Archive for the ‘Vasanti Song’ Category
Ye bade sahab ka topaa hai
Posted on: April 22, 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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5026 | Post No. : | 16934 |
Today’s song is from the film Diwali-1940.
Going through the Film Index book, listing all Hindi films from 1931 to 2012, I was surprised to see that only one film was made with the title of Diwali. One more film was Diwali ki Raat-56. Similarly, only one film was made with the title Dussehra-1956. There are 2 films on Holi-1940 and 1984 while another was Holi ayee re of 1970. This is the end of Indian Festival films. 2 Films were made on Eid ka chaand in 1933 and 1964, Idd ka salaam-1976 and finally Idd Mubarak-1988.
I fail to understand, when so many films are made on Mythological stories, Gods, Arabian Night stories and Mughal Kings, why were the filmmakers disinterested in making films on Indian festivals ? It is ofcourse most unlikely, rather impossible, that any Indian producer will read my question and give a convincing answer. Likewise there are not many songs on Diwali or other festivals either. I found many songs on Holi and Rakhi, though. I don’t expect any explanation for this either !
I am not aware of the storyline or any other matter concerning today’s film. The film was made by Ranjit Movietone and was directed by Jayant Desai. Music was given by the inhouse MD- Khemchand Prakash. This was his first film with Ranjit. Before him Gyan Dutt was the resident MD who worked from 1937 to 1940. After Khemchand prakash left Ranjit, it was Bulo C Rani from 1945 onwards.
In the early era, Ranjit was one of the most powerful and famous filmmaking companies in India, boasting of famous and popular artistes on its payroll. owned by Chandulal Shah, Ranjit Movietone made,in all, 175 films during its existence. Calcutta’s New Theatres, however, stands tall at No.1 with 177 films to its credit.
Film Diwali-1940 had 13 songs, written by D N Madhok, Pt. Sudarshan and P L Santoshi, but HFGK does not credit any song to any Lyricist. The cast of the film was Motilal, Madhuri, Ishwarlal, Keshavrao Datey, Dikshit, Indubala, Suresh, Vasanti etc.etc. The name of Indubala is a misfit. She was a Bengali and did Hindi films mainly made by Calcutta producers in Calcutta and she acted during a period from 1932 to 1949. She sang 30 Hindi songs in 14 films She acted in 33 Hindi films. In most films, she did comic roles. Even in this film she is paired with comedian Dikshit ( of the Ghori-Dikshit pair of the 1930s films). Here is Indubala’s Biodata based on an article by Dr, J.P.Guha, with thanks to him.
Indubala’s mother was Rajabala, who along with sister Matibala and brother Tinkary worked in Motilal Bose’s The Great Bengal Circus, also known as Bose’s Circus or Professor Bose’s Circus. Harimati was the eldest sister of Rajabala and had a different life. Rajabala performed mainly as a trapeze artiste and got married to Motilal Bose at a temple in Ujjain, India. At the time he was then in his forties while Rajabala was still a teenager. The marriage was never accepted as legal by Motilal’s family. Motilal Bose’s first wife was Mrs. Annadamohini Devi.
Indubala was born in November, 1899 at Amritsar, where the circus party had gone for performance. Indu was born premature and Dr. Bidhumukhi Basu was taken to Amritsar from Calcutta to attend Rajbala. Such was the affection and concern of the husband for his young wife. Motilal’s interest in Rajbala dwindled later, supposedly because Rajbala showed no interest in going back to the circus after Indu’s birth and soon she was left to fend for herself. She came to Calcutta with her daughter and was given shelter by a Jiban Krishna Ghosh, who remained loyal to her till his death and also played a major role in establishing Indubala in her life as a performer. Once in Calcutta, Rajabala trained herself as a singer and Indubala’s first training in music was from her mother. The initial plan was to train Indu as a nurse and she was admitted as a trainee in a hospital in the Pataldanga locality of Calcutta. Indu did not take fancy in the job and ran away from the hospital, much to the disappointment of her mother, who never wanted her only daughter to be forced into a life of indignity.
After this incident Indubala’s musical training started. Although her father ignored wife Rajabala completely, he remained fond of his daughter and kept in touch with her and often invited her to his ancestral home where he lived during his brief visits to Calcutta and sent her a monthly pocket money of Rupees twenty till his death. Indubala’s first performance was at a gathering of distinguished guests where her mother was the chief entertainer. Each one of the guests appreciated Indu’s singing and thus began her formal training from Gouri Shankar Mishraji. Indu was only about twelve then. This also marked the entry of Indubala into the red light world. Amongst her trainers were Kali Prasad Mishra, Elaahi Bux and Miss Gauhar Jaan. Apart from music, Miss Gauhar Jaan, credited as Prima Donna of India, Indu also learned etiquette from the elder artiste and developed a close friendship with her. This association provided Indu with valuable musical knowledge and experience.
