Ik soorat salonee re
Posted on: April 21, 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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In olden days, there were 3 major film centres-Bombay, Lahore and Calcutta. After 1947, all the Hindi film activity at Lahore shifted to Bombay. By mid 50’s even Calcutta almost stopped making Hindi films. Many Hindi speaking artistes in various disciplines of film making shifted to Bombay and finally Bombay became the only and the main Hindi film making Centre.
The year 1947 is a reminder not only for the Independence of India, but also for the upheaval that took place in the film industry at that time. More than in any other industry in India, Muslims were plentiful, working in different sections and departments of the Hindi film industry. Majority of them migrated to the newly formed Muslim Nation of Pakistan. This did create a lot of disturbance in the film industry. Right from the beginning of 1947, there were signs that soon the British would leave India – after dividing it into two Nations, India and Pakistan. When the month and date became known for the Partition, there was a great hurry among the filmmakers to complete their projects on hand and in process, compromising many factors like quality of the film, number of songs and such other things.
This resulted in the record number of films made in 1947 alone – 181 Hindi films and about 100 films in other languages in India. This was a record which remained unbroken till 1985, when 187 Hindi films were made. Thus from 1931 to 1985, this record remained unbroken for more than 50 years ! Obviously, this resulted in a big compromise on quality to achieve quantity with many films produced half heartedly. Most or rather many films made in 1947 remained obscure, unheard of and many flopped due to poor quality. Actually only few films were released in 1947, because many films were released in 1948 and 1949, with some films being released in Pakistan too.
Did you ever hear about films Amar Asha, Angoorbala, Attention, Barrister, But Tarash, Chalte Chalte, Chandrahas, Dagabaz Dost, Dehati,Ek kadam,Gaurav,Giribala, Heera, Intezar ke baad, Jhalak,Jurmana, Khaufnak aankhen, Lalaat, Mangalsutra, Moti, Sewa gram, Stage girl, Tohfa or Utho jago ? Of course not all films were below standards. Some of the landmark films were also made in 1947, like Shehnai, Mirza Sahiban, Jugnu, Saajan, Naatak, Meera, Elan,Aap ki sewa mein, Dard, Do Bhai, Neel Kamal or Parwana etc. However by and large the picture was like this only.
Today’s song is from a film which was quickly forgotten in the melee of the 1947 political turmoil – Samaj ko badal dalo-1947. Made as a quicky by Prakash Pictures, who were gaining a name for their Mythological films in the 1940’s In the upheaval in the film industry, it was perhaps used as a stop-gap arrangement movie. Making a Mythological film needs elaborate efforts for decorative sets, colourful costumes and more cast members than the usual social films, which was difficult in 1947. An escape was to make a social film on a social evil and maintain the continuity. This film was about the ills of Dowry and mismatched marriages. The film was directed by Vijay Bhatt, one of the owners. Music was by Khemchand Prakash. The cast of the film Samaj ko badal dalo-47 was Arun Ahuja, Mridula,Yakub,Umakant, Leela Pawar, Bikram Kapoor etc etc.The inclusion of Mridula in the film has a story behind it.
Mridula started her career with the prestigious Bombay Talkies. Her first film as a Heroine was opposite Dilip Kumar- Jwar Bhata-44. She was under contract with Bombay Talkies for 5 years.
Right from 1931 onward the studio system was very common and Actors, Directors and Composers were hired under contract, on monthly pay rolls by the studios. There was a competition among major studios as to who has got more famous stars on their rolls. Studios also had regional inclinations. For example,Prabhat studios had maximum Marathi artistes, Prakash,Sagar and Imperial had mostly Gujaratis, whereas new Theatres in Calcutta and Bombay Talkies in Bombay promoted Bangla artistes. Studios like Pancholi in Lahore or Minerva or Ranjit in Bombay had a cosmopolitan mix. Ranjit had the biggest fleet of more than 300 people on their payrolls at one time ! They even advertised ” There are more stars in Ranjit than there are in the sky” !!!
