Archive for the ‘Rampyari Songs’ Category
Prem ban ko main bhaagee gayee
Posted on: December 31, 2022
This article is written by Arunkumar Deshmukh, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in other sites without the knowledge and consent of the web administrator of atulsongaday.me, then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
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Blog Day : |
5279 | Post No. : | 17293 |
Today’s song is a rare song from an obscure film – Jeevan Natak-1935.
During the silent film era, there was no sound in the film and hence no dialogues. This was compensated by showing dialogue strips on the screen. Initially scenes and the dialogue srips were shown alternatively i.e. after the actor says something, the next scene was only his dialogue srip. Later on ,however, simultaneously showing of the dialogue strip started. In any case this prevented continuation of the story and importance of the dialogue. This also made the filmmakers make silent films action oriented, rather than using dialogues. 90 % silent films were action/stunt films or costume films.
When the Talkie film started, the filmmakers were rather perplexed as to what sort of Talkie films would be successful. In absence of previous data, it was a big challenge. Most filmmakers stuck to Mythologicals, Folk stories and social themes to be on the safe side. An analysis of films made in the first 3 years of Talkie films, underlines how the kind of films were decided.
The Talkie films can be broadly categorised into following Genres….
1. Mythologicals
2. Religious
3. Folklore stories
4. Social themes
5. Historicals
6. Costume films
7. Stunt/action
8. Imaginary
9. Comedy
10. Musicals etc.
Now, let us see what type of films were made in the first 3 years, i.e. 1931, 1932 and 1933 to understand how the filmmakers gave their preferences to different types of films.
| Year | total films made | Mythologicals | Social | Folklore | Imaginary | Costumes | all others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1931 | 24 | 5 (21%) | 6 (25%) | 6 (25%) | – | 5 (21%) | 2 (8%) |
| 1932 | 62 | 14 (22.5%) | 15 (24%) | 3 (5%) | 7 (11%) | 9 (14.5%) | 14 (22.5%) |
| 1933 | 76 | 18 (24%) | 17 (22%) | 6 (8%) | 8 (10.5%) | 17 (22%) | 10 (13.5%) |
The above rough statistics prove how Mythologicals, Social, Costume and Imaginary story films evolved as popular genres. In all this process, the filmmakers played very safe and used as far as possible, only known stories – with minor variations done as ‘ cinematic liberties. because of all this, most filmmakers did not try any offbeat of different stories. However, even in this period some producers did try to make films with offbeat stories – like the film ” Awara Shahzada’-1933, with a story of Look-alikes. A very young Shahu modak played The Prince and Pauper’s roles. As the years passed by, adventurous filmmakers came up with offbeat stories.
Worth mentioning is Prabhat’s film “Wahan”-1937 used a story about another Planet. Then there was a film by Prakash films – “khwab ki duniya”-1937, based on the novel “The invisible man” by H.G.Wells. (later on there were more films like Mr. X-1957, Mr. X in Bombay-1964 and Mr. India-1987, on the same story). Yet another film was “Duniya kya hai”-1938 based on Leo Tolstoy’s novel ‘Resurrection’. In 1941 came film ” Bahen” by National studios, which was on suggestive incest. But by and large, such offbeat stories were rare in Hindi films till recent times.
All this is discussed here, because today’s song is from the film “Jeevan Natak”-1935, which too had an offbeat story. It was about the memories of an earlier birth. The main role of the protagonist was done wonderfully by Durga Khote. The story of this film, in short, was….
The plot is set in two historical epochs, 1735 and 1935. The spirited Miss Queen (Khote), performing in a period play, recalls a previous incarnation when she was the actual person she is now acting on the stage. She inherited the throne because the state of Ranigarh had no constitutional heirs and her horoscope was deemed auspicious. Instead of being merely a figurehead, she opposes the corrupt minster Jairaj and army commander Mubarak (Pahelwan), she makes sure the royal court is accessible to the suffering people.
The film was made by Debki Bose productions and was also directed by Debki Bose. Debaki Kumar Bose,Bengali and Hindi director was born in Akalpoush, Burdwan Dist., West Bengal on 25-11-1898.He was the Son of a noted solicitor, Madhusudhan Bose. Influenced by Sisir Bhaduri, his teacher at Bidyasagar College, Calcutta (1920), he left university to join the non-co- operation movement of Calcutta Congress (1920). He was caught and jailed. After coming out,his father threw him out. He started selling ‘Gamachhas’ on the road. He started and Edited journal, Shakti, from Burdwan (1927-8). One day he was seen and hired by Dhiren Ganguly as actor and scenarist for Dinesh Ranjan Dass’ Kamonar Aagun (1930), Devotee of Vaishnava evangelical movement. He joined British Dominion Films (1927) as scenarist, then director.