In later years she took training from Girin Chakraborty, Kamal Dasgupta, Subal Dasgupta, Jamiruddin Khan and Kazi Nazrul Islam. In time she came to be one of the major exponents of Nazrul songs and her songs along with those of Miss Angurbala and Kamala Jharia are still referred to for authenticity of lyrics and tunes of Nazrul songs. In 1916, Indubala recorded her first songs. She was brought into the record circle by Bhagabati Charan Bhattacharya and Mr. Manindra Nath Ghosh, alias Mantababu, himself a gramophone singer of repute. The first songs published as a record were Asha Phuraye Gelo, Sindhu Khambaj and Aar Mukhey Boley Ki Hobey, Kedara. The record number was P 4306. In the beginning she did not take any money from the Gramophone Company and as such was credited in the records as Miss Indubala (Amateur). She was not the first amateur artiste of the company but enjoyed the privilege of announcing her name at the end of each song saying “My name is Indubala”. The amateur status continued for a fairly long period. Later on she received Rupees two hundred per record and also received a royalty of five per cent over the sales. Her first songs of Nazrul on the disc were “Cheyona Sunayana” and “Rumjhum Rumjhum Ke Eley Nupur Paye”. The record number was P 11661. To Indubala also goes the credit of being the first Bengali artiste to record Hindustani songs for the Gramophone Company. For the Indian State Broadcasting Center, later named All India Radio, Indubala first sang on the second day of the radio company’s broadcasting in 1927 in Calcutta and went on singing in this medium for nearly fifty years. Over the radio, Indubala sang not only from Calcutta but from several other stations by special invitation all over India. Apart from discs and the radio, Indubala was well established by the thirties in cultural functions all over India. Frequent invitations used to come from Shahjahanpur, Pakur, Madras, Bangalore, Palanpur, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Oudh, Trivandrum, Vizagapattam, Ajmer, Coimbatore, Dacca and several other places.
In 1936 she was appointed court musician to His Highness, The Maharajah of Mysore. She received a monthly salary of Rupees two hundred and fifty and this continued till the time when the native princes faced withdrawal of privy purse. In all Indubala had recorded some two hundred and eighty songs, including about two hundred forty basic songs, the rest being from films. Indubala’s first stage appearance was in The Rambagan Female Kali Theatre, established by her mother Rajabala in 1922. Both mother and daughter took part in the plays and Indubala appeared in about twelve plays in this short-lived company which lasted for only two years and in 1924 she joined Calcutta’s most prestigious stage, The Star Theatre. She continued to appear on the stage mainly in singing roles and her songs were a major attraction in each of the plays. By rotation she acted in all the public theaters of Calcutta and even took part in the Hindi Parsee Theatre in 1945 and 1946, the plays being Ghar Ki Laaj and Jasoos. Her last appearance in the public stage was in the play Prithviraj in the role of Mehga at Star Theatre in 1950. Thereafter she worked in call shows till almost 1958.
Jamuna Puliney (1933) has been credited as her first film. This is probably because this was her first film contract although Ankh Ka Tara (1932) released before Jamuna Puliney. In all she acted in about forty eight films in Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Tamil languages. In most of them, she had songs as a major attraction or else did comic roles as in Bengali Indira (1937) and Hindi Diwali (1940) to name a few. She did the role of Dhai Ma in both the versions of Swayamsiddha (1947). Thereafter she was not seen on the screen. As a playback singer she lent her voice in films like Alibaba (1937), Chandragupt (1934) in Hindi, Ab E Hayat (1933) in Urdu and Dil Ki Pyaas (1935) also in Urdu. She did not act in these four films. Indubala did not receive any major award apart from the Gold Disc given on behalf of His Master’s Voice. The government of India never considered her name for any award. The Sangeet Natak Academy however honoured her with a lifetime achievement award in 1975. The government of West Bengal, India however did arrange for a pension for which a lot of running about had to be done.
In personal life, Indubala was most humble and polite and bold in her behavior and was never ashamed to admit or discuss her origin. Even when established as a major singing artiste with an all India fame, she refused to move out to a respectable place leaving her residence in Rambagan, a notorious red light area of Calcutta. Indubala got herself involved in voluntary work for the uplift of fallen women and worked actively for their rights in society through various organizations, which were patronized by top political leaders of the time. She had some interesting hobbies like writing poetry and collecting perfumes.
Even at old age all the empty perfume bottles were kept within her view. She was fond of jewelry too and had a great collection, either purchased or gifted by admirers. These valuables vanished when she was too unwell to keep track of them. Her contemporary artiste Miss Angurbala was a close friend with whom she confided and shared the joys and sorrows of life and this friendship lasted till the very end. Indubala adopted a nephew of her mother’s friend Jiban Krishna Ghosh. The boy’s name was Pranab Ghosh. This foster son did not look after her mother very much when in old age Indubala suffered from conditions like cataract and then paralytic strokes. It was Dr. Badan Sengupta who made necessary arrangements for her treatment. She could not afford nursing homes and therefore was treated at state government hospitals in all occasions of illness.
