Thinkers’ songs

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Rohit Shetty proudly says, “For watching my movies you have to leave your brains behind at home”. Farah Khan says something similar when she talks about making “my kind of movies.” But are these movies really brainless? They require a very high degree of intelligence to make and for the audience to appreciate. In Om Shanti Om, the superstar Om (Shahrukh Khan) remembers from his past life the secret of Arjun Rampal, and wants to avenge the killing of Shantipriya (Depika Padukone), his love-interest in his previous life. Since there is no proof, he wants Arjun Rampal, a big producer in Hollywood now, to resume the shooting of OSO, so that he could be made to confess by recreating the crime with the help of Shantipriya lookalike (Deepika Padukone again). He is extremely reluctant and offers a Hollywood project to the superstar. In this game of chicken, Shahrukh Khan casually drops in, Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn! Other references in the film are over the top and unmissable, but this one from Gone With The Wind is very intelligently inserted.

In the out and out crazy movie Padosan, the dunce Bhola asks Guru what to sing if Saira Bano reciprocates. Guru (Kishore Kumar) is on the top, Arrey baangdu, pyar mein gana apne aap aa jata hai. Kahna, Anuradha, Anuradha…, when he is interrupted by one of his five jewels, Guru, Anuradha nahin, Bindu, Bindu. The Guru immediately corrects himself, Arrey bhoola, kahna, “Meri pyari Bindu/ Meri bholi re Bindu/ Mujhe apna bana le/ Meri prem ki naiya beech bhanwar mein gud gud gote khaaye”. Do you think the whole thing was simply a farce? Kishore Kumar pronounced ‘Anuradha, Anuradha’ in such a familiar stylised tone that I was sure it must be some clever reference which was Kishore Kumar’s trade mark. N Venkataraman assisted by Mrs Venkataraman solved it. The Guru copied KC Dey’s tone of calling the character of Kanan Devi (Anuradha) in the film Vidyapati (1937), and if you want to admire the super-intelligence in this farce, the name of Guru Kishore Kumar’s character in the film was Vidyapati.

Similarly, Amitabh Bachchan’s I walk English, I talk English because English is a very funny language-act requires a very high degree of intelligence to pull it off. His films did not require a parallel comedy track of Rajendra Nath-Tuntun type which were quite irritating.

What distinguishes Home Sapiens from other species in the animal kingdom is that at some stage of evolution we got cognitive ability and intelligence. Thus it was that we found ways to trap tigers in a cage, hunt them whereas in physical strength they could rip us apart, though in all the stories of Aesop’s Fables or Hitopadesh/Panchtantra, the animals are shown to have intelligence. These stories are allegorical intended to teach some morals, and a common thread that with intelligent thinking you can come out of sticky situations. Think of ‘The Monkey And The Crocodile’; ‘The Fox And The Lion’; ‘The Thirsty Crow And The Pitcher With Water At The Bottom’. The children love these stories.

Since thinking is so integral to mankind there are many songs that talk about thinking. Rodin’s ‘The Thinker’ (thumbnail picture) is immersed in some deep meditative thinking. Our film songs do not need to delve into philosophy or poetry, they are about problems at hand relating to love, heartbreak etc.

1. Socha tha pyar hum na karenge soorat pe yaar hum na marenge, phir bhi kisi pe dil aa gaya by Mukesh from Bluff Master (1963), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Kalyanji-Anandji

The carefree Shammi Kapoor lives his life bluffing his way through, but that does not keep him from falling in love. Rafi was Shammi Kapoor’s voice, but Mukesh is brilliant in this happy song.

2. Main ye sochkar uske dar se utha tha by Rafi from Haqeeqat (1964), lyrics Kaifi Azmi, music Madan Mohan

From a carefree song by Mukesh, let us move to extreme sadness in this recitation-style song by Rafi. Only he could carry this song where orchestra support is minimal. Wonderful poetry by Kaifi Azmi, and great music by Madan Mohan. And lucky Sudhir to have this great song picturised on him. We know him mostly as Jaichand, the sidey of the sophisticated outlaw Davar Saheb (Iftekhar) in the film Deewar (1975).

मैं ये सोचकर उसके दर से उठा था
कि वो रोक लेगी मना लेगी मुझको
हवाओं में लहराता आता था दामन
कि दामन पकड़कर बिठा लेगी मुझको
कदम ऐसे अंदाज़ से उठ रहे थे
कि आवाज़ देकर बुला लेगी मुझको
मगर उसने रोका न उसने मनाया
न दामन ही पकड़ा न मुझको बिठाया
न आवाज़ ही दी न वापस बुलाया
मैं आहिस्ता आहिस्ता बढता ही आया
यहाँ तक कि उससे जुदा हो गया मैं
जुदा हो गया मैं जुदा हो गया मैं..

