Baaje muraliyaa baaje
Posted by: Atul on: May 24, 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 a film which makes its Debut on this Blog – Chingari-1940.
There were two more films called ‘Chingari’ – in 1955 and 1971 and both are represented here with many songs. I wonder how the first film Chingari-1940 missed the bus ? This set my mind to do some statistical work.
From 1931 to 1960, the first 3 decades of Talkie film had a total of 3370 films made (1931-40….931 films, 1941-50….1236 and 1951-60….1203 films). If you take the total films made from 1931 to 2000, it is 9449 films. The number of films from the first 3 decades amounts, roughly, to 36 % of 9449 films.
The Blog has covered 5066 total films, as on today, i.e. 23-5-2025. 36 % of this figure works out to 1824 films. This means, there are still 1546 films to be covered from the first 3 decades. So, no wonder, from time to time, newer films from 1931 to 1960 will keep on making their debut on this Blog. All figures in this calculation are approximate and rounded, give and take 10 % changes with the actual.
Since the time I started writing on old films from 1-10-2012, people who were interested in this part of the Hindi films sat up and paid attention to my writing. In the initial 10-12 years a lot many comments used to be there on almost every post, by all contributors. Sadly, nowadays, the system of commenting on posts has diminished, mostly due to laziness and also because the older generation has less percentage among our readers, I presume. Others can have different opinions on this matter.
In these last years, I earned a lot of friends in this sphere, who loved old films. These friends were not only from all parts of India, but also from other countries and areas like the U.K., USA, Australia, New Zealand, Europe, and Africa. One such friend is ISURU UDAYANGA KARIYAVASAM from Sri Lanka. He is a well known professor of Botany. Recently he sent me a photo and some other details of today’s film – Chingari-1940. On checking the Blog, I was surprised to know that this film was yet to have its debut here. Therefore, today, I have selected a song from this film.
First , see what Isuru ji has written to me……
”Chingari”(translated- Embers) is a 1940 social Hindi film directed by Sarvottam Badami. Made under the banner of Sudama Productions, the film had music by Gyan Dutt. Prithviraj Kapoor shifted from the New Theatres Ltd. Calcutta to Bombay, where he worked under Badami in two films, Sajani and Chingari both made in 1940.The cast included Prithviraj Kapoor, Sabita Devi (shifted from the Sagar Movietone), Eddie Billimoria (shifted from the Ranjit Movietone),Miss Meera(shifted from the Bombay Talkies), Miss Khatoon (shifted from the Ranjit Movietone) and Keshavrao Date (shifted from Prabhat film co.)
Plot : Geeta, lives with her brother, who is financially too poor to support her. She is married, but leads a lonely life, as her father-in-law turns her out of the family house stating that her mother had a bad name in society. Her husband, Biren, now wants a reconciliation. The father-in-law is dead, as also is Biren’s other wife through whom he has a son, Charan. Geeta initially is angrily opposed to any patch up but Charan’s subsequent illness brings the couple together.
The music was composed by Gyan Dutt with lyrics written by J. S. Kashyap and Pyare Lal Santoshi. The singers were Durgesh Kumari, Amritlal, Patgaonkar, Sabita Devi and Khatoon. ”
The film’s Hero was Prithviraj Kapoor. Now let us know more about Prithviraj Kapoor, because he last acted over 50 years ago. Almost 2 Generations have gone after that and so most readers may not be knowing much about his life, work and career in Indian Cinema. Prithviraj Kapoor (born Prithvinath Kapoor; 3 November 1906 – 29 May 1972) was an actor, film producer, writer, and film director, who is also considered to be one of the founding figures of Hindi cinema. He was associated with IPTA as one of its founding members and established the Prithvi Theatres in 1944 as a travelling theatre company based in Bombay.
He was the patriarch of the Kapoor family of Hindi films, four generations of which, beginning with him, have played active roles in the Hindi film industry, with the youngest generation still active in Bollywood. His father, Basheshwar Nath Kapoor, also played a short role in his movie Awara. The Government of India honoured him with the Padma Bhushan in 1969 and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1971 for his contributions towards Indian cinema.
Kapoor was born on November 3, 1906 in Samundri, Lyallpur District, Punjab into a Punjabi Hindu Khatri family.His father, Basheshwarnath Kapoor, served as a police officer in the Indian Imperial Police in the city of Peshawar, North West Frontier Province while his grandfather, Keshavmal Kapoor, was a Tehsildar in Samundri.Kapoor’s childhood was largely spent in Lyallpur, Punjab, where his grandparents and extended family lived. Later, his father was transferred to Peshawar, North West Frontier Province, and after and later at Edwardes College Peshawar in Peshawar.
