Dilwaaley dilwaaley
Posted on: June 1, 2012
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Mention of the name Uma Devi, almost invariably brings to mind the peerless melody – ‘Afsaana Likh Rahin Hoon Dil e Beqaraar Ka’ from the film Dard (1947). And then, in the current memory, there is very little else that emerges from depth of yesteryears. But the fact is that Uma Devi (later also known as the comedienne Tun Tun) was fairly active as a playback singer in the 40s and early 50s. And there is a fairly good number of memorable songs that she has rendered during her short career as a playback singer.
As Uma Devi, her debut film as a playback singer is ‘Waamiq Azra’ in 1946. She sang her first songs in films under the baton of Allaah Rakha Qureshi (AR Qureshi), the famous table player. Born on July 11th, 1923 in a small village in Uttar Pradesh, the child Uma lost her parents at a very young age. Music and singing seemed to be her calling in life, however the conservative family norms did not allow her to get any formal training in music. Especially so, after the passing away of her parents and that she was under the care of one of her uncles. What happened next was simply unexpected, but maybe more true to her own search for an identity. At the age of 13, she left home (read – ran away) and came to Bombay. The one name that she was familiar with was Naushad Ali. And so she arrived at his doorstep, unannounced and unexpected. And to add more drama to the already complicated personal circumstances, she demanded that she be allowed to sing in films, or else she will jump into the ocean. (This anecdote is unattributed; but seems probable since in Uttar Pradesh, she could not have made this particular threat to anybody, and had to travel all the way to Bombay, to be able to add a touch of reality. 😉 ).
Well the net outcome was that Naushad agreed to do a voice test, and being satisfied with the results, he agreed to take on Uma Devi under his mentorship and got her the first break in ‘Waamiq Azra’. At the same time he also introduced her to AR Kardar, she was signed up for the upcoming ‘Dard’ to sing alongside the likes of Suraiyyaa and Shamshad Begum. Besides the runaway hit ‘Afsaana Likh Rahi Hoon’, her rendering of more hits from the same film viz. “Aaj Machi Hai Dhoom”, “Ye Kaun Chalaa. . .” and “Betaab Hai Dil Dard e Mohabbat Ke Asar Se” (a duet with Suraiyyaa) made her a favorite new voice for the public as well as the music directors. In 1948, came the hit film ‘Chandralekha’ from Gemini Films, Madras, and Uma Devi sang seven songs (solo and duets) out of a total of 11 songs. She went on to sing more hits songs in ‘Anokhi Adaa’ (1948), ‘Pyaar Ki Raat’ (1948), ‘Rooplekha’ (1949), ‘Saudaamini’ (1950).
Another anecdote – it appears that her voice in the song “Betaab Hai Dil Dard e Mohabbat Ke Asar Se” , enamored a gentleman so intensely that he travelled all the way to Bombay, never to return to his home again. He proposed to and married her. The name of the person is not disclosed, but Uma Devi called him ‘Mohan’ for the rest of her life.
In 1950, during a friendly banter on the sets of ‘Baabul’ (1950) between Uma Devi, Naushad, and Dilip Kumar, the latter suggested Uma to appear in the film as a comedienne. Uma Devi was already known for her bubbly personality, and her timed repartees in the personal interactions. She took on this suggestion with alacrity and thus was born a new performer. The singer Uma Devi transformed into Tun Tun, the comedienne, a name that was jokingly suggested by Dilip Kumar himself. There may be more to it, behind this anecdote, as Uma Devi was already being overshadowed by the arrival of Lata Mangeshkar on the scene. Lata’s arrival apparently impacted Uma Devi the most, for after 1950, we hear just a very few songs from Uma Devi, notably in ‘Bhagwaan Shri Krishna’ (1950) and ‘Deepak’ (1951). But her stock as a comedy actress rose high and over the next three decades she was to perform in almost 200 films as a comedienne.
This song, from the film ‘Naatak’ (1947) is another wonderful sampling of this fresh and rustic sounding voice. The film is produced by AR Kardar under the banner of Kardar Productions, and is directed by SU Sunny. The star cast includes Suraiyaa, Amar, Sofia, Kanwar, Sham Kumar, Pratima Devi, Nazir Bedi, Amir Ali, Suleiman, Murtaza, Nazir Ahmed, Nawab etc. The songs of this film are penned by three lyricists, Khumaar Barabankvi, Shakeel Badayuni and Majrooh Sultanpuri. This particular song is written by Shakeel Saab. The music direction is by Naushad, in the times when Ghulam Mohammed used to be his assistant. Only the audio of this song is available, so it is difficult to comment about the on screen performance of this song. Since Suraiyyaa is also in the star cast, thence this song would be sung by one of the second lead lady performers. I would request other knowledgeable readers to please add more information about the film and the picturization of this song.
