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: Waqt (1965)

Which Hindi film fan has not seen Achala Sachdev giggle at Balraj Sahni singing Aye Meri Zohra Jabeen? Over the years I have seen many hundreds of romantic songs but this song sung by a middle-aged husband to his middle-aged wife has always been the epitome of romance for me, even when I was a young girl. Romancing a young woman who is not yet yours, that is a game all men play. But romancing your wife of many years and the mother of your children? Ah, therein lies true romance. I was but a kid when I saw this song on TV but I have never forgotten, neither the song, nor my idea of romance.

Remembering the song but not the movie, I re-watched it recently. One of the pioneering ‘multi-starrers’, it has an enviable cast. Siblings-lost-in-childhood-who-find-each-other-again is a theme which is very popular in Indian cinema, and this movie is a good example of it.  I quite enjoyed myself, noting in passing that –

• Raj Kumar indeed has a great style of dialogue delivery. He’s got some really nice lines like जिनके अपने घर शीशे के हों वह दूसरों पे पत्थर नहीं फेंका करते , all of which he delivers with panache.
• He also has a cool manner of walking, a little lazy stroll almost. Attractive..
• He should never smile, I would never trust a man who smiles like that! (Good God, does it mean I trust men based on their smiles???Oh!!!!)
• Shashi Kapoor, whom I admired as a young woman, looks too ‘pretty’ to me now..but those canines are charming…
• If you get separated from people, go back to where you saw them last!! Kids, are you listening?
• Coincidences occur more often in Bollywood than anywhere else!

Coming to the music by Ravi and lyrics by Sahir Ludhianwi, I enjoyed my favourite songs as much as I did before and heard a couple I had never heard previously. I noted with interest that Asha has sung all the feminine tracks though a few seem very suitable for Lata. Is there a story there? Given the music is for a film by B.R.Chopra with music Ravi, it is not surprising to see Mahendra Kapoor sing quite a few tracks too. This team has produced some good songs. Here is the Waqt song list :

• Aye Meri Zohra Jabeen – Manna Dey : Superb!
• Waqt Se Din Aur Raat – Mohammad Rafi : Sad song, competently sung but not catchy.
• Kaun Aya – Asha Bhonsle : I had not heard this song before. It has a lilting tune and reminds me vaguely of some other song I know well..can’t quite place it though.
• Din Hai Bahar Ke – Asha Bhonsle, Mahendra Kapoor: A beautiful melodious song, this reminds me strongly of Sarse Sarke Chunariyan from Silsila (1981).
• Hum Jab Simat Ke – Asha Bhonsle, Mahendra Kapoor :
• Maine Ek Khwab Dekha Hai – Asha Bhonsle, Mahendra Kapoor : A slow and romantic duet.
• Chehre Pe Khushi Cha Jaati Hai – Asha Bhonsle : Very nice song, I would have chosen Lata for this.
• Aage Bhi Jaane Na tu – Asha Bhonsle : A masterpiece!! Asha has sung this to perfection! Congratulations to Ravi for the truly haunting music.

  जीने वाले सोच ले यही वक़्त है कर ले पूरी आरज़ू  Sometimes the lyrics and the music complement in each other very well – in this song the match is perfect. 

As I can’t decide between my two favourite songs, I am presenting both for your inspection. Tell me which you like better. In case you want to listen to the whole album, you can find it here.

Aye Meri Zohra Jabeen–Manna Dey

You can find the lyrics to Aye Meri Zohra Jabeen here.

Aage Bhi Jaane Na tu– Asha Bhonsle

 

You can find the lyrics to Aage Bhi Jaane Na Tu here. (I saw a few mistakes though, I am not sure of the quality)

Listening to : Nikaah (1982)

I remember Nikaah (Marriage) very well; I too was married in the same year!  The popular genre of Muslim social dramas had been very popular in the 50s and 60s but hadn’t been made for some time when this film was released so it created quite an interest. It was also often in the news because it starred a Pakistani actress who sang for herself. All these memories flit through my mind as I pick this album today with lots of nostalgic pleasure.

As I hear the music, I am charmed anew. I so love the music of yesteryears where attention was given to the lyrics and melody rather than orchestration as is popular today. I love many of music director Ravi’s albums. The thing that grabs me today are the lyrics by Hasan Kamaal.  How well he expresses the emotions of a woman hurt in the past and afraid to take a risk again –

हमने उदासियों में गुजारी है ज़िन्दगी
लगता है डर फरेब बेवफा से कभी कभी
ऐसा न हो कि ज़ख्म कोई फिर नया मिले
अब तक तो जो भी दोस्त मिले बेवफा मिले

All the competitive verses of the Qawwali Chehra chupa liya hai with the man vs woman perspectives are so very cleverly written !

इक परवाना जला किस क़दर शोर मचा
शमा चुप-चाप जली लब पे शिकवा न गिला
क्या है जलने का मज़ा हुस्न से पूछो ज़रा
क्यों कि
परवाने को जल जाना हमने ही सिखाया है…

The second thing which catches my attention is the unusual combination of Salma Agha’s nasal and rather plaintive voice with the deep and well modulated voice of Mahendra Kapoor. A very pleasant combination.

So here are the songs, with my recommendations :

• Dil ki yeh arzoo thi – Mahendra Kapoor, Salma Agha
• Fazaa bhi hai janwan janwan – Salma Agha
• Beete hue lamhon – Mahendra Kapoor
• Dil ke armaan – Salma Agha
• Chupke Chupke – Ghulam Ali What a fantastic ghazal! This is one of Ghulam Ali’s ghazals and I believe the lyrics are by Hasrat Mohani.
• Chehra Chupa Liya Hai – Mahendra Kapoor, Asha Bhonsle, Salma Agha

To listen to the whole album, here’s a link. For this post, I wanted to present the Qawwali Chehra Chupa Liya hai – I so love qawwalis! Unfortunately I couldn’t find a good video online. Ghulam Ali’s song is his own, so not a credit to the music director or the lyricist.  So I offer for your viewing pleasure Dil Ki Yeh Arzoo..enjoy!

Dil ke yeh arzoo–Mahendra Kapoor, Salma Agha