Meree galiyon kee nishaanee wo paanee
Posted on: July 7, 2023
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 Khamosh Sipahi-(1950).
The film was made by Maansarovar Pictures, Bombay, owned by Dinanath Madhok, who was not only its producer, co-director, story and script writer but also its Lyricist. The music was by Hansraj Behl and the film had its co- director Ram Kamlani, the youngest brother of comedian Gope. HFGK gives only 4 names in the cast-Nigar Sultana, Sohan, Gope and David. Surely there must be more artistes but they are not mentioned. This is one of those films which is not available now and no information about its story is available anywhere.
The hero of the film was Sohan (Kapila). His case was one of those youngsters who had no talent but were pushed into films where they failed. Such cases of nepotism were many in the film industry, be it Hindi, Marathi, Bangla, Tamil, Telugu or any other language. In India, nepotism is commonly seen in Industries, Films, Politics and other areas where large money or power is involved.
It is said that ‘No trees can grow under a Banyan Tree’. This is absolutely true and applicable in Film industry. Except in cases like the Kapoor family, i.e. Raj, Shammi and Shashi, who made their bright careers despite the shadow of their Father and other Brothers, we find that many of the sons, daughters, brothers or sisters of many popular and famous film stars were failures and never made it big in Hindi cinema.
We know cases like Suneil Anand, Nasir Khan, Tony Walker, Naina Sahu, Meera Joglekar, Ajit Chitnis, Rajendranath, Narendranath, Anup Kumar, Mallika, Khursheed Jr., Simple Kapadiya, Shivangi Kolhapure, Preeti Ganguly, Radhika and many more. In spite of having all the backing of famous family members, these and so many others just did not make it, because Talents are not always hereditary !
They all were given a fair opportunity to display their talent on the screen , but unfortunately despite their honest effort their skill could not come out & the viewers were left unimpressed. They were selected by big banners and well experienced directors were there to guide them. But their talent remained hidden inside them and with their nonexistent artistry they disappointed their mentors.
Sohan Kapila was the son of Mohandas Kapila, a big financier of Hindi films and a close relative of Tolaram Jalan, owner of Filmistan in the 50’s decade. Sohan entered films as a Hero opposite Geeta Bali in the film Girls School (1949). Then he was in the film Lajawab (1950) with Rehana. His third film was Khamosh Sipahi (1950) with Nigar Sultana. After two more films- Sanskar (1958) and Ek Arman mera (1959) with Jayashree Gadkar, he was taken by Filmistan for the film Chand ki Duniya (1959) with Nalini Chonkar.
Non-actor Sohan Kapila was in the romantic lead of Filmistan’s Babar, which was released in 1960. Hemen Gupta , distinguished director, who earlier had directed Anand Math for Filmistan ,directed the movie and it also had the winning combination of Sahir & Roshan. Dependable character actor Gajanan Jagirdar did the role of great Moghal Emperor Babar. But the movie flopped, as the new hero failed pathetically to register any emotion on his face. A big jolt for Seth Tola Ram Jalaan, who was already facing financial problems. Mr. Kapila appeared in movies like Commercial Pilot officer (1963) and Picnic (1966), in inconsequential roles and disappeared from the scene forever . His daughter Padmini Kapila also pursued a film career, but could not achieve much success .
There were many other actors like him, who got chances to appear opposite illustrious heroines, unfortunately their effort did not leave any impact on the cine loving public. Watching their miserable performance on the screen, no film maker came forward to sign them. Out of sight is out of mind, it was a matter of time when the public as well as the film industry forgot them.
Malhaar, as the name suggests,was a musical film produced by great singer Mukesh in 1951. It had a story by veteran actor S K Prem & its evergreen music was composed by Roshan. The movie had newcomers Arjun & Shammi (Nargis Rabadi). Arjun did get another chance in Daku Ki Ladki to please the viewers with his emoting before the camera, but could not succeed and it was the end of his career in films.
Rattan Chopra the lucky boy was selected for films, among hundreds of aspirants. Mohan Kumar had suffered a huge setback when Aman flopped. He took the newcomer for Mom Ki Gudia, opposite Tanuja, with great hopes. Unfortunately, Mom Ki Gudia too failed to dispel the gloom and sank to bottom. Acting was not his cup of tea, Rattan Chopra understood & wisely opted out of the race of stardom.
