Ten of my favourite Shyama songs

Shyama was one of the most beautiful actresses to have graced the screen. She was charming, gorgeous, lively, expressive and there was something very refreshing about her.

It was her birthday on 7th June. Though a little late, here’s wishing her a very Happy Birthday!!!

Her real name was Khurshid Akhtar. Shyama, her screen name, was given to her by Guru Dutt.

I haven’t seen many movies of hers, apart from Bhabhi. Chhoti Behen and Sharda (And she has a bit of grey shade to her character in all these movies). But I love most of the songs picturized on her.

Shyama and Geeta Dutt  – This is one deadly combination. Geeta’s voice suited Shyama’s vivacious-ness so well. Not that I am restricting my list only to this jodi but couldn’t help mentioning it.

1. Ae dil mujhe bata de (Bhai Bhai, 1956) : I didn’t want to include this song in this list as it had already featured in my Geeta Dutt special post. But I couldn’t help it, simply couldn’t move ahead without this one. It’ one of my all time favourites! Ae dil mujhe bata de tu kispe aa gaya hai, woh kaun hai jo aakar khwabon pe chha gaya hai…They say you are in love when kuch kuch hota hai… Hmmm, let me rephrase that – they say you are in love when somebody walks into your life, starts being a part of your every dream, when your every thought begins revolving around him/her and changes your life forever without you even realizing it and you dont mind when you do. And it’s also believed that love makes life beautiful. Filmy symptoms of being in love – You don’t feel hungry, you turn into an insomniac, you’ll suddenly start finding friends in stars and the moon, you smile to yourself, you day dream, you sing songs and dance like noone’s watching.  Well, this song has all of these ingredients and a lot more. The joy of feeling that attraction towards somebody…a tug at the heartstrings is so beautifully expressed in this song. Shyama, bright and glowing, her expressive eyes dreamy and dancing along with her – her happiness  so obvious. Geeta sounds equally happy, even in her plight of not knowing who exactly has taken over her heart. They are in such perfect sync with each other.  I thoroughly love listening to this song and watching it. And Ashok Kumar’s amused expressions are to die for!

2. Dekho woh chaand chhup ke (Shart, 1954) : This movie had very nice songs. After debating over Na yeh chaand hoga and this, I finally chose this one. Very very romantic. Shyama and Deepak pledging their love for each other under the moonlight. Though the video is little melo-dramatic, especially the beginning where Deepak is so nervous,  the song is very sweet – Hemant Da’s voice renders the soothing and subtle effect to it. I love the way Lata sings “Hum ho gaye tumhare….” and Shyama’s response to “Aisa naa ho ke humko raste mein chhod jao, Jaa kar kahin kisi ki duniya nayee basao” …her denial, the brief shake of her head, so brief that one would almost miss it and the smile that follows with the last antaraa. …

3. Lehraaye jiya balkhaye jiya (Shaarda,1957) : Well, Shyama was definitely very fond of dancing all around the house. She uses the space (covers the stage) very well while dancing and I find her pretty graceful as a dancer. She in fact flows with the song…in a state of joyful exuberance.  She’s singing with joy when she gets to know that she’s getting married to Raj Kapoor, who she’s always been in love with. I think I am not wrong about the plot. I went into a shock after watching this movie, so dont remember things very clearly. It’s Asha singing for her here to Chitalkar’s composition.  Shyama also won Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for her role in this movie.

4. Yeh  lo mai haari piya (Aar Paar, 1954) : Though Shyama is confined to a car here and can’t dance,  her priceless expressions and her eyes do such complete justice to the picturization of this timeless classic and Geeta Dutt’s flawless rendition. Guru Dutt is great playing hard to get…but for how long can he resist the magic?  It was so difficult to choose just one song from this movie…it’s a true musical treasure house.  I almost chose Jaa jaa jaa bewafaa, though sad it’s such a beautiful song. But finally I settled for this one. It’s very entertaining and one of it’s kind. All of them – OP Nayyar, Geeta Dutt and Shyama are at their stunning best!

