Tu hai mujhse door main tujhse door
Posted on: September 1, 2022
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 other sites without the knowledge and consent of the web administrator of atulsongaday.me, then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
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Today’s song is from the film Dhoomketu-1949.
No,no, this film is not on any Astronomical topic. The name Dhoomketu is the name of the film’s Hero, whose name in the film is Inspector Comet ! This was a regular stunt film from the stable of Homi Wadia’s Basant pictures. It featured Fearless Nadia, John Cawas in the lead along with the usual stunt film actors like Boman Shroff, Azeem Bhai, Dalpat, Habeeb, Rajani, Sona Chatterjee and others. The film was directed by Homi Wadia, the music was by A.Kareem and the songs were by Kareem and Rajjan.
Most of us like to see films, be it on a TV, in a cinema hall, or through DVD. Some like old films, some like new films. Did you ever see films like, Khooni Khanjar, Dagabaj Doctor, Shaitan ka paash, Char chakram, Daku Rani Talwarwali, Jaadu ka dandaa, Zinda Laash, Revolver Rani, Sinbad-Aladdin-Alibaba, Flying man, Fighter Sheela, Khooni Darinda, Tarzan aur Jadugar, Tarzan aur Jadui Chiraag, Golden Gang, Murde ki jaan khatare mein, or Jadui putli ?
I bet none of these movie names have been even heard by you ever. These are all STUNT FILMS or in other words ‘C’ grade films. In India I really wonder how the classification or Grading of films is done, or who is the person or the body authorised to do it. Because Censor Certificates do not label A, B or C grades at all.
Then how does this happen ?
My guess is that films are graded on 2 counts- One, The cost of production or Budget and the class of stars in it and Two, The class of people for whom the film is made or directed, like the Rich, middle and the Poor class. Whatever the basis, there is a very thin line between A and B grade films, while between these two and the C grade films, the line is very Bold and thick indeed !
Stunt films, Costume films, fantasy films and purely Religious films are normally treated as C grade films. These film do not carry any prestige, the actors working in them are exclusive to C grade films, the production values and the budget is quite low and most important, they are ALWAYS shown in theatres situated in older parts of the town, single screens, or only for Morning shows or in Theatres generally frequented by lower strata of society. A person seeing/loving or craving for such films is generally considered a ‘Low’ creature and a person with ‘child brain’.
In India ,this is the fate of C grade films. Actually these films have everything that A and B grade films have, like, story, songs, dances, fights etc, but still, the treatment given to handling of the story etc. in the films is very poor or lacking in expertise.
Stunts have improved, Technology has evolved but the participation of Zippy the Monkey, Tiger the Horse, Moti the Dog, parrots, snakes and khatara cars named Rolls Royce ki beti and Austin ki Bachhi is missing ! The contribution of Fearless Nadia in making Stunt films popular can not be denied, but then she had the backing of companies like Wadia Movietone. Basant pictures, Ranjit, Sagar, National etc. When you read the stories of these films please don’t employ Logic or common sense to it. This is a different world altogether. The set of actors is fixed, many times the composers are unheard of or they are known composers now in bad shape, the Directors are typical and the production houses are exclusive to churn out such films.
It is, nevertheless, a fact that many well known and famous actors and actresses of the 40s and 50s evolved from the stunt films of yore. Examples are Jairaj or Master Bhagwan.Can you believe that this roly-poly Bhagwan dada was a great body-builder when he started in stunt films in the late 30s ? Lalita Pawar(Amboo), Madhuri, Rampyari, Miss Moti, Sabita Devi, and Sulochana (Ruby Myers) are some female examples who graduated to Social films via Stunt films.
C grade films were those films which were made by not so famous banners, almost unknown actors, directors and composers. Usually C grade films used to be action/stunt films, made on shoestring budgets, having a fixed storyline resembling Tarzan, Hercules or Hollywood action films of Robin Hood, with the background of a jungle, Tribal people, King-Queen-wicked Vazir and similar stories. C grade films were always quickies, made on shoe-string budgets. During the late 30s and 40s, Master Bhagwan action films used to be completed in about Rs. 50,000 only- including studio rent, sets, artistes’ fees and other expenses. C grade films had a captive audience comprising factory workers, daily wagers, Low grade earners and students. However, such films used to rake in big profits to the film makers. Therefore, even top class banners sometimes made C grade films, to make up for their losses in big film flops.
There were certain production houses specialised and thriving on such films, like Paramount films, Jagriti films, Mohan pictures, Wadia Movietone etc etc. The actors and actresses of such films were fixed. Since the studio system was in vogue, the film studios usually had their actors and directors fixed. Music directors were of no consequence, so anybody would do. Well known composers like C.Ramchandra used to take another name while composing music for C grade action films. Music assistants of famous composers used to give music to such films. Well known composers falling on bad days also gave music to such films. C grade films rarely made Commercial records for their film songs, so such songs are a real rarity even with big collectors.
