Listening to: Mere Apne (1971)

Talking to a friend about the films from the seventies which made an impression on me, I remembered Mere Apne and went searching for it on Youtube. Glad to find it, I sat down expecting a treat. I still loved the songs but the movie…hmmm…..

The film opens with an old lady, Anandi (Meena Kumari), who lives alone in a village. We see her being visited by a slimy man (Ramesh Deo) who claims to be a distant relative. He invites her to come and live with his wife and him in the city. Of course our antennas are up, expecting disaster, but Anandi quite innocently accepts his invitation. The director succeeds quite consciously or unconsciously to show us how very cynical we are, how our innocence has been lost.

Anandi is bewildered by the ways of the city. She realises only after being clued in by a servant that she has been brought by the couple to act as an unpaid nanny for their child. दूसरे को अपना कहे जब अपना काम पड़े she says to herself, understanding finally the ways of the world that she has come to. It is a dark world of disillusionment and the disillusioned, of joblessness and violence, of hunger and selfishness that the movie makers want to show us. She acts as our eyes as we are introduced to a world where family values have disappeared and selfishness rules, where the young are lost with none to guide them, where unethical politicians use strong arm tactics and violence rules the streets.

When she gets thrown out of her so called relative’s home, it is Shyam (Vinod Khanna), the leader of one gang, who takes care of her. She in her turn showers affection on the gang members and is slowly making progress in weaning them out of their destructive lives. But will she be able to turn them around? Or will she be destroyed herself? You’ll have to see the film to find out!

When I saw this movie in the eighties, it was already a decade old. It made an impact on me then. Now, in my advanced years, it seems to be too contrived. It is the script which I object to (sorry Gulzar, I do admire you normally!) The cast does a reasonably good job. Meena Kumari is competent if uninspired as the story teller. Vinod Khanna looks young and dashingly handsome and if he looks wooden at times, one is (well, I am) inclined to ignore it! Shatrughan Sinha is a strong and fascinating presence. Asrani, Danny Denzongpa, Paintal and Dinesh Thakur all have roles as gang members and make an impact in their own way. You’ll find many other well-recognizable faces in this cast rich film. Yet no one person stands out. Is that good or is that bad?

My issues with the script are manifold. Why is a woman praiseworthy when she puts up with a man threatening to beat her at every turn? Why is a woman bad because she dresses in western clothes and goes out to work? Why are old ways always better than new ones? Why is village life always better than city life? Why is being progressive evil? There are some skewed perceptions here…

The music by Salil Chowdhury is beautiful and Gulzar has written some memorable words. There are only three songs, all three very pleasing.

• Haal Chaal Thik Thak Hai – Kishore Kumar, Mukesh. This sarcastic and political song is very well crafted and sung. Interludes on the mouth organ and the whistling add a nice touch. Kishore does his trademark yodelling making me nostalgic for that era of music!
• Koi Hota Jisko Apna – Kishore Kumar. One of my all time favourites. Gulzar’s words touch the heart, see how well they are scripted!
  कोई होता जिसको अपना हम अपना कह लेते यारों |

  पास नहीं तो दूर ही होता लेकिन कोई मेरा अपना  ||

  आँखों में नींद न होती आँसूं ही तैरते रहते |
  ख्वाबों में जागते हम रात भर ||
  कोई तो ग़म अपनाता कोई तो साथी होता || (कोई होता)

  भूला हुआ कोई वादा बीती हुई कुछ यादें |
  तनहाई दोहराती है रात भर ||
  कोई दिलासा होता कोई तो अपना होता | (कोई होता)

  Salil Chowdhury’s music adds a melting pathos to the words but it is Kishore Kumar who raises the song from good to great. Superb.

• Roz Akeli Aayee – Lata Mangeshkar . This is somewhat of a hidden gem ; though I remembered the other two songs distinctly, I had forgotten about this one. A gentle and beautiful melody.

To hear the whole album, click here.

My today’s choice was a forgone conclusion, even before I sat down to see the film. Here is Kishore’s Koi Hota. Enjoy!

Listening to: Amar Akbar Anthony (1977)

Clichés? No worries! The film provides Bollywood’s version of secular harmony, coincidences after coincidences with impossible odds,  tight shirts in myriad colours,  obviously staged fights in which opponents have time to make conversation, decorative ladies, disguises galore, miraculous cures  and an evil villain who even has a good twin! How could anyone not like it?

