Dil chheena nigaahen chura kar chaley
Posted on: April 19, 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 landmark film from the Early Era -Zambo-the Ape Man-1937.
The film was made by the Bhavnani Productions, Bombay, belonging to Mohan Bhavnani, who also directed the film. Lyrics and the film’s music was by a Multi faceted artist Pt. Badri Prasad. The cast consisted of Navin Yagnik, Sarla, Nayampalli, Indira Wadkar, Dada Salvi, David (making his Debut in Hindi films), Charlie and others.
The human mind is constantly attracted to imaginary things. He would like to have supernatural powers and do things which he only dreams about. He knows he can not do so, so looks out for those who can do them. A normal person likes to see a man do super-human activity like fighting with hungry lions or teaching a lesson to Roadside Romeos or punishing wrong-doers etc. If possible he would like to do these things himself, but it is not possible for an ordinary man. If someone is thrashing a thief or stopping someone from troubling hapless women, the public gathers and cheers him. We have seen it many times.
Secrecy, Puzzles, riddles, Mystery and fantasy are the initiators of curiosity in Human Mind. The mind dreams of the things it wishes, but can not do and knows that it can not do. That is where the seeds of Action films and stunts are sown.
The film makers took advantage of this human nature and made films about supernatural heroes who rode Horses, fought 10 goons at a time, jumped into and out of fire with ease and generally staked their lives to save the poor and the weak in the society. The audience simply loved it and action films established themselves. There is nothing childish about it. These movies help the majority of moviegoers enjoy such superhuman acts vicariously.
When film making started in India, it was but natural, because of our heritage, that most initial films were mythological. With the beginning of silent films from Raja Harishchandra in 1913 to 1921 almost all films were Mythologicals.
The First off-beat film was ”England Returned or Bilet ferat” a Comedy film made by Indo British films, Calcutta, released on 2-2-1921.
The First fantasy film was ‘Princess Badar or The tale of Kamar-al-Zamin’ made in 1922 by Madan Theatres, Calcutta.
The First Costume film was ‘The song of the slave‘-1922, made by Photoplay Syndicate,Calcutta.
The First Crime film was ‘The Kala Naag or Triumph of Justice‘-1924, made by Kohinoor films,Bombay. The First detective film was ‘ Justice or Nyaya’-1925, made by Premier Photoplay, Poona.
And finally the First Action film was ”The choice of a Bride“-1929, made by Surya Film Company, Bangalore.
After this there were many Action films made in Silent movies till the last silent film in India-” Niyoti”-1934, made by Aurora Film Corporation, Calcutta, released on 15-9-1934.
When the Talkie films started , here too Mythologicals led the list. However the First Action Film in Talkie was ” Dagabaz Aashiq”-1932, closely followed by another action film “Do Badmash” made by Imperial and Ranjit respectively.
After this there was no looking back. There was enough material available for Mythological, Historical, religious, social, fantasy and Costume films in India,with its rich Heritage, but for Action and Stunt film stories, movie makers looked to the west.
The legendary King Arthur, Robin Hood, William Tell, Zorro and Tarzan etc all became sources of inspiration for action and stunt films in India. Skillful adaptation and Indianization of western Heroes coupled with the fertile imagination of story writers in our studios provided enough fodder. It is through this that emerged the ideas of ‘Masked men’,’Hunterwali’ and various Baghis.
Out of these the Tarzan stories were more popular as they combined Mystery, jungles, superhuman powers and great strengths which tamed the wild animals. Countless films were made with Tarzan as the central character.
The original Tarzan story was written by Sir Edgar Rice Burrows and it was first published in 1912, followed by its 23 sequels. The story proved to be immensely popular. No wonder, then, that it attracted the Hollywood producers.
The First Silent film ” Tarzan of the Apes” was released in 1918 in which Tarzan’s role was done by Elmo Lincoln and Jane Porter was Enid Markey. From 1918 to 2008, Hollywood made 89 Tarzan Films.
The First Talkie film on Tarzan was ” Tarzan-The Ape Man ” in 1932. Johnny Weissmuller was doing Tarzan’s role and Maureen O’Sulivan was Jane in it.
Johnny was a German bred Romanian settled in America. He was an Olympic Swimming Champion with 5 Gold medals. The pair of Johnny and Maurine was very popular. Johnny Weissmuller did 12 films of Tarzan from 1932 to 1948. 6 films with Maureen, 2 without Jane and 4 with Brenda Joyce. After Johnny 5 Tarzan films were done by Lex Barker and 6 were done by Gordon Scot. After 1960, there were different Tarzan actors in every film. The Chimpanzee “Cheetah” was there in films from 1932 to 1960, when he died.
In most films, the scripts were loyal to the novels. However, in the novel, Tarzan and Jane get married and they have a son too. But in films, they never got married and their son ” BOY ” was found and adopted by Jane.
