Sharaabi soch na kar matwaale
Posted on: September 24, 2011
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Radio broadcast services were introduced in India in 1927. The first establishment to broadcast radio signals for public consumption was a private company named India Broadcasting Corporation (IBC). This company was the forerunner of All India Radio (AIR).
In 1927 itself, Pankaj Mullick along with Rai Chand Boral joined IBC as one of the earliest employees. Pankaj Babu’s association with radio broadcasting and AIR lasted for almost five decades. His most significant contribution to the radio domain has been the teaching of music through radio. He produced the music–teaching program Sangeet Shikshar Ashar. Launched in 1929, Pankaj Babu produced and supervised this program for 36 years, till 1975. This program has been a great influence on the general public. It has single handedly been instrumental in popularizing Rabindra Sangeet among the Bengali middle-class for many generations.
Pankaj Babu’s interpretation of Mahishashura Mardini, the principal Sanskrit Stotram in honor of Goddess Durga , was aired for the first time in 1932. It is a joint creation of Pankaj Babu, Bani Kumar and Birendra Krishna Bhadra. The program, a musical evocation of the Mother Goddess, used to be broadcast live at the crack of dawn on the auspicious day of Mahaalaya, the first day of Devi Paksha (also known as Navratri) – the fortnight that includes Durga Puja. Eminent singers have considered it to be an honor and a privilege to be invited to sing for this prestigious program. Over the years, famous singing voices such as Angurbala, Suprabha Ghosh, Supriti Ghosh, Arati Mukherjee, Sumitra Sen, Sandhya Mukherjee, Hemanta Mukherjee, Pannalal Bhattacharya, Dwijen Mukherjee and Manabendra Mukherjee have presented this musical hymn. It has now become a part of the Bengali identity and cultural ethos. The recorded version which is aired even to this day, is still listened to by millions.
Mukti (1937) is a New Theatres production, directed by Pramthesh Chandra Barua (PC Barua). The music for this film is composed by Pankaj Babu, and the lyrics are written by Aarzoo Lucknowi, Agsar Hussain, AH Shor, and ‘Prem’. The star cast is very impressive and includes PC Barua himself in the lead role, with Kaanan Devi, Jagdish Sethi, Pankaj Mullick, Bikram Kapoor, Kalyani Devi, Prafulla Roy, Dev Bala, Nawaab, Menaka Devi, Nand Kishore and Girdhari etc. The film dealt with a theme of romantic aspirations, and shifting loyalties in relations between a man and a woman. The film was considered very much ahead of its time, and did create a stir when first released. It was made both in Hindi and Bengali with the same name.
The movie tells a tale of an artist, Prasanta (PC Barua), presented in the typical romantic image of an artist – dedicated to his vocation, paying no heed to his scandalous reputation (he paints nude models). He is married to Chitra (Kanan Devi), a lady from a rich family. The couple are in love but neither partner is prepared to compromise their ideals. Prasnata has a cavalier attitude towards his conservative father-in-law’s demands for good social behavior. The marriage falls apart. Prasanta concedes his wife’s demand for a divorce and goes to the jungles of Assam, where for many years his closest associates are a wild elephant and Jharna (Menaka Devi), the wife of an innkeeper named Pahari (Nawab). Chitra marries the millionaire Bipul (Bikram Kapoor). The newly married couple also come to Assam, and they go an elephant hunt. They kill Prasanta’s pet elephant. Since Chitra believes Prasanta to be dead, he initially avoids meeting her, but is forced to rescue her from the hands of a local villainous trader (Jagdish Sethi). Prasanta succeeds to rescue Chitra, but dies at her feet. The film interprets his death as Chitra’s final achievement of the freedom she had craved.
In some ways, this is kind of film that would be dubbed as an art film in 70s and 80s, and could very well have been a movie by Shyam Benegal or Mani Kaul. Both in terms of narrative and the under played performances, the director contrasts the regressive story as static and unresolved, with a hyperactive environment that overwhelms the trivial nature of the lead couple’s aspirations for freedom of the soul and the choice of life styles.
On screen, this song actually presented in tandem with another song (Mohe Kalpaaye Gayo. . .), a chorus, that is not in this video clip. A social get together is organized at Prasanta’s place, that includes the local populace and the visitors from Calcutta. The scenario created, of a drinking party, is so much convincing (although it may have been out of sync with the social standards of that era). The men are drinking to their heart’s content, the women apparently do not mind this indulgence, there is a lot of singing and dancing involving both genders. Into this revelry enters a local singer of the hills, played by Pankaj Babu himself. He presents this song, a duet with Kalyani Devi, a poetical celebration of the one who is drunk, interleaved with exhortations to keep a pure soul and to develop an inclination for the Almighty.
The lyrics of this song are written by ‘Prem’. I have not yet been able to ascertain if this poetical signature represents a name that may be better known. The singing voices are of Pankaj Babu and Kalyani Devi, who perform this song on screen also.
Enjoy this wonderful ode to the ‘sharaabi’.
Song-Sharaabi soch na kar matwaale (Mukti) (1937) Singer-Pankaj Mullick, Kalyani Devi, Lyrics-Prem, MD-R C Boral
Pankaj Mullick + Kalyani Devi
Lyrics
sharaabi
sharaabi,
soch na kar matwaale
dukh bhare dukh waale
sharaabi,
soch na kar matwaale
dukh bhare dukh waale
jo tere mann ki thheek hai sudh budh
jo tere mann ki thheek hai sudh budh
bigdi baat banaa le sharaabi
bigdi baat banaa le
jo tere mann maa khot nahin hai
jo tere mann maa khot nahin hai
lau ishwar se lagaa le,
sharaabi
lau ishwar se lagaa le
jo tere prem mein sachhaai hai
jo tere prem mein sachhaai hai
aur ye prem badhaa le
aur ye prem badhaa le,
aur ye prem badhaa le
haan
ye hi dukh hai sukh ka sandesaa
ye hi dukh hai sukh ka sandesaa
aag se aag bujha le,
sharaabi
aag se aag bujha le
soch na kar matwaale
dukh bhare dukh waale
sharaabi,
soch na kar matwaale
dukh bhare dukh waale
sharaabi
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
February 22, 2012 at 10:58 am
The first ever movie where poet Rabindra Nath Tagore gave his blessings for his compositions to be picturised.
The first music direction of Pankaj Mullick & really brought him into lime light
The only movie where Kanan Devi sang songs under Pankaj Mullick’s music direction
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