The storyline itself is a huge Bollywood cliché. A family is separated by evil machinations, poverty and bad luck. Three brothers are brought up following three religions. The evil man continues in his evil ways and even the good father seems to have become part evil – but then he is Pran, so what do you expect? There are three pretty ladies who look decoratively helpless on demand. But it all resolves itself after many unbelievable plot ploys with more holes than Swiss cheese! The pace of the film is brisk and there is never a dull moment.

Rishi and Neetu make a handsome young couple and they play their parts with ease. Vinod and Shabana make a rather mismatched couple. Vinod is good as a police officer but Shabana…I prefer her in her serious roles.  Amitabh has great comic timing and for his fans, there is even a dialogue with God! Parveen I am not a fan off but she looks quite beautiful and they make a good pair. Jeevan and Pran have undemanding and clichéd roles. Amitabh has the most screen time amongst the leads and he does a good job.

Watch this film with suspended judgement and a healthy sense of humour and you’ll have great fun!

The music by Laxmikant-Pyarelal has some numbers which made the charts at the time of release. It doesn’t really stand the test of time but provides good nostalgia value. Lyrics by Anand Bakshi are adequate.

• Khoon Khoon Hota Hai – Mohammad Rafi. Pedestrian.
• Pardah Hai Pardah – Mohammad Rafi. This very well-known  Qawwali deserves its success. Rishi and Neetu glow with youth and Rafi is very good even though he is past his best phase.
•  My Name is Anthony – Kishore Kumar. This fun song became very famous with Kishore’s voice suiting Amitabh’s comic timing and long-limbed prancing. A song to make you smile.
• Hum Ko Tum Se – Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad, Mukesh. A melodious song which is still very enjoyable. I like that it has three of the great male voices of that era singing the same song.
• Taiyabali Pyar Ka Dushman – Mohammad Rafi. Don’t remember this song and won’t in the future.
• Shirdi Wale Sai Baba – Mohammad Rafi. A song which used to be run often in the radio, it seems ordinary now. I am normally much attracted to Qawwalis but not this one.
• Amar Akbar Anthony – Kishore Kumar, Mahendra Kapoor, Shailendra Singh. Familiarity made me listen to the song with pleasure rather than it’s musicality.

To listen to the whole album, click here.

In honour of three great male singers of Bollywood, and to see all the leads on screen, here is Hum Ko Tum Se.

Listening to: Gol Maal (1979)

I always fear re-watching old favourites – what if they are not as good as I remembered? Would it not take away the residual pleasure which has lingered over the years? I had seen this film as a young woman, in a theatre in Green Park, New Delhi along with my giggling friends. We had lovely chaat and kulfi-falooda afterwards – oh how it makes me long for those days! It was with trepidation that I sat down to see a film for I did so want it to be good!

And it was more than good!

The most natural of actors, Amol Palekar, is a young man who, for the sake of finding a job, lies about himself. His weird and rather manic boss is the incomparable Utpal Dutt. His daughter, Bindiya Goswami, is Amol’s love interest. Soon one lie adds on to another and Amol not only has to be his own evil twin, he also has to acquire a mother, the wonderful Dina Pathak. Devan Varma, Shubha Khote and David are very good in their small supporting roles. How does it all end? Hrishikesh Mukherjee has made a film which provides a gamut of emotions, from smiles, giggles, guffaws to hysterical laughter. Bindiya is the only weak link in this film, otherwise its a great watch! Highly recommended.

Amol Palekar may be the ‘hero’ but it is Utpal Dutt who is the real lead of the film. When the film finished, I got up in my little living room to bow to this man who makes it all seem to easy. Utpal Dutt is  man of immense talents coming with an illustrious career as actor and playwright in Bengali theatre and film as well as forays into the Hindi film world. His contribution to Indian theatre and cinema is to be lauded. If you want to read more about his career, click here.

As the music is by R.D.Burman and lyrics by Gulzar, one can always expect a certain standard.

