Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs

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 sites like lyricstrans.com and ibollywoodsongs.com etc then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.

Today’s song is from the landmark film ‘Amar Jyoti’ (1936), made by the Prabhat Film company, Poona. It was directed by V Shantaram. It was photographed by his elder brother V Avadhoot and the music was by Master Krishnarao Phulambrikar. All the songs were written by Pandit Narottam Vyas. Today’s song is sung by Vasanti and chorus. The song is also used as a background song few times in the movie since it conveys the essence of the film’s theme- fight against injustice.

This is a significant and a noteworthy film by Shantaram. Durga Khote performed one of her most memorable roles. K Narayan Kaale wrote the story and screenplay, with dialogues by Pt. Narottam Vyas. The cast included Durga Khote, Chandra Mohan, Shanta Apte, Vasanti, Nandrekar, Keshav Narayan Kaale etc. etc. Songs by Shanta Apte, especially “Suno Suno Ban Ke Praani“, whose records sold by thousands and a duet by Apte and Nandrekar, “Aaj Hamen Ban Behad Bhaata” were very popular.

The film was about a rebellious woman turning into a pirate, because of the injustice meted out to her. She was a queen who suffered due to severe male oriented laws and was denied custody of her only son, when she separated from her husband. This outstanding adventure film – the first pirate film in Hindi – was the first Indian film to be screened at the Venice Film Festival. The film became a box office hit because of three reasons. One – Durga Khote’s excellent acting, and two – the special effects and the novel, unusual pirate story and three – it’s popular songs and music.

Durga Khote, in her Autobiography, ‘I, Durga Khote’ has stated the following about this film,

A film like Amarjyoti, an imaginary story and beautiful in every respect, happens only once in a rare while. The cinematography, sets, costumes, jewellery, songs, and backgrounds were so perfectly attuned, that the audience went crazy with every scene. Every element, whether it was shots of ships, surging waves and enormous rocks, or the casting and performances with minute shades of expression, heroism, self-sacrifice, and extreme tyranny—was striking in itself, and in complete harmony with every other element of the complicated plot. Shanta Apte’s songs became very popular. Vasanti’s lovable charm, the harsh anger that I, as Saudamini, expressed against injustice, Chandramohan’s impressive performance, light eyes flashing—were all wonderfully effective. The costumes of the smugglers, their lifestyle, the weapons they carried, were all imaginary, and yet they came through so convincingly on screen. Every costume was so precisely selected that it fitted in its place perfectly, as if carved for that space.

Though Durga Khote was the main and central character of the film, the romantic respite was provided by Shanta Apte and B Nandrekar. Now Shanta Apte is a well known name but who was this Nandrekar ?

In the days of silent movies, the only requirement for males to get into films was that they should be reasonably good looking and must have good height and physique. For the females the requirement was beauty and consent to do romantic scenes, including kisses, if required. If these points were in order, their entry to the films was assured. Due to these conditions, mostly uneducated good looking girls from tawaiaf and kothewali families used to join films. Anglo-Indians, Germans and other foreigner girls too joined film world. For them kissing or romantic scenes were no great issues. In males too, uneducated young men from poor families, having a good muscular body and good looks joined the films.

However, when the talkie films started, the requirements included good Hindi/Urdu/Hindustani speaking skills and ability to sing a song, if needed. Almost all Anglo-Indian, Jew, German and other girls left films as they did not know Hindi language or singing. There were, of course, few dedicated girls who learnt better Hindi and singing to remain in films. Some examples are Savita Devi, Sulochana, Madhuri etc.

In males most actor had no problem, but those who came from regions other than Bombay could not speak Hindi well and had no scope. The most well known example was that of Master Vithal, who excelled in silent films but was a failure in talkie films for his inability to speak Hindi fluently. No doubt he was selected to be the hero in India’s first talkie film, ‘Aalam Ara’ (1931), but when he failed to mouth Hindi dialogues, his role was curtailed and he was portrayed as unconscious for a major part of the film.

Actors like Master Bhagwan had no problem. He had been working in silent films since ‘Bewafa Aashiq’ (1930), and he smoothly walked into talkie films as Hindi speaking skills were good. There was yet another actor who easily transitioned from silent films to talkie films. This was  B Nandrekar or Baba Saheb Nandrekar.

Nandrekar was one of the very few really handsome actors Hindi films ever had. He was born in 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 hero in ‘Baghbaan’ (1938) opposite Sitara Devi.

In 1939, he became the first actor to go abroad to shoot scenes in 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 film ‘Baghbaan’ became fashionable by the name ‘Nandrekar Chappals‘. This alone is enough to prove his popularity.

His law suit 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.

