Where is the mukhada gone, where is antara gone? For most of the history of Hindi film songs they did not go anywhere, they remained rooted where they were supposed to be. The classic structure of our songs was a mukhada with a catchy tune and refrain. This was followed by interlude music and two or three antaras with different tunes from the mukhada. Each antara would end with a connector line which would neatly segue into the mukhada/refrain.
Take Shankar-Jaikishan’s iconic song Awara hun, ya gardish mein hun, aasmaan ka tara hoon, awara hoon, which became immensely popular in Russia and many other countries too. Its antara goes:
Ghar-baar nahin, sansar nahin, mujhse kisi ko pyar nahin
Us paar kisi se milne ka iqraar nahin, mujhse kisi ko pyar nahin
Then the connector line which segues into the refrain: Sunsan nagar anjaan dagar ka pyara hun….Awara hun.
Or another of SJ-Raj Kapoor-Mukesh combo: Mere man ki Ganga aur tere man ki Jamuna ka, Bol Radha bol sangam hoga ke nahin. Look at its antara:
Kitni sadiyan beet gayin hain haye tujhe samjhaane mein
Mere jaisa dheerajwala hai koi aur zamane mein
Then the connector line: Dil ka badhta bojh kabhi kam hoga ke nahin…Bol Radha bol sangam hoga ke nahin.
You would find this pattern in Naushad’s Rumjhum barse baadarwa, SD Burman’s Hum bekhudi mein tumko pukaare chale gaye, Roshan’s Teri duniya mein dil lagta nahin wapas bula le/ Main sajde mein gira hun, mujhko ae maalik utha le.
This structure has been adopted by later music directors too. I post Jag ghoomeya thare jaisa na koi from Sultan (2016) to illustrate the almost ubiquitous nature of this structure of our songs.
1. Jag ghoomeya thare jaisa na koi by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan from Sultan (2016), lyrics Irshad Kamil, music Vishal-Shekhar
Look at its antara and how the connector line segues into the refrain:
Baarishon ke mausam ki bheegi hariyali tu
Sardiyon mein gaalon pe jo aati hai wo laali tu
Raaton ka sukoon bhi hai, subah ki azaan hai
Chaahaton ki chadaron mein maine hai sambhali tujhe
Kahin aag jaisi jalti hai, bane barkha ka pani kahin
Kabhi mann jaana chupke se
Yun hi apni chalaani kahin
Jaisi tu hai waisi rahna…
Jag ghoomeya thare jaisa na koi
Some creative music directors sometimes do away with the need for a connector line, such as in this absolutely melodious song composed by Madan Mohan.
2. Main to tum sang nain milakar haar gayi sajna by Lata Mangeshkar from Manmauji (1962), lyrics Rajendra Krishna. music Madan Mohan
Main to tum sang nain milake haar gayi sajna
Kyon jhoothe se preet lagayi
Kyon chhaliye ko meet banaya
Kyon aandhi mein deep jalaya
Main to tum sang…
Sapne mein jo baag lagaye
Neend khuli to veerane the
Hum bhi kitne deewane the
Main to tum sang..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQonGT4CbUo
3. Unko ye shikayat hai ki hum kuchh nahin kahte by Lata Mangeshkar from Adalat (1958), lyrics Rajendra Krishna, music Madan Mohan
Ghazals, which occur very commonly in Hindi film songs, normally do not require a connector line because of the rigid rules of its structure. Both lines of the first couplet (matla) must contain the rhyming words and the words of refrain, i.e. they should be humqafiya and humradeef. In the subsequent two or three couplets (in filmi ghazals; in literary ghazals there are more couplets), their first lines have to be odd, only their second lines should be humradeef, and their immediate preceding words should be humqafiya. Let us examine the lyrics of this famous ghazal sung by Lata Mangeshkar and composed by Madan Mohan.
Unko ye shikayat hai ki hum kuchh nahin kahte
Apni to ye aadat hai ki hum kuchh nahin kahte
Kahne ko bahut kuchh tha agar kahne pe aate
Duniya ki inayat hai ki hum kuchh nahin kahte
Kuchh kahne pe toofan utha leti hai duniya
Ab is pe qayamat hai ki hum kuchh nahin kahte
Here Kuchh nahin kahte are the words of radeef (repeating words), and aadat, inayat, qayamat are humqafiya (rhyming words).
Yet there have been songs in which mukhada and antara have gone far, far away. In some they have strayed a little bit from the beaten path. Does this require a great skill in composition. Perhaps yes, you do sit up and take note of the song. Are these songs superior and more successful? I am wary of making a general statement about our music. But let me post some songs which have broken this structure and which have held me under thrall right since I first heard them.
4. Khushiyon ke din manaye ja…Abhi to main jawan hun, abhi to main jawan hun by Lata Mangeshkar from Afsana (1951), lyrics Gafil Harnalvi, music Husnlal-Bhagatram
There was an iconic Malika Pukhraj nazm, Abhi to man jawan hun. And there was Khushiyon ke din manaye ja..Abhi to main jawan hun by Lata Mangeshkar from the film Afsana (1951), composed by Husnlal-Bhagatram. It was the signature song of the Radio Ceylon’s weekly programme “Hamesha Jawan Geet” anchored by Manohar Mahajan every Sunday night at 10pm. This song was like the Pied Piper of Hamelin for me. As soon as this programme came, I was in a trance and inexorably drawn to my hostel common room in the college. Much later I saw the film, and felt this beautiful song composed in waltz style was wasted on the adulterous couple Pran and Kuldeep Kaur.
The song starts with the antara, and the other antara too is composed in the same style.
Khushiyon ke din manaye ja, dil ke tarane gaye ja
Tujhko jawani ki kasam dil ki lagi bujhaye ja
Duniya meri basa piya, aaja piya aaja piya
Abhi to main jawan hun
Abhi to main jawan hun
Abhi to main jawan hun
Zahid yun hi badnam hai, gham se tujhe kya kaam hai
Ye muskurati zindagi zindadili ka naam hai
Dil dil se muskurye ja, uth jaye ja, bal khaye ja
Abhi to main jawan hun
Abhi to main jawan hun
Abhi to main jawan hun
5. Nain dwar se man mein wo aake tan mein aag lagaye by Mukesh and Lata Mangeshkar from Sawan (1959), lyrics Prem Dhawan, music Hansraj Behl
Which is the mukhada in this song? Mukesh sings the refrain Nain dwar se man mein wo aake at a very slow tempo. Lata Mangeshkar replies to him at a very fast tempo, Haye rasiya, haye re koi chhaliya. Since both refrains occur after every antara, both merit to be the mukhada, though they are in very contrasting tunes.