• Gol Maal Hai – R.D. & Sapan Chakravarthy. This very popular title track has a very nice beat and good lyrics. RD has thrown in some harmonies, making it ‘modern’. I was in awe of Amol Palekar’s lip-synching, he does such a wonderful job! The song reminded me of ‘Haal Chaal Thik Thak Hai’ from Mere Apne which has the same mood. 
• Sapne Mein Dekha Sapna  – Kishore Kumar, Amit Kumar. What fun lyrics! Made me smile.  Kishore is great in this genre of song.  Hema, Zeenat and Rekha make brief appearances adding to the fun factor.
• Aanewala Pal – Kishore Kumar. Lovely song. Beautiful lyrics. Kishore’s voice strumming the strings of my heart. These words really speak to me-

  आनेवाला पल जानेवाला है, हो सके तो इसमें जिंदगी बिता दो
  पल जो ये जानेवाला है
  and also
  थोडा सा हँसा के, थोडा सा रुला के, पल ये भी जानेवाला है
  What’s not to like?

• Ek Baat Kahoon – Lata Mangeshkar. After listening to the Lata of the 50’s and 60’s, I did not quite enjoy her voice here. The melody is quite ok but the final effect did not appeal.

To listen to the whole album, click here.

My selection for today is Kishore’s voice in Aanewala Pal.

Listening to: Paying Guest (1957)

My feelings after seeing this film is ranging between frustration and anger. The music was the draw when I sat down to see it, but surely I had the right to expect some entertainment from the story as well?

In the earlier part of the film there is a debate between Nutan and Shubha Khote, ‘Is love or money  more important in a relationship/marriage?’ I thought then that perhaps that was the theme of the film. Unfortunately the movie did not settle down to any sane theme.

We have Dev who is a lawyer but with no income who comes to live as a paying guest in Nutan’s home. I disliked the character immediately. A ‘hero’ in films of yesteryears got away with a multitude of sins – in this case, criminal fraud (he misrepresents himself, doesn’t pay his dues), molestation (he grabs Nutan’s hand, stalks her on the road), breaking and entering (he enters Nutan’s room without permission), cheating (he pretends to be grievously hurt to win Nutan’s hand), tackiness (his reaction to a cat fight), questionable judgement (goes out to clubs and gets drunk with a married woman) – just to name a few. Tell me again, why is he a ‘hero’ ? I do not like Dev Anand and this film didn’t make me change my mind. 

Nutan on the other hand is quietly brilliant. I am more and more in sympathy with fellow-blogger and Nutan worshipper Yves from Let’s Talk About Bollywood. The industry has more than its share of beauties but Nutan quietly outshines them all. I much prefer her style of warm beauty than the perfect but cold touch-me-not look of some beauty queens. When Nutan smiles, her eyes, her face, why even her hair light up! And what an actress! She makes even ridiculous lines seem good and in an effortless and natural manner. She lip-synchs better than any actress I have seen and carries herself with grace. And truly, she radiates a goodness of heart which permeates all the roles she plays. Even in this poor film, she delivers her part with élan.

The first part of the movie is about Dev ensnaring Nutan. They enjoy a bit of a romance. Maybe it was just the chase for him? For he soon gets distracted by Shubha Khote who, after having found a rich husband she wanted, is now realising that she wants romance after all. There is Nutan’s evil brother-in-law who gets mixed up in this business. Shobha’s rich husband is killed and then the evil brother-in-law for whose death Nutan goes to court. It is upto our hero, who we have so far thought to be a good-for-nothing lawyer suddenly develops brilliant court room tactics and rescues the damsel in distress. PSHAW!!

The music by S.D.Burman is  brilliant and Majrooh Sultanpuri’s lyrics are excellent.

• Mana Janab Ne Pukara Nahin – Kishore Kumar. Lovely ‘stalking’ song. Thank you S.D for a lovely melody – especially like the बंदगी तो दीजिये जनाब  part of the verse. Kishore sounds very good.
• Chod Do Aanchal – Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhonsle. This is a superb example of the fun-conversational-duets that Hindi film music fans have enjoyed over the years. There is an inherent rhythm in the words which is very attractive. Kishore and Asha are outstanding! Asha emotes especially well and her voice is liquid gold…
• O Nigahen Mastana – Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhonsle. Nice song but not very original. It reminds me of many other similar ones.
• Chupke Chupke – Lata Mangeshkar. Not very appealing.
• Hai Hai Yeh Nigahen – Kishore Kumar. The ubiquitous club song, for a change in a male voice. Kishore does a good enough version but I am not charmed.
• Chand Phir Niklaa  – Lata Mangeshkar. Lata shows why she ruled the Hindi film music world for so long. Wonderful melody, lovely mood, great instrumentals and good lyrics.

You can listen to the whole album here.

As I cannot decide between my two favourites, one a happy song and another a sad one, I present you both.

