Archive for the ‘Vatsala Kumthekar Songs’ Category
This article is written by Sadanand Kamath, 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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‘Lalaji’ (1942) was produced by Mehboob Khan under the banner of National Studios and was jointly directed by Chimanlal Gandhi and Lalitchandra Mehta. The star cast included Krishnakant, Yashodara Katju, Yakoob, Vatsala Kumthekar, Amar, Sunalini Devi, Maya Devi, AR Kabuli, Kayam Ali etc. I have no idea about the story of the film. The montages of the film indicate that it was a comedy film with Yakub having an important role as Hiralal and A R Kabuli as Lalaji though the lead pairs of the film were Yashodara Katju and Krishnakant.
There were 12 songs in the film of which one song has been covered in the Blog. As many as 8 songs were written by Arzoo Lucknawi. Two songs were written by Neelkanth Tiwari. The name of the lyricist was not mentioned in respect of one song. That leaves one song which created some curiosity in me as this song was a ghazal attributed to Mirza Ghalib. However, I could not locate the audio clip of this ghazal on any video sharing platform. Finally, I could listen to this song in full on gaana.com and got it confirmed that this ghazal was written by Mirza Ghalib as his name de plume, ‘Ghalib’ appears in the last she’r of the ghazal.
The problem was not yet over as the audio quality of the ghazal was not up to the mark. Moreover, there were some high sounding Urdu/Persian/Arabic words used in the ghazal which made my task difficult to decipher the ghazal. http://www.rekhta.org came to my rescue as fortunately, this ghazal was listed under Mirza Ghalib.
I am presenting the second song from the fiim, ‘Lalaji’ (1942) – hum se khul jaao ba-waqt-e-mai-parasti ek din which is a ghazal written by Mirza Ghalib and sung by Vatsala Kumthekar and Amar. The ghazal is set to music by Vasant Kumar Naidu.
The original ghazal have 5 she’rs while the ghazal in the film has 4 she’rs. But the second she’r in the ghazal used for the film is not a part of the original ghazal of Mirza Ghalib. Even while reading the ghazal, the second she’r sounds off-kilter with the rest of the ghazal. My own guess is that probably, Arzoo Lucknawi who had written 8 songs in the film may have written this she’r keeping in view the situation in the film.
The ghazal is written as imageries of conversation of the poet with his beloved. Let me attempt English translation of 3 she’r of the original ghazal included in the song with the help of the meanings of some of the high-sounding Urdu/Persian/Arabic words, given by Ali Sardar Jafri in his book ‘Diwan-e-Ghalib’.
hum se khul jaao ba-waqt-e-mai-parasti ek din
warna hum chhedenge rakh kar uzr-e-masti ek din
ba-waqt-e-mai-parasti= at the time of drinking wine.
uzr-e-masti= pretext of pleasure (intoxication)
You be frank and open up to me while I am drinking wine some day.
Or else, in the pretext of drunkenness, one day, I will tease you (creating a nuisance).
qarz ki peete thhe mai lekin samajhte thhe ki haan
rang laayegi hamaari faaqa-masti ek din
faqa-masti=pleasure in adversity.
I drank wine on credit and yes, I thought that my wine-induced
cheerfulness in the midst of debt would be rewarded one day.
dhaul-dhappa uss saraapa-naaz ka shewa nahin
hum hi kar baithhe thhe ‘Ghaalib’ pesh-dasti ek din
dhaul-dappa=fist-fight
saraapa-naaz= proud from head to toe, coyness from head to toe.
shewa=habit, manner.
pesh-dasti=taking initiative, first move.
She, who is coquettish from head to toe is not in the habit of fighting.
I was the one who did the first move one day to make that (fight) happen.
The role of Vatsala Kumthekar as I understand from IDMb is that of a mujra dancer. Since Amar is acting in the film and is also singing along with her in this ghazal, I thought that the song may have been picturised on Vatsala Kumthekar and Amar. But the last she’r of the ghazal gives a hint that Amar may have sung this song for Yakub when he sings ….
hum hi kar baithhe thhe ‘Ghaalib’
nahin nahin
hum hi kar baithhe thhe ‘Hira’ pesh-dasti ek din
In this film, Yakub plays the role of ‘Hiralal’.
Audio Link:
Song-Hum se khul jaao ba-waqt-e-mai-parasti ek din (Lalaji)(1942) Singers-Vatsala Kumthekar, Amar, Lyrics-Mirza Ghalib, MD-Vasant Kumar Naidu
Lyrics
hum se khul jaao ba-waqt-e-mai-parasti ek din
hum se khul jaao ba-waqt-e-mai-parasti ek din
warna hum chhedenge rakh kar uzr-e-masti ek din
warna hum chhedenge rakh kar uzr-e-masti ek din
tujh se aankhen lad gayin aur dil machal kar rah gaya
kaise
tujh se aankhen lad gayin
aur dil machal kar rah gaya
doob gayi re
lut gayi
haay
haay
lut gayi re lut gayi is dil ki basti ek din
lut gayi re lut gayi is dil ki basti ek din
aa aa aa aaa
qarz ki peete thhe mai
lekin samajhte thhe ki haan
haan aah aaah
qarz ki peete thhe mai
lekin samajhte thhe ki haan
rang laayegi hamaari faaqa-masti ek din
rang laayegi hamaari faaqa-masti ek din
dhaul-dhappa uss saraapa-naaz ka shewa nahin
dhaul-dhappa uss saraapa-naaz ka shewa nahin
hum bhi kar baithhe thhe ‘Ghaalib’
nahin nahin
hum bhi kar baithhe thhe ‘Hira’ pesh-dasti ek din
hum se khul jaao ba-waqt-e-mai-parasti ek din
hum se khul jaao ba-waqt-e-mai-parasti ek din
hum se khul jaao ba-waqt-e-mai-parasti ek din
Mangal gaao ree mandap chhaao ree
Posted on: March 9, 2021
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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4617 | Post No. : | 16258 | Movie Count : |
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Today’s song is from a relatively obscure film, though it was said to be successful in those days. The song is from the film Prabhat-1941 – made by Tarun Pictures. It was directed by a true professional V.M. Vyas, who knew his job so well that 60% of his films were successful at the Box office. He took the best stars always and major singers and composers worked for him. His own banner was Sunrise Pictures, established in early 1941 and in the first 6 months itself his first film ‘ Ghar ki Laaj’ was completed. Prabhat was his second film as a director in 1941.