6. Kaanton se kheench ke ye aanchal….Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai, aaj phir marne ka irada hai by Lata Mangeshkar from Guide (1965), lyrics Shailendra, music SD Burman
In my opening remarks I mentioned an SD Burman song on the classic mukhada-antara pattern. But here is a path-breaking song by a woman breaking free from an oppressive marriage and finding her own happiness. The mukhada of the song seems to be Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai, aaj phir marne ka isada hai. But the song starts with antara, and all the antaras too are in the same tune. Was SD Burman making a symbolic statement in breaking free from tradition in composition to signify the woman who was breaking free? Here are the lyrics:
Kaanton se kheench ke ye aanchal, tod ke bandhan baandhi payal
Koi na roko dil ki udan ko, dil wo chala
Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai, aaj phir marne ka irada hai
Apne hi bas mein nahin main, dil hai kahin to hun kahin main
Jaane kya pa ke meri zindagi ne, hans kar kaha
Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai, aaj phir marne ka irada hai
Main hun gubaar ya toofan hun, koi bataye main kahan hun
Dar hai safar mein kahin kho na jaaun main, rasta naya
Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai…
7. Naa main janun aarti vandan, naa poja ki reet…Ae ri main to prem diwani mera darad na jane koye by Lata Mangeskar from Naubahar (1952), lyrics Meerabai, Satyendra Atthaiya, music Roshan
Who does not know Meerabai’s iconic bhajan, Ae ri main to prem diwani mera darad na jane koye? Several singers, including Juthika Roy, have sung it. In films, a couple of years earlier Geeta Dutt had sung it in Jogan (1950), under the baton of Bulo C Rani. Composing another version of this bhajan was a daring task. But a young and inspired Roshan completely breaks free from mukhada-antara format. This long song appears in fragments at different stages in the film. The lyrics have been tweaked a little. Therefore, I add Satyendra Atthaiya’s name too as he is mentioned in HFGK. The uploader has added Shailendra’s name too, who was also a lyricist in the film, for some songs. Satyendra Atthaiya’s name may be unfamiliar to us, but there is a famous connection. He was the husband of the renowned costume designer Bhanu Atthaiya, who won the Oscars in the Richard Attenborough’s film Gandhi (1982). I became aware of her name only after the Oscar. We don’t give much attention to ‘minor’ (technical) awards, but she was a renowned costume designer having designed the costumes of Nadira in Mud mud ke na dekh (Shree 420, 1955), Guru Dutt in Dekhi zamaane ki yaari (Kagaz Ke Phool, 1959), Sadhana in Waqt (1965), Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman in Guide (1965), Vyjayanthimala in Amrapali (1966), and in countless other iconic films.
Naa main janun aarti vandan, naa pooja ki reet
Hai anjani daras diwani meri pagal preet
Liye ri maine do nainon ke deepak liye sanjoye
Ae ri main to prem diwani mera darad na jane koye
8. Kaune rang mungwa kawan rang motiya by Suman Kalyanpur and Sudha Malhotra from Heera Moti (1959), lyrics Prem Dhawan, music Roshan
Roshan is less adventurous in this folk duet by women. He composes antaras, too, in the same tune as mukhada. But the song does not become monotonous.
9. Hamdam mere khel na jaano chahat ke iqrar ko by Rafi and Asha Bhosle from Phir Wahi Dil Laya Hun (1963), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music OP Nayyar
Here is a really wild song where mukhada and antara have gone astray. OP Nayyar lets mukhada and antara roam all over mountains and valleys of Kashmir in Phir Wohi Dil Laya hun to veer off Far, far away.
Door bahut mat jaiye, leke qarar hamara
Aisa no ho koi loot le, raah mein pyar hamara
Paas raho ya door tum, tum ho saath hamaare
Denge gavahi pooch lo, ye khamosh nazaare
Nazneen bada rangeen hai vada tera
O haseen hai kidhar ka irada tera
Aankh mudti huyi, zulf udati huyi
Faasla kyon hai zyada tera
O hamdam mere khel na jaano chahat ke iqrar ko
Jaane jahan, yaad karoge ik din mere pyar ko
10. Hamdam mere maan bhi jaao kaha mere pyar ka by Rafi from Mere Sanam (1965), lyrics Majrooh Sultanpuri, music OP Nayyar
OP Nayyar must have realised that he should not have let mukhada and antara go so wild. He brings them back and leashes them firmly to their place. Contrast the previous Hamdam mere song with this conventional Hamdam mere song with mukhada-antara.
Hamdam mere maan bi jaao, kahna mere pyar ka
Halka halka surkh labon pe rang to hai iqarar ka
Pyar mohabbat ki hawa pahle chalti hai
Phir ek lat inkar ki rukh pe jhalti hai
Ye sach hai kam se kam to ae mere sanam
Latein chehre se sarkaao, tamanna aankhein malti hai
Hoye..Hamdam mere maan bhi jaao
And a much later song, which does not follow mukhada-antara structure.
11. Mera kuchh saaman tumhare paas pada hai, …mera wo saaman lauta do by Asha Bhosle from Ijazat (1987), lyrics Gulzar, music RD Burman
RD Burman and Gulzar were very close friends, and when their sensibilities combined – one as the music director, and the other as the writer/director/lyricist, the result was usually artistically superb. This film based on a Bangla novel and film Jatugriha was a sensitive story of a couple who are divorced/estranged but have fond memories of each other.
When RD Burman saw this prose-like monologue, he told Gulzar, Gullu, next you would give me The Times Of India headline to set it to music. Gulzar gave full rein to his imageries, and the result was this nice song without the conventional mukhada-antara.
Patjhad hai kuchh, hai na?
O! patjhad mein kuchh patton ke girne ki aahat
Kaanon mein ek baar pahan ke laut aai thi
Patjhad ki wo shaakh abhi tak kaanp rahi hai
Wo shaakh gira do, mera wo saamaan lauta do
Wo shaakh gira do, mera wo saaman lauta do
12. Bidi jalaile jigar se piya jigar ma badi aag hai by Sukhwinder Singh, Sunidhi Chauhan, Nachiketa Chakravarty from Omkara (2006), lyrics Gulzar, music Vishal Bharadwaj
Gulzar is known for some very sensitive imagery in Hindi films, as we just saw in Ijazat, in the song Mera wo kuchh saman lauta do, or as he wrote in Tum aa gaye ho noor aa gaya hai (Aandhi), Tere bina zindagi se koi shikwa to nahin (Aandhi), Musafir hun yaaron (Parichay). But in this adaptation of Shakespeare’s great tragedy set in UP badlands, Gulzar goes completely wild in his imagery throwing mukhada and antara to the winds. One thought the mukhada of the song is Bidi jalaile, but how does it start?
Na gilaaf na lihaaf, thandi hawa bhi kharab sasuri
Ho itni sardi hai kisi ka lihaf laile, ja padosi ke chulhe se aag lai le
Ho bidi jalaile jigar se piya, jigar ma badi aag hai
The antaras also start in the same vein:
Na kasur na fatur, bina zuram ke huzoor mar gaye
Ho aise ek din dupahari bulai liyo re
Baandh ghunghroo kachehri lagai liyo re
Anghithi jalaile, jigar se piya, jigar ma badi aag hai
Bidi jalailr jigar se piya
And it goes on like this: Na to chakkuon ki dhaar, na daraanti na katar, Aisa kaate ki daant ka nishan chhod de, ke kataai to koi kbhi kisan jod de. From where does Gulzar get such idiomatic uses! I love Baandh ghunghroo kachehri lagai liyo re. It evokes the image of a feudal overlord who makes the dancer wear a ghughroo and sets up a mehfil for his cronies to watch the raunchy dance. The funky lyrics, the out of this world music by Vishal Bharadwaj, the singers, and the characters on the screen played by Saif Ali Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Bipasha Basu and Deepak Dobriyal, all create an immortal song.
