Archive for the ‘Post by Arunkumar Deshmukh’ Category
Dil Ka Saaz Bajaaye Jaa
Posted on: November 17, 2018
- In: Actor-Singer song | Devnagri script lyrics by Sudhir | Duet | Feelings of heart | Guest posts | Love song | Lover's tête-à-tête | Lyrics by Sudhir | Lyrics contributed by readers | Post by Arunkumar Deshmukh | Song of 1940 | Songs of 1930s (1931 to 1940) | Surendra - Wahidan Bai Duet | Surendra songs | Yearwise breakup of songs
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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.
| Blog Day : | 3774 | Post No. : | 14752 |
Today’s song is a very melodious duet by Surendra and Waheedan Bai, in film Alibaba-1940.
Alibaba’s story is from Arabian Nights stories and is one of the most popular stories around the world. No wonder, our film makers took up this story. Films with ‘Alibaba’ title were made in 1940, 1946 and 1976. Films with ‘Alibaba and 40 Thieves’ title were made in 1932, 54, 66, 80 and 2004. ‘Alibaba and Marjina’ was made in 1977. There may be some more which I have missed. Comparatively, more films were made on Alladin and his Magic Lamp. After all magic has its own attraction. Even in silent era films were made on these two characters.
After the successful film ‘Ek Hi Rasta’ (1939), Mehboob started work on ‘Alibaba’. He had made the beginning of his film career by acting in the silent film on Alibaba. He was one of the 40 thieves ! By now, due to his continuous success, Sagar Movietone had benefited much and he was highly respected in the company. Besides Mehboob, Sagar Movietone had a team of other directors like CM Luhar, Sarvottam Badami, Hiren Bose, Ramchandra Thakur etc. They too were making films for Sagar. However, their films were not as successful as those by Mehboob. In addition, the onset of Second World War had a negative impact on Sagar and it went into loss. Soon, the owners decided to close the company.
By this time, Mehboob was ready with all the arrangements to start the shooting of ‘Alibaba’. Closing down of Sagar was a shock to him. He approached Ardeshir Irani of Imperial and asked for permission to shoot his film there. Irani was very happy. The novice ‘extra’ who had worked in his company – without pay for first five months – had now become acclaimed top class successful Director. Irani was proud of Mehboob. He gladly permitted him to shoot his entire film there.
In the film ‘Alibaba’, Surendra was to do the double role of Alibaba and his son. Now, Mehboob needed two heroines. He selected Waheedan Bai and Sardar Akhtar. Akhtar was the youner sister of Bahar – wife of AR Kardar. In an article in Filmfare dated 16-8-1957, Mehboob wrote “the moment I saw Sardar Akhtar, I fell for her and knew that one day she will be my wife.” Sure enough, he married her later.
It was during the shooting of film ‘Aurat’ (1940), Mehboob was attracted towards Jyoti – sister of Waheedan Bai and one of the cast of Aurat – and he started spending time with her, having tea together, lunch together etc. Sardar Akhtar noticed this and played her cards well. She encouraged Jyoti to accept outside film offers lest she would be out of circulation. Then she poisoned Mehboob by telling him that Jyoti was not a good girl and that she was more interested in outside film roles. Consequently, Jyoti’s role in film ‘Aurat’ was reduced. By the time film ‘Aurat’ was completed, Akhtar had fully influenced Mehboob and then insisted on getting married. He too wanted it and they got married just before the film was released.
Mehboob had wanted to make ‘Alibaba’ in Hindi and Punjabi. Anil Biswas was his pet MD for so many films. He asked Anil da to do the music of Hindi and Punjabi versions. Anil da flatly refused saying that he did not know Punjabi. Even after lot of discussion, he was not ready. Mehboob left the matter as it is. After a week or so, there appeared a news in papers that “. . . Anil Biswas, a Bengali, gives music to Hindi films but can not give music to Punjabi films”. Someone showed this news to Anil Biswas. He was agitated and ran to Mehboob. Anil da said, “OK, I will give music in any language that you make films in. French, English, Arabic, Spanish – any language, but stop spoiling my reputation.” Mehboob just smiled and said, “Ja Bangali ja. Punjabi gaanon ko music de “. Anil Biswas sought assistance from a Punjabi technician Shahji, who helped him to understand the basic naunces of Punjabi music. The music he ended up composing for the Punjabi version was much better than the one given to Hindi version, according to Anil Biswas himself !
Basic Arabian Night story was adapted for Hindi by Dr. Safdar Aah and for Punjabi, it was Lala Yaqub. The Punjabi lyrics were by Shah Aziz. For film ‘Alibaba’, Mehboob had 4 assistant directors, Chimankant Gandhi, Jagdish Coopal (he also did a small role in the film), Narwekar and Gazi Banwali.
Mehboob Khan came up from a very poor family and he had to struggle hard to reach this stage. So he knew how it feels to miss opportunities to make it big. He himself had lost the opportunity to become a hero twice. First when he was almost selected for ‘Alam Ara’ (1931), vacating for Master Vithal and second time for film ‘Shehar Ka Jaadu’ (1934), this time making way for debutante Motilal.
Mehboob helped many actors to start their careers or do a memorable role first time, in his films, like Sitara Devi, Aruna, Surendra, Maya Banerjee, Arun Ahuja, Harish Taranath, Sheikh Mukhtar, Jyoti, Waheedan Bai, Sardar Akhtar, Veena and Nargis. Mehboob also gave Raj Kapoor his first big and famous film – ‘Andaz’ (1949).
Mehboob was very strict but also kind hearted when it came to remembering people who had helped him in some way. Much of the shooting of ‘Mother India’ (1957) was in rural area of Bilimora, Kolhapur and Nashik. In village Shiroli, near Kolhapur, when the shooting was going on, a major portion of the harvest in the field of a farmer was destroyed. Mehboob Khan met that farmer, apologized and paid fully for all damages. Not only that, when he learnt that the farmer and his family has never seen Bombay, he brought all of them to Bombay , at company’s expenses, and showed them around for a week. In addition, when film ‘Mother India’ was to be released in Rajaram Talkies in Kolhapur, Mehboob wrote to the distributor at Kolhapur to invite the farmer’s family as a special guest for the film premier !
Mehboob Khan’s life is nothing short of a film story. There are many things which have to be brought to people to focus on his qualities. An illiterate village boy touching the sky with hard work and determination is his life story.
Today’s song is very melodious and I liked it. I am sure you too will like it.
[Acknowledgement: Most part of the write up uses the information from the books, ‘Mehboob Khan’ by Shashikant Kinikar and ‘Cinemacha Cinema’ by Isak Mujawar).
Song – Dil Ka Saaz Bajaaye Jaa (Alibaba) (1940) Singer – Surendra, Waheedan Bai, Lyrics – Dr Aah Sitapuri, Music – Anil Biswas
Lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
hmmmm mmmmm
aaaa aaaa
dil ka saaz bajaaye ja
aaaaaaa
dil ka saaz bajaaye ja
jis taar mein tere naghme hain
jis taar mein tere naghme hain
mizraab usi pe lagaaye ja
mizraab usi pe lagaaye ja
dil ka saaz bajaaye ja
aaaaaa
dil ka saaz bajaaye ja
ae. . . pyaare geet sunaaye ja
ae. . . pyaare geet sunaaye ja
baithi hoon ishq ke jhoole mein
baithi hoon ishq ke jhoole mein
main sadqe peeng badhaaye ja
main sadqe peeng badhaaye ja
ae. . . pyaare geet sunaaye ja
ae. . . pyaare geet sunaaye ja
ye beda paar lagaaye ja
ye beda paar lagaaye ja
dariya e mohabbat gehra hai
dariya e mohabbat gehra hai
haaaa aaa
dil ki naav chalaaye ja..aa..aa
dil ki naav chalaaye ja
har baar mujhe apnaaye ja
har baar mujhe apnaaye ja
ye mera tera farq mitey
ye mera tera farq mitey
tu dil mein yun hi samaaye ja
tu dil mein yun hi samaaye ja
ye mera tera farq mitey
ye mera tera farq mitey
tu dil mein yun hi samaaye ja
tu dil mein yun hi samaaye ja..aa..aa
———————————————————-
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
———————————————————
हम्ममम मम्ममम
आsss आsss
दिल का साज बजाए जा
आsss
दिल का साज बजाए जा
जिस तार में तेरे नग़में हैं
जिस तार में तेरे नग़में हैं
मिज़राब उसी पे लगाए जा
मिज़राब उसी पे लगाए जा
दिल का साज बजाए जा
आsss
दिल का साज बजाए जा
ए॰॰॰ प्यारे गीत सुनाये जा
ए॰॰॰ प्यारे गीत सुनाये जा
बैठी हूँ इश्क़ के झूले में
बैठी हूँ इश्क़ के झूले में
मैं सदक़े पींग बढ़ाए जा
मैं सदक़े पींग बढ़ाए जा
ए॰॰॰ प्यारे गीत सुनाये जा
ए॰॰॰ प्यारे गीत सुनाये जा
ये बेड़ा पार लगाए जा
ये बेड़ा पार लगाए जा
दरिया ए मोहब्बत गहरा है
दरिया ए मोहब्बत गहरा है
हाsss आsss
दिल की नाव चलाये जा॰॰आ॰॰आ
दिल की नाव चलाये जा
हर बार मुझे अपनाए जा
हर बार मुझे अपनाए जा
ये मेरा तेरा फ़र्क मिटे
ये मेरा तेरा फ़र्क मिटे
तू दिल में यूं ही समाये जा
तू दिल में यूं ही समाये जा
ये मेरा तेरा फ़र्क मिटे
ये मेरा तेरा फ़र्क मिटे
तू दिल में यूं ही समाये जा
तू दिल में यूं ही समाये जा॰॰आ॰॰आ
Teri gali mein aaya saudaagar
Posted on: November 13, 2018
- In: Actor-Singer song | Biography of Actor-Singer | Biography of artists | Devnagri script lyrics by Sudhir | Guest posts | Lyrics contributed by readers | Post by Arunkumar Deshmukh | Rare song | Song Based on Folk Music | Songs of 1940s (1941 to 1950) | Songs of 1941 | Yearwise breakup of songs
- 6 Comments
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.
