Jawaani ne ishaara kiya
Posted on: December 15, 2013
This article is written by Arunkumar Deshmukh, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in sites like lyricstrans.com and ibollywoodsongs.com etc then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
Here is the 10th and the last song of the series “Gems from Obscure films”. This is a song from that film ” Apni Chhaaya”-1950. It is sung by Meena Kapoor. The music is from the First composer duo of HFM- Husnalal Bhagatram.
I have always wondered why these composers chose to call themselves as Husnlal-Bhagatram, because actually,Bhagatram was the elder between the two. Indian traditions says that the Elder’s name should come first, like Ram-Laxman or Balram-Shrikrishna etc. I am sure that some thought must have gone into it, which we do not aware of as yet.
The age gap between the eldest Pt. Amarnath and the two younger brothers was a wide one. They first learnt music from eldest brother and then from Pt. Dilip chand Vedi. The younger brother Husnlal was an expert in Violin and had learnt the art from Ustad Basheer Khan. (He was also the most handsome of the three brothers. May be that is the reason Lata Mangeshkar was ” very close ” to him once.)
Though their first film as a duo was Chaand-1944, the elder brother Bhagatram had already given music to four films in 1939 (Bahadur Ramesh, Bhedi Kumar, Chashmawali and Midnight Mail) and 5 films in 1940 ( Deepak Mahal, Hamara Desh, Hatimtai ki beti, Sandesh and Tatar ka chor) in the name of Bhagatram Batish. Batish was their surname. Famous singer and Music Director S D Batish was their cousin. Bhagatram’s son Ashok started using the surname Sharma, so there was a confusion about their real surname. However,thanks to Shri Harish ji Raghuvanshi ji of Surat, I got the Mobile number of Ashok Sharma and I spoke to him personally. He clarified that their original surname was Batish, but on the advise of Bhagatram himself, Ashok started using the surname Sharma.(Both Batish and Sharma are surnames among Punjabi Bramhins).
After Ghulam Hyder’s Punjabi style songs in Khazanchi-1941, which had created a storm in the subcontinent, H-B duo were using it again in their songs. They were experts in this style. Additionally they got the help of Lata Mangeshkar and H-B made a big bang in the HFM industry for a while. Their style was easily distinguishable. They gave oustanding songs in films like Pyar ki jeet, Meena bazar, Badi Behan, Ansoo, Chhoti Bhabhi, Balam, Sanwariya, Sawan Bhadon, Afsana, Sanam, Kaafila, Shama Parwana, Adal e jehangir etc, to quote a few.
After a few years their style was getting repeated since they exhausted their stock halfway through. They gave music to some 50 odd films. Their last film was Sher Afghan-1966.
Their last days were very bad. Husnlal left Bombay and settled in the basti of Chunamandi, in Pahadganj area of Delhi. He gave music tuitions. One day, on his morning walk, he got a heart attack and dropped dead near a garden. His body was kept in the morgue with a remark ” Unknown body brought dead “.
Elder brother Bhagatram also was in such a bad shape that he worked as an ordinary instrument player in the orchestra of L-P and other M D s. He died in penury in 1973. His son Ashok Sharma is a Sitarist in Doordarshan.
Today’s song is sung by Meena Kapoor.
She was born on 27-8-1930 to actor Bikram Kapoor and Seema Kapoor. She came to Bombay in 1940-41 and at the age of 11 years, sang her first song-” Kisi se meri preet ” in the film Eight days-46. In the same year she also sang for K C Dey’s ‘Door chaley’-46. Her many songs like in Ankhen ( Meri atariya pe bole kaaga) and Pardesi (Rasiya re man basiya re) etc became very popular. Her voice had some similarity with Geeta Dutt’s voice. After 1955, she reduced singing and after 1965, she gave upsinging fully.
Meena Kapoor got married to Anil Biswas in 1959. Though the age difference between them was sizeable, they were a happy couple. There is a controversy whether Anil Biswas and Meena Kapoor got married at all, as some say ,his first wife Ashlata Biswas never gave divorce. Both Meena as well as Anil Biswas had been always stressing that the got married actually. Here is a part of the interview Meena Kapoor gave to Express india on 9-2-2004-
” She had already sung 62 songs and was still in school when she first sang for her future husband Anil Biswas in Anokha Pyar (1948). The age difference between her and Anil Biswas was staggering, but according to Meena, “I always reduce the number of years when people ask me. We got married in 1959. We were like lovebirds. By that stage, Anilji was very unhappy with the film industry and the type of music. When the I & B Ministry asked him to join AIR, he agreed. People questioned my decision to give up my career, but I wanted to be with him.”