In general contracts with artistes went off smoothly, but at times, due to the stubbornness of the owners, the careers of some artistes were almost destroyed or were stuck for a long time plunging them into bleak prospects for their future. Notable cases of such sufferers were that of Meena Shorey of Minerva movietone, Shanta Apte, Manju and Chandramohan with Prabhat films/V.Shantaram, Uma Devi with Kardar studios, Sitara Kanpuri with Shalimar films etc.
Similarly Mridula was also a victim of her contract with Bombay Talkies. It destroyed her career as a Heroine forever. Devika Rani was her Mentor in Bombay Talkies. However, after Himanshu Rai’s death, no one was listening to her in the company due to groupism. Disgusted, Devika rani left Bombay Talkies,having sold all the shares. Mridula got stuck in the company without work, due to her 5 year contract. It was Vijay Bhatt of Prakash Pictures who somehow convinced Bombay Talkies to loan her to him and she got roles in 2 of their films. In the film ‘Bhakta Dhruva”-47, she played mother to 16 year old Shashi kapoor (sr) when she herself was about 23 year old only ! But she had no choice. The film and her role became famous, but she lost her chances of becoming Heroine in any film hereafter for ever.
Mridula ( real name Chandrakanta) was born on 2-11-1924 at Almora, but was educated in Delhi. When she was in college doing her graduation, Amiya Chakravarty of Bombay Talkies came to Delhi on a Talent Hunt. He contacted her and gave her an offer. She signed a 5 year contract with Bombay Talkies and Devika Rani became her Mentor, teaching her everything. She was paid 2500 rupees salary with a furnished house. Her first film was “Jwar Bhata”-44, opposite another Debutant Dilip Kumar (Yousuf Khan). After Himanshu Rai’s death, Bombay Talkies was already in disarray. Many people had left the company due to differences with Devika Rai. A group of them formed Filmistan.
She got married to her lover Mr. G C Andley. However the marriage was unsuccessful and she went back to Delhi. She spent a miserable life selling whatever she had to survive. She got divorce and came back to Bombay to work in films, in 1954. She worked in 77 films till 1980. Her last released film was Saboot-80, though she had married again and retired some time before that.
Till 2016 she was living in worli, Mumbai all alone. Her only daughter stayed nearby and looked after her. I have no information about her after that.
Film Samaj ko badal dalo-47 was a sort of social reform film, highlighting the ills of mismatched marriages. The story of the film,in short, is like this..
Kishore (Arun) and Manorama (Mridula) are in love with each other but unable to get married. Mridula’s father is a clerk, who can’t afford to pay the dowry demanded by Arun’s family. Jayant (Yakub) is a widower, and Mridula is married off to him. His cruel behaviour becomes apparent when he starts torturing Mridula soon after their marriage. Arun’s parents get him married to the rich Champa (Leela Pawar) who is in love with someone else. Arun helps her get married to Naresh, the man she loves, by giving her a divorce. Arun watches the torture inflicted on Mridula and the story then continues through tense scenes where eventually Arun kills Jayant and unwittingly Mridula too, following which he’s sent to a mental asylum having been declared insane.
In the film cast you must have seen the name UMAKANT. I am sure most people would not know anything about him. People remember Dilip kumar for his double role in ‘Ram aur Shyam’ and Triple role in ‘Bairaag’. You also remember Sanjeev Kumar for his 9 roles in ‘ Naya Din nayi Raat’ or Kamal Hassan for his 10 roles in Dashavtar, but hardly anyone knows that Umakant Desai was the FIRST male actor to do 3 Roles in the film ” Hukum ka Ikka “-1939 ( Rajkumar,Madari and Common Man).