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Blog Day : |
3770 | Post No. : | 14745 | Movie Count : |
4031 |
With today’s song, I am introducing not only a Debuting film, but also a great stage actor singer of the Marathi Theatre of yore. The film is Charnon ki daasi-1941 and the singer is Master Avinash.
In the early era of the Hindi films, there were many local artistes, as Bombay was the centre of not only Films but also of Industries, which made it a land of opportunities. Initially the 1930’s film music was, as we all know, greatly influenced by Marathi Natya Sangeet, Hindi classical music and Parsee/Gujarati stage songs. There were musical stalwarts like Annasaheb Mainkar, Master Krishnarao Phulambrikar, Madholal Master, Pransukh Nayak, S.P.Rane, Hari Prasanna Das, Lallubhai Nayak, Brijlal Varma, Nagardas Nayak, Govindrao Tembe, Keshavrao Bhole, Prof. B.R.Deodhar, Dada Chandekar etc etc.
Most of them came to films after working for stage dramas and hence their music was sounding same, whoever was the Music Director. Similarly, singers, who sang on the stage too tried their hand at the film music. However, most such singers failed to impress and their careers did not last long.
Those who are conversant with Marathi Natya Sangeet must be aware of the contributions made by musicians like Deenanath Mangeshkar and Bal Gandharva. The Mangeshkar legacy goes on and on even today. Ganpatrao Laxmanrao Mohite aka Master Avinash was also a tall figure in Natya Sangeet. Master Avinash (1909-2009) was trained in music by Deenanath Mangeshkar and was trained in acting by Chintamanrao Kolhatkar- a great Marathi stage actor.
Avinash was one of those, who were with Balwant Sangeet Mandali, since its inception in 1918. This drama company was established by Master Deenanath Mangeshkar along with Chintamanrao Kolhatkar and Krishnarao Kolhapure. From the beginning, Avinash used to do female roles and his name was taken along with Bal Gandharva, in this respect. Due to his singing skill, he was quite a popular actor on the stage. Several of his Natya Geet records came into market and sold very well.
Master Avinash was simply ” Ganu Mama ” to Mangeshkar family. Though the patriarch of the M-family expired in 1942, Avinash survived almost 70 years (67 to be exact) after him. They were very close, hence a respected person for the M-family. He could, till his end, tell them his experiences with Deenanath and many others of that era. He taught some songs to baby Lata, when she was so small. Surprisingly, till he died in 2009, at the age of 101, his memory and health was very good.
He acted in most dramas written by Acharya Atre (P.K.Atre of Navyug Films and Atre Pictures) as well as all his Marathi films. However, Avinash worked only in one Hindi film-Charnon ki Daasi-41, which was a remake of Marathi film, Paayachi Daasi. By the time he appeared in this film in 1941, his singing and acting style was becoming outdated, for the Hindi audience. New styles of Music and young new actors had entered Hindi films. In any case, he was very successful on Marathi stage, so he did not bother to work in Hindi films.
As per an article on him, in The Times of India of 16-5-2002, he was a good cricketer, a wrestler, actor, singer and Music Director. Daily exercises must have kept him going healthy till the last. He remembered many anecdotes of old times, actors and especially of Deenanath Mangeshkar. He had a good collection of old photos and cuttings to show to the TOI reporter, who took his interview. In most Marathi films, he worked as a Hero opposite Vanmala. In film Charnon ki Daasi also they are the lead pair. Acharya Atre gave him the name Avinash for the stage. His popularity made his name a rage and many new born children were given his name in those years.
Film Charnon ki Daasi was written by P.K.Atre. It was directed by Gajanan Jahagirdar and was produced by Atre Pictures. The Music Director was Annasaheb Mainkar ( there were 3 Annasahebs in Hindi film Music. One was Mainkar, second was Datta Korgaonkar and third was C.Ramchandra. All were called Annasaheb) and the lyricist was Pt. Anand Kumar. The cast was Durga Khote, Vanmala, Gajanan Jahagirdar, Master Avinash, Kusum Deshpande, Nazeer Bedi, Ramesh, Sudhir and many others.
It was a typical Marathi reform social consisting of the age old friction of ” Saas-Bahu “. Durga Khote was the evil mother in law, who tortures the educated daughter in law-Vidya (Vanmala), with husband Murari (Avinash) protesting meekly. After the interval and towards the last part, the husband decides to be tough with his mother and the shocked saas surrenders and makes the Bahu head of the affairs. However, true to the middle class philosophy, the good Bahu returns the honour to the Saas and requests her to continue as family head ( minus the torture part, obviously), gives a very big speech and all is well in the end. The spice was added by the widowed Nanad- Champa (Kusum Deshpande). Gajanan Jahagirdar played Anokheram, the village scoundrel flirt, who is duly punished by the bahu, in the end.
In the advertisement of the film, the educational achievements of Vanmala-B.A., B.T. and Gajanan Jahagirdar- B.A. and Kusum Deshpande- B.A. was mentioned boldly and prominently.
Acharya Atre aka Pralhad Keshav Atre ( 13-8-1898 to 13-6-1969) was a Marathi-Hindi director and controversial literary figure in post-WW1 Maharashtra. Educated at the universities of Bombay and London; he studied experimental psychology under Cyril Burt and taught at Harrow before returning to India.
Owner-editor of populist down-market ” Maratha” newspaper; he was one-time Congress Party MLA. Later he became anti congress. He was Author of 22 plays, 13 short-story collections, four books of poetry and a 4-volume autobiography (Atre, 1965-7).
He was Teacher and producer of several school textbooks, often calling himself Principal Atre in his film credits. Aggressive polemicist remembered for famous literary battles with N.S. Phadke and Mama Warerkar.
He owned Chitramandir Studio/Atre Pictures (1940), the Atre Printing Press (1944) and Atre Arts (1968). He started his Film career by adapting his own short stories for Master Vinayak (Brahmachari, 1938; Brandichi Batli, 1939). He became a leading independent scenarist (e.g. Raja Rani, 1942) and pioneered the entry of new literary modes emerging from non-fictional prose into post-Independence Marathi film. His chosen genre was political satire, usually directed against the realist conventions of pre-WW1 social reform novels with their caste biases and Anglophilia.
However, his best-known film as director was the bitter-sweet melodrama Shyamchi Aai. Wrote plays in many genres: thrillers (To Mee Navhech), tragedies (rewriting the reformist Sangeet Natak playwright Ram Ganesh Gadkari and his own Udyacha Sansar) and satire. Noted scripts: Dharmaveer, Premveer, Begunah (all 1937), Ardhangi/ Ghar Ki Rani, Lapandav (both 1940). Preferred to hire directors rather than to direct. Produced and wrote his own movies, often starring actress Vanmala, through his Atre Pics, founded in 1940.
Gajanan Jahgirdar (2-4-1907 to 13-8-1988) the director of this film was the first Director of FTII in 1960. He is probably the only person in India at least, who has written 2 autobiographies-in 1971 and in 1986. He worked in 147 films and directed 17 films. He also wrote some songs in film Sant Tulsidas-1934.
Let us now listen to the first song of Master Avinash here. He makes his Debut and with this song, the film also makes its Debut.
Song-Teri gali mein aaya saudaagar (Charnon Ki Daasi)(1941) Singer-Master Avinash, Lyrics-Pt Anand Kumar, MD-Annasahab Mainkar
Lyrics
teri gali mein aaya saudaagar
kar le jawaani ka mol
kar le jawaani ka mol
meri sajni
kar le jawaani ka mol
meri sajni
kar le jawaani ka mol
teri zulfen rahin hain machal
tae ne keenhe hain naagan ke bal
tere abroo ne talwar taani hai amdaar
naina rahe munh se bol
tere naina rahe munh se bol
meri sajni
kar le jawaani ka mol
meri sajni
kar le jawaani ka mol
gori
teri gali mein aaya saudaagar
kar le jawaani ka mol
kar le jawaani ka mol
meri sajni
kar le jawaani ka mol
meri sajni
kar le jawaani ka mol
teri bindi pe daali nazar
goya sooraj raha ho nikhar
tere surme ki dhaar
phooti chhaathi ke paar
gayi chitwan kaleje ko chhod
gayi chitwan kaleje ko chhod
meri sajni
kar le jawaani ka mol
meri sajni
kar le jawaani ka mol
gori
teri gali mein aaya saudaagar
kar le jawaani ka mol
kar le jawaani ka mol
meri sajni
kar le jawaani ka mol
meri sajni
kar le jawaani ka mol
tere gaalon ke donon ghadhe
tere gaalon ke donon ghadhe
hain khumaari mein lab tak bhare
hain khumaari mein lab tak bhare
tere honthon ki thirkan
gaalon ki ubhran
thhodi ka til hai amol
teri thhodi ka til hai amol
meri sajni
kar le jawaani ka mol
meri sajni
kar le jawaani ka mol
gori
teri gali mein aaya saudaagar
kar le jawaani ka mol
kar le jawaani ka mol
meri sajni
kar le jawaani ka mol
meri sajni
kar le jawaani ka mol
———————————————————
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir Kapur)
———————————————————
तेरी गली में आया सौदागर
करले जवानी का मोल
करले जवानी का मोल
मेरी सजनी
करले जवानी का मोल
मेरी सजनी
करले जवानी का मोल
तेरी ज़ुल्फें रहीं हैं मचल
तैने कीन्हे हैं नागन के बल
तेरे अबरू ने तलवार तानी है अमदार
नैना रह मुंह से बोल
तेरे नैना रह मुंह से बोल
मेरी सजनी
करले जवानी का मोल
मेरी सजनी
करले जवानी का मोल
गोरी
तेरी गली में आया सौदागर
करले जवानी का मोल
करले जवानी का मोल
मेरी सजनी
करले जवानी का मोल
मेरी सजनी
करले जवानी का मोल
तेरी बिंदी पे डाली नज़र
गोया सूरज रहा हो निखर
तेरे सुरमे की धार
फूटी छाती के पार
गई चितवन कलेजे को छोल
गई चितवन कलेजे को छोल
मेरी सजनी
करले जवानी का मोल
मेरी सजनी
करले जवानी का मोल
गोरी
तेरी गली में आया सौदागर
करले जवानी का मोल
करले जवानी का मोल
मेरी सजनी
करले जवानी का मोल
मेरी सजनी
करले जवानी का मोल
तेरे गालों के दोनों घड़े
तेरे गालों के दोनों घड़े
हैं खुमारी में लब तक भरे
हैं खुमारी में लब तक भरे
तेरे होठों की थिरकन
गालों की उभरन
ठोड़ी का तिल है अमोल
तेरी ठोड़ी का तिल है अमोल
मेरी सजनी
करले जवानी का मोल
मेरी सजनी
करले जवानी का मोल
गोरी
तेरी गली में आया सौदागर
करले जवानी का मोल
करले जवानी का मोल
मेरी सजनी
करले जवानी का मोल
मेरी सजनी
करले जवानी का मोल
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.