Acknowledgements and Disclaimer:
The YT links of songs have been embedded only for the listening pleasure of the music lovers. This blog has no commercial interest, and claims no copyright over the songs, which belongs to the respective owners.
{ 73 comments… read them below or add one }
अंतरों से घूम के मैं जब मुखड़े पे आऊं, मेरे साथ गाइए …
Says Dashing Dev Saab ( yes, in TEEN DEVIYAN is Dev Anand ‘s screen name. )
Khwab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat…
…
Subah pe jis tarah sham ka ho gumaan
Zulfon mein ek chehra…
….
Dialogues followed by
Khwab ho tum ya koi haqeeqat.
Dr Shetty,
Nice discovery. Dev’s intial dialogue is a perfect title for my post. Thanks a lot.
A very perceptive and interesting post AK. One has been listening to film songs all one’s life without paying attention to these finer points.
A couple of songs come to mind. How would one classify ‘Main yeh soch kar uske dar se utha tha,’ and ‘Mere bhola re bhola/meri Bindu ri Bindu?’
And what about ‘Ham the wo thi aur samaan rangeen samajh gaye na?’ Can we really term ‘O Mannu, tera huya ab mera kya hoga’ as the mukhda?
AKji,
What an interesting post!
Enjoyed a lot.
Would the song, Kya Ho Phir Jo din from Nau do gyarah qualify?
And,
Baat meri suniye to zara from Kuchh na kaho?
I’ll think about other songs. Will add later.
Anup
🙂
Also
In Hay Rama Yeh Kya Hua from Rangeela there’s no connector line in antara
Anup
🙂
Oh!
The post has really stimulated my brain!
Aankhon mein kya jee from Nau do gyarah
Same connector line in all three antaras – Dekhne mein bhole ho par ho bade chanchal
Is there another song with such peculiarity?
And,
Hum tumhe chahte hain aise
The tune of mukhda and antara is same.
Anup
🙂
Subodh,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation.
Main ye sochkar uske dar se utha tha: A perfect example of Dhoondhte rah jaaoge. Mere bhole balam: It has some elements, but mainly it is a wild comic song of Kishore Kumar who parodies KC Dey, Bhatiali and so on – nothing was sacrosanct for him; nothing was beyond him.
And,
What about songs with different tunes in different antaras?
Of course it’s not exactly the subject of today’s post.
Abhi na jao chhodkar is such an example.
Anup
🙂
Anup,
Out of the three songs I was familiar with only Haye ye Rama kya hua. I would classify it 100%.
Though I have seen Nau Do Gyarah twice, I could not recall Kya ho phir jo din in the face of so many outstanding songs. It does create confusion between Shashikala and Helen portions. It has surely ambiguity.
Baat meri suniye to zara: The song was unknown to me, but it also breaks free from the classical structure of mukhada-antara. But It is too new and unknown for most (except you, of course) to relate to it.
Jahan mein aisa kaun hai from Hum dono also starts with antara.
Aate Jaate haste Gaate from MPK doesn’t follow the conventional structure.
Anup
🙂
Anup,
Nice examples.
AK ji
First, a superlative Rafi 25,then a fine book review and now a great post on song structure, the beginning of 2025 shows variations in your repertoire ( la Bishansing Bedi).
Pradip ji mentioned Khwab ho tum where Dev returns to Mukhada after the Antara. In phoolon ke rang se also he does the same but less briskly.
Phoolon ke rang se- Prem pujari – Neeraj
https://youtu.be/4CwFFWleNNA?si=SUU70KvTxzdiAa9K
But in Dil aaj shayar hai, SDB does not allow him the choice of Mukhada- Antara.
Dil aaj shayar hai- Gambler- Neeraj
https://youtu.be/H87K5cvzkxs?si=tEOURpUOdn89_6I6
And there seem to be two return points in this iconic qawwali; talash hai in the first part and ye ishq ishq hai ishq ishq in the second part.
Na to karvan ki talash hai- Barasat ki Raat – Sahir- Roshan
https://youtu.be/BQRHuMBtOYY?si=qEbv4PRG3NBhiFRe
Mr Muli,
Perfect examples. Now we have to admit SD Burman was a Master of composing such songs. Every recitation song would have this feature. It is more correct to say Na to karwan ki talash hai two qawwalis – one following the other.
AK Ji
Excellent topic! I was a bit late in commenting and I am seeing I lost the opportunity to mention Mein Yeh Sochkar and Abhi Na Jaao Chodkar as they have already been covered!!
How about Jaidev’s immortal one from Reshma Aur Shera? Tu Chanda Mein Chandini -I do not know if it qualifies for this structure , but I think it has a very complex structure . Similarly Jaidev’s one more -this one from Mujhe Jeene Do-Raat Bhi Hai Kuch Bheegi Bheegi..
Continuing further..
If the topic is about unstructured or unconventional , then how can we forget the composer who was known as master of that style!-Sajjad Hussain
Sharing two such songs that I could think of -in both I find the antara has part of mukhda seamlessly combined- Please note I am not at all an expert on the theoretical /technical aspects of music-it is just purely my observation
1) Us Paar Is Deewar Ke Jo Rehte Hain-Saiyyan1-1951-Rafi-D N Madhok
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3RzTNt5QrY
2) Woh Aayenge, Gagan Ke Neele Odhni-Khel-1950-Shamshad Begum-Zia Sarhadi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2EXPV9DPU0U
This is simply a superb song, by the way, very rarely heard /mentioned.
This rare song of Rustom Aur Sohrab that got hidden behind all those other fabulous and famous songs may not exactly qualify for this topic , but has very unusual antara structre that was Sajjad’s hallmark.
3) Ab Der Hogayi Wallah-Rustom Aur Sohrab-1963-Asha Bhonsle-Qamar Jalalabadi
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E0OOW5NgvQ
An interesting writeup on the structure of HFM songs . Here we are talking of the basic structure of songs with connector lines following the antaras that take you back to the mukhda . It is well known that there is always a mukhda followed by some 2 or 3 antaras . But even without the connector lines , in many songs they just go back to the opening lines from the antaras . So this could be another type where we do not have any connector lines.
I believe that every MD had good intentions of doing something new and better for the benefit of the music loving public. As this post has come just after the discussion on RD Burman, I give a few of his songs that come to mind .
1)O Meri jaan mai ne kaha…1970 , THE TRAIN
https://youtu.be/wXngxdmNz2M?si=1AbWFRxyabno88BO
2)Piya tu ab to aaja… 1971 , CARAVAAN
https://youtu.be/46GGxF_Bwhg?si=1ZsAjDYFzOJMWo-V
3)Mehbooba O mehbooba…1975 , SHOLAY
https://youtu.be/Nl9-rpuwp3E?si=0m6xdUyiFH0ooUx3
Sivanandamji,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Main ye sochkar is a perfect example for this post. Tu chanda main chaandni does not follow a conventional structure. Therefore, it can fall under this theme. I started with songs which started with antara, then expanded to other deviations. It is a vast area.
