Posts Tagged ‘Ratna Gupta’
Aaye jab pyaar ka zamaanaa
Posted on: May 29, 2024
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 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.
|
Blog Day : |
5794 | Post No. : | 18328 |
Today’s song is from the social film Taksaal-1956.
This was a film made by ‘Hemen Gupta Productions’, produced and directed by Hemen Gupta. His wife Ratna Gupta sang a few songs in this film and his daughter baby Bula acted in it.
Baby Bula had earlier acted in the film Ferry-1954. When she grew up as an adult, she entered the films with the name Archana Gupta and had acted in films like Umang-1970, Buddha mil gaya-1971 and Anokha Daan-1972. Then she got married and settled in the USA. She had sung a song also in film Ferry-1954, along with another child actor Master Babu. he was the son of Hemant Kumar. Later, as an adult actor-Ritesh, he worked in few films also. He had married actress Moushumi Chatterjee. Hemen Gupta’s wife Ratna sang 6 songs in 2 films, namely Ferry-1954 and Taksaal-1956.
Director Hemen Gupta’s name will be remembered for a long time in Hindi film history for two films that he directed. One was the early era patriotic film “Anandmath”-52,based on the novel of Bankim babu, in which Hemen Gupta himself, Pradeep Kumar and Hemant Kumar made their debuts in Hindi films. The second film was Kabuliwala – 61, which won acclaim and a National Award too. This was a film based on the story of Rabindranath Tagore.
I was looking for information on Hemen Gupta, but found it very difficult. As I have already said recently, getting information about southern and Bengali artistes in English is a difficult task. When I was drawing a blank from all sources, Lady Luck smiled on me. Unexpectedly, one of my friends from the US sent me a PDF of Hemen Gupta’s Biography and the Filmography, prepared by his own son Jayant Gupta. What a coincidence ! I was listening to a duet of Uma Devi and S.D.Batish from the film Taaksaal-56 and at the same time received most unexpectedly the authentic information on its director Hemen Gupta !! Although the original PDF contains many pages, I have abridged and edited this Bio to suit this article. My sincere thanks to Shri Jayant Guptaji and Shri Salim Shah ji for this.
Hemen Gupta was born on 21-3-1912, in a middle class family in Rajasthan. His Grandfather shri Nabakumar Gupta was a big Zamindar in Dacca. Hemen’s early school and college education was done in Dacca. He joined an active political career in 1926 as a Congress worker and a freedom fighter. He was arrested in 1931 and was in jail till 1938. In the jail, he studied and completed his Master’s degree in History with Honours. He also read many books on film making and was interested in it. When he was released he joined New Theatres. He wanted to make Patriotic films but till 1946 he could not do so. He made the film Bhuli Nai in Bangla-a fiercely patriotic film which was rejected by the censors. After many obstacles it got released. He also made another patriotic film in Bangle ’42’. Both films gave him name and fame.
Shashadhar Mukherjee of Filmistan in Bombay called him with an attractive offer and Hemen came to Bombay. He wrote the screenplay and directed the film “Anandmath”-52. He took Pradeep Kumar as a Hero and Hemanta Kumar as MD- his old colleagues in Calcutta. For all the three it was a debut in Hindi films. In 1953 he started his own banner “Film trust of India”and made “Ferry”-54, a love story with Dev Anand and Geeta Bali. Again Hemanta Kumar was the MD. Hemant Kumar’s young son Ritesh played a small role in this film (Later Ritesh married the famous actress Maushami Chatterjee). Ratna Gupta,Hemen’s wife, sang songs in this film. His last film under Hemen Gupta Productions was Taaksaal-56. Meanwhile he directed Meenar in 1954.
He was a staunch nationalist and idealist who wanted to make artistic films,but the producers,distributors and the financiers did not allow him that freedom. He felt suffocated. He was fed up with the commercialism in film making and he had a difficulty in coping up with the market demands. In 1961 he directed “Kabuliwala”and won accolades and a National Award too. His last film was “Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose””-1966 for producer B K Adarsha.
He wanted to resume making Bangla films. His film ‘Ánamika’ was almost completed, when suddenly he died of brain Hemorrhage,on 1-7-1967.
He was the father of actress Archana( Buddha mil gaya-71).He directed the following films in Hindi-Anandmath-52, Ferry-54, Meenar-54, Taaksaal-56, Raaj kamal-57, Insaaf kahan hai-59, Baabar-60, Kabuliwala-61, and Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose-66.
