Archive for the ‘Songs of 1930s (1931 to 1940)’ Category
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.
Most production studios made films with Patriotic themes accordingly, spicing it with pro Govt dialogues to claim favours. Mahatma Gandhi ji too upped his efforts to Govt. in distress as much as possible by undertaking different Satyagrahas like the Salt Satyagraha, Burning of Foreign goods, Quit India Movement etc. At the same time Gandhiji took up movement against social evils to attract public support to his main cause.
One of the social evils, Gandhiji took up was entry of harijans in Hindu temples. He did satyagraha in Kerala, Nashik, Banares and some other places. Hindi film industry was alive to what was happening in the country and films on untouchability were made by big studios. Bombay Talkies produced ‘Achhoot Kanya’ in 1936 followed by Ranjit Movietone with their film ‘Achhoot ‘ in 1940. While ‘Achhoot Kanya’ had a sad ending, film ‘Achhoot’ had a happy ending.
Hindi film industry’s growth in the early years from 1920s to 1940s was contributed to by 2 major communities. One of them was the Gujarati businessmen who immediately identified this business as the future gold mine. The other major community was the local Marathi, who lent their brain and hard work to this industry. As the time went by, people from Punjab, UP, Bengal and other states of India joined hands to help this industry to prosper. However, till the mid 1950s it was the Gujarati Sethias who poured the finances. Financiers like Sampat Sheth, Gokuldas Pasta, Manik Sheth Patel, Chunilal Munim, Mangaldas Parekh, Abdulali Yusufali, Mohd Ali Rangwala, Chimanlal Desai, Bhogilal Dave, Mayashanker Bhatt etc. only supplied the money, but never dabbled in other departments nor did they learn anything about the film making, more than what was needed to get some profits.
One person, however, was different. CHANDULAL SHAH. He not only put crores of rupees in film making, but also learnt the technique and art of making films, direction, building organisations of producers, develop political connections and what not. He did everything that was needed to become a successful film maker and a leader in the industry. That is why Baburao Patel called him “Sardar”. Chandulal Shah made his company Ranjit Movietone, a force to recon with.
Chandulal Shah belonged to Jamnagar-Gujrat. He was born on 13-4-1898. He was into the cotton trade and used to visit Bombay frequently. Later he started working in Bombay Stock Exchange. He used to visit the Laxmi Film Studios nearby to watch shootings.
On one occasion, the director of a silent film ‘Vimla’ (1925) fell very sick and on the recommendation of a solicitor friend, Chandulal Shah got an opportunity to to direct the remaining portion of the film. Impressed by his work style he was offered 2 more films. He left the Stock Exchange job and took up film line completely.
From Laxmi, he shifted to Kohinoor Film Company, where he met actress Gauhar Jaan Mamajiwala, who became his mate for the next 50 years till he died. Gauhar used to feature in his films. With Gauhar, he did ‘Gunsundari’ in 1927 and in 1934 (silent and talkie respectively).
This film was a tremendous hit and it helped them to establish their own film company, Ranjit Movies in 1929. In next 3 year’s time they made 39 silent films. After the advent of Talkie, they changed the name of Ranjit to Ranjit Movietone. Chandulal liked to do things only kingsize. Thus he established Ranjit studios with 4 large sound stages. He also hired around 300 people in the beginning. On average, they made 6 feature films every year. His studio was an assembly line production house. At any given time at least 5 to 6 films were being made in his studios. He had a big army of famous actors, writers, technicians, directors, music directors etc. on his payroll.
Actors like Gauhar Jaan, Bilimoria, Nirupa Roy, Motilal, Madhuri, Khursheed, and KL Saigal; music directors like Gyan Butt, Bulo C Rani, Khemchand Prakash etc.; lyricist and writers like Kidar Sharma, Pradeep, Saadat Hasan Manto and many others were on his payroll.
Chandulal was very proud of his empire and used to advertise “There are more stars in Ranjit than in the Heavens”. At the peak time,there were about 700 people employed in Ranjit and Government had opened a ration shop in the studio premises for the workers’ benefit ! Khemchand Prakash did 20 films in Ranjit, Gyan Dutt 15 films and Bulo C Rani did 10 films here.
