Archive for the ‘Post by Arunkumar Deshmukh’ Category
Aaj apne ghar mein lagi aag re
Posted on: July 11, 2020
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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Blog Day : |
4376 | Post No. : | 15718 |
Today’s song is from the film Amrapali-1945. The film was made by Murlitone. This historical film was directed by Nandlal Jaswantlal. The music was composed by Saraswati devi, who had left Bombay Talkies, after the exit of Devika Rani. The 11 songs of the film were written by Miss Kamal, B.A.. Most readers who are knowledgeable about the vintage films of the 40’s know that Miss Kamal, B.A. was a pseudonym of Kavi Pradeep. At that time, he was under contract with Bombay Talkies and could not use his real name . Under this Pen name, he wrote lyrics for four films, namely Kadambari-44, Amrapali-45, Sati Toral-47 and Veerangana-47. Incidentally, all these films were directed by Nandlal Jaswantlal.
Nandlal was born on 15-3-1907 at Bardoli in Surat. His father was Admin. Officer in Kohinoor films. He started his career by joining it in 1924. He assisted Chandulal Shah(1926-29) and also directed silent and Talkie films for Ranjit from 1929 to 1933. Nandlal left the job and went to Europe on tour. On his return he joined the Imperial company(34-36) and directed some remakes of silent films of Sulochana into Talkie films. For one year-1937- he went to Madras and ran a Laboratory also.
His first Talkie film as a Director was Pardesi preetam-33 and last was Akeli mat jaiyo-63. Both were Ranjit films. Due to his death in 1961, Akeli mat Jaiyo was delayed and completed by Chandulal Shah himself. Best known for his later Filmistan musicals: Anarkali (with Bina Rai and music by C. Ramchandra) and Nagin (with Vyjayanthimala), one of the biggest post-Independence musical hits. Admired for his sophisticated lighting (with cameraman Pandurang Naik). Used extreme close-ups and unusual angles creating disjointed but dramatic and sensual spaces (e.g. the beginning of Anarkali). Last film Akeli Mat Jaiyo was completed by Chandulal Shah. Apparently filmed many of the famous song sequences of M. Sadiq’s musical Taj Mahal (1963).
FILMOGRAPHY: 1929: Jawani Diwani; Pardesi Saiyan; 1930: Pahadi Kanya; 1931: Premi Jogan; Ghunghatwali (all St); 1933: Pardesi Preetam; 1934: Indira MA; Kashmeera; 1935: Pujarini; 1936: Bambai Ki Billi; Jungle Queen; 1939: Jeevan Saathi; 1941: Kamadhenu; 1943: Pratigya; 1944: Kadambari; 1945: Amrapali; 1945: Sati Toral; Veerangana; 1951: Sanam; 1953: Anarkali; 1954: Nagin; 1956: Taj; 1957: Champakali; 1963: Akeli Mat Jaiyo (1963). (Thanks to Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema.)
In film Amrapali-45, the film story was by Ramchandra Thakur. Actually, this was based on Thakur’s own famous novel Amrapali. The dialogues were by Munshi Dil. The film, made under the banner of Murli Cinetone, was shot entirely in the Andheri studios of Lakshmi productions. The story of Amrapali is a real story, which took place in the times of Gautam Buddha. Although the original novel of Tamchandra Thakur depicted the reality in his book very nicely, the film story was twisted and under the guise of taking ‘ Cinematic liberty’, the main events of the story were drastically changed, twisting the history. Comparatively, the film ‘Amrapali’ made later in 1966 was much better. At least it did not change the original story. Amrapali or Ambapalika’s story is mentioned in old Pali language Texts and Buddhist literature.
The cast of the film was Prem Adib, Sabita Devi,Jeevan, Arun Ahuja, Jagdish Sethi, Badri Prasad, Sankatha Prasad, Gulab etc.etc. This film was special for its Heroine, because it was her last film as an actress. In the silent era, many Anglo Indian, Jew and European girls acted in films. They were preferred too, for their free uninhibited acting. Kissing and hugging was no problem for them. However, when the Talkie films arrived, most of these girls had to leave films, because they could not speak Hindi or sing a song. Only some few dedicated actresses from the lot like Sulochana (Ruby Meyers), Sabita Devi (Irina Gasper) etc, continued in films, because they learnt Hindi and singing, with great efforts.
The real name of Sabita Devi was IRINA GASPER. She was an Anglo-Indian,born in an affluent family of Calcutta, in 1914.
After completing education she wanted to join films, but her family objected. Without the family’s knowledge, she sent her resume and Photo to British Dominion Film Co., owned by Dhiren Ganguly in Calcutta. When they informed their consent the family resisted and kept her locked in the house. She fell ill and finally, the family conceded to her wish.
Her first Silent film was Flames of Flesh-1930. Then came Kanthahaar, A touch of Love, After the death, Aparadhi, Money makes what not and Bhagyalaxmi as silent films.
When the talkie came, she determinedly learnt Hindustani and Urdu and also Music.
Her first Talkie film was Radhakrishna-33, in which she sang 16 out of 23 songs in the film, but no records were made. Next was Ek din ka Badshah-33. She shifted to Bombay for better opportunities. In 1934,came Shahar ka Jaadu,with Motilal as a debut actor and this film was a Hit. Later she and Motilal became a popular pair.
She did many films. Her some films were-
300 days and after, Apki marzi, kokila, Kulvadhu, Amrapali, Ladies only, Chandragupta, Chingari, Dr.madhurika, grihalaxmi, holiday in bombay, Jeevan Lata, King for a day, Lagna bandhan, Manmaani, , Phantom Of the hills, Silver king, vengeance is mine, Village Girl etc etc. In all, she acted in 23 Talkie films and sang 15 recorded songs in 7 films.
She was a good Piano and Harmonium player. In later days in 1943 onwards, she stopped singing herself. Her last picture was Amrapali-45.
In 1946, she got married and left for England. She came back again only to die in Calcutta in 1965.
The story of Amrapali or Ambalika as per history and the Pali literature is.. Amrapali was a Nagarvadhu (Public Courtesan) in the kingdom of Vaishali (present day Bihar), and the king of the neighbouring Magadha kingdom fell in her love. To get her, he attacks Vaishali and wins. However, before he approaches Amrapali, she has transformed into an Arihant (a female Monk), after her encounter with Gautam Buddha.
This simple story was twisted and many side plots were added to it, thereby making the filma drab one, without evoking any excitement. Sabita devi in her 30’s and Prem Adib’s growing in size, after his own marriage and huge success of film Ram Rajya in 1943, were not suitable anymore for Romantic roles. All in all, the film was not a successful one. According to Baburao Patel’s review of the film,the technical aspects of the film were excellent. These are, in any way, not of any cognisance by the audience. The film was released on 2-11-1945 at Roxy theatre, Bombay.
Today’s song is a very good Marching song. This must be at the time of motivating Vaishali’s people when Magadh sena attacked them. It reminded me of the Marching song ‘ Zindagi hai pyar se’ from the film Sikandar-1941. This is the third song Aamrapali (1945) to appear on this Blog.
Song-Aaj apne ghar mein lagi aag re (Aamrpaali)(1945) Singer-Ameerbai Karnataki, Lyrics-Kavi Pradeep, MD-Saraswati Devi
Chorus
Lyrics
Aaj apne ghar mein lagi aag re
aag re
naujawaan jaag re
jaag re
jaag re
Aaj apne ghar mein lagi aag re
apne desh ka wo jal raha hai baag re
apne desh ka wo jal raha hai baag re
apni maata ka
apni dharti ka lut raha suhaag re
naujawaan jaag re
Aaj apne ghar mein lagi aag re
aag re
naujawan jaag re
jaag re
jaag re
jaag re
jaag re
?? jo aag chaaron oar
??
takraane do
takraane do
maidaan mein talwaar se talwaar
hey karmveer jaago
hey shoorveer jaago
ranbheri baj rahi hai
praanon ka moh tyaago
aazaadi ke matwaalon
shamsheer ab uthhaalo
aazaadi ke matwaalon
shamsheer ab uthhaalo
apni izzat pe lag na jaaye daag re
naujawaan jaag re
Aaj apne ghar mein lagi aag re
aag re
naujawan jaag re
naujawaanjaag re
naujawaan jaag re
(jaag re
jaag re
jaag re)
hey ae ae
kisi ke aage jhukna mat
jhukna mat
jhukna mat
kadam badhaa ke rukna mat
rukna mat
rukna mat
o naujawaan
naujawaan
desh maangta hai aaj tera balidaan
o naujawaan
desh maangta hai aaj tera balidaan
tera balidaan
tu khud ko mita de
sarwasw lutaa de
aaj dushman se khul ke khel phaag re
naujawaan jaag re
aaj apne ghar mein lagi aag re
aaj apne ghar mein lagi aag re
aag re
naujawaan jaag re
aag re
naujawaan jaag re
aaj apne ghar mein lagai aag re
aaj apne ghar mein lagai aag re
aag re
naujawaan jaag re
aag re
naujawaan jaag re
Naach rahi hai Maaya Maaya
Posted on: July 8, 2020
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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Blog Day : |
4373 | Post No. : | 15711 | Movie Count : |
4330 |
Today’s song is from a film of early cinema-Bharosa-1940. There was a film of the same name- Bharosa in 1963, but the stories were entirely different. That film was more popular for Mehmood-Shubha Khote’s side story. Today’s film Bharosa-40 was made by Minerva Movietone. It was quite a serious film with an unusual, daring story for its time. The history of making this film is very interesting.
Sohrab Modi, in his earlier career used to work as an actor in his elder Brother’s – Rustom’s- ” Arya Subodh Natak Mandali “. After the Talkie films started, they felt it to be a threat to their stage dramas and decided to make Talkie films. ” Stage film company” was established in 1935 and to play safe, they decided to film their most popular drama ‘ Hamlet aka Khoon ka Khoon’ and market it, followed by their next best hit drama ‘Saeed E Havas aka King John’. Accordingly both were filmed and released as Talkie films. Unfortunately, their hopes were belied. Most people, having seen these dramas, did not see the films. The Modi brothers realised that making a Talkie film was a different ball game altogether !
They floated Minerva Movietone and produced the film ‘ Atma Tarang-37’. Those days Modi was influenced by Ramkrishna Mission teachings. Bachelor Modi used a story of ‘Celibacy’ (ब्रह्मचर्य ). In the period of 1935 to 1940, many Romantic films by Bombay Talkies and others were attracting the audience. People expressed their displeasure by not coming to this film. Consequently, this first film of Minerva Movietone also flopped. Luckily another film “Khan Bahadur’ was also made at the same time and this clicked.
