Daataa jee teraa bhed naa paayaa
Posted on: May 29, 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 an ‘Unusual’ film, Sona Chandi-1946. This film was made by the New Bombay Theatres, Bombay. It was produced and directed by R. D.Parinja. Music was by Tufail Faruqi and lyricists were Shamim (1 song), Khawar Jaman (1 song) and Wali Saheb (8 songs). The cast included Chandni, Suresh, Kishori, Saroj Borkar, Kamla, Amrutlal, Radha Kishen and others.
The film was ‘unusual’ for 2 reasons. One – actress Kishori in the cast was none other than whom we know as dancer Cuckoo. She was an Anglo-Indian, who was married to a Choreographer K.S.Moray. She was just 18 year old. Having made her debut as an adult dancer in the film Arab ka Sitara-1946, she got a side heroine’s role in the film Sona Chandi-1946. However, being an Anglo-Indian, her Hindi accent was unmistakable and she was a failure in that role. Thereafter she remained only a Dancer.
Secondly, there were originally only 10 songs, when the film was issued a Censor Certificate (No. 34253 dt 19-7-1946) and the film was released in August 1946. After the death of Gandhi ji in January 1948, there was a spate of songs on Gandhi, by various singers in all languages. Music Directors Husnlal-Bhagatram made a 4 part set of 2 records of the song “Suno suno aye duniya walo” sung by Mohd. Rafi. This record became a bestseller. On the Independence day Rafi sang this song in presence of Nehru and he was given a Gold medal too. Similarly, the then rising star of singing-Lata Mangeshkar sang a song ” Pyare Bapu ki Kahani” composed by Music director D.C.Dutt. While H-B refused hundreds of offers of featuring their song in Hindi films, D.C.Dutt agreed to include this song in the film Sona Chandi-1946 (along with another song by Saroj Borkar). The film was re-censored getting certificate no. 38154 on 9-4-1948. The film, with these two songs, was re-released in June 1948. Thus the film’s total songs became 12.
By 1946 to 1950 old towers shook hard to crumble. The studio system almost disappeared. Film industry could now boast of people highly educated, talented and hard working. Even artistes with International experience and success like Dewan Sharar, Shakuntala Paranjpye, actor Ranjan, Balraj Sahni etc contributed to Indian films. The old horse of Calcutta-New Theatres broke down and actors, directors and Music specialists from Bengal made a Bee-Line to Bombay, thus making it the strongest ever film centre.
1946 was also an year of consolidation, in a sense that due to the iminent Partition of India on the basis of Religion, agreed upon by Gandhi-Nehru combine, made Muslim artistes and film makers plan to pack their bags and move over to the new Utopia across the border. Their vacancies were to be filled up by the waiting second line of actors,directors and MDs. The film industry was to have a complete new look within 1-2 years and the beginning was from 1946. Thus the year was very important.
The year 1946 was an year which saw many changes in the film industry. The II world war had just ended. Rationing and control on many items had created Black marketing. This made many people Millionaires. The extra income started getting invested in Film making. The increased cost of Raw Films made filmmaking 7 to 8 times costlier. A film which was made in about 1 Lakh rupees in 1940, needed 8 Lakhs now. Studio system was waning and artiste rates increased in Lakhs instead of thousands.
In 1945, only 74 films were made. This number increased to 153 films in 1946. Further, in 1947, the film industry produced a record number of films – 181, but of course that was due to Partition. The quality of films was sacrificed at the cost of the quantity of films made in 1946. However, some quality films were made in 1946, indicating the changing face of filmmaking.
Film Dharati ke Lal-46 was made by IPTA people and it became the first film to be exhibited in Russia. Neecha Nagar-46 won the Grand Prix award in the French Film Festival. Film Dr. Kotnis ki amar kahani-46 was dubbed in English as ‘ The journey of Dr. Kotnis’. It was shown in the USA and then in the Venice Film Festival. Two musical films- Anmol Ghadi and Shahjahan were made in 1946.
Year 1946 also saw the Debut of several stars and artists. In fact one can call 1946 as the ” Debut year” of the Hindi film industry. See this….
Nirupa Roy debuted in film Amar Raaj-46
Nasreen (real name Zareena), daughter of Rafiq Gaznavi and Anwari bai had debuted in her first released film Shahjahan-1946.