From 1929 to 1963 Ranjit made 31 silent films, 120 Hindi talkie films, 1 Tamil and 1 Marathi film. Unfortunately, due to a major fire in the early 1950s, except 7 talkie Hindi films, all other films were destroyed without leaving any backup for them.
Chandulal Shah was an active person. Besides film making he took interest in many Cine Associations and also led delegations abroad. He was a keen gambler and a better, especially in horse racing and stock market. In 1944, in a single day he lost one crore twenty five lakh rupees in cotton betting and that was the beginning of his downfall. He had to mortgage all his and Gauhar Jaan’s properties, but it could not save Ranjit Studios from ruins. He returned to film direction to make money and his first film after a gap of 14 years was ‘Paapi’ (1953). It had the hit pair of those times – Raj kapoor and Nargis. For the first time Raj Kapoor did a double role. But the film flopped. Clearly the times were bad for Chandulal. All his kundali was topsy turvy ! He tried 3 more films, all failed. His last film was ‘Akeli Mat Jaiyo’ (1963). A man who once ruled an empire started travelling in local trains and bus.
Chandulal Shah died on 25-11-1975.
Gauhar Abdul Qayoum Mamajiwala was born on 19-11-1910 at Lahore in a family of Bohra Muslims of Saurashtra in Gujarat. Her family shifted to Bombay. She was beautiful, well educated, soft spoken and liked to read books. Soon she became proficient in Hindi, Urdu, English, Gujarati and Marathi. When her father’s business crashed and they had financial crisis, Homi Master, one of the family friends suggested that she work in films. Homi was a director in Kohinoor studios. She joined films at the age of 15 years and her first film (silent) ‘Fortune And Fools’ aka ‘Baap Ki Kamaai’ (1925) was a hit film. She had a two year contract with Kohinoor. Many of her films were hits.
Chandulal Shah, who was also directing films for Kohinoor, was attracted by her performance and gave her a role in ‘Typist Girl’ (1927), in which Sulochana (Ruby Myers) was the heroine. Thus started their partnership. Soon after the contract was over, a few people viz. Gauhar, Chandulal, Jagdish Pasta, hero Rajah Sandow and cameraman P Naik left Kohinoor and established Shree Sound studio producing films under the banner of Jagdish Films. Here they made 10 popular films and in 1929 separated to form their own Ranjit Studios.
Their first Silent film for Ranjit (shot in Krishna Studios) was ‘Pati Patni’. Very soon Ranjit had their own four shooting stages and well equipped studios. Ranjit’s first Talkie was ‘Devi Devyani’ (1931) in which Gauhar acted opposite Bhagwandas as the hero. Ranjit Studio became very big and films were made at the rate of one film every 16-20 days. They employed the best talent of the industry and Chandulal seemed to convert anything into gold, whatever he touched!
Gauhar was the partner, manager, producer and star actress of Ranjit. She maintained very good relations with her collegues and would use the common make up room with all other artists. She did 28 silent and 19 talkie films in her career. Her last film was ‘Achhut’ (1940), directed by Chandulal and the hero was Motilal. Chandulal Shah also stopped directing films for the next 14 years. Gauhar now only looked after the studios and Chandulal Shah. Though she was with Chandulal for 48 years, they never married. Actually, Chandulal was already married and had a son Naveen. His family stayed with him in Bombay, but Gauhar never objected to that. In 1944, Chandulal lost 1.25 crores in cotton trading in a single day and their fortunes changed. Everything, including their properties had to be mortgaged and sold later. Even in this crisis, Gauhar did not leave him and stayed attached till Chandulal Shah died in 1975.
Gauhar led the same cultured life away from the bustle of the film world from which she retired. She read a great deal, from philosophy to fiction, enjoyed historical novels and was an ardent moviegoer. She had a polished command of English, Urdu, Hindi, Gujarati and Marathi, and she enjoyed seeing foreign and Indian films. Her favorite foreign stars were Audrey Hepburn, Norma Shearer, Rita Hayworth, Frederick March and Clark Gable. Among Indian artistes she had a liking for Meena Kumari, Raakhee, Jaya Bhaduri, Sharmila Tagore, Sanjeev Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan and Rajesh Khanna. Her list of favorite directors included Cecil B de Mille, Samuel ‘Billy’ Wilder, William Wyler from Hollywood and amongst the Indian directors – Chandulal Shah, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, V Shantaram, Yash Chopra and Gulzar.