AK ji!
Nice theme! The Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon song is unique in the sense that it starts with opening Sher, then antara and then mukhda.
Mr S Joseph,
Dispensing with the ‘connector line’ is the least departure. In such songs the last line of the antara is sung in a slightly different way to take you to the mukhada. Thus there are degree of deviations. Perhaps the biggest is when the song is not sung, but recited in a free flowing verse. A good example is Main ye sochkar.
In multiple versions of some songs the variants start with the Antara n then move to the Mukhda. In a few, only the Antara.
Gaadi bula rahi hai
Seeti baja rahi hai…
DOST, 1974.
Aate hain log
Jaate hain log
Pani ke jaise railen..
…
Gaadi bula rahi hai
Dr Shetty,
Nice observation about such variants.
Ravindraji,
Welcome beck after a long gap. Sher-Antara-Mukhda must be a unique sequence. Nice observation.
AK, a very interesting post that I must confess went over my head. But I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and the comments.
Anu,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation.
BOBBY, 1973.
Toot ke dil ke tukde tukde….
These initial lines ( Mukhda? ) don’t repeat later in the song.
Akhiyon ko rehne de
Akhiyon ke vaaste….
These lines ( Antra? ) repeat.
Another song from the same movie is a little bit different.
Starting with the Goan Konkani lines
Age naari tujhya maatyanche phoola pasya soree…
It becomes
Na chahoon Sona Chandi..
And, afterwards
Ghe Ghe Ghe Ghe re
Ghe re Saiba
Pyar mein sauda nahin. ( Repeats).
AK ji,
A very nice post.
This and similar posts make us discuss lyrics and also pay attention to the lyricist— after passage of time, song-lovers remember the name of singers and MD but forget the name of the lyricist of song in question.
By the way nice to get comments from Ravindra Kelkar ji, a fan of OP Nayyar, like me.
Regards.
AK ji,
Sivanandam ji @16
“If the theme is about unstructured….
and he has posted songs composed by the composer who is unconventional in the true sense.
Pradeep ji has posted two songs composed by one of the most conventional composer duo.
When it comes to unstructured songs how about these two ?
Both are penned by Verma Malik and composed by LP and coincidentally both are from movies of Manoj Kumar. Thus conventional movie maker, conventional lyricist and conventional composers combine together to create two of the most unconventional songs.
The first one is
Shehnai baje na baje – Shor- Lata Mangeshkar
https://youtu.be/Coc3y4hUrdA?si=pu4nTd2TiRVpqZwp
The song starts with humming which goes something like aa hoon hoon. It is followed by lines which may form a short song. These lines start with celestial objects like gagan, tare and chaand and then descend on earth to let you meet kali, phool, bulbul and bhawara.
Then comes the conventional Mukhada followed by two antaras. The tune of each Antara is different .
The song was a hit then but now it may be familiar only to an ardent LP follower.
The second song which perhaps was a bigger hit than the first should go down as one of the most unstructured songs.
It is
Mehangai mar gai – Roti, Kapda aur Makan – Lata Mangeshkar, Mukesh, Narendra Chanchal and Jani babu
https://youtu.be/_04WDX2w11g?si=USYJh76QXM2YQPKN
It starts with a qudraplet which is unrelated to the remaining part. Then comes a mukhda followed by three antaras filmed on three main characters.
Moshumi is expressing pangs of her first love (ye tab ki baat hai jab kisise pyar na tha)
Manojkumar is reciting anguish of a jilted lover (mahangai ke daur me mahangi ho gayi yaar ki yaari)
Premnath is talking about inflation of Roj marra ki cheeje (perhaps reminding the lovers in a rustic way what Sahir said in tum mujhe bhul bhi jao)
All three Antaras have different tunes.
But the song does not end there and goes on further to end with the collective refrain Roti kapada aur Makan.
Tyagiji,
Thanks a lot. Mr Kelkar is an OP Nayyar-expert and also had long association with him. He shared with me an interesting trivia related to two Hamdam mere songs #9, 10. Having written the song #9 for Phi Wohi Dil Laya Hun, Majrooh Sultanpuri was reluctant to write another song having Hamadam mere as mukhada in Mere Sanam, but OP Nayyar was insistent that it has to be on the two key words. Majrooh tried to put pressure through the producer, but OPN had his way. That was the last time Majrooh Sultanpuri worked with OPN. Interesting story, and I am with OPN for giving us two contrasting songs with Hamdam mere.
Dear AK,
Was wondering when you will hurl another Zeus thunderbolt in the blog and more than fulfilled my expectations with this bizarre, weird subject as a theme. This is probably the first attempt on analysing the lexicon of song writing.
As expected, you have opened a pearl box and the comments above with songs galore is ample proof. I am still unable to grasp the underlying idea of the post in full and dare not suggest any song. Please continue your efforts in confounding at least me.
Mr Rangan,
Thanks a lot for your generous words. You are crediting me too much. There is nothing strange in this theme. The conventional structure of songs have been a mukhada (refrain) and 2 or 3 antaras. But there have been departures – of different degrees – some a little, some completely wild.
Sorry for once again posting another Sajjad song!! Somehow I find his compositions fit this theme more…does this very famous Sangdil number Dil mein sama gaye sajan qualify?..the antara is almost similar to mukhda and that too repeats continuously on same metre…and the beauty is we do not get bored listening despite that!!
Akji,
A brilliant post. In the past you wrote such ‘zara hatke’ posts. Offbeat posts were the hallmark of SoY. And you have come up with yet another innovative post. I would like to echo Subodhji’s comment,
“One has been listening to the film songs all one’s life without paying attention to these finer points.”
Aptly said. Enjoyed the well presented narrative and the selection of songs.
Like Anuji and Ranganji, initially I took time to grasp the theme.
Just to clarify, the first and tenth song represents the ‘classical structure’ (to use your expression) and the third song the traditional Ghazal structure. and the rest nine are different variations from the accepted pattern.
Hesitatingly I am posting two songs, hoping that they go with theme. If I get the nod of approval then I will try to explore further.
This song starts with the antara ‘Hai aag hamare seene mein’.
Hum bhi hain tum bhi ho, Lata Mageshkar, Geeta Dutt, Mukesh, Manna Dey, Mahendra kapoor & Chorus, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960), Shailendra, Shankar-Jaikishan
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej_iyN6B6Bs
Rahulji has posted the song ‘Dil aaj shair hai’ from Gambler (1971), where the Mukhda is not repeated. Another song “Kaisa hai mera dil tu khiladi” from this film, where the mukhda is sad and slow and then suddenly picks up the tempo in the antaras , and comes down again while repeating the mukhda.
Kaisa hai mere dil tu khiladi, Kishore Kumar, Neeraj, S D Burman
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zx0iJiWbWGU
Sivanandamji,
One of the best songs composed by Sajjad Hussain. Deviations from the convention are of different degrees.