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Blog Day : |
3760 | Post No. : | 14731 | Movie Count : |
4026 |
Today’s song is from a film called “Sona”(1948). In 1946, there was a film titled “Sona Chandi”. In 1964 there was a film titled not just “Chandi”, but a whole “Chandi ki Diwar” and in 1977 there was a film called “Chandi Sona”. So much for the precious metals in Hindi film Titles !
We have often heard and read that in olden days, young film aspirants from far off cities and smaller towns, ran away from homes to the Maya Nagari-Bombay, to try their luck. Few of them succeeded. But mind you, not ALL stars came running away to Bombay. Many of them were actually invited by Bombay filmmakers, rolling out red carpets for them. This normally used to offer in case of promising stars from other film centres like Calcutta and Lahore. For example, Shamshad Begum was specially brought to Bombay from Lahore. Saigal was brought from Calcutta to Bombay, with an attractive offer.
That, precisely, was the reputation of Bombay, that careers are made in Bombay and opportunities are found in abundance for them who have Talent and Luck ! Munawar Sultana, Heroine of film Sona-48 was one such star, who was brought from Lahore with an offer of Rs. 4000 pm and rented furnished accomodation – by Mazhar Khan.
Munawar Sultana was born on 8 November 1924, in Lahore, into a strict Punjabi Muslim family. According to an interview with son Sarfaraz and daughter Shaheen, conducted by Shishir Krishna Sharma, Munawwar’s father was a radio announcer. Munawwar wanted to become a doctor, but was side-tracked by an offer in films. This was a small role in the film, Dalsukh Pancholi’s Khazanchi (1941), where she played a barmaid, and had a song, Peene ke din aaye piye jaa picturised on her. She went by the screen name Asha for this period.
In 1945, she was visited in Lahore by producer-actor-director Mazhar Khan, who contracted her on a monthly fee of Rs. 4000 plus an apartment, and brought her to Bombay. Munawwar’s first film with Mazhar was Pehli Nazar, where she was cast opposite actor Motilal. In the popular song Dil jalta hai to jalne de (Let the Aflame Heart Burn) playbacked by singer Mukesh for Motilal, Khan focused on Munawwar’s close-ups during the picturisation.
Following Pehli Nazar, she was kept busy through 1947 to 1949 working in several films. Baburao Patel wrote in the cine-mag Filmindia 1949, about her being one of the most over-worked actresses along with Suraiya and Nargis.
In 1947, Munawar acted in four films Dard, Elaan, Andhon Ki Duniya and Naiyya. Dard was directed by Kardar under Kardar Productions. In spite of no big stars being in the film, it turned out to be a surprise “musical hit” at the box office. The hero of the film was Kardar’s brother Nusrat (Kardar). The song Afsana likh rahi hoon became a big success. Elaan garnered positive reviews for Munawwar. A Muslim social, the film was praised for its “progressive attitude” towards the need of education.
A lot has already been written about Elaan-47,elsewhere, as well as on this blog too,earlier.
When Mehboob Khan heard the story initially, he spent few days thinking about it. He anticipated adverse reactions of the Fundamentalists on this film. His team for this film included many Muslims, almost in every department. Major contributors like Naushad, Zia Sarhadi, Amirbai Karnataki and most important , Munawar Sultana,the Heroine,were all Muslims.Others at least were connected indirectly,but Munawar was the Heroine.
Mehboob Khan had a sitting with her and explained to her the entire story and the likely repercussions to the film. He gave her an option to opt out of the film. Munawar played very brave and firmly told Mehboob Khan that she was 100% with him and was ready to work and face, whatever happens as an aftermath.
This act of courage was loved and appreciated by Mehboob Khan very much and he remained indebted to her ever after.
1948 saw Munawar in four more films. Parai Aag, Sona, Majboor and Meri Kahani.
1949 was Munawar’s busiest year with seven releases. Out of her four films released in 1950, Munawar’s most notable film was Babul (Father’s House). She acted opposite Dilip and Nargis in this love triangle. Directed by S. U. Sunny, the music was composed by Naushad. The film became a major success at the box office. She acted in a few more films till 1956, with Jallad being her last appearance.
From 1950, Munawar’s career slowed down, and she acted in fewer films. She met her husband Sharif Ali Bhagat, a businessman, on the sets of a movie for which he provided furniture. He produced two films with Munawar in the lead, Meri Kahani (1948) and Pyar Ki Manzil (1950). Following the sudden death of her husband in 1966, Munawar managed her family of four sons and three daughters. In the last eight years of her life, Munawar suffered from Alzheimer’s disease. She died on 15 September 2007, at her home in Ambedkar Road. Pali Hill, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
The cast of film Sona-48 also consisted of the producer director Mazhar Khan as the Hero, Madhuri, Dikshit, Navin Yagnik, Madan Puri and others.
How many of us know anything about Navin Yagnik ? Navin was a well known stunt film actor who did social films also with the same ease. Navin was born in Calcutta in 1912. His father was from U.P. and mother from Bengal. During school days, he was more interested in sports, dramas and oratory. He did not complete his Matriculation, but ran away to Bombay, to become an actor-against the wishes of his family.
He joined Sagar Films in 1930, as an Extra, without salary. After few months he got Rs.35 pm, but no credited roles. After an year or so, he left Sagar and joined Mohan Bhavnani’s Ajanta Film company. He first worked in film ‘ The Mill ‘-34. Unfortunately, this film was banned for 2 years. The film was based on a story by Munshi Premchand and depicted the poor conditions of mill workers in Bombay. The Mill Owners’ Association brought pressure on Government and got the film banned. After 2 years, the film was released as ” Ghareeb Parivar”-36 aka ‘Daya ki Devi’. Two more films and Navin became Hero in film ” Pyar ki maar”-35.
He also worked in Minerva Movietone, Prakash pictures, Filmistan and other good banners. Some of his well known films were, Zambo-The ape Man-37, Meri Bhool-37, Divorce-38, Son of Zambo-39, Main Haari-40, Vasantsena-42, Raja Rani-42, School Master-43, prithvi Vallabh-43, Chal chal re Naujawan-44 etc. His last film was Bhagwat mahima-55. In all, he worked in 30 films.
The Music Director for film Sona-48 was Vasant Desai. Vasant Desai ( 9-6-1912 to 22-12-1975 ) was an incredibly talented man who never got his dues.
That greatness has no correlation with commercial success, is best personified in the life and works of Hindi film music director Vasant Desai. Well versed in every department of film making, Desai’s talent was a blessing to the music world. Though critics may credit Naushad as a composer steeped in classical traditions, Vasant Desai was equally, if not more, proficient in making tunes based on complex ragas. Sadly, despite his prowess, this simple man whose birth anniversary was in 2012, has not been given his due by the film industry befitting his stature and contribution to its music.
Veteran Marathi film music director and Desai’s creative mentor Keshavrao Bhosle in his memoirs “Mazhe Sangeet” applauds Desai for many such firsts as well as introduction of echo in sound recording in India with Zohra Bai’s song Jo dard banke zamaane pe chhaaye jaate hain from “Parbat Pe Apne Dera”. Hear Rafi’s immortal kah do koyi na kare yahaan pyaar(Goonj Uthi Shehnaai) and you realise how echo was not a tool for experimentation for Desai but a magnificent instrument of creative ability.
Though Lata Mangeshkar doesn’t acknowledge any of Desai’s creations in her top 20 personal favourites nor praises his vast repertoire, it is a fact that some of her finest renditions were under Desai. Allegedly, Lata had a grouse against him for promoting other singers, especially Vani Jairam, and hence ignored his contribution in her career even when most of her songs under Desai’s baton have been unsurpassed till this day. Go down the memory lane and you can’t ignore sublime creations like Jo tum todo piyaa (Jhanak Jhanak Paayal Baaje) , Tere sur aur mere geet(Goonj Uthi Shehnaai), Main gaaun tu chup ho jaa (Do Aankhen Baarah Haath) , Piyaa te kahaan gayo (Toofaan aur Diyaa) or Ek thhaa bachpan (Aasheerwaad) . Even though Desai made her Ae maalik tere bande ham (Do Aankhen Baarah Haath) into a memorable secular prayer, Lata hardly ever commends the composition. May be she is unhappy that Desai created an equally powerful bhajan Hamko man ki shakti dena(Guddi) into a nationwide school prayer through Vani’s vocals.
His proficiency was the reason why he was greatly admired by maestros like Bismillah Khan (who made the shehnai famous with his recitals in “Goonj Uthi Shehnai”, Amir Khan, Bhimsen Joshi, and M. S. Subbulakshmi. She even got a song composed from Desai for her recital at the UNO headquarters. It was Desai’s virtuosity that made Dada Muni (Ashok Kumar) render an all-time favourite children’s song rail gaadi rail gaadi (Aasheerwaad) (“Aashirwad”) with minimum instrumentals. Nowadays when Cannes Film Festival is a place of photo opportunity rather than exploration of artistry, it is overwhelming to know that decades ago Desai’s versatility made “Amar Bhoopali” the only Indian film to win a Grand Prix award for original musical score at Cannes ! Obviously, lyricist Gulzar isn’t wrong to hail Desai as a “music composer extraordinaire” especially when he catapulted his Bole re papeehara(Guddi) to Himalyan heights of popularity.