Another lesser known actress is Vasanti. Vasanti Vinayakrao Ghorpade, was born on 26-3-1924 in Kolhapur. Her father’s sister Tanibai was a famous classical singer. Married to Bapusaheb Kagalkar, she was active in films till 1931 in Kolhapur. Vasanti was trained by Pt. Vamanrao Sadolikar and Ustad Bamman Khan. She first acted in ‘Dharmatma’ (1935) as a child artist. Then came ‘Amar Jyoti’ and ‘Duniya Na Maane’ (1937). Her songs in these films were popular. She left Prabhat in 1939 and joined Ranjit. She appeared in ‘Sant Tulsidas’ (1939), ‘Musafir’ (1940), ‘Diwali’ (1940), ‘Achhoot’ (1940), ‘Beti’ (1941), ‘Sukh Dukh’ etc. She also sang in ‘Aapki Marzi’ (1939), ‘Bhaktaraj’ (1943) and ‘Qurbani’ (1943). Vasanti acted in 15 films. She sang 60 songs in 14 films – all for herself only.

In 1944,she married Indubhai Patel and went to Bangalore. Her last film was ‘Bachchon Ka Khel’ (1946). [Note: In this film Meena Kumari appeared in an adult role for the first time].

The music director of this film, Krishnarao Ganesh Phulambrikar was a Marathi actor, composer, and musicologist. He was an architect of the golden period of Sangeetnatak in Marathi Theatre. He was born in Alandi near Pune in 1898. He was the son of a professional pandit who died when Krishnarao was only 6, reducing the family to abject poverty. He was weak in health. He did not have much formal education, but his sweet, elastic voice facilitated entrance into the Natyakala Pravartak Mandali, where he did small roles. After 1910, he left to learn classical music under Bhaskarbuwa Bakhle in Pune.

In 1918, Bal Gandharva employed him in the Gandharva Natak Mandali as male lead actor and music director, though he did some women’s roles as well. He developed as a most versatile composer who, with Govindrao Tembe, helped Bal Gandharva in spreading Hindustani classical music. He left the Mandali in 1933 to become music director for V Shantaram’s Prabhat Film Company, scoring highly original songs for ‘Dharmatma’ i.e. ‘Soul of Dharma’ in 1935, ‘Maanus’ i.e. ‘Life Is for the Living’ in 1939, and other movies. He gave music to 10 films and composed 104 songs for them. Being a singer, he sang  11 songs in 3 films. Later, he joined MG Rangnekars Natyaniketan. His classical-based light music for Rangnekar’s plays like ‘Kulavadhu’ i.e. ‘Family Bride’ in 1942 and ‘Ek Hota Mhatara’ i.e. ‘There Was an Old Man’ in 1948 is considered a Sangeetnatak landmark. Among his many books on music, he wrote a seven-volume series for vocal and instrumental training, titled Raagsangraha i.e. Raaga Anthology, in 1940-71. He also contributed to popularize the Jaipur gharana. He passed away in the year 1974.

The film had a total of 11 songs. Four songs are already on the Blog. This will be the fifth song. The song is having a lilting tune. After you hear it completely, I am sure it will not leave your memory because of the old Natya Sangeet style of singing.

A brief summary of the film is,

Saudamini (Durga Khote) is denied custody of her son by the Queen (Karuna Devi) and Durjaya, the tyrannical Minister of Justice (Chandra Mohan) after she separates from her husband. Durjaya tells her that a woman is the slave of her husband and essentially has no rights. This enrages Saudamini and she vows vengeance and becomes a pirate. She and her pirates capture a ship which is supposed to be carrying the princess Nandini (Shanta Apte). However, she finds her old enemy Durjaya and takes him prisoner cutting off one of his legs. Nandini has been hiding in chest, and when she comes out of it, the imprisoned Durjaya sees her. He falls in love with her and offers her his food. Nandini however falls in love with a young shepherd boy Sudhir (Nandrekar). When she meets Saudamini and her helper Rekha (Vasanti) she joins them as a pirate and tells Sudhir off. Durjaya escapes with the help of Sudhir and arrives to arrest Saudamini. Saudamini is captured, but the others, along with Nandini and Rekha, escape. It is finally revealed that Sudhir is Saudamini’s long-lost son. Nandini and Sudhir marry and Rekha carries forward Saudamini’s legacy.

———————————————————
Translation (Provided by Sudhir)
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karte rahna mismaar, duniya zulm o jafaa ki
This world is of cruelty and injustice
Demolish it, raze it to ashes
[Notes: mismaar = to demolish, raze]

phir se basaao sansaar
himmat waala, izzat wala, jannat waala
amrit dhaara sukh sansaadi bahe wafaa ki
Let us build a new world again
A world of courage
A world of dignity and esteem
A world that is like heaven
Where flows the elixir of love and justice
Having all happiness and resources
[Note: sansaadi = resources; also means complete, undivided, unified]