Sohrab Modi understood and decided to make films on social issues, like Prabhat and New Theatres. Accordingly, he first made ‘Meetha Zaher’-38 on the evil of drinking alcohol, ‘ Jailor-38’ on illicit passion and ‘Divorce-38’ on separation after marriage. After a breather – Pukar-39 – he ended his quartet of reform Films with ‘Bharosa-40’. This film handled a very unusual subject like ” unintended Incest ” .(In 1941, film Bahen also touched on this topic subtly). According to the comments in magazine Film India,of those times,this film was not as successful as expected. Possibly due to the background of a more successful film ‘Pukar’, only the earlier year. Chandra Mohan was a common actor in both films, naturally his roles were compared by all.
The film was directed by Modi and the music was composed by G P Kapoor, who was a director (Nazrana-42), Singer and MD for 5 films, including Bharosa-40. Film’s story, screenplay, dialogues and songs were written by L C Bismil. The cast of the film was Chandra Mohan, Sardar Akhtar, Mazhar khan, Maya Devi, Sheela, Naval, Eruch Tarapore, Gulab, Menaka, Ram Apte and others. The film was released on 15th August 1940 at Minerva Theatre, Bombay. The story of the film Bharosa-40 was…..Gyan(Mazhar khan) and Rasik(Chandra Mohan) are good friends. When Gyan has to go to Africa, he leaves his wife-Shobha(Sardar Akhtar) with Rasik and his wife Rambha(Maya Devi). Rasik has always liked Shobha secretly and he develops intimacy with her. When Rambha goes to Maika, these two come together and Shobha gets pregnant. She delivers a daughter-Indira(Sheela).
As Indira and Madan(Naval)-Rasik’s son, grow together, they fall in love. Meanwhile Shobha dies and Gyan decides to marry Indira and Madan, though, knowing the secret, Rasik resists this marriage. But Gyan has his way and the marriage takes place. Rasik feels remorseful and reveals the truth to the newly married couple, who are actually Brother and Sister. Both commit suicide.
In the issue of Film India of September 1940, Baburao patel appreciated the direction of Sohrab Modi and called this film a better film than Pukar-39. The name of Maya Devi is not known much. Maya Devi was from Bombay and started her career from silent films in 1928 with Anarkali by imperial. Her first Talkie film was Kunwari ya widhva-35. Her real name was Leela. She became a favourite of Bombay Talkies and she did 6 films with them in 37 and 38. In all she did 5 silent films and 31 Talkie films till 1949. Her last film in India was Raaz-49. She got married with a Muslim and then migrated to Pakistan, where she did 19 films and then retired in 1964. Her first film in Pakistan was Phere-1949. She died in Lahore on 1-2-67. She did films in Gujarati and Punjabi also.
Another new name is Eruch Tarapore. He was a distant relative of Sohrab Modi and he worked only in Modi’s films. He worked in 16 films, right from Modi’s first film Hamlet-35 up to 1948. Eruch sang one song each in 3 films, Meetha zehar-38, Jailor-38 and Phir milenge-43. He died in 1948.
Sohrab Modi was a very strict person and when he entered the studio, there used to be total silence.C Ramchandra had spent the first 3 years of his career in Minerva and learnt the basics of composing music, under different MDs employed by Minerva. In due course, he became a big name and very successful. He described one memory associated with Minerva and Modi to film historian Isak Mujawar thus…
When Sohrab Modi sent a call to him to come for composing songs for one of his films, C Ramchandra remembered all this. While in Minerva, he knew Modi as a strict disciplinarian and a kind soul. In the subsequent period, C Ramchandra was impressed with the extraordinary success of Minerva movies like Pukar-39, Sikander-41 and Prithwi Vallabh-43. Afterall, his and Minerva’s careers had started together only ! Though he had become a famous and successful Music Director now with films like Shehnai, Saajan, Nadiya ke paar and Khidki etc amongst his 30 odd films, he went to meet Modi.
There was a tremendous change in circumstances when he left Minerva in 1938. When Minerva requested him to work for them in 1948, he had become so big that he could have easily refused to work for them, but he was not ungrateful. C Ramchandra has described this meeting to one of his friends, Isak Mujawar thus…
” When I entered the office of Minerva, after 10 years, I realised that while I had grown in my stature, Minerva had lost some of its sheen and its place among the top studios. Whatever I had learned while working here had made my foundation so strong that I could never repay Minerva’s debt fully. As I entered, I saw the same tall, well built Sohrab Modi and by his side Mehtab was sitting next to him. As soon as I crossed the door, both of them stood up. I was embarrassed. I went ahead and touched his feet. He murmured something and hugged me. I did Namaste to Mehtab ji. Modi talked briefly about his film and their expectations about the music. Then with a little hesitation, he asked me for my fees. I smiled and said, “Give me just One Rupee, sir. That’s my fees for Minerva”. However, they did not agree and a nominal token fee was fixed. I signed the contract “.
Those were the days when artistes gratefully acknowledged the help they received in their early careers !
Today’s song is sung by Menakabai. This is a Same name Confusion case. There were two Menakas. One singing this song was from Bombay.
Menaka/Menakabai / Menakabai Shirodkar ( Bombay )
—————————————————-
Menaka was born in Lahore in or around 1910. She was from a professional singer family and got training in classical singing. The family was originally from Belgaon and her maiden name was Menaka Belgaonkar. Later she was married and became Menaka Shirodkar.
At the age of 23-24 she landed in Bombay to try her luck in films. In those days such girls from singing families used to get into films easily, due to their singing capability. She joined Minerva and sang in their films, starting with Pukar-39,in which she got only one song.
She was more interested in classical singing and hence concentrated on singing more than acting. However, she did act in 5 films, in which she also sang.
After her film Gul Bakavli-47 she devoted her full time in singing and holding jalsas. Soon she became a known figure in singing circles. After marriage she got two daughters. One of them Shobha became a famous singer and was known as Shobha Gurtu.
After her singing was over Menakabai Shirodkar-as she came to be known later- retired and settled in Ponda,Goa.
She died on 23-12-2003 at the age of around 93 years.
Filmography-
——————–
| Title | Comments |
|---|---|
| Pukar-39 | 1 solo song |
| Paak Daman-40 | Acting and 3 solos+ 1 Duet |
| Main Haari-40 | 1 solo, 2 Duets |
| Bharosa-40 | Acting and 2 solos, 1 Duet |
| Sikandar-41 | 1 solo |
| Ulti Ganga-42 | 1 solo, 1 Trio |
| Phir milenge-42 | Acting and 3 solos |
| Prithwi Vallabh-43 | 2 solos, 2 Duets and 1 Trio |
| Bhakta Raidas-43 | Acting and 1 Duet as Menakabai |
| Dr. Kumar-44 | 1 solo |
| Gul Bakavali-47 | Acting and 4 solos, a Duet..all as Menakabai |
With today’s song film Bharosa-1940 makes its Debut on this Blog.
Song-Naach rahi hai Maaya Maaya (Bharosa)(1940) Singer- Menaka Bai (Bombaywali), Lyricist-Lalchand Bismil Peshawari, MD- G P Kapoor
Lyrics
Naach rahi hai Maaya Maaya
Naach rahi hai Maaya Maaya
Naach rahi hai Maaya
Naach rahi hai Maaya Maaya
Naach rahi hai Maaya
ma ga re sa re sa ma ga pa ma ga
ma ga dha ni
dha pa dha ni dha pa sa
sa re sa
da ni dha
??la sabke saath milaaya
??la sabke saath milaaya
n n n n n n n n
naach rahi hai Maaya Maaya
naach rahi hai Maaya
Baaj rahi hai anvat(?) veena
naach rahi hai ?? Maaya
Baaj rahi hai anvat(?) veena
naach rahi hai ?? Maaya
saat suran mein ?? bandhe(?) hain
saat suran mein ?? bandhe(?) hain
?? apna rang jamaaya
apna apna rang jamaaya
n n n n n n n n
naach rahi hai Maaya Maaya
naach rahi hai Maaya
Maaya
naache
Maaya
dekhe
Maaya ne hai swaang banaaya
Maaya ne hai swaang banaaya
ajab khilaadi hai ye maaya
ajab khilaadi hai ye maaya
jisne ye adbhut khel rachaaya
jisne ye adbhut khel rachaaya
n n n n n n n n
naach rahi hai Maaya Maaya
naach rahi hai Maaya
Subah uthh ke Mirze yaar ne
Posted on: July 5, 2020
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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Blog Day : |
4370 | Post No. : | 15702 |
Today’s song is a special song from the film Mirza Sahibaan-1957. It is special because it is almost a 9 minute song – 8 minutes and 36 seconds, to be exact. There is one more-Punjabi- song in this film, which is about 6m 30s long. Today’s song is written by Verma Malik and the music is composed by Sardul kwatra- one of the 3 Sikh composers in Hindi films during that period ( the other two were G S Kohli and S Mohinder). His younger brother Bhagwant Kwatra was his assistant here.
Sardul Singh Kwatra was one of the very few Sikh Music Directors Hindi Films had. He was born in Lahore in 1928. He was educated and trained in classical music at Lahore. His teacher in music was Sardar Awatar Singh, who was quite famous in Lahore. Later Sardul singh joined Hansraj Behl as his assistant.
After Partition, his family first shifted to Amritsar and then to Bombay. The family established a film production company and started making films. Their first film was ‘Ek Teri Nishani”-49. Sardul singh was its MD, along with Pt. Amarnath and Vinod. Later he composed for ‘Jalte Deep”-50, with T.K.Das. His first independent film was “Man ka Meet”-50.
His family company wanted to make a Punjabi film “Posti”-50. Sardul got newcomer Shyama to be the Heroine. Shyama also acted in their second film “Kode Shah’-53. Their next Hindi film was ‘Goonj’-52, for which Sardul convinced Suriya to be its Heroine. He was its MD of course.
Sardul singh was a tall,well built and handsome person. Unfortunately his severe inclination towards beautiful women overpowered his talents. He used to proudly say, ‘I can not create good music without beautiful faces. ” He was aware of his looks and used it unabashedly to influence women.
When he was in Bombay, he requested Mohd. Rafi ( after this film) to let out the top floor flat in Rafi’s bungalow to him , since it was empty. Being a good and helpful man, Rafi agreed. When Rafi’s son’s marriage was fixed, he wanted his flat back, but Sardul kwatra refused to vacate. Those days, the Bombay Rent control act was in favour of the tenants, so Rafi had a lot of problems. After a few years, Sardul filed a criminal case also against Rafi, in this connection. Rafi suffered a lot because of this. Finally, while going to Chandigarh before shifting to the USA, Sardul Kwatra vacated the flat. This detailed story is described in ” aap ki parchhaiyan” a book by Rajnikumar Pandya ji.
He gave music to 22 Hindi and 13 Punjabi films. In 1970, he visited Chandigarh and established ‘Chandigarh Film Institute”. He left his wife and children and went to the USA with another good looking woman, in 1978. He got 2 children from this association. Sardul singh Kwatra died in the US on 6-7-2004.