Venkataramanji,
Thanks a lot for your appreciation. Hai aag hamaare seene mein is a perfect example of the type I had in mind.
AK, like I said earlier, I’m not still entirely sure how your categorisation works, but will Ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga meet with your definitions?
AK,
We have got so used to these surprising topics from you that even ‘surprise’ itself has gone on a long leave. As such at least I have forgotten the habit of being surprised. I think what Subodh said (mentioned by Venkataramanji above) was for general public, because he being so closely associated with Punjab folklore knows about various structures of songs, which have been very often used in our films. I think that was the reason ‘main ye soch kar’ came to his mind as a representative song for this theme. I see others too remembered this song and this came to my mind immediately when I understood the topic.
There is another song which is similar in construction ‘uth neend se mirzia jaag ja’ from film Pratigya – 1975, written by Anand Bakshi and composed by LP. This is a Lata-Rafi duet which was presented as a dream song and immediately followed the famous ‘main jat yamla pagla diwana’. The song is based on the Punjab folk tale of Mirza-Sahiban.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ya2Usoov4i0
Naya Daur was a storehouse of songs which come under the present theme. ‘Dil leke daga denge’ by Rafi is a song somewhat like ‘main ye soch kar’ and ‘uth neend se’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lycgs7wY9E
There is this ‘ye desh hai veer jawanon ka’ which is in tappa style without repetition of the opening lines anywhere.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeqcIyuNVZI
‘Uden jab jab zulfen teri’ in the same style too in which Dilip Kumar and Vyjyantimala engage in a repartee which is all positive. Sahir wrote another song of the same type for Pyasa which has the mukhda ‘hum aapki ankhon mein’. In this the hero asks a question and the heroine gives negative options – the opposite of the Naya Daur song. In this Pyasa song the tappa style was broken by SDB when he repeated the mukhda ‘hum aapki ankhon mein’ between the antaras. I give here both links.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=koYlTZepO8U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD9sX4E6vw8
Another song ‘reshmi salwar kurta jali ka’ has a very short connecting line with the mukhda using 4 words in all 3 antaras. Though this song has the connecting line but this is done in unique way, so I am posting it here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-zSOgZWZm4
Anu,
I have made it quite simple. I have started with some examples of the conventional structure of mukhada-antara. I have then moved songs that have deviated – some a litte, some a great deal. Ek ladki ko dekha to aisa laga is a perfect example.
Hans,
I like your instant recall of several songs. The best fit is of Dil de ke daga denge woh. It is my favourite song and I always remember two more songs on identical tunes, all by Rafi: Kah ke bhi na aaye tum from Safar (1946), C Ramchandra; and Le ja uski duaayein ho from Heer (1956), Anil Biswas. The experts tell me that it is because they are all in Pahadi raag.
AK Ji
You have really stirred a craze for looking out for such ” different songs”!
How about these two songs from Aag-1948-Ram Ganguly-Behzad Lucknavi?
There is no ” actual ” antara-it is just mukhda repeated…through the entire song…!!
1) Shamshad solo-Kahe Koyal Shor Machaya Re
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MTp6ad97wgc
2) Mukesh & Shamshad Duet-Raat Ko Ji Chamke Tare
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCnSN5SwtNU
AK,
I always make a list and use from that in groups. Here also I have a long list. I first wanted to mention the variety in Naya Daur. The Pyasa song I posted just to show the difference in composition. About Raags I dont know anything. If experts say it must be Pahadi.
After Rahul Muli’s comment at 12 you gave credit to SDB for the two songs. I think I would go with Tyagibhai and say that such songs basically belong to the lyricist and he must be given due credit. Actually for songs for situations were decided by Director or anybody in which he believed along with MD and lyricist. Neeraj was very fond of writing such long poetic songs in which it was the duty of MD to search for the Mukhda. In my view ‘phoolon ke rang se’ was rendered well by Kishore Kumar, but he was a complete misfit in ‘dil aaj shayar hai’. Any golden era singer would have been better and Rafi would have been pure gold.
Roshan composed two of such long songs of Neeraj in Nai Umar Ki Nai Fasal which are pure gold. There is no doubt that he left SDB behind by a long distance in preparing a tune for these songs. ‘
The first ‘swapan jhare phool se meet chubhe shoole se…..karvan gujar gaya gubar dekhte rahe’ was sung by Rafi and is for me the best long song ever made in hfm.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75mB-zadZgI
The second is ‘thi shubh suhag ki raat’ by Manna Dey which is one of my great favourites by that singer. In this song search is still on for the mukhda.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUTkj91AxUI
This one ‘mujhe le chalo fir aaj us gali mein’ from Sharabi sung by Rafi, written by Rajinder Krishan and composed by Madan Mohan is one of greatest long-cum-sharabi songs. In this long continuous song you have to wait for the mukhda and you are rewarded for your efforts with appearance of ‘mujhe le chalo’ twice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2yWXUhoNCY
The link given below contains two songs in a mushaira from film Mehndi-1958. The first one is by Rafi for Ajit who makes allegations on tawaifs and the other is a repartee by Lata (for Jaishree), both written by a little known Kamil Rasheed and composed by Ravi. This is another ‘dhoondhte reh jaoge’ song.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3UODZmsdOpY
Now again comes Rafi’s double bonanza from Ye Raste Hain Pyar Ke titled ‘koi mujhse poochhe’ produced by the famed construction firm of Ravi-Rajinder Krishan. The first is a happy version and the second sad version.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVnf7o8_szw
And in this masterpiece from Roshan ( Aarti-1962-Rafi & Lata-Majrooh) it gets even more interesting.
The songs starts off with an excellent beat and fast paced tune and the mukhda is :
Yahi baar baar tohe kya samjhyaye payal ki jhankar
payal ki jhankar, kya
tere bin sajan laage na jiya hamaar
chup chup ke karta hai ishare chanda sau sau baar, kya
aa tohe sajni le chalu nadiya ke paar
tere bin sajan laage na jiya hamaar
Then in the antara it is just the question and answer between Lata & Rafi , with the former singing only the line ” tere bin sajan lage na jiya hamar” and latter , ” Aa tohe sajni le chalun nadiya ke paar”
And as an icing on the top of the cake , Roshan ends the song with a flourish with his most favourite instrument-flute-playing out the mukhda line and only absolutely at the end Lata repeats the line baar baar tohe kya samjhaye..