Gohar Mamajiwala died on 28-9-1985.
‘Achhoot’ aka ‘The Untouchable’ is directed by Chandulal Shah. He too had decided to quit direction and also active participation in film making. He was keen to concentrate on other activities like organisational responsibilities, cotton trade and his favourite addiction – betting. The film was promoted as a Nationalist film addressing Gandhi ji’s campaign against untouchability. The film was endorsed by Mahatma Gaqndhi and Sardar Patel, even before it was made. The cast of the film ‘Achhoot’ was Motilal, Gauhar, Sitara, Vasanti, Charlie, Dixit, Mazhar, Yaqub etc. Gauhar quit acting after this film, though she was still good looking. However, she wanted to concentrate on the management of Ranjit empire. The film’s story was….
In Shanti Nagar, Laxmi (Vasanti) lives with her parents. They are all untouchables. When there is a water shortage, the villagers prevent the family from taking water from the only well, which is reserved for the upper castes. Disgusted and frustrated, Laxmi’s father embraces Christianity. Laxmi is adopted by a rich businessman, who takes her to city and gives her education. She (Gauhar) becomes modern and acceptable in high society. She is very friendly with the daughter of the businessman – Savita (Sitara). Problem arises when both girls fall in love with the same boy. To find a solution, the businessman sends Laxmi back to her village. She returns and meets her childhood saheli (Rajkumari) and boyfriend Ramu (Motilal). They are agitating for equal rights for harijans. Laxmi jumps into this and fights for harijans entry into village temple. There is a riot in which Ramu dies.
Villagers repent after Laxmi delivers a touching speech and as a redemption for their blunder, villagers open the doors of the Temple for Harijans. Laxmi wins the battle.(644)
This film has 9 songs. One song is already discussed and this is the second song. It is a good Bhajan. . .
Song – Deen Dukhi Ko Daan Diya To Kya Mila, Hari Ram Mila (Achhoot) (1940) Singer – Gyan Dutt, Vasanti, Lyrics – PL Santoshi, MD – Gyan Dutt
Gyan Dutt + Vasanti
Lyrics
ram mila hari ram mila
ram mila hari ram mila
ram mila hari ram mila
deen dukhi ko daan diya to
kya mila
deen dukhi ko daan diya to
kya mila
hari ram mila hari ram mila
hari ram mila hari ram mila
bhookhe ko jo ann diya to
kya mila
bhookhe ko jo ann diya to
kya mila
hari ram mila hari ram mila
hari ram mila hari ram mila
bure ka badla bhala diya to
kya mila
bure ka badla bhala diya to
kya mila
hari ram mila hari ram mila
hari ram mila hari ram mila
hari ram mila hari ram mila
hari ram mila hari ram mila
hari ram mila to kya mila
is daas ko bhagwan mila
hari ram mila to kya mila
is daas ko bhagwan mila
is daas ko bhagwan mila
———————————————————
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
———————————————————
राम मिला हरी राम मिला
राम मिला हरी राम मिला
राम मिला हरी राम मिला
दीन दुखी को दान दिया तो
क्या मिला
दीन दुखी को दान दिया तो
क्या मिला
हरी राम मिला हरी राम मिला
हरी राम मिला हरी राम मिला
भूखे को जो अन्न दिया तो
क्या मिला
भूखे को जो अन्न दिया तो
क्या मिला
हरी राम मिला हरी राम मिला
हरी राम मिला हरी राम मिला
बुरे का बदला भला दिया तो
क्या मिला
बुरे का बदला भला दिया तो
क्या मिला
हरी राम मिला हरी राम मिला
हरी राम मिला हरी राम मिला
हरी राम मिला हरी राम मिला
हरी राम मिला हरी राम मिला
हरी राम मिला तो क्या मिला
इस दास को भगवान मिला
हरी राम मिला तो क्या मिला
इस दास को भगवान मिला
इस दास को भगवान मिला
Sapnon Mein Koi Aata Hai
Posted on: September 16, 2017
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.