The end came on the thirtieth day of November, 1984 after a prolonged illness during which again Dr. Badhan Sengupta looked after her as his own mother. Perhaps by coincidence her friend Angurbala died the same year.
Today’s song is sung by Vasanti and Suresh. Vasanti was a very well known and popular Child star. So was Suresh. However Suresh became an adult star in later years. I know of only 2 child artistes, who left the film world, though they were in great demand. First was Vasant, who got married at an appropriate age and left films. The second was Shashi Kapoor Sr. who quit a quite flourishing film career to pursue higher education. He spent his life as a Professor in an US University.
Let us now listen to the duet of Vasanti and Suresh.
Song- Ye bade sahab ka topa hai (Diwali)(1940) Singer- Vasanti, Suresh, Lyricist- Not known, MD- Khemchand Prakash
Lyrics
Ye bade sahab ka topa hai
ye memsaab ka baja
Ye bade sahab ka topa hai
ye memsaab ka baja
ye dholak Natthu dhobi ki
ye Kalkatte ka Raja
ye dholak Natthu dhobi ki
ye Kalkatte ka Raja
Ye bade sahab ka topa hai
ye memsaab ka baja
Ye bade sahab ka topa hai
ye memsaab ka baja
ye dholak Natthu dhobi ki
ye Kalkatte ka Raja
ye dholak Natthu dhobi ki
ye Kalkatte ka Raja
Raja ke ghar saab aaya
gitpit gitpit boley
Raja ke ghar saab aaya
gitpit gitpit boley
Raja Rani pade soch mein
kaun kiwaade kholey
Raja Rani pade soch mein
kaun kiwaade kholey
Natthu dhobi aaya re
Natthu dhobi aaya re
sang mein dholak laaya re
sang mein dholak laaya re
dhanak dhanak dhan dhanak dhanak dhan
dholak baaje re
dhanak dhanak dhan dhanak dhanak dhan
dholak baaje re
raja ke ghar topey waala
saath biraaje re
raja ke ghar topey waala
saath biraaje re
maange sodawater
oye
maange sodawater
Raja ?? baaje
Raja ?? baaje
maange sodawater
maange sodawater
Raja ?? baaje
Raja ?? baaje
haa aa ha ha ha ha aha
aah ha ha ha h ah
haa aa ha ha ha ha aha
aah ha ha ha h ah
haa aa ha ha ha ha aha
aah ha ha ha h ah
haa aa ha ha ha ha aha
aah ha ha ha h ah
hey
Jo pahne ban jaaye dulhan
Posted on: November 8, 2020
This article is written by Arunkumar Deshmukh, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a contributor to this blog. This article is meant to be posted in atulsongaday.me. If this article appears in other sites without the knowledge and consent of the web administrator of atulsongaday.me, then it is piracy of the copyright content of atulsongaday.me and is a punishable offence under the existing laws.
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4496 | Post No. : | 16027 |
Today’s song is from the film Beti-1941.
In India, most people want a Son and not a daughter, but the thinking of film makers seems to be different. From 1931 to 2012 period, only one film titled BETA was made in 1992, whereas there were 3 films titled BETI, made in 1941, 1957 and 1969. there was also one film called BETI NO. 1 made in 2000. Interestingly, while there was a film called BETA HO TO AISA in 1994, there was also a film called BETI TUMHARE JAISI in 1969. As if a compromise was done, there was a film BETI-BETE in 1964 (here also BETI came first). I am happy about this because, hopefully, it indicates where the Indian society is heading to !
1941 was the first year in the second decade of the Talkie Era and it was the beginning of the emergence of a New film industry. When Talkie started in 1931, for many years after that, the films were made by the people who had done work in the Silent films. These films had a spill over for the silent era artistes. Once the films started talking,most silent artistes who could not speak Hindi or Urdu automatically disappeared. Thus started the influx of new actors who could speak Hindi and sing songs, in whatever way they could. Intelligent directors like V Shantaram,Bhavnani, Sohrab Modi, Chandulal Shah, Himanshu Rai, B N Sircar, L V Prasad and a host of Gujarati directors understood that the Talkie needs a different treatment than silent films. Music directors from stage dramas tried their hand in composing film music.
In the next 8-9 years, there was a perceptible change in the film making, acting, singing, and composing music in the films that were made. Quality artistes from the silent era continued for some more years – finally giving way to the new artistes. The 30s and the 40s mostly differed in film music and story contents. The new blood composers like Anil Biswas, C Ramchandra, Naushad, Ghulam Haider, K Datta, Hansraj Behl, Bulo C Rani, Gyan Dutt and many more replaced the Parsi, Marathi and Gujarati drama music to more acceptable lilting songs. Many musical films were made and some everlasting songs were composed by these people. At the end of the 40’s decade one more major change in the film industry took place due to Partition. More about it when we discuss a song from 1951 in coming times.