India is a unique country in the world. ” Vividhata mein ekta” (विविधता में एकता ). A country which has 28 states and 9 UTs, 22 languages mentioned in its Constitution, 30 languages spoken by 30 lakh people each, 122 languages spoken by more than 10000 people each and 1652 languages spoken in all the country. So many religions are living amicably since thousands of years and still the country is ONE unit, when the Nation needs it. Disproving all the Pundits of the world saying that India will break into pieces after independence, we are stronger and more developed by the day. So, what is the secret ?
The secret is its Culture, which keeps all faiths and languages bound together. In India, Culture is greater than and a bigger influence than individual religions. The flexibility, adaptability and readiness to make changes by the majority section, is the secret. This makes India the biggest Democracy in the world today. The entire world looks up to us as a final Saviour.
Culture and Folklore have bound Indians together. In every state there are its own Folk tales, Folk Dances and Folk Music. Still, some common Folklore is all over the country. Though every region has its own Folklores, Lovers’ Folk lore from Punjab and Sind have been traditionally well known throughout India, e.g. Heer-Ranjha or Sohni-Mahiwal etc etc. Our films have a great contribution in keeping the country United and Together,despite calamities and aggressions. Some of the Folk tales of Love from Punjab and Sindh became well known due to films made on them.
There are 9 Tragic Love stories from Punjab and Sindh,in which both the lovers die without getting united. These 9 Love stories are-
Mirza-Sahiban
Heer – Ranjha
Sassi-Punnu
Momal-Rano
Umar-marvi
Sohni-Mahiwal
Lila-Chanesar
Noorie-Tamchi
Dhaj-Rorkumar (Unlike most pairs,in Mirza Sahiban,the Male name comes First !)
Indian film producers have helped spread these Immortal Love stories by making movies on them,as under-
Heer-Ranjha… Films made in 1931,32,48 and 1970
Mirza-Sahiban… In 1933,35,47 and 1957
Sassi-Punnu… In 1932,33 and 1946
Sohni-Mahiwal…In 1933,46,58 and 1984
Umar-Marvi…in 1942
Noorie-Tamchi…In 1934
Today’s film was directed by Ravi Kapoor, who directed 3 more films-Kala Chor-56,Chalta Purja-58 and Accident-65. The cast of the film was Shyama, Shammi Kapoor, Ram Singh, Madan Puri,Uma Dutt, Indira, Nazir kashmiri, Tun Tun, Daljit and many others.
Indira. This is a ‘Same Name Confusion’ artiste. During the silent Era and early Talkie period, there was one Indira Devi. Her real name was Effie Hippolet- an Anglo-Indian She acted in 24 silent films since 1927, but did only two Talike films-Al-Hilal-35 and Wamaq Azra-1935. Then there is the comedian fatty Indira Bansal who was operative from 1951 to 1981, and worked in 116 films. This Indira was different.
Indira, one of Punjabi cinema’s most popular leading ladies of the 1960s, was born on August 6, 1938 in northern India. Growing up in an aristocratic family in the Punjab village of Kharian, her family lost everything when they had to flee their home during partition to settle in Kanpur. In 1952 her family shifted to Bombay where an Elder brother ran a successful business.
Indira was noticed by the popular comedien Bhagwan while he was shooting a movie at Jagriti Studios, and she was put in the cast of his film Rangeela (1953). Raj Kapoor, who happened to be visiting the set of Rangeela, noticed Indira and later cast her as the daughter of a rich industrialist in his film Shree 420 (1955).
Indira continued to appear in supporting roles in major Hindi productions like Funtoosh (1956), Mirza Sahibaan-1957, Yahudi (1958), and Dil Deke Dekho(1959). She had just appeared as the lead in the low budget yarn Jungle Ki Duniya (1959) when she was cast as the heroine in a Punjabi film titled Yamla Jatt in 1960. This was followed that same year by two more Punjabi pictures, Do Lacchian and Kiklee. All three films were very successful.
Returning to Hindi language movies, she found herself much in demand for B-films with colorful titles like Maya Mahal (1963), Jungle Boy (1963), Tarzan Aur Jadugar (1963), Pahadi Nagin (1964), Arab Ka Lal (1964), Son of Zimbo (1966), Sheba and Hercules (1967), Tarzan in Fairyland (1968) and CID Agent 302 (1968), sometimes playing the heroine, but more often than not as a vamp or villain. Occasionally she would snag a nice supporting role in a major production like Do Dil (1965) or Mere Huzoor (1968), and she still continued to star in Punjabi fare.
Sometimes billed as Indira Billi (her real name was Indira Kaur) she was interviewed in 1963 for Picture Post magazine where she talked about her beginnings: “I had not the good fortune of stepping into films and finding myself a heroine right from the start as had been the case with many glamour girls these days. It was a life of toil and tears, fighting every inch, every day, and month after month. Sometimes I was fed up, felt tired of the ceaseless struggle to make my presence felt. With the struggle for existence keen and with not enough money, those early days were none too happy for a girl aspiring for a respectable place in the film world, let alone stardom. Sometimes I had my misgivings whether I was right in coming into films. Some kind of inferiority complex took hold of me and I thought several times that I would never become a star.” Indira married cinema owner Shiv Kumar in the early to mid-1960s and left the film scene in the early 1970s.
The story of the film Mirza Sahibaan-57 was….
Sahiba’s father (Uma Dutt) is Mirza’s mother’s brother (making them cousins). She brings Mirza for an extended visit to her family home, a visit cut short when Sahiba’s mother (Gulab) throws a fit over her young daughter’s budding relationship with Mirza, who for some reason is not considered worthy of her. Mirza adamantly refuses to leave his Sahiba when his insulted mother packs up her bags and goes.
Her sad-sack hen-pecked brother promises to take good care of Mirza, although how someone so lacking a spine can possibly protect a kid who is clearly not wanted is beyond me. Anyway, Sahiba and Mirza become inseparable and grow into young adults (Shyama and Shammi Kapoor) who adore each other. The little cocoon of love that surrounds them is constantly under attack by Sahiba’s brothers Mir (Ram Singh) and Shamir (Madan Puri) in addition to her mother, but the pair remains steadfast (although they spend a lot of time talking about their willingness to die for one another, never a good omen).
In addition to Sahiba, Mirza has a passion for his white mare and his bow and arrows and is a crack shot. This endears him no further to his nasty cousins, and his love for Sahiba is also a thorn in the side for the local barber and matchmaker Umara (?) who stands to lose a commission if the young lovers marry each other. When Sahiba persuades Mirza to take her to a local fair, Umara takes the opportunity to create trouble.
Umara informs Mir and Shamir that Sahiba is at the fair with Mirza. Infuriated, they track him down and beat him mercilessly, although not as mercilessly as Sahiba’s mother when they all reach home. She throws Mirza out of the house and locks Sahiba in her room. Sahiba’s father quickly accedes to his wife’s wishes that he get Sahiba married into the wealthy Choudhary family (who happen to be her relatives) nearby, and Umara is called in.
Sahiba, unable to escape her mother’s eagle eye, asks her friend Mora to take a message to Mirza, who is now homeless and despondently considering suicide.
Mora saves him from jumping off a cliff, and he goes to stay with their aunt, Bibo.
Umara the matchmaker now becomes very busy, going first to fix Sahiba’s marriage with the son of Choudhary Sahab (Nazir Kashmiri), and then to Mirza’s parents’ house, where he tells them how mistreated Mirza has been. Mirza’s mother asks him to plead with Mirza to return home—which he doesn’t have to do because Bibo is already suggesting it to Mirza. She relents though in the face of Mirza’s devotion.
He agrees to return to his parental home if Bibo will bring Sahiba to him to say goodbye, which she does. He promises to return for Sahiba, and she says that she will send word when her wedding date is fixed so that he can save her. I am not clear how this will work out better than if they just leave right now, but it’s not my plot. Sahiba’s wedding is eventually fixed for the same day as Mirza’s sister Chatti’s, and Bibo sends a message to Mirza.
Mirza receives the message, and races away on his trusty white mare to rescue Sahiba from her wedding. He runs away with her.
The end- The opposite party follows Mirza and Sahiba and kills Mirza. Sahiba commits suicide and both die in each other’s arms.
(For this post, I thank Wikipedia, Mike Barnum’s Blog, HFGK, memsaabstory.com and my notes.)
Song-Subah uthh ke Mirze yaar ne Sahibaan ka le liya naam(Mirza Saahiban)(1957) Singers-Rafi, Shamshad Begam, Lyrics-Verma Malik, MD-Sardul Kwatra
Male chorus
Female chorus
All chorus
Lyrics
haddipa
haddipa
haddipa
haddipa
hey
ho o o
ho ho ho ho
subah uthh ke mirze yaar ne
sahibaan ka le liya naam
ghar ghar mashoori ho gayi ee
gali gali hua badnaam
ho o o o
o o o o
tera chori chori pyaar thha
ab aage sare aam
ho ho ho ho ho ho ho
kya jaane mirza sahibaan
ab kya hoga anjaam
khha liya beliya toone aam
aaha
aaha
aaha
aaha
aaha
aaha
hey kudiya ne
hey kudiya ne
hey kudiye ne
balle balle balle
hey mundaiy ne
hey mundaiy ne
hey mundaiy ne
ho sadqe
hey kudiya ne ?? kudiyaa waali ??
hurr
hey munde
shahar de gunde
baaj na aawan
aa hahahahaha
Hey kudiya ?? kudiyaa ho ?? dil churaawan
ho sadqe
Hey munde
shahr ke gunde
baaj na aawan
hurr
mohe le de dupatta malmal ka
ho rang zara halka
?? kal ka
?? karo kal ka
oye soniya aa
oye beliya
mohe le de dupatta malmal ka
ho rang zara halka
ho rang zara halka
ho soniya
hoy beliyaa
ho tu le ke dupatta jab aayegi ee ee
tu le ke dupatta jab aayegi
ho bindiya lagaayegi
najar lag jaayegi ee
ho soniye ae
ho heeriye
hey kudiya ni ?? kudiya
?? dil churaawan
ho balle balle balle
hey munde
shahr ke gunde
baaz na aawan
aa mil gale
duniya jale
duniya se chalen door hum
hai waasta
ab raastaa
chhodo jee ye majboor??
haaye
dil le liya aa aa aa
gham de diya aa aa
dil le liya aa aa
gham de diya
bedardi
gham de diya
ho mujhe dil ki
banaa le jee malika
bharosa nahin pal ka
na waada karo kal ka
oy soniyaa aa aa
oye beliyaa
oye kudiye ni ??
