Dil khoya khoya gumsum
Posted on: July 1, 2025
This article is written by Sadanand Kamath, 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 the context of Hindi film music, we have often heard the word ‘plagiarism’ for copying tunes, melodies, orchestrations and even the lyrics. The plagiarism in Hindi film music has become more pronounced from 1980s onwards during which some of the new generation of Hindi film music directors faced the allegations of plagiarism in their compositions of many songs. It came into open when two songs of the same tune, ‘thamma thamma loge’ in ‘Thanedaar’ (1990) and second, ‘jumma chhumma de do’ in ‘Hum’ (1991) were released within a short gap which were said to be inspired from ‘tama tama’ by Mory Kante (1988). Some of the music directors have dismissed the allegation of plagiarism by saying that such song compositions have not been copied but have been ‘inspired’ from original sources.
The names of the music directors in the rampant ‘plagiarism’ phase of Hindi film music from 1980s onwards included almost all the top music directors such as R D Burman, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Rajesh Roshan, Anand-Milind, Nadeem-Shravan, Anu Malik, Jatin-Lalit, Bappi Lahiri, Pritam etc. It was possible to pin-point the ‘plagiarism’ of these music directors mainly due to listeners having wider access to such information especially with the advent of the music channels on satellite TV during 1980s and 1990s and through video sharing platforms in the 21st century.
I have used the term ‘plagiarism’ with inverted coma because after having listened to fairly a large number of such songs of the above listed music directors on the video sharing platforms. I have come to the conclusion that most of such Hindi film songs are not copied but inspired to a limited extent, for example, by using only the hook tunes/music from the original sources.
Oxford University defines plagiarism as “presenting work or ideas from another source as your own, with or without consent of the original author”. If one strictly follows the definition, even inspirations, fully or partly, from the work or ideas of another sources can be construed as plagiarism if due acknowledgement of such sources with consent are not given. If the work or ideas of the original sources are copyrighted, the plagiarism can create legal complications for the infringement.
A thought came to my mind whether the music directors of the golden period of Hindi films (say from the late 1940s through 1960s) had faced allegations of plagiarism. Here, I have restricted the definition of plagiarism to include the foreign sources, excluding countries from Indian sub-continent. It may be noted that during this period (1940 to 1960s), the listeners did not have wider access to foreign films/music while the music directors did have such privilege. So, it was difficult for the listeners at that time to pin-point the ‘inspired’ songs which they then believed to be the original compositions of the music directors.
Today, we can get audio/video clips of most of the old foreign songs/music on the video-sharing platforms. During my on-line searches, I came across many such inspired songs composed by some of the music directors of the golden period of Hindi film music. I have listed below, only the select ‘inspired’ songs of such music directors by way of examples with brief comments.
Naushad
1. aawaaz de kahaan hai duniya meree jawaan hai – Anmol Ghadi (1946), inspired from Opera Sadko – By Rimsky Korsakov (1896).
Note: Only select musical notes have been used in the Hindi song for orchestration and tune. I will call this as an intelligent use of inspiration which has resulted in the upliftment of the Hindi song.
2. meraa salaam le jaa dil kaa payaam le jaa – Udan Khatola (1955) inspired from Elqamh al layla – Arabic song by Nour Al Houda and Abdul Wahab (1947).
Note: The prelude music, the first line of the Arabic tune and the chorus tune (1:45 onwards in the video clip) were used for the Antara part of the song. Again a very pleasing improvisation of the song .
S D Burman
1. jeewan ke safar mein raahee – Munimji (1955), inspired from The Mexican Dance – adapted from Mexican folk dance of the late 18th century.
Note: Dance music tune is used only for the mukhda part with different orchestration.
2. wo thhee ham thhe ham thhe wo thhee – Chalti Kaa Naam Gaadi (1958) inspired from Watermelon by Ernie Ford (1949).
Note: Tune and rhythm have almost entirely copied with fresh insertion of tune for Anup Kumar’s lines which give a new dimension to the song .
C Ramchandra
1. gore gore o baanke chhore – Samaadhi (1950) inspired from chico chico puerto rico – by Carmen Miranda (1945).
Note: Only the mukhda tune has been taken in Hindi song with improvised orchestration.
Shankar- Jaikishan
1. maine bulaaya aur tum chale aaye – Apne Huye Paraaye (1964) inspired from Old Beirut – Ron Goodwin and his orchestra (1959).
Note: This is a majorly inspired song. It is Male-Female version songs in the film with some cosmetic changes in orchestrations. It is a good attempt to convert the musical notes from the original into a vocal song for the film.
2. ai ai aa karoon main kyaa suku suku – Junglee (1961) inspired from ai ai ai sucu sucu – by Nina & Frederik (1957).
Note: Only the starting line of the original song has been incorporated in Hindi song with refrains. Antara tune is different with nice orchestration.
