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

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.

It would be late 1960s, early 1970s – फिल्में देखने का चस्का चढ़ा था। Did not have much more than some fanciful fancies at that time, and very little understanding. I would fancy the heroes, especially Dev Anand, Rajendra Kumar etc. And I would have lasting crush on the leading ladies; generally lasting for a few weeks. I would fancy them to be my leading ladies 😉 – Sadhna, Asha Parekh, Mumtaz, Saira Banu etc.

Besides these two types of fancies, there was, yes one more. This was not so much of a fancy, rather it was more of an abhorrent fright. Of a special person when he appeared on the screen. And a panic would run through the mind and I would clutch a parent’s hand and whisper “oye, Pran aa gaya”.

Such was the dread in the minds of us pre teen kids. Whenever we saw him enter the frame, our hearts were like – now something bad is going to happen. He is going to bully someone, he is going to beat up someone, he is going to insult someone, he is going to cheat someone, he is going to put his weight on a lady and make her scream. . . Ah yes, these were the type of stereotype images that were associated with Pran, and we despised him for all our childhood.

Fast forward now to mid 1990s. I was in the US, and had a long stint in the city of Lansing in Michigan, working on a state govt. project. Lansing is comparatively a small town, despite the fact that it is the capital of Michigan state. There were only two other things besides the state government – the state university and a cornflakes factory owned by Kellogs. And being in Michigan, we were snowed in for six months, and chilled out for another four. We just got a warm season for two months – July and August.

So there was not much to do in that town, other than concentrate on your work. For me, there was a grand saving grace. The small town had a big video library of Hindi films, run by a Pakistani national and a very dear friend, to date – Akbar Bhai. It was not long before I became his best customer, and just for my sake, he would communicate with other dealers in the country and sometimes even travel out, to get the films that I would be requesting of him. I purchased two Toshiba VCRs, bought many packs of VHS tapes, and spent a lot of time copying videos of songs from the VHS tapes that I rented from him.

Sorry for this longish digression, I am coming to the point. The net is that for the few years that I spent in Lansing, I watched and replayed a ton of Hindi films that were available on VHS – of course my choice would taper off after 1970s. In one set of many weeks together, the movies that I rented from him, were a combination of many leading heros, and many genres. But all of them had one thing in common. The villain was Pran. In each and every one of these films, Pran would be getting a hiding of his life in the last 10 to 15 minutes of every film. After having sat through probably a score of films over a period of 4 to 5 weeks, my mind changed and started sympathizing with him. No matter what the film was, he would get beaten up black and blue at the end. And to add insult to injury, he was forced to apologize and plead for forgiveness, or summarily be taken away by the police.

Really telling you, I started to feel sorry for him. And I started to wonder. Day in and day out, he would be shooting films with his co stars, and on every set and every studio floor, he would be taking a beating in front of hundreds of onlookers, every single time. And my mind started to build upon a psychology of such an individual. Of course it did strike me somewhere within this analysis, that yes, money is also involved. But then I rationalized – if I were given money, just for getting beat up every week and in every film I worked in, I would throw away the money, and walk away. But the money angle aside, I used to wonder at this gluttony for punishment. In every film, he misbehaves with ladies, he cons his own family members, he bullies and beats up people. And then, he gets beat up real good for the happy ending of a film. And my mind was like – does this guy never learn? Does he never give up?

I never did see the film ‘Guddi’ (1971) in its first runs. I would get to see it many years later, maybe on Doordarshan or maybe on a VHS play. An inkling of the true nature of this gentleman – I encountered for the first time in this film. Kusum (a teenager, role played by Jaya), who is smitten with a crush for actor Dharmendra, is taken to Bombay by her uncle, Utpal Dutt, and is given a tour of the film studios – a view of how the films are actually made, and what these stars are in real life behind the scenes. So there is a scene, in which Jaya is with Dharmendra, and Pran walks by. They greet each other; and Kusum is hiding behind Dharmendra in fear. Dharmendra admires Pran’s wrist watch, and Pran immediately takes it off and presents it to Dharmendra. After Pran leaves, Jaya reacts strongly, insisting to Dharmendra to return the watch – “इस में कोई चाल है” is what she says. Dharmendra starts to laugh, and then explains. That Pran Saab in real life is an impeccable gentleman, a complete reverse of what his screen image is. He is an amiable, a very friendly, a very kind and a very helpful person.

Along with Guddi (Kusum), it was also a wiping away of a fanciful sheen in my mind, associated with the person called Pran. Then of course, from 1967 onwards, he had started appearing in character roles other than as a villain, and had a complete makeover of his outward personality over the next few years.