?? dil churaawan
hoye sadqe
Hey munde
shahar ke gunde
baaz na aawan
ke rang dhingrang
ke rang dhingrang
ke rang dhingrang
ke rang dhingrang
ke rang dhingrang
ke rang dhingrang
haathhon mein haath
?? ke kangan
?? rang
balle balle balle balle
?? chunari rang birangi ke ho gaye ??
ab ??
ke rang dhingrang
ke rang dhingrang
ke rang dhingrang
ho gori
jab se chali gayi dhali ho hamko
ho balle balle
to humko dard judaai mili
?? kaun hamaara
ab chale na chaara
ke rang dhingraari
ke rang dhingraari
ke rang dhingraari
ke rang dhingraari
shehron mein se shahar anokha
shahar hai ek Ambaala
ho Ambaale ki ek sundari
rang thha uska kaala
punjaab ke chhaile ne ae ae
is Punjaab ke chhaile ne thha usko jaadoo daala
chala gaya wo tod ke dil ko
bholi soorat waala
ab kahaan jaayegi haan
pher baithh ke maala
ab kahaan jaaogi
pher baithh ke maala
ab kahaan jaaogi
pher baithh ke maala
ab kahaan jaaogi
aa hahahaha
sadak kinaare ek chhokra
khada thha najar jamaaye
Raaja ki ek ladki dekhi
dekh ke bola haaye
kehne laga dil khaali hai
aay haay
kehne laga dil khaali hai
koi ismein aaye
ik ladki ne khol ke joote
sar pe khoob jamaaye
ro ro bole wo
koi mujhe banchaaye
ro ro bole wo
koi mujhe bachaaye
ro ro bole wo
koi mujhe bachaaye
ro ro bole wo o
aahaa
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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Blog Day : |
4366 | Post No. : | 15695 | Movie Count : |
4326 |
Today’s song is a very rare song from an obscure film-Parbat ki Rani-1948. The film was made by Leela Chitra Mandir, owned by the heroine of the film-Leela Pawar. The lyricist and director of this film was A.Karim and the Music Composer was Master Ibrahim. He gave music to only 2 films and his only one song is available. It is uploaded by Shri Girdharilal Vishwakarma ji, who kindly tells us about who are the singers too. HFGK does not mention any singers.
When filmmaking, especially the Talkie films started, there were some reputed and well known companies who produced films. In the few initial years, the films were sold and seen only based on who had made them. These companies had that much respect in India.Companies like Imperial, Ranjit, Sharda, krishna,Madon, Sarswati, Prabhat, New Theatres, Bombay Talkies etc had their own studios, own set of actors, directors, Music Directors and Technical staff. They employed good to very good people in different departments. These companies produced films, keeping in view the profile of their audiences. Who were they ? They were the educated middle class, well to do people doing service, the small and big businessmen, women of households and generally the upper crest and the affluent section of the society.
The question came up as to what about the entertainment of the lower middle class,poor people, servants of the rich and their families, the daily earners and generally the poor class, who could not afford tickets of the posh theatres and those who hesitated to to join the white collared audience, for seeing the social films ? For them new types of films came up.Films which were cheap to make, cheap to distribute and cheap to exhibit in old theatres or theatres located in the older parts of the towns. To make the film cheap, everything about it had to be cheap, like unknown or new actors, less known composers and directors less or no expenses on settings etc etc.
Yet, the films had to appeal to the poor people. These people liked stories about Kings and Queens, injustice taken revenge of, where the poor becomes the king, stories in which the Hero has extraordinary physical powers to deal with villains and beautiful girls dancing and singing. These stories are identified with their dreams. So, film makers made such films, using Folk tales and adapted Arabian Night stories. The audience did not bother about the Histrionic capabilities of the actors or the quality of music, what they wanted to see was fighting, stunts and the daring hero winning the damsel , that all. All that they wanted to see was the Hero bashing the bad men and taking away the girl of his choice, Hero helping and fighting for the poor and punishing the wicked rich.They wanted fun, fights and few damsels. That’s all. And then, such films were made for them. This was the beginning of ‘ C ‘ grade films !
Initially, these action films were crude, but as the time went by, the films became polished and got some prestige and respect when the big film companies, like Ranjit, Mohan, Imperial, Madon and later Wadia Movietone started producing these type of films.Actors like Billimoria brothers, Jal merchant, Fearless Nadia, Radha Rani, Boman Shroff etc. brought some prestige to these films. Later on such films were done by Dara Singh, Azad etc.
Everything about C grade films was weird- from theatres to the audience. Even their Titles were strange, for example…Khooni Khanzar, Dagabaj Doctor, Shaitaan ka paash, Char chakram, Daku Rani Talwarwali, Jaadu ka dandaa, Zinda Laash, Revolver Rani, Sindbad-Alladin-Alibaba, Flying man, Fighter Sheela, Khooni Darinda, Tarzan aur Jadugar, Tarzan aur Jadui Chiraag, Golden Gang, Murde ki jaan khatare mein, Jadui putli etc.
The actors in such films,besides the main actors were…Bajar Battu, Phoolkumari, Maruti pehelwan, Bataata, Mitthoo Miyaan, Fatty Prasad, Boken Chattu, Minu the Mystic, Manchi Tuthi, Gareeb Raja, Kurbaan Jaoon, Pandit Dukhi, Vilayatu, Loveji Lavangiya, Adam Sandow, Sandow Safar, Dunlop, Chic Chak and a very strange name CHEMIST ! This name is found in 5-6 films. Many such names appeared.
Stunt films were made more attractive by including wild animals and regular animals like Horse, Dog, cat, parrot, Lion, Tiger, Elephants etc. In some films there were Hyenas and pythons too.
From 1935 onwards stunt films ,including Nadia’s,had a Horse named ‘Punjab ka Beta”, a Dog named ‘Tiger’, and a motor car named ‘ Rolls Royce ki beti’.
After Wadia brothers split and Homi started his Basant pictures, Nadia joined him and another set of animals like, Rajpoot(Horse), Moti(Dog) and Austin ki bachhi(a motor car) were included. In addition there was a Motorcycle called ‘Runnio’ as well.
Film critics and those who wrote in glossy magazines ignored these films, but a certain portion of Indian audience was a firm supporter of such films. Master Vithal, Master Bhagwan, Baburao pehelwan, John Cavas, kamran etc were their Heroes. Usually the Music Directors and Directors of these films were unknown and those available on minimum fees were always hired.
The Music Director of this film was also one such person – Master Ibrahim, who did only 2 films as MD. In the 50s and the 60s decade, there used to be a programme on Radio Ceylon, titled “Saaz aur Awaz”, at 7 am everyday. In this programme, film songs on different Musical Instruments were played-like Van Shipley on Guitar, Bismilla Khan on Shehnayi,Master Ibrahim on Clarinet. After this programme, there was ” Ek hi filmon ke geet” and at 7.30 the evergreen “Purane filmon ke geet” was scheduled.
For many years, I used to wonder as to who this Master Ibrahim was. I had read about Van Shipley and others, but information on Master Ibrahim was not seen anywhere. Finally, when my friend Javed Hamid ji from Delhi, sent me his book copies, published in Hindi, I found an article on Ibrahim, in one of his books,” Hindi cinema ke sadabahar Sangeetkar “.
His name was Ibrahim Rehmat Ali ( or E.R.Ali or Master Ajmeri, on some Record labels). He was born in 1915 at Ajmer and by his 11th year itself, he achieved expertise in playing a difficult musical instrument like Clarinet. he also learnt classical music from Banne khan, Jere khan and Dinkar Rao. From 1934 to 1936, he worked in Ranjit Movietone’s Music department. Then he joined All India Radio, for the next 6 years. In 1942, he joined H.M.V. and served there for the next 25 years.
In these 25 years, Master Ibrahim played his Clarinet in more than 6000 songs, recorded at HMV. He was also the Pioneer in presenting film songs on Musical Instruments. Even during his service. A.I.R. Bombay used to arrange his Clarinet Mehfil every month. He used to present different Raagas on Clarinet as per time of the day or night.
He gave music to only two films. Both were C grade,in the 40s decade. These films were Parbat Ki Rani-1948 and Bigde Dil-1949. He worked as assistant to many Music Directors like Ghulam Hyder, V K Naidu, Shyam Sundar, Fateh Ali Khan, Gulshan Sufi and Firoz Nizami.
He played not just the Clarinet, but also played Xylophone, Vibraphone, Alto saxophone, Supranophone and a few others. After his film songs on Clarinet became popular, different artistes like Van Shipley on Hawaiian Guitar, Enoch Daniels, Goodi Seervai, Hazara Singhand Sunil Ganguly on Piano Accordion and Brian Silas on Piano also became famous and popular, with their performances.
Master Ibrahim died on 20th September 1980, due to a Heart attack. The work of preserving his music on CDs started by HMV from 2015 and so far 4 CDs are published. His contribution in songs of films like Mughal E Azam, C.I.D., Mere Mehboob, Basant Bahar, Madhumati, Maya, Goonj uthi Shehnayi etc is remembered even today. Every year Radio Ceylon celebrates his death anniversary on 20th September by playing only his records.
He had 3 sons, who all are in the Music industry. They are experts in Vibraphone. Its use is very frequent in films nowadays. ( I thank Javed Hamid ji for his article in his book ” Hindi Cinema ke Sadabahar Sangeetkar” हिंदी सिनेमा के सदाबहार संगीतकार ).
The film’s director and lyricist was an all rounder. He acted in 3 films. From the film Aaj ki Duniya-40 to Mehbooba-1965, he wrote songs for 20 films. He directed 13 films. First film was Kalakar-42 and the last film was Mehbooba-65. He also gave music to 5 films. The films were kashmir ki kali-46, Toofani Tirandaz-47, Atom Bomb-47, Maya mahal-49 and Dhumketu-49.
I do not find today’s song very good, but then it is wrong to conclude anything with just one song. This song is important, because this is the only song of Master Ibrahim as a MD that is available. With this song film Parbat ki Rani-48 makes its Debut on the Blog.
Song-Badi bekal hai mere dil ki tamanna sajna tere liye (Parbat Ki Raani)(1948) Singers- Mohantara Talpade,Yashwant Bhatt, Lyricist- A Kareem, MD- Master Ibrahim
Both
Lyrics
Badi bekal hai mere dil ki tamanna aa aa
sajna tere liye
sajna tere liye
Badi bekal hai mere dil ki tamanna aa aa
sajna tere liye
sajna tere liye
hardam seene mein teri yaad hai
hardam seene mein teri yaad hai
duniya ummeedon ki aabaad hai
duniya ummeedon ki aabaad hai
tujhko jo dekha
huye raushan meri aankhon ke diye
sajni tere liye
sajni tere liye
Badi bekal hai mere dil ki tamanna aa aa
sajna tere liye
sajna tere liye
aaoge tum to main chhup jaaungi
aaoge tum to main chhup jaaungi
dhoondhoge haath nahin aaungi
dhoondhoge haath nahin aaungi
tumko sataaungi bahut tumne mujhpe zulm kiye
sajna tere liye
sajni tere liye
Badi bekal hai mere dil ki tamanna aa aa
sajna tere liye
sajna tere liye
apna waada na kabhi bhoolnaa
apna waada na kabhi bhoolnaa
dil ki dhadkan pe sada jhoolnaa
dil ki dhadkan pe sada jhoolnaa
jab tak jeewan hai rahenge hum tum sang priye
sajni tere liye
sajni tere liye
Badi bekal hai mere dil ki tamanna aa
sajni tere liye
sajna tere liye
Badi bekal hai mere dil ki tamanna aa
sajni tere liye
sajna tere liye
Main saaz bajaaun tum gaao
Posted on: June 28, 2020
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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Blog Day: |
4363 | Post No. : | 15689 |
I do not remember when was the last time that I wrote about a NFS. I guess it might have been about 4-5 years ago. There is no specific reason for this gap. I came across a good NFS by Hemant kumar-my favourite singer- that prompted me to take it up for discussion today.