Madan Mohan
1. dil dil se milaakar dekho – Mem Sahib (1956) inspired from Isle of Capri by Gracie Fields (1934).
Note: Only the mukhda tune has been used with different orchestration.
2. thhodi der ke liye mere ho jaao – Akeli Mat Jaiyyo (1963) inspired from Hernando’s Hideaway by Carol Haney (1954).
Note: Only mukhda tune has been used with improvisation.
O P Nayyar
1. ae dil hai mushkil jeena yahhan – CID (1956) inspired from o my darling clementine – My Darling Clementine (1946).
Note: The original is a poignant song with a soft orchestration. O P Nayyar turned the Hindi version into a fun song by using only the mukhda tune from the original with a different orchestration to suit the mood in the scene.
2. dekho kasam se kahte hain tumse – Tumsa Naheen Dekha (1957) inspired from kiss me another by Georgia Gibbs (1956).
Note: This English song is said to have been adapted from the original Argentinian folk song written and composed in 1941. O P Nayyar has used the mukhda tune of the English song partly in mukhda and partly in Antara parts of Hindi song with better rhythm and orchestration.
Salil Chowdhary
1. halke halke chalo saanwre – Taangewaali (1955) inspired from The Wedding Samba – Edmundo Ros (1949).
Note: The inspired songs of Salil Chowdhary have mainly from the music orchestra/symphony from the original sources. This song has some parts of both the music as well as the tune of the original song.
2. dil tadap tadap ke kah rahaa hai aa bhee jaa – Madhumati (1958) inspired from Szla dzieweczka (A Girl Went to the Forest) – Polish folk dance song of 18th century.
Note: For background of the Hindi song, please read an article in Film Companion.
Usha Khanna
1. dil deke dekho – Dil Deke Dekho (1959) inspired from sugar time – by McGuire Sisters (1957) which itself was inspired from ‘I’m Daffy Over You’ by Chicko Marx (1930s)..
Note: Only the starting tune has been used in Hindi songs with completely different orchestrations.
I have given select samples just to show that majority of the songs listed above are inspired only to a limited extent from the original sources. In fact, these Hindi songs, to my mind, have turned out to be better than the original songs/music. It is quite possible that the music directors of a few of these inspired songs may have felt that they can raise the melodic contents of the songs in a better way to suit the Indian ears. It is also quite possible that a few producers/directors may have suggested to the music directors to create a composition for their films based on the tune/music from the foreign sources which they liked. Gurudutt was stated to be one of such producer-directors. Of Course, it is an easy way and time saving for the busy music directors to use tune inspired from other songs/music for the mukhda tunes which otherwise would have taken more time to compose.
In line with the discussion on the inspired songs from the foreign songs/orchestra music, I present the first song from the film, ’Mohobbat Ke Dushman’ (1988) to appear on the Blog. The song is ‘dil khoya khoya gumsum’ rendered by Asha Bhosle. The song is jointly written by Anjaan- Prakash Mehra and set to music by Kalyanji-Anandji. The film was produced and directed by Prakash Mehra. The main cast included, Rajkumar, Hema Malini, Sanjay Dutt, Farah, Pran, Amrish Puri, Suresh Oberoi, Vijayendra Ghatge,
The song is structurally almost a complete adaptation of a Persian song, man aamadeh am woi woi (1975). Both the Persian and the Hindi song have the same genre – longing for love. The Persian song is rendered by one of the iconic Iranian pop singers, Googoosh who is also an actress. The song was written and musically composed by Googoosh’s Afghan friend, Jalil Zaland. During the Khomeini regime in Iran from 1979 onwards, Googoosh refrained from singing in public. From 2000 onwards, she started organising her singing concert outside Iran.
The context of the song under discussion is that Shamsher (Vijayendra Ghatge) wants to marry Reshma (Farah) for which he approaches her brother, Abu Bhai (Suresh Oberoi) for his consent. However, Abu Bhai insults Shamsher who, while leaving his house, throws a challenge to Abu Bhai that he will get married to Reshma. Abu Bhai promises Reshma that he would get her married to a more suitable boy very soon. Reshma starts thinking of her lost childhood love, Hashim (Sanjay Dutt) and sings the song on a meadow while Shamsher’s henchmen are on their way to kidnap her. At the end of the song, Reshma is kidnapped but her brother saves her at the cost of his life. Reshma runs away to the territory of another aristocrat, Rehmat Khan (Rajkumar) who gives her shelter. To her surprise, she finds Hashim in the same house as he has been taken care by Rehmat Khan.