He became friendly with the Cinematographer Krishna Gopal, with whom he went to Lucknow where they made a film ” A shadow of dead”. The film flopped and Debki returned to Calcutta, but Krishna Gopal was held hostage by the producers till he paid their investment. Debki took a loan from P C Barua and paid that amount to get Krishna Gopal released.
He joined P.C. Barua’s Barua Pics (1930), then entered New Theatres (1932-4) together with Barua, directing the studio’s first hit, Chandidas, after 7 consecutive flops by New Theatres.. This was the First film in India,with Background music. Its cinematic validation of a major stage genre – the quasi-legendary biographical – helped lessen Bengali cinema’s dependence on the Calcutta Theatres for its themes as well as its literary, musical and acting talent. Early work known mainly for his free and inventive approach to established genres, esp. the mythological and the Saint film, creating a Bengali quality cinema (e.g. Aparadhi and Chandidas). He was the one who promoted film music as a mix of Rabindra sangeet and Indian Classical music. It helped New Theatres to make its film songs popular all over India.
He also made Pooran Bhagat-1933. Handsome actor Mijjan (Syed Hasan Ali Zaidi) was the Hero. When the film was ready and about to be released,communal riots started in Calcutta,between Hindu and Muslims. After the peace returned,New Theatres was worried about Mijjan’s name in this Mythological film. Debaki kumar Bose,who hailed from a rich Zamindar family,told Mijjan “dont worry. From today I give you half of my name-Kumar.” Mijjan’s name became Kumar and he went on to become a big actor. After this,Debaki Bose himself never used the suffix Kumar to his name,in his life.
He made Rajrani Meera in 1933. During this film making he had a quarrel with director Nitin Bose and he decided to leave New Theatres.
After this he Went to East India Film (1934-6) where he made the lyrical Seeta which launched Prithviraj Kapoor and Durga Khote as a star duo. Seeta became the First Indian film to be sent to the International film festival at Venice. Here the film won a Diploma too and thus Debaki Bose was the first Indian artiste to win an International award for his film. He then Returned to New Theatres (1937-41), on invitation of B N Sarkar, making the classic Bidyapati.
In 1942 he left Calcutta and came to Bombay. His first film here as a Director was Circo’s Apna Ghar, made also in Marathi as ‘ आपले घर ‘. This also he directed.
His independent Debaki Bose Prod. (1935) with stars from the Hindi and Marathi cinemas paved the way for other Calcutta cine artistes after the decline of New Theatres in the early 40s. Made Arghya, a documentary on the caste system, based on four narrative poems by Tagore to celebrate the centenary of his birth. Debaki Bose was not just a director,but he was an actor (3 films),a producer (1 film) and also a writer (14 films). He was given the Sangeet Natak Academy award in 1957 and a Padmashree in 1958. He was India’s star director.
He died on 17-11-1971 at Calcutta. In his career of 31 years he made 50 films,in Bangla,Hindi,Marathi,Tamil and English.
FILMOGRAPHY: 1930: Kamaner Aagun (only act); Panchasar (also act); 1931: Aparadhi; Shadows of the Dead; 1932: Nishir Dak (all St); Chandidas; 1933: Puran Bhakt; Meerabai/Rajrani? Meera; Dulari Bibi; 1934: Seeta; 1935: Inquilab; Jeevan Natak; 1936: Sonar Sansar/Sunehra? Sansar; 1937: Bidyapati/Vidyapati?; 1939: Sapurey/ Sapera; 1940: Nartaki; Abhinav; 1942: Apna Ghar/Aple Ghar; 1943: Shri Ramanuja; 1945: Meghdoot; Swarg Se Sundar Desh Hamara; 1946: Krishna Leela; 1947: Chandrasekhar; 1948: Sir Shankarnath; 1949: Kavi; 1951:Ratnadeep/Ratnadeepam; 1953: Pathik; 1954: Kavi; Bhagwan Shri Krishna Chaitanya; 1955: Bhalobasha; 1956: Chirakumar Sabha; Nabajanma; 1958: Sonar Kathi; 1959: Sagar Sangamey; 1961: Arghya (adapted from Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema,with thanks)
Let us now listen to this rare song, sung by Rampyari. Enjoy….
