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 a film called ‘Diwali Ki Raat’ (1956). This is a film in which singer Talat Mahmood acted as a hero opposite heroine Roopmala. Talat Mahmood (24-2-1924 to 9-5-1998) acted in 12 films from 1945 to 1958 and he also did a cameo role, singing a song-“Shukriya Ae Pyaar Tera Shukriya“, of  three and half minutes in film Aaram-1951. In his early career starting in Calcutta, he fell in love with a Bangla actress Latika Mullick. They got married on 20-2-1951. She was converted to Islam and was renamed Nasreen, who bore two children to Talat. As per a book by Manek Premchand, ‘Talat Mahmood – The Velvet Touch’, he sang 777 songs which included Hindi film songs, NFS and unreleased films etc. As per another source he sang 451 Hindi film songs from 259 Hindi films.

Two very good singers – and my favourites – spoiled their singing careers at the cost of fulfilling their misplaced hype of making it as a singing hero, when such times had died down after Saigal. Mukesh ( 22-7-1923 to 27-8-1976 ) acted in 8 films from 1941 to 1956 and sang 928 songs from 538 films, as per one source. I personally feel, the film bug did more damage to Talat than Mukesh. Of course a money-smart Talat made it up with innumerable foreign tours for concerts and singing jaunts with a party made up of musicians, singers and mimicry artistes.

Recently, I received a copy of Talat’s handwritten inland letter, sent to one of my friends in Gujarat, who wanted to arrange his show. As per what Talat wrote on 26-12-1977, his fees was Rs. 12,000/-, plus hotel accommodation for him and others. The troupe, he said, consisted of singers, dancers, musicians and mimicry artistes. One may feel that Rs. 12,000 was too low, but remember, this was 41 years ago, when petrol was less than two rupees per litre. In late 70s, I had rented a two bedroom, 1,000 sq ft flat in prime locality like Andheri in Bombay, for just Rs. 800 pm. Today the same size flat will command a rent of Rs. 40,000 + pm.

Like the values of money and values of life changed in all these years, almost everything has changed nowadays. These changes have not come overnight, but like slow poisoning, the changes took almost 50 to 60 years to show their effect. The second world war and the independence era were the beginning when quantity started overpowering quality. The film industry was also not an exception. How good the acting or the music was, became secondary and how many films, became the testing apparatus to judge the actor or the composer. Thus the simple but the talented artistes fell behind and those who pushed hard or had the right connections (and the luck) went much ahead.

In the field of Music Direction, at least two names come to the mind, who were talented but too simple to last in the neck to neck competition of the film line. One of them was Snehal Bhatkar (the other being, Bharat Bhai’s favourite- Jaidev). He was the MD for the film ‘Diwali Ki Raat’.

White full shirt, ironed white pyjama, spectacles with big powerful lenses and the trademark white Gandhi Topi – he could easily be mistaken for a ‘Pandharpur Warkari’ (a regular pilgrim to Pandharpur) or a member of a ‘Bhajani Mandali’ or simply a middle class ‘Marathi Manoos’. Such was the appearance of one of Hindi filmdom’s talented, yet not so famous, music maestro VASUDEV GANGARAM BHATKAR or Snehal Bhatkar, as we all know him.

In Hindi film music field there were some talented composers like Ghulam Mohd, Mohd. Shafi, Iqbal Qureshi, Daan singh, C Arjun, Ramlal, Sardar Malik, Ajit Merchant, Jamal Sen, Dattaram, Ganesh, etc. who could never reach the peaks of their careers. They really deserved success and fame, but luck did not favour them. Big banners never approached them and eventually the losers were the music lovers in India. These composers did not know, perhaps, how to sell their art. May be they never wanted to enslave music to gain name and fame, instead they preferred to settle for genuine service to music!

Snehal Bhatkar was one such composer. The maxim of simple living and high thinking never worked in this Mayanagari, but he had no regrets. Till the very end he was contented with whatever God gave him, and whatever name and success he achieved.

He was born into and grew up in a family that was surrounded by traditional devotional music all around. In the lower middle class, the people had their entertainments in singing bhajans and doing keertans in temples en masse.