1936 to 1956 was a period when NFS were very very popular, not only in India, but wherever in the world Indian population lived. In western Music, NFS has been a routine since the beginning. For India, where different types of Music existed, it was not possible for one type of music to be popular all over the country. In olden days, like in the period of 1900 to 1940s, the Royalties of various states, depending upon the King’s or the Nawab’s liking and understanding, gave support to Classical music or Ghazals etc. Many Classical singers and Ghazal singers won the Patronage of different states. For the common public, there used to be Jalsas, stage shows or Mushayaras etc. The audience used to be different for each type of singing.
It was somewhere in the mid 1930s when an enterprising pair of a writer and a Musician decided to promote a new type of presentation – singing of Geets. Geet was a type of song which existed in Poetry, but it was not connected with Music in any way. Poet Lyricist Faiyyaz Hashmi and Musician Kamal Dasgupta identified a few aspiring singers and recorded Hashmi’s Geets in their voice. Probably the first ever such Non Filmi Song – a Geet – came out as a 78 RPM record. From 1934 to 1945, this pair (Faiyyaz and Kamal) made NFS extremely popular all over the country. For their 400 recorded songs (in Bangla and Hindi), they selected singers like Jagmohan, Pankaj Mullick, Talat Mahmood, Juthika Roy, Hemant Kumar and few others to sing these Non Film Songs. The NFS thus got established.
Those readers, who are in the age bracket of 60 to 85, will surely remember the popular NFS during their younger days. Sometimes the sales of such NFS exceeded even the popular Film songs! These NFS were popular from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, irrespective of the language barrier. Some of the popular NFS of yore were by Hemant Kumar, Geeta Dutt, Juthika Roy, Jagmohan, K L Saigal, Pankaj Mullick etc. Seeing the popularity of these NFS, even the Film Singers cut their NFS records. Some of them were Lata, Asha, Rafi, Mukesh, Shamshad Begum, Manna Dey, Laxmi Shankar, Jaddan bai, Noorjehan and even Indurani etc etc. These lists are only indicative and not exhaustive.
Today’s NFS is sung by Hemant Kumar (16.6.1920 – 26.9.1989). Hemant Kumar was very fond of singing from his childhood. While in school, one day, one teacher was absent and the period was blank. The boys started pressing HK to sing a song. He too, enthusiastically started singing and all the students started beating the benches to give ‘ music’ to his song. All this commotion went to the Head Master’s room. He came and Hemant was sent home immediately. Next day, his parents met the Headmaster, said sorry and Hemant was allowed in the school again. While he was in H.S.C. he got a call from A.I.R to sing songs.
After HSC, he joined Engineering college, but after an year, he left it and started singing. Columbia cut his few records in Bangla. Then came Bangla film playback singing in film “Nimai Sanyas”. In 1942 he gave a playback in hindi film ‘Meenakshi’-42, under the baton of Panbkaj Mullick. However there was no record issued. In film ‘Irada’-44, Pt. Amarnath gave him an opportunity to sing.
After film ‘Anand Math’-52, he came into Hindi films as an MD. He continued to sing songs even for any MD, who wanted him. Thus he sang more songs for other MDs than for his own films as MD ! On Lata’s insistence, he sang Marathi Koli Geet and some film songs too, in Marathi. He also sang in Gujarati, Punjabi,Oriya and Assamese language films. Vishwa Bharati gave him D.Litt. Sangeet Natak Akademi awarded him in 87. He refused Padmashree and later Padma Bhushan awards.
Today’s song is written by Fayyaz Hashmi, with music by Kamal Dasgupta. This must have been recorded sometime in the early 40s. This song is included in the 1961 LP No.33 E Sx 4252 ” Geets of Hemant Kumar.”
In the 1940s, Kamal Dasgupta was a star composer. He had many firsts to his name. He was the most educated man across the industry in those days. He came to the rescue of singers who were trying to break into the music world. He gave music in the most successful films of the 40s. The sale of his private records touched an all-time high. Yet the man behind many unforgettable melodies has been forgotten.
Kamal was born on July 28, 1912, in Kalia village in the district of Jasore, then in British India (now in Bangladesh). He was initiated into music by his father Prashanna Dasgupta. He later learnt it from his brother Bimal Dasgupta. Afterwards, he became a disciple of the legendary Dilip Kumar Roy and Ustad Zamiruddin Khan. He did his matriculation from Calcutta Academy. Later, he completed his B Com from Komila Victoria Collage. He joined Banaras Hindu University (BHU) for his masters. He earned his PhD from BHU for his work on Mirabai’s bhajaans and music.
Kamal Dasgupta was a versatile musical genius. He used to sing modern songs in Bangala, Hindi, Urdu and Tamil. He was a brilliant composer who composed around 8,000 songs. His first composition was recorded in 1932 in the voice of Satyaboti, (she seems to be the mother of actress Leela Desai). His composition was classical based and folk music. Later he tended to lean towards Thumri style and Naats. In 1935, Kamal Dasgupta joined the Gramophone Company of India in Calcutta as a music director. During this stint, he developed a close and lasting association with the poet Nazrul Islam. They became fond of each other and the relationship lasted for eleven years (1934-45). The culmination of their friendship were 400 songs – inspired by the works of the poet.
Calcutta was the major hub of Indian films produced in the 1930s. New Theatres and Madan Pictures were the main studios along with the other companies. After earning a name with his compositions, Kamal tried his luck in films. His first picture was Pandit Moshai (1936) in Bangla which was followed by Sarbjanin, Vivahotsab and Devyani between 1936-1942. The legendary actor, director Prathmesh Chandra Barua was impressed by his music and gave him a break in Jawaab in 1942. PC Barua directed both the version in Hindi and Bangla. The film was an instant hit. It had cult numbers like Toofan mail ye duniya toofan mail, Ae chand chhup na jana and Kuchh yaad na rahe.
Kamal Dasgupta’s next film was MP productions social, Hospital, starring Kanan Devi, Ahindra Choudhary and Heeralal. The very same year he did another Barua Production, Ranee. The cast included J Ganguly, Kalawati, PC Barua and Jamuna. Like his earlier films, his music became popular. Kamal Dasgupta was as successful in films as he was in his private recording career.
In 1944, he moved to Bombay and did the film Meghdoot (1945), based on the Sanskrit poet Kalidas. Leela Desai and Sahu Modak were in the lead. The film was directed by the legendary Debki Kumar Bose. During his stay in Bombay, he did several films across different genres. His next film was Arabian Nights, directed by Niren Lahari. The cast included Kanan Devi, Nawab and Robin Majumdar. All the numbers of the film became very popular. The same year, he did a social film Bindiya, starring Ragini, Amar, M Shakeer and E Billimoriya. The film was directed by CM Luhar. Kamal Das Gupta used the voices of Anima Dasgupta, Kalyani Das, Hemant Kumar and Amar. His next film was the mythological Krishna Leela (1946) which was directed by Debki Kumar Bose and had Kanan Devi and Paresh Banerjee in the lead. 1946 was the busiest year for Kamal Das Gupta. He did Zameen Asmaan for director Dwarka Khosla, starring Ranjana, Jeevan and Kusum Deshpande.
Coming back to Calcutta, he did Faisala (1947) followed by Manmani. The film had Ragini and Jairaj in the lead. The film was directed by Sarvottam Badami. His last film with his mentor PC Barua was Iran Ki Ek Raat (1949) – a costume drama, starring Jamuna, Narang, Chandrakant and Chandrawati. Its melodious number were: Ulfat mein jise banaya tha, Chhalke chhalke sarabein jawani ke palaye, Kaun hai teer andaaj bada, Ae dil kya and Khel hai ye zindagi. His last release was Phulwari in 1951. He had 40 films to his credit. He gave music to 17 Hindi films. His first film was Jawab-42 and the last Hindi film was Phulwari-51. He had also sung 1 song in Hindi in film Jawab-42.
Following this, the maverick composer got completely disillusioned by the film industry and recording companies. His favourite songs which were sold in the lakhs didn’t carry his name on the jackets. At the age of 44, he married his favourite singer, Firoza Begum and embraced Islam. Kamal Dasgupta, by now, became Kareemuddin Ahmed. He kept on doing movies whenever an offer came. His last film in Bangla was Bodhu Baran in 1967.
He shifted to Dhaka. When Bangladesh became independent, he became a citizen in 1972. The composer was a man of taste. He owned a Buick, a rare thing in Calcutta in the 1950s. He was a great human being. He fed hundreds of people during the Bengal famine. He was also extremely fond of cricket. He was blessed with three sons – Shafin Ahmed, Hamin Ahmed and Tahsin Ahmed. They followed their father in music and cricket. Two brothers played cricket at the state level and Hamin Ahmed was selected for the national team of Bangladesh. Kamal Das Gupta with his failing health and lack of proper medical treatment succumbed to his ailments and passed away in Dhaka on July 28, 1974, at the age of 62.
With all his work in film line, his name will be remembered forever, for making the Geet form of songs in Hindi and Bangla, popular in India. His pioneering contribution to promoting the Non Film Songs, is beyond words. Music lovers throughout the country are indebted to him for this work. Poet Lyricist Faiyaz Hashmi and composer Kamal Dasgupta were regularly churning out wonderful melodies on 78 RPM every month and listeners all over India were enjoying them fully. Surprisingly, while Kamal’s name was written correct, Hashmi was credited in several ways like F Hashmi, F. Hashmi, Faiaz Hashmi, Faiaz Hashumi, Faiyaz Hashmi, Faiyyaz Hashami, Falyyaz Hashmi, Fayyaz Hashimi etc.
Actually,in 1985,Jagmohan Sursagar wrote in his Autobiography…..
” In the initial stages Kamal Dasgupta was influenced by Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore’s songs and compositions(Rabindra sangeet) were extremely popular, but were limited to Bangla people only. Ghazal, qawwali, Dadra, Naat, Thumri, Hori, Kajari etc used to come to market but had a very limited listenership. These never reached the top.