Vishnukumar Maganlal Vyas was born on 4-11-1905 in Ahmedabad. He started his career in 1927 as a Cinematographer. His company, Sunrise films was started in 1941. He produced and directed 30 Hindi and many Gujarati films. He died on 24-1-1962 at Bombay. Vyas was a very hardworking person and a man of ‘ never say die ‘ spirit. He was disciplined and did not tolerate any nonsense. He was also known as a very miser. He being a Vaishnav, his stars would get only vegetarian food during shootings. If they wanted Non Veg food, they had to spend for it.
At the time of film Naukar-43, the pair of Shaukat Hussain and Nur jehan troubled Vyas to no end. Not attending the shoots on time, asking for extra money on some pretext or the other and in general giving trouble and mental torture to Vyas were common. Not only this, additionally Nur jehan and Shaukat used to take interesting property materials from the sets to their house-like furniture, decorative vase, cupboards etc. Vyas kept quiet till the film was complete.
Once the film was completed and released, he registered an F.I.R against both of them for stealing studio equipment. To utter dishonour of Noor jehan, a police raid was made on her residence and all the furniture, tables, decorative pieces etc. , which she had taken from the sets were confiscated and the court fined her also.
Thus Vyas did not keep quiet when it was his turn and taught a lesson to Noor jehan and Shaukat Hussain.
Writer Mohanlal Dave was closely associated with the films of Vyas. In almost all of his films, Dave was the story, dialogue and s/p writer. Born in 1883 in Amreli district, Mohanlal Gopalji Dave studied upto 7th standard and became a Teacher on Rs. 5 p.m. salary. To try better prospects, he came to Bombay, worked in a Hotel as a waiter and then got another job. In 1905, he worked on a steamer going to karachi.
He returned to home, got married and went again to Bombay. In 1911 Maek ji Seth started Imperial and employed him to write advertisements and stories. After some time, he started earning Rs. 700 p.m. In 1917, he joined Dwarkadas Sampat for Rs. 1300 p.m. and wrote several stories for silent films.
When Kohinoor Film Company was started, he was contracted to write 2 stories per month. At the same time, he got from Ardeshir irani’s Imperial 30,000 per year to write stories for silent films.This went on for 6 years. In those days his name used to be shown above the titles of Kohinoor films, as per ‘ Encyclopedia of indian Cinema’.
His stories must have had Magic, because most films written by him became hits and his demand increased. Initially he teamed up with Director naqndlal Jaswantlal. From 1918 to 1933, he wrote more than 150 film stories for Silent films. When Talkie started, he worked for Jayant Desai, Imperial, Nagina, Pushpa and especially Sunrise Pictures of V.M.Vyas. he must have written more than 150 Talkie stories.
He was famous among the older stars and they honoured him too. He always used to wear Dhoti , a long shirt and a Pagdi. From his earnings of 50 years, he bought a huge plot in Santacruz, Bombay and build a very big Bungalow named ” Master Bhawan”. He also opened a Jewellery shop which ran for 20 years. He had 1 son and 2 daughters.
His social work and social service was well known in the field of education and promotion of Sanskrit. Anandilal poddar school of Santacruz, Mumbai is established by hi. He also established many schools, libraries, Temples etc. The speciality of his film stories was that they included Camera Movements, Fade outs etc. Secondly, his most Talkie films were repeats of his silent film stories. He also wrote Gujarati film stories. After retirement , he suffered from Cancer. Operation cured him but a fall gave him fractures. He was hospitalised but died on 20-12-1969.
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. Let us see some important films.
JBH Wadfia became Chairman of Film Advisory Board. He produced First Sindhi film ‘ Ekta ‘-1940. His film Court Dancer was also in English.
Asra- Debut of actor director N A Ansari.
Behan- Mehboob directed this film having an incest suggestive story.
Chandan- Debut of S N Tripathi as an MD
Chitralekha- First big success of Kidar Sharma. Mehtab’s bath scene caused a ripple.
Dhandhora- Actor comedian Charlie directed the only film.
Doctor- Pankaj mullick gave excellent songs. First popular song with whoof beats-‘ Chale pawan ki chaal ‘.
Jhoola- One of the most successful films like kangan and bandhan, starring Ashok kunmar and Leela Chitnis.