The mid fifties was an era in India where the huge middle class was influenced with Nehru’s Socialism. The Indian Film Industry did not lag behind and in this period many films were made either openly or subtly supporting the socialist cause. Mehboob, K.A.Abbas and others of the ilk were sold to this ideology and made films on such themes.Film makers like B.R.Chopra was another who espoused the cause of correcting the social evils like prostitution, Communal feelings etc.The dignity of labour(Naya Daur) and Village life of poor farmers(Mother India) were made into films. For the common man socialism meant all rich is bad, all poor is good. Those making money, even honestly, were looked down upon.
Taksal was yet another such movie which stressed that Money is not the solution to all problems and money is only the means and not the End. The story was….
Jatin Mukherji (Balraj Sahni) an honest and brilliant lawyer, his wife Maya (Nirupa Roy), 3 children and his unmarried sister(Smriti Biswas) are happily living together. Maya is very religious. She does not allow Jatin to take any case of cheating, murder or crime. Slowly his practice goes down and he becomes so poor that his son Ram dies for lack of treatment. At the same time, his sister commits suicide when she is raped by her employer.
Jatin thinks that all his problems are because he is poor, so he decided to make money by hook or crook. He does so, by indulging in many illegal affairs, against the advice of Maya. He becomes very rich.
The “Lambe haath of kanoon” catches up with him one day and no amount of money saves him. He realises then that Money can not solve all problems. But it is too late.
The music is by Roshan, assisted by H.K.Maria. The film had 3 very good bhajans. There were 8 songs and 6 singers-Lata, Rafi, S D Batish, Uma Devi, Laxmi Shankar and Ratna Gupta. The film’s star cast was Nirupa Roy, Balraj Sahni, Smriti Biswas, radha Kishen, Iftikhar, Uma Devi, Baby Bula, Master jayant and many others. Actress Mohna was a Guest Artiste. The looks of both Nirupa Roy and Balraj Sahni were matching to act as a suffering couple in those days of Socialism. Starting with Do Bigha Zamin-1953 till 1972, they acted in as many as 12 films as the suffering Husband- Wife pair.
Few years back, when I first wrote about Balraj Sahni, I had said that Balraj Sahni was a different type of person than all other film actors. It is surprising how he came into the film line, in the first place. Basically he was a very sensitive writer and stage actor, but having once entered the film world, he continued for the sake of earning a livelihood, making a lot of compromises on his journey of life. I still stand by what I had said. It is worthwhile to even repeat it.
In the days when not many educated people came into films,Balraj-a double MA in English and Hindi joined the films. In the conventional way he was not a handsome person,but his superior acting prowess compensated for this. In an industry,which is a ‘show business’, he was never counted amongst the Top grade stars, though critics and learned viewers always found him excellent. You can never imagine a Raj Kapoor or a Dev Anand in a film like Seema or Kabuliwala, nor can a Dilip Kumar fit into ‘Do Bigha Zameen’. For such roles Balraj was matchless. After the film Do Bigha Zameen, he and Nirupa Roy became India’s most loved, poor and uneducated, good natured and simple couple for many subsequent films. Together, they acted in 12 films. Due to this, Balraj never got any romantic or Glamorous roles. However, to earn his daily bread satisfactorily, he compromised and worked in several B grade movies, like Black Cat-59, opposite a Non actress Minu Mumtaz !
Yudhishthir Sahni aka Balraj Sahni was born in Rawalpindi, Punjab, British India (now Pakistan) on 1st May, 1913 to a Punjabi family. After completing his Bachelor of Arts (Hindi), and post graduation in Masters of Arts (English Literature), both from Punjab University; he got married to Dayamanti. It was in the late 1930s that both husband and wife moved to Bengal to join Rabindra Nath Tagore’s Visva Bharati University in Shantiniketan as English and Hindi teacher. It was about the same time that in 1936 Balraj wrote his first compilation of Hindi fiction called “Shahzadon ka Drink”. It was also in Bengal that Balraj and Damayanti’s son, Parikshit was born. In 1938, Sahni went to work with Mahatma Gandhi for a year and the very next year went to England to join the British Broadcasting Network’s Hindi service as a radio announcer. In 1943, he returned to India.