But that image has sustained, because the films exist. That is what typecasting does to you. In reality, Pran is somewhat of a popular name in north India, amongst Punjabi and Hindi speaking families. In the 1950s and 60s, the dread of his roles was so great that actually, families stopped naming their children with the word Pran, and its variations. The Gabbar Singh gloat about “बीस बीस कोस तक॰ ॰ ॰” was still to come many years later. 😀 😀

Today (12^th Feb) is the birth anniversary of Pran Saab. I have picked this song from the 1964 film ‘Pooja Ke Phool’ for the anniversary remembrance today. Yes, there is a particular reason. It is one of the rare occasions, when Pran Saab has lip sync-ed a song, and danced on screen, from the era of his continued reign as the arch villain of Hindi films. Of course, after 1967 and ‘Upkar’, when he transitioned into character roles, and that too in a big and significant way, he got to perform many a song on screen. In fact, there was a period of time in 1970s and 80s that specific and meaty roles were written for him, and the screen performance almost always included a song lip synced by him. But in the era till the 1960s, he just has an occasional song assigned to him.

Although I have not made a definitive search for them, I recall the following; the duet “Jise Dhoondhti Phirti Hai Meri Nazar” from the film ‘Sheesh Mahal’ (1950); then the fun song from ‘Munim ji’ (1955) – “Dil Ki Umangen Hain Jawaan”. This latter song is also a unique piece of music – Pran Saab has sung for himself in this song. Yes, of course, the iconic “Hai Aag Hamaare Seene Mein. . . Hum Bhi Hain, Tum Bhi Ho” from the musical bonanza ‘Jis Desh Ganga Behti Hai’ (1960). Sterling performance, as Pran Saab rides two horses simultaneously, standing on the back of the horses, one foot on each horse.

And then we come to today’s song. The song is a dance sequence being performed by Gopikrishan Maharaj and Madhumati. In the three antaraa song, the middle antaraa turns out to be a fantasy play, as Pran, who is actually an audience on the side, daydreams himself to be performing the song, along with Sandhya Roy. the lady companion that I am not able to name. So the middle antaraa is performed on screen by Pran Saab and Sandhya Roy his lady companion. Now this performance, a folk dance type steps, trying to emulate someone none other than the great Gopikrishan Maharaj himself, is a type of performance that one does not associate with him (at least in this phase of his career), and none other that I have seen in any other film. I request our knowledgeable friends and readers on the blog to please add more such instances, if they are aware. And yes, the request also includes help to identify the actress who is his lady companion in this clip.
[Ed Note: The lady companion in this clip is identified as Bengali actress Sandhya Roy, as per the inputs provided by Shri Partha Chanda.]

‘Pooja Ke Phool’ is the typical south Indian family drama that is produced by the prestigious banner of AVM and directed by Bheem Singh. The extreme emotionalism of such family dramas, plus the complexity (zaniness??) of the plots and sub plots, sometimes makes this category of films insufferable. So in this film, Pran is the husband of the niece of Dharmendra. Forget the age factor, even the appearances of the characters do not do justice to them. To top it, he (Pran) is also having an amorous fling on the side. In this song, we see him come to see this street performance along with his lady love from the extra-marital affair. Dharmendra too, chances to be on the spot. He sees the two together, and walks away in anger. A little later in the film, the lady starts to demand rights and shares as a wife. She threatens to kill him. The two meet, and in the melee that ensues, the lady gets killed. Mohan Choti is an eyewitness. However, Dharmendra takes on the blame, just so that his niece’s life and home is not jeopardized. Case comes to the court. Ashok Kumar is the public prosecutor, and he has this personal thing against Dharmendra – he has ditched Ashok Kumar’s daughter, and married someone else. Now enter the daughter, Mala Sinha, who is also a lawyer. She comes to the court as the defense lawyer for Dharmendra. Despite his repeated confessions in the court, the case is made to continue. Dharmendra and Mala Sinha were an amorous pair once, but circumstances led Dharmendra to marry a blind girl (Nimmi). If all this does not sound too complicated yet, maybe it is time to watch the film itself. 😀 😀

Not saying too many things about the film, I must confess that I am quite bowled over by the music and the songs. The list if songs is quite impressive, as given below.

The songs of this film have been penned by Rajendra Krishan and the music is composed by Madan Mohan.

I would like to write about one more thing, related to this song. The choreography of this dance is done by Gopikrishan Maharaj himself. And that simply is excellent. The dance movements are very imaginatively sequenced, and very excellently executed, including the facial expressions and the twitching of eyebrows. The pace of the song and the pace of the singing is – fast. And the dance steps themselves are so energetic and so beautifully arranged. Pran Saab surely has his work cut out as he takes on the 2^nd antaraa on screen.

So now let us enjoy this wonderful peppy dance number. And remember this very lovable villain of the Hindi cinema.