Kanchan- First composed song of naushad-” Bata do koi”
Khazanchi- A milestone in musical revolution with Punjabi Theka, by Ghulam haider. Debut of Shamshad Begum in Hindi films.
Lagan- Saigal, as usual, gives good songs.
Mala- was remade as ‘ Amar-55’ with music again by Naushad only.
Naya Sansar- Story of Newspaper world. A novelty. Ashok kumar’s famous cigarette smoking in films started from this film, solving his problem of ‘ what to do of the hands during acting’ !
Nirdosh- Mukesh sings his first song.
Padosi- Last film of V Shantaram before leaving Prabhat. A Landmark film. ” Kaisa chhaya hai ujala” popular chorus song.
Pardesi- Debut of actress Anjali Devi (not the southwali) with real name ‘Durgesh’
Radhika- Debut of Nalini jaywant.
Raj Nartaki- Ambitious Wadia film in English , Bangla and Hindi. Released in USA by Columbia Pictures of Hollywood.
Sangam- Amritlal nagar’s first film as a writer. He did 18 films as writer and Lyricist.
Sikandar- A Magnum-Opus from Minerva. Chorus song- ” Zindagi hai pyar se” very popular.
Taj mahal- Debut of Baby Suraiya as actress.
Sasural and Ummeed were 2 films in which Noorjehan senior acted and sang. Hoiwever these films usually included in filmography of Malika E Tarannum Noor jehan.
Today’s song is sung by Vatsala Kumthekar. Her end was very tragic. VATSALA KUMTHEKAR’s family was originally from Goa, but they shifted to Bombay. She was born in 1909. After primary education she started training under Ustad Barkat ali khan-the elder brother of Bade Ghulam Ali khan.
She became an expert in Thumri singing and started mehfil singing when she was just 16-17.She had a terrific voice which would mystify the listeners. She used to sing in various cities all over India. She got offers to act in Marathi and Hindi films.
Her first Hindi film was Prabhat film co. Poona’s WAHAAN-1937. She started acting and singing in films.
Her some of the films were-Banke Sanwariya, Madhu Bansari, Hurricane special, Zambo ka beta, Aaj ki duniya, Anuradha, Jai swadesh,Aurat-40, Holiday in Bombay-41, Prabhat, Sangam, Lalaji,Aabroo, Zabaan, Aashirwad, Ishara, Raahat, Tatar ka chor, Sher e Bengal, Geeta, Naag panchami, Aflatoon Aurat, Deepak, Jai Mahakali and last film was Toofan aur diya.
She was living with Sheth Ibrahim but he left her for another woman. Then he came back to her and she also accepted him till he died. Then she lived alone. Her financial and mental condition became very bad.
When her Sheth died, She became mad, shaved her head and roamed on Bombay streets begging. one day she was found dead on a bridge. She was cremated by BMC as an unclaimed, unidentified person, but someone from the crowds recognised her and her story came to be known.
With this song, film Prabhat-41 makes its Debut on this Blog.
Song-Mangal gaao ree mandap chhaao ree (Prabhat)(1941)Singer- Vatsala Kumthekar, Lyricist- Ehsan Rizvi, MD- Shanti Kumar Desai
Lyrics
Mangal gaao ri
mandap chhaao ri
Mangal gaao ri
mandap chhaao ri
usha bani hai bahuraani
usha bani hai bahuraani
Mangal gaao ri
mandap chhaao ri
usha bani hai bahuraani
usha bani hai bahuraani
shubh din aaya aanand chhaaya
shubh din aaya aanand chhaaya
sukh sampat ka darshan paaya
sukh sampat ka darshan paaya
Mangal gaao ri
mandap chhaao ri
usha bani hai bahuraani
usha bani hai bahuraani
howe mubaarak
howe salaamat
howe mubaarak
howe salaamat
jug jug jeewe pooton khele
jug jug jeewe pooton khele
raani raaj chalaawe
raani raaj chalaawe
raaja raani
Ram aur Seeta
raaja raani
Ram aur Seeta
Radhe Kanhaiyya
Radhe Kanhaiyya
Radhe Kanhaiyya
Radhe Kanhaiyya
Mangal gaao ri
mandap chhaao ri
usha bani hai bahuraani
usha bani hai bahuraani
shubh din aaya aanand chhaaya
shubh din aaya aanand chhaaya
sukh sampat ka darshan paaya
sukh sampat ka darshan paaya
Mangal gaao ri
mandap chhaao ri
Mangal gaao ri
mandap chhaao ri
usha bani hai bahuraani
usha bani hai bahuraani
Chahun oar chaandni chhitki hai
Posted on: August 6, 2018
- In: "chaayageet" song | Biography of actors | Biography of artists | Biography of singer | Feelings of heart | Guest posts | Post by Arunkumar Deshmukh | Rare song | Song of 1940 | Songs of 1930s (1931 to 1940) | Vatsala Kumthekar Solo Songs | Vatsala Kumthekar Songs | Yearwise breakup of songs
- 2 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.
| Blog Day : | 3671 | Post No. : | 14550 |
Today’s song is from Anuradha (1940). There were two more films made with the same title- one in 1960 and the other in 2014. Film Anuradha-1960 was the most well known film of these 3 films. The song of today is ” Chahun oar chaandni chitki hai.” It is written by Lajpat Rai and tuned by the veteran composer Badri Prasad. The song is sung by Vatsala Kumthekar.