Born in a wealthy family in Sonwad village in Maharashtra, Desai joined the famous Prabhat Film Company at Kolhapur at its inception. Apart from performing several minor chores, he also acted, sang and sometimes composed songs in Prabhat’s films like “Dharmatma” and “Sant Dnyaneshwar” but once he had mastered the craft of music composition, he stuck to it. Devoted to V. Shantaram from his Prabhat days, Desai went along with the maestro when he broke away from Prabhat to form his own Rajkamal Studios. Scoring music for a majority of Shantaram’s films, Vasant’s career suffered a major blow when their relations soured in the late 1950s. Yet it is to his credit that even though they split after recording of “Aadha Hai Chandrama” (later re-done by C. Ramchandra), he never ever spoke ill about “Anna” till his dying day.
Film director Vikas Desai says, “even family members never came to know the reasons for leaving Shantaram though he went back to score the background music of ‘Geet Gaya Patharon Ne’ on Anna’s request”.
Going through his long and enviable list of songs would be difficult but suffice to say that his memorable songs are valuable gems of musical heritage. And though the patriotic Vasant Desai may have remained unsung for his cinematic as well as academic contribution to school music curriculum, his songs regale listeners with their inherent melodic fragrance.
In his initial stage of career, he had acted in films like, Dharmatma-35, Amar Jyoti-36, Wahan-37 and Sant Dnyaneshwar-40. He even sang songs in films like Amrit Manthan-34, Dharmatma-35, Amar Jyoti-36, Wahan-37, Sant Dnyaneshwar-40, Sant Sakhu-41, Shakuntala-43 and Parbat pe apna dera-44. In all, Vasant Desai gave music to 50 films. His first film was Shobha-42 and Last released film was Shaque-76.
(some information in the article adapted from Wiki and The Hindu).
Shantaram was planning a path breaking film Maanus(Marathi)-Aadmi in Hindi,in those days and was in the process of finalising the cast.Vasant Desai who was Shantaram’s chela in those days,was aspiring to become a Music Director. He started his career as an actor in small roles and he sang songs too.He had very high hopes that Shantaram will do something for him. One day Shantaram called him and said,” I am planning a new film. You will be the Hero and Shanta Apte will be the Heroine.” Vasant was very happy. His auditions were good.
Meanwhile Mera Ladka-38 became quite popular and its songs, particularly,Dekhoon kab tak baat( Paahu re kiti waat-Marathi)” by Shanta bai and composed by Keshavrao Bhole was a great Hit.Impressed with her effortless acting and natural singing style, Shantaram changed his mind and decided to cast Shanta Hublikar and Shahu Modak as the lead pair for Aadmi – 39.
Shantaram called Vasant Desai and told him,” Be ready for a shock. I have decided to make Shanta Hublikar and Shahu Modak as the Hero and Heroine of my new film. You will have to wait. But your time will come ” Vasant Desai was heart broken. With Shantaram’s permission he composed music for Shobha and Aaankh ki sharm in 1942 and Mauj in 1943. he had worked as assistant to Tembe, Krishnarao, Bhole and Mainkar. He had acted and sang in Amar Jyoti . His time came when Shantaram gave him SHAKUNTALA-1943 as a Music Director.
Today’s song from film Sona-1948 is sung by Zohrabai Ambalawali and Chorus, but there is also an unidentified male’s voice in the song. The song was procured and uploaded by our Sadanand ji Kamath on my request. Thanks. The song is very melodious and immediately reminds another popular song Mubaarak ho dulha dulhan ko ye shaadi from film Paak Daaman-1957-MD Ghulam Mohd. As per the prevailing custom of composers having a classical base and a stage music background, the prelude music of this song is also quite long, lasting for 54 seconds. Not all songs had such preludes, but majority had.
Song-Umangon ke din hain khushi ka zamaana (Sona) (1948) Singer-Zohrabai Ambalewaali, unknown male voice, Lyrics-Nakshab, MD-Vasant Desai
Both
Lyrics
aa aa aa
aa aa aa
aa aa aa
aa aa aa
aa aa aa
aa aa aa
aa aa aa
aa aa aa
aa haa ha
hahahaha
Umangon ke din hain khushi ka zamaana
Umangon ke din hain khushi ka zamaana
ye mausam suhaana
yahin aana jaana
ye mausam suhaana
yahin aana jaana
nigaahon ko milne lagin hain nigaahen
nigaahon ko milne lagin hain nigaahen
wafa ke kadam hain mohabbat ki raahen
wafa ke kadam hain mohabbat ki raahen
machalti chali jaa rahi hai jawaani
aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa
machalti chali jaa rahi hai jawaani
thaharta chala ja raha hai zamaana
thaharta chala ja raha hai zamaana
ye mausam suhaana
yahin aana jaana
Umangon ke din hain khushi ka zamaana
ye mausam suhaana
yahin aana jaana
o ho ho ho
ho ho ho ho ho
chale daur par daur
saaghar uthhaao
chale daur par daur
saaghar uthhaao
zamaane ka har ek gham bhool jaao
zamaane ka har ek gham bhool jaao
hamesha jamegi ye ?? ki mehfil
zara tum bhi peena hamen bhi pilaana
zara tum bhi peena hamen bhi pilaana
ye mausam suhaana
yahin aana jaana
umangon ke din hain
khushi ka zamaana
ye mausam suhaana
yahin aana jaana
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.
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Today’s song is quite a rare song. It is from film Khush Raho-49. This was a C grade stunt film, made by Sushil pictures, Bombay. Directed by Harbans,it had music by Shiv Dayal Batish. I say this is a rare song, for 2 reasons. One- in most cases, producers of stunt films were not interested in making commercial records of songs of their films. Reason – Usually, the composers of such low budget films were also unknown or less known composers. If at all, a well known composer was there, he rarely gave his best shot to stunt film, which attracted a fixed, low class audience. Second – Music or songs were not what attracted the audience of stunt films. So the songs rarely became well known and the records-if brought out at all-did not sell.
Therefore C grade film songs are usually a matter of interest to Collectors. These songs are not even uploaded on sites like U-Tube and that is why such film songs are difficult to be found. Only in extremely rare cases a song from a stunt film is famous and popular. off hand, I can remember one such song , ” Humen to loot liya mil ke husn walon ne” from film Al Hilaal-58. It became famous and had the honour of becoming the 5000 th song on this Blog, with write ups from Raja ji, Sudhir ji and Atul ji, on 13-11-2011. Of course, there could be some more famous songs from stunt films.
The cast of the film Khush Raho-49 was Bhagwan, Baburao (Pehalwan), Vasantrao (Pehalwan), Sarla, Leela Gupte, Ratan Piya and others. In the decade of 40s, the number One stunt film maker, director, producer and actor was undoubtedly Master Bhagwan. Till his first social film ” Albela ” -51 hit the screen and became an Iconic musical film, Bhagwan was into stunt films only.
Famous Film Historian and Author of Marathi, Hindi and English books on old films and artistes, Isak Mujawar ( 22-5-1934 to 26-2-2015 ) has written over 30 books. Mujawar, Master Bhagwan and C Ramchandra were good friends and Mujawar has written about them in his books. He has given first hand information gathered from them. Mujawar has written a book ” Ek Albela ” on Master Bhagwan. Many less known facts and anecdotes about Bhagwan, CR and other artistes are given in this book.
When Bhagwan was directing- and acting in- film Bahadur Kisan-37, he got introduced to CR or Ram Chitalkar,as he was known then.Soon they became thick friends. When Bhagwan got Tamil film ‘ Jaykodi’ to direct in Madras, he took Chitalkar as the Music Director. They did one more film ‘ Van Mohini’ together in Madras and returned to Bombay. Actually Bhagwan had received several offers to direct more films, including one from AVM also, but his brother Shankar Palav came to Madras and forced him to return to Bombay.
Harishchandrarao Kadam, who had floated his own production outfit Harishchandra Pictures, was waiting to offer a Hindi film,” Sukhi Jivan” for Bhagwan to direct. The offer was to act in and direct the film for Rs. 3000 pm salary plus 20% share in the profits of the film. However, the producer wanted to continue with his MD, Naidu for this film too. Naidu was once an assistant to Anil Biswas and Kadam had promissed Anil Biswas to give this film to Naidu. However, Bhagwan flatly refused and said,” only Chitalkar will be the MD or I wont do the film”. Now there was a problem, as both were adamant for their MD. Finally, Anil Biswas came to mediate. Bhagwan told him,” Chitalkar came to Madras with me on my calling and also returned to Bombay with me,though he too had more offers there. Now I can not leave him high and dry. It is with him or no film”
Anil Biswas told the producer, ” OK. you give this film to Chitalkar and next film to Naidu”. The problem was solved and Ram Chitalkar got his first Hindi film ‘ Sukhi Jivan’-42 as an independent MD. He began his career and rose to heights which we all know very well. Harishchandrarao kadam gave film ‘ Watan ki Pukar ‘-43 to Naidu. Like this many interesting anecdotes are described in the book ‘ Ek Albela ‘, about CR and Bhagwan. I intend to weave some stories in my forthcoming posts.
In the cast there is a very romantic name-Ratan Piya. He was born on 5-3-1904 at Lucknow. His father Pt. Madan Mohan was secretary to Motilal Nehru. His father was a theatre lover and so started his own Theatre company at Allahabad. Ratan, after his matriculation started working in it. He was trained to write songs for its dramas. Their company was patronised by the Viceroy, who paid Rs. 20 p.m. as his Patronage !
Ratan debuted as a Lyricist in film Pakke Badmash-1939. For this film, he even wrote an English song. His films as a Lyricist were Zaban-43, Mali-44, Umang-44 Nai Baat-47 and Batohi-48. For sustenance, he even acted in few films like, Shakuntala-43, Umang-44, Meena-44, Mahakavi Kalidas-44, Panna Dai-45, Khush Raho-49, Janam Patrika-49 and Begunah-49. After this Ratan Piya returned to Allahabad to look after their Theatre when his father died.