5.  Do naina tumhare pyaare pyaare (Shrimati ji, 1952) : Here we have dashing Nasir Khan and young Shyama dancing to a peppy and a romantic duet. I recently came across this song and fell in love with it. Geeta Dutt and Hemant Kumar sound so good together in this. And Jimmy’s composition is awesome  – it’s a simple, sweet and a catchy song. Geeta Dutt’s singing suits Shyama’s chulbulapan so perfectly.

6.  Achha ji maaf kardo (Musafir Khana, 1955) : OP Nayyar’s composition again, rendered by Rafi saab and Geeta Dutt for Karan Diwan and Shyama. Shyama is dancing again in the garden, doing her trademark steps. I especially like the way she actually counts on her fingers to  “Dil par jo teer chalaye unka hisaab kardo” at 1:20 and the way she pats his arms to the same line at 2:56. The last antara would have been so much fun to watch if Karan had shown little more attitude. Everytime I see this song, how I keep wishing it had Shammi Kapoor or Dev Anand or Guru Dutt in it. There’s one more track in the movie Dil de daala which I am very fond of.

6. Mujhe mil gaya bahana teri deed ka (Barsaat Ki Raat, 1960) : Simple and a delightful song. Shyama dancing yet again singing her gratitude to the moon for bringing her so much happiness. She looks so radiant, like a chaand-ka-tukda herself. I had seen this movie very long ago, during the good old Doordarshan days. I don’t remember much of the story, apart from Zindagi bhar nahin bhoolenge and a part of Madhubala-Bharat Bhushan love story. I need to watch this movie again, at least for its songs and for Shyama and Madhubala. Phew, there are so many movies to watch and so many to re-watch!

7.  Saiyan pyaara hai apna milan (Do Behne, 1959) : A very beautiful romantic song picturized on Shyama and Rajendra Kumar. I love the sets, it’s such a beautiful room. And Rajendra Kumar and Shyama make a very wonderful couple. The song, it’s picturization is so serene. And it somehow reminds me of Chhupa kar meri aankhon ko and Ek tera saath hum ko do jahan se pyaara hai.

8. Tumse hi meri zindagi (Apna Ghar, 1960) : Pretty Shyama and handsome Premnath pledging their love for each other. Geeta Dutt and Mukesh sing for them. The prelude is pretty fast and peppy but the song slows down once the mukhda begins. I just realized that all the songs so far have been extremely romantic. It wasn’t intentional but I’m a sucker for romantic songs, so can’t help it. Let me try, at least, try to end the post with two not-so-romantic songs 😉

9.  Tabiyat thik thi aur dil bhi bekraar na tha (Mirza Sahibaan, 1957) : Tabiyat thik thi aur dil bhi bekraar na tha, yeh tab ki baat hai jab kisi se pyaar na tha. Such a melodious song, though a little sad. Sardul Kwatra’s composition is awesome and Lata’s rendition flawless, as usual. For a change Shyama is not dancing with joy. This song is a true example of being helplessly in love. If only they had shown a glimpse of Shammi darling…sigh!!!!

10. Tumhe husn deke (Jabse Tumhe Dekha Hai,1964) :  I hadn’t set any rules for choosing the songs for this post, I just went with the flow –  flow of listing down which ever song came to my mind but I was still focussing on solos and duets.  And now, since I couldnt get a glimpse of Shammi Kapoor in the previous song, I had to include this one. Few days ago I had mentioned in dustedoff’s post that anything with Shammi Kapoor would qualify for my every post. So, here it goes! A terrific qawali picturized on Shyama, Kumkum, Shammi Kapoor, Shashi Kapoor, Om Prakash, Bhagwan and many more.  – one of the most flamboyant qawalis I have ever come across. Fabulous song, glamorous starcast, great dance and all wonderful people…aur kya chahiye, hai na? 🙂

Chhupa kar meri aankhon ko and Oh Chaand jahan are two of my favourite songs but they are not a part of this list as I had already included them in my earlier posts.