Some common and regular names one found in Action/Stunt films are, Nadia, Boman Irani, Sayani, Bilimoria bros, Cooper sisters, Zohra Khatun, Ameena Khatun, Khatun Bai, Prakash, Adjania, Noorjehan (sr.), Moosa Pehelwan, Vasantrao Pehelwan, Baburao Pehelwan, Marutirao Pehelwan, Azim bhai, Basheer, Ali, Bachha, Chandra Rao, Harishchandra Rao, Shankar Rao, Master Bhagwan, Mirajkar, Jamshed, John Cavas, Lalita Pawar, Navin chandra…and many such names. Barring a few names like Lalita Pawar, Bhagwan, Nadia etc, all the other action film actors remained unknown. No one knows anything about them.Actors like Baburao pehelwan, Marutirao Pehelwan ( He was the Hero in the First Gujarati Talkie film ‘ Narsi Mehta ‘), Chandra Rao, Sayani etc were quite famous in their times, but except their Filmography (thanks to HFGK), nothing more is known about them. All of them ended with only mere names !
In my younger age I was fond of stunt films and used to travel to theatres in the Old city part of Hyderabad, to watch films featuring Kamran (father of famous choreographer and Director Farah khan and Director, comedian, Anchor Sajid Khan), Naazi, Bhagwan and many such actors.” Adventures of Captain Marvel” and “Trip to the Moon” were my favourites from Hollywood’s Republic Serial productions.
In the 50s and 60s, some respectability to these stunt films was brought by actors like Mahipal, Ranjan, Dara Singh, Azad, Hemant Birje etc. The set of Heroines was also set to Mumtaz, Tabassum,Vijaya Chaudhary, Indira, Nishi etc. Mumtaz started with Stunts and graduated to greater heights and was counted in Top actresses of her days. Costume and Stunt films like Baaz, Insaniyat and Azaad etc were made respectable by the stars acting in them. Over a period the picture changed and nowadays every alternate film has breath-taking stunts done by almost all top Heroes, thanks to SFX, of course !
This film featured Fearless Nadia. There are plenty of articles on her on the internet. Even the Grandson of J.B.H.Wadia- Roy Wadia has written on her. So I will only give a short bio of Nadia here, without many small details. ‘Circus Queen’-1959 is almost the last film of Fearless Nadia. After this film, she just did one more token film, ‘Khiladi’ in 1968. Starting from the 1933 film ‘Laal e Yaman’, Nadia did about 43 films. Most of them were for Wadia Movietone and later for Basant pictures of Homi Wadia. Here is a short note on Nadia…
In the 1930s, when the silent era was giving way to the Talkie films, there appeared on Hindi Film screens a dashing young woman who ruled over men and told them “Don’t ever take women for granted. If the nation is to be freed, the women have to be freed first.” (dialogue from the film ‘Diamond Queen’ (1940).)
Mary Evans (Fearless Nadia’s real name) was a devout catholic. She was born on 8-1-1908 to a Scottish father and a Greek mother, in Perth, Australia. The family later traveled to India. Her father, a British Army soldier, was based in Bombay. She wanted to be a singer and a dancer. She learnt dancing from father and singing from mother. She sang in the local church choirs on Sundays. In 1915, when her father died in WW I action, they shifted to first Peshawar and then returned to settle in Bombay. She joined a dancing troupe.
One Mr. Eruch Kanga, owner of Lahore cinema saw her performance in the troupe and told the Wadia Brothers, who were looking for a heroine. They called her for an interview. After seeing her, the brothers realized the difficulty in making a white woman a Heroine in Hindi films. In the interview, JBH Wadia said, “I have never heard about you before”, to which she retorted,”I too had not heard your name till this morning”. The brothers were impressed and she was appointed in Wadia Movietone. To test her, she was given small roles in films which were in the making, like Lal e yaman and Noor e yaman, while she studied speaking Hindi.
She was launched with the film ‘Hunterwali’ -1935, a dramatic story of a princess trying to rescue her kidnapped father and salvage his empire. It was an unconventional role and a new subject for the Indian audience.
The film opened in Super cinema on Lamington Road, Bombay and became an instant hit. It was like a revolution. Audience was thrilled to see a white woman, donning a mask and cracking a whip at her tormentors. They were awed, happy and mesmerised, wanting more of it .She was named NADIA based on an astrologer’s advice. They added FEARLESS for her in the ads. Hunterwali was only a prelude to a remarkable career. Encouraged by the success of ‘Hunterwali’, films were made on the cause of social injustice, women’s emancipation, corruption, land grabbing and exploitation of the poor. She always played roles like King Arthur and Robin Hood.