In 1963, the Biswas’ shifted to Delhi to the non-conformist strains of Kuch aur zamana kehta hai, kuch aur hai zid mere dil ki — the last film song Biswas composed and Meena sang for Chhoti Chhoti Baatein (1965).
“Anilji was bitter about the latter years of his film career but he once told me, ‘Looking at you so much younger to me yet so contented, I too have learnt to accept.’ We were called the lovebirds. He passed away six months ago, but I am unable to accept it till date.” ”
Of course as lovers of Hindi Music,it is immaterial to us if it is this way or that way,because we love their music in any case.
The film APNI CHHAYA-1960,literally means ‘ our own shadow’. The story is such that what happens to the father when he is young, happens to his son as well. Only difference is he is the hero in the first case and the Villain in the second phase. The film was made by Chitralaya ltd. Bombay. The story and Direction was by P L Santoshi, who had also written all songs of the film. The music was by Hanuman Prasad and Husnlal-Bhagatram. There were 10 songs and 7 singers were used. The cast of the film was, Balwant Singh, Sulochana Chatterjee, Radhakishen, Mumtaz Ali, Sajjan, Tiwari, Jawahar Kaul etc. Except perhaps the H-B duo,major contributors to music,direction,lyrics,acting etc were on the declining stages in their careers.
BALWANT SINGH was born in Pandoga village, Dist. Una in Himachal Pradesh. After receiving training from Pt.Bhishmadev, he came to Bombay and joined Bombay Talkies at the age of 18 years. He first gave Playback in Jeevan Prabhat-37. In Nirmala-38 he acted and also sang a song. Then came Durga-39 where also he acted and sang. V.Shantaram cast him in Padosi-41 and his songs in this film were hits. He was the Hero in Darpan, Swapna, Malan, Naukar, Paraya Dhan, Ashirwaad, Collegian, Dr.Kumar, Bhanwar, Hip hip hurray and Apni chhaya-50 etc. As a hero he sang less songs. His songs with Shanta Hublikar(Malan) and Parul Ghosh and Khan Mastana(Bhanwar) were very popular. He also acted in Nirmala, Vachan and Kangan. He married a girl from the royal family of Palanpur, Gujrat.
After leaving films, he worked in All India Radio for 4 years. The signature tune played just before the morning broadcast was composed by Balwant Singh. Then he settled in Ahmedabad, directing Dramas and Teaching music. Finally,he settled in Ludhiana where,after a long illness, he died on 4-12-1985.
The story of the film was-
In a certain village, Sukhiya is an orphan girl who grows up with her maternal uncle and his harsh wife. Sukhiya is beautiful but her marriage is fixed with a 60 year old person from another town. She is very sad but helpless. Ramnath is the village vagabond. He is unemployed and a rebel, but helps everybody and is a popular figure. He resents this marriage and goes and makes a scene in the marriage pandal, criticising the mama for taking money and marrying the poor Sukhiya to an old man. The people challenge him and in a fit of chivalry, he gets married to Sukhiya in the same mandap.
He has no job and to survive the couple decides to go to other town and try their luck there. Ramnath really prospers and gains not only name and fame but also lots of money. They get a son. When so much money is there, bad people flock automatically. Banka babu gets friendly with Ramnath and gets him addicted to wine and women. he takes him to another town to enjoy. Poor Sukhiya and her son leave the place and go to anopther town. Her son Prakash grows up and falls in love with the rich Zamindar’s daughter Jyoti. But despite their love affair, Jyoti’s marriage is fixed with Ramnath by Bankelal. On the day of the marriage, Prakash enters the mandap and starts creating nuisance by criticising the Zamindar and Ramnath-without knowing that he is his father.
Ramnath remembers evrything of his past, is full of remorse and get Prakash married to Jyoti. Sukhiya comes forward and all meet together for a happy end to the film.