Chod do Aanchal

Chand Phir Niklaa

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Lyrics : Chod Do Anchal

छोड़ दो आँचल ज़माना क्या कहेगा
इन अदाओं का ज़माना भी है दीवाना
दीवाना क्या कहेगा

मैं चली अब खूब छेड़ो प्यार के अफ़साने
कुछ मौसम है दीवाना कुछ तुम भी हो दीवाने
ज़रा सुनना जान-ए-तमन्ना
इतना तो सोचिये मौसम सुहाना क्या कहेगा

यूँ  न देखो जाग जाए प्यार की अंगडाई
ये रस्ता ये तन्हाई लो दिल ने ठोकर खाई
यहीं दिन हैं मस्ती के सिन  हैं
किसको ये होश है अपना बेगाना क्या कहेगा 

ये बहारें ये फुवारें ये बरसता सावन
थर थर काँपे हैं तन मन मेरी बैंयां धर लो साजन
अजी आना दिल में समाना
इक दिल इक जान हैं हम तुम ज़माना क्या कहेगा 

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Lyrics: Chand Phir Niklaa (Raga Shuddha Kalyan)

चाँद फिर निकला मगर तुम न आये
जला फिर मेरा दिल करूँ क्या मैं हाय

ये रात कहती है कि वोह दिन गए तेरे
यह जानता है दिल कि तुम नहीं मेरे
खड़ी हूँ मैं फिर भी निगाहें बिछाये
मैं क्या करूँ हाय कि तुम याद आये

सुलगते सीने से धुंआ सा उठता है
लो अब चले आओ कि दम घुटता है
जला गए तन को बहारों के साए
मैं क्या करूँ हाय कि तुम याद आये

Listening to: Mehbooba (1976)

Raga Shivaranjani has taken root in my mind since my classical music post a couple of days back.  Remembering a haunting song (pun intended!) set to this raga, I sat down to see Mehbooba. Of course, knowing that its Shakti Samanta film, I felt confident that it would have a certain class.

Mehbooba belongs to the Bollywood genre which I call Lost-Love-From-A-Previous-Life. This genre boasts some interesting films like Milan, Mahal and Karz. As always in films such as this, there is an abandoned palace, a photograph or painting to trigger memory and a haunting tune plaintively sung by a spooky woman trailed by the hero looking enchanted (I would have been terrified and run in the opposite direction!). And of course, people look exactly the same in all their lives so as to make recognition easy!!

So here is Rajesh who comes to a haunted and haunting mansion on a stormy night. Subsequent events lead him to remember his tragic love story from the previous life where he is a court singer and Hema Malini the court dancer. They fall in love but there is a childhood marriage which must be honoured and it all leads to the death of the lovers. In his current life, he comes across his lost love and has to work hard (ie. sing the haunting melody very often) to make her remember. There is a current life villain in Prem Chopra but after the most unconvincing of climaxes and fight scenes, all ends well.

I confess to being slightly bored by the predictability of the story. The actors I don’t blame; they did their bits well enough except for Yogeeta Bali who is quite wooden. Asrani’s role reminded me of a similar role in Abhiman. Its a good enough time-pass film.

The music by R.D.Burman has some memorable moments. The background score has some lovely lilting melodies as well. The lyricist, Anand Bakshi has woven some good lines.

• Mehbooba – Kishore Kumar. I listened without attention to the title song as I got distracted by a bad guitar-playing act by Rajesh. He is supposed to be a musician here, surely he should have made a better attempt? Kishore has sung this well enough but there are no surprises.
• Mere Naina – Lata Mangeshkar. People are always divided between which version they like, Lata’s or Kishore’s. See below for a comparison.
• Gori Teri Painjaniyan– Manna Dey. When it comes to classically based songs, its difficult to touch Manna Dey. He has sung this with his usual verve and energy. Hema has danced well. At some instances, the lyrics leave much to be desired – घर से निकलती है तू गिर के संभलती है तू  Is that supposed to be poetry?? Still, a very nice song indeed.
• Aapke Shahar Mein – Lata Mangeshkar. Mujra song. Loved the turquoise-black ghagra set that Hema was wearing, other than that nothing interested me.
• Chalo ri – Lata Mangeshkar. A nice ethnic dhun but it does remind me of a myriad other songs. Nothing unsual.
• Mere Naina – Kishore Kumar. A memorable performance and definitely the better version of the song. See below for analysis.
• Parabat Ke Peeche – Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar. The only duet of the movie, I remember it being played on the radio quite often so I reckon it was quite popular. I like the refrain very much indeed, very unusual and it is also beautifully sung.

