Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs

This article is written by Arunkumar Deshmukh, a fellow enthusaist 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.

Today’s song is from Dolti Naiya-1950. This film was made by Shaan E Hind Pictures, Bombay. It had music by Pt.Ram Prasad Sharma. The film’s 10 songs were written by a record number of 8 Lyricists and were sung also by 8 singers. In those days, it must have been a record, I guess. The cast of the film was Amarnath, Nigar Sultana, Shyama Dulari, Veena Kohli, Cuckoo, Bhudo Advani, Mukri, Mirza Musharraf, Munshi Munakka and others.

When I was in school, every year a “Self Governance Day” used to be celebrated in our school. I do not know whether this was a practice elsewhere. On this day selected senior students of class 12th standard used to run the school. Head Master, Supervisor, Sports teacher, Teachers and even Peons’ roles were done by the students themselves. When I reached 12th standard, I was very eager to become a Teacher on this day. I was made a teacher of English language of 7th standard and was given a lesson to be taken on that day. All students looked forward to run the school and become teachers on this day.

I think, this feeling of ruling or being in authority is in every field as a dormant wish. A Clerk looks forward becoming a Manager and a Manager wants to become General Manager. An MLA wants to become an MP and MP wants to become a Minister. Film industry is not too different. Every actress wants to become a Heroine, and actors dream of becoming Director some day. There are several examples when all this has actually happened.

Many successful and famous actors have tried their hand at being a Director of a film ( conversely, many directors also were eager to act in a film. Even such examples are there). Few examples of some actors directing films are Dev Anand-19 films ( he takes the cake), Shammi Kapoor-2 films, Balraj Sahni-1 film, Rajesh Khanna-1 film. Even Comedians like Asrani-5 films and Deven verma-4 films are into this. The case of comedian Radha kishen, who produced a film and when it flopped due to delay and loans mounted, committed suicide.

Some examples of old time actors are Prem Adib-1 film, M.Kumar-2 films, Shahu Modak-1 film. Among actresses, from Fatma Begum-8 films to Hema Malini-4 films, examples are less. Surprisingly, leading actors like Amitabh Bachhan, Dilip kumar, Sanjeev kumar etc never went this way. I wish Dilip kumar had become a Director openly rather than making his directors’ lives miserable by interfering in their work, as a nasty habit.

Mirza Musharraf was a comedian of old times. Though he was successful as an actor, he too wanted to become a Director. Today’s film Dolti naiya-50 is his attempt at directing a movie.

In my quest for information on old time actors and other artistes, I came across many good and some not so good experiences. When I first interviewed Ramesh ji, Bhudo Advani’s son, he told me that their family friend Mirza Musharraf’s daughter also stayed nearby. I took her address and reached her house. Her husband did not allow me to meet her, as they were Muslims, and perhaps because it was my first visit to them. When I explained what I wanted, he expected some money. I told him that this is my hobby and I do not do this for money, he was very skeptic. However, after my persistent visits to him,he relented. Her husband, Mr. Muneer Khan,( now deceased) ex production manager of Firoze Khan, gave me some information.

The name of MIRZA MUSHARRAF AGHA may not ring any bells in the newer generation, as he was a comedian in the 30s and 40s-till the late 60s.
During the 30s and 40s there were quite a few real comedians, who regaled the audiences with their humour. Comedians like V.H.Desai, Ghory and Dikshit (the jodi like Laurel and Hardy),Mirza Musharraf, Bhudo Advani, Noor Mohd.Charlie, Yakub (he had travelled to 15 countries including UK and USA,before joining films) and Gope, Fatty Prasad and Durga Mota were much in demand for comic roles in the films.With the times,one by one,all went behind the curtains, giving way to newer set of comedians like Bhagwan, Sunder, Radhkishen, Mukri, I.S.Johar, Majnu,etc. Nowadays, of course, Comedians have disappeared from films, because almost everyone in a film does Comedy, these days.

Artistes fading away is a natural phenomena, but out of the above comedians, the end of Durga Mota was very pathetic and touching.
Durga Mota or Durga Prasad was very fat and this fatness which fetched him name and fame in the industry also became the cause of his death. In 1947,there were riots everywhere. Durga was in Lahore. He wanted to come back to India like other thousands.He came to Lahore station and boarded the train. Just then a frenzied mob came to the station and started killing the passengers. People ran helter skelter and saved themselves, but due to his fatness Durga Mota could not run and he was slaughtered on the station of Lahore itself.

Mirza Musharraf was born in a sophisticated educated family, on 12-6-1912, at Shujanabad-Punjab. His father was an inspector of Police and claimed to be a scion of the Royal Mughal family. He matriculated from Lahore in 1930. He was keen on becoming a Journalist, so he worked in Daily Zamindar, Tariyaq and Shahid. He was a Nationalist, joined Congress and became Secretary of Lahore Congress committee. He was imprisoned but father got him released. He decided to change profession to films.