Song-Prem ban ko main bhaagee gayee (Jeewan Naatak)(1935) Singer- Miss Rampyari, Lyricist- Pt. Narottam Vyas, MD- H.C.Bali
Lyrics
Prem ban ko main bhaagi gayi
Prem ban ko main bhaagi gayi
lene sundar prem ke phool
Prem ban ko main bhaagi gayi
Prem ban ko main bhaagi gayi
lene sundar prem ke phool
Prem ban ko main bhaagi gayi
sookh gaya ban
phool jhhad padey ae
sookh gaya ban
phool jhhad padey ae
?? haath mein mere phool
?? haath mein mere phool
?? haath mein mere phool
Prem ban ko main bhaagi gayi
Prem ban ko main bhaagi gayi
aaj dard zor kar hai koi
leenhi maine jo hi kataar
yoon ??
haath kat gaya
baaki raha phool ka phool
baaki raha phool ka phool
baaki raha phool ka phool
Prem ban ko main bhaagi gayi
Prem ban ko main bhaagi gayi
Prem ban ko main bhaagi gayi
Naiyya kaun lagaaye paar
Posted on: July 10, 2022
This article is written by Arunkumar Deshmukh, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in other sites without the knowledge and consent of the web administrator of atulsongaday.me, then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
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Blog Day : |
5105 | Post No. : | 17044 | Movie Count : |
4610 |
Today’s song is from the film ‘Roop Sundari’ (1949).
‘Roop’ is yet another favorite word of filmmakers. A total of 17 films carried the word ‘Roop’ in the beginning of titles. The first such film was ‘Roop Basant’, made in 1933 and the latest is ‘Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja’ from 1993. As expected there were repetitions of the titles. The stats say ‘Roop Basant’ (3), ‘Roop Ki Rani Choron Ka Raja’ (2), ‘Roop Kumari’ (2), ‘Roop Lekha’ (3), and ‘Roop Sundari’ (2). Five titles were exclusively once only.
In the early era of the silent and talkie films, getting girls to do the female roles was extremely difficult, as it was considered below the dignity to work in films. Dadasaheb Phalke wrote that out of frustration and compulsion, he even visited the ‘Red Light’ area of Bombay, met some prostitutes and offered them to work in his cinema. The (dis)honorable women there told him that it was below their dignity to work in cinema !
In such a situation, many European and Anglo Indian girls joined silent films to make money. There was no need of knowing Hindi or singing, as there was no sound. Thus many of them joined films. They had no qualms about giving intimate scenes or wearing short or revealing dresses. Some names of such actresses were – Iris Gasper, Susan Solomon, Effie Hippolet, Bonnie Bird, Esther Abraham, Renee Smith, Beryl Classen, Winnie Stewert, Muriel Alexander etc.
The advent of talkie films brought difficulty to most of these actresses as they could not speak Hindi or sing. 99% of them left. Only few like Madhuri, Sabita Devi, Pramila etc survived as they took a break to improve their Hindi diction and rejoined films. This situation also gave opportunity to many tawaifs and singing girls on the Kothas to join films as they had the privilege of speaking in Hindi and also singing. Suddenly a whole lot of such girls joined the films.
However, all these girls did not have the noble aim of serving the Hindi film industry. These girls joined films with 2 hidden agendas.
1. To catch a good husband and lead a respectable life and
2. To attain fame and money to settle down to a cozy life.
Most of these girls achieved the first agenda, a few achieved the second agenda and those who could get anything either left films or continued working till old age and died without a trace. In the first category, the famous Hira Mandi street in Lahore, famous for Kothas, provided well known actresses to Hindi films – notably Sardar and Bahar Akhtar. They married Mehboob Khan and AR Kardar respectively. Then there was Zubeida Sr., Zubeida Jr., Mehtab, Jaddanbai and many more who married rich people and settled well in life. Their list is too big to give here.
In the second category, we have Jahan Ara Kajjan who not only became very rich but also very famous. She was a fashion icon in the rich class of Calcutta social field. Her every fashion was followed avidly by the elite women of Calcutta. Another name in the second category is that of singer/dancer Rampyari. A tawaif from the lower class of Hyderabad (Nizam), she shone brightly in Hindi films of New Theatres and other companies of Calcutta and Bombay. She was also invited in other countries like Ceylon and Burma to give performances of song and dance.
[Author’s Note: Based on information from the book – ‘Mother, Maiden, Mistress’ by Bhavna Somaiya, Jigna Kothari and Supriya Madangarli, with thanks.]
Today’s song is sung by Rampyari. Let us know more about her. Actress Rampyari’s life story is interesting. Though from a singing family (tawaif) from Hyderabad, she was quite educated. Fluent in English and Urdu, besides Hindi and mother tongue Telugu, she used to reply in chaste English or Urdu to her fan’s letters. She is also one of the earliest film artistes who did programs in other countries, in those days. Additionally, she became famous in Calcutta when there was a letter-war between her and the New Theatres. Local newspapers tastily published the correspondence.