Why do I like Kishore’s version better? Lata’s version starts better, with a lovely little alaap which is repeated mid-song as well. This establishes the more ‘ghostly’ effect for the female version. The musical interludes are also prettier, with lovely sounds of the ghungroo.  Still, I prefer Kishore’s version. There are some long notes in the song (eg. the word deewane in ae dil deewane)  which in Lata’s version is uninteresting while Kishore’s voice has a natural vibration which makes even the flat notes lovely. The composer has used Mishra Shivaranjani, with the extra note G3 (Carnatic system) while Shivaranjani uses only G2. In the first verse, in the line Dard Bhara Yeh Geet Kahan Se in Hoton Pe Aye-Door, the G2-G3 slide comes on Aye-Door. This only presence of G3, that too only in the upper octave, lends the most important haunting quality (sad G2-happy G3) to this song. And is therefore very important. Lata’s voice unfortunately sounds quite sharp in this slide while Kishore simply shines. For lyrics click here.

To listen to the whole album, click here.

My pick for the day is of course Kishore’s version of Mera Naina.

and Gori Teri Painjaniyan to enjoy Hema’s dancing.

Listening to: Dilli Ka Thug (1958)

A recently torn knee ligament and many hours spent on the recliner in front of the telly  has left me with plenty of scribbled notes which I have yet to transcribe. This is the first of them.

It was with great excitement that I sat to watch this film with my husband last weekend. If Kishore’s talent and goofiness wasn’t enough, there was Nutan’s acting prowess & astounding beauty to look forward to. And some fabulous music of course!

We lasted 30 mins. Surely no script-writer can be so illogical? And no editor so inept? Surely the producer should have noticed something? We watched with incredulity as they took perfectly good actors and put them in scene after disconnected scene leading nowhere. Then we gave up and just watched the songs. I read an online review which was all praise for the film. And also that it was a hit! Did we watch the same film? !!!

The music by Ravi is a mixed bag, but a couple of fantastic songs makes it a must-listen album. 

• Kisi Ka Dil Lena Ho – Asha Bhonsle. This is the first time I heard this song. It struck me as similar to some ‘club’ numbers from that era. There is a bit of Been sound and a bit of Arabic sounds thrown in – a strange mixture but I quite enjoyed it.
• O Babu O Lala – Geeta Dutt. I love Geeta Dutt’s voice but this song didn’t appeal at all.
• Yeh Bahar Yeh Sama – Asha Bhonsle.  A lilting number by a young Asha, it has a fresh and happy tune which I like.
• Seekh Le Babu – Asha Bhonsle. Filmed on a stunningly beautiful Nutan in an atrociously bad dress, this song left me quite cold.
• Hum Tho Mohabbat Karega – Kishore Kumar. Just the song to showcase Kishore’s eccentric talent! It is not without reason that this song is so famous!
• Cat Mane Billi – Asha Bhonsle & Kishore Kumar. To watch emotions flit across Nutan’s flawless face is such a treat! Kishore shows off his dancing skills too! Asha does a commendable job. Very enjoyable ! If I was scoring only on watchability, this song takes the prize! 
• Yeh Ratein Yeh Mausam – Asha Bhonsle & Kishore Kumar.  What can I say about this fantastic song except its a ‘classic’? I love Asha’s voice quality here, Kishore woos me as always and Shailendra’s lyrics are very romantic. A melt-your-heart kind of song. ps. A reader points out that there is much to say about this piece of music. There is, and there isn’t. There is a whole generation of Indians who have grown up with this song, thinking of it as THE romantic song. Classic and peerless. And in that sense, it defies description. It is one of the most well-loved songs of Indian cinema, and deservedly so! 

You can listen to the whole album here.

I have no choice but to play Yeh Ratein for you, I’ve loved it for too long !

Post script: Click here for lyrics, translation and analysis of this song by Yves, a fellow blogger and worshipper of Nutan’s extraordinary beauty and talent.

Listening to: Aap Ki Kasam (1974)

Remembering how good the songs of this film are, I bought a DVD of this film recently and set down to watch it yesterday. Oddly enough I remembered the first part of the film very well but had totally forgotten the later half so it was almost like watching it anew. I am surprised to have forgotten it; its quite a good film.