It was in 1944 that Sahni moved to Bombay and joined the Indian People’s Theatre Association (IPTA), a group with which he also started his acting career, albeit through plays. In the same year, he bagged a role in the film “Insaf”, which marked the beginning of his acting career in the Hindi film industry. “Dharti ke Lal” and “Door Chalein” were his next releases in the same year. (In 1947, after doing the Heroine’s role in the film Gudiya-47, Damayanti expired. Two years later, Balraj married his first cousin Santosh Chandhok and they had 2 children. It was, however, the film “Do Bigha Zameen”-1953 that established his strengths as an actor. The movie was directed by Bimal Roy and came out in 1953; it also won the international prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The film is now considered a classic.
In the years that followed, he played many leading roles in commercial films opposite actresses like Nargis, Meena Kumari, Vyjayanthimala, and Nutan in films “Lajwanti” (1958), “Ghar Sansar” (1958), “Satta Bazar” (1959), “Kathputli” (1957), and “Sone Ki Chidiya” (1958) respectively. These films further established his position as a versatile actor. In the 1961, film “Kabuliwala”, written by Tagore, went on to become another of his classics. To prepare for the role, Balraj lived with kabuliwalas in a Bombay suburb. His character roles with strong performances in films like “Haqeeqat” (1964), “Waqt” (1965), “Do Raaste” (1969), “Ek Phool Do Mali” (1969), and “Mere Humsafar” (1970) further left an indelible mark in the film fraternity and fans alike. The legendary song “Ae Meri Zohra Jabeen” from the film “Waqt”, picturized on Balraj Sahni and Achala Sachdev is still etched deep in peoples’ memories and is loved by the current generation as well. They acted in 3 films.
Along with successfully proving his acting prowess, he also displayed exceptional directing skills through the film Lal Batti (1957), where passengers are forced to spend a night together at the railway platform at the time of India’s independence. Balraj co-directed this movie along with Krishan Chopra. His performance in the film “Garm Hava” (1973) is considered to be the best. Sadly, this was his last film before his death.
Sahni’s writing career began with “Shahzaadon Ka Drink” that came out in 1936. This was his first compilation of Hindi fiction. He went on to become an esteemed writer in the Punjabi literature. He wrote “Mera Pakistani Safar” shortly after his visit to Pakistan in 1960. After a tour to the Soviet Union in 1969, he wrote “Mera Rusi Safarnama”. This book also earned him the Soviet Land Nehru Award. He also wrote his autobiography called “Meri Filmy Atmakatha”. Sahni even penned the screenplay for the 1951 released film “Baazi”, starring Dev Anand and directed by Guru Dutt. Apart from this, he wrote a number of poems, short stories, and contributed to the Punjabi magazine Preetlari.
Going through depression for some time after his young daughter Shabnam’s untimely death, Balraj Sahni passed away on 13th April, 1973 at the age of 59 following a cardiac arrest. He is survived by his son Parikshit, who is also an actor in the Hindi film industry.
Balraj Sahni received the Padma Shri Award in 1969. Balraj Sahni earned the ‘Soviet Land Nehru Award for his book Mera Rusi Safarnama in 1969. Balraj Sahni starrer movie ‘Do Bigha Zameen’ won the international prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1953. Balraj Sahni joined the BBC-London’s Hindi service as a radio announcer from 1939-43. ‘Punjabi Kala Kender’, founded in 1973 at Mumbai by Balraj Sahni, gives away the annual Balraj Sahni Award’. ‘All India Artists’ Association also gives away the annual ‘Balraj Sahni Award’.
The other day, I was reading the Autobiography of Balraj Sahni. His style of narration is very good. He does not miss even the smallest details.The part of his life when he entered the Hindi films is extremely readable.
When he was with BBC, London,he was deputed to attend a seminar in Poona,India. He came down with his wife Damayanti and they stayed with a friend-Appasaheb Pant, the scion and Yuvraj of Aundh-a princely state in British India, in Maharashtra.( He later became the High Commissioner to Britain, post Independence). One evening they all went to see a film “Manoos'(Aadmi-39) of Prabhat, directed by V.Shantaram. After seeing the film,he was terribly impressed with Shantaram’s direction and was all praise for him.
