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.

I congratulate all our readers on the auspicious occasion of this 69th REPUBLIC DAY of our country (26 january 2018).

Seriously, how many of us really know the definition of a Republic ? As per the Oxford Dictionary, “A Republic is a sovereign country, which is organised with a form of Government in which the power resides with elected individuals, who exercise power according to the rule of the law “. In short, it is a government of the people, by the people and for the people.

After India achieved freedom in 1947, some films on Patriotic themes were made. ‘Andolan’ (1951) was one such film. Made by Harnam Motwane, under his banner Motwane Ltd, this film is labelled as a ‘historic’ film by HFGK. That may be because in this film the history of India’s independence struggle from 1885 to 1947 is shown with the documentaries and actual footage (with a basic film story, of course) from short films made by Films Division and some film companies like Krishna and Kohinoor films.

This was Kishore Kumar’s first film as a hero and his role was a serious one, that of a militant hero. Though in his later career, Kishore became famous and popular as a comedian – a reluctant one, though, he always yearned for serious roles in serious films. When he started producing his own films, he took the opportunity to make some serious films.

Today’s song is from film ‘Andolan’. It is not a film song actually, but our National Song, suitably woven into the film story. “Vande Maataram” could have been our National Anthem, but things were manoeuvred in such a way that it did not get that place of honour. Let us see a brief history of Vande Mataram through the years.

It was Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay who wrote the lyrics for the powerful “Vande Maataram”. It was Sanyasi Rebellion (1763-1800) that inspired Bankim to write the historic novel ‘Ananda Matth’. Actually, the lyrics of this song came much before the novel. He wrote the lyrics while he was riding in a train and was inspired by the scenic landscape, beautiful lakes and charm of nature in its expansive splendor. The poet in him got totally inspired and burst into penning down lyrics for this soul stirring poem. However, it took few more years for the poem to reach to the masses.

On April 14th 1906, at the Bengali Provincial Conference of Indian National Congress at Barisal, Bankim revealed this power-packed mantra to the masses. The pledge for undoing the then partition of Bengal was also taken at this conference. And “Vande Maatarm” became a weapon in the hands of patriotic revolutionaries of India which shook the foundation of British Raj. Many hard core patriots went to gallows while holding Bhagwath Geeta in one hand and the lines of “Vande Maataram” on their lips.

“Vande Maataram” even reached the shores of America in 1912 and the Gadar party was formed to fight against British Colonialism, with vows of patriotism singing the lines of this inspirational poem. Four Indian revolutionaries from Independence League in Japan were caught by British forces and were sentenced to death. All four went to gallows with “Vande Maataram” on their lips.

National Anthem of Azad Hind Fauj (Indian National Army – INA) led by Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, was a soul-stirring adoration of the motherland India which inspired thousands of soldiers to lay down their lives for India’s independence. Netaji writes about “Vande Mataram” in his autobiography calling it as the National Anthem of India. In his writings, he says – “Vande Maataram” literally means “I salute you, O Mother”.

“Vande Maataram” inspired twenty four soldiers of Bristish Indian Army stationed in Tamilnadu in 1940’s. And British arrested all twenty four on charges of mutiny and were sentenced to death. In Madras (now Chennai) Jail all twenty four went to gallows once again with “Vande Maataram” on their lips.

The acceptance and usage of this poem was also fraught with controversies. The Muslim League opposed the acceptance of this poem on grounds of religious sentiments, as early as 1908. Taking a rigid and parochial view, based on a certain interpretations of the fundamental tenets of Islamic traditions, they claimed that their religion disallowed them to bow their head in worship and salute to any person or symbol other than Allah, the Almighty. By this logic, they said, a salute to even as revered a symbol as the Motherland, would be hurting their religious sentiments.

In 1922, Congress leaders with Nehru as a party leader decided to maim “Vande Maataram” by allowing only first two stanzas of this poem to be sung. Muslim League still persisted in its objection, and in 1938, Jinnah placed before Nehru his demand for completely abandoning this poem.
[Ed Note: There is ample evidence to also show that such divisive manipulations was the handiwork of the British. It was the British who wanted the ‘Jana Gana Mana. . .’ poem by Rabindranath Tagore, to take precedence over all other such similar candidates. They wanted to stress their superiority and control over the leaders and people of India, simply because the creation of Rabindranath Tagore was originally written in the honor of the British king. And that both the Muslim League and the Indian National Congress were simply toeing the British line.]

Nehru further went on to say that lyrics of “Vande Maataram” were not suitable for composing it into a melody. And no orchestra will be able to play such a song. But one patriot-musician Master Krishna Rao Phulambrikar from Pune proved Nehru wrong. He composed “Vande Maataram” in a very melodious tune. However, Nehru wanted to get okay from British Band (orchestra) experts. Master Krishna Rao Phulambrikar came to Bombay (now Mumbai) and played his composition to British Band experts and they approved it after playing smoothly in their orchestra. This proved for the first time that “Vande Maataram” could be composed melodiously.
[Author’s Note : I do not understand here why Nehru wanted an okay from British Band in the first place].

