Ajee thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le le le le
Posted by: Atul on: February 1, 2024
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 a duet from the film Shrikrishna Bhakti-1955.
This was a Mythological film (पौराणिक ), directed by the “Trick Magician” – Babubhai Mistri. The music director was the Melody Maker – Chitragupta. The cast of the film was Manmohan Krishna, Lalita Pawar, Mahipal, Bipin Gupta, B.M.Vyas, Dalpat and many others. A special feature of this film was that there were as many as 7 “Guest Appearance ” artistes – clearly a record number for any film till then. I doubt very much if any other film has broken this record. Any reader, who knows about more than 7 Guest artistes in a film, mentioned in the HFGK, so far, may please give the information in the Comments column. The Guest artistes in this film were….Krishna Kumari, Anwar Hussain, Maruti, Shaikh, Indira bansal, Bagala and Chitalkar (surprised with this name !).
I have always liked the Mythological films. This liking had developed because I had been seeing such films from my childhood, first as an escort to the Elders’ group in the family and later, by choice. Today’s song is from a film which depicts the story of a Krishn Bhakt. It is about how the devotee is saved from imminent death. The story of the film is….
In a village lives a boastful Bramhin Balbhadra Shastri and Cheta-the Krishn Bhakta Harijan. One day Cheta invites several Sadhus for food, whom Balbhadra had insulted. At the time of meals, the Sadhus get more than enough food. At the same time, food from Balbhadra’s house disappears. This enrages Balbhadra Shastri. On Janmashtami day, Shanti- Balbhadra’s daughter serves Prasad to Seva, son of Cheta. Balbhadra is very angry and hits Seva. He becomes unconscious. Same time the Idol in the temple disappears miraculously. People are afraid and request Cheta to invoke God to come back. Cheta sings a Bhajan and Seva comes alive and at the same time the Temple idol returns. All the people start hailing Cheta.
Balbhadra is very angry and decides to kill Cheta, but in the melee, instead of Cheta, Balbhadra kills his own daughter Shanta. Balbhadra accuses Cheta of her murder and takes him to court. Cheta is sentenced to death. On the day of execution, when Cheta is singing a bhajan while on way to the Gallows, suddenly, Shanta comes running and explains that the killed girl was someone else and she was kidnapped. Cheta is freed. Balbhadra repents and Cheta is honoured as a Great Krishn Bhakt.
Do you remember which story you liked the most in your childhood ? When we were in school, we read a lot of stories. Stories from Mythology, History, Magic, Mystery, Birbal, Tenaliram, Tarzan etc etc. We liked some stories, and did not like others. To me, barring Aladdin, Alibaba and Sindbad, all stories of Arabian Nights were the same. Stories from Vedas were hard to remember due to difficult names like Jamadagni, Jaratkaru or Yadnyawalkya etc. My favourite story was that of Aladdin, which I would read repeatedly at frequent intervals.
I think, Hindi Cinema producers too have their favourites in stories, on which they make films. A cursory browsing of the list of films from 1931 to 1987, gave me the information that Aladdin ( 5 films), Alibaba ( 6 ), Bhakta Prahlad ( 6 ), and Laila Majnu ( 5 ) were few stories on which several producers made films at different times. However, the Top story amongst all the films is that of Raja Harishchandra. A total of 11 films were made on this story till 1987. A point to be noted is that even Dadasaheb Phalke selected this story to make India’s First silent feature film in 1913.
Silent films were made on Raja Harishchandra in 1913, 1917, 1924,1928 and 1929. Talkie films were made on Harishchandra in 1931 and 1958, as Raja harishchandra in 1952 and 1979 and as Harishchandra and Taramati in 1963 and 1970. Clearly, this could be a record that 11 films are made on ONE story.
Indian public never gets tired of the routine. Films on Love Triangle are being made since 1931 till today though by repackaging them differently in keeping with the changing times. Though the final outcome is predictable and very well known to the viewers, these films still celebrate jubilees in the Theatres !
Similarly, all Mythological films are based on the principle of ” Satyamev jayate” or “Victory of good over the Evil”, each film presents it in different ‘dressing’ and different routes. The fights of the Gods and the Rakshasas are very interesting, because of lot of firework(literally and figuratively), Trick scenes and unimaginable get-ups of the Rakshasas ( like only one eye on the forehead, or half animal body or simply an ugly looking Giant etc ). In olden days, I remember that there used to be loud rants of “Jai Shri Ram ” or ” Har Har Mahadev” within the theatre at the end of the movie- depending on who the main God of the film was.
