Listening to: Lal Patthar (1971)

यह है फतेहपुर सिकरी | इसे शाहंशाह अकबर ने बसाया था | इसकी वीरानी और ख़ामोशी में अजीब कशिश है| जादू सा है | इसलिए मैं यहाँ बार बार खींचा चला आता हूँ | और फिर भी दिल नहीं भरता |

“This is Fatehpur Sikri. Emperor Akbar established it. There is strange attraction in its emptiness and silence. A kind of magic. That is why I am drawn to come here again and again. And even then I remain unsatiated.”

Thus starts the film in Raaj Kumar’s impeccable voice. How could I not like this film? I feel exactly the same way! Here’s the Durgah of Salim Chisti where I heard the most beautiful music many many years ago.

The protagonist is Prince Gyanshankar, a man tortured by what he considers to be his inherited ‘bad blood’ – there is madness in the family. He lives a controlled life to keep a reign on himself. His character is briskly established at the start of the film and though I did cringe at the tiger hunt, it added to describing him as a man.

He rescues a young and beautiful widowed woman from bandits and then from her in-laws who ill-treat her. He establishes her as his concubine in his palace, going so far as to give her the jewellery his mother had left for his future wife. He says ‘तुम्हे इन गहनों पे पूरा अधिकार है’ – you have full rights over this jewellery. It sounds like a defining moment in their relationship. He gives her a new name to cement their relationship – does that symbolise a cut-off from her previous life? Saudamini is dead and Madhuri comes to life. 

Hema is gorgeous once she sheds her window’s whites. Gyanshankar seems to have Pygmalion like intentions, trying to change an illiterate and uncultured woman to be a suitable partner for a Nawab. But Madhuri is no Eliza.  Her English teacher says ‘Rani sahiba is rather dull-headed’. Though she cleans up well and learns to read, she falls short of his needs in a companion.

Ten years pass. When he realises it, he is shocked. But why? Was this not the life he chose? In spite of his apparent acceptance of his ‘tainted blood’, he must have had some expectations of his life which did not come to pass.

He chances upon a young and lovely singer and as before, he selects another woman to adorn his life without really getting to know her. Its consistent with his character but not normal for a prince who is marrying ‘to do his duty’, as he puts it. In effect, he buys her from a drunkard father with gambling problems. History repeats itself; once more he picks a beauty in a helpless situation. Does he have a need to be needed, to be looked up to ? Does he not feel equal to women of his own social level? What happens when the concubine and his wife have to share his favours?

Well, you’ll have to see the film to answer that! I have to warn you that the climax is a bit of nonsense, totally illogical. Script-writers seem to like mad characters so as to get away with anything, but it doesn’t work. However the strength of the first half carries the film. Raaj Kumar gives a controlled performance and Rakhee does reasonably well. Hema Malini has lost an opportunity to shine as her role is strong, but she doesn’t impress. Her interview  here seems to be a bit of an excuse. Vinod Mehra provides very decent support.

Shankar-Jaikishen have given a solid album with some very good music here.

• A Aaja Dikhaoon – Asha Bhonsle. Disappointing.
• Unke Khayal Aaye To – Mohammad Rafi. A beautiful ghazal with some memorable lyrics by Hasrat Jaipuri.   इस दिल से आ रही है किसी यार की सदा, वीरान मेरा दिल था बसा के चले गए
• Sooni Sooni Sans – Asha Bhonsle. A classically based song, with good lyrics by Neeraj.
• Phoolon Se Meri – Asha Bhonsle. A beautiful poetry recitation with next to no instrumentation. Admire Asha’s voice and these beautiful lines by Neeraj.

फूलों से मेरी सेज सजादो आज मैं लूंगी जनम दुबारा
चंदा की बिंदिया  तारों का कंगन सपनों की लाओ हार
साँसों में मेरी केसर महके अंगों में झूमे बहार
ऐसा करो सिंगार सखीरी सुध-बुध भूले श्याम हमारा

• Geet Gata Hoon Main – Kishore Kumar. An excellent melody with superb singing by Kishore. Lyrics by Dev Kohli are quite touching. I was going to give it a heart but I found the instrumentation to be below par and also the beat of the songs seems too fast.
• Re Man Sur Mein Ga – Manna day, Asha Bhonsle. A superb classically based song in Raag Kalyan (Yaman) with lyics by Neeraj. Manna Dey is in his element and Asha proves that she can out-sing any singer when she sets her mind to it.

You can listen to the full album here.