There’s one more song that I recently heard on radio and have been dying to get my hands on it’s video. Dil unko utha ke de diya from Baap Bete. I am head over heels in love with this song, but as the video is not available, I decided to put it in the extras. The first 2 lines of the song is sung by Madan Mohan himself and then Lata follows. I hope somebody uploads its video soon on youtube. Log kehte hai dhoondne pe toh bhagwaan bhi mil jaate hai aur hum hai ke yahan ek video ke liye taras rahe hai.

And here’s one more not-romantic performance that I couldn’t list above.

Here’s wishing her good health and lots of happiness. To one of the most stunning and vivacious actresses!

Two New Discoveries

Here are two new old songs that I recently discovered.

1. Chunnu patang ko kehte hai hai kite (Zameen Ke Taare, 1960) : I listened to this lovely duet by Asha Bhosle and Sudha Malhotra and fell in love with it instantly. I had thought of including this in my Children’s Day post, but couldn’t wait for so long 🙂

My school in Bhutan was on top of a hill and we had to climb up everyday – it used to be around half an hour walk (it was quite a steep hill, so we didn’t have any conveyance and there was no proper road as well. It used to be a little path in between a pine forest). How I wish I had known this song during my school days. It would have been so much fun going to school everyday singing something like this. This song, however reminds me of Ichak daana bichak daana.

2. Chhaya hua hai kadhki ka mausam (Pick Pocket, 1962) : Composed by Sardar Malik and written by Gulshan Bawra, it’s a very entertaining duet by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur :-). I don’t know who it is picturised on, couldn’t find anything about the movie. There’s no video available for this :-(. Would have loved to see it.

There are few other songs that I came across lately like Aaye ho bahaar banke lubha kar chale gaye rendered by Rafi and Ae mere dildar by Rafi and Geeta Dutt.  But then if I actually start thinking, I will end up sitting awake the whole night. So am off to sleep now. More songs some other day.

Am leaving for Coorg tomorrow for an extended weekend. I will be back on Tuesday. Till then Happy blogging and keep watching lots of movies and listening to lots of songs.

My tribute to Rafi Saab – The A to Z of Mohammed Rafi

I started this post on 31st, as I was listening to Rafi marathon on Vividh Bharati but with such lovely songs playing I couldn’t concentrate on the post. I had listed the songs even before that, but still it took me so long to complete it. I kept getting lost in the songs in between that I forgot I had to come back here and finish this 🙂

After an extremely hectic week, the best thing I could ask for is a day full of Rafi saab’s songs. Not that I didn’t listen to his songs the rest of the week. Not even a single day of mine passes without listening to him. Thanks to Vividh Bharati for that. The first thing I do every morning after I get up is to put the radio on. And they play a minimum of one Rafi song in every program of theirs. Then my collection of hundreds of his songs in my cell phone which I listen to everyday on my way to work. Other people get frustrated with the traffic and I feel good about it. The longer it takes me to reach office, the more number of songs I get to listen to and I reach office more refreshed. And when I am not in meetings and am not reading something, I continue listening to music in office as well. A big thank you to Nasir and Venkat for sharing all those rare gems…you guys have introduced me to so many songs that I had never thought even existed. And a big big thank you to entire team of Vividh Bharati – Kamal Sharma, Renu Bansal, Mamta Singh, Nimmi Mishra, Yunus Khan, Amarkant Dubey, Rajendra Tripathi, Shehnaz Akhtari and to everybody else. Had it not been for you all I wouldn’t have known even half of these songs! I owe my filmi and musical knowledge to you all!

I missed out the programs on Vividh Bharti in the morning on 31st as I got up late. But ever since I got up I was been hooked to it. They played non-stop Rafi songs. And do I even need to say that each song of his is songs is a masterpiece!

So much is written about Rafi (1924-1980) that I don’t quite know where to begin and what new to say really.  Rafi was one of the most versatile singers…From the doleful Jugnu  to the patriotic Shaheed  to the classical Baiju Bawra to the effervescent Mr. and Mrs. 55  to the regal Raj Hath to the poetic Pyaasa  to the meltingly romantic Barsaat Ki Raat – phew! the list is endless—Rafi sang them all. And more.

