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

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.

REPORT ON MUMBAI GANGOUT – Part 2
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……Javed ji was introduced to Sadanand ji, as they were meeting each other for the first time. Even I had met him for the first time, though we had E-mail communications earlier. It so happened that, in the last Mumbai Gangout which Sudhir ji attended, he had gifted all of us a copy of Javed ji’s first Hindi book ( he has more books in Urdu), ” Kuchh kalaakaar-kuchh yaden “. After reading that book, I wrote a mail to Javed ji about certain discrepancies, I had found in the book. Actually I was hesitant whether to write such a mail to him, but my adventurism won over me and the mail was sent finally.

Happily, I received Javed ji’s reply in due course, in which he thanked me profusely and assured me that in the next editions all those corrections would be incorporated. Thus, we knew each other Electronically, before this physical meeting.

Sadanand ji and me had decided earlier that in an informal meeting of 2-3 persons, an Agenda would be superfluous. So, we did not have any written down agenda as such, but we had some points about some songs, to be discussed with Sudhir ji. Sudhir ji and Sadanand ji sat separately discussing from Sudhir ji’s Laptop. Javed ji had sent me a typed manuscript of his forthcoming Hindi book. Before sending the same to the publisher, Javed ji wanted that I see it and give my suggestions. So Sudhir ji and Sadanand ji made a pair discussing about their points and me and Javed ji sat discussing his book.

The first thing javed ji wanted me to do was to finalise the Title of the book. He had 3 Titles on offer and asked me to select one which he would give to the book. I remembered the occasion when Devika Rani had asked Yousuf-the fruit seller to select one of the 3 screen names for him- Dilip kumar, Jehangir and Vasudev. Oh my God ! Dilip Kumar and Arun Kumar ! What a coincidence !! Both in the same situation !!! We know what Yousuf selected and you will know what I suggested when the book is released soon.

My ego-balloon was soon deflated by a simple query about the lunch, as it was Lunch time already. We ordered few items from a nearby hotel. Upon its arrival and arrangements, an elaborate lunch programme was undertaken. After lunch, we decided to keep the book evaluation postponed to next day (accordingly, Javed ji came next day and we completed the exercise satisfactorily). We then discussed matters concerning the blog and related topics. However Javed ji was not able to participate, so we changed the discussions to old films and actors etc and Javed ji was kind enough to enthrall us with his knowledge.

At around 4pm we had tea with snacks. In the meantime, Sudhir ji was worried if Bakshish Singh ji would come to Mumbai next day to attend the seminar or not. Sudhir ji’s fear and the Mumbai-visit-curse took its toll and by evening Bakshish Singh ji confirmed that he has cancelled his coming as his own grandson met with an accident and had fracture of both legs-in the afternoon itself. (Next day, as a proof, he sent photographs of the poor child in plaster for both legs). The obvious conclusion was Bakshish Singh ji’s proposed Mumbai visit had caused all these mishaps !

By about 5 pm or so, Javed ji left the meeting venue to go to his relative for further stay. In the meantime Sadanand ji and Sudhir ji had planned to go to meet Khyati ji, who was to leave for USA later that night. She was in Borivali. Though keen to meet Khyati ji, after the double mishap in her family, I could not go with them due to my knee problems (doctors have advised me to avoid using stairs for a month. Khyati ji’s house was on ground floor, but my flat was on first floor !) and I was virtually under “house arrest ” !

By about 6 pm the meeting was concluded and Sudhir ji and Sadanand ji left to visit Khyati ji, along with my apologies to her. Later, I spoke to her on phone also.

Next 2 days, Sudhir ji was busy in attending his seminar. Third day also he visited Kushal ji. Next day he visited Famous Studios and also Anand ji (of he Kalyanji Anandji duo). On the 4th of May afternoon Sudhir ji shifted to his Mamaji’s place and on the 5th May, he and Javed ji left for Delhi, in the evening. Sudhir ji is hereby requested to write about his Mumbai visit.

I can not resist myself in sharing a secret of Sudhir ji, with all of you. One day, when we both were chatting in the evening, I asked Sudhir ji about his age. Pat came the answer “32 years”. I was stunned. I understood that he did not want to disclose his age. So I calculated. In 1988, Sudhir ji was working for some company in Bombay. That was 29 years ago. If he is 32 year old today, that time he must have been just 3 year old . When I pointed out this to him, with a straight face Sudhir ji answered, “Yes, I started earning early !”. Now mark my words…. very soon Sudhir ji’s name will be in The Guinness Book of World Records !!!

End of Report – Part 2
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Today’s song is from a film called ‘Hum Ek Hain’ (1969) which is making its debut in the blog. There were three films with the same title. The first ‘Hum Ek Hain’ was released in 1946, in which the lead pair of Dev Anand and Kamla Kotnis, along with Rehana and Rehman were making their debuts. Even the film’s director PL Santoshi was making his debut as a director with the film. Till them he had only worked as a lyricist and story writer. The second film with that title is today’s 1969 film and the third film was made in 1982.

Film ‘Hum Ek Hain’ (1969) was a social film, about sacrificing for the country. The film tried to put emphasis on National Integration too. The film shows a multi lingual family’s story. The main actors were Balraj Sahni and Nirupa Roy. The others in the cast were Dara Singh, Ravi Khanna, Samson, Jagdeep, Helen, Madhumati, Lalita Pawar, Rani, Savita, Naina etc etc.