Today’s film is an excellent example in which the cast indicated artistes, none of whom lasted till 1951. Most retired, some died and a few migrated to Pakistan. The film was directed by Jayant Desai, music was by Gyan Dutt, lyricists were D N Madhok and B R Sharma. The actors were Khurshid, Arun, Vasanti, Ghori, Bilimorea, kesari, Nagendra, Rewashankar and Khatun etc.etc.
In my last post I had written about the multifaceted S N Tripathi, who was an actor, singer, music director and director. Some readers were surprised to read about his multiple activities. But in the Hindi cinema field, there were some really talented, multi activity artistes, both in films and outside films. Offhand I can mention at least 3 such artistes. The first is Dewan Sharar, who was from a Royal clan. He was editor of an Urdu cine-magazine, worked in New York with League of Nations, editor of a London weekly, Wrote many books in English, wrote story of film KARMA-33 an English film, wrote many Radio plays on BBC, Producer and actor in the Hindi version of film Karma-33, worked for A.I.R. Delhi, acted in 8 Hindi films, wrote stories of 10 films and 62 songs in 12 films.
Second example is of Pandit Badri Prasad, who was a Hero, character actor, director, producer, Singer, Music Director, Lyricist and Choreographer in addition to being a Sanskrit scholar. Third example is Sailesh Mukherji – actor, singer, Music Director and Interior Designer (Mala Sinha’s bungalow), Radio compere on A.I.R. Calcutta.
In today’s film also there is one such multi activity artiste. The name is Nagendra Majumdar. He was the father of Ninu majumdar, the music director. Nagendra was born in a happy family in the year 1894 in Bombay. After his father died, “Pearl Dairy’ established by his father ran very well doing good business. Suddenly, Nagendra’s wife fell seriously ill and despite taking her full care, she expired. Due to neglect of the Dairy in this period, Dairy also closed down.
He shifted to Baroda and worked as a State Police Inspector. Later he worked as a Watch and Ward Inspector in Baroda Railways. He left the job and started working as a hero in dramas of famous dramatist R.V.Desai. Heeralal, the owner of Laxmi Film Company, Bombay was impressed with his personality and took him to Bombay in 1926 to act in his silent films. Thus started his film career. In those days Silent films used to be completed within a month. He worked as a Hero in films of Laxmi, Jagdish and Imperial film companies.
In the same year, he directed a film ‘Paani mein aag’-1926, made by Royal Arts. Then came two more films made by Kaiser E Hind films. He also directed films for other companies. In all, he directed 15 Silent films by 1932. By then the Talkie had arrived. In the next 14 years he directed 12 Talkie films like – Ras Vilas-32, Sassi Punnu-32, Patit Pawan-33, mirza Sahibaan-33, Mera Imaan-34, Kala Wagh-34, Rangila nawab-35, Kimiyagar-36, Aaj ka Alladin aka Alladin II-36, Lehri lutera-37, Talwarwala-46 and Swadesh Sewa-46.
When offers for direction became few, he started acting in films. He acted in 12 films. When K L Saigal came to Bombay, Nagendra wanted to work with him. In the film Tansen-43, he did the role of Tansen’s (Saigal’s) father and he was very happy. Other films that he acted in were Kanchan-41,Beti-41, Khilauna-42, Bhakt Surdas-42, Armaan-42, Tansen-43, Gauri-43, Adab Arz-43, Bharthari-44, Prabhu ka Ghar-45, Ghazal-45 and Dhanna Bhagat-45.
His last 2 films came in 1946, but his health was not cooperating for quite a few years. He gave up work and took a rest. However, he suffered from paralysis and died on 22-8-1951. His son Ninu Majumdar worked in Bombay A.I.R. as head of Gujarati programmes, since 1937. By the time Nagendra died, Ninu had already started working as a Music Director.
As a Director, Nagendra had worked with the best of his times like, Master Vithal, Zubeida, Jillo, Billimorea brothers, Madhuri, Navinchandra, Durga Khote, Jairaj, Sultana, Noorjehan sr and such luminaries of those days. He had worked for Ranjit, Imperial, Sharda, Lakshmi, Jayant Desai films, Yagnik films etc etc.
There is a name Revashankar in the cast. Some of Ranjit Movietone’s earliest talkie films had music by Jhande Khan. Next came the trio of Banne Khan, Ganga Prasad Pathak and Rewa Shankar Marwari. None of that music was ever released on 78 rpm records. From 1938-39, the great duo of Jnan Dutt and Khemchand Prakash took over the charge of Ranjit’s music, later to be joined by Bulo C Rani. It was only around 1938 that RANJIT started releasing its film music on 78-rpm records.
Rewa Shankar Marwari’s association with Ranjit Films and films produced or directed by ex-Ranjit hand Jayant Desai continued in the 1940s. He acted in 27 films, till 1955, sang 12 songs in 9 films and gave music to 21 films from Veer Babruwahan-34 to Matrubhoomi-49.