Vatsala Kumthekar was one of those many aspirants, who dreamt of a bright career, plenty of money,name and fame and a happy retired life. To fulfil this dream, it was customary to go to Bombay and join films.
This is a Maya Nagari. Those who thought that all that glittered was Gold, suffered the bitter fruits of reality. In reality, Hindi film industry is a great leveller. This industry has taken some people from Rags to Riches and some others from Riches to Rags !
There are many cases where an artist reached a particular height of his career in professional life but when the end came, he died unsung, unknown and unatteneded. There are instances like Parveen Babi and Nalini Jayawant, whose death went unnoticed for days together and when news spread their bodies were beyond recognition. For many, the end was violent, like Sayeeda Khan, Director Brij and Shankar Dasgupta.
But the worst is when Death does not come fast and the last days are spent in penury, begging and in bedridden condition unattended.
Master Nissar, who once boasted of owning the only car in Bombay, other than the Bombay Governor, died in Kamathipura slums in Bombay penniless. His last rites were done by the Cine Artists Association.
The beautiful bubbly Meena Shorey died in Lahore in utter poverty and her last rites were done by charity. One time popular hero WASTI was found begging near Liberty Cinema in Bombay. Rattanbai, the famous singer was seen begging at Haji Ali Darga in Bombay. The wife of Khemchand Prakash also was found begging there by Naushad. Mohd.Rafi found Khan Mastana begging near a Dargah. Rajkumari, Vimmi, Bharat Bhushan, Master Bhagwan, Khan Mastana spent their last days very humiliated, in poverty and obscurity. We all know, by now, the sad story of Mubarak Begum living off the meagre earnings of her Auto-driver son, in a Bombay Zopadpatti, till her recent death.
The story of PARSHURAM, once a popular actor/singer of 1930s and 40s is very pathetic. Tabassum,who ran the record breaking TV program ‘Phool khile hain gaulshan Gulshan’, once stopped at a traffic signal. From her car,she saw a familiar face begging at every car. She immediately recognised Parshuram. She got down quickly,took him in her car to the TV studio. He was the same Parshuram who sang the famous song of Duniya na maane-1937 ‘Man saaf tera….’. He was cleaned, fed and robed in fresh clothes. Then she did his live interview on the TV and paid him Rs.1000/- on the spot. Later he got 1 or 2 film offers, but then he disappeared forever. He was a habitual drunkard. He was seen begging again. One day he died on footpath and was cremated by Municipality as an unclaimed body, before his relatives reached to claim the body.
Chandra Mohan, Shaikh Mukhtar, Cuckoo…………so many stories of sorrow and sad ends…….This is Bombay Film Industry-the Maya nagari.
Inspite of all this,still millions of people come to Mumbai with dreams in their eyes…..
Today we see the case of one such singer who scaled heights of popularity and then went to the Nadir from the Zenith….
VATSALA KUMTHEKAR was born in Bombay in 1909.Her family was a noted singers family from Goa. After schooling she got regular music training fro Ustad Barkat Ali,the elder brother of Bade Ghulam Ali Khan.She specialised in Thumaris.
Her beauty and sweet voice attracted many and she started holding Mehfils and Jalsas from 16-17 years onwards.her fame spread far and wide and she did programmes all over India. No wonder film companies ran after her.She started the career with Prabhat’s “WAHAN”-1937.
Then came Baanke Saanwariya, Madhu Bansari, Hurricane special, Jumbo ka beta, Aaj ki Duniya, Anuradha, Jai Swadesh, Aurat, Holiday in Bombay, Prabhat,Sangam,Lalaji,Aabroo, Jabaan, Aashirwad, Ishara and Rahat.
She was quite popular and many film personalities were keen to marry her. She got married in 1940, but her married life was bad. Her husband, Ibrahim Sheth, left her for another woman. After 3 years he returned to her. She readily accepted him and looked after him till he died. By now she had stopped getting films. After husband’s death, she almost became penniless and lost her mind. She shaved her head. She was seen roaming in Bombay like a mad woman and begging.
One day her dead body was found on Tardeo Bridge, Bombay. She was identified by some onlooker, but before the news reached the film industry, she was cremated by the Municipality as an unclaimed body.
Film Anuradha (1940) had a cast consisting of Maya Banerji, Trilok Kapoor, Jeevan, K N Singh, Vatsala, Shyamsundar, Anant Marathe , Agha etc.etc. Anant Marathe aka Anant kumar was the brother of actor and famous singer Ram Marathe. I was searching for his information for quite some time. My search ended when I found an article written by his son about his father.
Anant Marathe was born in 1936. In a career that spanned over 50 years, he was a witness to many changes and upheavals in the Hindi film industry. Born in Pune, in a family that was doing well for itself, he had three brothers and two sisters. Losing his father at the tender age of four, he was forced to give up education and begin work, to fend his family. In the process the family left Pune and came to Mumbai, the city that fed every soul.
The world of films, those days, was not an industry. It was just like a 9 to 5 job in an office. Anant Marathe, with his innocent looks, expressive eyes and inborn confidence, was chosen by Master Vinayak, to play a role as a child artiste in a hindi film, Chhayaa. In this film he played the role of a son, who for his own selfish means is used by his father, ( played by Late Shri Chandra Mohan).