Song – Hey Jamaalo. . . O Mera Pyaar Meri Jaan Kabhi Aazma Lo  (Pooja Ke Phool) (1964) Singer – Mohammed Rafi, Asha Bhosle, Lyrics – Rajendra Krishan, MD – Madan Mohan
Mohammed Rafi + Asha Bhosle
Male Chorus
Female Chorus
All Chorus

Lyrics

aaaa aaa aaa aaaa
aaaaaa aaa aaaaaaa

hey jamaalo
o wah wah hey jamaalo
haan hey jamaalo
o wah wah hey jamaalo
o mera pyar meri jaan
kabhi aazma lo
o mera pyar meri jaan
kabhi aazma lo
hey jamaalo
hey wah wah hey jamaalo
hey jamaalo
hey wah wah hey jamaalo
ho ye hai teer ye kamaan
zara dil nikaalo
ho ye hai teer ye kamaan
zara dil nikaalo

ho ho ho
ho ho
ho ho ho
ho ho
o ho ho
o ho
ho ho ho
hoye hoye hoye

tere haathon mar jaayenge
naam jahaan mein kar jaayenge
marte marte dil ki jholi
pyaar se tere bhar jaayenge
o ho tere haathon mar jaayenge
bade dekhe marne waale
pyaar ka dum bharne waale
hey jamaalo
hey jamaalo
hey jama..aa..aalo
o mera pyar meri jaan
kabhi aazma lo
hey jamaalo
wah wah hey jamaalo
ho ye hai teer ye kamaan
zara dil nikaalo

ho ho
hummm hummm
ho ho
hummm hummm
o ho
hummm
hummm
o ho
hummm
hummm
hey..ey..ey

dekho kaise deewaane hain
pankh nahin aur parwaane hain
hum se ye kya chaal chalenge
apne jaane pehchaane hain
o ho dekho kaise deewaane hain
jaan le lo gham na hoga
ishq mera kam na hoga
hey jamaalo
hey jamaalo
hey jama..aa..aalo
o ye hai teer ye kamaan
zara dil nikaalo
hey jamaalo
wah wah hey jamaalo
o mera pyar meri jaan
kabhi aazma lo

jeete ji tum kyon maanoge
mar jaayenge pehchaanoge
jaan liya hai pyaar tumhaara
aao pakdo haath hamaara
o ho aao pakdo haath hamaara
muskura ke do sahaare
hum tumhaare tum hamaare
hey jamaalo
hey jamaalo
hey jama..aa..aalo
ho mera pyar meri jaan
kabhi aazma lo
hey jamaalo
hey wah wah hey jamaalo
hey jamaalo
hey wah wah hey jamaalo
ho ye hai teer ye kamaan
zara dil nikaalo
ho ye hai teer ye kamaan
zara dil nikaalo

hey jamaalo
hey jamaalo
hey jamaalo
hey jamaalo

———————————————————
Hindi script lyrics (Provided by Sudhir)
———————————————————

आsss आss आss आsss
आssss आss आssssss

हे जमालो
ओ वा वा हे जमालों
हाँ हे जमालो
ओ वा वा हे जमालों
मेरा प्यार मेरी जान
कभी आज़मा लो
ओ मेरा प्यार मेरी जान
कभी आज़मा लो
हे जमालो
हे वा वा हे जमालों
हाँ हे जमालो
हे वा वा हे जमालों
हो ये है तीर ये कमान
ज़रा दिल निकालो
हो ये है तीर ये कमान
ज़रा दिल निकालो

हो हो हो
हो हो
हो हो हो
हो हो
ओ हो हो
ओ हो
हो हो हो
होए होए होए

तेरे हाथों मर जाएँगे
नाम जहान् में कर जाएँगे
मरते मरते दिल की झोली
प्यार से तेरे भर जाएँगे
ओ हो तेरे हाथों मर जाएँगे
बड़े देखे मरने वाले
प्यार का दम भरने वाले
हे जमालो
हे जमालो
हे जमा॰॰आ॰॰आलो
ओ मेरा प्यार मेरी जान
कभी आज़मा लो
हे जमालो
वा वा हे जमालों
हो ये है तीर ये कमान
ज़रा दिल निकालो

हो हो
हुम्ममम हुम्ममम
हो हो
हुम्ममम हुम्ममम
ओ हो
हुम्ममम
हुम्ममम
ओ हो
हुम्ममम
हुम्ममम
हे॰॰ए॰॰ए

देखो कैसे दीवाने हैं
पंख नहीं और परवाने हैं
हम से ये क्या चाल चलेंगे
अपने जाने पहचाने हैं
ओ हो देखो कैसे दीवाने हैं
जान ले लो ग़म ना होगा
इश्क़ मेरा कम ना होगा
हे जमालो
हे जमालो
हे जमा॰॰आ॰॰आलो
ओ ये है तीर ये कमान
ज़रा दिल निकालो
हे जमालो
वा वा हे जमालों
ओ मेरा प्यार मेरी जान
कभी आज़मा लो

जीते जी तुम क्या मानोगे
मर जाएँगे पहचानोगे
जान लिया है प्यार तुम्हारा
आओ पकड़ो हाथ हमारा
ओ हो आओ पकड़ो हाथ हमारा
मुस्कुरा के दो सहारे
हम तुम्हारे तुम हमारे
हे जमालो
हे जमालो
हे जमा॰॰आ॰॰आलो
हो मेरा प्यार मेरी जान
कभी आज़मा लो
हे जमालो
वा वा हे जमालों
हे जमालो
वा वा हे जमालों
ओ ये है तीर ये कमान
ज़रा दिल निकालो
ओ ये है तीर ये कमान
ज़रा दिल निकालो

हे जमालो
हे जमालो
हे जमालो
हे जमालो