The film was directed by Daljit. Daljit (real name Joginder Puri) was born in Sialkot on 17-9-1931. He was good looking. His first film was Punjabi – ‘Kauday Shah’ (1953). He entered Hindi films with ‘Noor Mahal’ (1954). He acted in 43 films, He was seen mostly in B and C grade action and stunt films. His last film as an actor was ‘Chowkidaar’ (1974). He directed 2 films. Hum ek hain-69 and Rajyogi-82. He paired with actress Chitra in 11 films.

The music director was Usha Khanna and the lyricist was Indeevar. There were only 5 songs but 8 singers were used. They were Lata, Asha, Rafi, Kamal Barot, Mukesh, Mubarak Begum, Mahendra Kapoor and Manna Dey. One song was about all religions being equal and another was stressing that all Indians were one. Looking at the type of songs and the story, I think this film must be one of those films which flooded after the 1965 war with Pakistan. During that period the patriotic fever was at peak. Looks like the film must have been delayed during its completion. By the time it came to the theatres, the fever had subsided and the topic of the film had become out of relevance. Naturally, the film flopped.

I was one of the people who went to the theatre to see the film. Here is the story in short-

In a certain town, there is a Punjabi family – husband, wife (Balraj Sahni and Nirupa Roy) and 3 sons. The eldest son Ashok, has married a Maharashtrian girl. The second son Raj, is engaged to a Kashmiri girl. The third son Dara chooses to remain bachelor. The entire family is a staunch patriotic one. All 3 sons are in Army.

In due course of time the war starts with the neighbouring country. All sons are sent on the border fronts. Two sons, Ashok and Dara die in action. During the war, the parents train their bahu as a nurse and send her on border to look after injured soldiers.

When the bodies of the dead sons are brought to the village for cremation, all the villages gather to mourn the deaths and console the family. However, Bharati Devi, the mother comes out and gives a long lecture, stating that her children did their duty to the nation and became Shaheeds. The family is proud of their sacrifice and no one should mourn their death…….

When I was checking the film’s cast etc, I found that the film’s Choreography is done by Badri Prasad and Vasant Naidu. I was surprised. Badri Prasad was a versatile and multifaceted artist of Hindi Cinema. He was an actor (first as a Hero, in the 1930s and then as a character artist) in 147 films. He was a singer – 7 films, 11 songs. He was lyricist for 1 film, 8 songs. He was a music director – 16 films, 168 songs. And he was a choreographer in 30 films. What a talent! His one daughter – Surekha Pandit was also an actress (played the role of the mother of Sharmila Tagore in film ‘Anupama’ (1966).

Similarly, the other choreographer Vasant Naidu was an active music director from 1939 to 1947, 22 films and 160 songs. He also sang in film ‘Mere Sajan’ (1941).

Strange are the ways of Filmi Duniya !!!

Song- Hum punjabi hum Bangali (Ham Ek Hain)(1969) Singers-Rafi, Manna Dey, Asha Bhonsle, Lyrics-Indeewar, MD-Usha Khanna
Chorus
All

Lyrics

hum punjabi
hum bengali
hum hain maratha
hum madrasi
hum punjabi
hum bengali
hum hain maratha
hum madrasi
baad mein kuchh aur magar
hum pahle hain bharatwasi
hum punjabi
hum bengali
hum hain maratha
hum madrasi

hoy
hoy
oho
hoy

doodh ki taaqat rakhnewaala aa aa aa
ye punjaab ka paani hai
bhagat singh ke saath yahaan aan aan
heer aur raanjhe ki kahaani hai
bhaarat ka hai roop yahi
bhaarat ki yahi jawaani hai
hum punjabi hum bengali
hum hai maratha hum madrasi

o o o
o o o
oho
hmm
oho
hmm
oho

maut ghulaami se behtar
netaji ne maut hi chuni hai
maut ghulaami se behtar
netaji ne maut hi chuni hai
ye tagore ki kavita
jisko duniya sun kar jhoomi hai
ye buniyad aazad hind ki
ye bengal ki bhoomi hai
ye buniyad aazad hind ki
ye bengal ki bhoomi hai
hum punjabi
hum bengali
hum hain maratha
hum madrasi

aa aa
aa aa aa aa aa
ye maharashtra ki paawan seema
sapna veer shivaji ka
ho sapna veer shivaji ka
hum sabne seekha hai
jis’se pahla sabak aazaadi ka
o pahla sabak aazadi ka
yahi desh ka tilak
yahi hai bharat mata ka teeka
yahi desh ka tilak
yahi hai bharat mata ka teeka
hum punjabi
hum bengali
hum hain maratha
hum madrasi

nritya aur sangeet se jo
sansaar ke man ko harti hai
har ghar ek kala ka mandir
ye dakkhan ki dharti hai
yahi hai bharat ki jal sena
jis’se duniya darti hai
yahi hai bharat ki jal sena
jis’se duniya darti hai
hum aasaami
hum hain udiya
hum gujraati raajasthani
baad mein hain kuch aur magar
hum pahle hain hindustani
hum punjabi
hum bengali
hum hain maratha
hum madrasi

ek phool ke liye chaman ko nahin ujaada jaayega
ek phool ke liye chaman ko nahi ujaada jaayega
ek daal ke liye ped ko nahi ukhaada jaayega
ek daal ke liye ped ko nahi ukhaada jaayega
dushman ko aa hi gaya
to milke pachhaada jaayega
milke pachhaada jaayega
o milke pachhaada jaayega
haan milke pachhaada jaayega