Rajesh Khanna’s character is not the typical Bollywood hero, all glitter and gloss. He has his good side, but also suffers from irrational jealousy, lack of trust and is unable to recover from setbacks – essentially a weak character. Rajesh Khanna does a commendable job of portraying the descent from happiness to jealousy & anger and then to realisation & despair. Towards the end he hams it up a bit, but as I spent the last 10 mins of the film sobbing into my tissue, I didn’t notice it much!

Mumtaz is also not the typical heroine. She shimmers as a young girl in love, stands up for herself against an irrationally accusing husband and leaves him, breaks down after the eventual divorce and dazedly follows her father’s decisions for her. Her performance is very good and she looks delectable in some scenes.

Rehman & Dina Pathak are her non-typical filmi-parents. On her choosing a man not from their own well-to-do background, they happily support her (it’s rare as a dodo in a Hindi film!) and when she comes back to them, they are supportive in quite another way. Both actors are SO good, I admire them tremendously!

Only Sanjeev Kumar’s character is not that convincing, but he does a remarkable job as always. My only gripe is his not taking even the minimal effort to convincingly portray playing a sitar! Very annoying!

Should you watch it? Oh yes! If all these interesting personalities don’t grab your attention, the 70’s wardrobe surely would !! Stitched-into-tight pant-suits in bright colours at the start and glorious saris later, Mumu looks alluring at all times. As for Rajesh, remember Guru-shirts with belts outside? Safari suits in vivid colours? Its such fun to re-live all these old fashion trends! Available free on Youtube (legally), click here to watch the full movie. There is a good review and synopsis of the story in this site.

The music by R.D.Burman is very good indeed, just as I remembered.

• Suno, Kaho – Lata Mangeshkar & Kishore Kumar : Nice perky duet, beautiful scenery, Mumu in a super-tight yellow gharara, what’s not to like?
• Karvate Badalte Rahe – Lata Mangeshkar & Kishore Kumar : Very VERY romantic song with the leads cavorting happily in the snow (thankfully well dressed unlike normal Bollywood leads!). My husband remarked that Mumu seems to have put on weight..but I reminded him that she was always like this, and much admired too! Our eyes have started to expect slimmer ladies.  Rajesh looks handsome & stylish in a cap and Mumu glowing as always. Any female heart would melt if Kishore were to croon तुम चले जाओ नहीं तो कुछ न कुछ हो जायेगा . Lovely song.
• Paas Nahin Aana – Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar : A playful song, its quite melodious and easy to listen to.
• Jai Jai Shiv Shankar – Lata Mangeshkar & Kishore Kumar : Now this is a seriously fun song, exuberant, joyful and Mumu & Rajesh have acted it out very well. I love Mumu’s orange sari with black applique work, I want it!! As for Lata & Kishore, they have outdone themselves! Unforgettable song.
• Chori Chori Chupke Chupke – Lata Mangeshkar. Lata’s solo is beautifully sung, another lovely song.
• Zindagi Ke Safar Mein – Kishore Kumar. Kishore’s solo is the better one, he is helped by a sombre note to the music which he does so well. The lyrics are very meaningful and well written – पतझड़ में फूल जो मुरझा जाते हैं वो बहारों के आने से खिलते नहीं  Kudos to Anand Bakshi for penning these lines.

I recommend listening to whole album here, there are no duds in it! As I am finding it too hard to select just one song, here are my top selections :

Jai Jai Shiv Shankar which is so very happy..

and Zindagi Ke Safar Mein to showcase the talent of Kishore, RD & Anand Bakshi, a superb combination! (sorry, no embedding)

http://youtu.be/j2K0VGzQ8gY

Enjoy!

Listening to : Saagar (1985)

Who can resist a comeback film? Here was an actress who made only one super-hit picture when she was 16 and was coming back after 12 years to the industry,  having been married, a mother of two children and divorced in this span of time. There was so much hype surrounding this reappearance that we were all impatiently awaiting its release. (Edit: My thanks to my friend who has pointed out that Saagar was not the comeback film, there were a couple of films in 1984 that Dimple acted in. But I have no recollection of them, nor, I think, do the general movie-watchers in India. Saagar remains the comeback in my mind).

The film did not disappoint. At 28, she looked more beautiful than she did at 16 and her life experiences made her a better actress. The male leads, Kamal Haasan and Rishi Kapoor, were both convincing in their roles. Dimple and Kamal Haasan went on to win Filmfare awards for their performance.  There were some good performances by supporting actors too,  Nadira, Hangal and Saeed Jaffrey in particular.

