Naiyya jaane kidhar ko jaaye
Posted on: March 31, 2026
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 of the end of the First decade of the Talkie Era – Kapal Kundala-1939.
The film was made by New Theatres, Calcutta. This film has a history. The film story is based on the novel “Kapal Kundala” by Bankimchandra Chatopadhyaya, written and published in 1866. First a Silent film was made on this novel, in 1929, by Madon Theatres, Calcutta. It was directed by Priyanath Ganguly. The cast was Seeta Devi (real name Renee Smith), Indira Devi(real name Effie Hippolet), Patience Cooper, Prabodh Bose and others. It was released on 13-4-1929.
The second version came in Bangla language in 1933, directed by Premankur Atorthy, for New Theatres. The cast included Uma Shashi, Durgadas Banerjee, Molina Devi etc. Today’s film is the 3rd version, in Hindi, with the same story. It was directed by Phani mujumdar and the music was by Pankaj Mullick. This New Theatres film had the star cast of Leela Desai (as Kapal Kundala), Najmul hasan (Nab Kumar), Kamlesh kumari (Moti Bibi), Manorama (real name Winnie Stewart), Panna (Shyama), Sailen Choudhuri (Adhikari), Pankaj Mullick, Jagdish Sethi, Shor (one of the film’s Lyricists) and others. Khemchand Prakash had also done a small role.
The story of the film, in short was….The film is about a girl named Kapalkundala (Leela Desai), who is brought up in a forest by the sage Adhikary (Sailen Chaudhari ). She meets a young man, Nabakumar (Najmul Hussain), who loses his way in the forest, and she falls in love with him. They elope and marry. She relocates to the city with her husband but finds herself unable to adapt to city life. Adhikary with the help of Shyama (Panna) tries to malign her, wanting her to return. The story ends with Kapalkundala killing herself by jumping in the river.
In 1939, Calcutta’s new Theatres was one of the most famous film studios. In Western India, there were Prabhat, Ranji, imperial, Sagar,Bombay talkies and others, which made Hindi and other languages films. In this world only two things are truly permanent, inevitable and the main cause for the world to go on and on. Death and Change. Death keeps the balance of the numbers and Change means improvement, development and survival. Those who do not adapt to changes, perish. Everything in Life undergoes a change – clothes, friends, values, attitudes etc.. If you want to succeed in life, you must learn to adapt to changes. Those who do not change lose their relevance and existence. The same thing happened to a Giant called New Theatres of Calcutta.
During the period from 1931 to 1955, New Theaters was one of the premiere film production companies of India. This was not only a commercial organization, but also a school for developing new talents in the fields of acting, direction, cinematography, editing, sound recording, costume designing and other departments of filmmaking. Almost all who learnt from here, became big names in their later careers. It was here that the artists were encouraged to become editors from cinematographers, and directors from editors. Names like Nitin Bose and Bimal Roy are enough to prove this point.
The company also invested a fortune in developing new techniques and new traditions in every field of film making. Because of these, this premiere Bengal studio became a veritable institution and a promoter of talents that largely influenced the whole course of Indian films. In addition to this, New Theaters gifted the style of film songs introducing the Prelude and the Interlude.
Its biggest contribution, however, was the ‘Playback System’ of songs in the films. Birendranath Sircar, founder proprietor of New Theaters sustained it for 35 years, holding a record of making 177 films under this banner. The nearest ever to come was Sardar Chandulal Shah’s Ranjit Movietone, Bombay with 175 films ! New Theaters was also making films in Hindi and other languages from the beginning.
In 1928-29 BN Sircar founded International Filmcraft and made two silent films. Then the company closed. He then established New Theaters in February 1931 as a family concern, holding all shares within the family and becoming its Managing Director. He employed artists and technicians on monthly salaries. His first success was ‘Chandidas’ (1932). In the same month he and IA Hafiz ji (who later married actress Ratan Bai) went on an all India tour to appoint distributors for his Hindi films to capture the Indian market. In this tour, he appointed distributors in Madras, Madurai, Trichinapally, Erode, Bangalore,Poona, Bombay, Cawnpore (now Kanpur), Lucknow, Kangra Valley and Lahore. The entire Eastern India and the North East was already in his pocket. Such was his vision !
