Chalo chalen chalen
Posted on: September 23, 2014
This article is written by Arunkumar Deshmukh, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a 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.
SONGS FROM ARTISTE NAME FILMS….Song No. 4
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Today’s song is from the film Usha kiran-1952. It was a film made by Malwa productions Bombay and the production of the film and its supervision was by the nawab of Kurval from Uttar Pradesh. Those days, many kings and Nawabs got interested in making films. For some of them, the added attraction was the film’s Heroine. Some state chiefs, however,genuinely helped and encouraged Cinema as an art form. One such example was the Shahu Maharaj of Kolhapur State.
He not only provided land and other concessions to film makers, but also established a film company called ” Kolhapur Cinetone” and later became a partner in ” Maharashtra Film Company” of Kolhapur, wherein,all the future Director/partners of Prabhat film company were working. He also made Kolhapur a film production centre and producers from Bombay came to Kolhapur for shooting their films. Kolhapur and its surroundings like Amboli Ghats were the favourites of Raj Kapoor and he did shooting of some of his films here.
The film Usha Kiran did not have the actress Usha Kiran in its cast but she was one of the leading heroines of those times. Maharashtrian girls have always been in the forefront and Maharashtrians were the single largest community which provided heroines to Hindi films and sometimes Gujarati films too. Right from Kamlabai Gokhale, Vasanti (Ghorpade), Shanta Apte, Shanta Hublikar, Snehprabha Pradhan, Leela Chitnis, Durga Khote, Lalita Pawar to Nalini Jaywant, Meenakshi Shirodkar, Shobhana Samarth, Vanmala, Shakuntala, Jayashree, Sundarabai, Vatsala Kumthekar etc down to Nutan, Tanuja, Shashikala, Shubha Khote etc etc are testimony to the contribution of Marathi Heroines to Hindi film industry.
Slowly, the number of Marathi girls diminished over a period and today hardly the number of Marathi girls can be counted on one’s fingers. Usha kiran was probably one of the last batch of Marathi heroines in Hindi films.
USHA MARATHE ( her real name) was born on 22-4-1929 in a middle class Marathi Brahman family. Her father was very ambitious and he encouraged his daughters to act on stage plays. She started acting on stage. Since her father had left his job, she became the family’s sole earner. During one such stage show, famous dancer Uday Shankar saw her and took her to Madras to do a small role in his ambitious dance film “Kalpana” ( which was finally released in 1948). But unfortunately Uday shankar got annoyed with her behaviour on sets and removed her role from the film.
She started doing small roles in films to earn money. She acted in her major film ” Lalaat”-47. In this film, she was credited as Usha Marathe. The film did not do any good to her. Finally, the famous director Amiya Chakravarty spotted her and gave her the lead role in his film ” Gauna”-1950. Her name was changed to Usha Kiran. The film went flop. Another film also flopped, but her third film with Amiya Chakravarty, opposite Dev Anand-” Patita”, became a Hit and then there was no looking back for her.
An interesting point about her films. She acted in film ” Parivaar”-56, which was directed by Asit Sen, who later on became a Roly-poly comedian in films. She also acted in film ” Mehendi”-83, which was directed by Asit Sen who was exclusively a Director throughout his career.
Some of her important films were, Madhosh, Daag, Patita, Baadbaan, Adhikar, Musafir, Kabuliwala, Bahurani, Mili, Bawarchi, Chupke chupke etc. She acted with almost all leading heroes of her times.
She got married to Dr. Manohar Kher in 1954. She had a son Advait and a daughter-Sanhita or Tanvi, who eloped to marry Baba Azmi, brother of actress Shabana Azmi. Usha Kiran acted in 61 Hindi, 32 Marathi and 4 Gujarati films. Her last film was Bahurani-1989. She got Filmfare award for the best Supporting actress for Baadbaan-54. Usha Kiran was Sheriff of Mumbai City in the year 1997. She died on 9-3-2000.
Here is a part of her interview, where she talks about her personal ‘affair’-
” Coming from a very simple middle-class Maharashtrian Brahmin family, I was the second of five children. My father was an extremely ambitious man. He wanted us children to do great things for the family. That was the reason he pushed my elder sister and me towards the theatre. In the beginning, I hated it and was reluctant to even do simple stage shows. All I wanted was to marry, have a few kids and settle into oblivion. But destiny had other things in store for me. During a stage performance at the now Excelsior Theatre, the great Udayshankar spotted me. He hauled me off to Madras with my father, where I was to play a big part in his feature film Kalpana. My father was thrilled, even though it was such a small role.
Once in Madras however, catastrophe took place. I was thrown out of the film and sent packing back to Bombay. It was just a misunderstanding, coupled with Udayji’s mercurial temperament and my militant naivette. For a dance sequence, I had to wear a transparent Manipuri costume. Since I was conscious of it, I wore a white slip underneath. Mrs. Uday Shankar asked me to remove it for the shot, since it would have looked very awkward. I didn’t pay heed to it. So later, Udayji noticed it and bellowed at his wife for not taking care of the costumes. She in turn screamed at me. After that incident, I used to hang around the set with a permanent sulky expression. This used to get on Udayji’s nerves and one day he bellowed once again. ‘Don’t you know how to smile?’ I in turn, replied hotly, ‘No! You teach me how to smile! ‘ And that was the end. In retrospect, I would still credit him with shaping my inherent talent, more than any one else. He is an education in acting and dancing for any actress.