Vasudev G. Bhatkar was born on 17-7-1919. He knew at least 100 bhajans by heart by the time he was in his 10th class. He was invited to sing in Ganesh Melas and other celebrations and soon became a well-known name in the locality. Because of his singing and skills in playing harmonium and other instruments, he got a job with HMV in Bombay. Here he used to give accompaniment on harmonium to big classical singers. At the same time, taking cognizance of his singing skills, many Marathi bhavgeets and bhajans were recorded by HMV. Some of them are popular in Maharashtra even today.

All this while, Bhatkar was looking for opportunity to compose in films. Sudhir Phadke who also served in HMV and recorded some songs from 1943 to 1945, joined hands with Bhatkar and made a pair – Vasudev-Sudhir. In 1946, they got a film of Baburao Painter – ‘Rukmini Swayamvar’ – for music direction. The problem was that due to his service in HMV, he could not openly work outside. Hence he only gave his name as Vasudev. After this film, the pair separated and Phadke went to give music to films like ‘Gokul’ (1946), ‘Aagey Badho’ (1947), etc. Due to financial constraints Bhatkar was unable to leave his job with HMV.

In 1941, Bhatkar had come to know Kidar Sharma while recording songs for his film ‘Chitralekha’, which he was making for Ranjit Studios. Sharma had just come from Calcutta to establish himself in Bombay. He had a knack of identifying talents. He first gave a chance to Bhatkar to sing some songs with Leela Sawant in his film ‘Kaliyan’ (1944). After ‘Rukmini Swayamvar’, Kidar Sharma gave him his first break as an independent composer in his film ‘Neelkamal’ (1947), where Kidar Sharma launched Raj Kapoor and Madhubala in adult roles as the leading pair. Here Bhatkar used the name B Vasudev. In the subsequent years Bhatkar used different names for different films like VG Bhatkar in ‘Sant Tukram’ (1948), ‘Sati Ahalya’ (1949) and ‘Pagle’ (1950), and Snehal in ‘Suhaag Raat’ (1948) and ‘Thes’ (1949). After doing ‘The’s and ‘Sati Ahalya’, Bhatkar resigned from HMV.

Snehal Bhatkar and Kidar Sharma were very good friends. Kidar gave him ‘Neki Aur Badi’ in 1949. Meanwhile, Kidar Sharma met Roshan Lal Nagrath in some musical event. Sharma was terribly impressed with Roshan and wanted to give him a break in his film. At that point of time, Kidar had just started work on ‘Neki Aur Badi’. He had a heart to heart talk with Bhatkar and Bhatkar gladly left the film for Roshan. Thus Roshan got his break with ‘Neki aur Badi’. Roshan never forgot Bhatkar’s magnanimity in his life and always respected Bhatkar. In return Kidar Sharma gave ‘Hamari Beti’ (1950) to Bhatkar. As he was a free bird now, Bhatkar started using the name SNEHAL BHATKAR  from this film. Snehal was the short form of Snehalata, his daughter.

Snehal Bhatkar did many Marathi films and recorded many bhajans in Marathi, which are ever popular. He did 28 films in Hindi (including one unreleased film in the 1950s) and 12 films in Marathi. Out of 27 released Hindi films, 9 were made by Kidar Sharma.

The song which made Mubarak Begum and Bhatkar famous in India was ‘Kabhi Tanhayion Mein, Hamari Yaad Aayegi’ from the film ‘Hamari Yaad Aayegi’ (1961). (This film was was originally named ‘Jawaan Mohabbat’). Actually this song was to be done by Lata Mangeshkar. Lata had already recorded two songs for this film. Due to her extremely busy schedule she was unable to do this song, so she suggested the name of Asha Bhosle. But Kidar Sharma, already upset over Lata’s refusal, opted for Mubarak Begum and the rest, as they say, is history. She imbued a unique character to this song with her special voice.

After 1960, the musical scene in India was undergoing drastic changes and there was no space for composers like Bhatkar, who used minimum orchestra and dwelt upon melody. His films came in long intervals. Even Kidar Sharma left him after ‘Fariyaad’ (1964) only to return in ‘Pehla Qadam’ (1981). Finally Bhatkar did his last Hindi film ‘Sahme Hue Sitare’ (1994), which featured his son Ramesh Bhatkar, who was already a popular hero in Marathi film, stage and TV. This obscure film did nothing good to Bhatkar. After retirement Bhatkar devoted his time for children’s welfare and his original love – Bhajan Mandali singing.