There were 3 Major Centres for Hindi Film Production in India in the early days. Calcutta,Lahore and Bombay.
From the period of Talkie films, all the 3 centres became very active and many films with lot of songs were produced.Initially,in the Talkie films,even the Dialogues were in poetry type,so it was difficult to demarcate Dialogues and songs separately.Films like Indrasabha-1932 had 71(or 69) songs.Similarly, films from that era had anything between 10-50 songs each.
In the Calcutta centre, film music had a distinct influence of Robindra Sangeet,In the Lahore films,it was Punjabi and folk tunes whereas in the western Bombay centre music was influenced by Marathi stage, Gujarati Dramas and Parsi Theatre. Out of this, Marathi stage music had a pronounced effect on films as many classical Drama artists joined Film industry.As such this music was well developed and its acceptability was taken for granted.
When more films and songs were made in Bombay,there was a need for more singers.The composers were constantly on the lookout for fresh singers.
Prabhat Film Company shifted from Kolhapur to Poona,but there were many connections still left in Kolhapur area.When Prabhat started making the film ” SANT SAKHU ” in 1941,the Music Director Keshav Rao Bhole needed new singers.His assistant that time was a young man from Kolhapur area,named VASANT DESAI. He was entrusted the task of getting new singers. Such Talent Hunters were in Calcutta and Lahore also.
There is a book “The Desai Trio and the movie industry in India” by shri Nilu Gavankar. He describes this episode thus-
Vasant Desai had lot of connections in Kolhapur and Konkan.He had learnt about 2 Desai Sisters of Kolhapur who were very good singers,but he did not know them.He went to Kolhapur and met Mrs.Susheelabai Gavankar,the author’s wife and his family friend.He inquired if she knew these girls.She said, “Yes.Their mother Sharadini Desai is my friend.” They both went to Desai house. Vasant Desai was introduced.There were 2 sisters VINODINI AND PRAMODINI. Vinodini was about 15 yr.old. Vasant Desai proposed that Vinodini sings for a Hindi film. There was a flat refusal as ” girls from good homes do not sing in films”. After a great convincing and a promise of personal protection, it was agreed.
Accordingly, VINODINI sang for her first Hindi film Sant Sakhu in 1941. Later she was given many opportunities to sing in Marathi films, Bhavgeets etc.In 2 years’ time Vinodini got married to Music Director PANDURANG DIKSHIT and became Vinodini Dikshit. She was actually more into classical singing and devoted time in that, so she sang only 15 songs in Hindi films like Sant Sakhu-41, Gwalan -46, Lakhon mein ek-47, Poojya Gandhi ji-48, Sati Narmada-50 and Bhagwan Shrikrishna-50. She gave stage shows for classical singing and was actively involved in Kalyan Gayan Vidyalaya near Bombay.
Her younger sister Pramodini followed suit and started singing in Hindi films, starting with Khush Raho-49. She sang in more films than her sister, 27 songs in 13 films. Her other films include Raaz-49, Dilruba-50 Shokhiyan-51, Kashmir-51, Nand Kishore-51, Sazaa-51 Char chand-53, Fariyadi-53, One two Three-53, Gunah-53, Naulakha Haar-53 and Pehli Tarikh-54 . Later she got married to Ashok Patkar and settled in Bombay as a Housewife.
Today’s song is sung by Promodini Desai and Balbir. There were 9 songs in the film and 6 of them were sung by her. 3 solos and 3 duets. There were also 2 solos of Balbir in it. Except for today’s song, I could not get any other song from this film. So let us enjoy this rare song. With this song film Khush Raho -49 makes its debut in the Blog.
Song-Nishaana bane dil hamaare tumhaare(Khush Raho)(1949) Singers-Pramodini Desai, Balbir, Lyrics- Ehsan Rizvi, MD-S D Batish
Chorus
Lyrics
Nishaana bane dil
nishaana bane dil
hamaare tumhaare
nishaana bane dil
hamaare tumhaare
chamakne lage aaj kismat ke taare
ho kismat ke taare
nishaana bane dil
nishaana bane dil
hamaare tumhaare
khushi jhoom uthhi zindagi muskuraa di
khushi jhoom uthhi zindagi muskuraa di
machalne lage dil mein armaan saare
ho armaan saare
nishaana bane dil
nishaana bane dil
hamaare tumhaare
jidhar dekhti hoon khushi hi khushi hai
jidhar dekhti hoon khushi hi khushi hai
galey lag rahe hain yahaan ke nazaare
ho yahaan ke nazaare
nishaana bane dil
nishaana bane dil
hamaare tumhaare
?hui ?? aankhon ki ??
?hui ?? aankhon ki ??
?? ki baazi mein ham aaj haare
ho ham aaj haare
nishaana bane dil
nishaana bane dil
hamaare tumhaare
ye dil keh raha hai
nazar keh rahi hai
ye dil keh raha hai
nazar keh rahi hai
mohabbat hai kaayam tumhaare sahaare
ho tumhaare sahaare
nishaana bane dil
nishaana bane dil
hamaare tumhaare
nishaana bane dil
hamaare tumhaare
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.
| Blog Day : | 3754 | Post No. : | 14719 |
Today’s song is the 3rd song from film Oonchi Haveli-55 to be discussed in the Blog. For the last 6-7 months, I have been discussing songs mostly from the decades of the 1930s and the 1940s. The last song from the 1950s that I discussed was on 3-3-2018, which for me was the 5th song from the decade of 1950s in this year. Looking back, I find that I had discussed a song from 1994 also in this year. Good songs, to whatever year they belong to, are my favourites. The only regret is that such songs have become few and far between. Good and meaningful Lyrics is another thing which has become scarce.
Today’s song is sung by Rafi. I strongly believe that God had given at least 10 different voices to this divine singer ! His special voice and style changed to suit the lip syncer on the screen and the song situation. His voice for Dilip Kumar was never the same as one he used for Johnny Walker.
Rafi came from a poor and humble background and had to struggle very hard to enter, sustain and reach the heights in Hindi Film Music. We all know that he came from a poor family but how his early life was spent is not known to many.
Punjab must be proud that two of its sons ruled Hindi cinema music for the first 50 years of its existence, which also happened to be its golden era. initially it was Saigal from 1933 to 1947 and then Mohd. Rafi-as if the baton was handed over by one statemate to another. Both started with humble beginnings and struggled hard to win their places in the History. Saigal, however, had less competition, but then the industry was also smaller. In case of Rafi, the competition was greater, but then the industry had also grown manifolds.
Born into a lower middle class Muslim family belonging to a non descript village in Punjab in 1924, Rafi did not have much education. It was confined to reading and writing in Urdu in Persian script. A little bit of multiplication, and his education was over. In leisure time, Rafi would take his and friends’ cattles for grazing- singing songs all the day.
Rafi did not have exposure to Radio until the beginning of Lahore Radio station in 1937. Of course wealthy people had their gramophones and he would listen to Indubala and Kamla Jharia songs coming from the Havelis and in the Bazaar area. Rafi sang many folk songs.
His father decided to shift to Lahore- 50 miles away, for better earning. Like most Amritsaris, he too was an expert in cooking. He opened a Dhaba and soon did well. Later on he called Rafi to Lahore in 1941 Rafi got a job in a Hair cutting saloon. Whole day he would do people’s shaving, while singing songs. His customers were happy. One day, Programme Director of Lahore A.I.R. Mr. Jeewan lal Mattoo was passing by and he heard Rafi’s singing. Impressed with his enchanting voice, sweetness,range and tonal quality, he shocked Rafi with his offer. Rafi gave his audition next day and passed with flying colours. From March 1943, Mohd.Rafi became a Radio singer, at 35 rupees per song. ( six months later Surinder kaur also joined Lahore Radio).
After hearing his voice on Radio, Music Director Shyam sunder called him to sing in his Punjabi film ” Gul Baloch”. Before coming to Lahore, Rafi was married to his cousin, but his Father in law had told him that his wife will join him only after he starts earning decently. Even after that single song in a film, Rafi continued his shaving job in the saloon. Meanwhile Mr. Mattoo helped him to learn classical music. Also Master Inayat Hussain gave him training. Another teacher was Budh Singh Taan. Noorjehan, Umrao Zia and Zeenat begum were seniors to Rafi in Lahore, but they knew each others. He took training from Bhai Samund Singh and Bhai Santa Singh of local Gurudwaras. Rafi was a saintly person and a true Namazi, doing 5 times Namaz daily.
Rafi’s wife came to him after he became a Radio artiste. He had a large friends circle, who used to gather in his house. There were many Hindi and Punjabi films made in Lahore, but none of the composers thought of Rafi as a singer. Pt. Amarnath and Ghulam Hyder liked his voice and knew his talent. While shifting to Bombay, Ghulam Hyder invited Rafi to join him. Even from Bombay he sent him 2 calls. Finally on his second call, Rafi decided to shift to Bombay, lock stock and barrel, in 1945. In Bombay, till Jugnu-47 happened, Rafi sang few songs in films, but he made his living by singing in private Mehfils of wealthy Punjabis of Bombay.
Story of Rafi after Jugnu-47 is known widely. I just wanted to highlight his less known early days, before coming to Bombay. Some of this information is used from an article by H.S.Aujla in Apnaorg.
May be, because of his humble background and a struggle before he succeeded, he always had a soft corner for struggling composers. Unlike some other famous singers, he was always ready to help such composers, even if the money offered was below par. During his peak period also, poor B and C grade composers could approach Rafi with a request to sing their songs and Rafi rarely disappointed them.
Nissar Baazmi later went to Pakistan and became a big composer. Even Noorjehan and Mehdi Hassan considered it an honour to sing for him in Pakistan. As long as Nissar Baazmi was in India, he somehow remained a C-grade composer. And at the time he did Khoj, he was a nobody.
It was as a nobody in HFM that Baazmi approached Rafi to sing for the rendition of a composition for “Khoj”. He could only afford to pay Rs 50 to Rafi. Rafi charged Baazmi just the token Re 1. The result- Chanda ka dil toot gaya roney lage hain sitaare Just the shot in the arm that a struggling music director, as well as the lyricist (Raja Mehdi ali Khan) could have dreamed of !