Kapoor began his acting career in the theatres of Lyallpur and Peshawar. In 1928, he moved to Bombay, Bombay Presidency with a loan from an aunt. There he joined the Imperial Films Company and started acting in minor roles in movies. In 1928, he made his acting debut as an extra in his first film, Be Dhari Talwar. He went on to earn a lead role in his third film, titled Cinema Girl, which was released in 1929. After featuring in nine silent films, including Be Dhari Talwar, Cinema Girl, Sher-e-Arab and Prince Vijaykumar, Kapoor did a supporting role in India’s first film talkie, Alam Ara (1931).
In 1931 his two sons died accidentally. He left films and joined Grant Anderson Theatre company. In 1932 when they were at Calcutta, on tour, the company closed down and Kapoor decided to try luck in Calcutta. He joined New Theatres and acted in more than 12 films. He became friends with K N Singh and Kidar Sharma as well as K L Saigal. In 1939, he realised that Bengalees were preferred for roles, he left Calcutta and came back to Bombay joining Ranjit. After sometime he became a Freelancer and worked in films of Minerva, Prakash, Wadia and with Shantaram. He did Historical, Mythological, Social and Stunt films equally. After Raj Kapoor became a producer and director he acted in his films. He developed a reputation as a very fine and versatile actor on both stage and screen.
By 1944, Kapoor had the wherewithal and standing to found his own theatre group, Prithvi Theatres, whose première performance was Kalidasa’s Abhijñānaśākuntalam in 1942. His eldest son, Raj Kapoor, by 1946, had struck out on his own; the films he produced had been successful and this was also an enabling factor. Prithviraj invested in Prithvi Theatres, which staged memorable productions across India. The plays were highly influential and inspired young people to participate in the Indian independence movement and the Quit India Movement. In over 16 years of existence, the theatre staged some 2,662 performances. Prithviraj starred as the lead actor in every single show. One of his popular plays was called Pathan (1947), which was performed on stage nearly 600 times in Mumbai. It opened on 13 April 1947, and is a story of a Muslim and his Hindu friend.
As Kapoor progressed into the 50s, he gradually ceased theatre activities and accepted occasional offers from film-makers, including his own sons. He appeared with his son Raj in the 1951 film Awara as a stern judge who had thrown his own wife out of his house. Later, under his son, Shashi Kapoor, and daughter in law Jennifer Kendal, Prithvi Theatre merged with the Indian Shakespeare theatre company, “Shakespeareana”, and the company got a permanent home, with the inauguration of the Prithvi Theatre in Mumbai on 5 November 1978.
In 1996, the Golden Jubilee year of the founding of Prithvi Theatre, India Post, issued a special two Rupee commemorative postage stamp. It featured the logo of the theatre, the dates 1945–1995, and an image of Kapoor. The first day cover, (stamped 15-1-95), showed an illustration of a performance of a travelling theatre in progress, on a stage that seems fit for a travelling theatre, as Prithvi theatre was for sixteen years, till 1960. On the occasion of 100 years of the Indian cinema, another postage stamp, bearing his likeness, was released by India Post on 3 May 2013.
His filmography of this period includes Mughal-e-Azam (1960), where he gave his most memorable performance as the Mughal emperor Akbar, Harishchandra Taramati (1963) in which he played the lead role, an unforgettable performance as Porus in Sikandar-e-Azam (1965), and the stentorian grandfather in Kal Aaj Aur Kal (1971), in which he appeared with his son Raj Kapoor and grandson Randhir Kapoor. He did 95 films in Hindi. He directed one film Paisa-1957. He had also sung a song in the film Dagabaz Ashiq-1932.Kapoor starred in the legendary Punjabi film Nanak Naam Jahaz Hai (1969), a film so revered in Punjab that there were lines many kilometres long to purchase tickets.
He also starred in the Punjabi films Nanak Dukhiya Sab Sansar (1970) and Mele Mittran De (1972).
He also acted in the Kannada movie Sakshatkara (1971), directed by Kannada director Puttanna Kanagal. He acted as Rajkumar’s father in that movie.
In 1954, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship, and in 1969, the Padma Bhushan by the Government of India. He remained a Nominated Rajya Sabha Member for eight years. He was posthumously awarded the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for the year 1971. He was the third recipient of that award, the highest accolade in Indian cinema.
