Nikal aao maidaan mein barchhe sambhaale
Posted on: March 20, 2025
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 Panna Dai-1945.
The film was based on a story of Loyalty and glorious sacrifice, having a special place in Indian History. I wonder how the Producer selected the story of Indian sacrifice, when the trend was to make films on the falsely glorified bravery and good qualities of Mughal Kings ! It is a sad reflection that the choice mostly went in favour of the laurels of Mughals and the invaders of India rather than the builders and protectors of India. The ratio of Historical films was perhaps 70:30, in favour of the Mughals and other outsiders, compared to India’s own Heroes. Regional films from Maharashtra, Andhra, Tamilnadu, Karnatak, Orissa and Bengal were much better than the Hindi films on this count.
The story of Panna Dai was a story of supreme sacrifice and of building the foundation of the brave and patriotic ” Rana” Dynasty of Rajputana in present day Rajasthan. This was the story of the parents of Maharana Pratap of the Sisodiya dynasty.
Film Panna Dai-1945 was about the supreme sacrifice of an ordinary Dai (one who looks after newborn babies and small children, a sort of pseudo-mother ). She substituted her own son to save the heir to the kingdom and saw her son killed in her presence. Her name became immortal in Rajput history. Panna Dai was a 16th century nursemaid to Udai Singh II, the fourth son of Rana Sanga. She was a Khinchi Chauhan Rajput. In Hindi, Panna means ’emerald’ and Dai means ‘nurse’. Udai Singh was left in care of Panna, after Rani Karnavati committed Jauhar in 1535. When Udai was attacked by his uncle Banvir, Panna Dai sacrificed her own son’s life to save him.
Panna Dai was the nurse of Rani Karnavati, who was the wife of Rana Sanga. In 1531, Vikramaditya, the second son of Rana Sanga, succeeded the throne after his brother Rana Ratan Singh II. He was known for being insolent and arrogant. In 1535, Chittor was attacked by Bahadur Shah, causing Karnavati to call nobles and ordinary soldiers to defend Chittor. Those who were forced to leave Mewar or were disgruntled, joined. Unfortunately, the battle was lost, leaving Chittor sacked. However, Rajputs occupied the fort as soon as Bahadur Shah left. With the fort back in Rajput control, Vikramaditya came back from Bundi to rule again.
After the defeat, Vikramaditya’s temperament didn’t improve, causing him to physically abuse a respected chieftain at the court. In this situation, Banvir (Rana Sanga’s nephew), who was the son of a non Rajput concubine of Prithviraj, joined the court. Banvir was ambitious and in 1536, he assassinated Vikramaditya. To remove all obstacles to his claim to the throne, Banvir attempted to assassinate Udai Singh. However, Panna was alerted of the situation, and she was assisted by a woman of Bari caste, who smuggled out Udai Singh from Chittor, carrying him in a basket, while Panna placed her own son, Chandan, in Udai’s place. Banvir came soon after, asking for Udai. Panna pointed at the bed, now occupied by her son, and watched as he was murdered. Banvir arranged a meeting of the court and informed the chiefs that both the heirs were deceased. He then claimed his right to the throne and appointed himself king of Mewar. Panna and Udai fled to Kumbhalgarh, where the governor was a Maheshwari Mahajan, Asa Depura, who agreed to grant Udai protection. Udai Singh was nearly 15 years of age then.
When the rumours of Udai Singh being alive reached Banvir, he called him impostor, but since Udai Singh was around 15 years of age and his maternal relatives from Bundi could recognize him, Udai Singh started getting more and more support. In 1540, Udai and a considerable force from Mewar, marched into Chittor to reclaim his throne. Banvir sent out an army to repel the attack, but he was defeated. Udai Singh was crowned the 12th Rana of the Sisodia Dynasty. His eldest son and successor Maharana Pratap was born in the same year. [Adapted from ‘History of Rajputana’ by Raja Rajwade and wikipedia, with thanks.].
The film was made by Pradeep Pictures, Bombay. It was directed by Ram Daryani and the music was by Gyan Dutt. The cast of the film was Durga Khote, Chandra Mohan, Meenakshi, Mubarak, Master Vithal, Gope, Gulab, Leela Mishra, Nanasaheb Phatak, Azurie, Ratan Piya and many others. This was the last Hindi film of Master Vithal, after which he retired from Hindi films and settled in his home town- Kolhapur. Here, he had constructed a big Chawl and he used to get enough income from its rent. However after a few years, in one interview, he expressed his regrets of having left working in Hindi films too soon, but it was too late by then.