The decade of the 50s was indeed a decade of Religious films. From 1951 to 1960, there were about 120 such films, averaging 1 religious film every month for 10 years. Those were the times when even Big stars did not hesitate to act in Mythologicals. Ashok Kumar, Prithviraj Kapoor, Meena Kumari,Durga Khote, Leela Chitnis, Nalini Jaywant , Shanta Apte etc used to act in religious films without any complex. It was much much later that a few artistes were branded as “Mythological actors’,like Mahipal, Manhar Desai, Shauh Modak, Trilok Kapoor, Nirupa Roy, Prem Adib, Shobhana Samarth etc. etc. One interesting thing was 2 major actors, who were in Mythological films, namely Shahu Modak and Manohar Desai, were not Hindus. They were Jew and Christian respectively, doing roles of Hindu Gods !
There was a fixed and permanent audience for these films. Prakash pictures was famous for making many religious films. But other studios like Prabhat, New Theatres, Ranjit, Sagar, Basant pictures or Wadia movietone, Bombay talkies, Filmistan etc too made mythological films. Besides the eye-catching scenes, another attraction of these films used to be its music. Very melodious and memorable Bhajans were composed for these films by S N Tripathi, Bulo C Rani, Avinash Vyas, Shankarrao Vyas, Hemant Kumar, Vasant Desai etc. Some of the famous Bhajans were sung by Rafi,Hemant Kumar, Geeta Dutt and others. Bhajan is one genre of the HFM which is generally overlooked, neglected or snubbed.
Many people get confused with the words, Culture and Religion. Culture and Religion have a close relationship. The commonest points of Religion, followed by a majority for time immemorial, becomes the culture of the nation. Raas Garba, Ganesh Utsav, Diwali celebrations and Indian Calendar New Year days in respective regions are no more a matter of Religion by now. They have become the cultural heritage of the country. A good example is Holi or lighting done on Deepavali or touching the feet of the elders…all these constitute Culture, though its roots are traceable to religion.
Today, Religion,for most people in the world,I feel,is limited to one’s personal space and I believe, in today’s setup it is also very appropriate to limit the religion to one’s home. One should not get confused between Religion and Bhakti. Mythological films are based essentially on stories from the Holy books, like Ramayana, Mahabharat or the Puranas. Bhakti Pradhan films are based on personalities engaged in devotion to their Deity. Thus, films like Narsi Bhagat or Sant Tukaram are Bhakti Pradhan films,whereas,films like Pawanputra Hanuman or Veer Arjun are Mythological or Pauranik films. Films on saints like Kabir, Soordas, Tulsidas or Tyagaraja are not religious but Mythological films are surely religious films.
However Bhakti is a way to remember,to submit to,appease or dedicate oneself to his God or Deity. Holy books classify different forms of Bhakti-the way it is or can be followed. There are 9 forms of Bhakti,as described in Vishnu Puran and Bhagwadgeeta…
| SN | Form of Bhakti | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Shravan…श्रवण…(Hearing) | like Raja Parikshit |
| 2. | Keertan…कीर्तन…(Discourse) | Like Thyagaraja |
| 3. | Smaran…स्मरण…( Remembering) | Like Bhakta Prahlad |
| 4. | Paad sevan…पाद सेवन…( Remaining at Feet) | ..Like Lakshmi |
| 5. | Archan…अर्चना…( Worship)…Pooja | |
| 6. | Vandana…वंदना…(Obeisance)…Sashtang Namaskar or Prostation | |
| 7. | Dasya…दास्य…( Service)… | Like Hanuman |
| 8. | Sakhya…सख्य…( Friendship)… | Like Arjuna |
| 9. | Atmanivedan…आत्मनिवेदन…(Self Dedication) | Like Meerabai |
Writing on religion is my favourite, but I stop here as it may increase the length of the post and also not every reader likes to read about this subject. Manmohan krishna was the lead actor in this film. However he was not a regular actor for Mythological or Religious films. The fact that he was an actor who could do any type of role in any movie must have gone in his favour. Actors like Manmohan Krishna are rare.
MANMOHAN KRISHNA was born on 11-8-1908, at Lahore in Punjab. He was a very studious person and always stood first in school. He completed his M.Sc. in Physics and started working as a Physics lecturer in a Lahore college. He was very fond of singing and also sang on Lahore Radio. Once when V. Shantaram visited Lahore, he heard Manmohan’s singing on stage and was impressed. Shantaram offered him the lead role in his forthcoming film, “Matwala Shair Ramjoshi”-1947, In this film Manmohan sang 6 solos and 3 duets with Zohrabai Ambalewali. However, his first song as a playback singer was in Shantaram’s film, ” Jeewan Yatra”-1946, under Vasant Desai’s baton.