The whole week I’ve been thinking of something special to post as a tribute to this legend. It’s just impossible to list out my 10 favourite Rafi songs. I’m in love with every song that he has sung. But at the same time I couldn’t even sit without doing a post. After sifting through numerous options like – listing down some songs of Rafi alphabetically, listing out human emotions and associating a song against each emotion, defining the 7 stages of human life through his songs….but I realized that I just couldn’t move beyond the first letter.

I started thinking of his songs that start with ‘A’ and the list was so long that I could break it into 2-3 separate posts. Then I tried with the emotions. Within no time I realized that there were too many of them for instance Anger, Anxiety, Anguish, Astonishment, Attraction, Amusement, Affection, Agony. And this is just the beginning. Next I shifted to the stages of human life. I opened Shakespear’s poem and started mapping Rafi’s songs against each of the stages. But 7 were too few and then realized that I would end up counting almost everyday as a different stage! So that wasn’t much help either.

So I came up with this rule for this post…I would include –
1. Not very popular songs of Rafi as in, not the songs that would feature in every top 10 or top 20. I’m promoting some rare gems of this mastreo.
2. One song per actor and preferrably picturised on a lesser known actor (at least I’ll try avoiding the supserstars as much as possible). There are bound to be few exceptions though. But don’t be surprised if you don’t see even a single Shammi kapoor song here! (As I am doing a series of Rafi sings for Shammi, I’m trying to leave out Shammi Kapoor songs so that other songs would get a chance).
3. For a change I’m including songs from movies that I haven’t seen as well.

A : Abhi na jao chhod kar (Hum Dono, 1961) – Absolutely awesome romantic duet, superbly rendered by Rafi & Asha and so convincingly picturised on Dev Anand and Sadhna.  The charming couple, the excellent rendition, Jaidev’s superb music, Sahir Ludhyanvi’s  thoughtful and yet so simple lyrics  and the beautiful depiction of two lovers unwilling to separate leave you wanting to fall in love – this is without doubt one of the best romantic song ever recorded.   When I  hear this song I feel like I am in another world, the feeling of the song is simply awesome. What a treat this is!  And for once I wished ‘A’ was the last letter of English Alphabet. Putting this song at the end would have made much more sense.

A : Ankhinyan milake zara baat karo ji (Pardes, 1950) : Striking the earlier song as I couldn’t think of any other song starting from ‘F’ other than Falsafa pyaar ka tum kya jano, picturised on Dev Anand. In his earlier years, before he had fully come into his own, Rafi sang for Ghulam Mohammed (Naushad’s protégé) a lovely duet with Lata. This one is picturised on Rehman and Madhubala and I love this  for lots of reasons: Madhubala’s striking beauty, Rafi’s deep, powerful rendition, peppy music and young and dashing Rehman!

 B : Bahut haseen hai tumhari aankhen (Aadhi Raat Ke Baad, 1965) : Very cute song…not very popular but sweet and very romantic nevertheless. Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur come together in this lovely track picturised on Sailesh Kumar and Ragini who playfully flirt and tease each other. Chitragupt’s music is soothing and pleasant.

C : Chhupa kar meri aankhon ko (Bhabhi, 1957) : My initial choice was Chal ud jaa re panchhi but couldn’t find the Balraj Sahni version of it  on youtube. I had once heard in an interview that Balraj was so sad after shooting the song. He felt he could have done it much better! It’s such a divine song. But guess I’ll go with the flow – romance and move ahead with this infectiously romantic duet featuring Jawahar Kaul and Shyama. Rafi teams up with Lata here and the rendition is magical. This is one of my all time favourite Lata-Rafi duets. I had first heard this song on Vividh Bharati years ago and always felt that it must be picturised on Meena Kumari. I somehow related the feel of the song and the name of the movie itself to Meena Kumari. But was pleasantly surprised to discover Shyama in it. I saw this film just because of it’s songs. Not a movie I am very fond of, but give me its music anyday and I would be more than happy. It has a variety of songs – Chal ud ja re panchhi, Chali chali  re patang meri chali re, Chhupa kar meri aankhon ko, Jawaan ho ya budiya, Kaa re kaa re baajra…Coming back to this song, Chitragupt’s music, Rajender Krishan’s lyrics, Lata and Rafi’s rendition is truly amazing. And check out Shyama’s expressions, esp when she lip-synchs “tumhari is adaa par bhi hamare dil ko pyaar aaye“. Haye…I just love this song!