The song itself is a racy fare, much in the same melodic league as “Ye Kaun Chalaa. . .” from ‘Dard’ (1947). The words are a swig of caution for the young and expectant hearts that await for romance and love to happen in life. And the advice against this expectation is that it is better to burn in the fire, than to live a life long regret and disenchantment. The words are lovely and voice is a tone to tone match for the fast paced rhythm that conducts this song. Enjoy. 🙂
dilwaale. . . , dilwaale. . .
jal jal kar hi mar jaana
tum preet na kar pachhtaanaa
O one with the youthful hearts
(Listen thus to these words)
Prefer to die, by burning in fire
But, hey, ne;er do fall in love
For that will be a lifelong endurance
Of regret and remorse
preet ki dil se aag utthe, aur dono taraf lag jaaye
tan ki jalaaye, mann ko jalaaye
phir bhi na nikale haaye
ik shama ho ik parwaanaa
tum preet na kar pachhtaanaa
(For this love too, is a fire)
That will emanate from the being
And be kindled in both hearts together
It will singe and scorch the mind and body
And yet, you are not allowed even a sigh of pain
Like the one flame of the lamp
It burns itself
And also consumes in its fires
The eager moth that loves it
Say, oh say
Don’t get this lifelong endurance
Of regret and remorse
rang rangeeli duniya mein hain rang rang ke dhoke
do din ki jeevan maayaa, is ko na bitaana ro ke
hans hans kar preet nibhaana
tum preet na kar pachhtaanaa
This world is of many colors
And it has deception and treachery
Also in many shades
The life is but a dream that will last two days
Why, oh why, should it be spent weeping
Let it pass with smiles and laughter
No matter you maybe in love
But say, oh say
Don’t get this lifelong endurance
Of regret and remorse
Song-Dilwaale dilwaale (Naatak)(1947) Singer-Uma Devi, Lyrics-Shakeel Badayuni, MD-Naushad
Lyrics
dilwaale. . .
dilwaale. . .
jal jal kar hi mar jaana
tum preet na kar pachhtaanaa
tum preet na kar pachhtaanaa
dilwaale. . .
dilwaale. . .
preet ki dil se aag utthe. . .ae
aur dono taraf lag jaaye. . . ae ae
preet ki dil se aag utthe. . .ae
aur dono taraf lag jaaye. . . ae ae
tan ko jalaaye
mann ko jalaaye
tan ko jalaaye
mann ko jalaaye
phir bhi na nikle haaye
phir bhi na nikle haaye
ik shama ho ik parwaanaa
tum preet na kar pachhtaanaa
tum preet na kar pachhtaanaa
dilwaale ae
dilwaale
rang rangeeli duniya mein hain
aen aen
rang rang ke dhokhe
ae ae ae
do din ki jeevan maayaa
is ko na bitaana ro ke
rang rangeeli duniya mein hain
aen aen aen
rang rang ke dhokhe
do din ki jeevan maayaa
is ko na bitaana ro ke
hans hans kar preet nibhaana
tum preet na kar pachhtaanaa
tum preet na kar pachhtaanaa
dilwaale ae
dilwaale. . .
jal jal kar hi mar jaana
tum preet na kar pachhtaanaa
tum preet na kar pachhtaanaa
dilwaale. . .
dilwaale. . .
2 Responses to "Dilwaaley dilwaaley"
June 1, 2012 at 11:50 am
Sudhir ji,
Thanks for an excellent story on Uma Devi.Addition of anecdotes adds further readability.The story of ‘Mohan’ is totally unheard of and is very interesting.
Uma Devi was born on 24-12-1926 in Alipur,near Mathura in UP.At the age of 6 she lost her parents in an epidemic and she stayed with her uncle.She had to do housework and her singing was prohibited.fed up,she ran to Bombay at the age of 16,also to avoid marriage to an old man.
In Bombay she worked for a Muslim family of UP as a Housemaid for 3 years,before she met A.R.Qureshi,a regular visitor to the household and he heard her song.In 1946,she sang her first song in ‘Wamik Azra’,but it did nothing to her reputation.One day,she went to A.R.Kardar and he heard her song.Impressed,he sent her to his friend Naushad and as a true Jauhari,he understood her value.She was hired by Kardar Studio,at a salary of Rs.500/-pm.In 1947,came ‘Dard’ and she arrived with a bang !
In 1947,she also sang just one song-‘Dilwale,o dilwale’,in “NATAK” in which there were 6 songs by Suraiyya,but only her song became popular.
In 42 films,she sang 120 songa.As TunTun,she acted in 200 films.
-AD
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
June 1, 2012 at 6:18 am
Is it 1923 or 1933? If its 1933, it makes sense, that she ran away at age of 13, and came to mumbai and sang first song in 1946.
If its 1923, it would be 1936 that she came to mumbai and I’m not sure even Naushad was a familiar name in 1936. Or may be she ran away from home at age of 23 and not 13.
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