He got a small role of a party guest in film ” Qazak ki beti-37′, which was being made by one of his acquaintances in Lahore. His second film was Prem Yatra-37. These were uncredited and insignificant roles, but they gave his clever mind a good idea of film line and acting.

A R Kardar who was into films was known to him in Lahore. Kardar took Mirza to Calcutta. There he acted in film Milap-37. The Hero was Gul Hamid,who died in between and was replaced by Prithviraj Kapoor. Mirza also acted in film Mandir-37. When Kardar shifted to Bombay, he too shifted.

He was very fond of writing Lyrics.He came to Bombay to write film songs and was employed by General films.Those days educated persons were eagerly employed by film studios. He first wrote Lyrics for A.R.Kardar’s film “Baghbaan”-1938. This was the film in which K N Singh did his first role as a villain. In this period, Mirza got married also.

During shootings Kardar required an artist and Mirza was called to fill up the slot, as per the studio norms. Mirza had no dialogues, but he exhibited excellent use of facial expressions and comic timing.This actually killed his dream of becoming a lyrics writer, because after that he was made a comedian and got several films. As a comedian,Mirza worked from 1938 to 1972,working in over 400 films. His last film was Roop tera Mastana-1972, where he was credited. Later he made appearance in films like Pathar se takkar-80 and Anjaam khuda jaane-89 uncredited.

When he was on the peak of his career,a happy producer gave his Bungalow at Versova free to him for living.Though Versova was then quite far off and sparsely populated, Mirza lived there like a king.The marriages of both of his daughters took place there.

Mr.Sanjeet Narwekar-the famous Film historian/journalist writes in his book, The story of Hindi Film comedy,about Mirza”. His specialty was interspersing his Hindi dialogues with English words-quite a curiosity in the pre-independence days. He was almost a permanent with V.M.Vyas and played cameo roles in a fairly long career.” According to Saadat Hasan Manto in his book,stars of another sky, -whichever film he acted, he used to be the darling of the Heroes. He was particularly liked by Kardar, K.Asif and Rafiq Ghaznavi. In many films Mirza lip synched songs, but only in ONE film,he got to sing himself. That was the film Gharib ka laal-1939, in a duet. He also sung few lines in film Piya Milan-45 and CAPTAIN KISHORE-1957. He sang along with Mohd.Rafi and Tun Tun.

In one of the interviews Mirza gave to magazine Shama, in August 1981, he described some of his experiences in the film world. This interview is a part of the book ” Ye un dinon ki baat hai” written by my friend Yasir Abbasi. Here are few of his stories. In Bombay, he got to know Nazir-actor, director, producer and owner of Hind Pictures studios, and his nephew K.Asif (Mughal-E-Azam fame). Asif did no work, so Nazir opened a Tailor’s shop for him, but still he did nothing. His interests were different.

Mirza also came closer to director S M Yousuf. Mirza was present in his marriage to actress Nigar Sultana. Mirza describes how K.Asif eloped with Nazir’s wife (and his Mami- aunt) Sitara Devi. Asif later married Yousuf’s wife Nigar Sultana also. Still later Asif married Dilip kumar’s sister too. Asif was notorious in such matters.

Mirza knew Mohd. Rafi since Lahore days. When Rafi came to Bombay, Mirza introduced Rafi to many film people. Mirza claims that Rafi’s first Hindi recorded song was from film Kul Kalank-45, ” Topiwale Babu’ – a duet with Amirbai Karnataki. This song was shot on Mirza and Amirbai on screen. Rafi, it seems, got Rs. 75 for this song. Mirza acted in film Grihasthi-48, which became a Hit film, running for 105 weeks in Bombay. In a public poll, Mirza got a second prize for acting in this film (first was Yaqub) and he got a Gold medal of 3 Tolas. In his difficult days, Mirza sold it, says he.
There are many more anecdotes he describes, but may be some other time.

Mirza Musharraf died in 1991.

Film Industry is one industry which grew very fast. Firstly, there was no competition (except from AIR for entertainment) and secondly, joining this industry needed no special qualifications. Moreover, from the beginning, the ROI (Returns On the Investment) ratio was quite high,once you took care of few parameters like, good actors, good songs and a mix of Romance and Comedy !

Thousands of aspirants, the Good looking, the Bad looking and the Ugly looking rushed to Bombay, Lahore and Calcutta to try their luck. Tawaifs and stage artists had an easy entry, so was for the Handsome and Muscular bodied males.

The studio system took care of grooming its employees. Most people were hired without any specific job description. When needed, the script writer or the Lyricist had to act in the film, and Choreographer-Dance Master in those days-had to take up Direction- if needed. Artists graduated from menial jobs to important positions.That is how Choreographer Guru Dutt became a Director and a Hero, Lyricist and writer J.S.Casshyap became actor/singer, or Amiya Chakrawarty became famous Director from being the Canteen Manager in Bombay Talkies, Ashok kumar became Hero from being a Technician in Camera Department and an Extra working as one of the 40 thieves in ” Alibaba and 40 Thieves”-1929, became the Movie Mughal, Director Mehboob Khan.

