Badla dilwaayegaa yaa rab
Posted on: March 14, 2013
This article is written by Sudhir, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog.
Today’s date, 14th March, is an anniversary of another sort, very intimately related with Hindi films and Hindi film songs. Today is the 82nd anniversary of the birth of the Hindi film song. It was this day, that the first talkie film of the Hindi screen was exhibited for the first time. The film is ‘Aalam Ara’, and the first public exhibition of this film occurred on 14th March, 1931, at a theatre named Majestic in Bombay. With the release of this film, the silent moving pictures acquired a voice, the story acquired the spoken word, and the medium changed forever with the infusion of the most significant element in the repertoire of Hindi cinema – music and songs.
In our land, where music is steeped in the earth, and dispersed in the skies, it flows with the rivers, it changes with the seasons and it is inseparably immersed into the day to day life of this sub continent. Whatever may be the occasion, a celebration of happiness or an expression of sorrow, it is the singer and music maker in the ordinary person of this land who will pick up a string, a flute, a drum – and let his heart play out the melody that comes so naturally to people of this sub continent. If a story had to be told, it will be a melodic verse sung by a wandering minstrel – a baul, or a nat, a ramta jogi, singing a lokgeet, a bihugeet, a pandavani, an aalhaa, a heer, a naatupura paatu, a bhaavgeet, a kaafi, or a score of any other such art forms dispersed across this land. It will be the story told through the stringed puppets, thru nautanki, thru lavani, or a veeragaase.
And so it was but natural that when the sound came to the silver screen, it was already embellished with music. The folk songs we know, have their origins lost in the antiquity. But the Hindi film song that we know, was born on this day, 82 years ago, when ‘Aalam Ara’ first saw the light of the projector in a public performance. As per the publicity announcements, the regular weekday program ran three shows, starting at 5.30 pm, 8.00 pm and 10.30 pm. But the 14th March that year was a Saturday, and the program on Saturday, Sunday and Bank Holidays, had an extra show at 3.00 pm. (This helps us to determine the time of birth also. 🙂 ).
Last year, this day, we had celebrated the day with a post honoring the first song of this film, “De De Khudaa Ke Naam Pe Pyaare”, with a brief write up about the film, its story and its release. According to the film booklet, this film has six songs. The name of the poet who penned these songs is not given in the booklet, and is probably lost forever. The music for this film is composed by Pherozshah M Mistry. It is a sad fact that the original film and its music is now lost forever. The last known copy of this film was destroyed in a fire accident at the Film Archives (Pune) in 2003. And unless there is a miracle and another copy surfaces from somewhere, this piece of history is no longer in existence. It is a sad commentary on the state of affairs that till the early seventies, a
major part of the original team of artists was still alive and active. But yet, it did not occur to anyone that these priceless gems be re-recorded for their historical value and preservation. (Note: Wazir Mohammed Khan, singer of the first song (passed away 1974); Zubeida, the heroine who sang the very second song of this film and of the Hindi screen (passed away in 1988); Jillo Bai, the singer of the third song of this film (as per available information, she continued to act in films till 1974 at least); Kersi Mistry, the son of Pherozshah Mistry, the music director of Aalam Ara, and himself a music director in Hindi films (correct date of passing away not known, but he was alive and well till well into the 2000s)).
The song “De De Khudaa Ke Naam Pe Pyaare” was reprised by Wazir Mohammed Khan himself, as he played the same role of the faqir, in both the two remakes of ‘Aalam Ara’, in 1956 and 1973. In both these films, he rendered this song again in his own voice, to the original melody as composed by Pherozshah M Mistry. It is a small mercy then, that the first song is available as a re-rendering in the later remakes of the film.
It is another blessing to count that a recording of the second song is available, as partially re sung by the film heroine Zubeida herself. This momentous event happened at a function in 1981, celebrating the golden jubilee of the film ‘Aalam Ara’. This recording was used as the opening song item of the now famous program ‘Mortal Men, Immortal Melodies’, which was held in Bombay on 11th February, 1982. This program has become a legend in itself. The video clip for this post is extracted from the recordings of these programs. The complete text of the lyrics of this song are republished from the special issue (no. 47, dated November 1981) of the Listener’s Bulletin published by Shri Harmandir Singh ji (compiler of the Geet Kosh). This issue celebrated the discovery of a rare copy of the film booklet for ‘Aalam Ara’. This booklet was presented by Shri Kersi Misry, the son of Pherozshah Mistry, to Harmandir Singh ji. The said issue contains the complete information about the film available in the booklet –complete cast and crew, complete text of lyrics of all the 6 songs, and the complete synopsis of the story of the film.