Along with the legends, thanks to you for kindling this interest in appreciating the nuances while listening to the golden melodies!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sAjy3E3lQPU
Anup, & AK
@6
You asked ‘Is there another song with such peculiarity?’. Answer is yes. The song is ‘hum jab chalen to ye jahan jhumen’ from Hum Hindustani sung by Rafi, written by Sahir and composed by Usha Khanna. The common antara connector line is ‘sare nazaron mein phoolon mein taaron mein humne hi jadu bhara’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfkQV_lNdr0
If you found the connector line of the above song too long, here is a song which has just one word ‘madham’ repeated three times in between the antaras to rhyme with the mukhda ‘chupke se mile pyase pyase kuchh hum kuchh tum’. The film was Manzil and the same combo which wrote and composed ‘ankhon mein kya ji’, worked together here too. In fact this song is a wonder in composition and should be listened again by every one. Geeta Dutt perfectly reciting the mukhda and then Rafi singing it, which process is repeated with the first antara. The second antara is differently composed. You will find nuances till the end.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-xgxDzB7fM
@ 10
You mentioned the song ‘jaha mein aisa kaun hai’ started with an antara. In fact in quite a few songs with two versions this has happened. I am giving here links for ‘basti basti parbat parbat gata jaye banjara’ from Railway Platform (Sahir-Madan Mohan) and ‘sawan ke mahine mein’ (Rajnder Krishan-MM), both sung by Rafi.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec4V8REAT5I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LAq13Iy5GDU
‘Maine chand aur sitaron ki tamanna ki thi’ second version also started with the antara.
Thanks to Hansji (@36 & @40) & Sivanandamji (@39 & @41) for raising the bar by posting some good representative songs.
AKji,
Posting the song rendered by S D Burman from the 1941 film Taj Mahal. I believe, this was S D Burman’s first Hindi film song (Hindusthan Records H 922). Earlier he had recorded four non-film/ devotional songs (Hindusthan Records H 461 & H 548) in the year 1937. It seems S D Burman had rendered song/songs for the film Seeta (1934), lyrics Narottam Vyas, music R C Boral, but no records were made. I am not sure, needs verification.
The song ‘Prem ki pyari Nishani’ starts with the antara and after the second antara the mukhda ‘Tajmahal Mere Taaj, Tajmahal Mere Taaj’ appears and again after the third antara. lyrics Munshi Zakir Hussain, music Himangshu Dutta.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tXRmeTQtrLQ&t=1s
The tune of the above song was taken from an earlier Bengali NFS song (1940) ‘Premer samadhi teerey’ (Hindusthan Records H 831), with a similar structure and theme, penned by Shailen Roy, music Himangshu Dutta.
A vintage song sung by Shanta Apte from the film Duniya Na Maane (1937), lyrics Munshi Aziz, music Keshavrao Bhole. The mukhda, ‘Ek thaa raajaa ek thi raani, dono par chhaai thi jawani’, is sung only once in the beginning and then it is free flowing narrative.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4HIkeP4L9G0
A song with the similar mukhda ‘Ek thaa raajaa ek thi raani’, maintaining the mukhda-antara mukhda….structure, was sung by Lata Mangeshkar for the film Hariyali aur Raasta (1962), lyrics Shailendra, music SJ.
Another song ‘Saawan jhoola jhool ke nikla’, from the fim Saawan Duniya Na Maane (1937) rendered by Vasanti with Shanti joining her towards the end.; free flowing lyrics without any prelude or interludes; Starts with the antara. The lines ‘Aaha bharat piyara, hai wo jag se niyara’, repeated twice can be considered as the mukhda.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSVQdOPpPvE&t=136s
Sivanandamji @39,
Kaahe koyal shor mahaye re: I always treated this line as mukhada. You are rights that all the antaras follow the same tune. In that sense it resembles the song #8, Kaune rang mungawa, composed by Roshan. There are deviations of various degrees. Raat ko ji chamke taare also has this feature.
@41,
I can’t have enough of Roshan. This surrogate song gave him a lot of scope for experiment. Thanks a lot for your detailed analysis.
Hans @40,
I don’t know if there is a way to segregate a lyricist and MD’s contribution. I have always given primacy to the music director.
I have also gone public on several occasions that a great song in the voice of a singer gets etched in our memory and the hypothetical question what if it was sung by such and such great singer does not enter my thoughts. Some well-intentioned tributes to the legends have fallen flat according to me, and it was best avoidable.
I should also take exception to your unnecessarily unflattering comparison of SD Burman to Roashan while discussing Nai Umar Ki Nai Fasal. It was a Roshan composition, where does SD Burman figure in? Roshan is my great favourite, and from this film my pure gold is Rafi’s Aaj ki raat badi shokh badi natkhat hai.
Venkaramanji @43,
You have raised the bar further with vintage songs. So far we have been traversing in a safe territory.
Although not related to this thread, I thought of sharing this information here. Yesterday I watched the first episode on the 4 part series The Roshans in Netflix. The first episode is on Roshan Lal Nagrath and I think for the first time there is a nice tribute to him by many singers . Even the recluse Suman Kalyanpur has spoken! The next 3 episodes are on the sons & grandson i believe though I haven’t watched them yet.
Sivanandamji,
Saw its promos. Plan to see it. Does one episode do justice to Roshan?
AK ji
Obviously , legends like Roshan cannot be covered in one episode. If I can take an analogy from a culinary perspective, just a spoon from a seven course meal! If you recall we just touched upon this subject of Roshans not talking much about their father the way Big B talks about his father…so look it without much expectation on any analysis of his music etc…
AK ji,
A variation that was quite commonly used by musicians especially those from Bengal (Salil in particular) or those under the influence of Bengali music was the Sanchari. Here before the last antara, a different tune would be thrown in with lyrics and then without returning to the mukhda, the antara would continue. Please do read my post on Sanchari for more on this. (https://anitamultitasker.wordpress.com/2021/10/09/sanchari-bengals-invaluable-contribution-to-hindi-film-music/)
Some of the songs with this format – very popular ones in fact are –
1) O Sajna from Parakh
2) Na Jiya Laage Na – Anand
3) Chale Pawan Ki Chaal – Doctor
4) Kaise Koi Jiyee – Baadbaan
To add to this, Ek Ladki ko dekha to aisa laga is a perfect example of Anaphora, where the word Jaise is repeated umpteen times in the song.
(https://anitamultitasker.wordpress.com/2023/09/10/the-anaphora-songs/)
Anita
Anita,
Thanks a lot for your very learned comment. Mention of Salil Chowdhury reminded me of several of his compositions fitting this theme: Mausam beeta jaaye; Chadh gayo re paapi bichhua. Now I think almost all music directors composed songs of deviations from conventional mukhada-antara structure.
I have read both your posts, and I have to compliment you again for I learned some new things.
In this song I do not see any repetition . Where would this fit ?
Aaj ke insaan ko yeh kya ho gaya , AMAR RAHE YEH PYAR , 1961
https://youtu.be/svxrxHLqH2s?si=7ZUPk1dNSeRvZaKf
AK,
After due consideration for two days I have arrived at a decision that this would be my last post on SOY. I would like to give here my reasons for this action in my good-bye post.
I posted links for 7 songs which were not only great songs but also perfect fit for the present theme. You did not say a word on these songs and instead have reprimanded me as you have also done in the ‘RDB book review’ article. I have posted my reply there. What is the reason for this.
I referred to two long KK songs composed by SDB which were written by Neeraj and posted two long songs by Roshan also written by Neeraj and said Roshan composed these long songs much better than SDB. There is no ambiguity here. But you misconstrued my words to interpret them as if I brought in SDB unnecessarily to suggest that he had any role in their composition. I also praised SDB composition in my next post.