The real breakthrough came when he was called for an audition at Prabhat Studios, the most distinguished film company of those days. This 1943-44 film was ‘ Ramshastri’, in which he was to play the part of Chhota (small) Ramshastri. Ramshastri Prabhune was the Supreme Judge of the Peshwa dynasty and known for his supreme judgement. Once he was selected for the role, his grooming as an actor really began. In the storyline, Chhota ramshastri was depicted as a boy who hates to study and loves to play whole day long. He would swim, roam about with his pet dog and enjoy life. For this role Anant marathe was made to learn swimming even though he was scared of water! He could not get along with the puppy dog, even though it was supposed be his pet. And to top it all, after shooting, the swimming and the sequences with the dog were edited from the film! The song, ‘Don ghadicha daav, yala jeevan aise naav” sung by him was very popular at that time. He received an award for his performance as Ramshastri from Bengal Film Journalists Association as the best supporting actor of the year. This film was screened in a number of National and International film festivals.
Film industry in South India was very active in early 50’s. Anant Marathe acted in a number of films produced by the South Indian film studios, namely AVM, Gemini studios etc. Shri Chettiar of AVM was planning a socio-mythological film on the life of a famous saint. The lead role was played Shahu Modak. The film in general was devotional and to bring in an interesting element, a comic character was created, in the form of the saint’s shishya ( pupil ). This role was offered to Anant Marathe and he displayed histrionics that astonished everybody on the sets.
The Director who groomed the great showman Raj Kapoor was Kidar Sharma and Anant Marathe had the privilege to work in one of his films, this time as a villain! The film was Hamaari Yaad Aayegi. This film also launched Tanuja, who would be known as a talented actress in the coming years. Anant Marathe played the role of a character called Pyarelaal, a very deceiving name for a villain! He is a suave character, moving about in the company of elite people but behind the cute face there is a monster of sorts, a wolf in sheep’s clothes. Anant Marathe, with his charming smile was very stunning, not only in his looks but in every move. Kidar Sharma was known to reward any actor who performed a great scene with a 4 anna coin, known as chavanni in those days. A chavvanni earned for a great shot was like an achievement. And Anant Marathe earned many, which he cherished till end.
His journey as an actor continued with great flourish. Since he could speak Marathi and Hindi fluently, he received offers from both Marathi and Hindi films. He was truly a bi-lingual actor.
Manoj Kumar was inspired by the life of Bhagat Singh, the great sikh patriot from Punjab and was planning a film on his life. Manoj Kumar and Prem Chopra were to play the roles of Bhagat Singh and Sukhdev respectively but casting for Raajguru, the third freedom fighter was still to be done, as Manoj Kumar wasn’t happy with the short-listed few, to play the role. Manoj Kumar heard about Anant Marathe, who had acted in many hindi and marathi films. Anant Marathe was asked to come over and meet Mnoj Kumar. One look at him and he had found his Raajguru! The experience of working in a truly patriotic film, that too with a thespian like Pran who played a cameo in Shaheed, was a very inspiring experience for him. Incidently Pran did not charge a single rupee for this role! Shaheed brought a wave of patriotism in the audience, they cheered and loved their heroes. The real mother of Bhagat Singh was felicitated at the premiere of this film at Delhi. She was moved by the performances of every actor in the film. What’s more, a special screening was arranged for the then Prime Minister of India, Late Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri, who praised the film and awarded certificates of honour to all the actors.
Anant Marathe acted in over 250 Hindi and Marathi films, out of which 71 films are Hindi. he also sang 5 songs in 5 Hindi films.When he made his foray in Hindi films, he was not very fluent in Hindi so he took lessons from a tutor who taught him the nuances of Hindi, thus improving the pronunciations so he could speak the language flawlessly. He also learnt English to give his persona the required sparkle, so important for a lead hero. He had to give up formal schooling due to circumstances that prevailed and may be he made up for it in this manner.
Some of the films he acted in are, Bhakta Bilwamangal (Durga Khote), Bhakta Gopalbhaiya (Amir Kanataki), Geeta (Chandra Mohan, Durga Khote), Gokul ( Kamla Kotnis, Sapru), Jivacha Sakha (Durga Khote, Sulochana), Malti Madhav (Durga khote, Baby Shakuntala), Nanda Kumar ((Durga Khote), Sant Janabai (Hirabai Badodekar), Seeta Swayamvar (Durga khote, Baby Shakuntala), Jawaee Majha Bhala, Choravar Mor, Bhintila Kaan Astaat, Shri Krishna Darshan ( (Durga khote, Usha Kiran), Sampoona Ramayan, Bharat Milaap and many more.
In “ Barkhaa”, he played the role of a doctor opposite Nanda. The song, “ Ek raat mein do-do chaand khile…” became an instant hit. “Bada bhai”, a film starring late Ajit, had him playing Ajit’s younger brother with Amita as the female lead. In “Sanskaar” also he played the lead role opposite Amita. He acted in some Gujrati films also.
In the early stages acting was like a job for him but soon it became a passion. All these years, while he worked in front of the camera as an actor, he learnt the finer details of film making, by observing, making mental notes. He had a flair for writing. In fact, he was a habitual diary writer. He wrote poems for small children and later they were published in the form of a book.
He had a good voice and was planning to be a singer but destiny had something else in store for him, a career in acting.
He wielded the megaphone in year 1974, for a marathi film named “Sonarana Tochala Kaan”, starring comedian and an intense actor Nilu Phule in lead role with Usha Chavan as the female lead. It was inspired by a Hollywood caper with famous comedian, Bob Hope in lead. The film was a huge success all over Maharashtra.