My selection for the day is Re Man Sur Main Ga. The movie has used only one stanza, so listen to the audio version below.

And as a fan of Kishore, I cannot help but feature this song as well! You can admire the pretty ladies too!

Listening to Namak Haraam (1973)

Once upon a time, a Phenomenon called Rajesh Khanna ruled in India. He was a true romantic and wooed the world with his twinkling eyes and charming smile. All that he touched became gold. He had it all – name, fame and a young Dimpled Queen. Into his kingdom came a dark and morose man. Who knew then that he would be the new King; in fact that he would set up his own Dynasty? But we should have known…yes..there was this unleashed power, a violence, within him…and it was in Namak Haraam that we had the first inkling of this.

As I re-watch the film today, I am surprised that this was the role which was the turning point for Amitabh. I didn’t find his role particularly appealing; it was rather one-dimensional and contradictory. Take, for example, how he looks down on his household staff and the workers at the factory. Would a man like that have a friend who is so middle-class? How can he miss the fact that his manipulations to make Rajesh popular make him look weak and ineffectual? Shamed by apologising to Hangal, why did he accept losing face to Rajesh publically? I see holes in Gulzar’s development of Amitabh’s character. But Amitabh does a good job of his material, especially towards the end.

Rajesh definitely has the better role. You can see how the character grows and changes over time and Rajesh is very convincing in his role. I was sold on him, cynical as I am. The ladies, Rekha and Simi, appear decorative but have very little to do. Other supporting actors like Hangal, Asrani, Om Shivpuri and Raza Murad have small roles but impress nonetheless.

One mustn’t forget the part played by Alcohol !  It is ever present as the young men bond over their shenanigans, its over alcohol (and bhang!) that Rajesh bonds with his new friends, Rajesh’s ‘conversion’ is complete when he realises that one peg of Amitabh’s whisky costs more than a month’s wages of his other friends and its over alcohol that the friends have their final confrontation. Ah, the power of nasha !

But I was drawn to the film by the memory of one particular song and it doesn’t disappoint. The rest of the album is average and Anand Bakshi’s lyrics are adequate.

• Suni Re Sajaria – Asha Bhonsle. A mujra song, its rather formulaic. Not bad.
• Diye Jalte Hain – Kishore Kumar . A good ‘Bromance’ song, its too slow to be truly light hearted. Kishore’s singing carries it through.
• Nadiya Se Dariya – Kishore Kumar. Sharabi songs have quite a place in Bollywood and this is a good example.
• Main Shair Badnaam – Kishore Kumar. I was moved when I heard it the first time all those years ago; I was moved again by Kishore’s fabulous singing.
•  Holi Ke Rang – (unknown chorus) I always look for fun in a Holi song but this was isn’t that interesting.
• Woh Jhoota Hai – Kishore Kumar. Kishore has obviously had fun singing this, but it doesn’t quite grab me either.

You can listen to the whole album here. But for my post today, I have no choice really;  it has to be Main Shair Badnaam!

Happy Holi !

होली है !! Happy Holi everyone!! How can I go without marking this day in my blog? Bollywood delivers, as usual, and provides us with many wonderful songs for this occasion. But I know what I want so I shan’t even go through the motions of reviewing the Holi songs from different films. Holi is about spring and colour, about joy and sensuality. Holi is about the visual. So I’ll go by scenes rather than the music . For me, there are only three serious contenders – Rajesh Khanna colouring up the world of the bereft Asha while singing Aaj na Chodenge in Kati Patang (1970).  Rajesh again but with Mumtaz in Bhang induced singing of Jai Jai Shiv Shankar in Aap ki Kasam (1974). And then there is Rang Barse from Silsila (1981).

For those in India, I know you are being bombarded with the same songs on all the TV channels but I am not there, and I will celebrate with my own little channel here.

As far as I am concerned, nothing can beat the erotically super-charged Rang Barse from Silsila. The combination of on-screen and off-screen stories, the drama of Jaya and Sanjeev’s dawning realisation of their partners’ infidelity, the earthiness of Amitabh which contrasts so strongly with what we know to be his real life mien, the caress of Rekha’s long braid on her body, the dehati tone of Amitabh singing in his own voice, the suggestiveness of the lyrics which match all this – its a perfectly put together screen event! For me this is THE Holi song. I know there are many of you who would consider the scantily clad figure of a nubile and lissom young thing gyrating to a fast beat to be sensuous, but in my opinion this song sequence gets the prize for on-screen sensuality in Bollywood.

Rang Barse–Amitabh Bacchan