Kapoor was aged 17 when he was married to 15-year-old Ramsarni Mehra, a lady of his own community and similar background, in a match arranged by their parents in the usual Indian way. The marriage was harmonious and conventional and lasted all their lives. In fact, the wedding had been held even earlier, a few years prior to this, and it was the gauna ceremony (farewell) which was celebrated when Ramsarni reached the age of 15 and became old enough to leave her parents and reside with her husband and in-laws. Ramsarni’s brother, Jugal Kishore Mehra, would later enter films.
The couple’s eldest child, Raj Kapoor, was born the following year in Peshawar, North West Frontier Province, on 14th December, 1924; making Prithviraj a father at age 18. The couple went on to have three more children: sons Shamsher Raj (Shammi) and Balbir Raj (Shashi) (who were to become famous actors and filmmakers in their own right), and daughter, Urmila Sial.
After his retirement, Prithviraj settled in a cottage called Prithvi Jhonpra near Juhu Beach, West Bombay. The property was on lease, which was bought by Shashi Kapoor, and later converted into a small, experimental theatre, the Prithvi Theatre. Both Prithviraj and Ramsarni had cancer and died about a fortnight apart. Prithviraj died on 29 May 1972. (Thanks to information from wiki, Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema and the book Beete kal ke sitare by shriram Tamrakar).
Today’s song is a duet with chorus, sung by Durgesh Kumari, Amritlal and chorus. Durgesh Kumari was the real name of actress Anjali Devi, who had the same name confusion with Anjali Devi from the south. The name Anjali Devi, which appears in the cast in the films of the 40’s, is not of the famous south actress Anjali Devi ( 8-12-1927 to 13-1-2014 ), who acted in films like Ek tha Raja-51( dubbed film), Shuk Rambha-53,Ladki-53, Devta-56, Suvarna Sundari-57 etc etc. This Anjali Devi of the 40s was different. As usual, I find that the filmography of south Anjali devi includes films done by Anjali Devi of the 40s. This is what I call Same Name Confusion.
Miss Anjali Devi’s real name was Durgesh Kumari. She was born at Benaras in 1926 in a respectable Brahmin family. Her education was not much but she was fluent in Hindi, Urdu, English and Sanskrit. At the age of 14 years, she came to Bombay, to fulfil her desire of becoming an actress.
She joined Ranjit Films and worked in film Pardesi in the year 1940. The film was released in 1941. She was credited as Durgesh in this film. She was called to Bombay Talkies to work in the film ‘ Punarmilan’-40, directed by Najam Naqvi. When a section of artistes, led by S.Mukherjee, left Bombay Talkies to start Filmistan in 42, one of the BT directors N.C.Acharya also left and started his own company Acharya Art Productions. Anjali Devi also left to join Acharya.
She acted in 3 films of Acharya, Kunwara Baap-42, Uljhan-42 and Aage Kadam-43. She later on acted in Paristan-44, and Parivartan-49. She then got married to N.C.Acharya and settled as a Housewife.
The male singer was Amritlal. Master Amritlal caused a lot of confusion with another same name- Amritlal Nagar. Master Amritlal was originally a stage and silent film artist from Gujarat, who acted in 20 Talkie films. His first film was Vikram Charitra-1932 and his last film was Subah ka Tara-1954. As an actor he sang 23 songs in 10 films from his film Vikram Charitra-32 upto Pagli Duniya-44.
So, here is the 85 year old song sung by two Same Name Confusion artistes. Enjoy….
Song- Baaje muraliya baaje (Chingaari)(1940) Singers- Durgesh Kumari, Amritlal, Lyricist- J.S.Kashyap, MD- Gyan Dutt
Chorus
Lyrics
Baaje muraliya baaje
Baaje muraliya baaje
Baaje muraliya baaje
Baaje muraliya baaje
Baaje muraliya baaje
Baaje muraliya baaje
muralee moree janm kee bairan
muralee moree janm kee bairan
Mohan ke munh laagee rahe
Mohan ke munh laagee rahe
jag ko meethhee taan sunaaye
hum se kadwe bol kahe
jag ko meethhee taan sunaaye
hum se kadwe bol kahe
Raadhe kee Raadhe
Raadhe kee Raadhe
Mohan
murali tumhariyaa Raadhe
murali tumhariyaa Raadhe
Murali
murali tumhariyaa Raadhe
murali tumhariyaa Raadhe
Murali
apne ko tum bairan kahtee
apne ko kahtee Mohan
apne ko tum bairan kahtee
apne ko kahtee Mohan
aisee murali
aise Mohan
aisee murali
aise Mohan
Raadha hee murali ??
Raadhe
Shree Raadhe
Raadhe
Shree Raadhe
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