D : Dil ki tamanna (Ghyarah Hazar Ladkiyan, 1962) : It’s Vividh Bharati again where I first heard this song. And the first thing I did after the song was over is to rush to search for it on google/youtube. Initially, I could just find the audio version of it, Rafi’s solo. And I have listened to it continuously for days, non-stop. What an intoxicating voice and there’s so much feel to it. I didn’t even know who it was picturised on then but just wished whoever it was – may his dil ki  tamanna come true! I’ve been looking for the cd/dvd of this movie ever since but with no luck. Rafi and Asha sing  Majrooh Sultanpoori’s lyrics for Bharat Bhushan and Mala Sinha, under the music direction of N. Dutta. It’s a classic composition.

D :  Dil mein chhupa ke pyaar ka ( Aan, 1952) : Striking Dil ki tamanna because I just confirmed that Ghar se toh cut chuka patta is picturised on Bharat Bhushan, though it doesn’t have a video, I don’t want to break my rule.. Here’s another lovely Rafi number featuring two actors whom I like a lot – Dilip Kumar and Nadira. Shakil Badayuni penned the lyrics for this lovely song and Naushad Ali composed the music. Rafi is heavenly and so is Dilip Kumar. There’s a color version of this video. But I find the B&W version more enchanting.  

 E : Ek tera saath hum ko (Waapas, 1969) :  Exteremely romantic song. Music is by Laxmikant Pyarelal and  lyrics  by Majrooh Sultanpuri. It is a duet sung by Rafi and Lata picturised on a newly married couple (Alka and Shekhar Purohit? Ajay?) pledging undying love and devotion to each other. I feel the essence is somehow missing in the picturisation, but just listen to it and it’s magical, such a treat to the ears!

F : Falsafaa pyaar ka tum kya jano (Duniya, 1968) : A terrific song by Rafi, composed by Shankar-Jaikishan and picturised on Dev Anand and Vyjayanthimala. “How would you grasp the philosophy of loving when you have never fallen in love before” – for once I kind of like the translation of the mukhda. I almost played around with Phoolon se dosti kaanton se yaari (Foolon se) but when I had a song starting with ‘F’, I thought I would rather go with it. Though Dev Anand looks wierd with that hair-cut and this song has the flavours of Badan pe sitare lapete hue, I  still love this number…it’s so intoxicating. This is what I call a quintessential Rafi song!

G : Ghar se toh cut chuka apna patta (Kal Hamara Hai, 1959) : I heard this song on radio last week and instantly fell in love with it. Unfortunately I couldn’t find the video.  Though imdb lists Bharat Bhushan as the lead in this film, I somehow don’t feel this song is  picturised on him. It sounds so much like a Johnny Walker kind of a song and I sincerely hope that it is. Something very catchy and lively about this song. Music is once again by Chitragupt. (P.S : I just confirmed that it is indeed picturised on Bharat Bhushan, so much for my guess work).

H : Hum toh hai tum par (Bewaqoof, 1960) – This is one very cute song rendered superbly by Rafi for I.S Johar. This movie was written and directed by I.S Johar himself. Majrooh’s lyrics and S.D Burman’s composition is beautiful. And it was R.D Burman on the Mouth Organ. The modulations in Rafi’s voice match I.S Johar’s antics so perfectly. There’s something very Shammi-sque quality to this song.

I : Itni badi duniya jahan itna bada mela (Toofan Mein Pyar Kahan ,1966) : Rafi sings this for Ashok Kumar. It’s so tender and so beautiful. There’s a softness to Rafi’s voice here which is just brilliant. “Versatile Rafi commendably modulates his voice to suit the great natural actor, Ashok Kumar, while singing on the pangs of loneliness” (Thanks Nasir for describing the song so beautifully).  Check out the picturisation for Guzre dino ka dhundla nishaan hai baanki, dil toh bujha kab se hai abh dhuaan baanki – the smoky effect is so amazing. Prem Dhawan’s melancholy lyrics, Chitragupt’s excellent music, Rafi’s magical rendition and Ashok Kumar’s brilliant performance – this couldn’t have got any better. My initial choice for a song beginning with ‘I’ was Itna haseen saathi itni haseen manzil from Aatma Aur Parmatma but couldn’t find a video to it. So settled for this one – another favourite of mine. Though not as romantic as I would have liked it to be, it’s a very beautiful song.