” The fusion of Ghazal,Dadra and Qawali with Bangla Geet style gave birth to Hindi Non Film Songs or geets. As such Geet had a known and accepted place in Literature, but not in Music. To establish this new Genre, Kamal babu used lyrics by Pt.Madhur, Pt. Anjum and Faiyaz Hashmi, got them sung by Jagmohan, Hemant, Talat, Juthika etc. Their records were inscribed with ‘ Hindi Geet (Hindustani Song) ‘. What thus started as NFS Geet from 1936 continued upto next 20 years non stop. “
(adapted, with thanks, from an article by Sharad Dutt, in milleniumpost.in, ‘Yaad kiya Dil ne’ by Subhash Chandra Jadhav and my notes.)
Today’s song is a lovely NFS. I am sure you will love it too.
Song- Main saaz bajaaun tum gaao (Hemant Kumar NFS)(1943) Singer- Hemant Kumar, Lyricist- Faiyaz Hashmi, MD- Kamal Dasgupta
Lyrics
Main saaz bajaaun oon
tum gaao o
tum gaao
Main saaz bajaaun oon
tum gaao o
tum gaao
taaaron main main tumhen suna doon
is dil ki jhankaar aar
geeton mein tum mujhse keh do
chhupi baat ek baar
taaaron main main tumhen suna doon
is dil ki jhankaar aar
geeton mein tum mujhse keh do
chhupi baat ek baar
main tumko kuchh samjhaaun
tum mujhko kuchh samjhaao
main tumko kuchh samjhaaun
tum mujhko kuchh samjhaao
Main saaz bajaaun oon
tum gaao o
tum gaao
mere sur mein dard chhupaa ho o
ek jaadoo ho geet tumhaara
mere sur mein dard chhupaa ho o
ek jaadoo ho geet tumhaara
hum tum donon milen jahaan aan
hum tum donon milen jahaan
(?) wo dariya ka kinaara
meri dhun par maujen tadpen
meri dhun par maujen tadpen
tum geet se lehron ko sharmaao o
tum geet se lehron ko sharmaao o
Main saaz bajaaun oon
tum gaao o
tum gaao
Digant Nath devata anant roop sohta
Posted on: June 26, 2020
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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Blog Day: |
4361 | Post No. : | 15684 |
Today’s song, rather a beautiful Bhajan, is from the film Bhagwat Mahima-55. Earlier 3 songs/Bhajans of this film are discussed here, so it will be the 4th Bhajan from this film to appear here.
The film was made by Filmistan. It was directed by a veteran All-rounder Vithaldas Panchotiya and the music was composed by Hemant kumar- who was famous for creating Bhajans in films.
Hemant Kumar’s associaton with Filmistan started with the film Anand math-52. Director Hemen Gupta recommended his name to S.Mukherjee at that time. Having heard Hemant’s name for his Bangla songs, Mukherjee accepted his name. Earlier C Ramchandra had left Filmistan during the making of film Shabistan-51, due to the interference of his old tormentor Bibhuti Mitra, the film Director.(He was called for the film Anarkali again, after Basant Prakash had left halfway).
Hemant did many films for Filmistan like Shart-54, Samrat-54,Nagin-54, Jagriti-54, Bhagwat Mahima-55 and Durgesh nandini-56. When Hemant was asked to make music for the film Nagin, an interesting event happened. S.Mukherjee had never worked with Master Bhagwan, but he had immense faith in Bhagwan’s Music sense. Most times Mukherjee used to ask Bhagwan’s advice on song tunes of his films. One day, C Ramchandra hosted a party at his bungalow-Sai prasad, Dadar, to celebrate Silver jubilee of film Albela. When the party was in full swing, on the IIIrd floor terrace, Mukherjee called Bhagwan aside and asked him to come with him to the ground floor. Bhagwan was surprised, but without questioning, he accompanied him to the ground floor. There he saw a young man with a Harmonium. Mukherjee said,” Dada, listen to these tunes and give me your opinion.” Then he turned to that young bespectacled man and asked him to play his song tunes. After listening to the tunes, Bhagwan looked excited and said,” My God, kya superb tunes hai ye. Sab gaane hit honge”. That was Hemant Kumar with Nagin Tunes ! Needless to say that Mukherjee passed all tunes.
The decade of 1950s, besides being a part of the “Golden Era” of Hindi film music, also was a very favourable period for Religious films. This was a decade in which maximum number of Mythological/Religious films were made – a record number of 124 films in 10 years’ time. This gave an unprecedented average of One film every month for 10 years at a stretch ! This was a period when joint families still existed and there were many senior citizens in almost every family-who were keen on seeing religious films. The TV had not yet arrived and stage dramas were relegated to the second place in entertainment for families.
During the 1960s and the 1970s, the number of Religious films dwindled, as a variety of topics were handled by films – including the New Wave films, which focused on different issues of the Middle class Indians.
Film Bhagwat Mahima-55 was based on Bhagwat Puran stories. Out of all the 18 Puranas of Hindu religion, Bhagwat Puran is the most popular and most read scripture. It contains 18000 Shlokas in 12 Cantos or Chapters and has stories about Lord Shri Krishna and his devotees. Bhagwat puran has 3 main sections, which emphasize about 1) Bhakti Yog or the Spiritual path to God, 2) Dnyaan Yog or the Wisdom Path and 3) (Nishkaam) Karm Yog or the Virtuous Action Path (without expecting fruits thereof). The entire Puran is about Krishna from his birth to his exit from this world and stories about events and people connected with him throughout his Mortal life.
Hemant Kumar (16-6-1920 to 26-9-1989) excelled in religious films, with his melodious music,often sung in his own voice. Looking at his career statistics, he was more successful as a Singer in Hindi films than as a Music Director. He sang 320 songs in 173 films, while he gave music to only 55 films, composing 423 songs, in his career. I simply love his songs, especially his duets with Lata and Geeta Dutt.
When he first came to Bombay in 1951 to score music for film Anand Math-52, he had a problem with Hindi language pronunciations. As a professional, it is to his credit that he tried hard and successfully corrected his Hindi, while retaining the characteristic Bangla sweetness in his voice. Lata had once said,” when Hemant Kumar sings, you feel a Sadhu is singing !”. Hemant Kumar usually wore a Dhoti and Kurta. His voice was typically different and by nature he was a thorough Gentleman.
The director of this film was Vithaldas Panchotiya. Except those readers, who have a knowledge of early era Hindi films, it is unlikely that other readers might have even heard this name. In the early era, when the studio system was firmly established, the artistes employed by the studio had no specific duties. Anybody and everybody had to do what was needed by the company. Due to this many capable artistes became all rounders in film making.
Vithaldas Panchotiya was certainly one such person. He has been a Producer, Director, story writer, dialogue writer, screenplay writer, lyricist, Singer, Music Director and God knows what else !
Born in October 1906 in Vadnagar in Gujarat, he followed his father’s footsteps. His father worked in stage dramas and toured with the drama company. From the age of 8 years Vithaldas started acting in dramas. Later he joined Calcutta’s Alfred Drama company, owned by Madon Theatres Limited. He worked on a salary of Rs. 35 pm. While working in dramas, he established his own Gujarat Film company and produced 12 silent films in 10 years. Vithaldas first acted in silent film ‘ Dhruv charitra’-1921. He learnt dance and music too. He acted , directed, sang songs and gave music also. He acted in Talkie film ” Muflis Ashiqe”-1932, claimed to be India’s first comedy film. He acted, sang and composed music for this film.
Being a staunch Gandhian, he used to participate in rallies etc. Some of his films were Hindustan-32, Insaf ki Tope-34, Gaibi Gola-35 ( he was the writer and the director too.He gave a break to Baby Noorjahan in this film.), Khudai Khidamadgar-37 aka Garib ki Tope, Takdir ki Tope-38 etc . As per one source, he acted in 35 films, directed 10 talkie films, sang 8 songs, gave music to 1 film and wrote Lyrics to 2 films. Additionally story, dialogues and screenplay writing were also done by him. Some of his films were, Shaikh chilli-37, Khush naseeb-46, Prabhu ki maya-55, Ghar ki numaish-49, Karmaveer-38, Raman-54, Jagriti-54, Hum sab chor hain-56, Basant 60, Bhagvat mahima etc.
I find it very difficult to know exactly how many films he did in various capacities in the 1930s, as there are conflicting claims by him and Master Fida Hussain. In a few cases the details in HFGK and what he claims, gets contradicted. Some of his films in the 40s are Ramanuj-43, Giribala-47, Grihalaxmi-48, Ghar ki Numaish-48 ( released only in 1962, with the title ‘ Jai ho muhabbat ki ‘ )
Thanks to information and statistical data provided by Shri Harish Raghuwanshi ji of Surat, we know that his Filmography consists of a total 11+ 26 films. The break up is-
11 silent films
25 Talkie films as Actor and 1 film as a writer only.
9 films as a Director
2 films as Lyricist and
2 films as Music Director
As per Muvyz data, he sang 37 songs in 8 films.
from 1951 to 1960, he did 13 films- mostly ( 9) for Filmistan. He directed 2 of them. After 1960 his work was reduced. The death of his 3 sons broke him emotionally. As a true Gandhian, it was his dream to make a film- Gandhi Sangram- on mahatma Gandhi. He had done all the spade work and the Muhurat of shooting was also done on 2-10-1987, The Government had promised finance. Even Rajiv Gandhi promised him that. However nothing came to him and he died on 30-10-1996, with his dream unfulfilled.
His daughter Shradha used to work in Gujarati films. She too died in a Train accident in 2000. Her daughter Deepshikha is an actress.
The story of the film Bhagwat Mahima-55 is……
Nagar Seth, a rich man living in one of the gayest cities of India, had everything he wanted in life with one exception. And that was his having no children. His wife, Shanta, consoled him by saying that it was better not to have a child rather than have one who would ruin the fair name of the family by his mis-deeds. She narrated to her husband the story of Sukhram who served his son for three generations in the forms of a bull, a dog and a serpent, even though he could have gone to heaven without doing this service. His son, however, ill-treated the father throughout. Anyway, the story failed to impress Nagar Seth.
One day Shri Jagat Guru Shankaracharya happened to pass through the town. Shanta, who was a disciple of his, requested him to console her husband. In doing so, Shankaracharya narrated a story from the Immortal Classic, Shrimad Bhagvat, wherein Atmadev, also placed in similar circumstances, prayed for a child. Doing penance, Atmadev had `darshan of Narad Muni who gave him a fruit saying that his wife would beget a noble son if she ate the fruit. . Atmadevs wife had no faith in miracles and, on the advice of her sister, Ganga, gave the fruit to her cow.