Snehal or Vasudev Gangaram Bhatkar, together with cousin Devji Bhatkar and Panchambuwa Pandurang Shivalkar, was the founder member of ‘Vishwambhar Prasadik Bhajan Mandal’ in Dadar. It is still in operation after 50 years, with new set of singers. Bhatkar was very kind hearted. Every year, during Ganapati festival he used to visit his ancestral village ‘Bhate’ in Ratnagiri district and participate in singing bhajans.

Lata, Talat and Mukesh were his favourite singers. Although Talat has not sung many songs for him, his song “Zindagi Kis Mod Pe Laayee Hamein” from ‘Diwali Ki Raat’ was very popular. When rehearsals for this song were being done, Bhatkar had used only tabla and sitar for the practice session. The producer who chanced upon this rehearsal was so much impressed with this that he insisted recording the song only with minimum instruments. So, this song has only tabla, sitar and another instrument for accompaniment.

Though there were many melodious songs composed by Bhatkar like, Khusro’s “Lakhi Babul More Kaahe Ko Deenha Bides Re” sung soulfully by Mukesh in ‘Suhaag Raat’ (1948); “Ro-oge Pachhtaoge” by Mukesh and Rajkumari in ‘Thes’ (1949); Lata’s “Chanda Tujhko Laaj Na Aayee” from ‘Bhola Shankar’ (1951); Suman Kalyanpur’s “Haal-e-Dil Unko Sunana Tha“- Fariyaad (1964), no other big banner producer opted for Snehal Bhatkar, except Kidar Sharma . May be his compositions were not so simple for common man to hum or sing, although they were quality songs.

Despite several melodious songs Bhatkar was never counted among the first line composers. Kidar Sharma returned to him in 1980, but by that time Snehal Bhatkarwas already on a descending track.

SNEHAL BHATKAR, a talented but sadly not much applauded composer, died peacefully on 29-5-2007 at his Dadar home.

Today’s song is sung by Mahendra Kapoor. As far as I know, this is my first song of Mahendra Kapoor. Today’s song was his first solo song of his career. Mahendra Kapoor was among the premier playback singers of the Golden Age of Hindi musical cinema, with hits like “Chalo Ek Baar ” and “Neele Gagan Ke Taley” vaulting him to a level of celebrity rivaling the on-screen actors miming to his vocals. Born January 9, 1934, in Amritsar,  Kapoor spent the majority of his childhood in Mumbai, where he claimed top honors in the All-India Murphy-Metro Singing competition in 1957. His victory captured the attention of filmmaker Raja Nawathe, who used him in 1958’s ‘Sohni Mahiwal’. This also caused a controversy, because the contest was for new comers and Mahendra Kapoor had already sung  songs in several films like ‘Madmast’ (1953), ‘Madhur Milan’ (1955) ‘Lalkar’ (1956) and ‘Heer’ (1956) and also his first solo song in film ‘Diwali Ki Raat (1956). Later on he gave some lame excuse that he had not got any payment for that song etc. (beetehuedin.com has all the relevant details on this controversy and the court case etc, in MK’s interview article).

A year later, Kapoor launched into the top ranks of Bollywood singers when composer and musical director Ramchandra Chitalkar tapped him to perform the show stopping “Aadha Hai Chandrama Raat Aadhi” in the film ‘Navrang’ (1959). Kapoor quickly proved himself a versatile talent even by Bollywood standards, performing in a number of regional Indian languages beyond his native Hindi. Within the sub genre of Marathi language productions, he was renowned as the playback singer of choice for superstar Dada Kondke — and over time his repertoire expanded, becoming virtually synonymous with patriotic anthems when he delivered “Mere Desh Ki Dharthi. . .” in Manoj Kumar’s 1967 film ‘Upkaar’, a rendition that also earned him the Best Male Playback Singer honors from India’s National Film Awards voters.