As the Talkie films started, well known artists in different fields like Literature, singing, music performers and stage actors wanted to join this industry. This applied to even the most respected and well known people. The industry was also keen to get such well known artists and hence some such people did join the industry- albeit for a short period.
Initially, Bombay being the major centre for films, the local famous artistes from the Marathi community represented a sizable number in this industry. No wonder then that the famous and well known authors, stage actors, singers and Musicians contributed their share in films. famous stage actors like Bal Gandharva, Bapurao Pendharkar, Hirabai Badodekar, Sureshbabu Mane, Govindrao Tembe, P.L.Deshpande, G.N.Joshi etc. sang, gave music and acted. Writers like V.S.Khandekar, N.S.Phadke, P.K.Atre, H.N.Apte etc. wrote stories, songs and screenplays in Marathi and Hindi films.
It was not only the Marathi bigwigs from stage and literature but even from the Hindi and Urdu, famous artistes came to films to give their bits. People like Narayan Prasad Betab,Pt.Sudarshan, Agha Hashra Kashmiri, Pt. Narottam Vyas, Amritlal Nagar, Kanhaiyalal Munshi, Safdar Aah Sitapuri, Kazi Nazrul Islam, Jigar Muradabadi etc. did some work in films.
From Gujarat too such contributors like Master Vasant, Raghunath Brahmbhatt etc. came and from Bengal a host of writers and stage actors flooded the film industry. (names of all language artists are only indicative and not exhaustive).
All these ” outsiders ” contributed, enriched the films and left for their own respective fields again. One such highly respected and well known stage actor from Marathi dramas was Nana Saheb Phatak. He acted only in 4 Hindi films including today’s film Panna Dai-45. (Bal Gandharva did only 2 Hindi films). Here is a short Bio date of Nanasaheb phatak. It is very difficult to get such information.
‘Nanasaheb’ Phatak was a great actor in Marathi theatre who left a memorable impression with his deep voice and powerful dialogue interpretation. Born Gopal Govind Phatak on June 24, 1899, he was drawn to the stage at a very young age. He is believed to have been initiated into Marathi theatre through the play Raksha Bandhan, in which he played the role of Giridhar. One of his earliest performances was in Yashwant Tipnis’s Matsyagandha in 1919 as the old king Shantanu.
With the help of his guru, Shri Ganpatrao Joshi, a veteran actor popularly known as ‘The Garrick of Maharashtra’, Phatak reached the height of his career during his time with the Lalitkaladarsha Natak Mandali—from 1921 to 1936. The Lalitkaladarsha Natak Mandali was founded by veteran singer-actor Sangeet Surya Keshavrao Bhosale. On September 20, 1913, the Mandali (troupe) premiered a new play, Rakshasi Mahatvakanksha (Demonic Ambition), written by the highly respected playwright Veer Vamanrao Gopal Joshi, at the Bombay theatre. The play established Lalitkaladarsha Natak Mandali as a reputed company in the industry, and prominent playwrights began to hand over their plays to be staged by the troupe. Keshavrao Bhosle also pioneered the use of red velvet curtains in Marathi theatre. During his tenure with the mandali, Phatak gained tremendous popularity performing in plays including Rakshasi Mahatvakanksha in 1914, Warerkar’s Sanyasyacha Sansar (Sanyasi’s Life) in 1919, and Sonyacha Kalash (Golden Spire) in 1932.
Phatak also performed in films, and his major screen credits include the silent movie Bajirao-Mastani in 1925, his role as the evil Kamsa in Akashvani in 1934, the hero Mansingh in Rajput Ramani in 1936, the rival poet in Pratibha in 1937, in Panna Dai-in 1945 and Shivaji in Thoratanchi Kamala in 1941.(only Marathi)
In 1945, he played the role of Sudhakar, the drunkard in Gadkari’s Ekach Pyala, which set a new standard for other Marathi theatre performers. Phatak played this role for over 15 years. His ability to embody a variety of characters led him to perform across genres in drama, ranging from historical to mythological and social to Shakespearean. In 1954, the eminent Marathi writer Vishnu Vaman Shirwadkar, popularly known by his pen name Kusumagraj, adapted Shakespeare’s Macbeth for the Mumbai Marathi Sahitya Sangh as Rajmukut in Marathi. The play was directed by Herbert Marshall, a British director, and starred Nanasaheb Phatak as Macbeth and Durga Khote as Lady Macbeth. Despite stellar performances by these veteran actors, the production did not go well. Art and theatre critic Dhyaneshwar Nadkarni would later attribute this failure to ‘the Indianising of Macbeth’.