Tarzan films attracted Indian film makers too.As far back as the first decade of Talkie films in India , an attempt was made to make films like Tarzan. The name was too obvious to be copied, so a new name was invented- ZAMBO. The adventurous producer Mohan Bhavnani always liked to do experiments and he made a film Zambo- The Ape man in 1937 (aka Sher E Jungle). It had almost a similar story like that of Tarzan but it was fully indianised. Obviously, this film became very successful, because Bhavnani made a sequel ” Zambo ka Beta ” in 1939. This is the reason why I called today’s film ” a Landmark film “. This was the earliest and the first attempt to start a New Genre in Hindi films.
Unfortunately there was a big gap between these 2 Zambo films based on the original Tarzan film concept and Indian films on Tarzan were made. Many films were made on Tarzan in India. Though there was a film ‘ Tarzan ki beti’ made by a Calcutta company in 1938, it was not actually a jungle film, belying its title. It took about 25-30 years to see a Hindi film of Tarzan. In the 60s there was a spate of Tarzan films. About 20+ films were made. Tarzan stories were more popular as they combined Mystery, jungles, superhuman powers and great strengths which tamed the wild animals. Countless films were made with Tarzan as the central character.
There were also Toofani Tarzan (1937), Toofani Tarzan (1962), Tarzan Aur Gorilla (1963), Rocket Tarzan (1963),Tarzan Aur Jalpari (1964), Tarzan Captain Kishore (1964), Tarzan Comes To Delhi (1965),Tarzan And Circus (1965), Tarzan And King Kong (1965); Tarzan Aur Hercules (1966), Tarzan Ki Mehbooba (1966), Tarzan In Fairyland (1968), Tarzan 303 (1970),Tarzan Mera Saathi (1974), Tarzan (1985), Taarzan – The Wonder Car (2004).
Whatever the title, the script ideas were more or less the same. It ensured that the Hero’s supernatural powers and strength was used and wild animals were shown in abundance.
When the normal titles finished, the imaginative writers combined Tarzan with Aladdin, Delialah, Rocket, Gorilla, Mermaid, King Kong, Hercules, Cobra, Circus and even Fairyland. When this too was exhausted, they joined him with places like Delhi, spies like 303 etc. They gave Tarzan a Daughter also. When the Indianisation of Tarzan was complete, in came ZIMBO in 1958 !
The producer and the Director of the film Zambo-The Ape Man-1937, Mohan Dayaram Bhavnani was born on 2-10-1903 at Hyderabad-Sindh. He studied at the College of Technology, Manchester (1921-24). After graduation, he went to Germany to study film making at the UFA (Universum Film ArtikenGessel schaft), a German motion picture production company in 1924. He came back to India and joined Kohinoor Film Co. in Bombay. He made several Silent films with actress Sulochana, like Cinema ni rani, Maitri prem, Veer Bala, Bhamto Bhoot, Wild Cat of Bombay ( she played 8 different roles in it) etc. Then he joined Imperial film co. in 1927. In 1931 he became an independent producer with Indian Art Production.
He returned to Germany to study sound film technique, when the advent of the Talkie happened in India. he came back and made his first Talkie Farebi jaal aka The Trapped-1931, a part Talkie film. It flopped but actress Durga Khote debuted with this film and sang 2 songs too. Even his future wife Enakshi Rama Rau also acted in this film in a small role.
He started his Ajanta Cinetone(1933-34) and his own Bhavnani Productions (1935-1948). He hired famous author Premchand to write a story for the film ‘ Mazdoor’ (The Mill)-1934. The film was banned for 2 years. It was followed by the film Jagran-1936- both films on Labourer’s problems. He also produced a film Ajeet-48, the first full length colour film on 16 mm and blown up on 35 mm.
He left filmmaking and joined the Government Films Division as its first Chief producer (48-55). Then he went to China, on the invitation of Chow En Lai to make documentaries for China. He took his cameraman Kishore Rege and S.K.Kulkarni with him.
His wife Enakshi Rama Rao became a famous Dancer and also wrote books on Dances of india. Mohan Bhavnani died on 30-12-1962 at Bombay. The 72nd Annual Cannes film Festival was organised from 14th to 25th May 2019 and it was dedicated to short films made by Mohan bhavnani of India. What a Tribute to him !