The film business in Bengal was dominated by Marwadi and Gujarati communities. Some of them were – Lal ji Haridas had distribution rights of all major Bombay film companies, Bajranglal Khemka owned East India Film Co., Radha Kishen Chauria owned Radha Film co., Babulal Chowkhani had Bharat Laxmi pictures. All of them realized that making only Bangla films was not enough, making films in Hindi and other languages was necessary for survival and growth. However, BN Sircar had an upper hand here, being ahead in multi language films !
Films based on famous and popular novels and the film songs and music were the strengths of New Theaters. Ms Panna Raii ji, the first one to do Ph.D on Indian films wrote that “Though I did not know Bangla, I loved to listen to the film songs”. New Theatres popularised Rabindra Sangeet throughout India, which otherwise rotted in Shanti Niketan walls, till then. This was also a tough winner on Bombay’s stale stage and drama songs. Audience soon chose film songs from New Theaters films and discarded Bombay songs in preference.
Directors like Pramathesh Barua, Phani Mujumdar, Debaki Bose etc made films which became hits. New Theaters was on the top during 1932 to 1940, holding the uncontested No.1 position. The first blow came to New Theaters when the second World War broke out in 1939. Due to rationing, raw film was allowed only for 6 films a year. At that point of time expenses of only the salaries of New Theaters studio was in the range of 45000 to 50000 rupees per month. Imagine how much it would be today at the current inflation rate. It would be about 11 lakhs per month !
NT was mammoth, populated by giants. Through the 30s and early 40s,NT had the biggest names in Indian cinema, on their payrolls. K L Saigal, Pahadi Sanyal, Jamuna Debi and Leela Desai were ‘discovered’ by NT. Others like P C Barua, Kanan Devi, Umashashi, Molina and Chandrabati emerged as stars at NT. Some like Durgadas Bandopadyaya and Prithviraj Kapoor had been stars before coming to NT. They had directors like Premankur Attorthy, Debaki Bose, Madhu Bose, D N Ganguly, Nitin Bose, Hiren Bose, R C Boral (only Bangla), Profulla Roy, Phani Mujumdar, Bimal Roy, Hemchandra Chunder, sound recordist Mukul Bose and Musical giants like R C Boral, Pankaj Mullick, Timir Baran and K C Dey.
In 1940 there was another blow to New Theaters in the form of the exit of Pramathesh Barua from the studio. Then on there was a string of actors, directors and Music Directors leaving New Theaters to join Bombay. Prithviraj Kapoor, Kedar Sharma, Nitin Bose, Debaki Bose, Kanan Devi, Uma Shashi (she ran away while shooting on sets to elope with her future husband), KL Saigal and many more left New Theaters. Added to it was the communal riot in 1946 in Bengal and India’s Partition in 1947. Many stalwarts left the company due to disputes with BN Sircar. Only Pankaj Mullick stayed there with him.
B N Sircar was the Patriarch, the disciplinarian, who held them together like in a big family. NT had a veritable galaxy and clashes between the Titans were inevitable. NT had its own share of fallouts, peer rivalries, squabbles and scandals. Due to the stern and uncompromising nature of B N Sircar, the first to leave was Pramathesh Barua, then Nitin Bose, and Kanan Devi. There was that famous spat between Debki Bose and Nitin Bose on the sets of Meerabai-1933 itself and they stopped talking to each other. Add to this the heavy drinking of Saigal and Umashashi’s elopement with the heir of Shova bazar palace. Each of these has an independent story.
The political situation in Bengal after WWII, i.e. 1945 also caused the journey of NT towards its downfall and eventual closure in 1956. If only B N Sircar had changed his attitude, NT would not have died so soon, at least not without a fight and not so tamely, in the face of the competition. The biggest bank of Bengal, which financed NT- The National bank also went into liquidation at the same time to add to their woes further.
Personally, I would not hold B N Sircar alone, responsible for the decline of NT, which was Hindi cinema from Bengal itself in reality. Another very important factor was, while many stalwarts like Saigal, Prithviraj Kapoor, Kidar Sharma, R C Boral, etc made a beeline for Bombay, Hindi cinema music in Calcutta remained the same, where it was in 1931,without any change. On the other hand, Bombay had enriched its music by adapting to the changing times with a mix of music from Goa, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, UP, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Lahore and the south. The music of the 40s in Bombay had become Vibrant, whereas there was no change whatsoever in Bengal Hindi music. It kept on hankering on Robindra Sangeet and Nazrul Geeti. Maybe, the extreme variety of Regional pride of Bengal came in the way of adopting and adapting to the changes. (This Pride has, even Today, kept Bengal much behind the rest of India.) Thus Bombay became the undisputed capital of Hindi Cinema and Music.