Pandit Shivram was a small time composer as well. He too had only Rs 50 to offer Rafi for singing a song. In return, Rafi offered him as well as the music lovers this priceless song Daulat ke jhoothhe nashe mein ho choor (Oonchi Haweli)(1955) .
Rafi left his mark even in movies where Talat Mehmood was the main singer and Rafi got to sing sung one song. Take for instance Ghulam Mohammad composition Hai bas ki har ek unke ishare mein nishaan aur (Mirza Ghalib), S D Burman’s Manzil ki chaah mein (Devdas).
How Rafi could hold his own for a composer where other singers had given their best for him is tellingly illustrated in case of songs composed by Baabul. Manna Dey had sung two superb duets in in Reshmi Roomal, viz. Zulfon ki ghataa lekar saawan ki pari aayi (with Asha Bhonsle) and Aankh mein shokhi lab pe tabassum (with Suman Kalyanpur) . This movie also boasted the Talat Mehmood timeless classic Jab chaaye kabhi saawan ki ghata(Reshmi Roomaal)(1961). Mukesh too added his mite Reshmi Roomal through Gardish mein hon taare na ghabraanaa pyaare (Reshmi Roomaal) .
Next movie that Baabul got was “Naqli Nawaab” where the same hero Majoj Kumar was to lip sync the songs. Despite recording such awesome male playback songs in his previous movie, Babul switched to Rafi in “Naqli Nawaab”. Rafi was paid Rs 200 for this movie. The timeless classics that Rafi came up with were- Tum poochhte ho ishq balaa hai ke nahin hai (Naqli Nawaab) and Chheda jo dil ka fasaanaa( Naqli Nawaab) .
If Rafi’s created gems for Babul did the same for Babul’s erstwhile partner Bipin as well ! For Bipin Datta, Rafi sang Ye Bombay shahar ka badaa naam hai (Kya ye Bombay hai ?)
If music director Dulaal Sen is remembered today, then it is thanks to one “Black Prince”(1960) Rafi solo song viz. Nigaahein na phero chaley jaayenge ham (Black prince) .
C Arjun much later, told that he felt very proud that he had at least created a ghazal that could come somewhere near a Madan Mohan composition. I wanted special attention to this my coveted ghazal from my singer but all good singers available were bigger than the film for which I had composed it! revealed Arjun. It was with great hesitation, therefore, that I approached Rafi Saab to render my ghazal, so feelingly written by Indivar. And Rafi Saab, without bothering about the small payment we were in a position to make, said it was one of the best ghazals that had fallen to his lot and he would give it everything that he had.not ready to sing for a small time music director in a B grade movie. Rafi had no such qualms. He obliged C Arjun and came up with a rendition that ensured that this ghazal even till date in bracketed among the best ghazals of Hindi movies. This ghazal with Madan Mohanesque quality was Paas baitho tabeeyat bahal jaayegi (Punar Milan) .
Lala-Asad-Sattar three instrumentalists turned struggling music directors could get Rafi to sing for them and Rafi did what he always did- provided A grade song in a B grade movie-Main to tere haseen khayaalon mein kho gayaa (Sangram) .
Sapan Jagmohan made their debut as a music director duo with “Begaana”(1962). A good blueprint that the music director duo had created was converted into a memorable masterpiece by Rafi-Phir wo bhooli si yaad aayi hai(Begaana)(1963).
We have had many A grade compositions in B and C grade movies. A good number of such compositions are in Rafi’s voice and they came about because Rafi would put art before commerce and would sing for pittance no matter how “small” a movie or its music directors were. That is how we got Iqbal Quraishi’s composition Subah na aayi shaam na aayi(Cha Cha Cha) and Sonik-Omi offering Dono ne kiya tha pyaar magar(Mahua)(1969).
The Rafi touch could turn any disc into gold! The above information is based partly on an article written by Raju Bharatan for The Illustrated Weekly of India, Aug 93.
The music Director for film Oonchi Haveli-55 was Shivram or Pt. Shivram Krishna. He was one of those composers who could not get very famous, though he composed very well. Pt. Shivram Krishna was born at Jodhpur on March 22, 1927. He started learning music at the age of 8 under the tutelage of his father Master Tulsidas, who worked with Marwar Record Company, Jodhpur from 1934 onwards. He was later employed in the court of the Maharaja of Jodhpur, Umed Singh as a singer/musician. It was the name and fame of Khemchand Prakash that inspired him to try his luck in films. At the age of 16, he went to Lahore where he worked under Pandit Amarnath and Master Ghulam Haider for around three years, only to return to Jodhpur at the time of partition. From the year 1948 till 1950 he worked as a music director with His Masters Voice in Lucknow, and then made his way to Mumbai in 1951.
At Mumbai, Pt. Shivram was given his first break by V. Shantaram, who signed him for two of his films – Teen Batti Chaar Raasta (1953) and Surang (1953). The music of both the films was appreciated and the films became silver jubilee hits. Besides these, V. Shantaram gave him two more films in 1960 – ‘Phool Aur Kaliyan’ and ‘Kaale Gore’, the first winning the National Award for Best Children film, while the second remained unreleased. He used the voices of V. Shantaram’s daughters Charusheela and Madhura in children’s films.
Following the success of his initial films, Pt. Shivram caught the attention of Dhirubhai Desai and Nakhshab Jarchavi, who signed him for their next films, Oonchi Haveli (1955) and Raftaar (1955) respectively. The songs of these two films were also quite successful. Then came Sati Ansuya (1956), another film by Dhirubhai Desai that started the trend and literally sealed his fate as a composer of mythological films. Barring Naya Kadam (1958), a social drama, and Rangeela Raja (1960), a stunt film, and the two children films by V. Shantaram, all the films he got after Sati Ansuya were religious/ mythological films. In all, out of the 23 films he composed for, as many as 14 were religious/ mythological films.
Despite composing some good songs for these films, the success he got with his initial films could not be repeated given the limited popularity of such films and similarity in the genre of songs. Barring a few songs from Shravan Kuman (1960), Kan Kan Mein Bhagwan (1963) and Sati Naari (1965), most of the songs are all but forgotten. ‘Tum Naacho Ras Barse’ by Mahendra Kapoor in Sati Naari fetched Pt. Shivram the Swami Haridas Award in 1966.
The last two Hindi films of Pt. Shivram were Sampoorna Teerth Yatra (1970) and Mahapavan Teerth Yatra (1975), both of which have the unique distinction of featuring what could be the longest Hindi film songs, running 45 and 70 minutes respectively. Both these songs were about the various places of pilgrimage in India and were almost similar in tune and structure. Interestingly, he had also composed two more songs on similar lines in Durga Pooja (1962) and Kan Kan Mein Bhagwan (1963).
Pandit Shivram gave music for various regional languages such as Rajasthani, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Haryanvi, etc. He was the default composer for Rajasthani films all through the 1960s, starting with the first Rajasthani film Babasa Ri Ladli (1961). He also composed for several Marwari and classical music non-film albums. As a proficient Harmonium player, he teamed with table-nawaaz Ustaad Nizamuddin Khan to produce a classical album. Pandit Shivram was as good a vocal artist as he was a harmonium player. He sang in films like Oonchi Haveli, Rangeela Raja, Sati Ansuya, Badrinath Yatra, etc.
The lyricists Pt. Shivram worked with, were more or less decided by the films he worked in. While he worked with the likes of Asad Bhopali, Shevan Rizvi, Pyare Lal Santoshi, Nakhshab Jarchavi, etc. in his non-mythological films, predominantly ‘Hindi’ writers like Bharat Vyas, Kavi Pradeep, Neeraj, Madan Bharti and Pt. Indra wrote for his mythological films. Pt. Indra and Bharat Vyas were his prime contributors for Rajasthani films.
Pandit Shivram died in February 1980 leaving behind a family of musicians. His daughter Jayshree Shivram is a singer. Two of his sons, Jugal Kishore and Tilak Raj jointly composed for a few Hindi films, debuting with Bheegi Palkein (1983). His third son, Naveen Shivram had started his musical career with giving music for the serial Apnapan in 1999 and went to compose for a few small time Hindi films and some Rajasthani film and non-film albums as well. Another son, Mukesh, was also a composer and is no more. ( Information on Shivram, based on urgetofly.com and my notes.)
Now, here is a fun song from this film, sung by Rafi and chorus. Though Asha Bhosle’s name is also credited, I did not find any female voice in the song.
PS-Now Sadanand Kamath Jee has pointed out that this song is a two part song and Asha Bhonsle’s voice does appear in the second part of the song. So this song is a Rafi-Asha Bhonsle duet, after all.