Geeta Bali debuted with a dance in film Badnami-46
Geeta Roy sang her first film song in film Bhakta Prahlad-46
Balraj Sahni debuted in the film Insaaf-46. It was a small role,though.
K A Abbas-Director, Pt.Ravi Shankar-MD, Balraj Sahni as Hero and Damayanti Sahni as Heroine made their Debut in film Dharti Ke Lal-46
Meena kapoor sang her first released Hindi film song in the film Eight Days-46. She also recorded her first Hindi film song in the film ‘Door Chalen‘-1946, which was released later than film Eight Days-46.
Sudhir Phadke debuted as MD in film Gokul-46
P L Santoshi as Director, Dev Anand, Rehman, Rehana and Kamla Kotnis debuted as actors in film Hum Ek Hai-46
Chitragupta did his first film as MD in Lady Robin Hood-46
Ram Ganguly became MD with film Maharana Pratap-46
Abhi Bhattacharya debuted in Hindi film Milan-46
Chetan Anand as Director, Uma Anand and Kamini kaushal as actresses debuted in film Neecha Nagar-46
Hansraj Behl debuted as MD with film Pujari-46
Madhubala(as Baby Mumtaz) sang her first song in film Pujari-46
Majrooh Sultanpuri wrote his first Hindi film song in film Shahjahan-46
S D Burman as MD and Kishore Kumar as an actor debuted with film Shikari-46
So, you will find the year 1946 was truly an year of change. The winds of Partition were already blowing and the second line of supplementary artistes was ready to replace the Migrators, after the Partition.
Let us know more about Cuckoo. Cuckoo Moray, (4th February 1928 – 30th September 1981) was an Anglo-Indian dancer and actress. Cuckoo was the queen of film dancing in Hindi cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. Though unfamiliar in name, she was known as the “rubber girl” of Hindi cinema and her talent made cabaret dancing a must in the Bollywood films during the 1940s and 1950s. She could acrobatically bend her body at great length.
Cuckoo started appearing in films from the mid forties. She started as a child artiste. Her first film was Anjaan-41. She was seen as a background dancer in the film Meghdoot-45. Cuckoo made her screen debut in the film Arab Ka Sitara in 1946. Soon after, in Sona Chandi-46, directors and greater audiences noticed her dancing abilities for the first time. According to a news photo published in FILM INDIA magazine, Cuckoo featured in film Sona Chandi-1946, as KISHORI. This was a role of a side Heroine. Unfortunately, due to her faulty Hindi diction, she was never again featured as a lead role in any film. One of her dances in film Parwana-47 with suggestive lyrics to the song was considered vulgar enough to get banned from the film.
Then, the turning point in Cuckoo’s career was in Mehboob Khan’s films. Her dance number in his film Anokhi Ada (1948) established her as the lead dancer of the era and in Andaz(1949), a romantic drama starring Nargis, Dilip Kumar, and Raj Kapoor, gave the dancer an opportunity to display her acting skills. In Mehboob Khan’s 1952 technicolor film Aan, which was her first colour film, she had a brief cameo in a dance sequence. She only appeared in 2 colour films in her career- Aan & Mayurpankh. She would charge Rs 6,000 for a dance number, an enviable fee in the 50s.
Usually she is credited with bringing into films 2 Anglo Indian brothers Tony (Krishna Kumar) and Robert (Surya Kumar). However, Azuri later claimed that it was she who brought them into films from an orphanage and trained them. Dancers first, both became Choreographers of repute later.
Cuckoo remained the best dancer in Hindi films until dancers such as Helen and Vyjayanthimala came into the industry. Cuckoo was a family friend of the Anglo-Burmese dancer and actress Helen. She was also known for helping unknown actors get their break in Bollywood, such as Pran in Ziddi. Cuckoo had introduced a 13-year-old Helen into films as a chorus dancer in films such as Shabistan and Awaara (both 1951). Cuckoo and Helen most notably appeared in song and dance sequences together, such as in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi(1958) and Yahudi (1958). Her last film appearance was in Mujhe Jeene Do in 1963 after which, she had disappeared from the film industry. She was a Heroine in the film Sona Chandi-46, under the name Kishori, but due to her faulty Hindi and pronunciation, she could not continue as a Heroine. She appeared in 155 films and 67 songs were shot on her.