Her films had a set of characters. There was her pet horse – Punjab Ka Beta, Gunboat the Dog and her jalopy was called Rolls Royce Ki Beti (later when Homi Wadia started Basant Pictures with her, there was Horse Rajput, Dog Moti and the car – Austin Ki Bachhi). In her films, usually the villain was Sayani (his stock line was “Dekha Jaayega”). John Cawas and Boman Shroff – the heavyweight bodybuilders usually played the Heroes. Her stunts became more dangerous and death defying with every film. She did all her stunts herself, breaking her bones many times while performing them. From 1933 to 1968 she did about 43 films. Her pet name in many films (starting with ‘Hunterwali’) was Madhuri.
She had married and divorced early and also had a son. Later she was in love with Homi Wadia, but could not marry him due to the opposition of his mother. They married in 1961 after his mother died. She was 53 years old by then. In her last days she was frequently seen in the lanes of Colaba in Bombay, taking her dogs for walks. I remember going to Colaba in the early 1980s with a friend, only to see her. In 1993, her great grand nephew Riyad Vinci Wadia made a documentary on her, in which she had appeared.
She died peacefully on 9-1-1996.
I met NADIA !
Nadia has a special place in my memories. Sometime in 1972, one of my friends, Mahesh Sharma, who lived in Colaba, Bombay, told me that he frequently sees Nadia in a Garden where he went for his morning walks. She lived near his apartments. Anxious to meet her and talk to her, I stayed with Sharma ji overnight. Next day morning, we both went to that garden. Sure enough, after some time Nadia entered the garden with two of her dogs. She sat on a bench and her servant took the dogs for their walks. Mahesh had a casual acquaintance with her. He greeted her and said ” this is my friend Mr. Deshmukh. He is your great fan “. I greeted her and recited names of her 10-15 films which I had seen. She looked suitably impressed . She smiled and we talked for a few minutes and left. Alas ! In those days, there was no Mobile phone, otherwise I would have had my photos with her as a prize possession. Anyway, I will never forget my meeting with her- the great Stunt Queen, The Fearless Nadia !
Today’s song is a duet. After hearing this song I felt that this tune is familiar, but I could not pinpoint the song. In case you get that song’s name please do inform me.
Song- Tu hai mujh se door main tujhse door (Dhoomketu)(1949) Singers-A Karim, unknown female voice, Lyricist- Karim, MD- A Karim
Lyrics
Aao o o o
aao o o o
Tu hai mujhse door
main tujhse door
jiya ghabraaye
ghabraaye
bhala ab kaise dil ki baat ho
Tu hai mujhse door
main tujhse door
jiya ghabraaye
ghabraaye
bhala ab kaise dil ki baat ho
tu Poona main Agra
mere dil se nikle haaye
haaye ke kaise tera mera saath ho
tu Poona main Agra
mere dil se nikle haaye
haaye ke kaise tera mera saath ho
ya to tu aa jaa ya mujhko
apne paas bulaa le
ya to tu aa jaa ya mujhko
apne paas bulaa le
paas na aana
door hi rahkar dil ki dheer bandhaa le
paas na aana
door hi rahkar dil ki dheer bandhaa le
dil ki dheer bandhaana ho to
muhko apna bana le
dil ki dheer bandhaana ho to
muhjko apna bana le
hum donon mil jaayen
to itni mere paas aa jaaye
mere haathhon mein tera haath ho
Tu hai mujhse door
main tujhse door
jiya ghabraaye
ghabraaye
bhala ab kaise dil ki baat ho
khade khade photo khinchwaana
hade khade photo khinchwaana
hanskar dil par teer chalaana
tujhe yaad rahe
door door se baaten banaana
door door se baaten banaana
jalti dhoop mein dil ko jalaana
tujhe yaad rahe
koi jalaa karey
mara karey
gala karey
sadaa karey
jalne waale jalaa karen
ho jalne waale jalaa karen
jab kismat apne saath ho
Tu hai mujhse door
main tujhse door
jiya ghabraaye
ghabraaye
bhala ab kaise dil ki baat ho
tu Poona main Agra
mere dil se nikle haaye
haaye ke kaise tera mera saath ho
4 Responses to "Tu hai mujhse door main tujhse door"
September 1, 2022 at 1:59 pm
Thanks Arunji for the informative post, learnt many new things thanks again for that….
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
September 1, 2022 at 10:55 am
This song is a amalgam of ‘ afsana likh rahi hoon’ and ‘kismat hamaare saath hai jalnewaale jala kare’.
By the way, I feel that the male voice may be that of actor-singer, Shyam Sundar who had an effeminate voice just like in this song. Shyam Sundar also acted in this film.
LikeLiked by 1 person
September 1, 2022 at 11:13 am
Thank you, Sadanand ji.
-AD
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