Khuley swarg ke dwaar jag mein
Posted on: June 1, 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 Prithvi Vallabh-1943.
The film was made by Minerva Movietone. It was directed by Sohrab Modi, Minerva’s owner.Music was by Saraswati Devi and Rafiq Ghazanavi, along with musical effects by Meer Sahib. The cast consisted of many A grade artists like Sohrab Modi, Durga Khote, Jahan Ara Kajjan, meena (shorey, later),Sadiq Ali (Lion of Minerva), Al Nasir (the handsome Lady killer), Navin Yagnik (mainly action film hero), Amirbai, Alaknanda (sister of Sitara devi), Ranjit Kumari( Second wife of actor Ram Singh), K.N.Singh and many others.
This historical film was based on K.M.Munshi’s novel of the same name, published in 1920. I have seen this film and it felt like a love story with historical background. No wonder this film was a great success, because Modi (Sohrab Modi, that is) was an expert in delivering long dialogues in his powerful resonant voice, which the audience liked very much. Sohrab Modi’s life gives us a clear message that ” Never lose hope with initial defeats. Keep up your struggle learning from experience “.
Sohrab Merwanji Modi was born in a Parsi family on 2nd November, 1897. His parents were Parsi civil Servants. For a few years he stayed in the Parsi community in Bombay. Sohrab Modi’s childhood was spent with a lot of activities. As he grew up, his more interest was in exercise and sports. Though in childhood many times he was severely sick and a few times he was also hospitalized. Due to which he looked tall but he was thin. But later he was very active. In school he was an average student, he never got hooked on History. Many times a teacher complained to his parents for his lagging behind in history subjects. His parents turned all the stones to make him study but it all went in waste. But Sohrab was good at sports and from childhood he was interested in exercise which helped him to develop his personality in stage acting. Later he shifted with his family to Rampur in Uttar Pradesh. At the age of 14 -15 his mind absorbed many interesting things in acting as he watched silent movies. Soon his mind got diverted toward stage acting.
At the age of 17 years, he worked as a travelling exhibitor in Gwalior. Elder brother Rustom Modi, along with his close friend Ittefaq, set up Arya Subodh Natak Mandali theatre group in 1923.
In the beginning, Sohrab Modi only acted as an extra or side role which was not that important. But Sohrab was looking for the opportunity where he could act as a leading actor. Very soon he got an opportunity and he broke the ice. Soon He earned the reputation as a Shakespearean actor. Sohrab Modi’s elder brother Rustom helped him in stage acting and people really appreciated the Sohrab acting. Sohrab played Jehangir (Hamlet) opposite Naseem Bano (Ophelia) in Khoon ka Khoon, one of the biggest Urdu stage Hits of the 20s. As Sohrab was growing up, his personality kept developing. His personality suited the role of a king. His two plays ‘Khoon Ka Khoon’ and ‘Saed-E-havas’ added flying colors to his acting.
In 1931 Hindi movie ‘Alam Ara’ was released with sound. On one hand, ‘Alam Ara’ was a big leap for Bollywood. But on the other hand, the introduction of sound in movies created a very big crack in the theatre business. People started getting interested in watching movies rather than watching theatre plays. To save theatre art, the Modi brothers set up the Stage Film Company in 1935. From this year Sohrab Modi never looked back in acting career.
Sohrab Modi’s talents soon reached the ears of ‘Dadasaheb Phalke’. Though Sohrab Modi had worked in a few silent movies before, Dadasaheb Phalke never appreciated Sohrab Modi’s acting. One day Phalke Saab personally went to see Sohrab’s play ‘Alexander the Great’.
Sohrab Modi is remembered fondly by the film buffs for his towering personality, solid voice and his forceful dialogue delivery. Actually, Modi was much more than that. He was the first and the only film maker who took up Historical subjects to make films that left a long lasting impression on the film goers. He loved to do the roles of Historical persons ( actual or mythical) and deliver long dialogues in his resonant voice, clear diction and superb voice modulation.