Kapoor remained a respected and popular figure across his five-decade cinema career, notching additional hits via “Iktara Bole. . .” (from ‘Yaadgaar’, 1970), “Fakira Chal Chala Chal” (from ‘Fakira’, 1976) and “Ab Ke Baras” (from ‘Kranti’, 1981). While his filmography embraces dozens of directors, he enjoyed his most fruitful collaboration with filmmaker BR Chopra, a partnership that extends across productions like 1959’s ‘Dhool Ka Phool’, 1963’s ‘Gumrah’, 1965’s ‘Waqt’, 1969’s ‘Aadmi Aur Insaan’ and 1973’s ‘Dhund’. From 1980 onward Kapoor appeared largely in small, regional films in the Punjabi and Bhojpuri tongues, and with son Rohan he mounted a series of live tours spanning across India and overseas. His contributions to the Bollywood industry were later recognized via the Indian government’s Padmashri Award as well as the Madhya Pradesh government’s Lata Mangeshkar Award. Poor health plagued Kapoor during the final years of his life, and he suffered a fatal heart attack in his sleep on September 27, 2008.

Today’s song is the 7th song from this film, to be discussed here. There are 10 songs in the film as per HFGK, but one Talat song was removed from the film. For this film, Kersi Mistry and Prabhakar Naren were the assistants for Bhatkar. Mistry later claimed that the above song was composed by him.

Song – Tere Dar Ki Bhikmangi Hai Daata Duniya Saari (Diwaali Ki Raat) (1956) Singers – Mahendra Kapoor, Lyrics – Madhukar Rajasthani, Music – Snehal Bhatkar

Lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)

tere dar ki
bhikhmangi hai
daata duniya saari
ho daata duniya saari

koi maange mahal do-mehle
koi kutiya chhoti
koi maange sona chaandi
koi sookhi roti
re roti
koi maange laal salona
koi maange laal salona
koi sundar naari
maange koi sundar naari
waah re duniya rachne waale
shaan hai teri nyaari
shaan hai teri nyaari
tere dar ki bhikhmangi hai
tere dar ki bhikhmangi hai
daata duniya saari
ho daata duniya saari

koi tujh par phool chadha kar
maalik tujh rijhaaye
koi tujh par phool chadha kar
maalik tujh rijhaaye
koi bechaara dukh ka maara
aansoo bhent chadhaaye
koi bechaara dukh ka maara
aansoo bhent chadhaaye
donon hi mohtaaj hain tere
donon hi mohtaaj hain tere
donon tere pujaari
donon tere pujaari
khel rahe ho khel anokhe
kya samjhe sansaari
kya samjhe sansaari
tere dar ki bhikhmangi hai
tere dar ki bhikhmangi hai
daata duniya saari
ho daata duniya saari

———————————————————-
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
———————————————————

तेरे दर की
भिखमंगी है
दाता दुनिया सारी
हो दाता दुनिया सारी

कोई मांगे महल दो-महले
कोई कुटिया छोटी
कोई मांगे सोना चाँदी
कोई सूखी रोटी
रे रोटी
कोई मांगे लाल सलोना
कोई मांगे लाल सलोना
कोई सुंदर नारी
मांगे कोई सुंदर नारी
वाह रे दुनिया रचने वाले
शान है तेरी न्यारी
शान है तेरी न्यारी
तेरे दर की भिखमंगी है
तेरे दर की भिखमंगी है
दाता दुनिया सारी
हो दाता दुनिया सारी

कोई तुझ पर फूल चढ़ा कर
मालिक तुझे रिझाये
कोई तुझ पर फूल चढ़ा कर
मालिक तुझे रिझाये
कोई बेचारा दुख का मारा
आँसू भेंट चढ़ाये
कोई बेचारा दुख का मारा
आँसू भेंट चढ़ाये
दोनों ही मोहताज हैं तेरे
दोनों ही मोहताज हैं तेरे
दोनों तेरे पुजारी
दोनों तेरे पुजारी
खेल रहे हो खेल अनोखे
क्या समझे संसारी
क्या समझे संसारी
तेरे दर की भिखमंगी है
तेरे दर की भिखमंगी है
दाता दुनिया सारी
हो दाता दुनिया सारी