Bhanwra matlab ko pehchaane
Posted on: April 4, 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 less known social film – Aaj Ka Hindustan-1940.
The film was made by Ranjit Movietone. It was directed by Jayant Desai and the music was by Khemchand Prakash. The lyricist was D.N.Madhok. The cast of this film consisted of Miss Rose, Prithviraj, Yaqub, Ishwarlal, Charlie, Dikshit, Tarabai (sister of Sitara Devi and mother of dancer Gopi Krishna) and many others.
The second world war had already begun in 1939 and the British Government had promulgated many restrictions on the Indian people like rationing of food items. rationing of petrol and other essential items. As far as the Film industry was concerned, the Raw Film used to be imported as it was not yet made in India. The Government started a quota system for the filmmakers, based on a formula of films made in an year on average and many related parameters. This created problems for individual filmmakers who made films at random and had no studio of their own.
All this had social repercussions and gave scope and rise to Black Marketing of almost everything. Cost of living went up and suddenly the number of films made crashed to a low level of only 86 films in the year of 1940. It took some time for the filmmakers to reschedule their policies. The studio system actually became stronger as artistes preferred to stick to their studios to ensure their sustenance.
In addition to restrictions, the British Government also needed people’s support for their war efforts. For this they started ” War propaganda films”. Those producers who made films showing war propaganda in favour of the British, were to get extra ‘Raw film quota’. Many producers opted for this and made films by adding some scenes/dialogues/songs to this effect. Films like Panna-1944 and Badi Maa-1945 are some examples. Actress Geeta Nizami even got a reward from the British Government of Rs. 9000 for her acting in Panna-44 and an extra quota for the producers.
From the time when the films started being made in 1913 in India, there came some Milestone years which responded to the changes in the industry. The following were the years when industry had to remodel itself as required.
1931 – Sound entry in films. This encouraged more filmmakers who understood the bright future for the films.
1940 – After a decade of experience, the industry did away with the old dramatic acting style and stage music to songs. Fresh and new composers brought in a variety from different states of India.
1942 – The next younger generation started their own studios making the system strong. More talents were employed.
1946/47 – There was an overhauling of the industry, when a sizable number of film people migrated to Pakistan. This brought in new talents, new blood and ideas to fill the gap. The beginning of “The Golden Era” started.
1950 – After the first 20 years of filmmaking the industry shed its old look and adapted to needs of changing times, tried to be with the world outside India, in music and production with modern equipment. Fall of Calcutta as a Hindi film centre.
Now let us take a closer look at the year 1940……
The year 1940 was the end of the first decade of Talkie films. From 1931 to 1939 most of the film music was made and sung by people who were experts in Classical Music. Classical music has never been the area of common people. It was born in Temples and nurtured in the Darbars of Kings and Nawabs. When film music relied heavily on classical mode, it became an imposition on the masses. Luckily, from the last 2 years of the 30’s, film music started changing and the emphasis shifted to traditional and Folk tunes over the classical.
1940 saw the emergence of Naushad with his first film ‘ Prem Nagar”, as an independent MD. He is the one who advocated the combination of classical with Folk music and this was accepted by other MDs. More people now turned to film songs.MDs like Naushad, Anil Biswas, C Ramchandra, Saraswati Devi, Gyan Dutt, Pankaj Mullick and their followers in the later part of the 40’s changed film music upside down.
National Studios emerged from the merger of Sagar Movietone and Mehboob gave his blockbuster milestone film ” Aurat”. Himanshu Rai died untimely and the reigns of Bombay Talkies came into the hands of Devika Rani. Ranjit brought more popular films from its factory. Though there were signs of slow death, New Theaters still continued with musical films. Prabhat brought its third successive Saint film ‘ Sant Gyaneshwar”. Wadias looked after their Stunt films with fearless Nadia and John Cavas.
In the south, SS Vasan started his Gemini Studios. Master Vinayak and P K Atre started Navyug Films. In August 1940, there was a big fire in New Theatres leading to heavy losses. The use of Harmonium was banned on A.I.R. Due to War Times, Raw Film controls were given to the Film Advisory Board. It also gave rise to Black Marketing of Raw film, in addition to already existing Rationing, and a new class of rich investors emerged in the film industry shaking its established Studio Systems and Culture.
The year 1940 made only 86 Hindi films, less than 100 for the consecutive third year in a row. Let us take a look at some important films of 1940.
New Theatres film Aandhi had good music and songs.
Bombay Talkies continued with Ashok Kumar and Leela Chitnis with the film Azaad, but it was not as popular as Jhoola, Kangan and Bandhan.
A dubbed foreign film -“Azadi E Watan” was the only Hindi film for which Malika Pukhraj had sung 2 songs.
Ranjit’s Achhut tackled a social evil, with good songs composed by Gyan Dutt.
A Stunt film of Shankar Vazare ” Aflatoon Aurat” had an English song in it.
Sagar’s last film ” Alibaba” by Mehboob was released. “Aurat” , a Landmark film by Mehboob for National Studios was the origin of its remake ” Mother India” 57’.
Film ‘Bharosa’ by Minerva was based on an Incest story.
Sirco’s offering ‘Geeta’ had a crime story, with double roles of Chandramohan and Durga Khote.
Prakash Pictures film ‘Narsi Mehta’ had Sant Tukaram fame Vishnupant Pagnis and some good bhajans.
Film Usha Haran saw the Debut of Sitara Devi.
Film Zindagi from New Theatres had very good songs by Saigal.
The hero of today’s film, Aaj ka Hindustan-1940 was Prithviraj Kapoor. Not much is written about him on our Blog. 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.
1954: Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship by the Sangeet Natak Akademi
1956: Sangeet Natak Akademi Award by the Sangeet Natak Akademi
1969: Padma Bhushan by the Government of India
1972: Dadasaheb Phalke Award (Posthumous) for the year 1971, for his immense contribution to Indian theatre and 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 Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema and the book Beete kal ke sitare by Shriram Tamrakar, along with my notes).
Here is a song from today’s film, sung by Sitara Devi. Enjoy the song from the early career of Khemchand Prakash….
Song- Bhanwra matlab ko pehchaane (Aaj Ka Hindustan)(1940) Singer- Sitara Devi, Lyricist-D N Madhok, MD-Khemchand Prakash
Lyrics
Bhanwra aa aa aa
bhanwra aa
matlab ko pehchaane
bhanwra
matlab ko pehchaane
preet karan kee
reet na jaane
preet karan kee
reet na jaane
bhanwra
bhanwra
matlab ko pehchaane
bhanwra
matlab ko pehchaane
pyaar kee kaaten(?)
maut kee ghaaten
pyaar kee kaaten (?)
maut kee ghaaten
preet ke geet hain
haay rulaane
preet ke geet hain
haay rulaane
bhanwra aa aa aa
bhanwra
matlab ko pehchaane
bhanwra
matlab ko pehchaane
saajan humko
saajan humko
chhod gaye hain
saajan humko
chhod gaye hain
main maanoon
mora man naheen maane
main maanoon
mora man naheen maane
main maanoon
mora
man naheeen maaaane ae
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
April 7, 2026 at 8:59 pm
Good Evening,
Thanks for bringing so many, unknown artists to our light and knowledge.
Very melodious song.
Thanks for sharing.
Blessings Uma🙏
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