Sohrab Modi developed these qualities from his stage acting days. In his growing up age at Rampur, he had spent hours in the library of the local Nawab, where his father worked as a Superintendent. This gave him a command on Urdu language. Added to this was his brother Rustom’s drama company ” The Arya Subodh Natak Mandali” in which he acted. In 1935, the brothers set up the ” Stage Films ” to film the two dramas, namely Hamlet aka Khoon ka khoon-35 and Sayeed E Hawas-36, based on Shakespeare’s play King John, as movies. However, these movies did not do too well, as the audience had seen them on stage several times. But this failure didn’t stop Sohrab Modi from acting. Taking a clue from this, Modi decided to start a new company, Minerva Movietone to produce independent films on different stories of merit.
Minerva Movietone was started by Sohrab and brother Rustom Modi in 1936, when they realised that the stage dramas, filmed as Feature films, did not get the public approval. Logo of his banner was the Lion. Does this personally symbolize Sohrab Modi personality? Production from Stage films- their first film production enterprise- was suspended till Minerva became successful. ” Aatma Tarang-37″ was the new company’s first film. C. Ramchandra was the Harmonium accompanist for M.D. Habib Khan and Bundu Khan. He also did a small role in Aatma Tarang and earlier Saeed E Havas-36. Minerva’s first film proved to be a let down.
Sohrab found that there were hardly 20 to 30 persons in the audience on the very First show. The film was based on the power of ‘ Bramhacharya’ (Celibacy). In those days, Sohrab was greatly influenced by the teachings of Ramakrishna Mission. Seeing the poor response, he was upset. Thoughts of quitting the film production line were crowding in his mind. Suddenly, he saw four men coming towards him. They came, confirmed that he was Sohrab modi and told him that his film was very good. They further advised him to keep making such good films and one day he will be on Top. Later on he learnt that these gentlemen were the Judges of Bombay High Court.
This gave a lot of motivation to Modi. It also boosted his self confidence. As such he was sure of his success in films, but now he knew that he must make films on subjects of interest of the public and not his own philosophy, if he wants to succeed commercially. His second film was Khan Bahadur-37, based on the bravery and generosity of a Muslim king who became famous for his bravery. The English rulers gave him the title of Khan Bahadur. The film did a reasonable business.
This incident infused him with new hopes and enthusiasm. This changed his life. Initially he focused on making films on social evils like Drinking (Meetha Zehar-38), Husband-wife separation ( Divorce-38) and Incest ( Bharosa-40 ). Enthused with this experience, he made successful films and took his company to the Top. Renowned for big budget historical films, Minerva benefited from the Modi family’s distribution interests in Gwalior, expanded by his third brother Keki Modi into western India. At one time he controlled a chain of 27 theatres in 10 cities. In 1952, they established India’s first Technicolour Laboratory.
In 1944, Central Studio signed Mehtab for their film “Parakh”. Sohrab Modi was directing the film. At the time of signing the contract, Mehtab told Modi that she had heard that he only took his own close-ups in his films and ignored the others. He told her that he wasn’t acting in that film. Thereafter, Sohrab Modi again took Mehtab as heroine in his film “Ek Din Ka Sultan” opposite Wasti under his own banner Minerva Movietone. Slowly, Sohrab Modi fell in love with her and proposed to her. Mehtab agreed only on the condition that she would not leave her son Ismail. Sohrab didn’t find any problem in that and they got married on the birthday of Mehtab, 28 April 1946. Sohrab Modi’s family didn’t approve as they were Parsi and Mehtab was Muslim. Sohrab never interfered in Mehtab’s career or religion. Mehtab had a son from Modi named Mehli who was brought up as Parsi. Modi sent both the sons abroad to study.
Mehtab did few films after marriage like “Behram Khan” (1946), “Saathi” (1946), Shama (1946). Her last major film was “Jhansi Ki Rani” (1953). (She did a small role in the film Samay Bada Balwan-69.) Sohrab Modi was the producer, director and the hero of the film. It was Sohrab’s first colour film. She acted in a total of 40 films. Sohrab Modi acted in 32 films. First was Hamlet-35 and the last was Razia Sultan–83.He directed 27 films. First was Hamlet-35 and the last was Meena Kumari ki Amar Kahani-81.