Soon he was set to direct a film in Hindi. After a detailed script was worked out by him, the producer backed out. Losing hope but not the spirit, he turned a new leaf and began work on his next project, once again in Marathi. The name of the film was “ Bijlee”, meaning lightning.
Rangat-Sangat Pratishthan, founded by the wife of late Shri Shahu Modak conferred the Manus puraskaar, an award on him for life-time achievement. The name for this award, for obvious reason is Manus (meaning human), a film by this name had Shahu Modak in a memorable role as a Havildaar.
Anant Marathe lived a content life. Having worked in films from the age of 8 took its toll on him and he passed away in 2002.
Film Anuradha-40 had 12 songs in it- all written by Lyricist Lajpat Rai. He seems to have written songs for only one more film, Deepak-40. The music was composed by Badri Prasad.This is the first song from this film here.I was pleasantly surprised when I listened to few songs from this film, because, contrary to Badri prasad’s earlier music and songs, these songs were sounding fresh. Looks like he was trying to be with the changing tastes of the audience. Sadly, he stopped giving music to films after just 3 more films-Vanmala-41, Madhusudan-41 and Zevar-42. He was, however, active as an actor and later as a choreographer for many years, till late 70s.
( Credits- HFGK, MuVyz, http://www.writewrong.wordpress.com, Isaq Mujavar’s books, Sun jaa dil ki dastaan by J V Kulkarni and my notes)
Song-Chahun oar chaandni chitki hai(Anuradha)(1940) Singer-Vatsala Kumthekar, Lyricist- Lajpat Rai, MD- Badri Prasad
Lyrics
chahun oar
chahun oar chaandni chitki hai
taaron ki basti basti hai
chahun oar chaandni chitki hai
taaron ki basti basti hai
main haay akeli
aa jaao
birha ki aag sulagti hai
chahun oar
chahun oar
ye mand mand vaayu ki lahren
sukh ke geet sunaati hain
ye mand mand vaayu ki lahren
sukh ke geet sunaati hain
chhed chhed man ke taaron ko
aise saaz bajaati hain
rom rom thhar thhar kaanpe ae ae ae
rom rom thhar thhar kaanpe
nanhi si jaan machalti hai
nanhi si jaan machalti hai
main haay akeli
aa jaao
birha ki aag nikalti hai
chahun oar
chahun oar
door door saagar ka paani
prem ka naad sunaata hai
door door saagar ka paani
prem ka naad sunaata hai
mast bana paagal sa doley
mast bana paagal sa doley
parvat se takraata hai
dol rahi hirday ki naiyya aa aa naiyya
dol rahi hirday ki naiyya
kaise paar utarte hain
kaise paar utarte hain
main haay akeli
aa jaao
birha ki aag sulagti hai
chahun oar
Rang Rasiya Aao Re
Posted on: February 7, 2018
- In: Actor-Singer song | Biography of actors | Biography of artists | Calling the beloved | Classical composition | Devnagri script lyrics by Sudhir | Feelings of heart | Guest posts | Lyrics by Sudhir | Lyrics contributed by readers | Post by Arunkumar Deshmukh | Rare song | Song of 1939 | Songs of 1930s (1931 to 1940) | Vatsala Kumthekar Solo Songs | Vatsala Kumthekar Songs | Yearwise breakup of songs
- 22 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.
| Blog Day : | 3491 | Post No. : | 14023 |
There was a time when the films made in Hindi could be classified easily as A grade, B grade and C grade films. A grade films were those made by big and famous banners with top class actors and leading music directors. B grade films were those made with second rung of actors, director and music directors. C grade films were those films which were made by not so famous banners, almost unknown actors directors and composers. Usually C grade films used to be action/stunt films, made on shoestring budgets, having a fixed story line resembling Tarzan, Hercules or Hollywood action films of Robin Hood, with the background of a jungle, tribe people, king-queen-wicked wazir and similar stories.
C grade films were always quickies, made on shoe-string budgets. During the late 1930s and 40s, Master Bhagwan action films used to be completed in about Rs. 50,000 only – including studio rent, sets, artist fees and other expenses. C grade films had a captive audience comprising of factory workers, daily wagers, low income earners and students. However, such films used to rake in big profits to the film makers. Therefore, even top class banners sometimes made C grade films, to make up their losses in big film flops.
There were certain production houses which specialized and thrived on such films – like Paramount Films, Jagriti Films, Mohan Pictures, Wadia Movietone etc. Since studio system was in vogue, the film studios usually had fixed actors and directors in their employment. Music directors were of no consequence, so anybody would do. Well known composers like C Ramchandra used to take another name while composing music for C grade action films. Music assistants of famous composers used to give music to such films. Well known composers fallen on bad days also gave music to such films. C grade films rarely released commercial gramophone records for their film songs, so such songs are a real rarity even with big collectors.
Some common and regular names one finds in such grade C action/stunt films are Nadia, Boman Irani, Sayani, Bilimoria brothers, Cooper sisters, Zohra Khatoon, Ameena Khatoon, Khatoon Bai, Prakash, Adjania, Noorjehan (sr.), Moosa Pehelwan, Vasantrao Pehelwan, Baburao Pehelwan, Marutirao Pehelwan, Azim Bhai, Basheer, Ali, Bachha, Chandra Rao, Harishchandra Rao, Shankar Rao, Master Bhagwan, Mirajkar, Jamshed, John Cawas, Lalita Pawar, Navin Chandra. . . and many more such names.