Rewa Shankar sang a beautiful classical composition ‘jay jay shankar’ in Shankar Parvati (1943) for composer Jnan Dutt. It is available with several collectors, and is a rare instance of film music using Raag Shree.
Lastly about actress Khatun. Miss Khatun Bano was born and brought up in a poor Muslim family of Lahore. As per the family tradition, she learnt dancing and singing. once, when she was performing on stage in Lahore, the Talent hunter of Sagar movietone spotted her and she was offered a role in a Talkie film- which was a novelty in 1931. Her first film was Abul Hasan-31. Then came Subhadra haran-32, Meerabai-32, Maya Bazar-32 etc etc. In all, she acted in 59 films, till her last film Ibrat-60. She also sang 25 songs in 12 films.
Today’s song is the 7th song of this film to be presented. In one of the song posts, our Sadanand Kamath ji has given the film story already. For me too, this is my second song from Beti-41 to be discussed here.
( Credits – Information for this, is collated from various sources like Listener’s Bulletins No. 40 of Feb-80 and No.145 of July 2010, HFGK, muVyz, Sapnon ke Saudagar by Vithal Pandya, Silent films by Dr.Verma, Lost Treasures by kamlakar P. and my notes.)
Song-Jo pahne ban jaaye dulhan (Beti)(1941) Singer- Vasanti, Lyricist- D N Madhok, MD- Gyan Dutt
Chorus
Male Chorus
Lyrics
Jo pahne ban jaaye dulhan
Jo pahne ban jaaye dulhan
thhan thhan nikle baala joban
thhan thhan nikle baala joban
dekh dekh lalchaaye saajan
sautan ka jo jiya jalaaye
aisi saadi kaun banaaye
Shankar mill
Shankar mill
Shankar mill
Jo pahne ban jaye dulhan
Jo pahne ban jaye dulhan
thhan thhan nikle baala joban
chhan chhan nikle baala joban
dekh dekh lalchaaye saajan
sautan ka jo jiya jalaaye
aisi saadi kaun banaaye
Shankar mill
Shankar mill
Shankar mill
laala jee jab baahar jaayen
dhoti patlidaar banaayen
laala jee jab baahar jaayen
dhoti patlidaar banaayen
laali jee ka joban bhaaye
aisi dhoti kaun banaaye
Shankar mill
Shankar mill
Shankar mill
laali jee ka joban bhaaye
aisi dhoti kaun banaaye
Shankar mill
Shankar mill
Shankar mill
patli patli pyaari malmal
patli patli pyaari malmal
sabse sundar sabse komal
tan ko laage jaise makhmal
saajan ko de josh ramaaye
aisi makhmal kaun banaaye
Shankar mill
Shankar mill
Shankar mill
saajan ko ?? ramaaye
aisi makhmal kaun banaaye
Shankar mill
Shankar mill
Shankar mill
Shankar mill
Shankar mill
Shankar mill
Ankhiyan Ke Tum Taare Pyaare
Posted on: September 23, 2018
- In: "Aankh" song | Actor-Singer song | Biography of actors | Biography of artists | Devnagri script lyrics by Sudhir | Feelings of heart | Guest posts | Lyrics contributed by readers | mother-child song | Parent Child song | Pathos | Poignant Song | Post by Sudhir | Song of 1936 | Songs of 1930s (1931 to 1940) | Vasanti Solo Song | Vasanti Song | Yearwise breakup of songs
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This article is written by Sudhir, 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 : | 3719 | Post No. : | 14653 |
When ‘Bawarchi ‘ was released in 1972, I had seen it on the big screen in the theatre with family. In this film, Hrishikesh Mukherji has woven a remarkable story of a joint family and their interesting interactions. The head of the family (a widower), his three sons, two daughters in law, third son still a bachelor, and three children. The roles of the two daughters in law were played by Durga Khote and Usha Kiran. Being quite un-exposed to cinema otherwise (it was school years for me) I was quite unfamiliar with these two ladies when I saw this film for the first time.
I was later to recall these two senior actresses, when I would get to see their earlier, older films. The first such re-introduction was when I saw ‘Mughal-e-Azam’ (1960) on TV for the first time. Then I came to recognize Durga Khote in her role as Jodha Bai, and connected her with her role in ‘Baawarchi’. The two films had a difference of 12 years, and decidedly, she is looking much younger and sweeter in her role as Badi Maa in ‘Baawarchi’, compared to her royal appearance as the empress of India and wife of Emperor Akbar. One scene (from ‘Baawarchi’) that really amazed me and mesmerized me, is the family song situation from an early morning impromptu get together of the family members – “Bhor Aayee Gaya Andhiyaara”. During the course of this song, the two supposedly middle aged daughters in law perform the rapid pace thaap steps dance to the rapid taal – “dhiga tum naa naa naa naa naa” being rendered by the family help Raghu (role played by Rajesh Khanna). It was a real wonder to see the two ladies perform that sequence. A quick check reminded me that Durga Khote was, goodness, 67 years of age, when she performed in ‘Bawarchi’.