Saga Of Sleepless Nights – 2
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
koi chupke se aa ke
sapne sulaa ke
mujhko jagaa ke boley
ke main aa raha hoon. . .
Our dear departed President had once made a statement that has now become a quotable quote, appearing in many PR campaigns and posters. He had said, “Dream is not that which you see while sleeping, it is something that does not let you sleep”.
President Abdul Kalam was a very influential statesman. His work, his accomplishments, and his vision are a shining example of a motivated personality with a very positive world view. In recent times, this is a quote that has become one of the top inspirational guiding light, for students and young generations.
No, I do not wish to take away the import and the magnitude of significance that this statement entails. I just want to point out that this theme, this concept has been written about by the poets, especially the romantic types, since time immemorial. That the dreams keep you awake. It is the thoughts of the beloved that will occupy the mind’s inner spaces. The dreams will go on an on – about the one you love, being with the one you love, missing the one you love, pining for the one you love, and. . . just simply dreaming to be with the one you love.
Shakespeare has something to say about this,
All days are nights to see till I see thee,
And nights bright days when dreams do show thee me.
That even the days are dark and lonely, like nights when I do not see you; but when I see you even in my dreams, the nights turn into bright days.
It is well known that we dream when we sleep. But tell me, when we are dreaming, does it not seem so very real? Does it not seem that we are living a real experience in real time? Till of course you wake up. And when you wake up from some dreams, it is hard to believe for a few moments that you were asleep – the experience was so very real.
And so the poets write about being awake in the dreams. The poetry that they write about dreams, especially when dream is about love and is about the loved one, tells us about how the beloved comes and wakes you up while you are dreaming – and the trance continues.
So many songs from Hindi films to pick about this experience. The one that is dearest to me is the song from ‘Anubhav’ (1971) – mentioned at the start of this article. Today, I present another lovely song, back from before the golden era of HFM. The song comes from a team that has created so many delightful musical offerings for us to savor. Words from the pen of Kedar Sharma, music from the mind of RC Boral and the lilting voice of Kaanan Devi. As I was searching for a song about dreams – ‘सपना’, I chanced upon this wonderful melody from the 1939 film ‘Sapera’.
The film is produced under the banner of New Theatres, and is directed by Debaki Bose. The cast is impressive – Kaanan Devi, Nawab, Pahadi Sanyal, Prithviraj Kapoor, KC Dey, Bikram Kapoor, Sham Laha, Satya Mukherji and Vinay Goswami etc. As is characteristic of RC Boral’s creations, the song has a significant prelude, before the singing comes on.
The song tells about the sleepless nights when the beloved comes visiting in the dreams. There is a touch of sensuousness – the words tell about meeting of lovers’ lips in the dream. There is a touch of melancholy – the words tell of tears flowing when the lovers’ eyes meet. And there is a strong presence of the emotions of longing throughout the song. Listen. . . and dream of your beloved.