Barring a few names like Lalita Pawar, Bhagwan, Nadia etc, all the other action film actors remained relatively less known. No one knows anything about them. Actors like Baburao Pehelwan, Marutirao Pehelwan (he was the hero in the first Gujarati talkie film ‘Narsi Mehta’), Chandra Rao, Sayani etc. were quite famous in their times, but except their Filmography (thanks to HFGK), nothing more is known about them. All of them ended only with mere names !
Today, I am writing about one such action film hero of 7 silent and 12 talkie films of the 1930s and 40s, whom I stumbled upon recently. His name is so obscure and unknown that even I was stunned, but he has acted with heroines like Rajkumari (Dubey), Sarojini, Vatsala Kumthekar, Gauhar Karnataki and had acted in films made by well known production houses like Paramount and Mohan Pictures.
On 2nd January 2015, I got a message on my Facebook page from an unknown person called ‘Tejas Vazare’. Since I try to avoid unknown people as my Fb friends, I ignored that message. Three years later, this January, I saw the message again. This time it attracted my attention by what he wrote. He mentioned that his grandfather was a Hindi film hero of the 1930s and 40s. Out of curiosity, I wrote to him asking him to sent information about himself and his grandfather. He informed me that Master Shankar Rao Vazare was a hero in few films in 1930s and 40s. This was a name new to me. He also sent me film posters, photos, newspaper articles etc. about him. On reading all this, I strongly felt that here was a man who needs to be brought before today’s world. We exchanged lot many mails. I checked all film names with my books and prepared a list of films having evidence.
Tejas and me have planned to meet in March, in Bombay. May be his father (son of Shankar Rao) and aunt (daughter of Shankar Rao) will accompany him. That time I will complete my interview with them and prepare a detailed article with photos, posters etc for publishing on line. But till then, I wish to present his short biography on this blog first. This blog has the right to have such things first here before anywhere else. I owe it this much. So, here we go.
Master Shankar Rao Vazare was born on 1-1-1916 in the Bhabhanagar area of Nashik (Maharashtra), in a peasant family. His father Trimbak Rao Vazare was the Patil of Nashik. (Patil used to be the overall head of the village / town) and his uncle was the chairman of the Municipality. Shankar Rao was very keen on films. Dadasaheb Phalke was also from Nashik. Taking inspiration from him, Shankar Rao developed attraction for films. He used to see English films in the tent theatre of Nashik.
He reached Bombay. He was very handsome, tall and had a good physique. He got roles in the silent films made by Mahavir Photoplays. From 1929 to 1931, he worked in 7 silent films. There could be more also, but initially he was uncredited. Problem with the silent films was that they generally had 2 or 3 titles and alias names. Additionally as per the local language the title used to change also. So, it is very difficult to trace silent films by titles in the various lists published.
The list of his silent films that has been identified so far is – ‘Father’s Love’ (1929), ‘Ideal Woman’ (1930), ‘Prince Of The People’ (1930), ‘Avarice’ (1930), ‘Niradhar Niru’ (1931), ‘Jungle Ka Jawan’ (1931) and ‘Saroj Kumari’ (1931).
His first talkie film was ‘Toofani Tamancha’ aka ‘Hands Up’ (1935), made by Paramount Film company. In this film, his heroine was Gul Bano. He acted in 7 films made by Paramount Film Co., 3 by India Liberty Co., and 1 each made by Mohan Pictures and Allied Films. Here is the list of his talkie films,
|
|
Film Title | Year | Production Company | Director |
Heroine / Co worker |
| 1. | Toofani Tamancha aka Hands Up |
1935 | Paramount | RN Vaidya | Gul Bano / Miss Pukhraj |
| 2. | Farz e Adaa aka Loyalty |
1936 | Indian Liberty | AM Khan | Shehzadi (sister of Zubeida (of Alam Aara)) / Vidya |
| 3. | Bansari Balaa aka Fairy Of The Flute |
1936 | Paramount | AM Khan | Gauhar Karnataki / Kamla |
| 4. | Burkhawali aka Bombay Mail |
1936 | Indian Liberty | (Unknown) | Gauhar Karnataki / Miss Pearl |
| 5. | Madhraat Ka Mehmaan aka Midnight Man |
1938 | Indian Liberty | Kikubhai Desai | Miss Moti / Miss Pokhraj |
| 6. | Jungle Ka Jawan | 1938 | Mohan Pictures | Chunilal Parekh | Rajkumari / Kamla |
| 7. | Madhu Bansari | 1939 | Paramount | Nanubhai Vakil | Sarojini (sister of Indurani, mother of Azra, wife of Nanubhai Vakil) / Vatsala Kumthekar |
| 8 | Son of Alladin aka Alladin ka Beta |
1939 | Paramount | Nanubhai Vakil | Sarojini / Ranibala |
| 9. | Reshami Saari | 1939 | Paramount | GP Pawar (husband of Lalita Pawar) | Kanta Kumari / Miss Moti |
| 10. | Aflatoon Aurat aka Veerangana aka Amazon |
1940 | Paramount | Kikubhai Desai | Miss Moti / Kanta Kumari |
| 11. | Mere Raja | 1941 | Paramount | TS Mani | Miss Moti / Kanta Kumari |
| 12. | Jungle Ki Pukar aka Call Of The Jungle |
1946 | Allied Films | Ramji Arya | Ameena Khatoon / Usha |
After 1941, he found it difficult to get films. He returned to his hometown Nashik to look after his family, farming and also started a business dealing in cucles. In 1946, he got his last film and after that, he again returned to Nashik. Master Shankar Rao Vazare died on 21-1-1949, at a very young age of only 33 years.