Those times were different.Industry needed people in all departments. Heads of Studios were like expert jewellers. They knew how to nurture talents. Successful strugglers had empathy towards existing strugglers and gave them opportunity to showcase their skills. Studios got right persons for right jobs. Real Talents survived, rest disappeared.

There were many One timers, who acted in only 1-2 films, directed just 1 film, produced 1 movie, sung only few songs or gave music to only 1 or 2 films. Luck also played an important role. Artists seeking opportunities in Music Departments like singing and composing were many. Most got chances,few prospered.

But it is important to note that every One timer was contributing towards Industry’s growth. Like every drop makes an ocean, these one timers or short distance runners also gave their might to the industry. Those who disappeared after a short performance remained alive through their contribution on record. Hundreds of aspirants came to become Music Directors, only few made the grade, survived and the rest simply vanished.These short time passengers or composers had their time of glory too. Their songs were cherished but their names were forgotten.

Before I proceed further, can you tell me what is the common link in the following names ?

Pyarelal-Ganesh-Naresh-Mahesh-Anand-Gorakh

They are all brothers and sons of Pandit RAMPRASAD SHARMA. He is the Music Director of today’s film Dolti Naiya-1950.
.
Pt.Ramprasad Sharma, born in 1900, belonged to Gorakhpur in United provinces(today’s U.P.). Seeing his love for music, he was brought to Bharatpur State by the king’s bandmaster. He played Trumpet here, then played in Agra Military Band and ended up joining a Circus as a Band Master himself. He toured Delhi, Lahore and Calcutta ,where he settled for some time.He married a local Post Master’s daughter and also worked for Columbia and New Theatres. By now he was an expert in 10 instruments and knew all Ragas.

He came to Bombay in 1938 and played in many studios. His first film as MD was Nayi Baat-1947, then Taqdeerwale-48, Shakti-48, Bedard-49, Banu- 49, Anyay-49, Dolti Naiyya-50 and finally Magic Carpet-64.

His knowledge of Music was so deep that many Composers like,Kalyan ji, Roshan, Uttamsingh, Hridaynath Mangeshkar etc came to him to learn notations in which he was a master. Probably, having played as a Band Master helped him.Those days, very few musicians knew how to write music in Notations. This art was carried further by his another son Ganesh.

Despite his knowledge of music, he failed as a composer himself and worked/played for other Music Directors like Naushad, K.Dutta, C. Ramchandra etc. His trumpet playing in the famous song of Rafi ” Suhani raat dhal chuki” (film Dulari-1949) is unforgettable.

Pt.Ramprasad will be remembered by many composers as their teacher. His music was melodious, his Luck was not too kind on him, though.

His two sons Pyarelal and Ganesh became famous composers.

Pt.Ramprasad died on 22-8-1995 at Mumbai.

Today’s song is a very melodious one – as such, I like Durrani as a singer. He has sung one of the best songs of Hindi films, in my opinion (Neend hamari, khwaab tumhare-Nai kahani-1943). Pt. Ramprasad’s tune and music is just superb. To give such a music in 1950 was in itself an achievement. When I hear today’s song, I feel a similarity to Talat’s song ‘ Meri yaad mein na aansoo bahana” from film Madhosh-51. I may be wrong also. Alas, Film industry does not go by quality, it goes by measurable success in terms of popularity of songs. Whom to blame, music lovers or the industry ?
Enjoy the song.

Song- Meri zindgi bhi koi zindagi hai (Dolti Naiyya)(1950) Singer- G M Durrani, Lyricist- Zafar Malihabadi, MD- Pt. Ram Prasad

Lyrics

meri zindagi bhi koi zindagi hai
na dil mein umangen na lab par hansi hai
meri zindagi bhi

kiya hai muqaddar ne barbaad aisa
kiya hai muqaddar ne barbaad aisa
jidhar dekhta hoon nahin koi apna
jidhar dekhta hoon nahin koi apna
nahin koi apna
nazar ik zamaane se badle huye hain
meri zindagi bhi

mere dil ko hardam dukhaati hai duniya
mere dil ko hardam dukhaati hai duniya
tadapta hoon main muskuraati hai duniya
tadapta hoon mai muskuraati hai duniya
muskurati hai duniya
mujhe kis khata par saza mil rahi hai
meri zindagi bhi

sunaata raha laakh ghamon ka fasaana
sunaata raha laakh ghamon ka fasaana
kisi ne magar dard dil ka na jaana
kisi ne magar dard dil ka na jaana
dil ka na jaana
zamaane ne kab bekason ki suni hai
meri zindagi bhi koi zindagi hai
na dil mein umangen na lab par hansi hai
meri zindagi bhi