In his career of more than 40 years, he acted in 183 films and directed 1 film – Noorie-1979. He also sang 24 songs in 8 films, namely Jeewan Yatra-46, Matwala Shayar Ramjoshi-47, Andhon ki duniya-47, Apna Desh-49, Afsar-50, Aaram-51, Railway Platform-55 and Shehar aur Sapna-1963. During his stay in Bombay, he anchored a Radio show ” Cadbury’s Phulwari” in the 50’s.
Manmohan Krishna was connected with Indian Peoples Theatre i.e. IPTA and acted in few of their dramas. Being an educated person, he was impressed with Nehruvian Secularism. He worked in films like Shehar aur Sapna by K. A.Abbas as well as the first Indo-Soviet film Pardesi-1957. He also got the Film Fare award for playing the role of Abdul Chacha in the film Dhool ka Phool-64. A song in this film ” Tu Hindu banega na Musalman banega ” shot on him, became very popular.
Being a member of the intelligentia, he could not sell himself nor gel into the Hindi filmi world fully. He always fought against injustice. He established ‘ Yuvak Biradari ‘ for young Indians, which became a big organisation in due course.
He was a favourite of the Chopra Brothers and acted in most films made by them. Some of his famous films were Deewar, Trishul, Humraaz, Insaaf ka Tarazu, Joshila, Kanoon, Kala Pathar, Dhool ka phool, Waqt, Naya Daur etc. etc. He also worked in 12 Punjabi films. He was prominently spotted in any role due to his thick bushy eyebrows.
In Hindi films, he rarely got a hero’s role, barring few films, because of his ordinary look. He had no looks required for a Hero’s role in a commercial film, in those days. He was of course an excellent Character Artiste. Due to his nature, he kept away from Filmi parties and groupism. He had no real friends in the film industry. Manmohan krishna did not keep good health in his last few years and died at the age of 82 years, in Lokmanya Tilak Hospital, Bombay, on 3-11-1990.
( Based on some information from wiki, ‘Beete kal ke sitare’ by Shriram Tamrakar, muVyz, HFGK and my notes. Thanks to all.)
Today’s song is a duet by Mohd. Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur with Chorus. Enjoy….
Song- Aji thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le le le le(Shree Krishn Bhakti)(1955) Singers- Rafi, Suman Kalyanpur, Lyrics- Gopal Singh Nepali, MD- Chitragupt
Female chorus
Male chorus
All chorus
Both
Lyrics
aji thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le le le le
thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le
aji thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le le le le
thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le
phaagun maheena masti bahaar ki
hoy phaagun maheena masti bahaar ki
jholi abir ki boli hai pyaar ki
boli hai pyaar ki
boli hai pyaar ki
pehla waar tu sambhal tu bhi le le le le
thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le le le
aji thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le le le le
thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le
arararararhaaye
naari saloni gori ya kaali
chitwan ki chanchal ya bholi bhaali
dupatte waali ya ghoonghat waali
dupatte waali ya ghoonghat waali
hoti hai aurat nakhre waali
zara ghoonghat to nikaal tu bhi le le le le
thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le
aji thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le le le le
thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le
ho ho ho ho ho ho haaye
socha na koi gora ya kaala
gora ya kaala
bagula bhagat ya jogi niraala
jogi niraala
chikna ghada ho ya bhola bhaala
chikna ghada ho ya bhola bhaala
mard hai dhokha de jaane waala
aji teri ye majaal
tu bhi le le le le
thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le
aji thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le le le le
thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le
arararararararahaaye
holi mein manen barson ke roothe
arre haathon ka kumkum gaalon pe phoote
phaagun ki masti na apne bas ki
phaagun ki masti na apne bas ki
kasar mitaa lo poore baras ki
rahe kaahe ko malaal
tu bhi le le le le
thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le
aji thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le le le le
thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le
aji thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le le le le
thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le
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4 Responses to "Ajee thhoda sa gulaal tu bhi le le le le"
February 3, 2024 at 8:37 pm
Arunji,
About your query about most guest artists, in “Om Shanti Om” Title Son “Bas deewangi deewangi deewangi hai”, about 30 starts make “Special Appearance”.
AK
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February 3, 2024 at 9:18 pm
AKJi,
The query was about Guest artistes in a film, and not a song. There are many songs having special appearance of many artistes.
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
February 1, 2024 at 3:22 pm
Arun Ji
Thanks for the post. Nice to know detailed info on Manmohan Krishna. Never realised he acted in so many movies. Did not know he sang in some movies.
Various forms of Bhakti is also a new understanding for me. I knew it partially, but not as being in 9 forms .
It was a revelation that Sahu Modak & Manhar Desai were not Hindus !! Todays song has a familiar tone.
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February 2, 2024 at 8:10 am
Satish ji,
Thanks for your comments.
I am happy that this post added few bits of information to your kitty . My endeavours are always to provide uncommon and novel inputs.
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