Song- Baap gaaye Thumri aur Garba gaaye Maiyya (Oonchi Haweli)(1955)Singer- Rafi, Asha Bhonsle, Lyrics- Bharat Vyas, MD- Pt Shivram
chorus
Lyrics
baap gaaye thumri aur garba gaaye maiyya
jab aangna mein raas rachaenge ye rupaiya
ye chaandi ka kanhaiya ho chhan chhan chhan rupaiya
bhabhi gaaye bhim palaasi drupad gaaye bhaiya
jab aangana mein raas rachaenge rupaiya
ye chaandi ka kanhaiya ho chhan chhan chhan rupaiya
gol gol ye nagad narayan hove jiske paas
wo saare aalam ka baalam sab jan uske saath
ki duniya naak ragadti
ke duniya kaan pakadti
ki duniya jhuk jhuk kare salaam
baabuji parnaam
saahab ji salaam
seth ji raam raam raam raam raam
dekh ke saari duniya naache ta ta ta ta thhaiya
jab aangana mein raas rachaenge ye rupaiya
ye chaandi ka kanhiya ho chhan chhan chhan rupaiya
naram naram duniya laage jab garam garam ho jeb
rupaiye ki jhankaar mein bhaiya chhup jaate sab aeb
achcha
haha
zara dekh lo
ek hai saabat ek hai gaayab
ek khuli hai ek hoon hoon hoon
jaane saara gaam inko jaane saara gaam
par laxmi ki kirpa se inka kamalnayan hai naam
arre inka kamalnaian hai naam
ghuti hui hai khopadi
ghuti hui hai khopadi
par paas hai inke rokadi
safaachat sab baal uden
ye ganju ji ganjan hain
paisa inki aankh ka anjan
daanton ka manjan hai
par jeb kare jham jham to
inka naam keshranjan hai
ae bhaiyya inka naam keshranjan hai
ye kaaghji jawaan seena taan ke khade hue
ye laxmi ki duniya mein heere moti se jade huye
aa aa aa aa aa
dehradun ke cartoon
ye mahlon mein rahte
unchi haweli mein rahte
isiliye sab basti waale hastimal kahte
arre inko hastimal kahte
ke moorakh kahlaaye gyaani
ke phoohad kahlaaye raani
ki cheeku kahlaaye daani
ki ye sab rupye ki maaya
arey bhai waah waah waah waah waah
hoy besuri lugaayi bhi kahlaati hai suraiya
jab aangna mein raas rachaenge ye rupaiya
ye chaandi ka kanhaiya ho chhan chhan chhan rupaiya
o jee o jee
aji aao jee
main teri nayi naweli naar
tu mera albela bhataar
kiya sab tere liye singaar
aji aa jee
ho ho ho ho
kaho meri kaisi ankhadiyaan
ke jaise gulaab ki pankhadiyaan
daant ki kaisi jyoti hai
seep mein jaise moti hain
seep mein jaise moti hain
aur mere sar ke kaise baal
aji in ne to kiya kamaal
ke jaise saawan ke baadal
ke jaise bhanwron ka ho dal
ke jaise nainon ka kaajal
haay re wai wai wai wai wai
meethe meethhe lagte hon jo panchhi se baraiyya
kab
jab aangna mein raas rachaaye re rupaiyya
ye chaandi ka kanhiya ho chhan chhan chhan rupaiya
baap gaaye thumri aur garba gaaye maiyya
jab aangna mein raas rachaenge ye rupaiya
ye chaandi ka kanhaiya ho chhan chhan chhan rupaiya
aa aa aa aa aa
aa aa aa
maine laakhon ke bol sahe
chaandi ke chanda
haay re baandi ke banda
haaye re phaansi ke phanda
tere liye ae
maine laakhon ke bol sahe
saajan aaya hey sakhi
ee ee ee ee ee
waah waah waah
haan
kai manuhaar karo
thhal bhara gaz motiyaan aan
aur ooper nain dhara aa aa aa aa aa aa
ho chaandi ke chanda
haaye re baandi ke banda
haaye re phaansi ka phanda
tere liye ae
maine laakhon ke bol sahe
ikanni duwanni
chawanni athhanni
ikanni duwanni
chawanni athhanni
chhote mote maap hain
ki chhote mote maap hainhe
ye hain baal bachche iske
rupaiyya inka baap hai
rupaiyya inka baap hai
is kaljug ki duniya mein paar laage tab hi naiyya
jab aangna mein raas rachaenge ye rupaiya
ye chaandi ka kanhaiya ho chhan chhan chhan rupaiya
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.
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3750 | Post No. : | 14715 | Movie Count : |
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Today’s song is a devotional chorus song from an old film, ” Prithvi Putra”-38. HFGK indicates that it was a Mythological film. I could not get a clue anywhere what the story was about. The film was made by the film factory, Ranjit Movietone- where, at a time, at least 4 to 5 films used to be on the floors doing shooting, not counting if any team was on outdoor shooting schedule.
As per the available 1938 issues of Film India, when Prithvi Putra’s shooting was going on, some more film shootings, planning meetings and scheduling were underway at the same time. Films like Gorakh Aaya, Achhut, Sant Tulsidas, Taxiwali, The Cat (Billi) and Prof. Waman, M.Sc. were the films involved in the studio activity. It is sad that review of this film is not available to us since all issues of 1938 are not available on Internet.That review could have at least told us what the story of this movie was.
The director was Jayant Desai, Lyricist was P.L.Santoshi and Gyan Dutt was the music director. Gyan Dutt did 15 films for Ranjit , during his stint from 1937 to 1940 period. After him, it was Khemchand Prakash and after him it was Bulo C. Rani as Ranjit’s resident Music director.
The cast of the film was truly a Nationalistic combination, confirming how the film industry was actually a secular activity. Madhuri was a Christian, Billimoria was a Parsee, Mazhar khan was a Muslim, Kantilal was a Hindu and the other actors were also a mix of different religions.
One of the names in the cast is Waheedan Bai. Not much information is available on her. Her younger sister Sitara Bai aka Jyoti and her own daughter Nawab Banoo aka Nimmi were actresses. Waheedan Bai was from a Tawayef family. Her daughter Nimmi, had always denied this-understandably too, but Waheedan Bai’s name gave away the true story.
In the initial stage of the Indian films, whether silent or talkie, it was difficult to get girls from good families and background. Slowly this picture changed.When Talkie started many Tawaifs,singing girls and girls from such families joined films as they fulfilled the requirement of singing and looking good,in addition to their ease on Hindi/urdu language. At this time slowly many educated and girls from high society as well as middle class families started joining films.So,to distinguish these women from each others, a system of nomenclature was followed. All the Girls coming from singing families and Tawaif background added the suffix “Bai” to their names, like Jaddanbai,Waheedan bai,Zohrabai,Amirbai etc. The Anglo-Indian and middle class girls took the prefix of “Miss” like Miss Moti, Miss Rose, Miss Tara, Miss Ajmat, Miss Pearl etc. Those girls who were from high society were called Devi like Sabita Devi, Kamla Devi, etc. All Marathi actresses used their full names like Shanta Apte, Minaxi Shirodkar etc.
Another point, this nomenclature was only unofficial and traditional. So some Tawaif actresses took advantage of this to hide their roots. Like, Rampyari who was from a singing family of Hyderabad, sometimes called herself as Miss Rampyari.
There were 565 Princely states in India before Partition. Due to patronising of fine arts like music and dance by these Princes, a new class of Nautch Girls emerged in the 19th century. All Nautch Girls were not the same. Author Michael Kinnear, in his book “The Gramophone company’s first Indian Recordings 1899-1908 “, has explained the classification and Nomenclatures of these Nautch Girls. As per that, there were 4 types…
| Lowest Class…..IV | Name – Khanki | Prostitutes/Sex workers |
| Class III | Name – Kaneez | Daasi or servant |
| Class II | Name – Bai ji | Singing/Dancing |
| Class I | Name – Jaan | Top class singers |
They all were called collectively as Tawayafs. The readers will now understand the difference between Amirbai, Waheedanbai, Jaddanbai and Tamancha Jaan, Gauhar Jaan, Malika Jaan etc etc.
Waheedan Bai belonged to a small town Fatehabad, near Agra. Her father’s name was Basheer Khan. She was second among 4 sisters. The youngest was Sitara Bai aka Jyoti. Waheedan was a trained and good singer, but Tawayafs did not get social status, so she got married early to one Abdul Hakeem from Nasirabad, settled in Meerut. He had met Waheedan in a shrine in Agra, where she recited verses from Koran.
Soon after their marriage, his father, a contractor with Military, died and Hakim inherited the business. He was a novice and was cheated by his manager and they lost everything. The family moved to Calcutta to start a Leather business. Here also he failed. In Calcutta, their neighbour was director A.R.Kardar. Through his wife, Bahar, Kardar was contacted and he gave a small role to him in a film. Here again he got terrified and ran away, at the time of shooting.
Waheedan came forward and after hearing her singing, she was given a song in the film and it was recorded. Meanwhile Chandulal Shah offered her roles in his films. They shifted to Bombay and she joined Ranjit Movietone. Her first film was Toofani Toli-37. Prithvi Putra was just the second film. Her songs in her films were liked and became famous.She worked in other films like Prof. Waman,M.Sc.-38, Rikshawala-38, The Secretary-38 and Thokar-39.
She got acquainted with Mehboob Khan and he offered her lead role opposite Surendra in film Alibaba-40, a Sagar Movietone film initially, but later on sold to Ranjit of Chandulal Shah, in a game of gambling. Film Alibaba-40 was made in Hindi and Punjabi. The film songs became very popular. When Sagar merged into National Studios, she worked in film Sanskar-40.
Waheedan contracted T.B. and left films. She acted in only 8 films and sang 26 songs in 11 films-including her 8 films. She died in 1942.( based on information from Sagar movietone by Biren kothari ji and my notes)
Another name was Mazhar Khan in the cast of Prithvi putra-38. Khans have always dominated Hindi film industry, since Talkie films started. The very first Talkie, Alam Ara-31 also had the first actor singer W.M. Khan in it. The famous compiler and author, Shri Harish Raghuwanshi ji has enumerated as many as 57 names of Khans in Hindi films, in his book Inhe na Bhulana in Gujarati in 2003.
Mazhar Khan was born in 1907 in Dhar state. After matriculation, he joined Police force and rose up to Inspector’s rank. Due to attraction of becoming actor, he resigned from the job and reached Bombay.He went from studio to studio, in search of a job. Finally. Director B.P.Mishra from Imperial saw him and called for film roles. From 1927 to 1931, he worked in 19 silent films. His first Talkie was ‘ Noorjehan”-31 directed by Ezra Mir ( real name Edwyn Meyers). he went to Calcutta and worked in New theatres films with Sehgal and Begum Akhtar. He also acted in film Raat ka Raja-34, in which he reportedly did 8 different roles.After Sunehra Sansar-36 and some more films with other companies, he returned to Bombay and joined Ranjit, and later Minerva. His memorable film role was in Prabhat’s Padosi-41, in which he did the role of a Hindu pandit, while his Muslim friend’s role was done by Gajanan jahagirdar. Their roles were much appreciated in those periods.
In 1942 he started his own company, Asiatic pictures and then Mazhar Art productions. he produced and directed 6 films. he introduced actress Veena in film Yaad-42 and gave opportunity to Mukesh to sing in film Pehli Nazar- which made him very popular. Mazhar acted in 44 films. He married a Hindu girl, who did not convert after the marriage. They had 2 sons. Mazhar Khan died on 24-9-1950.