Umakant Desai was born in Sankheda, near Vadodara (Baroda), Gujarat on 13-6-1908. After matriculation,he came to Bombay and did a job in B.B. & C. I . Railways (Bombay,Baroda and Central India Railway,a private Railway company of pre Independence period). He used to do roles in local dramas.One day Director Chimanlal Desai saw him in a drama called ” Jaya and Jayant”. He was so impressed with him that he took him to act in Gujarat’s First Talkie ” Narsi Mehta”-1932. In this film Umakant did the role of Krishna.
So, the son of a landlord Himmatbhai Jagubhai Desai became a film actor. He joined Prakash Pictures on a salary of Rs.150/- pm,but when he left Prakash,he was drawing Rs.3000/- p.m.. In 1934,he worked in Gujarati film ‘Sansar Leela’.He sang 2 duets with Rajkumari in this film. The film was a Hit and was remade in Hindi as “Nai Duniya”-1934. He worked in Bharat Milap-42. His best remembered role was as LAXMAN in the film ” RAM RAJYA”-1943,which created several records,including that it was the only Hindi film Mahatma Gandhi ever saw in his lifetime !
Umakant worked in 59 Hindi films and 15 Gujarati films. Anmol Moti-48 was his last film as a Hero. Then he shifted to doing character roles. He had worked with Durga Khote, Shobhana Samarth, Pramila, Ratnamala, Ranjana, Sitara, Snehprabha Pradhan, Meena Kumari, Amita, Vyjayanti mala, Nalini Jaywant, Kamini Kaushal etc. For fluency in Hindi and Urdu, he was appointed a Teacher also.
He worked in 26 films of Prakash,in which 8 films were directed by Vijay Bhatt. He mostly worked in mythological and social films. Some of his films were, Miss mala, Chhote Babu, Station master, Amar Asha, Poornima, Anmol Moti, Kavita, Hamara Ghar etc . He did Laxman’s role in 7 films.
Umakant’s son and daughter in law died a tragic death in the Snow Blizzard in the USA in 1975. His wife Kaumudi ben died in 2006 and Umakant died on 25-1-2007. He was awarded Dadasaheb Phalke Academy Award in 2004. ( Adapted from Shri Harish Raghuvanshi ji, famous film historian, compiler and writer’s Gujarati article on Umakant).
Here is the 78 year old song, sung by Shamshad Begum and Amirbai Karnataki. Enjoy….
Song-Ik soorat salonee re (Samaaj Ko Badal Daalo)(1947) Singers- Shamshad Begum, Amirbai Karnataki, Lyricist- Roopdas, MD- Khemchand Prakash
Female chorus
Lyrics
Ik soorat salonee re
Ik soorat salonee re
ho nainon mein bas gayee raamaa
ho nainon mein bas gayee raamaa
ke nainon mein bas gayee re
ke nainon mein bas gayee re
hiya beech chubh gayee raamaa
hiya beech chubh gayee raamaa
haaye main to mar gayee raamaa
haaye main to mar gayee raamaa
Ik soorat salonee re
Ik soorat salonee re
aankhon mein bas gayee raamaa
aankhon mein bas gayee raamaa
ke aankhon mein bas gayee re
ke aankhon mein bas gayee re
kaleje mein dhans gayee raamaa
kaleje mein dhans gayee raamaa
Ik soorat salonee re
ho nainon mein bas gayee raamaa
ho nainon mein bas gayee raamaa
barkha kee rut hai mausam hai bheenaa
joban pe aayaa hai saawan maheena
garjan laage badarwaa ho
dhadke moree chhatiyaa ho sainyya main darr gayee raamaa
haaye main to mar gayee raamaa
Ik soorat salonee re
ho nainon mein bas gayee raamaa
ho nainon mein bas gayee raamaa
nanhee nanhee boondaniyaan barsen aen aen
pyaasaa papeehaa pee bin tarse
man mein morey agan lagee re
jiyara jal jal jaaye
lagan aisee lag gayee raamaa
haaye main to mar gayee raamaa
Ik soorat salonee re
ho nainon mein bas gayee raamaa
ho nainon mein bas gayee raamaa
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
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