New Theatres was established in 1931, as a family business, with B.N. Sircar as the Managing Director. Once NT started growing, the local regional pride almost forced Madan Theatres-belonging to a Parsee family from the western India-to pack up. By 1937,Madan Theatres had produced over 50 films-silent and Talkie. They made their last Talkie, appropriately named ” Zinda Bhoot” in 1937 and the company closed down.
New Theatres had the Best actors, best Directors, Best composers and the very best Technical staff in India. They had 4 distinct strengths….
1. Right from the beginning, Bengal had an edge over Bombay and Lahore etc in that the Educated and Respectable family members did not hesitate to join the Film Industry in Bengal. In fact, over 90% of its people were educated-some of them even Foreign educated too. In this ,Bengal was very Progressive. On the contrary, the western centres of film making were confined to Courtesans, Tawayafs and uneducated run-aways in its film industry.
2. NT or the Bengali film industry had a very wide market spread out over the entire West and East Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Assam, the N-E states and Burma. Their Distribution network included Madras,Madurai,Erode,Trichannapally,Bangalore,Mysore,Poona,Bombay,Cawnpore(Kanpur),Kangra valley and Lahore circuits.
3.People who worked for NT were like a united family. Feelings of Goodwill and Happiness permeated the studio. Workers came in the morning and worked till it was finished. Discipline and adherence to deadlines and principles regulated their lives. projects were, therefore, completed always as planned and in time.
( Only Madras of the 40s and 50s came near this. Bombay and Lahore were exactly the opposite, where discipline and punctuality were never a Virtue (Tradition continues…)
4. Almost all films made in Bengal by NT or any other company, were based on either stories or dramas or Novels, by renowned authors from the East(read Bengal). Thus, the film’s story content was so solid that they did not need appendages of comedians or a CSP (comic side plot) or too many songs.
( IN other parts like Bombay and Lahore, studios had what was called “The Story Departments”, consisting of 4-5 writers, the owners, directors, who would work up a story in unison !)
NT popularised a new brand of Music.i.e. Rabindra Sangeet, which was hitherto confined to only Shantiniketan. With all this in place,NT was on its peak in 1940,when their slide started. One of their pillars P.C.Barua left NT. This was the beginning. Debki Bose left. Nitin Bose left after completing ‘Kashinath’ in 1943. Kanan Devi left to join Barua and Uma Shashi eloped with her lover.
Pankaj Mallick, though unhappy over the treatment meted out to him in NT, did not leave till the end. He did Bombay film music at Calcutta-like Kasturi or Zalzala etc. He always considered NT as his Alma Mater.
The ongoing II world war, the communal riots of 1946.the Partition of 1947 and the deteriorating civil conditions of Bengal (specially Calcutta),due to the influx of Refugees, broke NT completely. The Govt. had regulated supply of Raw Film, East Bengal market was lost totally, artistes left for Dhaka or Bombay…all this took NT to its end rapidly.
In such worsening conditions in 1944/45, Sircar tried to mend things by replacing the II and III level artistes to fill up gaps left by departed people. Thus, Bimal Roy, who was a Cinematographer and an Editor, got an opportunity to sit in the Director’s Chair. They made an ambitious film ” Udayer Pathe” -44. A Hindi version was made as “Hamraahi”-45. It was Bimal Roy’s First brush with a Hindi Film Direction. Both versions were successful. But with major things remaining the same for years, without any changes, the house of New Theatres became a dilapidated, colourless, tattered big empty Palace. It’s sad to write about the fall of an Empire- a Giant !
Dilip Sircar, son of B N Sircar said in 1951,” Our people left for Bombay, Film industry was in disarray, there were several court cases … .my father had virtually closed the shop ! ”
( Information used herein is from article ” The glory that was-New Theatres ” by Sharmishtha Gooptu and from book ” सुंदर ती दुसरी दुनिया ” – a Marathi book by Ambarish Mishra, with Thanks, along with my old writings and notes, for this post ).