3. Sochataa hun ki wo kitne maasoom the kya se kya ho gaye dekhate dekhate by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan

Here is a qawwali of regret, complaint, vengeful cursing of the beloved and resigned acceptance. This qawwali is preceded by a long recital showing a range of emotions. There is bitterness at the hopeless situation:
Jaanewaale hamari mehfil se chaand taaron ko saath leta ja
Hum khijan se nibaah kar lenge in bahaaron ko saath leta ja

There is a description of her heartlessness and vengeful cursing:
Dillagi bhi tere dil ko dillagi na lage,
Khuda kare tera mere bagair ji na lage

Extreme self-pity:
Mutmain hai aise wo jaise hua kuchh bhi nahin
Usko khokar to mere paas raha kuchh bhi nahin

Sarcasm:
Main to chup hun is vaaste ki tamasha na bane
Tu smajhata hai mujhe tujhse gila kuchh bhi nahin

Resigned acceptance:
Jab chaahun to main mil nahin sakta lekin
Jab chaahun to yaad kar sakta hun
xxxxx
Gulon se rang sitaaron se roshni lekar
Jamal-e-yaar ka naksha utaar leta hun

4. Na socha na samjha na seekha na jana, mujhe khud-ba-khud aa gaya dil lagana by Begum Akhtar, lyrics Shamim Jaipuri, music Traditional

There is a natural pathos in the voice of Begum Akhtar. Falling in love is not planned, it just happens. When you are in love, you don’t proclaim it from the housetop, you maintain a dignified silence:

Zabaan pe lagi hain wafaaon ki muhrein
Khamoshi meri kah rahi hai fasana

There is also a film song in the voice of Asha Bhosle in Shatranj (1969) which uses the first two lines, but between the two obviously Begum Akhtar’s ghazal is immortal.

5. Ek baat kahun mere piya sun le agar tu/ Jab dil mein nahin paap to phir soch na kar tu by Asha Bhosle from Amar (1954), lyrics Shakeel Badayuni, music Naushad

But I did remember a very nice song by Asha Bhosle in which ‘soch’ is really used in the sense of deep reflection. Nimmi addresses Dilip Kumar, If there was no evil intention in your mind, you need not torment yourself. But it was easier said than done. Dilip Kumar is not able to overcome his guilt.

Ek baat kahun mere piya sun le agar tu
Jab dil mein nahin paap to soch na kar tu

6. Dekha na haye re socha na haye re by Kishore Kumar from Bombay To Goa (1972), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music RD Burman

In this road comedy film a crime thriller was also embedded. So the lady, who has witnessed a murder, is on the run in the bus, the criminals are in hot pursuit, and her bodyguard-turned-lover in the bus is trying to save her. Here is a fun song on the same theme of ‘neither I saw nor I gave a thought’.

7. Sochenge tumhein pyar karein ki nahin by Kumar Sanu from Deewana (1992), lyrics Sameer, music Nadeem-Shravan

We have seen thus far that love happens without giving it a thought. But here is pre-love reflection whether I should love you are not. In Hollywood, pre-nuptial agreements are quite common among celebrities and the wealthy. It hedges the partners from unexpected shocks when the marriage breaks – each knows what he or she would get out of the broken marriage. Pre-love agreement adds one layer of prior screening, before they decide to take the next step. A very close example of pre-love agreement in Hollywood classics is An Affair To Remember (1957) starring Cary Grant-Deborah Kerr. Seeing the messy break-ups despite pre-nuptials, they should seriously make pre-love agreements before nuptials as standard operating procedure. Our kundali-matching is a kind of pre-nuptial screening.

8. O mehbooba tere dil ke paas hi hai meri manzil-e-maqsood by Mukesh from Sangam (1964), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Shankar-Jaikshan

What if one partner is totally insensitive to what the other thinks? The self-obsessed lover Raj Kapoor asks a meaningless question of Vyjayanthimala, Kis baat pe naaraz ho, kis baat ka hai gham, because without waiting for her answer he declares, Kis soch mein doobi ho tum, ho jayega sangam. And he also carries out his threat, Sab dekhte rah jayenge le jaaunga ek din. I still blame the dumb lover Rajendra Kumar for Raj Kapoor forcibly pulling away Vyjayanthimala to his boat before Rajendra Kumar’s wide-open eyes.

9. Tum kamsin ho naadan ho, nazuk ho, bholi ho, sochata hun main tumhein pyar na karun by Rafi from Ayi Milan Ki Bela (1964), lyrics Hasrat Jaipuri, music Shankar Jaikishan

But I admire Rajendra Kumar in this song. Though very obviously in love, his head is in the right place to understand that in Indian jurisprudence some judges are very strict about age of consent. Just imagine the whole cricketing career of Sri Lankan player Danushka Gunathilaka is in shambles as he cools his heels in a Sydney jail on rape charges, while his team has gone back home. Here the age of consent was not the issue, but he didn’t bother that in New South Wales law, consent means ‘affirmative consent’, and that ‘No’ means no at any stage of the proceedings. I have no sympathy for him, not for what he did, but for his complete brainlessness.

10. Sochna kya jo bhi ho dekha jayega by Shabbir Kumar, Kumar Sanu and Asha Bhosle from Ghayal (1990), lyrics Indivar, music Bappi Lahiri

Let me end this post with a very happy, carefree song of youngsters. A group of friends on a drive are enjoying themselves, Why brood, whatever will be will be.

Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:
The YT links of songs have been embedded only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog claims no copyright over the songs, which belongs to the respective owners.