K. Amarnath introduced new comer Vijay Kumar in his 1954 offering Alif Laila opposite Nimmi & Asha Mathur. Sohan Kapila and Vijay Kumar had impressive physiques, but had no clue about acting. The movie had lilting music by Shyam Sunder, which was his last contribution towards the film industry. Helen for the first time got a chance to perform solo in the movie & for many decades she remained on top. But for Vijay Kumar it was his first & last chance.
Another non actor Premendra was introduced by old timer Vijay Bhatt in Holi Aayee Re (1970), which was directed by his younger sibling Harsukh Bhatt. It was pathetic to watch Premendra unsuccessfully trying to showcase his imaginary ability in the field of acting. The movie flopped phenomenally & a huge investment made by Bhatt Brothers went up in a cloud of smoke. Premendra was with Kumud Chhugani in Holi Aayee Re.
There were some more like Pratibha Sinha, Archana Gupta, Jayant Gupta, Ashok Sharma, Nusrat Kardar, Rajeev Kapoor, Manish Kumar, Navinchandra, Aroop Kumar, Prashant, Shalini, Kaycee Mehra, Vikram, Shekhar Suman, Deepak Kumar, Ajay, Som Dutt and many more.
Among them, some film names which I remember off hand are Arjun in Malhar-51, Rattan Chopra in Aman-67,Mom ki Gudia-72, Vijay kumar in Alif laila-54, Premendra in Holi aayee re-70, Deepak Kumar in Aabroo-68, Ajay in Wapas-69, Som Dutt in Mann ka meet-68, Vikram in Julie-75, Rajeev Kapoor in Ram teri Ganga maili-85, Shekhar Suman in Utsav-84, Kaycee Mehra in Chhabilee-60 and Mem didi-61, Prashant in Sehra-63, Ashok Sharma in Hamari yaad aayegi-61, Ajit Chitnis in Aaj ki baat-55, Nusrat Kardar in Dard-47, Manish in SaraswatiChandra-68, Rajiv in Nayi umar ki nayi fasal-65, Aroop Kumar in Bezubaan-62 etc etc. ( based partly on an article by M.N.Sardana ji, with thanks).
One of the major differences between the film industry of yore and today is that during the older times, there were artistes who had multi faceted qualities and who shifted from one department to another when needed and excelled. You would see artistes like Badri Prashad who was an actor, Producer, Director, Lyricist, Music Director, Singer and also a Choreographer. There were many like him in those days. Nowadays, every department is of specialised people and we rarely see artistes having expertise in different departments of filmmaking.
Such people diminished from the decade of the 60’s. The last such artiste was perhaps Kishore Kumar. Today’s film Had its director Ram Kamlani and the Lyricist D.N.Madhok who fell in the category of artistes with different skills. Ram Kamlani (DoB 20-10-1919) acted in 9 films from Inaam-1946 to Kashmakash-1973. He directed 5 films- Muskurahat-1943, Khamosh Sipahi-1950, Hangama-1952, Bezubaan-1962 and Biradari-1966. He also sang 22 songs in 15 films from Doosri Shaadi-1947 to Chaalbaaz-1958.
D.N.Madhok (5-9-1902 to 9-7-1982) Acted in one film- Radhe shyam-1932. He also sang one song and he was its Music Director also. He directed 16 films from Khubsurat bala-1933 to Naata-1955. He wrote stories and scripts of many films and finally, he wrote 882 songs in 119 films from Radhe Shyam -1932 to Samay Bada Balwan-1969.
Today’s song is sung by Surinder Kaur. She may not be so familiar to us but she was very popular in Punjab. Singer SURINDER KAUR – The nightingale of Punjab. Surinder Kaur was born in Lahore, on 25-11-1929, in a Punjabi-Sikh family. She was the sister of Parkash Kaur and the mother of Dolly Guleria, both noted Punjabi singers. She sang mainly Punjabi folk songs, where she is credited for pioneering and popularising the genre and later was known as the ‘Nightingale of Punjab’. She also sang songs in some Hindi movies as playback singer, between 1948 and 1952. Surinder Kaur made her professional debut with a live performance on Lahore Radio in August 1943, and the following year on 31 August 1943, she and her elder sister, Parkash Kaur cut their first duet, “maavan te dheeyan ral baithian”, for the HMV label, emerging as superstars across the Indian subcontinent.