Song – Sapnon Mein Koi Aata Hai (Sapera) (1939) Singer – Kaanan Devi, Lyrics – Kedar Sharma, MD – RC Boral
Lyrics
sapnon mein koi aata hai
sapnon mein koi aata hai
kuchh chupke se keh jaata hai
kuchh chupke se keh jaata hai
hothon se honth milaata hai
hothon se honth milaata hai
hriday ka kanwal khilaata hai
hriday ka kanwal khilaata hai
sapnon mein koi aata hai
sapnon mein koi aata hai
main thandi aahen bharti hoon
main thandi aahen bharti hoon
wo aisi aag lagaata hai
koi poochhe mere saajan se
koi poochhe mere saajan se
koi poochhe mere saajan se
jo us se aankh ladaata hai
kyon uska dil moti ban kar
yun aankhon se beh jaata hai
kyon uska dil moti ban kar
yun aankhon se beh jaata hai
sapnon mein koi aata hai
sapnon mein koi aata hai
———————————————————
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
———————————————————
सपनों में कोई आता है
सपनों में कोई आता है
कुछ चुपके से कह जाता है
कुछ चुपके से कह जाता है
होंठों से होंठ मिलाता है
होंठों से होंठ मिलाता है
हिरदे का कंवल खिलाता है
हिरदे का कंवल खिलाता है
सपनों में कोई आता है
सपनों में कोई आता है
मैं ठंडी आहें भरती हूँ
मैं ठंडी आहें भरती हूँ
वो ऐसी आग लगाता है
कोई पूछे मेरे साजन से
कोई पूछे मेरे साजन से
कोई पूछे मेरे साजन से
जो उस से आँख लड़ाता है
क्यों उसका दिल मोती बन कर
यूं आँखों से बह जाता है
क्यों उसका दिल मोती बन कर
यूं आँखों से बह जाता है
सपनों में कोई आता है
सपनों में कोई आता है
- In: Actor singing his song | Actor-Singer song | Biography of actors | Biography of artists | Boat song | Devnagri script lyrics by Sudhir | Duet | Durga Khote - Vasanti Duet | Durga Khote Song | Free Spirit Song | Guest posts | Inspirational song | Lyrics by Sudhir | Lyrics contributed by readers | movie opening song | philosophical song | Pirate Ship Song | Post by Arunkumar Deshmukh | Song of 1936 | Song sung by three or more singers | Songs of 1930s (1931 to 1940) | Translation by Sudhir | Translations by readers | Uplifting song | Vasanti Song | Yearwise breakup of songs
- 3 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.
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.
Read more on this topic…
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.
This article is his 600th writeup in the blog.
Today’s song is from film Aandhi-40. The film was directed by Dinesh Ranjan Roy, music was by K.C.Dey and this song is sung by Pankaj Mallik and Radha Rani.
There is a reason why I selected this song. I wanted a song sung by Radha Rani, so that I get an opportunity to settle the issue of multiple Radha Ranis. ” Same name confusion ” is very common in the world of Hindi cinema. Luckily, the confusion existed only between 1931 and 1960. There are many many cases of same name Directors, Music Directors, Singers and Actors. Information on all names is extremely difficult to come by. Still I managed to write on 15 pairs of Same name Artistes in 3 articles and tried to clarify the confusions.
Read more on this topic…
Chamke Poonam Ke Poonam Ko Chaand
Posted on: July 21, 2017
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 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.
‘Ladies Only’ (1939) was produced under the banner of Sagar Movietone and it was directed by Sarvottam Badami. The star cast included Surendra, Bibbo, Sabita Devi, Prabha, Harish, Budho Advani, Sunalini Devi, Kaushalya etc. The film was released on 16th February 1939 and Moraraji Desai, the Revenue Minister of the then Bombay State was the chief guest.
Read more on this topic…
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 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.
Who was the first female music director in Hindi film Industry? The answer to this question has changed thrice during the last few years.
It was believed that Saraswati Devi (real name: Khorshed Minocher-Homji) was the first female music director who composed songs for ‘Jawaani Ki Hawa’ (1935), produced under the banner of Bombay Talkies. Subsequently, it was established that Jaddanbai, who composed the songs for ‘Talaash-e-Haq’ (1935) was the first female music director, her film having been released earlier than ‘Jawaani Ki Hawa’. It will be interesting to know as to which of the songs from these two films were recorded first on the respective film’s sound track.
Read more on this topic…
Chhalke ras ki gagariya bhaari
Posted on: June 7, 2017
This article is written by Sadanand Kamath, a fellow enthusiast of Hindi movie music and a regular 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.
In my last two articles, I had discussed about the films of Mehboob Khan (as a producer as well as director) in combination with music director Anil Biswas. In the process of collecting information about the works of Mehboob Khan-Anil Biswas combination, I came across another unique association of Mehboob Khan with cinematographer, Faredoon A Irani. The uniqueness of this association is that all the films which were directed by Mehboob Khan (23 films during 1935-62) had Faredoon Irani as cinematographer.
Read more on this topic…
Recent comments