Video Clip:
Audio Clip:
Song-Dil khoya khoya gumsum (Mohabbat Ke Dushman)(1988) Singer-Asha Bhonsle, Lyrics-Anjaan-Prakash Mehra, MD-Kalyanji Anandji
Lyrics:
dil khoyaa khoyaa
dil khoyaa khoyaa gumsum
dil khoyaa khoyaa
yaadon mein kisee kee gum
dil khoyaa khoyaa
dil khoyaa khoyaa gumsum
yaadon mein kisee kee gum
ishq par zor koi
ishq par zor koi
zor koi
zor koi haan
dil khoyaa khoyaa gumsum
dil khoyaa khoyaa
yaadon mein kisee kee gum
dil khoyaa khoyaa
saanson mein wo bachpan kee muhabbat hai basee
aankhon mein uskee dhudhlee see tasweer chhupee
din raat khayaalon mein goonje uskee hansee
dhadkan mein chhupke shaam sahar doley vahee
tanhaayee ho yaa mehfil
ho tanhaayee ho yaa mehfil
dhoondhe usee ko hee
dil mein hai aur koi
dil mein hai aur koi
aur koi
aur koi haan
dil khoyaa khoyaa gumsum
dil khoyaa khoyaa
yaadon mein kisee kee gum
dil khoyaa khoyaa
tapte badan mein pyaar kee jab pyaas jagey
lagtaa hai ke paanee mein bhee koi aag lagey
dil aise machaltaa hai dil pe bas naa chaley
ae kaash wo aise mein kaheen aan miley
kyun duniyaa se ghabraaun
o kyun duniya se ghabraaun
kyun main nazar churaaun
dil mein hai chor koi
dil mein hai chor koi
chor koi
chor koi haan
dil khoyaa khoyaa gumsum
dil khoyaa khoyaa
yaadon mein kisee kee gum
dil khoyaa khoyaa
dil khoyaa khoya gumsum
yaadon mein kisee kee gum
ishq par zor koi
ishq par zor koi
zor koi
zor koi haan
dil khoyaa khoyaa gumsum
dil khoyaa khoyaa
yaadon mein uhun
hmm hmm hmm hmm
hmm hmm hmm
9 Responses to "Dil khoya khoya gumsum"
July 2, 2025 at 10:58 pm
Kamath Sir,
This is a meticulously researched and thoughtfully written piece, truly enjoyable!
It brought back many memories. I remember listening to the Arabian Nights album by Ron Goodwin at a friend’s place in the early ’70s, and we were convinced that maestros like S.D. Burman, Shankar-Jaikishan, and Kalyanji-Anandji had drawn inspiration from its tracks.
We’d have long, spirited debates about who copied whom! Our elders would always say, “Everything is rooted in ragas,” and point out how songs often transition between ragas with clever variations in notes.
Also, if possible, I would request Atul Sir to consider creating a separate category for inspired songs, it would be a great reference.
This is such a rich and fascinating area. I’m looking forward to learning and sharing more with everyone here!
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July 3, 2025 at 9:29 am
Gandhi Vadlapatla ji,
Thank you very much for your appreciation.
There is also the other side of the coin. I have come across many foreign songs which have been inspired from Hindi film songs especially of 1980s and thereafter. I will have look at them in details to see if Hindi film songs of golden period (say, upto 1970s) had become inspirations for foreign songs. In that case, I will attempt an article on this subject for the Blog,
Sadanand
July 4, 2025 at 11:46 am
Good Morning Sadanandji,
I appreciate your exceptional research and sharing the outcome with all of us. You are absolutely right; up to 1970 was indeed the golden era for Hindi songs. It’s remarkable that this period also marked the golden age for films in other languages as well.
Thank you,
Regards and blessings,
Uma🙏
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July 3, 2025 at 10:09 am
Thank you, Kamath Sir, for your thoughtful response.
I was about to mention how our composers have also created some truly original gems, so I’m delighted you touched upon foreign songs inspired by Hindi music.
Your proposed article sounds fascinating. I’m eagerly looking forward to it!
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July 3, 2025 at 5:00 pm
Good research, Sadanand ji. A few, I knew. Many, I didn’t.
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
July 2, 2025 at 10:51 am
Thank you Sadanandji for this post.
It echos my thoughts on how ‘inspired’ tunes are used to make music for Indian-ears. Also, you have put it very well:- access to international music due to the internet has made it easy for the listener to find sources of the inspired songs.
Previous generations had to rely on the vinyl records to find sources & the percentage of the listeners having access to record & record players was very low. But there have always been songs ‘inspired’ from one source or the other & no one needs to plead “GUILTY”
I must also point out to the timing of this post:- it was Kalyanji Veerji Shah’s birth anniversary on 30th June. He would have been 97
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July 3, 2025 at 9:12 am
Peevesie’s Mom,
Thanks for the comments.
This post was sent to Atul ji in the evening of June 30th without realising on my part that it was Kalyanji’s birth anniversary day.
Sadanand
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