Let’s take a look at her Life.
Rampyari was from low caste and profession, but was a highly polished and sophisticated actress in those days. She hailed from a Telugu family of highly skilled professional dancers and singers. She lived in Nagulchinta area of old Hyderabad city.
She was born on 27-8-1908. That year Hyderabad witnessed devastating floods.She was taught Urdu and English. Apart from her mother tongue Telugu she was also proficient in Marathi and Kannada. She was trained in dancing and singing. In 1918, at the age of 10 years, she was taken to Madras by her aunt, who trained her in Bharat Natyam. After 4 years of rigorous training, she became the best dancer of Madras.
In 1926, a film producer from Kohinoor Film Company, Bombay, visiting Madras, saw her dancing and invited her to Bombay. It was the era of silent movies. Her first film was ‘Gunsundari’, with Miss Gauhar and Raja Sandow. It was directed by Chandulal Shah and was released in 1927. Her supporting role as a dancer in the film was lauded by the audience. Next film ‘Vile Woman’ was also successful. She acted in more than 20 films as a heroine and dancer and established her name as a seasoned actress of the 30s.
With the advent of talkies, she easily switched over. She had no difficulty in delivering Urdu dialogues. In 1931, she acted in ‘Paak Daman’, ‘Laila Majnu’ and ‘Ghar Ki Laxmi’. These were followed by ‘Gunsundari’ in 1934 and ‘Azad Abla’, ‘Meethi Nazar’ and ‘Hamlet’ in 1935.
Famous director Debaki Bose from New Theatres, Calcutta invited her and signed up for ‘Sunehra Sansar’ (1936) and ‘Vidyapati’ (1937), which was a mega hit. After this, she did few films in Calcutta with other companies. Her film ‘Milap’ (1937) was famous for being the first to show the prototype of a ‘vamp’ in Indian Cinema. Rampyari was shown wearing ‘an off-shoulder dress’ and using a cigarette-holder, with the intent of seducing the hero Prithviraj Kapoor. The scene was later used by Raj Kapoor on Nadira in his film ‘Shree 420’ (1955) for the song “Mud Mud Ke Na Dekh“.
She toured the entire south India and gave dance performances in major cities. She became so famous that the Ceylon Labour Union invited her to Ceylon and presented her with Gold Mementos. She also performed in Burma. She was greatly inspired by the acting of Sulochana aka Ruby Meyers and Miss Gauhar of Ranjit, with whom she acted in many films.
She shifted to Bombay permanently in the 30s. Her family also moved out of Hyderabad and came to Bombay. She had a large fan following in Hyderabad. She had a great fan mail too, which she replied in fluent Urdu and English. Later she got married and retired from films.
She acted in 30 films. Her last film was ‘Dak Bangla’ (1947). She sang 14 songs in 8 films.
She died on 28-8-1970 at Bombay. There was no news in any paper.
[Author’s Note – Thanks to P Kamlakar ji’s blog and his book ‘The Lost Treasure’ and my notes.]
The cast of the film ‘Roop Sundari’ (1949) was Jamu Patel, Umakant Desai, Babu Raje, Shyam, Sadiq, Pinakin Shah etc. Pinakin Shah was a name famous in Gujarati films. He operated in Hindi films but was not that famous. He was born on 27-1-1921 at Mehsana. His father Damodar Das was a musician and singer. After passing 10th std., he took lessons from his father and came to Bombay in 1944. He stayed with his sister in Bandra. His brother-in-law Pitambar Shah was employed in the film industry. Pinakin first started singing on AIR stations. Soon Avinash Vyas gave him training and an opportunity to sing in Gujarati films.
Pinakin acted in 3 Hindi films. ‘Gaurav’ (1947), ‘Roop Sundari’ (1949) and ‘Narad Muni’ (1949).
His first Hindi song was a solo with chorus, in ‘Gaurav’, under composer Shanti Kumar Desai. Then came ‘Ghar Ki Bahu’ (1947), ‘Nanad Bhowjai’ (1948), ‘Roop Sundari’ (1949), ‘Mahapooja’ (1954), ‘Jagadguru Shankaracharya’ (1955) and finally ‘Matlabi Duniya’ (1961). His last film song was in ‘Matlabi Duniya’, along with Purushotham. His most famous song was “Haariye Na Himmat”, a Kabir bhajan, sung along with Amirbai Karnataki, in the film ‘Mahapooja’. After this he shifted to Gujarat and continued with composing and singing successfully.