J : Jo baat tujh mein hai (Taj Mahal, 1963) : A timeless gem…one of my favourite songs. This one’s picturised on Pradeep Kumar. The lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi, music by Roshan and Rafi’s velvety voice is beyond this world – truly sublime!  I so very badly wanted to post Jab se hum tum baharon mein from Main Shadi Karne Chala but it’s such an irony that we don’t have videos of such lovely melodies on youtube yet. And since the basic filter criteria here is one song per actor, I don’t want to go on posting just the audios. Hopefully, somebody will upload the video soon.

K : Kahin ek masoom nazuk si ladki (Shankar Hussain, 1977) : For once, I am not relating a song to Vividh Bharati. I first heard this bollywoodondemand.com, an online radio station couple of years ago. Back then AIR, Vividh Bharati didn’t have online sites. I accidentally came across bollywoodondemand.com and I used to listen to it very regularly at work. One fine day, I heard this song and googled for it but couldn’t find it. Then, I came across the audio version of it after few months and finally found the video last year. I was rather surprised to discover Kanwaljit in it. Used to watch him in serials during my school days, Family No. 1 on Sony used to be quite popular then. Kamal Amrohi’s lyrics, Khhayyam’s music and Rafi’s rendition – it’s all so heavenly. Something very dreamy, fairy-tale like about this song. But the video somehow spoilt this for me. I love the song, can’t help not loving such a magnificient number but the picturisation is a spoiler. Chalo khat likhe jee mein aata toh hoga, magar ungliyan kap kapati toh hongi, kalam haath se chhut jaata toh hoga, umange kalam phir uthathi toh hongi, mera naam apni kitaabon pe likh kar, woh daanton mein ungli dabati toh hogi….kabhi subah ko shaam kehti toh hogi, kabhi raat ko din batati toh hogi…what an imagination! It’s so beautifully written!! I used to imagine this scene while listening to this song, but the video didn’t have any of it! Audio version didn’t have the last antarra. I heard it for the first time when I saw the video on youtube. And it took me some time to figure out what Palate is …Palate kabhi toot jaati toh hogi….

L : Le chala jidhar yeh dil chal pade (Miss Bombay, 1957) : This is Rafi singing for Ajit. in the good old days before he turned into a villian on screen. Bombay—that teeming metropolis, teeming then in the 1950s just as it is teeming today—the land of opportunities, sapno ka shehar—was masterfully captured by lyricist Prem Dhawan to composer Hansraj Behl’s tune. I had only heard this song on Bhoole Bisre geet on Vividh Bharati. Saw the video for the first time today. Half the time I kept imagining Ajit saying “Mona Darling” in between the song. 🙂 Ajit was quite a handsome man and smart too…he realized early in his career that it’s more fun being the villian than a hero!

M : Main toh tere haseen khayalon mein kho gaya (Sangram, 1965) :  My my my dear from Nagina was my first choice. I didn’t want to list Mujhe dard-e-dil ka pata na tha and Madhuban mein radhika nache re. Though I love both these songs, they have already featured many times in this blog.  And thanks to Richard for including all these songs in his list. I’m not feeling guilty about skipping them. So here I come with this lovely track from Sangram picturized on Randhawa (Dara Singh’s brother) and Swarna Kumari. I am so glad I decided to do songs from the movies that I haven’t watched. I had heard this song so many times on radio but it’s for the first time I am seeing it’s video and am so happy to discover Randhawa in it! Lala Asar Sattar music is very melodious and Rafi is fantastic in it!