I would remind you of the demeaning and comparisons you indulged in the past. There are a number of instances but I would give a few. First you look at your Rafi-Kishore post where you put Rafi to a wholesome insult and also demeaned Madan Mohan. When a number of Rafi fans raised questions you could not answer you closed the debate. I was not part of that debate because I had not started in SOY yet. Later in ‘Review of HQ Chaudhary’s book on SDB’ and Moti Lalwani’s article on SDB’s song in Jaal, Rafi and great people like Bimal Roy were demeaned and you not only said nothing but defended them by saying they did not mean it.
Even after that there have been instances like this to which I and Mumbaikar8 have been objecting. You have made negative comments about MDs like Naushad and CR. Recently you made such a comment about Sharada.
Regarding comparisons, there have been a number of instances but I relate here just a few. In the Rafi-Kishore post you said ‘even an inveterate fan of Rafi would agree Kishore version of Tum Bin Jaun Kahan was better’. In one other post you said Habib Wali Muhammad’s rendering of ‘lagta nahin hai dil mera’ was much better. This HWM is a Pakistani classical singer and from where he came to be compared to a playback singer. In my opinion no music lover in his senses can even listen his whole rendering, it is so bad. I would venture to say that even KK who has no classical background would have rendered it better than HWM. In the SDB book review post you said SDB’s bengali rendition of ‘hum bekhudi mein’ was much better than Rafi. Recently after posting your Rafi duets article on 24th Dec, when I posted a number of Rafi songs you brought in comparison with Mukesh and when I put up my arguments you again closed the debate.
What you said @ 45 looks like a constitution of SOY. So what is the difference between you and me that you can do things which I can not do. The difference is that you are the master of the blog and I am just an ordinary person. But I have been putting a lot of effort for improving the blog, considering it was mine too. I have observed that your treatment of other commenters as compared to me is also different. You praise even ordinary songs posted by others while you give routine replies to my group of songs and in some cases you wholly ignore.
In the post on KA and his female singers, when people said KA did not compose many good songs for female singers, I posted 5 songs of lesser known singers in defence of KA to prove that there was no lack of efforts on their part. You wrote this
“The female solos of ‘other female singers’ you have dredged would not occur to me for mentioning on SOY. ”
When I asked the meaning of making such a comment you ignored my query, as you have done many times. I think you know the meaning of dredging. You also declared them to be unfit for mentioning on SOY.
But now you have posted the out and out vulgar song ‘beedi jalaile’ which was vulgar not only in the matter of lyrics, but also vulgarly filmed. Everybody understands what is meant by ‘beedi’ and ‘jigar’. No sensible person can watch such songs with family and children. You have praised sky high not only Gulzar but also its filming.
In the end, I give my best wishes to SOY and its members.
Good Bye.
Hans,
I have mulled over your long post, and I can see you hold many grudges against me. Let us leave that aside. I would urge you to reconsider your decision to leave. This is a readers-led blog and we learn a good deal from each other.
AKji,
Commenting late but a great start to 2025 with two interesting posts.
I finally could catch up with the RDB book review as well as this excellent post over the last weekend.
Enjoyed this post on the variations of the standard mukhda-antaras format of hindi film songs.
I am not competent to understand the finer variations, but can at least recognize the basic change in the mukhda-antara structure.
Some songs that I could recollect:
Maine dekha hai ke phoolon se ladi – Waqt (1965)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Em_896e3ttg
Raat yun dil mein teri khoyi huyi yaad – Janwar (1965)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aTABMDqn2No
Songs from Kabhi Kabhie (1976)
Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayal aata hai
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-W2dagktUp0
Tera phoolon jaisa rang tere sheeshe jaise ang
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyCJVyohW44
Phoolon ke rang se from Prem Pujari has been posted.
Posting another song from the same film, a nice jeep song – Yaaro nilam karo susti.
It begins with gham pe dhul dalo, it appears like the song has 3 antaras.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DGREn0iGqs
Dr Deshpande @55,
In general all the recital songs have this feature. Maine dekha hai has excellent melody in the recital. I am always impressed by Raat yun dil mein teri khoyi hui yaad. In a film in which Shammi Kapoor goes completely wild with Laal chhadi kya khub ladi, Shammi Kapoor recites Faiz’s romantic nazm!
@56,
Kabhi kabhi mere dil mein khayal aata hai; Tere phoolon jaisa rang tere sheeshe jaisa ang: Very apt examples. In many such songs, our mind gets conditioned to accept the first line as the mukhada anyhow.
@57,
Gham pe dhool daalo is the most perfect example among all the songs you have posted. Here there is no doubt the songs starts with antara, and then comes to mukhada. It is of Kaanton se kheench ke ye aanchal….Aaj phir jeene ki tamanna hai type. Prem Pujari was one of the better scores of SD Burman, it is sad that by that time Dev Anand was in decline. We can now connect with Anita’s comment @50 that music directors from Bengal generally showed this feature.
AK ji
Continuing with the bengali composers’ love for unusual structures here are three songs totally different from each other by RDB
1 Mrugnayani chandramukhi – Rang Birangi – Pt Vasantrao Deshpande and Faiyyaz -Yogesh
I feel that the structure of the song is different from the traditional structure. The Mukhada and second Antara are in two parts equally divided between two singers.
RDB using two classical singers is also unusual.
https://youtu.be/oncpu4JMf_o?si=RyiSM4Al52S23pK_
2 Aanki chali – Namkeen- Asha – Gulzar
https://youtu.be/slveXAZ4Jzc?si=LY9tx6gcCPa9WjK3
This seems to be a folk song and uses a line in Bengali ( paanta bhate tattka baigun pora), the meaning of which I don’t know. There are no connectors and the humming of Shabana ( who plays a dumb girl) serves as the connector.
3 Pyar hame kis mod pe le aaya- Satte pe Satta- Gulshan bawara
https://youtu.be/lTEkQ9Uyjiw?si=pY17bmkBy4AswKV5
Now a RDB style song which starts with Antara in a very low scale. It is only in the last Antara that it becomes a crescendo.
RDB uses a number of voices (other than KK) including his own and Gulshan bawara’s.
Hans ji/ AK ji,
I don’t know whether a third person can comment on an issue between two individuals.
If this isn’t crossing the lines/ dhakal andaji ( is it the right way to spell it ? ) I would urge Hans ji to not to leave. Your comments are well written and your knowledge about old Hindi songs is commendable.
You have vented your feelings. So, it is off your chest. Let’s see what you feel in the coming days.
PLEASE STAY.
Mr Muli @59,
O mrignayani chandramukhi: A great song by any yardstick. The second stanza is quite unique as you point out. In light classical renderings of Thumri, I have seen such ghazal recitations inserted after the sthayi.
The two songs ‘Aan ki chali’ and ‘Pyar humein kis mod pe le aaya’ are both very nice examples. If it is a Bengali thing it further endorses Anita’s views
Dr Shetty @60,
It is absolutely right for third persons to enter into discussion between two persons. My comment @54, my views are clear. Let us leave bitterness aside and move on with life.
Two songs from Ram Teri Ganga Maili (1985)
There is no conventional mukhda here.