(adapted from wiki and Inhe na Bhulana).
Let us now listen to this melodious bhajan which is sung by chorus.
With this song, “Prithvi Putra”(1938) makes its debut in the blog.
Song- Jai Brijnandan Gopichandan Leelakaari Shyaam (Prithvi Putra)(1938) Singer-Chorus, Lyrics-P L Santoshi, MD-Gyan Dutt
Lyrics
Jai Brijnandan Gopichandan Leelakaari Shyaam
Jai Brijnandan Gopichandan,Leelakaari Shyaam
bhav bhaybhanjan ??niranjan sankathaari raam
bhav bhaybhanjan ??niranjan sankathaari raam
Jai Brijnandan Gopichandan Leelakaari Shyaam
cheerharaiyya laajrakhaiyya raas rachaiyya krishn kanhaiyya
cheerharaiyya laajrakhaiyya raas rachaiyya krishn kanhaiyya
sau sau baar pranaam
sau sau baar pranaam
jai avinaashi jag ke swaami
ghat ghat vaasi antaryaami
jai avinaashi jag ke swaami
ghat ghat vaasi antaryaami
sau sau baar pranaam
sau sau baar pranaam
Jai Brijnandan Gopichandan Leelakaari Shyaam
Jai Brijnandan Gopichandan Leelakaari Shyaam
- In: "Advice" song | Ameerbai Karnataki Manna Dey duet | Ameerbai Karnataki songs | Bhajan | Biography of artists | Biography of Directors | Duet | Guest posts | Manna Dey songs | philosophical song | Post by Arunkumar Deshmukh | Prayer | Rare song | Songs of 1940s (1941 to 1950) | Songs of 1947 | Yearwise breakup of songs
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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.
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Blog Day : |
3748 | Post No. : | 14711 | Movie Count : |
4019 |
Today’s song is from film Sati Toral-47. This film was made by Laxmi Productions, Bombay and was directed by Nandlal Jaswantlal. The music was provided by a team of Hari Prasanna Das and Manna Dey. The song is sung by Amirbai Karnataki and Manna Dey. The lyrics were by Miss Kamal, B.A. This 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 Administrative 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 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. Nandlal directed, in all, 24 films-5 Silent and 19 Talkie films. Some of his well known films were Indira M.A.-34, Bambai ki billi-36, Sati Toral-47, Sanam-51, Anarkali-53 and Nagin-56. (adapted from indiancine.ma)
Music Director Hari Prasanna Das or H.P.Das was born in Chitgaon, East Bengal, in 1905. He was a Bengali. He was assistant to Pankaj Malik in films Dushman and Kapal Kundala-1939. He gave music to Bangla film ‘ Nimai Sanyasi’-40, in which he gave singing opportunity to 20 year old young Hemant Kumar. His first Hindi film as a MD was New India Films’ Blood Feud (or Josh-E-Inteqam)- 1935. His other films were Mohabbat-43, Meena-44, Kadambari-44, Mazdoor-45, Begum-45, Insaaf-46, Veerangana-47, Sati Toral-47 and Hum bhi insaan hai-48. He died on 26-9-1989.
The cast of the film was Shobhana Samarth, Prem Adeeb, Sankata Prasad, Jeevan, Badri prashad, Rehana and others. Sankata Prasad was the elder brother of more famous character actor Kanhaiyalal, who entered film line first as a Lyricist only. Born in Banares in 1903, Sankata came to Bombay and joined Sagar Film company in 1929. From the beginning, he was a fixture in almost every silent and Talkie film of Sagar Film company, Sagar Movietone, National Studios and lastly Amar pictures. After the last connection, he became a free lancer. To be noted is a fact that Sankata Prasad is the only actor who worked in all 3 First Talkie films of Sagar Movietone, namely Veer Abhimanyu, Romantic Prince and Abul Hasan. His last film was Do Mastane-58. He acted in 65 films,in all.
Film Sati Toral -47 was based on a Folk Tale of Gujarat. Folk Tales are stories passed through generations by telling. They are built around Fairy Tales, Tall tales, Trick tales, Myths and Legends. The base of Folk tales is a true historical event , person or a story. Folk tales of loving couples have been very popular and have been subjects on which films in almost every language are made. Stories of Heer Ranjha, Mirza Sahiban,Sassi Punnu, Sohni Mahiwal, Momal Rano, Dhola Maru,Prithviraj Sanyogita, Bajirao mastani, Laila Majnu, Salim Anarkali, Shahjehan Mumtaz Mahal etc. are famous folk tales of lovers and films are made on them.
Similarly, Mythology and religious books provide plenty of scope for Folk tales. Several films are made in several languages on the folk tales of Satis in Hindu religion. Actually, 44 Talkie films are made, whose Titles contain the word ‘Sati’. The more popular Folk tales are on Sati Anusuya, Parvati, Ahilya, Anjani, Madalasa, Narmada, Mahananda, Pingala, Renuka, Savitri, Seeta, Sulochana, Toral, Vaishalini, Vijaya and Vimala to quote a few. Maximum 7 films are made on Sati Anusuya. As if only Sati is not enough, there are films like Mahasati Anusuya, Behula,Madalasa,Maina Sundari, Savitri, Tulsi and Tulsi Vrinda. You really must appreciate the creativity of Hindi film makers.
Like lovers and Religious persons, there are folk tales of Historical persons too, Like Rana Pratap ( and his Horse Chetak), Akbar, Shivaji, Amar singh Rathod, Razia Sultan, Chandbibi, Jhansi ki Rani, Birbal and Tenali Raman. Films have been made on most of these too.
Coming back to Film Sati Toral-47, I have not seen this film in Hindi or Gujarati, So, I was looking for the story of Toral. I found one on Wiki. There is a slightly different ( in details) story written by Amrit Ganger ji, the famous author in English and Gujarati on cinema and history. He has won the Gujarat Sahitya Academy Award too. This story is available on tellmeyourstory.in, for those who are interested.( I am happy to note here that I know Mr. Gangar and he has gifted me his latest book ” Walter Kaufmann in India 1934 – 1946″ ). So, here is the Sati Toral story from Wikipedia…
” Jesal, a young Kutchi Rajput, was a dreaded dacoit.
His brother’s wife once chided him that if he was truly brave, he should prove it by stealing Toral, an extraordinary mare belonging to a Saurashtra king. In the process of stealing Toral, Jesal’s hand got caught in a nail and his agonised cries brought the king running outside.Asked what he wanted, Jesal said “Toral”, not knowing that the queen too had the same name. The king, a devout daani (donor) who had sworn never to disappoint anyone, gave him three Torals – his queen, the mare and a sword by that name. But on the boat journey back home, Jesal realised that Toral was not an ordinary woman.
He was tormented by guilt at having taken away someone who, out of loyalty, did not even question her husband’s decision. It is said that the enlightened company of Queen Toral, remembered in Gujarati literature as a devotional poet who composed and sang songs, transformed Jesal completely and the two began spreading the message of God.
Their inseparable companionship as teacher and disciple is talked about, but in cautious tones. No one, not even the local scholars, wants to discuss the Jesal-Toral alliance as a man-woman relationship. “Even the Gujarati film Jesal-Toral did not suggest any such angle,” recalls photographer Vinay Thacker, who started his career in 1976 by selling photos of the twin samadhis outside the shrine.
However, people do accept their unusual affinity, which even death couldn’t change. It is said that when Jesal undertook samadhi, he called out to Toral from his grave to join him. Toral, who was travelling, heard his voice, came back to Anjar and immediately took samadhi.
Toral, the mare, too was buried outside the temple. A green and magenta chaddar now covers the equestrian grave. The destroyed roof of the shrine has been temporarily replaced with an asbestos sheet. ”
Today’s song is sung by Amirbai Karnataki and Manna Dey, with Chorus. HFGK does not indicate names of singers for this song, but the voices are unmistakable. This song is in Amirbai’s song list. Prof. Yadav, in his book ” फिल्म संगीतकार – सुवर्णयुगवाले” also mentions these two names for this song. This is quite a good song. “Sati Toral”(1947) makes its debut in the blog with this song.
Song-Chaar dinon ka hai ye mela re bhai(Sati Toral)(1947) Singer-Amirbai Karnataki, Manna Dey, Lyrics-Kavi Pradeep, MD-H P Das
Chorus
Lyrics
Chaar dinon ka hai ye mela re bhai
?? raha hai ??
hari ka sumaran kar le re
tera hoga bhala
mera hoga bhala
apne ?? ko bacha le
hai shaam ki bela
aur din dhala
khud ko kar de prabhu ke hawaale
door karega wo teri bala
apne man ka dhundhla darpan
apne man ka dhundhla darpan
tu hari bhajan se kar ujla
hari ka sumaran
prabhu ka sumaran
kar le re
tera hoga bhala
mera hoga bhala
ab to hari ko sumar le re bhai ee
saari umar toone yoonhi ganwaai ee ee
yoonhi ganwaai
tera prabhu tere bheetar chhupa hai
tera prabhu tere bheetar chhupa hai
tu apne man ka deepak jala aa
hari ka sumaran
prabhu ka sumaran
kar le re
tera hoga bhala
mera hoga bhala
ye duniya hai ek musaafirkhaana
yahaan ki dosti ka kya thhikaana
ye duniya hai ek musaafirkhaana
yahaan ki dosti ka kya thhikaana
aaj yahaan par hai rain basera
aaj yahaan par hai rain basera
kaun jaane kal kahaan ho dera
is zindagi ka kya bharosa
ye jal ki dhaara hai silsilaa(?)
hari ka sumaran
prabhu ka sumaran
kar le re
tera hoga bhala
mera hoga bhala
dil ka rakshak wo parmeshwar hai ae ae ae ae
unko is jag mein kiska darr hai
unko is jag mein kiska darr hai ae ae
kaun hai aisa ishwar ka banda
kaun hai aisa ishwar ka banda
ki jis ka sankat nahin tala aa
hari ka sumaran
prabhu ka sumaran
kar le re
tera hoga bhala
mera hoga bhala
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