Mad kee boonden peelee peelee
Posted on: June 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 the film 300 Days and after-1938. This was a rather unusual film title, mixing numbers and words.
Among Hindi films, there were 53 film titles which started with a figure and not words (data from 1931 to 2012). Here are some interesting observations and titbits….
1.Films having single digits in the beginning of film titles were 17.
2.Lowest only number in the Title was 404(2011)and highest was 1857(1946).
- Film titles in single digits were from 2 to 8 e.g. 2 Chehre(2012),3 Idiots(2009), 5 Ghante (2012), 6 December (2009), 7 Days (1994) and 8 Shani (2006). There was also 7 1/2 Phere and 8×10 Tasveer (2009).
- There were films like 10 O’ Clock (1958), 11 O’Clock (1948), 12 baje (1958), 12 Ghante (1975) and 12 Anna (2009).
- There were film titles for days like 100 Days (1991), For months like 25th July (1951), and years like 2001 (1998). There were also titles for Nights like 31st night (2011). There was even 3 Nights and 4 Days (2009).
So much for variety in Film titles !
Today’s film 300 days and after-1938 was made by Sagar film Co., Bombay. It was directed by Sarvottam badami and Music was by Anil Biswas (he did 12 films in a row for Sagar Films). Lyricist was Zia Sarhadi. The cast included Sabita Devi, Motilal (they did 9 films together),Bibbo, Yakub, Sankatha prasad (elder brother of actor kanhaiyalal) and many others. This film 300 DAYS AND AFTER – 1938 is one of the films, which I had seen in Hyderabad, may be somewhere in 1949 or 1950 or so, or may be a little later-not very sure.
This film was based on or in today’s language ”inspired” by MGM’s ” A Billionaire’s story” in which Edward Arnold and Mary Nash had acted under the Direction of the legendary Howard Hawks.
The story of the film was…..
Sudhir (Motilal) is a bachelor billionaire,doing nothing and enjoying life to the fullest with wine, women and gambling. As a result, his health starts falling prematurely when he is just 25-26 yrs old.
One day he falls down and a Doctor is called. After many tests and inspection of everything his family doctor tells him that because of his wayward living and uncontrolled lifestyle he is suffering from many ailments.If he treats them now, he may get all those again and again. The only remedy is Sudhir should do hard manual work, exercises and lead a simple living, which,the doctor says, Sudhir will never be able to do.
Sudhir is angry. He challenges the doctor that he will leave all his wealth, go out in the world, do physical work and earn money for himself. The doctor takes a bet with him and the deal is Sudhir should go out for 300 days without using a single paisa from his existing wealth for himself. Sudhir is ready for this.
Next day Sudhir goes out with few ordinary clothes, little money and a strong will to face the big bad world.
The film is full of funny situations when Motilal gets different jobs and does not know how to do them. First he tries to work as a Vegetable vendor, but he does not know the names of any vegetables.
He even takes some fruits as vegetables to sell. Next he tries to work as an assistant in a Barber shop, where he shaves off half of a customer. He tries to work as a car driver and a Tram ticket collector also.
Finally, he joins as a worker in a Soap factory, where he has to sometimes drive Seth’s wife -Ramola devi (Bibbo), who tries to entice him. Sudhir starts liking a typist girl in the factory Sharada (Sabita Devi). Sharada teaches music to Ramola, wife of Seth Laxmi Das. Motilal takes her everyday to the tuition. They start loving each other. Motilal stays with a kind hearted Vegetable vendor woman as a tenant. She tends to him , feeds him well and takes his care as her son.
Suddenly the Factory must close down due to some loss. All workers are worried. Motilal secretly sends his own money to Sethji as an anonymous partner. The Factory is saved.
Now in this jumble, 300 days come to an end. Surprisingly Motilal finds himself absolutely fit, healthy and understands the meaning of true life and Love. He goes back to the doctor to claim his bet money, which he donates to a school. Sudhir marries Sharada and brings the kind vegetable vendor lady as his family member to live with him forever.
The director Sarvottam Badami was a living example of the famous saying ” where you come from is immaterial. What is important is where you have reached. ” An ordinary Motor Mechanic became a famous film director, Head of the Documentary section of Films Division and a management consultant for an Industrial House like the Kamanis in Bangalore. His life story is very inspiring indeed.( another Motor Mechanic became a famous writer and director-Gulzar).