Phatak continued to be interested in Shakespeare. Shirwadkar said that Phatak once asked him to write a play to suit old-school actors, so he adapted Shakespeare’s King Lear as Natasamrat (The Actor-Emperor) in 1970 with Phatak in mind. Unfortunately, Phatak could not act in it.
Nanasaheb Phatak remained a dominant figure on the Marathi stage for over 35 years. He was bestowed with the Akademi Award for Marathi Stage Acting in 1959. He passed away 15 years later on April 8, 1974.
(Thanks to articles from map.sahpedia.org, http://www.marathifilmdata.com, and Natya kalawant from Rasrang .)
Today’s song is a sort of a War-Song, invoking the fighting spirit of the Rajputs to sacrifice their lives, if needed, to save their motherland. The song is sung by Durga khote, Meenakshi Shirodkar, Khan Mastana and Chorus. Enjoy this 80 year old good song….
( This rare song’s audio was provided by our friend Deepak Choudhari ji and uploaded by Sadanand Kamath ji. Thanks to both.)
Song-Nikal aao maidan mein barchhe sambhaale (Panna Dai)(1945) Singers-Durga Khote, Meenakshi Shirodkar, Khan Mastana, Lyricist-Dewan Sharar, MD-Gyan Dutt
Lyrics
Nikal aao maidaan mein barchhe sambhaale
karo apnee jaanen watan ke hawaale
nikal aao maidaan mein barchhe sambhaale
karo apnee jaanen watan ke hawaale
kahaan hai wo ranveer Bharat ke baanke
kahaan hai wo farzand Hindostaan ke
kahaan hai wo ranveer Bharat ke baanke
kahaan hai wo farzand Hindostaan ke
nikal aao maidaan mein barchhe sambhaale
karo apnee jaanen watan ke hawaale
nikal aao maidaan mein barchhe sambhaale
karo apnee jaanen watan ke hawaale
kasam tumko hai sun lo apne Prabhu kee
kasam baba Rawal ke har jangzu kee
kasam tumko hai sun lo apne Prabhu kee
kasam baba Rawal ke har jangzu kee
?? vipdaa padee hai
tumhaare bahan tumhen lene khadee hai
chalo desh mein bhaaree vipdaa padee hai
tumhaare bahan tumhen lene khadee hai
nikal aao maidaan mein barchhe sambhaale
karo apnee jaanen watan ke hawaale
nikal aao maidaan mein barchhe sambhaale
karo apnee jaanen watan ke hawaale
?? yahaan aanaa
?? aanaa
waapas naheen ghar jaanaa
Mewad pe mar jaanaa
?? yahaan aanaa
?? aanaa
waapas naheen ghar jaanaa
Mewad pe mar jaanaa
Mewad pe mar jaanaa
talwaar(?) se lad jaanaa
Mewad pe mar jaanaa
talwaar (?) se lad jaanaa
nikal aao maidaan mein barchhe sambhaale
karo apnee jaanen watan ke hawaale
nikal aao maidaan mein barchhe sambhaale
karo apnee jaanen watan ke hawaale
5 Responses to "Nikal aao maidaan mein barchhe sambhaale"
March 22, 2025 at 4:10 pm
Uma Maheshwar ji,
Thanks for additional information.
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
March 21, 2025 at 5:56 pm
Great insights thanks a lot 🙏
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March 22, 2025 at 6:27 am
Thanks, Sir ji.
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March 22, 2025 at 10:21 am
we are glad that you visited here and put your comments.
If I am not mistaken, you are the nephew of B.S.Hoogan, music director of the early era and you have written 2 volumes of the book ” The Hero “, about heroes from early to modern era cinema.
Thanks again.
-AD
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March 22, 2025 at 3:50 pm
Just for information
Her granddaughter Namrata Shirodkar is the wife of popular Telegu super star, Mahesh Babu. Shirodkar worked as a model, and was crowned Miss India in 1993 and also represented India in the Miss Universe pageant and finished in sixth place.
Regards
Uma
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