Remembering Durga Khote on the anniversary of her passing away (22nd September).
The first and the top most lady luminary of the Hindi cinema, Durga Khote was born on 14th January, 1905, in a well known family of Bombay. The family hailed from Goa and spoke Konkani at home. Her mother’s name was Manjulabai. Her father, Pandurang Shamrao Laud, was a famous lawyer and her brother was also a well known barrister. The young Vita Laud (her maiden before marriage) was educated, like her siblings, at Cathedral High School and St. Xavier’s College from where she did her B.A. While still in college, she was married into the Khote family, graduated and settled down with her husband. By the age of 26, she was a widowed mother of two sons – Bakul and Harin.
Into this scenario, and a life of a very traditional family, plopped in something utterly new – the world of cinema. Durga Khote wanted to work to support her children. In doing so, she became a pioneer of sorts. It was a time when the film industry was regarded as the preserve of the base and the bawdy. Also, most of the female characters were played by men at the time.
It all came about through her sister Shalini, also married and having amongst her circle of friends, a gentleman by the name JBH Wadia. At the time JBH was working with Mohan Bhavnani as the latter’s assistant. The talkies had just made their appearance on the silver screen. Bhavnani who had just made a picture, wanted to give it the box office appeal of a “talkie” ending. The picture starred Mrs. Bhavnani and her husband was looking out for a girl who would feature with his wife in the climax scenes of the film. Approached by JBH, Shalini refused. But knowing Durga as a person who would try anything once, she recommended her. Durga was ready to have a go at the part, accepted the role and went off to the studios the same day. Mr. Bhavnani’s heterogeneous production was soon completed, printed and made ready for release.
The film flopped. And for the beautiful young housewife and mother there followed a period of embarrassment at being connected with a filmy disaster. The film was ‘Farebi Jaal’ (also titled as ‘Trapped’ in English). “That is just how I felt when I saw it. It was a terrible film,” Durga Khote recalls in an earlier interview. She goes on to say that, “. . . my position was more than awkward. I had suddenly achieved a fair measure of notoriety. I just couldn’t walk around in Girgaum without people pointing at me.”
Looking back on it she laughed at the by-gone crisis. Through all this turmoil and unease there was one solid consolation: both the Laud and the Khote families were far too intelligent and sophisticated to be worried by the affair. On the contrary “My families stood up for me” declared Durga Khote with a proud smile of affection.
Amongst those who saw the film ‘Trapped’, was the then up and coming producer and director V Shantaram. After seeing her performance, he offered her the female lead role of Taramati in the bilingual film ‘Ayodhyache Raaja’ – ‘Ayodhya Ka Raja’ (1932). Durga Khote saw in it an opportunity to vindicate herself. Once again encouraged by the families, she accepted the role and played it beautifully. The film was not only good but a big hit, in both the Hindi and Marathi versions.
V Shantaram simultaneously cast her also in ‘Maya Machhindra’ (again 1932). This was a also a smash hit. These two top successful films established her straight off as a top star. Following came a number of films that won her acclaim from the public and from the film industry. After the two fabulous successes in 1932, what followed is no less dazzling a repertoire of well known films and famous roles.
In 1933, she appeared opposite to Prithviraj Kapoor in the New Theatres Production from Calcutta – ‘Raajrani Meera’. This year also saw her play the lead role opposite to a very young and handsome new entrant into the industry – P Jairaj, in the film ‘Patit Paavan’ (Pratima Phototone, Bombay).
1934, and she is paired opposite to Prithviraj once again in ‘Seeta’, from East India Film Company in Calcutta.
1935, another production from New Theatres – ‘After The Earthquake’, as the female lead opposite to Syed Mohammed Nawab. And once again, paired with Jairaj in ‘Jeevan Natak’ – a Debaki Bose Production in Bombay.
In 1936 came one of her many superlative roles on the screen – ‘Amar Jyoti’ from the production house of Prabhat, with co stars Chandramohan, Vasanti and B Nandrekar.
She played the lead role in ‘Pratibha’ in 1937, opposite to Master Shyam; film by Shalini Cinetone.
1938, and she appeared in two films – ‘Nand Kumar’ (Jaishree Films), working with Govindrao Tembe and ‘Saathi’ from Natraj Films, paired with Mubarak – another popular hero of that era.
1939 saw her appearing with Prithviraj once again in the Ranjeet Studios production – ‘Adhoori Kahaani’.
In 1940 it is Chandramohan and the film is ‘Geeta’ from Circo Productions. Also in 1940 came the famous and popular hit film, ‘Narsi Bhagat’ working with Vishnupant Pagnis.
1941 and it is ‘Charnon Ki Daasi’ from Atre Pictures, paired with Gajanan Jagirdar.
In 1942, she appeared in 2 films, ‘Bharat Milap’ of Prakash Pictures, with co stars Prem Adeeb, Shahu Modak and Shobhana Samarth; and in ‘Vijay’ from National Studios, opposite to Harish.