Sarvottam Badami was born in 1910 at Channapatna in Karnataka,to a revenue officer working in Mysore. He passed his SSLC and worked as a garage mechanic and then a projectionist in Select Picture House, Bangalore, both of which were owned by Dr. Ambalal Patel. Patel moved to Bombay and financed Ardeshir Irani of Imperial Film Company, and Chimanlal Desai as a partner, forming Sagar Movietone in 1930.
At the age of 19 years, Badami went to Bombay to study automobile engineering. He was asked by Ardeshir Irani who met him at a wedding to help out with the recording equipment he had purchased from abroad.
Badami helped in the sound recording department for the first Talkie in India, Ardeshir Irani’s Alam Ara (1931). Around that time a German director making the film Harishchandra left half-way and Badami offered to complete it, the co-director was Raja Chandrasekhar, although the co-director credit has also been cited as T. C. Vadivelu Naicker. The film turned out to be successful. He was contracted by Sagar Movietone (Sagar Film Company) to direct three films, two in Telugu and one in Tamil: Galava Rishi (Tamil), Rama Paduka Pattabhishekam and Shakuntala in Telugu. The success of these films established him as a director. His working team had people like the cinematographer Faredoon Irani, music director Anil Biswas and the Sagar Movietone favourites Sabita Devi and Motilal.
Initially, to avoid embarrassment to his family he requested not to be credited in the regional language films. He did not know Hindi but from 1932-1947, he worked for Sagar Movietone and also directed nearly 30 films in Hindi, for many others. His first Hindi film was Chandrahasa (1933) starring Noor Mohammed Charlie. He was paid Rs 2000 per film with the complete film being made within Rs 50,000. He worked with most of the top actors of the time like Motilal, Nargis, Ashok Kumar and Pahari Sanyal. He brought Mehboob Khan who was then doing roles as an extra out of obscurity and gave him the role of Sabita Devi’s father in the film Vengeance is mine(1935).
He made several films based on novels. Some of the writers whose work he used were K.M.Munshi, Sarat Chandra and Ramanlal Vasanthlal Desai. The film Aap ki Marzi (1939) was inspired by the Hollywood film Paradise for Three (1938). He became known for his satirical comedies and “socially relevant films”.His film Grihalaxmi (1934), which starred Jal Merchant and Sabita Devi had the woman getting into marriage only if her doctor husband agreed not to want children. The success of the film mitigated the enraged public reaction at the time.
He showed his understanding of media publicity required for films when in 1937, Badami resorted to woo audiences by announcing cash prizes of Rs.500, Rs.200 and Rs.100 for the best reviews of his newly released film Kulvadhu (1937). The promotional gambit worked sending audiences to the theatres. According to an interview, most of Badami’s films didn’t survive as the negatives were burnt to extract the silver from the silver nitrate.
After Aap ki Marzi-38, he followed his mentor, Dr. Patel and joined Sudama Pictures, when in 1939, Sagar Movietone merged into National Films. Badami
also worked in Famous Cine Laboratories, from 46 to 48.
Apparently, in 1948 Deputy Prime Minister Vallabh bhai Patel, who was then also in charge of the Information Ministry, on a visit to the Cine Laboratories Bombay, asked Badami to help set up a NewsReel and Documentary section. The Films Division was established in 1948. He became chief producer in the newsreel department and made several documentaries. He worked in the Films Division making documentaries from 1948-1952. After that he stopped making films and returned to Bangalore to retire as “I was a forgotten man in the feature film world”. He became an industrialist by starting a manufacturing business. Later he worked as a Consultant for Kamani Group of Industries also. He died in 2005 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India.
FILMOGRAPHY: 1932: Harishchandra; Galava Rishi; Paduka Pattabhishekham; Shakuntala; 1933: Chandrahasa; 1934: Grihalakshmi; 1935: Dr. Madhurika; Vengeance is Mine; 1936: Jeevan Lata; Grama Kanya; 1937: Kokila; Kulavadhu; 1938: Three Hundred Days and After; 1939: Aap Ki Marzi; Ladies Only; 1940: Chingari; Sajani; 1941: Holiday in Bombay; 1942: Khilona; 1943: Prarthana; 1944: Bhagya Lakshmi; 1945: Ramayani; 1946: Uttara Abhimanyu; 1947: Manmani; 1951: Vinoba Bhave (Doc);1952: Roof over the head. (Ack: Sapnon ke saudagar by Vithal Pandya, Sagar Movietone by Biren Kothari, HFGK, muVyz, Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema, and my notes).