In spite of all these efforts, Congress leaders did not like the idea of making this poem as the National Anthem of India. Even before the official decision was taken by Constituent Assembly on this issue, “Jana Gana Mana” was played as National Anthem in the UN General Assembly in 1947. If congress (read – Nehru) would not have hastened there was a possibility that “Vande Maataram” would have been adopted as National Anthem of India by majority votes of assembly members.

But things took place behind the scenes. The question never came to Constituent Assembly. Instead of passing a resolution for adopting National Anthem by majority votes, the first President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad was asked to announce on January 24th, 1950 saying that “Jana Gana Mana” will be the National Anthem of India and “Vande Maataram” will have equal status with it.

Of course, Vande Mataram does not need any official stamp of being a National Anthem from Government of India so long as it lives in the hearts of millions and millions of Indians all across the globe. (Adapted from an article by Dr N Kamath, with thanks).

As far as the story of film ‘Andolan’ is concerned, this is what its film booklet says-

In the year 1885, Charu Dutt, a worldly-wise patriot, journeys from his little village to attend the first session of the Indian National Congress, held in Bombay. Fired with patriotic zeal, he returns to his village and speaks to his friends and relatives of the new wave that is about to spread over India. To his son he explains the cultural and political past of India, from the dawn of her history upto the turbulence of 1857. The years roll on, and we come to the partition of Bengal. There is thunder in the air, and India’s inspiring song, “Vande Maataram”, is born. The struggle gathers strength. Mahatma Gandhi appears, and freedom comes closer. 1920. . . 1921. . . Simon Commission, Bardoli, Dandi, 1930. . . 1932. . . the battle rages and the drama heightens. Then, August 1942 and Quit India, and on to the final chapter in our freedom story, which unfolds in this film as the story of a single family, representing the nation of which they are the heart-beats.

According to a Review of this film, published in those days-

The true patriot that he was, Pannalal Ghosh gave stirring compositions and flute playback for the memorable film ‘Andolan’. This film starred Shivraj, Kishore Kumar, Manju, Pushpa, Sushma, Parsuram, and Tiwari and was directed by Phani Majumdar for Motwane Ltd.

The film, made at Bombay Talkies, was produced by the distributors of the Chicago Radio PA systems. Kishore Kumar plays the role of the militant hero of this quasi-documentary. It is a stridently nationalistic story of India’s freedom struggle, presented through the expressions of a Bengali family from 1885 (when the Indian National Congress was established) to 1947. It has the actual footage of India’s freedom struggle. Speeches and talks of our national leaders, Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru and many others are included in the narrative of this film.

Important events incorporated into the plot were Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagrah (1920), the Simon Commission (1928), Sardar Vallabh bhai Patel’s Bardoli Satyagrah (1928) and the 1942 Quit India agitation. Old documentary footage purchased from Kohinoor and Krishna Films, as well as a shot of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore singing Jana Gana Mana are included. The song “Vande Maataram” rendered by Parul Ghosh, Sudha, and Manna Dey is based on Raaga Miyan Malhar. “Prabhu Charanon Main Aaya Pujari” in Raaga ‘Shree’ and “Radha Ne Kiya”, both rendered by Parul Ghosh are appreciated by music lovers. “Subah Ki Pahili Kiran Tak Zindagi Mushkil Mein Hai” rendered by Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey and others is a unique experimentation in Bhor music.

The film was directed by Phani Mujumdar (28-12-1911 to 16-5-1994), who was already a seasoned Director. He is the only Director who directed films in 9 languages (Hindi, Bangla, English, Malay, Chinese, Magadhi, Maithili, Aasamese and Punjabi). He started his career assisting PC Barua in Calcutta. Besides ‘Street Singer’ (1938) and ‘Kapaal Kundala’ (1939), he had directed a total of 29 films,which include several hit films like ‘Baadbaan’, ‘Doctor’, ‘Tamanna’, ‘Door Chalen’, ‘Faraar’, ‘Aarti’, ‘Kanyadan’, ‘Akashdeep’, ‘Oonche Log’ etc. Here is a short biosketch and an obitury on him, published in The Independent, Calcutta, on 22-6-1994, and is written by the famous film historian and author of ‘Encyclopedia of Indian Cinema’ – Ashish Rajadhyaksha.

PHANI MAJUMDAR was a pioneer of Indian cinema, working in the late 1930s with PC Barua, India’s equivalent of DW Griffith, in the famous New Theatres Studio of Calcutta. Here, between 1936 and 1939, new standards were set for Indian motion pictures in a series of reflective, lyrical films that brought cinema closer to life and literature.