Shankar Rao Vazare was the favourite hero of director Kikubhai Desai (father of Manmohan Desai) for silent and talkie films. Fearless Nadia, Ashok Kumar and Kishore Kumar were his fans. Ashok Kumar used to like seeing his films. In one interview, Kishore Kumar has said – “Despite being a hero, my brother Ashok Kumar never did a fight scene on the screen. I considered Master Shankar Vazare a better hero than him ! ”
His hometown Nashik was very proud of him. During the centenary celebrations of Nashik Municipality, they published his photo and a short Biography in their souvenir. There were articles and photos published in local newspapers. His wife expired about 4 years ago and his sons continue to live in Nashik. They are proud of him.
To get a song from his films was a great problem since nothing is available on YouTube. I sent out request letters to some famous record collectors and our own Sudhir ji. All collectors replied negatively, but only Sudhir ji had just one song from the film ‘Madhu Bansari’ (1939). He sent me the song promptly. Thank you Sudhir ji for your kind help. On finding this song, Tejas Vazare and his family were overjoyed and have thanked our Sudhir ji wholeheartedly.
This song is sung by Vatsala Kumthekar, under the baton of Damodar Sharma. The film was directed by Nanubhai Vakil. The cast of the film was Master Vazare, Sarojini (sister of actress Indurani, mother of actress Azra and wife of Nanubhai Vakil ), Vatsala Kumthekar, Ganpat, Basheer, Ali etc. There were 14 songs in the film.
Acknowledgements :
– Inputs from Tejas Vazare (grandson of Master Shankar Rao Vazare)
– Article in newspaper ‘Lokmat’
– Centenary book of Nashik Municipality
– Advertisements in Times of India and Film India magazine
– HFGK compiled by Shri Harmandir Singh ‘Hamraaz’
– ‘Silent Filmography’ by Dr RK Verma
– Sudhir ji
– And my notes 🙂
Song – Rang Rasiya Aao Re (Madhu Bansari) (1939) Singer – Vatsala Kumethkar, Lyrics – [Unattributed], Music – Damodar Sharma
Lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
rang rasiya..aa..aa
aawo re
rang rasiya..aa..aa
aawo re
jeevan ki
prem jyot ko jagaawo
rang rasiya..aa..aa
aawo re
rang rasiya..aa..aa
aawo re
jeevan ki
prem jyot ko jagaawo
rang rasiya..aa..aa
aawo re
rang rasiya..aa..aa
aawo re
lagan lagi tumhre sang pyaa..aa..aa..re
aaa aaa aaaaa aaaaa
aaa aaaa aaaa aaaaa
aaaaaa aaaaaa aaaa aaaa
aaaa aaaa
aaaaaa aaaaaaaa
lagan lagi tumhre sang pyaa..aa..aa..re..e..e
oo oo aa..aa..aa
lagan lagi tumhre sang pyaare
lagan lagi tumhre sang pyaa..aare..e..e
oo oo oo
aa aa aaaaaaa aaaaa
aaa aaa aaaa aaa aa
lagan lagi tumhre sang pyaare
mann mein bas ke tum kahaan sidhaare
mann mein bas ke tum kahaan sidhaare
aawo
aawo preetam pyaare
aawo
aawo preetam pyaare
rang rasiya
rang rasiya aawo re
rang rasiya aawo re
jeevan ki prem jyot kojagaawo
rang rasiya. . .
———————————————————
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
———————————————————
रंग रसिया॰॰आ॰॰आ
आवो रे
रंग रसिया॰॰आ॰॰आ
आवो रे
जीवन की
प्रेम ज्योत को जगावों
रंग रसिया॰॰आ॰॰आ
आवो रे
रंग रसिया॰॰आ॰॰आ
आवो रे
जीवन की
प्रेम ज्योत को जगावों
रंग रसिया॰॰आ॰॰आ
आवो रे
रंग रसिया॰॰आ॰॰आ
आवो रे
लगन लगी तुम्हरे संग प्या॰॰आ॰॰आ॰॰रे
आss आss आssss आssss
आs आss आss आssss
आssssss आsssss आsss आsss
आsss आsss
आsssss आsssssssss
लगन लगी तुम्हरे संग प्या॰॰आ॰॰आ॰॰रे॰॰ए॰॰ए
ओ ओ आ॰॰आ॰॰आ
लगन लगी तुम्हरे संग प्यारे
लगन लगी तुम्हरे संग प्या॰॰आरे॰॰ए॰॰ए
ओ ओ ओ
आ आ आssssss आssss
आs आs आsss आss आs
लगन लगी तुम्हरे संग प्यारे
मन में बस के तुम कहाँ सिधारे
मन में बस के तुम कहाँ सिधारे
आवो
आवो प्रीतम प्यारे
आवो
आवो प्रीतम प्यारे
रंग रसिया
रंग रसिया आवो रे
रंग रसिया आवो रे
जीवन की प्रेम ज्योत को जगावों
रंग रसिया॰ ॰ ॰
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
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