The 9 songs of this film were written by Zia Sarhadi. His life was a case of misfortune. Zia Sarhadi, the man who gave us memorable films such as Humlog (1951) and Footpath (1953), lived in virtual oblivion after his misfortune with the Pakistani film censors in the late ‘50s. He died in Madrid in November-1996, having spent the last 15 years of his life in self-exile in London.
Born in Peshawar in 1914, Zia began his film career in Bombay when his friend Mehboob Khan asked him to write the screenplay, dialogue and songs for his Sagar movietone’s Deccan Queen. Quite contrary to the social realism Zia became known for in his later days, this debut film was an action thriller. However, it was Manmohan (1936) which actually brought him to fame. Besides acting in the film, he also wrote the lyrics, story, screenplay and dialogue. Over the next 15 years he received the writing credit for such films as Jagirdar, Kal Ki Baat (1937), Jeevan Saathi (1939),Sajan (1940), Behan (1941), Ghalib ((1942), Badi Maa (1945), Elan (1947), Anokha Pyar (1948), Dil Ki Duniya (1949), Khel (1950) and Baiju Bawra (1952 – dialogue only). Among the films he directed were Abhilasha (1938), Humlog (1951), Foot Path (1953) and Awaz (1956).
Humlog, one of the finest movies of the 1950s, was a great success. Unfortunately, his other films were not box office hits, but in terms of quality, all three left a lasting impact on the tradition of parallel cinema.
Zia was an “unaffiliated Marxist” ( a Non-Card Member) and his films were known for their social themes. Moving to Pakistan, therefore, proved creatively stifling for his committed and restless soul. Rahguzar, his first movie in this country, turned out to be the last that he ever directed. By the time he could complete it, General Ayub khan had imposed martial law in the country and the compromise with the censors shattered him. Those who have watched it are unanimous that it is still a very fine movie, but the hassles with the censors ensured that Zia never took up the megaphone again. However, he did write dialogue occasionally. Most notably for the celebrated Lakhon Mein Eik (1966), directed by Raza Mir. His other credits include the ambitious commercial disaster, Aftab Manghi’s existentialist action movie, Shehar aur Saaye and the outrageous cult classic, another film plagued by censor problems, Rangeela’s Aurat Raaj.
The third martial law, imposed by his namesake, was the final blow. The last straw came when he was picked up by the army and kept in solitary confinement in terrible conditions. The charges against him were sedition and an inclination towards Marxism. He left the country to settle in the UK, where he supported himself by working mainly on assignments for the BBC.
With a lifespan of 82 years, Zia was only truly productive for a mere 20 years. Others such as Manto, Faiz, Quratul Ain Hyder have been able to withstand the tyrannical oppression of social factors and still produce their best. A future biographer of this fascinating personality would, perhaps, be able to tell us why Zia Sarhadi was different…(adapted from newspaper The Herald, Karachi, dated 16-12-1996).
Here is today’s song sung by Sabita Devi. Enjoy….
Song-Mad kee boonden peelee peelee (300 days and after)(1938) Singer- Sabita Devi, Lyricist- Zia Sarhadi, MD- Anil Biswas
Lyrics:
Mad kee boondenmad kee boonden
peelee peelee
mad kee boonden
peelee peelee
sudh budh ka singaar
mad kee boonden
peelee peelee
sudh budh ka singaar
tum ??
apne man ka aa
bhed na jaan’ne waale
aur tum
hum
haha
nis din zaar zaar Prabhu kee
baat na maan’ne waale
aur nis din zaar zaar Prabhu kee
baat na maan’ne waale
hum jaante hain
tum sote ho
hum hanste hain
tum rote ho
hum jaante hain
tum sote ho
hum hanste hain
tum rote ho
bin piye piye na khoye
bin piye piye na khoye
mad kee boonden
peelee peelee
komal komal chhote saare
pyaare pyaare
pyaare pyaare
ginte(??) huye sansaar
pyaare pyaare
pyaare pyaare
ginte(??) huye sansaar
pyaare pyaare
pyaare pyaare
mad kee boonden
peelee peelee
sudh budh ka singar
mad kee boonden
peelee peelee
sudh budh ka singaar
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
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