Majumdar’s contribution was ‘Street Singer’ (1938), a melancholy love story, his debut and a classic of Indian cinema. Its male lead, Kundan Lal Saigal, sang his immortal song ‘Babul Mora’ here, on a charged symbolic landscape of boats adrift in the mist. The Famine of 1943 and Partition of India were events of the future yet much of the symbolism of Bengal, the redolent Tagorean motifs of life-giving rivers, the feudal elite recreating the 19th century in desolate mansions – all the stuff that Satyajit Ray later spoke of as ‘the past’ – was in place with Street Singer. It was watched, not just as a love story par excellence, but as an expression of themes of Indian identity and nationalism which would be relevant for India, and Majumdar, even beyond Independence.

Majumdar was born in Faridpur, in what is now Bangladesh, in 1911. From Calcutta he moved to Bombay in 1941, directing classic musicals which often promoted traditional ways of Indian life, with stars like Suraiya in ‘Tamanna’ (1942), Shanta Apte in ‘Mohabbat’ (1943), and the blind singer KC Dey.

Majumdar’s Andolan (1951), Indian cinema’s most elaborately constructed nationalist propaganda feature, was made to promote Nehru’s Congress Party and was the closest that India ever came, on film, to defining a popular culture of nationalism: a small family in Bengal experiences in microcosm the major political events in the country, from 1885 (when the Congress Party was established) to Independence.

Majumdar returned to India from working in Singapore in the 1960s, and proceeded to make films in Punjabi, and even in obscure languages like Magadhi (‘Bhaiya’, 1961) and Maithili (‘Kanyadaan’, 1965). His interest in themes of an intrinsically Indian nature was a driving force to the end of his career. He worked on the television phenomenon of the 1980s in India, the 78-part religious epic ‘The Ramayana’, and was working on a television series ‘Our India’ when he died. No doubt, had he lived, the ‘Our India’ series, on a state television network struggling to hold its own in competition with satellite, would have been the fitting finale to a career which started with ‘Street Singer’.

The film had a cast consisting of Kishore kumar, Shivraj, Manju, Parshuram, Tiwari, Krishnakant, Sachin Shankar, Pushpa, Gauri devi etc etc. The recording of the songs of this film were done in November 1949 to August 1950 itself. Actor Krishnakant aka K.K. who acted in this film, did the role of Rehmu (Rehman) – a 20 year old young man. By the end of the film, he becomes an 85 year old Rehmu Chacha. He has written about this film in his Gujarati autobiography, ‘Guzra hua zamana’, that he had to do the make up differently for every shot of his role – from young to old. His make up man was Dada Paranjape, who had worked in Prabhat and Rajkamal with V Shantaram. The shooting of the film was done in Bhopal and nearby areas. All the actors and crew had to stay in Military Barracks and had to report at 7 am for shootings. The season was winter and the cold of Bhopal was unbearable. Constant tea/coffee supply was arranged.

For lack of any big stars and actors, distributors were wary of taking the film. A grand premiere was arranged, attended by Dev Anand, Raj Kapoor, Meena kumari, Madhubala, Geeta Bali and others. However, the film did not do big business. Probably, the documentary type presentation was not impressive enough.

The film has 6 songs. Today’s song is the second song to be posted here. The first song was discussed few years ago. On this auspicious occasion of our Republic Day, let us listen to “Vande Maataram”, sung by Parul Ghosh, Sudha Malhotra, Manna Dey, Sailesh Kumar and Chorus.

Song- Vande Maataram (Aandolan)(1951) Singers- Parul Ghosh, Sudha Malhotra, Manna Dey, Sailesh Kumar, Lyrics-Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, MD- Pannalal Ghosh

Lyrics

vande maataram
vande maataram

vande maataram
vande maataram
vande maataram
vande maataram
vande maataram
vande maataram

sujalaam sufalaam
malayaj sheetalaam
shasyashyaamalaam maataram
maataram
sujalaam sufalaam
malayaj sheetalaam
shasyashyaamalaam maataram
maataram
vande maataram
vande maataram
vande maataram
vande maataram

shubhrajyotsna pulakit yaaminim
phulla kusumita drumadal shobhinim
shubhrajyotsna pulakit yaaminim
phulla kusumita drumadal shobhinim
suhaasinim sumadhura bhaashhinim
sukhadaam varadaam maataram
maataram
suhaasinim sumadhura bhaashhinim
sukhadaam varadaam maataram
maataram
vande maataram
vande maataram
vande maataram
vande maataram

sujalaam sufalaam
malayaj sheetalaam
shasyashyaamalaam maataram
maataram
sujalaam sufalaam
malayaj sheetalaam
shasyashyaamalaam maataram
maataram
vande maataram
vande maataram
vande maataram