans of such songs have the lyrics of this song on tips, and if somebody has not turned into a Rafi/Ravi fan after so many songs, then it would be hardly worthwhile to repeat the lyrics here.

10. Badi der bhayi Nandlala – Khandaan – 1965 – Rafi

This is an iconic song for Janmasthmi. Rajendra Krishna also wrote ‘Kanhaiya kanhaiya tujhe aana padega‘ for Rajesh Khanna film Maalik.

11. Tu hoke bada ban jana apni mata ka rakhwala – Khandaan – Rafi

This song should explain the song ‘Tumhin mere mandir’. Sunil Dutt was handicapped and he considered Nutan’s offer of marriage with him as some kind of pity and RK came up with that song to show she thinks of him in very high terms. The prelude to this song shows what Sunil Dutt thinks of himself and feels indebted to Nutan and so asks his son to be a protector of his mother for which he thinks himself as unfit. Rajendra Krishna wrote the dialogues of the film too, so he was well conversant with the mindsets of different characters. This was his strength.

12. Khaak men mila to kya phool phir bhi phool hai – Sagai – 1966 – Asha, Usha Mangeshkar, Usha Khanna

This song is one of my top favourites and this always brings tears to my eyes. Children facing physical hardships giving hope to Rajshri. Again my vote also goes to the Director SD Narang for bringing forth the right emotions. The lyrics are just great.

13. Nange baaju nangi raane husn ka ye mayyar nahin – Ye Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai – 1966 – Rafi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgFe75NCHeo

Rajendra Krishna wrote this perfect song against female exhibitionism thought to be prevalent mostly in Europe at that time. Later in Pyar Ka Sapna he wrote ‘Ji lagta nahin apna‘ with positive views. This I have already posted in Chitragupta’s songs. These two songs show Rajendra Krishna’s mastery in writing with the same authority on opposing themes.

14. Jeene ka agar andaz aaye to kitni haseen hai zindagi – Ye Zindagi Kitni Haseen Hai – Asha Bhosle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_UVID3sHzQ

This is a sad song talking about intricacies of life. Some lines are direct and some indicative. A must listen song.

15. Mera gadha gadhon ka leader – Meherban – 1967 – Rafi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_URMh0Qyqc

This is a total fun song with the most fitting lyrics with a list of demands on behalf of a donkey with in-built sarcasm.

16. Kis tarah jeete hain ye log bata do yaaro – Nai Roshni – 1967 – Rafi

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iom0JI3ZAME

This film had songs like ‘Jitni likhi thi muqaddar men hum utni pee chuke’, ‘Sapne hain sapne kab hue apne‘ (posted by AK). This song is continuation of the question raised in song 14 above. He is looking to seek ‘jeene ka andaz’.

प्यार लेते हैं कहाँ से ये ज़माने वाले,
उन गली कूचों का रस्ता तो दिखा दो यारो।
दर्द के नाम से वाकिफ न जहाँ हो कोई,
ऐसी महफ़िल में हमें भी तो बिठा दो यारो।

17. Maikhana to chhoot gaya dar chhoote na maikhane ka – Man Ka Meet – 1968 – Mahendra Kapoor

तेरी शराबें सागर तेरे, हमको मुबारक प्यास हमारी,
तूने बंधाई तूने ही तोड़ी, छोटी सी इक आस हमारी,
भूलेंगे अंदाज़ न लेकिन हम तेरे ठुकराने का।

Rajendra Krishna has woven the thread with saaqi, maikhana, paimana as imagery for the lost love. This is one of the lesser known songs of this film in which Sunil Dutt introduced his brother Som Dutt, Leena Chandravarkar and Vinod Khanna. It was an irony that his brother’s career could not move an inch while the other two did quite well.

Here ends the selection of songs. I would like to put a disclaimer here that no comparison of the inter-se success or quality of the composers should be made based on the selected songs, because they were selected to show the variety of Rajendra Krishna as lyricist. A number of great songs from the output of each of the composers have been left out, besides those already posted. If the series of the music director had been taken in another order, then it was quite possible that the selected songs would be different than those selected here.

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:
The song links have been embedded from the YouTube only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog does not claim any copyright over them, which rests with the respective owners of the rights.