Today’s song is sung by Najmul Hasan, the hero of this film. Yes, he is the same actor who eloped with Devika Rani. Najmul Hasan was born on 5-9-1910, into a noble family of Lucknow. He was tall and very handsome and was bitten by the urge to act in the films. He left his Law studies and headed for Bombay. He met Sarojini Naidu, who was a family friend. She strongly recommended his name to Himanshu Rai Strongly. His Screen test was taken in which he passed. Though at first sight, Himanshu Rai was not impressed with his manner of behaviour, he still selected him for the First film of Bombay Talkies, opposite Devika Rani in Jawani ki Hawa-1935.
During Jawani ki Hawa-35- which was loosely based on Agatha Christie’s “Murder On The Orient Express”, published in 1934 only- Devika Rani fell in love with Najmul Hasan and they decided to elope. Their second film- Jeewan Naiyya-36 went on floor and the love birds flew to Calcutta. There was a great commotion in Bombay Talkies. Shashdhar Mukherji the production manager was close to his Bengali Boss Himanshu Roy. Mukherjee traced the couple to Calcutta, met Devika Rani and convinced her to return to Himanshu. Devika Rani returned, Himanshu Roy pardoned her, but not Najmul Hasan.
Najmul Hasan did not come back to Bombay. He joined the New Theatres in Calcutta and did films like Anath Ashram-37,Dushman-38,Kapal kundala-39,Jawani ki Reet-39, and Nartaki-40. Even in Calcutta, Najmul Hassan had a rocking affair with superstar Jahan Ara Kajjan. After doing the film Meenakshi-42, Najmul Hasan did some films like Daasi-44 , Ragini-45 and kaise Kahoon-45 in Lahore and then he decided to migrate to Pakistan in 1947. In Pakistan he did some films like Eid-1951, Ashiyana, Doctor, Mirza Jatt, Taxi Driver and Heer Ranjha etc., but in all these films he was not the Hero.
Najmul Hasan, a very bitter man for the treatment he received in Pakistan, died in 1980 in Pakistan. (based on an article by Khalid Hasan, interview by Munir Ahmed Munir, article by Amborish Roychoudhuri, Film Diary-46,my notes and some Pak sites) .
Here is today’s song by Najmul Hasan. Enjoy….
Song- Naiya jaane kidhar ko jaaye (Kapaal Kundala)(1939) Singer- Najmul Hasan, Lyricist- Shor, MD- Pankaj Mullick
Lyrics
Naiyya jaane ae ae
naiyya jaane ae ae kidhar ko jaaye
anokha maanjhee naao chalaaye
naiyya jaane ae ae
nipat andheree chaayee badariya aa
ghaat nazar na aaye
nipat andheree chaayee badariya aa
ghaat nazar na aaye
zor bharee maujon se naiyya
padee thhapede khaaye
zor bharee maujon se naiyya
padee thhapede khaaye
naiyya doobe ya rah jaaye
naiyya doobe ya rah jaaye
anokha maanjhee naao chalaaye
naiyya jaane ae ae
dekh pade na chaand na taara
dekh pade na chaand na taara
paal jhalaktee jaaye
dekh pade na chaand na taara
paal jhalaktee jaaye
jaise niraas mein aas kee bijlee
naagan see lahraaye
jaise niraas mein aas kee bijlee
naagan see lahraaye
naagan see lahraaye
naiyya ?? pahunchaaye
naiyya kaun ghaat lagaaye
kaun ghaaat lagaaaye
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
March 31, 2026 at 9:14 am
Very intersting information about New theatres and their artistes. Kanan Devi in her autobiogrsphy in Bengali, translated in Gujarati by ajit Sheth which I had read, blamed lavish expenditures by NTstaff, described wastes of expensive films in shooting, when someone pointed out, she writes, the man told, madam this is New Theaters, such expenses don’t come in our way to give best! She wrote with this attitudeof people, it was supposed to face financial crisses.
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March 31, 2026 at 9:59 am
Sunil ji,
Thanks for your appreciation and additional information.
I have the book’s English translation by Indrani Ghosh….” My homage to all ” by Kanan Devi.
Despite all shortcomings, NEW THEATRES, will always remain an important part of the Indian Film History.
I have met Dilip Sircar and also seen the NT site. I have seen some old NT films in its Festival in early 60s, in Calcutta.
-Arunkumar Deshmukh, Mumbai.
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