He however, returned to Bombay to give music to a Hindi film ‘Ek Aurat Do Joote’ (1978). To his misfortune, the film was not released at all, so he went back dejected.
He died on 9-5-2010.
The story of the film ‘Roop Sundari’ was. . .
Sundari was as beautiful as her name. Her step mother and step sister tortured her after the demise of her father. Sad Sundari meets the Prince of Kundanpur. They fall in love and get married. She becomes the queen. This is not tolerated by the kingdom’s tantrik, who wishes to usurp the throne. He contacts Sundari’s step mother and promises her daughter Sundari’s place as queen. They together create misunderstanding with the Prince and Sundari is thrown out with her newborn baby. However the prince with the help of his friends finds out the truth and arrests the tantrik and gets him killed. Sundari returns as queen with honor and all is well in the end.
Today’s song is very melodious. Let us now enjoy the song, sung by Rampyari. Incidentally, this was her last song in Hindi films, before retiring from films.
With this rare song, ‘Roop Sundari’ (1949) makes its debut in the blog.
Song- Naiyya kaun lagaaye paar (Roopsundari)(1949) Singer-Rampyaari, Lyrics-Neelkanth Tiwari, MD-Indrawadan Bhatt
Lyrics
naiyya kaun lagaaye paar
meri toot gayi patwaar
naiyya kaun lagaaye paar
bigad gaya ho jeewan jiska
kaun kare uddhaar
toot gayi patwaar
naiyya kaun lagaye paar
naiyya kaun lagaye paar
ho kar bhi main nahin tumhari
mere jeewan swami
mere jeewan swami
ho kar bhi main nahin tumhari
mere jeewan swami
mere jeewan swami
mann se nirmal sada tumhari
jaane antaryaami
jaane antaryaami
mann se nirmal sada tumhari
jaane antaryaami
jaane antaryaami
ek ek aansoo hai mera
tumko raha pukaar
ek ek aansoo hai mera
tumko raha pukaar
bigad gaya ho jeewan jiska
kaun kare uddhaar
toot gayi patwaar
naiyya kaun lagaye paar
naiyya kaun lagaye paar
aao swaami ee ee ee ee ee
aao swaami ee ee ee ee ee
aao swaami ek baar mein
door se darshan kar loon
aao swaami ek baar mein
door se darshan kar loon
tumse keh kar karun kahaani
paap ko halka kar loon
tumse keh kar karun kahaani
paap ko halka kar loon
phir chaaho to maroon khushi se
khaa kar zahar ??
bigad gaya ho jeewan jiska
kaun kare uddhaar
toot gayi patwaar
naiyya kaun lagaaye paar
naiyya kaun lagaaye paar
————————————————
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir Kapur)
————————————————
नइय्या कौन लगाए पार
मेरी टूट गई पतवार
नइय्या कौन लगाए पार
बिगड़ गया हो जीवन जिसका
कौन करे उद्धार
टूट गई पतवार
नइय्या कौन लगाए पार
नइय्या कौन लगाए पार
हो कर भी मैं नहीं तुम्हारी
मेरे जीवन स्वामी
मेरे जीवन स्वामी
हो कर भी मैं नहीं तुम्हारी
मेरे जीवन स्वामी
मेरे जीवन स्वामी
मन से निरमल सदा तुम्हारी
जाने अंतर्यामी
जाने अंतर्यामी
मन से निरमल सदा तुम्हारी
जाने अंतर्यामी
जाने अंतर्यामी
एक एक आँसू है मेरा
तुमको रहा पुकार
एक एक आँसू है मेरा
तुमको रहा पुकार
बिगड़ गया हो जीवन जिसका
कौन करे उद्धार
टूट गई पतवार
नइय्या कौन लगाए पार
नइय्या कौन लगाए पार
आओ स्वामी॰॰इ॰॰इ
आओ स्वामी॰॰इ॰॰इ
आओ स्वामी एक बार मैं
दूर से दर्शन कर लूँ
आओ स्वामी एक बार मैं
दूर से दर्शन कर लूँ
तुमसे कह कर करुण कहानी
पाप को हल्का कर लूँ
तुमसे कह कर करुण कहानी
पाप को हल्का कर लूँ
फिर चाहो तो मरूँ खुशी से
खा कर ज़हर ??
बिगड़ गया हो जीवन जिसका
कौन करे उद्धार
टूट गई पतवार
नइय्या कौन लगाए पार
नइय्या कौन लगाए पार
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
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