Ganga, who was expecting a baby, offered her child to Dhundhuli (Atmadevs wife) for some consideration. Thus, Atmadev was made to believe that Ganga’s child was his own. He was named Dhundhukari.At the same time, the cow which had eaten the fruit, also gave birth to a son who was human in every feature except his ears which were shaped like cows. This boy was also brought up by Atmadev and named “Gokarn”.
Both the boys grew up together and, in due course, became young men. Gokarn, who led a pious and righteous life, became a learned and famous man. Dhundhukari, on the other hand, grew up in bad ways and became the terror of the town. . One day, Dhundhukaris real father, i.e.Ganga’s husband, told Atmadev about his son’s real identity. This so much upset Atmadev that he went away into the forest. There, later, he lost his life.
Champa, a helpless girl and one of the many victims of Dhundhukari, conspired with some of her friends and killed Dhundhukari. Because of his manifold sins, he then became a wandering ghost. . Gokarn, who had now become a Mahatma, was at Gaya offering `Pind Dan to his deceased father when he learned about Dhundhukari’s fate. To relieve him of his ghostly existence, Gokarn offered `Pind Dan not once, but 108 times. Still, he was not successful. He then offered prayers to Suryadev on the advice of learned pandits. Suryadev, pleased with the prayers, blessed Gokarn and asked him to recite Shrimad Bhagvat for the salvation of Dhundhukari’s ghost.
Today’s Bhajan is sung by Hemant Kumar. It is a very good Bhajan rendered equally nicely by Hemant Kumar. I like it very much. You too will.
Song-Digant Nath devta anant roop sohta (Bhagwat Mahima)(1955) Singer- Hemant Kumar, Lyricist-Sarswati Kumar Deepak, MD- Hemant Kumar
Lyrics
om Japakusuma Samkaasham Kashyapeyam Mahadhyuthim
?? Tamorim Sarva Paapaghnam Pranathosmi Divakaram
Digant Nath devata
anant roop sohta
tamas kiran anek se
?? vishw paalate
Digant Nath devata
anant roop sohta
tamas kiran anek se
?? vishw paalate
Digant Nath devata
kripaalu Ravi kripa karo
kripaalu Ravi kripa karo
dayaalu Ravi daya karo
mahaan ye ?? tu
ke tum karo ??te
Digant Nath devata
suna rahe digant ke
anant ?? bhairavi
saja rahe ho tum nishaan
vishw bhar ki aarti
dukhon se ?? mukti do
ubaarne ki yukti do
sabhi ke paap taap ko
prabhu tumhi sanwaarte
Digant Nath devata
anant roop sohta
tamas kiran anek se
?? vishw paalate
Digant Nath devata
Digant Nath devata aa aa
Digant Nath devata aa aa
Badli hawaa luti bahaar
Posted on: June 24, 2020
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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4359 | Post No. : | 15682 |
Today’s song is from the film Ismat-1944 – a Muslim Social film made by Fazli brothers. This film was directed by the younger brother Sibtain Fazli, making his Debut as a Director. This was the second film of Fazli brothers to be made in Bombay, after the earlier film Fashion-43 also made in Bombay. Prior to that, they began their film making from Calcutta. This was to avoid the possible hindrance from the Muslim fundamentalists in Bombay, who were against making films depicting Muslim social life. Their first such film was Qaidi-40, made at Calcutta. It was followed by Masoom-41 and Chauranghee-42-all at Calcutta. Then they shifted to Bombay.
Films with the Muslim background of Muslim Culture were quite common in India,right from the First ever Hindi Talkie, “Aalam Ara”-31. Not just Social but different Genres like Arabian Night stories,Historical Romance, Folk Tales, Adventure Tales, Religious stories, Common King and Queen stories, Costume dramas etc had Muslim backgrounds. Indian public audiences watched these films with interest and without any bias.
If you see the film production patterns, You will realise that the biggest film companies all over India also followed the pattern of making initial films with Muslim background. Take for example the very first year of talkie films. Out of 24 films made, 7 films were on Muslim background. After Aalam Ara, there was Abul Hasan, Shirin Farhad, Laila Majnu, Noorjehan etc in 1931. Prabhat film company made Ayodhya ka Raja in 1932, but same year, next film was Jalti Nishani-32, a Pseudo-Historical Muslim background movie.
In Calcutta, New Theatres made their first 3 Talkie films in Hindi on Muslim subjects. Mohabbat ke aansoo-a household story, Subah ka sitara-a Folk Tale and Zinda Laash- an Arabian Night story. In the 30s and 40s, most stunt and costume films were on Muslim cultures.
In the initial era, the Talkie films were dependent on Parsi Urdu and Gujarati theatre stories. Before films appeared in India, the main channel of entertainment was stage dramas. Theatres were active and popular mainly in Maharashtra, Bengal and Andhra. The regional drama companies used to have mostly Mythological topics for their dramas. They also used to tour quite a lot. But their sphere of activities was limited to their language areas. Marathi drama companies toured only in Maharashtra towns or where there was a sizable Marathi population, like Baroda, Gwalior or Indore etc. So, their audiences were limited.
Similarly, Bengal and Andhra drama companies also toured where Bangla or Telugu population was the main audience. It was only the Parsee Theatre companies, Alfred, Elphinston etc etc, which toured all over the country, performing their Urdu dramas. Many times these companies used to take whole special trains to travel with artistes and material. This earned them All India acceptance of Muslim themes, which translated into the films that were made initially. In this endeavour, major contribution was from drama writers like Agha Hashra kashmiri, Syed Yavar Ali, Munshi Nazir, Betab, kathawachak, Bekal, Ehsaan etc etc.
Some early Talkie films on Muslim subjects were, Naksh e Sulemani-33, Bahar e Sulemani-35, Naadira-34, Farz e ada-35, Mumtaz Begum-34, Rashida-35 (First Muslim Social film), Noor e yaman-35, Qismat ka shikar-34, Adil e Jahangir-34, Anarkali-35, Jahan Ara-35, Shamsheer e Arab-35 and many more.
Fazli Brothers were the pioneers in making Muslim Social films from 1940 onwards. They felt that due to certain shortcomings in Muslim community, their development is suppressed. Their attempt was to highlight these points like Lack of education, for example, in their films in the garb of entertainment. Filmmakers like the great Mehboob Khan too were keen on such films, because he earnestly wanted to help his community to improve their status in Indian society.
That is why he opted for a Muslim Social theme for his Firtst movie under his own banner,” Mehboob productions”. The film was ‘ Najma-43″. Mehboob featured A grade actors like Veena, Sitara, Ashok kumar, Kumar, Yaqub, Majid and others for his first film. Later on he made yet another Muslim social film,” Elaan”-47 which was much bolder and he expected some opposition from the Muslim Fundamentalists. That is why he had warned his actors – especially Munawwar Sultana- to be ready for any repercussions from their own people, after the film was released. He gave an option to her to quit the film for safety, but she showed total faith in him and stuck to her role in the film.
Film Ismat-44 ( the Google meaning of this word is Chastity or Modesty) was made by Fazli brothers on all this background. By now, with the experience of 4 such films behind them, they had captured the technique of making films with subtle messages to their community. In this film, the darker side of the Western Culture, particularly Divorce and Separation, was highlighted.
The story of the film was – Aslam (Nandrekar) and Ismat (Nargis) get married. They both are from good traditional Muslim families. Same day Shafi Anwar (Ghori) and Ishrat (Mehtab) too get married Both had tasted western culture and follow it merrily. in due course of time, the Eastern culture (Aslam/Ismat) couple is happy, but Western Culture couple (Anwar/Ishrat) can’t adjust or compromise and are divorced. Ishrat joins a Theatre company as a Dancer at a very good salary. Soon she becomes rich and famous.
Aslam goes to Bombay to look for a job and meets with an accident with Ishrat’s car. She takes him to her home and looks after him. In this accident, Aslam loses his memory and forgets about Ismat. One day Ismat and her brother see his photo with Ishrat in a newspaper. They learn everything about his accident and loss of memory etc.
Ismat goes to Bombay and works as a maid in Ishrat’s house. She tries to remind Aslam about his past, step by step. One day Ishrat discovers this and removes Ismat from the job. Dejected, Ismat sits down for nonstop prayer. After some time, due to its power, there is a storm, lightning and thunder. In this period, Aslam is affected and suddenly his memory comes back. He escapes from Ishrat’s home and returns to Ismat. Both get happily united again and Eatern Culture wins over Western Culture.
The Hero of this film was B. Nandrekar, whose name may not ring any bells in new generation readers. Many actors-males and females- shifted from silent films to Talkie films easily as they knew Urdu/Hindi language fluently. There was an actor who easily transitioned from silent films to talkie films. This was B Nandrekar or Baba Saheb Dada saheb Nandrekar.
Nandrekar was one of the very few really handsome actors Hindi films ever had. He was born on 15th November 1910, in Sangli district of Maharashtra, near Kolhapur. Being a Muslim, he could speak Urdu/Hindi fluently. He completed his schooling from Kolhapur and joined films. Vishnupant Damle (one of the founder partners of Prabhat Films) was making silent film ‘Maharathi Karna’ (1928) for Maharashtra Film Co. He offered Nandrekar a role. Then he worked in other films like ‘Baji Prabhu Deshpande’ (1929), ‘Lanka’ (1930), ‘Kismet’ (1931) and ‘Dushman Ki Raat’ (1931).
His first talkie film was ‘Kurukshetra’ (1933). Prabhat gave him a role in ‘Sant Tukaram’ (1936) (its Hindi version came in 1948). He worked in ‘Amar Jyoti’ (1936) and became quite popular as a hero, opposite Shanta Apte. He was the hero in ‘Baghbaan’ (1938) opposite Sitara Devi.
In 1939, he became the first actor to go abroad to shoot scenes in the film ‘Africa In Hind’ – ‘हिन्द में अफ्रीका’ (1939). The shooting was done in Africa. Thus this became the first ever Hindi film to shoot in foreign country, and NOT film ‘Naaz’ (1954), as is popularly believed and also as mentioned in HFGK. Nandrekar had become very popular. The chappals he used in the film ‘Baghbaan’ became fashionable by the name ‘Nandrekar Chappals‘. This alone is enough to prove his popularity.
His lawsuit against Prabhat Film Company was a topic of discussion in the industry. There were differences between him and Prabhat over his contract with them. His lawyers were Mr. Jinnah and Mr. Setalwad, who won the case for him. He was also the first actor to work as a freelancer.