Zubeida Begum Dhanrajgir was born in Surat in 1911. She was a stunningly beautiful princess, the daughter of the Nawab of Sachin and Fatima Begum. Her mother, Fatima Begum was to become famous as the first woman film director in the Indian cinema. Encouraged by her parents, she and her two sisters Sultana and Shehzadi, started to work in films at a very young age. At a time when it was considered an indignity for girls to work in films, especially from the respected elite families, Zubeida and her sisters were among the few actresses who entered the films in that era. And she went on to become one of the earliest superstars of Indian cinema, winning over hearts of her coworkers and the cine going public with her singing, dancing and a crystal clear diction in the spoken language. With coming of sound in 1931, the clarity of spoken language became a significant criteria for the selection of performers in films. At the time when the transition happened from the silent films to talking films, many a career were thrown into disarray, because famous heroes and heroines of the silent era could not pass muster for clarity of speech and diction. (In fact, Master Vithal, who was the leading man in the film ‘Aalam Ara’, had a very poor diction, and so his role in the film was deliberately designed such that he had very little to actually speak.)
Zubeida was only 12 when she made her debut in ‘Kohinoor’ (1923). Through the 1920s she made some appearances on screen along with her elder sister, Sultana who by then was one of Indian cinema’s loveliest leading ladies. Other films that Zubeida appeared in are ‘Kalyan Khajina’ (1924) and ‘Veer Abhimanyu’ (192?), ‘Kaala Chor’ (1925), ‘Devdaasi’ (1925), ‘Desh Ka Dushman’ (1925), ‘Bulbul e Paristan’ (1926) (directed by her mother Fatima Begum), ‘Laila Majnu’ (1927) and ‘Nanand Bhojaai’ (1927). The year 1927 also saw the release of her most significant and successful silent film ‘Balidaan’ (‘The Sacrifice’, directed by Naval Gandhi). This film was based on a short story by Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, and dealt with the issue of animal sacrifices in temples. The film critics and the public were verily impressed with this film that attempted to take on an infamous social issue. The film also starred Sulochana, Master Vithal and Jal Khambatta.
Being selected for ‘Aalam Ara’ proved to be the turning point in her career and was her biggest hit. With the title role in this film she became the highest paid actress of her times. The film was a major commercial success, and people thronged the box office at Matestic cinema to catch a glimpse of her. She was suddenly in high demand in the industry and was one of the few actresses to make a successful transition from the silent era to the talkies.
Through the 1930s and early 1940s, her pairing with Jal Merchant became a very popular team. In 1932 came the famous hit film ‘Zarina’, directed by Erza Mir. In this film she played the role of a vibrant, volatile circus girl, opposite Jal Merchant. The scenes of their romance and passion in this film, set the screens on fire, and their burning on screen kisses sparked off a heated debate on censorship.
She starred in several successful mythological films, namely ‘Veer Abhimanyu’ (1931), ‘Mahabhaarat’ (1933) and ‘Paandav Kaurav’ (1933) playing the roles like Subhadra, Uttara and Draupadi. Her other historical films include ‘Adl e Jehaangir’ (1934) and ‘Birbal Ki Beti’ (1935). In 1934 she set up Mahalakshmi Movietone with Nanubhai Vakil and produced box-office bonanzas in ‘Gul-e-Sanobar’ (1934) and ‘Rashk-e-Laila’ (1934). In the 1940s, she continued to appear in one or two films a year till 1949. ‘Nirdosh Ablaa’ (1949) was her last film as an actress. In real life, she married Maharaj Narsingir Dhanrajgir Gyan Bahadur of Hyderabad. She passed away in 1988.
In the video clip, she appears on stage at the silver jubilee function of ‘Aalam Ara’ held on 6th November 1981. Although the actual singing is not covered in the video. As she sings, the video pans on the celebrities on stage, including herself, and then fades into three of her still photographs. The sensuous beauty of this siren of the 1930s is apparent in these photographs, and even in her persona as she is present on stage for this celebration.