Let us now hear the last song of this series. May be, I will come back with yet another series.
Song-Jawaani ne ishaara kiyaa (Apni Chhaaya)(1950) Singer-Meena Kapoor, Lyrics-P L Santoshi, MD-Husnlal Bhagatram
Lyrics
jawaani ne ishaara kiya aa
jawaani ne ishaara kiya
dil bola haaye
dil bola haaye
meri duniya luti jaaye
jawaani ne ishaara kiya aa
jawaani ne ishaara kiya
dil bola haaye
dil bola haaye
meri duniya luti jaaye
jawaani ne ishaara kiya
jawaani ko na dekho
jawaani ko na dekho
badi zaalim jawaani hai ae ae
jawaani ko na dekho
badi zaalim jawaani hai ae ae
andar se
andar se aag hai
oopar se paani hai
jo bhi piye jal
jaaye ae ae
jal jaaye
jo bhi piye jal
jaaye ae ae
jal jaaye
jawaani ne ishaara kiya aa
jawaani ne ishaara kiya
dil bola haaye
dil bola haaye
meri duniya luti jaaye
jawaani ne ishaara kiya
jawaani ne ishaara kiya
dil bola haaye
dil bola haaye
meri duniya luti jaaye
jawaani ne ishaara kiya
jawaani se na khelo
jawaani se na khelo
ye jawaani behta paani hai ae ae
jawaani se na khelo
ye jawaani behta paani hai ae ae
chaar dinon ki mauj hai
das ghadi ka ?? hai
char dinon ki mauj hai
das ghadi ka ?? hai
jo bhi khele pachtaaye ae ae
pachtaaye
jo bhi khele pachtaaye ae ae
pachtaaye
jawaani ne ishaara kiya aa
jawani ne ishaara kiya
dil bola haaye
dil bola haaye
meri duniya luti jaaye
jawaani ne ishaara kiya
9 Responses to "Jawaani ne ishaara kiya"
December 16, 2013 at 1:01 pm
What a variety of knowledge! The term “encyclopaedia” does not do full justice to you, Arunkumar Deskhmukh ji. I have said it before: the width of knowledge is truly wonderful.
And the gusto with which information is freely shared on this wonderful blog (thanks to you, Atul), is awe inspiring.
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December 16, 2013 at 1:58 pm
Pradeep Srinivas ji,
Thank you very much for your very kind words.
Such comments act as motivation to continue doing what I like doing-sharing the knowledge. I believe knowledge increases by sharing.
-AD
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December 16, 2013 at 3:01 pm
Arun ji,
Thanks for the detailed post on the first composer duo. It was indeed very painful to read their tragic ends.
They did not change their music according to the trends and were left behind. But what a treasure they have left behind. If I were to select 10 best duets of Lata-Rafi, 2 if not 3 would feature their songs.
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December 16, 2013 at 3:20 pm
Arunji
Thanks for the post. I had not heard about the film. Somewhere in the text 1960 is mentioned as typo error.
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December 17, 2013 at 12:07 am
Arunji,
How much information you have provided in just one post…. about the duo HB, Meena Kapoor, Anil Biswas, their relationship, actor Balwant Singh, story of the movie, Apni Chhaaya. Hats off to you.
Thank you and will wait for another series of yours 🙂
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December 30, 2013 at 8:49 am
Wow…. so much of information, a real treasure trove!
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
December 16, 2013 at 12:04 pm
Simply wonderful as one learns too many aspects of the lives of Husnlal Bhagatram, Anil Biswas, Meena Kapoor and Balwant Singh. However, it saddened me to know about the later years of their lives. One strange aspect of the lives of Husnlal and Lataji has been slightly mentioned but not dealt with in detail. This came as a surprise as it was un-heard of earlier nor had I ever read it elsewhere.
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December 16, 2013 at 1:55 pm
Usha kiran prasad ji,
Thanks for your nice words.
The relationship between Husnlal and lata ji has been described in details in the Autobiography of C.Ramchandra,which was only in Marathi.
For the benefit of readers,this Autobigraphy (in part) has been translated into English,by me and is posted in 3 parts on http://www.anmolfankaar.com. It has ‘this’ info also.
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