1943 turned out to be a blockbuster year for her, appearing in the lead role in six films. She was seen in ‘Qurbani’ opposite to Ishwar Lal, ‘Mahasati Anusuya’ with Shahu Modak, E Billimoria and Shobhana Samarth; ‘Mahatama Vidur’ with Vishnupant Pagnis; ‘Tasveer’ – paired with the young newcomer Motilal; and ‘Zameen’, paired with Biswas. The listing for 1943 is complete only when we talk about the mega film from Minerva Movietone – ‘Prithvi Vallabh’ in which she is paired with Sohrab Modi.
In 1944, it is ‘Maharathi Karn’ paired with Prithviraj Kapoor once again, and ‘Dil Ki Baat’ a romantic social, working opposite to Ishwar Lal.
In 1945, it is ‘Lakahrani’ from Prabhat, working opposite to Sapru; ‘Panna Dai’ working with Chandramohan and Mubarak; and ‘Veer Kunal’ with Mubarak, Kishore Sahu and Shobhana Samarth.
In 1945, we also see a major qualitative shift in her career. She stepped away from lead roles and very gracefully migrated towards support roles as a character artist. ‘Village Girl’ was probably the first such film, in which she does not play the lead role. But her films and her roles continue to be significant and powerful. She had already stated to play non-romantic lead roles in films like ‘Charnon Ki Daasi’ (1941) and ‘Bharat Milap’ (1942). Her filmography beyond 1945 speaks volumes of her prowess as an actress, and her ability to command the scenes, and the films. Moving to character roles, her assignments continue to increase, and she continued to be a busy and an in demand artist for another almost four decades. During her career, she has appeared in more than 200 films.
A special mentions needs to be made of the 1953 film ‘Chacha Chaudhry’ – a comedienne performance which took the industry and the public by storm. The brilliant timing of her expression, gestures, movement and dialogue combined to make that role such a scintillating comedy portrayal that she all but stole the picture from the consummate actor Raja Paranjpe – who doubled as director and lead player – and Dhumal. The three of them made it a slick, hilarious romp.
Durga Khote’s portrayals have been sensitive and consummate. Notable mentions must be made of some of her performances;
as Queen Kaikeyi in the 1942 film ‘Bharat Milap, jealously coveting the throne for her own son – her personification of the grasping queen made one understand if not quite condone the old king’s doting weakness;
as Shachi Devi, mother of Chaitanuya Mahaprabu in the 1953 biopic ‘Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’ – a heart-rending performance of a mother torn between her love for her son and the gratification she feels in his single-minded devotion to God, and her heartbreak for his bewildered, forsaken girl-bride, and her gradual resignation, made for a portrayal which was a gem of histrionic art;
as Jodha Bai, the empress of India, wife of Akbar – once again called upon to make a dreadful choice of loyalties, torn between the warring father and son – at first unable to invoke the blessings for her husband leaving for the battlefield, with the certainty of the fear that her son will be killed, and then when Akbar challenges her by attempting to erase the sindoor from her forehead, very sternly and studiously she performs the pooja giving the due honor to her suhaag even in the face of an eventuality of possibly losing her only child.
These and many other such power packed performances have made Durga Khote the dame thespian of the Indian cinema. She was honored with the Padam Shri award in 1968 and the coveted Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1983.
In 1950, Durga Khote naturally gravitated towards the stage and she joined the Marathi Sahitya Sangh, starting her long association with the theatre also. She kept busy acting in, producing and directing plays. She also founded Durga Khote Productions which produced short films – advertising, documentary, educational and industrial.
She continued to be active both in films and in theatre till the mid 1980s. After that, she moved into semi-retirement. She passed away this day, in 1991, in Bombay.
The film ‘Amar Jyoti’ has been acclaimed as a film much, much ahead of its time, both in terms of handling of the subject matter as well as in terms of technical finesse and special effects. The film represented India in the Venice film festival in 1937 and won praises and accolades as one of the best three films at the festival.
The film deals with the theme of suppression and negation of the role of the woman in the society, and one lady’s rebellion against it. As a subject, this was a daring endeavor by V Shantaram, given the prevalent sentiments in the society of that era. Nevertheless, this film was much acclaimed and became very popular at the box office too. Since the story revolves around pirates, scenes related to sailing ships and ships in conflict, it was a major accomplishment for the director, to be able to create the necessary environment within the studio, and film all the naval scenes using advanced special effects techniques, within the confines of the studio itself.
The film pertains to an undefined historical period. A queen (role played by Karuna Devi) and her cruel minister Durjay (role played by Chandramohan) are challenged by a woman turning a pirate and terrorizing the coastal provinces of the kingdom. This woman, Saudamini (role played by Durga Khote), has been much wronged by her husband. But when she pleads for justice from the royal court, Durjay decrees that a husband was the complete master of his wife, whom he could ill-treat, use as a chattel or dispose of as a slave. She is denied custody of her son by the queen, after she refuses to return to her matrimonial home. This greatly enrages Saudamini and drives her to revolt and seek revenge. She takes on the mantle of a male role and gets into a commanding position, as the captain of a pirate ship. She is assisted by her associate, Rekha (role played by Vasanti).