Following Punjab’s division in 1947 owing to partition of India, Kaur and her parents relocated to Ghaziabad, Delhi. Next she married Prof. Joginder Singh Sodhi, a lecturer in Punjabi literature at Delhi University. Recognising her talent, her husband became her support system, and soon she started a career as a playback singer in Hindi film industry in Bombay, introduced by music director Ghulam Haider. Under him she sang three songs in the 1948 film Shaheed, including Badnam Na Ho Jaye Mohabbat Ka Fasaana, Aanaa hai toh aajaao and Taqdeer ki aandhi…hum kahan aur tum kahaan. Her true interest however lay in stage performances and reviving Punjabi folk songs, and she eventually moved back to Delhi in 1952.
She sang 58 songs in 22 films in Hindi. First film was Mehendi-47 and the last film was Aandhiyan-52.
In all, Kaur recorded more than 2,000 songs, including duets with Asa Singh Mastana, Karnail Gill, Harcharan Grewel, Rangila Jatt, and Didar Sandhu. Although her collaboration with Sodhi was cut short upon the educator’s death in 1976, she continued the family’s creative tradition via duets with their daughter and disciples, Rupinder Kaur Guleria, better known as Dolly Guleria and granddaughter Sunaini, culminating in the 1995 LP, ‘Surinder Kaur – The Three Generations.
She was conferred the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award for Punjabi Folk Music in 1984, by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India’s National Academy of Music, Dance and Theatre, the Millennium Punjabi Singer award, and Padma Shri award in 2006 for her contribution in Arts. The Guru Nanak Dev University conferred on her a doctorate in the year 2002.
Towards the later part of her life, wanting to get close to her mitti, Surinder Kaur settled in Panchkula in 2004, with an aim to construct a house in Zirakpur, near Chandigarh. Subsequently, on 22 December 2005, she suffered a heart attack and was admitted to General Hospital, Panchkula. Later, however, she looked up and personally went to Delhi to receive the coveted Padma Shri Award in January 2006. It is another matter that she was painfully aware of the events that delayed the honour for so long, despite her unparalleled contribution to Punjabi music. But even when she received the award she was regretful that the nomination for the same had come from Haryana and not Punjab for which she worked tirelessly through five decades.
In 2006, a prolonged illness prompted her to seek treatment in the US. She died in a New Jersey hospital on 15 June at the age of 77. She was survived by three daughters, eldest, singer Dolly Guleria who lives in Panchkula, followed by Nandini Singh and Pramodini Jaggi, both settled in New Jersey.
When we listen to her songs, we notice the pronunciation of certain words in a different style. For example , please listen carefully to how she pronounces the word “Meherbani” in this song and you will agree with me. The word sounds to me like ” Merbani”.
Song- Meri galiyon ki nishaani wo paani (Khaamosh Sipaahi)(1950) Singer-Surinder Kaur, Lyrics-D N Madhok, MD-Hansraj Bahl
Lyrics
meri galiyon ki nishaani
wo paani
sajan yaad rakhna
badi meharbaani
meri galiyon ki nishaani
wo paani
sajan yaad rakhna
badi meharbaani
bhool jaana na tum ye fizaayen
ye thhandi hawaayen
aah bhar lena chup se
jo hum yaad aayen
jo hum yaad aayen
kya bharosa hai dam ka
ye duniya hai phaani
ye duniya hai phaani
sajan yaad rakhna badi meharbaani
meri galiyon ki nishaani
wo paani
sajan yaad rakhna
badi meharbaani
hum rahen na rahen
par rahe behta paani
hamaari nishaani
thahar jaana jo tumko
pukaare rawaani
pukaare rawaani
lahar uthhke bolegi meri zabaani
meri zabaani
sajan yaad rakhna
badi meharbani
meri galiyon ki nishaani
wo paani
sajan yaad rakhna
badi meharbaani
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
July 7, 2023 at 9:31 am
Arun ji,
Please see my comments on one of the songs from the film:
Three songs of the film were composed by MD, Khurshid Anwar before he left for Pakistan. This was confirmed by Ram Kamlani, Director of the film.
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July 7, 2023 at 12:55 pm
Sadanand ji,
Yes. I know this and I have read your comment before writing this post to confirm that this song is not composed by Khurshid Anwar.
That is why there was no need to mention his name here.
-AD
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July 7, 2023 at 2:18 pm
Arun ji,
I wrote the comment here because I got the impression from the second paragraph of your article that you have mentioned Hansraj Bahl’s name in the context of the film.
Anyway, I will take up the issue with Atul ji separately
about accrediting three songs from the film to Khurshid Anwar.
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