Sohrab Modi died on 28 January 1984 due to cancer of the bone marrow. Mehtab’s both sons were settled abroad, though she spent her life in Cuffe Parade, Mumbai till her death. She died on 8-4-1997. ( I thank Upperstall for some information used herein, and the book ‘ Hero ‘ Vol 1 by Ashok Raj and my notes.)
Today’s song is sung by Menakabai. She was one of the “Same Name Confusion” pair from the early cinema. There were 2 Menakas. Menaka Bai (1910 to 3-12-2003) Bombay wali and Menaka Devi (23-1-1921 to 22-1-2004) Calcutta Wali. Since both sang in Bombay made films, the confusion in their filmography arose.
Menaka Bai was born in Lahore in or around 1910. She was from a professional singer family and got training in classical singing. The family was originally from Belgaum and her maiden name was Menaka Belgaonkar. Later she was married and became Menaka Shirodkar.
At the age of 23-24 she landed in Bombay to try her luck in films. In those days such girls from singing families used to get into films easily, due to their singing capability. She joined Minerva and sang in their films, starting with Pukar-39,in which she got only one song.
She was more interested in classical singing and hence concentrated on singing more than acting. However, she did act in 5 films, in which she also sang.
After her film Gul Bakavli-47 she devoted her full time to singing and holding jalsas. Soon she became a known figure in singing circles. After marriage she had two daughters. One of them, Shobha became a famous singer and was known as Shobha Gurtu.
After her singing was over Menakabai Shirodkar-as she came to be known later- retired and settled in Ponda, Goa.
She died on 23-12-2003 at the age of around 93 years.
Filmography-
——————–
| Title | Comments |
|---|---|
| Pukar-39 | 1 solo song |
| Paak Daman-40 | Acting and 3 solos+ 1 Duet |
| Main Haari-40 | 1 solo, 2 Duets |
| Bharosa-40 | Acting and 2 solos, 1 Duet |
| Sikandar-41 | 1 solo |
| Ulti Ganga-42 | 1 solo, 1 Trio |
| Phir milenge-42 | Acting and 3 solos |
| Prithwi Vallabh-43 | 2 solos, 2 Duets and 1 Trio |
| Bhakta Raidas-43 | Acting and 1 Duet as Menakabai |
| Dr. Kumar-44 | 1 solo |
| Gul Bakavali-47 | Acting and 4 solos, a Duet..all as Menakabai |
Today’s song is a very melodious song sung by her. So, enjoy this 82 year old song by 33 year old Menaka Bai….
Audio
Video
Song- Khule swarg ke dwar jag mein (Prithvi Vallabh)(1943) Singer- Menaka Bai, Lyricist- Pt. Sudarshan, MD- Rafiq Ghaznavi
Lyrics
khule swarg ke dwaar jag mein
khule swarg ke dwaar
haan aan aan
khule swarg ke dwaar jag mein
khule swarg ke dwaar
nagar dagar mein amrit barse
nagar dagar mein amrit barse
pag pag khila khumaar
pag pag khila khumaar
khule swarg ke dwaar jag mein
khule swarg ke dwaar
haan aan aan
khule swarg ke dwaar jag mein
khule swarg ke dwaar
jaadoo kee rut chhaayee jag mein
jaadoo kee rut chhaayee jag mein
chhaaya naval nikhaar chhaaya naval nikhaar
phool to phool khile kaante bhee
phool to phool khile kaante bhee
aisi ajab bahaar
aisi ajab bahaar
khule swarg ke dwaar jag mein
khule swarg ke dwaar
jyot jagee aasha kee man mein
jyot jagee aasha kee man mein
door hua andhkaar
door hua andhkaar
man jaaga sab duniya jaagee
man jaaga sab duniya jaagee
mahima aparampaar mahima aparampaar
khule swarg ke dwaar jag mein
khule swarg ke dwaar
haan aan aan
khule swarg ke dwaar jag mein
khule swarg ke dwaar
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
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