I was pleased to see that Sippy Films (the producers) now have a Youtube channel and have uploaded a number of their films. I settled down to re-watch the film after more than 25 years. Love triangles in films always makes me take sides (not necessarily at sync with the story!). Did you see Its Complicated and thought at the end ‘yeah Meryl, the better choice but he is so BORING!’? I did. Now here are three talented actors, all of whom I like individually. Who is going to make me take their side, I wondered..

My impressions :

• Kamal Haasan’s  performance was very good but I found his accent and intonation disturbing. I am a great fan of his older films in Tamil but dialogue is very much part of a film, and when that disturbs….
• The older Kapoors were all blessed with a natural charm and screen presence. A good many of them were also cursed with a weight problem The two men are just a couple of years apart. While Kamaal looks young and athletic, Rishi is already starting to look podgy, poor fellow!
• Is male bonding always over alcohol in Hindi films? I call in the name of good health for some Nimbu Paani bonding!
• Again and again we see Hindi films showing the rich as horrid people and the poor as saints. I am so tired of it. For a change, can we not see lovely rich people and rather horrid poor people? Surely the law of averages would offer us a similar number of each type?

But as to taking sides, I found it difficult. Kamaal has some good dialogues : इनसान बनना सब के नसीब नहीं होता, कुछ लोगों को देवता बनना पड़ता है  and यह प्यार नाकाम हुआ है, ख़त्म नहीं  . Wah Wah Akhtar sahib!!  But I hate how in Indian films with a love triangle, the guys try to ‘give’ the girl to each other as if she were a thing and her choice didn’t count. And anyway there was so much melodrama towards the end that I was annoyed with the lot of them and didn’t much care who got the girl!!

The music by R.D.Burman was good and the lyrics by Javed Akhtar was very nice in places.

• O Maria – Asha Bhonsle, S.P.Balasubramaniam. A lively enough tune with Kamal and Dimple doing some nice steps. Much as I love SPB singing Tamil or Telugu songs, his Hindi accent bothers me….hmmmmm…..
• Saagar Jaisi Aankhon Wali– Kishore Kumar. I loved the song when I heard it first and I love it still.
• Yoohin Gaate Raho – S.P.Balasubramaniam and Kishore Kumar. Great opportunity to take sides. As far as I am concerned, Kishore outsang SPB and Kamaal outdanced Rishi! But the song doesn’t appeal that much to me.
• Saagar Kinare – Kishore Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar. Its a aaaaah moment when Kishore sings तू जो नहीं तो मेरा कोई नहीं है .. Kishore won the Filmfare award for this song.
• Saagar Kinare (sad) – Lata Mangeshkar. I do prefer the happy version. The cinematography in the dusk is simply lovely! The film won an award for cinematography too.
• Jaane Do Na – Asha Bhonsle, Shailendra Singh. Shailendra sounds good, pity his career went nowhere. The song..I can pass.
• Sach Mere Yaar Hai – S.P.Balasubramaniam. Not to my taste.

If you want to hear the whole album, click here.

My pick of the day is Saagar Kinare sung quite beautifully by Kishore and Lata. Enjoy!

Listening to Seeta aur Geeta(1972)

‘I need something to cheer myself up’, I think as an excellent but sad English  film I saw on TV keeps lingering in my mind. Cheering up film? I immediately think of Seeta aur Geeta which I haven’t seen since the seventies. But it left a happy impression on my mind then so I am hopeful about it. Though the music is no classic, I remember a couple of cheerful numbers. The presence of a very handsome Dharmendra and an endearing Sanjeev Kumar is a definite draw!

The film is as much fun as I remembered. A light-hearted plot, you shouldn’t look for too much logic in it otherwise you’ll just get frustrated. Take it as it comes and you’ll get a couple of hours of amusement. Some off-the-cuff observations :

• Hema is more convincing in the fight scene at the end than Sanjeev! Its nice to see the leading lady see some action instead of simpering in a corner.
• Dharmendra has such great comic timing! He shows it off in a number of movies, I remember Chupke Chupke in particular.
• Sanjeev is so natural! When it comes to making acting look effortless, he and Balraj Sahni stand apart, as far as I am concerned.

The music I found to be just average, but perhaps its unfair to expect R.D.Burman to deliver each time.  Or is it? However, thanks to Asha, Lata, Kishore and Manna being in great voice, even ordinary compositions provide easy listening pleasure. In short, an album for good time-pass, but no more.