Cuckoo, the legendary cabaret queen of Bollywood was one of those film stars who lived ostentatiously, spent extravagantly and died broke and penniless. Her three cars (one for her use, one for taking her dogs for a drive, and the other often used to summon protégée Helen to play with her sister), her flats and whatever jewellery she had, were all taken away because the dancer had evaded income tax. She would charge Rs 6,000 for a dance number, an enviable fee in the ’50s. Cuckoo died of cancer at the age of 52; during her last days she could barely afford to buy painkillers. “She never thought of the security, or of tomorrow,” Helen recalls. “But what a tremendous lady she was! There wasn’t even a tear in her eye, even when the roles stopped, when the money disappeared. Instead she’d joke about her plight. Some actors did help but it was too late, much too late.”
Cuckoo died on 30 September 1981 due to cancer at the age of 53. She was forgotten and unattended by the film industry at the time of her death. (adapted from wiki,MuVyz, book ‘Edwina’ and cineplot).
One of the Lyricists of this film was Wali Saheb. He was a person of one of a kind. He was an educated person fond of writing stories and songs, but he was also very orthodox in nature, So much so, that he had made it compulsory for his actress wife Mumtaz Shanti, to come for shootings in a Burkha, and was also a perfect Hypocrite who allowed her to act in films as a lover of the Hero ! He would put it in her contract that the hero would not touch her during the shoots. To ensure this, he used to be present personally in her every shoot. After the shooting, she was to put on her Burkha again and head straight home, without talking a word with anyone.
It seems, her uncle Barkat Nizami ( husband of actress Geeta Nizami) had brought her in films and he used to take away 75% of her earnings ( 50% for himself and 25% for his son). However, after her marriage to Wali saheb, this had stopped.
His name was Wali Mohd Khan. He was born at Poona in 1908. His family was from Punjab. He became a Compounder with a Doctor in Lahore till 1938. He used to write songs for the Recording companies, for a sum of Rs. 5 per song ! He entered film line as a story writer and Lyricist, with film,” Soni Kumharan ‘ produced by East India Film Company.His songs became popular and he started writing dialogues too.He wrote songs, stories and dialogues for 36 films in all, with 280 songs. He worked for Kamla Movietone, Pancholi studios,Talwar productions, Cine art production etc.He even sang one song in the film Udhar-1949.
After trying his hand at Direction in Venus pictures film ” Lady Doctor”-44, he went on to produce and direct film ” Dekhoji”-47, under his own banner, Punjab film corporation ltd. Bombay. He produced and directed 4 more films, Padmini-48, Heer Ranjha-48, Putli-50 and Zamane ki Hawa-52. In all these films, the Heroine was Mumtaz Shanti. He migrated to Pakistan, with his actress wife, in the mid 50s.
Let us now enjoy today’s 80 year old song sung by an young singer of 22 years – Mohd. Rafi….
Song- Daata jee tera bhed na paaya(Sona Chaandi)(1946) Singer- Mohd. Rafi, Lyricist- Shamim, MD- Tufail Faruqi
Lyrics
o o o
daata jee
daata jee ee
daeta jee tera bhed na paaya
deata jee tera bhed na paaya
bhed na paaya tera bhed na paaya
bhed na paaya tera bhed na paaya
daeta jee tera bhed na paaya
dhanwaalon ko dhan de itna
paanee sagar mein ho jitna
un par barse sona chaandee
sona chaandee
daulat jin ke ghar kee baandee
sagar mein kyun megh barsaya
sagarin mein kyun megh barsaya
bhed na paaya tera bhed na paaya
daata jee tera bhed na paaya
aur gareebon ko tarsaaye
bhooha rakhe bheekh mangaaye
bhookha rakhe bheekh mangaaye
rote huyeka ??
baba ??
daata ??
jale pet ko aur jalaaye
jale pet ko aur jalaaye
kaisa ye andher hai chhaaya
kaisa ye andher hai chhaaya
bhed na paaya tera bhed na paaya
daata jee tera bhed na paaya
daata jee tera bhed na paaya
ho o o daata jee
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
May 29, 2025 at 6:14 am
Arun Ji
Thanks for the post. This is first time I am reading more on Cuckkoo. Interesting to know that she acted in a film, more than being a mere dancer. I remember her for her dance in ‘Patli Kamar hai…..”. She is well rembered by general movie goers ,for her dances even in small towns where I spent my younger days.
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May 29, 2025 at 12:15 pm
Satish ji,
Thanks for your comments.
Cuckoo was one of my favourite dancers also.
-AD
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