lehron mein lehron si shamsheer chamke
paave na mohlat
ladna le lena duniya ki daulat
jawaan mein ho tum veer
rann mein dharo tum dheer
Let the swords shimmer like the waves of the ocean
Let there be no respite (for the tyrannical and the wicked)
Fight, and seize the wealth of this world
You are the brave amongst the young
In the battlefield, be unperturbed and composed

karna duniya mein manmaani
ban jaawo ho jaawo laasaani
tan de dena, dhan de dena
vachan naa apna nishfal karna
Have your own way with this world
Become matchless, unconquerable
Stake your assets, and yourself
But never let your word, your promise be fruitless
[Note: laasaani = matchless, incomparable]

bal dikhlaayenge, mar khap jaayenge
kadam badhaayenge, safal kahaayenge
We shall display our valour, our strength
We may die, may be destroyed
But we shall always move forward
We shall always be known as the victors

[Editor’s Note: As noted by Arun ji, this song appears in the film more than once. As one starts to view this film, this song is the very first thing that plays after the initial credits. In this initial playing, the main singers are Saudamini (Durga Khote) and Rekha (Vasanti), with crew of their pirate ship joining in chorus. Nandini (Shanta Apte) is not yet on the scene. Later in the sequence of events, when Saudamini has been captured by Durjaya (Chander Mohan), this song is initiated once again by Rekha, to bring life and strength to the ship’s crew, who are completely demoralized after the capture of their leader. At this stage, Nandini has also joined the ship. In this reprise of the song, the singing voices are now of Vasanti, Durga Khote and Shanta Apte. The video clip that is accompanying this post, is the clip of this second playing of the song. The song starts as a chorus background. Then the young Rekha starts to sing the initial lines, then there is a flashback as Saudamini is shown being taken away as a prisoner. This part of the song is in Durga Khote’s voice, part of the same lines that she sings in the initial playing of this song. Then Nandini joins the singing, and the voice here is of Shanta Apte. The ship’s crew then steps in once again with chorus. In the initial playing, the lines being sung by Nandini (in this video clip) are also sung by Saudamini.]

Song – Karte Rehna Mismaar Duniya Zulm o Jafaa Ki (Amar Jyoti) (1936) Singer – Vasanti, Durga Khote, Shanta Apte, Lyrics – Pt Narottam Vyas, MD – Master Krishna Rao
Chorus

Lyrics 

karte rahna mismaar
duniya zulm o jafaa ki
karte rahna mismaar
duniya zulm o jafaa ki
phir se basaao sansaar
himmat waala
izzat wala
jannat waala
amrit dhaara
sukh sansaadi
bahe wafaa ki
karte rahna mismaar
duniya zulm o jafaa ki
karte rahna mismaar
duniya zulm o jafaa ki

lehron mein lehron si shamsheer chamke
lehron mein lehron si shamsheer chamke
paave na mohlat
ladna le lena duniya ki daulat
jawaan mein ho tum veer
rann mein dharo tum dheer
baala ji
ladna le lena duniya ki daulat
jawaan mein ho tum veer
rann mein dharo tum dheer
baala ji

karna duniya mein manmaani
karna duniya mein manma..aani
ban jaawo ho jaawo laasaani
ban jaawo ho jaawo laasaani
tan de dena
dhan de dena
tan de dena
dhan de dena
vachan naa apna nishfal karna
bal dikhlaayenge
mar khap jaayenge
kadam badhaayenge
safal kahaayenge
karte rahna mismaar
duniya zulm o jafaa ki
karte rahna mismaar
duniya. . .
———————————————————
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
———————————————————
करते रहना मिस्मार
दुनिया ज़ुल्म ओ जफा की
करते रहना मिस्मार
दुनिया ज़ुल्म ओ जफा की
फिर से बसाओ संसार
हिम्मत वाला
इज्ज़त वाला
जन्नत वाला
अमृत धारा
सुख संसादी बहे वफा की
करते रहना मिस्मार
दुनिया ज़ुल्म ओ जफा की
करते रहना मिस्मार
दुनिया ज़ुल्म ओ जफा की

लहरों में लहरों सी शमशीर चमके
लहरों में लहरों सी शमशीर चमके
पावे ना मुहलत
लड़ना ले लेना दुनिया की दौलत
जवां में हो तुम वीर
रण में धरो तुम धीर
बाला जी
लड़ना ले लेना दुनिया की दौलत
जवां में हो तुम वीर
रण में धरो तुम धीर
बाला जी

करना दुनिया में मनमानी
करना दुनिया में मनमा॰॰आनी
बन जावो हो जावो लासानी
बन जावो हो जावो लासानी
तन दे देना
धन दे देना
तन दे देना
धन दे देना
वचन ना अपना निष्फल करना
बल दिखलाएंगे
मर खप जाएँगे
कदम बढ़ाएँगे
सफल कहायेंगे
करते रहना मिस्मार
दुनिया ज़ुल्म ओ जफा की
करते रहना मिस्मार
दुनिया॰॰॰