• Zindagi Hai Khel – Manna Dey, Asha Bhonsle . Manna’s voice doesn’t suit Dharmendra, in my opinion. These days they never look for voice match but films in the seventies used to do a good job of it. Nevertheless its well sung.
• O Saathi Chal – Asha Bhonsle, Kishore Kumar. This is the song I associate with this film so I have to mark it as my favourite ! Very catchy tune, Kishore & Asha enhance each other’s singing.
• Abhi To Haath Mein Jaam – Manna Dey. It was as if I heard the song for the first time, I don’t remember ever hearing it. Its quite a well sung song but I don’t know….
• Koi Ladki – Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar. A cheerful song, I found myself singing along and remembering all the words! Yet I haven’t heard it at least for 25 years!!
• Haan ji Haan – Lata Mangeshkar. Hey, why not Asha? Isn’t it her kind of song? I must do a post on sharabi songs, there is such a wealth of them in Bollywood! A good song.

To remind all of you in my generation of our carefree years, here is O Saathi Chal with Hema looking beautiful and Sanjeev charming as ever.

 

Listening to Chalti Ka Naam Gaadi

What a hoot this film from 1958  is!! During my last trip to India, I picked up a DVD  for a princely sum of $2 – an official copy too! A very well spent $2, if I may say so. I really enjoyed revisiting it with my husband a couple of weeks back.

I’ll recommend however that you pack up your left brain and leave it safely in cold storage while you watch this film, that will make your experience ever more pleasurable. You will then not wonder why Ashok Kumar’s ex can so easily escape to call for help at the end of the movie but couldn’t for, what was it, 10 years? Or why Madhubala doesn’t just tell her dad that this fellow whom he introduces to her is not quite the thing?

But let us pass all that because the film is truly rib tickling!  I haven’t yet seen the follow-on film called Badthi Ka Naam Daadi (the title is intriguingly hairy, to say the least!). The character development for each of the three brothers has been done very well, creating three distinct and interesting personas. I am a Madhubala fan and she is winsome as ever; charming even in men’s clothes when she goes a-adventuring with Kishore! What a charmer! कभी कुछ कहती है,  कभी कुछ कहती है, ज़रा नज़र को संभालना  How apt for a girl whose eyes, her whole face speaks volumes! On that topic, Kishore Kumar has done a fantastic job and his face is equally expressive. I am not sure why he was not more respected as an actor.  I am happy to strongly recommend this film to anyone who wants to cheer themselves up!

The music is pure fun and has a can’t-get-it-off-my-mind quality which helped make it a hit. But more than that, it shows off Kishore’s genius for comic singing, if there is a category such as that. Who can forget him yodelling his demand for पांच रुपैया बारा आना ? Or him strutting to हम थे वोह थीं और समाँ रंगीन समझ गये ना .  S.D.Burman’s music is fantastic. The lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri are very good too. I can never forget Anoop Kumar going ओ मन्नू तेरा हुआ अब मेरा क्या होगा  –  that will get a smile out of anyone!

Check out these great songs :

• Babu Samjho Ishare – Kishore Kumar.  Title song, catchy as it should be.
• Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si – Kishore Kumar. Excellent is the only word for it.
• Haal Kaisa Hai Janaab Ka – Kishore Kumar, Asha Bhonsle. Kishore is out of the world. Asha purrs like a satisfied kitten. Superb. Unforgettable.
• Hum the woh thi – Kishore Kumar.  Interesting, very different composition by SD Burman, with Kishore jumping from scale to scale in effortless ease. A showcase for Kishore’s talent. And he is not a bad dancer either!
• Main Sitaron Ka Tarana – Asha Bhonsle, Kishore Kumar. Very good, will get a smile out of you for sure!
• In haathon se sab ki gaadi – Kishore Kumar. Didn’t make an impression.
• Hum tumhare hain – Asha Bhonsle, Sudha Malhotra. A lovely song for the talented Helen and Cuckoo to do their dance number.
• Ruk jaao na ji – Asha Bhonsle. Ordinary. But Madhubala is great. 

You can find the whole album here. I am going to indulge myself and present two songs to you. The first for the superb singing by Kishore and Asha and the visual delight of the supreme Madhubala. I can’t take my eyes off her face!!! Just listen to Asha’s teasing voice at 3:35, what a singer!

And the song below to showcase Kishore’s mad genius.