Husn pahadon ka o saiba
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkMZCuJRJ2c
Tujhe bulaye ye meri baahen
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNO2Cms6RnU
Arth (1983)
Koi ye kaise bataye ke wo tanha kyon hai – Jagjeet SIngh
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UByuXScv3CA
Jiska mujhe tha intezar – Don (1978)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mjqv088jfN4
Akji,
AKji,
Posting some more songs from the vintage era.
Ek raja ka beta lekar udne wala ghoda by K L Saigal, 1937 film President (Badi Bahen), lyrics Kidar Sharma?, music R C Boral
This can be an ideal example of ‘where is the mukhda gone?’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jX9aRhAfb70
The above link provides the record version of the song, which slightly differs from the film track version (link given below)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ef3XAOxU8rY
Dekhat Waako Hi Roop Prem Ka Pujari , K L Saigal, Chandidas (1934), Agha Hashr Kashmiri, R C Boral
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o2CIsI6dCY4
Hansji@42,
Sorry I read your reply too late.
I agree there are more songs, mainly the ones with two versions, that start with antara.
To recollect immediately,
Are re are yeh kya hua from DTPH.
I didn’t realise that the word Maddham is used as a connector in Chupke se mile pyase pyase. Sharp memory you have.
Anup
🙂
Akji,
From 1956 to 1967, Gopal Sharma ruled Radio Ceylon, which was aired from Colombo. We all know that Gopal Sharma was the man who popularized the usage of the phrase ‘Awaz ki duniya ke doston’. Later, Kishore Kumar used this expression ‘Aawaz ki duniya ke doston’ in the song ‘Aate Jaate Khubsurat Awara Sadkon Pe’, film Anurodh (1977). But this phrase can be found as early as 1939, in two songs of the vintage film Dushman. I am posting the songs and one more, all from the film Dushman (1939) and all the three songs would fit the theme of this post. Lyrics Arzoo Lucknawi, music Pankaj Mullick, singer K L Saigal
Awaz ki duniya ke doston……………
Pyari Pyari Soorton Moh Bhari mooraton
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQHuRw6aPT0
Sitam The Zulm The Aafat The Itazaar Ke Din
Hazaar Shukr Ke Dekhege Ab Bahaar Din
Aawaaz Ki Duniyaa Ke Doston
Mai Zaraa Der Se Pahunchaa
Isake Liye Mujhe Afasos Hai
Lekin Aaj Aap Logo Ko Ek Bil-kul
Nayaa Gaanaa Sunaataa Hun, Ready
Man Darapan Hai Jag Saaraa, Ye Jag Saaraa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18sWF1mh3JQ
And the third song,
Preet Mein Hai Jeevan,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ehDoTykJFQ
AKji,
While presenting the Ghazal (#3), ‘Unko ye shikayat hai ki hum kuchh nahin kahte’, you have nicely explained the rigid rules of its structure. In the write-up preceding the next song (#4), Khushiyon ke din manaye ja…Abhi to main jawan hun, abhi to main jawan hun, you have described the iconic song ‘Abhi to man jawan hun’, rendered by Malika Pukhraj, as a Ghazal. As per my understanding, based on your explanation, the song rendered by Malika Pukhraj doesn’t seem to be a Ghazal. I am only seeking a clarification to clear my understanding.
I hope it will not be out of place to post a Ghazal, Chori Kaheen Khule Na Naseemen Bahaar Ki, beautifully rendered by Mukhtar Begum for the film Aurat kya Pyaar (1933), penned by Agha Hashr Kashmiri, composed by Mushtaq Ahmad
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbKF09YSnRQ
This may be one of the earliest Ghazal used in a Hindi film.
Presenting another song, which sounds like a Ghazal, but not conforming to the rules stated by you. Nevertheless, the song doesn’t have Mukhda in the real sense and it is a free flowing song, superbly rendered by Shanta Apte.
Samjha Kya Hai Duniyadana, Shanta Apte, Duniya na mane (1937) , lyrics Munshi Aziz, music Keshavrao Bhole
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8F6Q-yn1Ec
Dr Deshpande @63,
Both the songs from Ram Teri Ganga Maili – Husn pahadon ka; Tujhe bulayein ye meri baahein – have this feature, there is no conventional mukhada here.
@64,
Koi ye kaise bataayein ki wo tanha kyun hain, of course does not have a conventional mukhada. It is a recitation. But Jiska mujhe tha intezaar sounds to me like a conventional mukhada.
Venkataramanji @65,
Thanks for giving the two links of Ek raaje ka beta lekar udanewala ghoda. You mean the first link is of the film track and second link of the record version. It is a pure story-telling song.
Dekhat waako hi roop prem ka pujari by KL Saigal from Chandidas (1934): There could not be a better example of ‘Where is the mukhada gone’.
Venkatarmanji @67,
Awaz ki duniyon ke doston: I have to thank you for posting this song. I had seen it once and then I could not locate it on YT. Has KL Saigal used this phrase in some other song, too? The other two songs from Dushman (1939) are also perfect examples of deviation from the conventional structure.
@68,
I must compliment you for your sharp eyes in spotting the contradiction in my presentation. Abhi to main jawan hun by Malika Pukhraj is not a ghazal. It is a free-flowing verse, more appropriate for a nazm. I have accordingly corrected my slip. I was casual in use of the term. I have to study further to understand whether ‘nazm’ is a generic category, or there are other specific form of Urdu poetry.
Chori kahni khule na is a beautiful ghazal. I had heard it being sung by many singers. Here is one version by Farida Khanum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2Dws97JO08
But I must acknowledge Mukhar Begum’s is pure gold.
Hans @ 53
Living up to my old habit of piggy backing, following Dr. Shetty @60.
He said
“You have vented your feelings. So, it is off your chest. Let’s see what you feel in the coming days.”
When we feel exhausted, we vent it our own way it is good for coexistence. So take your time.
I am trying to be what you are “wise”.
It is question of my survival too, if you quit our species will go extinct.
Please do not feel obliged to reply all comments, try ignoring, it works. WIP for me. Let us do it together. Take your time off and come back your resilient self.
See you soon.
Adding a song that fits the bill? I think it does, though it has Mukkhda and Antara .
No rush, can wait for your response till you come back
https://youtu.be/E8YBYjwBapg
Dr Shetty @ 60, Mumbaikar8 @ 72
Thanks for your love. Venkataramanji and Sivanandam also wrote to me privately and I have already joined. A song in response to the one posted by Mumbaikar8. ‘Ehsan mere dil pe tumhara hai dosto’
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BMEx4sORX-8
One thing I would like to say is that this was not a case of venting the feelings. It was a matter of principle. Rahul Muli had simply posted two songs of SDB and one qawwali of Roshan which has three parts. Qawwalis mostly are the songs which break the normal construction routine and the Barsaat Ki Raat qawwalis were particularly special. So he posted works of both MDs. AK ignored the qawwali and declared SDB the master of such songs. He has every right to do so, because to observe, analyse and express is a faculty given only to humans. Similarly, I exercised my right in what I said.
Thanks again to all friends including AK for showing concern for me.