Filmography- 1925: Cinema Ni Rani, Matri Prem, Seth Sagalsha, Veer Bala, 1926: Bhamto Bhoot, Diwan Bhamasha, Mena Kumari, Pagal Premi, Ra Kawat, Samrat Shiladitya, 1927: Daya Ni Devi, Gamdani Gori, Naseeb Ni Lili, Trust Your Wife, Wildcat of Bombay, 1929: Hawai Swar, Khedda, Khwab-e-Hasti, Mysore: Gem City of India, 1930: Vasantsena, 1931: Farebi Jaal, Lafanga Langoor, Shakuntala, 1932: Veer Kunal, 1933: Afzal, Rangila Rajput, 1934: Dard-e-Dil, Mazdoor (Director, Writer), Sair-e-Paristan, 1935: Jung Bahadur, Navjeevan, Shadi Ki Raat, 1936: Dilawar, Garib Parwar, Jagran (Director, Producer), Wrestling, 1937: Zambo the Ape Man, 1938: Double Cross (Director, Producer, Writer), Himalay Ki Beti, Yangrilla, 1939: Zambo Ka Beta, 1940: Jhoothi Sharm, Prem Nagar (Director, Producer), 1945: Biswi Sadi, 1946: Rang Bhoomi, 1948: Ajit (Director, Producer), 1949: Vale of Kashmir, 1950: The Private Life of a Silk Worm, Search For Shelter (Producer), 1951: Lest We Forget, 1952: Kumaon Hills, 1953: Feminine Fashions (Producer), Folk Dances of India, Republic Day Record, Six Years of Freedom (Producer), 1954: Good Manners (Producer), Modest Homes (Producer), 1955: Republic Day 1955, 1956:Operation Khedda, 1957: The Himalayan Tapestry ( Thanks to Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema.)
The hero of both the films, Zambo-The Ape Man-1937 and Zambo ka Beta-1940 was Navin Yagnik. Navin was a well known stunt film actor who did social films also with the same ease. Navin was born in Calcutta on 3-10- 1912. His father was from U.P. and mother from Bengal. During school days, he was more interested in sports,dramas and oratory. He did not complete his Matriculation, but ran away to Bombay, to become an actor-against the wishes of his family.
He joined Sagar Films in 1930, as an Extra, without salary. After a few months he got Rs.35 pm, but no credited roles. After a year or so, he left Sagar and joined Mohan Bhavnani’s Ajanta Film company. He first worked in the film ‘ The Mill ‘-34. Unfortunately, this film was banned for 2 years. The film was based on a story by Premchand and depicted the poor conditions of mill workers in Bombay. The Mill Owners’ Association brought pressure on the Government and got the film banned. After 2 years, the film was released as ” Ghareeb Parivar”-36 aka ‘Daya ki Devi’. Two more films and Navin became Hero in the film ” Pyar ki maar”-35.
In her autobiography, actress Hansa Wadkar said,” My Hero in this film was one Navin Yagnik, a handsome boy from U.P. He was very shy and after the shootings, he would quietly sit in one corner reading something. He never joined our drink parties,nor did he participate in any other group activity. I was attracted towards him but he gave no response. He sent me an invitation card for his marriage, when it was fixed.”
He also worked in Minerva Movietone, Prakash pictures, Filmistan and other good banners. Some of his well known films were, Zambo-The ape Man-37, Meri Bhool-37, Divorce-38, Vaasanti-38, Son of Zambo-39, Main Haari-40, Jhoothi Sharm-40, Vasantsena-42, Raja Rani-42, School Master-43, Prithvi Vallabh-43, Chal chal re Naujawan-44 etc. His last recorded film was Bhagwat Mahima-55. In all, he worked in 30 films. Navin Yagnik died on 28-10-1977. A special point about him….except for shootings for the films, all other times Navin Yagnik used to wear only Dhoti and Kurta in his private life !
(Information from various sources is collated for this post. Thanks to book ‘Inhe na Bhulana’ by Harish Raghuwanshi ji, Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema, book ‘Asli Nakli’ by Vithal Pandya, book ‘ Yadon ki barat’ by Shirish Kanekar, and book ‘ Silent Cinema’ by Dr.R.K.Verma. My old notes are also used here).
Here is today’s old style song from this film. It is sung by Indira Wadkar. Being a totally different and extinct style of singing, it may not sound so good today, but it has a historical value.
Song- Dil chheena nigaahen chura kar chaley (Zambo the Ape Man)(1937) Singer- Indira Wadkar, Lyricist- Badri Prasad, MD- Badri Prasad
Lyrics
Dil chheena nigaahen chura kar chaley
dil chheena nigaahen chura kar chaley
koi poochhe to un se ye kya kar chaley
koi poochhe to un se ye kya kar chaley
dil chheena nigaahen chura kar chaley
dil chheena nigaahen chura kar chaley
koi poochhe to un se ye kya kar chaley
koi poochhe to un se ye kya kar chaley
dil chheena nigaahen chura kar chaley
aa aa aa
naheen pasand mera ??
to ?? mujhko
naheen pasand mera ??
to ?? mujhko
kyun khaak mein milaate ho
baankee chitwan
naina aa raseele
baankee chitwan
naina aa raseele
kiya ghaayal adaa boley shaam ??
kiya ghaayal adaa boley shaam ??
chheena nigaahen chura kar chaley
dil chheena nigaahen
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
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