After singing the mukhdaa, she pauses and then apologizes that she does not remember the rest of the song. As we now know from the information contained in the booklet, the rest of the song is just one more antaraa, that she was not able to recall on the spur of the moment. And oh, once again, I so strongly wish someone could have taken the initiative to get together the singer, the booklet, the son of the music director, and maybe we could have preserved a more wholesome version of this historical and lost song. But that was not to be.
[As I view this video clip, a very interesting thought comes to mind. The camera pans the stage and we can see a galaxy of super stars of the silent and early talking era in the frame. Seated on the left most chair is Zubeida. Right behind her, in a white beard is Erza Mir, the producer and director. As the camera moves, I can make some very obvious recognitions. A very dapper looking Ashok Kumar is standing, and in conversation with two ladies, one in an orange saree and the second in a black dress. As the camera moves and returns, one can identify a bespectacled Gajanan Jagirdar in a white suit and tie, sitting in back row. There are some other faces that ring a very familiar bell, but I am not able to place names to more faces. I would request other knowledgeable readers to help identify more artists present in the clip.]
In 2003, when the fire ravaged the repository of the Film Archives in Pune, the first talking film was silenced forever and ever. (The passion in me still prompts me to add – till a miracle happens and another copy of this film magically surfaces.) But yes, with the two posts, “De De Khudaa Ke Naam Pe Pyaare” and this one, we can count our blessings that a tiny fragment of the original sound is still with us. It may not be the original recordings, but they definitely are the sounds of the original singers, singing the original lyrics, tuned to the original melody. Thanks O Almighty, for these small mercies.
Ah yes, Happy Birthday – to the Hindi Film Song, may you prosper forever, and may your echoes reverberate the universe, forever.
Song-Badlaa dilwaayegaa yaa rabb(Alam Ara)(1931) Singer-Zubeiba, Lyrics-Joseph David, MD-Pherozshah M Mistry
Lyrics
badlaa dilwaayega yaa rabb
tu sitamgaaron se
tu madad par hai to
kyaa khauf jafaakaaron se
badlaa dilwaayega yaa rabb
tu sitamgaaron se
tu madad par hai to
kyaa khauf jafaakaaron se
kaath ki teg jo tu chaahe
to wo kaam karey
kaath ki teg jo tu chaahe
to wo kaam karey
jo ke mumkin hi nahin
lohey ki talwaaron se
jo ke mumkin hi nahin
lohey ki talwaaron se
badlaa dilwaayega yaa rabb
tu sitamgaaron se
tu madad par hai to
kyaa khauf jafaakaaron se
——————————————–
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
——————————————–
बदला दिलवाएगा या रब्ब
तू सितमगारों से
तू मदद पर है तो
क्या खौफ़्फ़ जफाकारों से
बदला दिलवाएगा या रब्ब
तू सितमगारों से
तू मदद पर है तो
क्या खौफ़्फ़ जफाकारों से
काठ की तेग तो तू चाहे
तो वो काम करे
काठ की तेग तो तू चाहे
तो वो काम करे
जो के मुमकिन ही नहीं
लोहे की तलवारों से
जो के मुमकिन ही नहीं
लोहे की तलवारों से
बदला दिलवाएगा या रब्ब
तू सितमगारों से
तू मदद पर है तो
क्या खौफ़्फ़ जफाकारों से
8 Responses to "Badla dilwaayegaa yaa rab"
March 15, 2013 at 5:54 am
The documentary of the function is available on YouTube in ten parts. This excerpt is in the second part and the rest too seems interesting
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-17uzcSiVw
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March 15, 2013 at 9:53 am
Sudhirji, many thanks for giving a slice of the history behind “Alam Ara” and the first Hindi film songs. Unfortunately, all I could find was a dark screen where I could click for the audio link. Nor could I find Gaddeswarup’s links.
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March 15, 2013 at 2:11 pm
Please try searching on YouTube for ‘mortal men immortal melodies part 2’. There seem to be over twenty with the first part of the title. Regards,
Swarup
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January 21, 2016 at 9:09 pm
Sudhirji, one of the most wonderful and informative writing.
Thank you.
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March 29, 2019 at 4:33 am
Actually the film archive never held a copy of the film, they said that later, the film Alam Ara 1931 could not be found as far back as 1967.
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
March 14, 2013 at 8:41 pm
Sudhir ji,
thanks for a rare song and an excellent(as usual) write up to match it !
Just one point.
Zubeida was NOT born as Zubeida begum Dhanrajgir.She became Dhanrajgir only after marrying Raja Dhanrajgir of Hyderabad,a jehagirdar.
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