When Balraj left the BBC and returned to India,he was again in Poona. This time he went to see Shantaram, with prior appointment. When he reached the Gate, a person was waiting for him. He was taken to the reception room. That man left. In the room there was one more person with a Black cap-which was very common for Maharashtrians, those days. Balraj thought he too was another visitor like him. After a few minutes, that man asked in excellent English if he was Balraj Sahni. Balraj was astonished and nodded affirmatively. That man got up and said,’I am Shantaram. Nice to see you’. Later Shantaram took him around the studio etc.
Balraj returned to Bombay absolutely mesmerized with Shantaram. While in Bombay they were loitering, when they suddenly met Chetan Anand- his old friend. They were very happy to see each other. Chetan took them to his 4 bedroom spacious flat in Pali Hill,Bandra.They stayed with him for a few days. Balraj had decided to work in films and was negotiating for his role in film Insaf, while Chetan was busy in his Neecha Nagar-46. One evening they went to see the film ‘Shakuntala’, made by Shantaram. After seeing the film Balraj was very much upset and started criticising Shantaram that his standard has gone down, compared to Aadmi-39.
Chetan Anand smiled and said, “Shantaram has made a film for Box office.” Balraj did not understand. Chetan Anand explained, “One can not go on making art films alone. To run the studio, you need money. Shantaram being a good businessman, he makes such films which earn him money. With this money he can make more meaningful films. For example after Shakuntala, Shantaram made Parbat pe apna Dera-44 and then his memorable film Dr. Kotnis ki amar kahani-46. This is how the maths of cinema works”.
There are many such incidents described in his Autobiography which is highly readable, not only for his story but also for glimpse into the film scenario of the 40s and 50s. I can not go on, due to constraints of the length of this article. Maybe some other time I will tell you more from his book.
Balraj has done 101 films. His first film was ‘Insaaf’-46 and the last film of Balraj, to be released well after his death was “Amaanat”-77.
With today’s song, all the available songs of this film are covered and the film is conditionally YIPPEED !
Editor’s note:-The movie also has a shlok (Shree kamal netr kati pitambar…) according to HFGK, but its details and record number etc are unavailable. This shlok may have been there only in the movie which is now lost because prints of this movie are no longer available.
Song-Aaye jab pyaar ka zamaana (Taksaal)(1956) Singer- Ratna Gupta, Lyricist-Prem Dhavan, MD- Roshan
chorus
Lyrics(Provided by Prakashchandra)
ae jee aaye jab pyaar ka zamaanaa
badaa mushqil hai dil ko bachaanaa
haayye rey haayye
mushqil hai dil ko bachaanaa
ae jee aaye jab pyaar ka zamaanaa
badaa mushqil hai dil ko bachaanaa
haayye rey haayye
mushqil hai dil ko bachaanaa
yeah
hahahaha
bheegi bheegi ye shaam
ye chhalaktey jaam ye aadaayein ae
bheegi bheegi ye shaam
ye chhalaktey jaam ye aadaayein ae
jab thhaaam ke haath
koyi pyaar ki baat keh jaaye ae
na chaley ae phir koyi bahaanaa
na chaley ae phir koyi bahaanaa
badaa mushqil hai dil ko bachaanaa
ae jee aaye jab pyaar ka zamaanaa
badaa mushqil hai dil ko bachaanaa
haayye rey haayye
mushqil hai dil ko bachaanaa
ae jee aaye jab pyaar ka zamaanaa
yeah
hey
hurr
ola
hurr
reh ke din ye chaar
zaalim bahaar chalee jaaye ae
reh ke din ye chaar
zaalim bahaar chalee jaaye ae
sun dil ki baat
jaaney phir ye raat kab aaye ae
main hoon shammaa
tu parwaanaa
main hoon shammaa
tu parwaanaa
dekho mushqil hai dil ko bachaanaa
ae jee aaye jab pyaar ka zamaanaa
badaa mushqil hai dil ko bachaanaa
haayye rey haayye
mushqil hai dil ko bachaanaa
Yahi hai mere sapnon ka sansaar
Posted on: February 8, 2011
“Ferry” (1954) also titled as “Kishti” (1954) is a movie that had Dev Anand and Geeta Bali in lead roles. I have the VCD of this movie lying around with me , but I never bothered to watch the movie. I have just watched a few songs from this movie, and I think that I may yet get persuaded to watch the movie, if only for the songs.
Read more on this topic…
Atul’s Song A Day- A choice collection of Hindi Film & Non-Film Songs 
Recent comments