Nandrekar appeared in 23 films. His films were ‘Kurukshetra’ (1933), ‘Amar Jyoti’ (1936), ‘Jaadugarin’ (1937) (UR), ‘Baghbaan’ (1938), ‘Africa In Hind’ (1939), ‘Qaidi’ (1940), ‘Hindustan Hamara’ (1940), ‘Alakh Niranjan’ (1940), ‘Chitralekha’ (1941), ‘Mamaji’ (1942), ‘Duniya Tumhari Hai’ (1942), ‘Nai Kahaani’ (1943), ‘Andhi Duniya’ (1943), ‘Swarn Bhoomi’ (1944), ‘Lady Doctor’ (1944), ‘Ismat’ (1944), ‘Bachpan’ (1945), ‘Kamla’ (1946), ‘Jeevan Sikho’ (1946), ‘Parshuram’ (1947), ‘Meri Amaanat’ (1947), ‘Khandani’ (1947), ‘Sant Tukaram’ (1948) and last film ‘Bihari’ (1948).
He passed away in 1949. No definite information is available about his demise.
Today’s song is sung by Rajkumari. It is composed by H P Sharma (2 songs), who was a co-MD of the film with his own elder brother Pt. Govardhan Prasad (5 songs). This is the third song from film Ismat-44 to feature on this Blog.
(Ack: Information is used, with thanks, from books – ‘ stages of life ‘ by Kathryn Hansen, ‘Muslim Cinema’ by Isak Mujawar, and ‘Forgotten movies on Muslim culture’ by Kamalakar P.)
Song-Badali hawa luti bahar rang-e- chaman bigad gaya (Ismat)(1944) Singer- Rajkumari Dubey Banraswali, Lyricist- Shams Lucknowi, MD- H P Sharma
Lyrics
Badli hawa luti bahaar
rang-e- chaman bigad gaya
phoool hanse to yoon hanse
daagh bhi gar nikal gaya
gham se badal gayi khushi
maut bani hai zindagi
saans mili to jaise ek
saans mili to jaise ek
teer(??) ka dil machal(?) gaya
saans mili to jaise ek
teer (??) ka dil machal(?) gaya
thahri hawa ko chhaanv ne
sharmo haya ko raat bhar
aah magar ghame sahar
aah magar ghame sahar
kaam bana bigad gaya
aah magar ghame sahar
kaam bana bigad gaya
badli hawa luti bahaar
range chaman bigad gaya
phool hanse to yoon hanse
daagh bhi gar nikal gaya
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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4352 | Post No. : | 15666 |
Today’s song is from the film Kaneez-49. The film had 12 songs. 11 songs are already posted. This is the last song of the film to be discussed here.
HFGK mentions mukhada of this song as ” Dil bechane nikla hai”, sung by Durrani and Rajkumari. There are at least two uploads of this song on YouTube. One is from our Sadanand Kamath ji and the other is from Saregama company. In both uploads, the first line is missing and the song starts as ” dil le lo, dil le lo”. However in the Saregama upload,, in the end , the words are ” dil bechane nikla hai, dil ka saudagar, dil le lo dil le lo”, confirming that this is the same song as mentioned in HFGK. As such, Girdharilal Vishwakarma ji has uploaded this song on Surjit ji’s site, from his record. So, there is no doubt.
Film Kaneez-49 has an interesting history of its making. As per an advertisement in a film magazine, this was first being made with a title of ” Tehzeeb”, by producers S A Shah and Krishan Kumar, for their Carvaan Pictures. It was to be directed by K D Mehra. Shatir Ghaznavi wrote the dialogues and lyrics. Due to the partition announcement. Krishan Kumar shifted to Bombay, with the incomplete film. After the partition, with a new set of actors, the film was redone and titled ‘ Kaneez ‘. Remaining dialogues were written by Hasrat Lucknowi. This time Krishan Kumar himself directed the film and released it in India and Pakistan. The film was a Hit.
Besides director Krishan Kumar, there were 2 MDs- Ghulam Haider and Hansraj Behl. Four lyricists wrote the songs. The cast of the film was Shyam, Munawwar Sultana, Urmila,Kuldip Kaur, Cuckoo, Ramayan Tiwari, Ramesh Sinha and others.
The shooting of Kaneez was in full swing in 1948 at Shrikant Studios. On another floor of that studio, a stunt film of Master Bhagwan was being shot. Isak Mujawar, Film Historian, has described an incident of that time, in his book on Master Bhagwan-” Ek Albela “. Actor Shyam was very friendly with Master Bhagwan. In those days, Shyam had grown very close to M.Sultana. One day, during a shooting break, shyam and Munawwar met Bhagwan and said,” I am very keen to work in your film”. Bhagwan smiled and said,” Before that, you must see the shooting of my films. After that, let us see what will be your decision.”
Accordingly, the next day Shyam and M.Sultana went to see the shooting of the film ” Laalach “,made by Bhagwan. The scene was Baburao pehelwan fighting with 5-6 goons, on the balcony of a house. The scene started and after some time Baburao got a hit from one villain and he slipped, falling on the ground floor where a glass table was kept. On impact, the glass table broke. There was a loud noise, commotion and shouting. Shyam and Munawwar shouted in fear and ran out of the studio. Such accidents were common to Baburao.After treating his bruises and cuts, Baburao started the fighting scene again. Shyam and M.Sultana came back to inquire about the actor’s fate. They were shocked to see him doing the fighting scene. On asking, Bhagwan told Shyam, ” In my films, such accidents are a common thing. And yes, you said you want to work in my films, isn’t it ?” Shyam said,” No , No, who wants to die doing stunts ?”. Bhagwan told him,” Be happy in doing Love scenes and singing songs in your films”. By a turn of fate, with 2 year’s time Shyam died doing a stunt for film ‘Shabistan’-51 !
In the cast, you will see Cuckoo. In those days, Cuckoo was an attraction in any film. Both Azurie and Cuckoo were in great demand. Cuckoo Moray, (4th February 1928 – 30th September 1981) was an Anglo-Indian dancer and actress. Cuckoo was the queen of film dancing in Hindi cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. Though unfamiliar in name, she was known as the “rubber girl” of Hindi cinema and her talent made cabaret dancing a must in the Bollywood films during the 1940s and 1950s. She could acrobatically bend her body at great length.
Cuckoo started appearing in films from the mid forties. She started as a child artiste. Her first film was Anjaan-41. She was seen as a background dancer in film Meghdoot-45. Cuckoo made her screen debut in the film Arab Ka Sitara in 1946. Soon after, in Sona Chandi-46, directors and greater audiences noticed her dancing abilities for the first time. One of her dances in film Parwana-47 with suggestive lyrics to the song was considered vulgar enough to get banned from the film. Then, the turning point in Cuckoo’s career was in Mehboob Khan’s films. Her dance number in his film Anokhi Ada (1948) established her as the lead dancer of the era and in Andaz(1949), a romantic drama starring Nargis, Dilip Kumar, and Raj Kapoor, gave the dancer an opportunity to display her acting skills. In Mehboob Khan’s 1952 technicolor film Aan, which was her first colour film, she had a brief cameo in a dance sequence. She only appeared in 2 colour films in her career- Aan & Mayurpankh. She would charge Rs 6,000 for a dance number, an enviable fee in the 50s.
Usually she is credited with bringing into films 2 Anglo Indian brothers Tony (Krishna kumar) and Robert (Surya kumar). However, Azuri later claimed that it was she who brought them into films from an orphanage and trained them. Dancers first, both became Choreographers of repute later.
Cuckoo remained the best dancer in Hindi films until dancers such as Helen and Vyjayanthimala came into the industry. Cuckoo was a family friend of the Anglo-Burmese dancer and actress Helen. She was also known for helping unknown actors get their break in Bollywood, such as Pran in Ziddi. Cuckoo had introduced a 13-year-old Helen into films as a chorus dancer in films such as Shabistan and Awaara (both 1951). Cuckoo and Helen most notably appeared in song and dance sequences together, such as in Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi(1958) and Yahudi (1958). Her last film appearance was in Mujhe Jeene Do in 1963 after which, she had disappeared from the film industry. She was a Heroine in the film Sona Chandi-46, under the name Kishori, but due to her faulty Hindi and pronunciation, she could not continue as a Heroine. She appeared in 155 films and 67 songs were shot on her.
Cuckoo, the legendary cabaret queen of Bollywood was one of those film stars who lived ostentatiously, spent extravagantly and died broke and penniless. Her three cars (one for her use, one for taking her dogs for a drive, and the other often used to summon protege Helen to play with her sister), her flats and whatever jewellery she had, were all taken away because the dancer had evaded income tax. She would charge Rs 6,000 for a dance number, an enviable fee in the ’50s. Cuckoo died of cancer at the age of 52; during her last days she could barely afford to buy painkillers. “She never thought of security, of tomorrow,” Helen recalls. “But what a tremendous lady she was! There wasn’t even a tear in her eye, even when the roles stopped, when the money disappeared. Instead she’d joke about her plight. Some actors did help but it was too late, much too late.”
Cuckoo died on 30 September 1981 due to cancer at the age of 53. She was forgotten and unattended by the film industry at the time of her death. (adapted from wiki, MuVyz, book ‘Edwina’ and cineplot).
Today’s song (despite the missing first line) is a good duet by G M Durrani and Rajkumari. Sadanand ji opines that the female singer is Shamshad Begum. With this song film Kaneez will be ‘ Yippeed ‘, with all its songs covered.
(I thank Sadanand Kamath ji for information about the film’s original avatar).
Song-Dil bechne nikla hai dil ka ik saudagar (Kaneez)(1949) Singers- G M Durrani, Unknown female voice, Lyricist- Shatir Ghaznavi, MD- Ghulam Haider
Both
Lyrics
dil le lo
dil le lo
dil le lo
dil le lo
o o o o
thahar saudaagar
aisa dil main khoj khoj ke haari ee
thahar saudaagar
aisa dil main khoj khoj ke haari
jo dil preet mein jalna jaane
uspe sadqe waari
jo dil preet mein jalna jaane
uspe sadqe waari
dil ka sauda karne waali
mushqil hai ye kaam kaam
mushqil hai ye kaa aam
dil ka sauda karne waali
mushqil hai ye kaam kaam
mushqil hai ye kaa aam
par aise de doon (??)bhi kya hai
dogi kitne daam
par aise de doon (??) bhi kya hai
dogi kitne daam
o o dil waale
iske badle pooraa kar doon
tere prem ka sapna aa aa
o o o dil waale
iske badle pooraa kar doon
tere prem ka sapna aa aa
tan bhi doongi
man bhi doongi
jeewan doongi apna
o o
tan bhi doongi
man bhi doongi
jeewan doongi apna
aa aa aa
?? jhoothhi aasha
sachchi teri preet
dil ki baazi naqda naqdi
jeet gayi tu jeet
main teri main teri baalam
tu mera tu mera aa
ham tum donon yoon mil jaayen
jaise saanjh sawera
ho o o
ham tum donon yoon mil jaayen
jaise saanjh sawera
ab meri jabaan pe na aayega
kabhi dilbar
ab meri jabaan pe na aayega
kabhi dilbar
dil bechne nikla hai
hai ik dil ka saudaagar
dil le lo o
dil le lo
dil le lo o
dil le lo
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