Durjay is captured and is kept as a prisoner with one of his legs cut off, to make him realize the eternally enslaved condition of women. Her next big catch is the princess Nandini (role played by Shanta Apte), the queen’s daughter. In her relationship with the princess, Saudamini plays an even bigger game by converting the princess to her creed of female emancipation, which considers love and marriage as a bondage. The princess suppresses her feelings for a shepherd boy, Sudhir (role played by B Nandrekar), whom she had met during her days in the pirate’s den. Unknown to even Saudamini, this shepherd boy is actually her own son, who was separated from her years ago.
In the continued sequence of events, Durjaya escapes with the help of Sudhir and returns to arrest Saudamini. Saudamini is captured, but the others, along with Nandini and Rekha, escape. It is finally revealed that Sudhir is Saudamini’s long-lost son. Nandini and Sudhir are married and Rekha carries forward Saudamini’s legacy.
Shantaram has used the symbol of the lamp and the flame very effectively. He deployed many other techniques that were considered path-breaking at that time. The film’s real success is in bringing out the inner conflicts of women, who may become male-like rebels, at the cost of suppressing their natural urges as wife or mother. In one of the most moving scenes in the film, we see Saudamini secretly fondling the tiny garments of her son, who has been separated from her.
In this song, we see this brief interlude, as Saudamini is remembering her child. The brief song is written by Pt Narottam Vyas, and the music is composed by Master Krishna Rao Phumblikar. The playback singing voice is that of Vasanti.
Remembering and honoring the enduring legacy of this fine actress – Durga Khote.
[Author’s Note: Acknowledgements – This article has adapted material from online sources viz., Cineplot and Wikipedia. Filmography details have been prepared using the Geet Kosh voumes 1 and 2.]
Audio
Video
Song – Ankhiyan Ke Tum Taare Pyaare (Amar Jyoti) (1936) Singer – Vasanti, Lyrics – Pt Narottam Vyas, MD – Master Krishna Rao
Durga Khote
Lyrics
akhiyan ke tum taare pyaare
chhod mohey mat jaa re
ab mat jaa re
akhiyan ke tum taare pyaare
chhod mohey mat jaa re
ab mat jaa re
[sudhir. . .]
[main teri maa. . .]
akhiyan ke tum taare pyaare
chhod mohey mat jaa re
ab mat jaa re
aansoo nainan mein se
aansoo nainan mein se
aansoo nainan mein se
kaahu tohey pukaarun
kaahu tohey pukaarun
waaroon sukh dukh saare
waaroon sukh dukh saare
waaroon sukh dukh saare
akhiyan ke tum taare pyaare
chhod mohey mat jaa re
ab mat jaa re
[ab mat jaa re]
———————————-
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
———————————–
अखियन के तुम तारे प्यारे
छोड़ मोहे मत जा रे
अब मत जा रे
अखियन के तुम तारे प्यारे
छोड़ मोहे मत जा रे
अब मत जा रे
[सुधीर॰ ॰ ॰]
[मैं तेरी माँ॰ ॰ ॰]
अखियन के तुम तारे प्यारे
छोड़ मोहे मत जा रे
अब मत जा रे
आँसू नैनन में से
आँसू नैनन में से
आँसू नैनन में से
काहू तोहे पुकारूँ
काहू तोहे पुकारूँ
वारूँ सुख दुख सारे
वारूँ सुख दुख सारे
वारूँ सुख दुख सारे
अखियन के तुम तारे प्यारे
छोड़ मोहे मत जा रे
अब मत जा रे
[अब मत जा रे]
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.
Toady’s song is from film ‘Achhoot’ (1940),sung by composer Gyan Dutt and singer actress Vasanti.
The second world war started from 1939, but its effects started being felt in India after 1940 only. The Government became alert and sensitive. Lots of restrictions were put on Imports and Exports. All exports to Germany and Japan were banned. Foreign travel came under Government microscope. Imports were restricted to only essential goods. Raw film stock came under Government control (and naturally became available freely in black market at exorbitant price). Taking advantage of the situation, Government declared that those film production houses who help Government in its war efforts, by making films with pro Govt. themes, would get raw film on priority.
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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.
Today’s song is from the landmark film ‘Amar Jyoti’ (1936), made by the Prabhat Film company, Poona. It was directed by V Shantaram. It was photographed by his elder brother V Avadhoot and the music was by Master Krishnarao Phulambrikar. All the songs were written by Pandit Narottam Vyas. Today’s song is sung by Vasanti and chorus. The song is also used as a background song few times in the movie since it conveys the essence of the film’s theme- fight against injustice.
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Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
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