My father was hell-bent on making me an actress, and wouldn’t rest till I had got a role in every film possibly. But, it was rejection, and more rejection. It didn’t bother me one bit. In fact, I was secretly happy. My father was so desperate, that he even produced a film which flopped miserably. Of course, there were bit roles in Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati films. But they hardly helped, except for keeping the kitchen fires burning. My father had even quit his job. So the family was totally dependent on me.
Finally, his patience paid off. Amiya Chakraborty came into my life and changed everything. He offered me my first role as a heroine in Gauna. The film bombed, but I was signed again for his next film. I was to play Shashikala’s mother. And I was only 22 years old. Shashikala might have been my age, if not a few years old (Chuckles). It was sheer compulsion that made me do it. We needed the money to get my sister married off. Thankfully, that film also flopped, otherwise I would never have made it as a heroine. But in a way this film also proved lucky for me. Because soon after, I began doing lead roles in Gujarati and Marathi films. I even started getting good Hindi films.
Patita, was my first major hit. Soon after that came Dushman, Baadmaan with Dev Anand, Musafirwith Dilip Kumar. Nazrana with Raj Kapoor, Kabuliwaala, Dil Bhi Tera Hum Bhi Tere with Balraj Sahni, Dhobhi Doctor and Adhikar with Kishore Kumar. There were also many others with Ashok Kumar, Pradeep Kumar, etc. Simultaneously all my bilingual films started doing very well. And I was right at the top. I used to work in two shifts, which was so uncommon in those days.
But along with success came the biggest emotional turmoil and subsequent heart break. I fell madly in love with Amiya Chakraborty. I guess it was my extreme youth, that responded to his older charm. Although he was sixteen years older to me, he had an extraordinary attractive personality. We got involved recklessly. The heartbreak was that he was a married man and there was nothing I could do about it. I came from a Brahmin family where mistresses were unheard of. So it was quite a big scandal. Since I was basically an above board person, my days and nights used to be tormented with guilt. Till one day Amia’s wife decided to meet me.
She was a very magnanimous lady. She told me that she realized that her husband and I were really in love with each other. It was not a casual affair. She was willing to step out and give us our freedom. That really jolted me. For a long time, I didn’t say anything. And then I made the biggest, wisest, and yet the most painful decision of my life. I assured the lady that I would never ever seek her husband again no matter what happened. I knew that there was only one way out. And that was marriage. By God’s grace I didn’t have to look far. There was already someone who I had at the back of my mind. A very handsome, well educated young man who used to frequent a relative’s house. I met him and had a very long heart to heart talk with him. I emptied all my emotional baggage, and asked him whether he was still willing to marry me. He smiled and agreed. I became Mrs. Kher in 1954. ”
Let us now listen to a song from film Usha Kiran-1952. It is sung by Johrabai,Uma devi,Talat and Swarooplata….
Song-Chalo chalen chalen (Usha Kiran)(1952) Singers-Zohrabai Ambalewaali, Uma Devi, Talat Mehmood, Swaroop Lata, Lyrics- Anjum Pilibhiti, MD-Hanuman Prasad
Lyrics
ho o o
chalo chalen chalen
ho
chalo chalen chalen
ho o o
jamuna ke paar raja
jamuna ke paar
jamuna ke paar raja
jamuna ke paar
chalo chalen chalen
ho
chalo chalen chalen
ho o o
taare gagan ke karte ishaare
karte ishaare
ham hain tumhaare
tu ho hamaare
raaja
tum ho hamaare
aao karlen karaar
raani
karlen karaar
aao kar len karaar
chalo jamuna ke paar
chalo chalen chalen
ho chalo
ho chalo
ho chalo chalen chalen
ho o o
sar ke pare chalo
khelen kabaddi
khelen kabaaddi
pat pat pat pat
pat pat pat pat
paa
arre jaa re fisaddi
ise ghodi kahoon ya naag
ise ghodi kahoon ya naag
chalo chalen chalen
ho
chalo chalen chalen
ho o o
chalo chalen chalen
ho
chalo chalen chalen
ho o o
maine kaha hazrat ye to farmaaiye
ye to farmaaiye
kya kya hain lutf wahaan
kuchh to bataaiye
kuchh to bataaiye
wahaan lutf e bahaar
wallah lutf e bahaar
wahaan lutf e bahaar
chalo jamuna ke paar
chalo chale chalen
ho
chalo chale chalen
ho o o
chalo chalen chalen
ho
chalo chalen chalen
ho o o
hamka bhi sang lailey
baanke sipahiya
baanke sipahiya
jora jori aisi julmi
daiyya re daiyya
haay daiyya
ho tora gussa bhi pyaar
raani gussa bhi pyaar
tora gussa bhi pyaar
chalo jamuna ke pyaar
chalo chalen chalen
ho chalo chalen chalen
ho ho ho
chalo chalen chalen
ho chalo
ho chalo
ho chalo chalen chalen
chalen chalen
chalen chalen
chalen chalen
ho ho ho
3 Responses to "Chalo chalen chalen"
June 5, 2021 at 8:44 pm
audio of the song ( the link in the post is not appearing)
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
June 5, 2021 at 5:31 pm
Mr Deshmukh, Simply a ‘Wow’ post. I couldn’t resist from posting even after so many years.
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June 5, 2021 at 7:25 pm
Manju ji,
Thank you very much for your kind words.
I feel happy when the reader like what I have written, because that is what is important.
Thanks again.
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