N : Na kisi ki aankh ka noor hoon (Laal Quila, 1960) : I almost included Nu tu hindu banega na musalmaan banega but realized I had this song in one of my earlier posts. And this divine composition by S.N Tripathi in Laal Quila came to my mind. It’s a timeless classic, a stunning nazm. Such deeply moving lyrics! Rafi’s booming voice magnificiently amplifies the poignancy and grief expressed by Bahadurshah Zafar. Truly unforgettable!

O : O phirki wali (Raja Aur Runk, 1968) : This song takes me back to my school days. We had a cassette, Best of Mohd. Rafi volume 2 which had this song. And there was a time when I was in 9-10th when I used to listen to this song at least 2-3 times a day. It’s such a masti-bhara song that it fills my heart with happiness when I listen to it. I somehow had always imagined it to be picturised on Shammi Kapoor or Dharmendra, mainly due to the fun quotient. I was pleasantly surprised to see Sanjeev Kumar singing it to Nazima. I was listening to this after so long today and I still remember each and every word of it. I’m so pleased with myself. That’s Rafi’s magic! Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s foot-tapping music, Anand Bakshi’s fun-filled lyrics and Rafi’s flirtatious rendition topped with Sanjeev Kumar’s awesome performance makes this song immortal. I love the way Rafi sings Jubaan se and Jarra beimaan si”

P : Phir milogi kabhi (Yeh Raat Phir Na Aayegi, 1966) : Biswajeet was one lucky actor when it came to songs. He got to feature in some of the best songs ever. I am not fond of him as an actor, but his songs, each one is a masterpiece! Rafi and Asha are singing for Biswajeet and Sharmila in this 1966 thriller. O.P Nayyar’s music, S.H Bihari’s lyrics and Asha-Rafi rendition, it’s picturization…everything about this song  is mesmerizing. I feel captivated everytime I listen to this and never want it to end. 

Q : Quismat ke likhe ko hum mita na sake (Duniya, 1949) : This is a lovely Rafi-Surraiya duet composed by C. Ramachandra. It has Surraiya, Karan Dewan, Yakum, Shakeela in the leading role. I don’t know who it’s actually picturised on. I have only heard this song on Radio and couldn’t find a video as well. Listen to Rafi’s young voice…it’s so gentle and soft. Amazing song!!!

R : Roshan tumhi se duniya (Parasmani, 1963) : This time it’s Rafi singing for Mahipal in Parasmani, which marks the debut of Laxmikant-Pyarelal as Music Directors. Rafi at one of his romantic bests, extremely melodious number penned by Ashad Bhopali. Such an apt song in praise of a princess! What awesome lyrics, equally amazing music and Rafi’s voice is subhan-allah!!! One can feel the emotion and depth in his voice…the way he sings “Haye”, the aalap in between and the accompanying tabla and sitar is just mindblowing. Even Mahipal and Geetanjali have expressed well. One more speciality about this film is that it’s partially color. The first half is in Black&White and the second half (if you remember, Hansta hua noorani chehra) is in color. Movie is total bakwaas but it has lovely songs.

S : Sau baar banakar maalik ne (Ek Raat, 1967) : I don’t know who this song is picturized on. Spent quite sometime searching for the video but couldn’t find. There’s hardly anything about this movie available. But I love this song so much that I just couldn’t leave it out. I was addicted to it when I heard it for the first time. Have been searching for the video for quite sometime now. It usually happens that the songs that I so desparately want to see are not as good as expected. So for the time being I am content just listening to it. Yogesh’s lyrics, Usha Khanna’s music and Rafi’s divine rendition…I get so lost in this song. Till I heard this song, I thought Chaudhvai ka chaand, Roshan tumhi se duniya, Tareef karun kya uski etc were the ultimatum when it came to praising the girl’s beauty. But now, there’s one more to the list.

T : Tum toh pyar ho (Sehra, 1963) : Ideal song on Rafi’s death anniversary would have been Tum mujhe yun bhoola na paaoge but that’s too popular and has already been discussed in this blog before. Then I thought of Tum akele toh kabhi baag mein jaaya na karo from Aao Pyaar Karein.  But again, even that doesn’t have a video available. So the next I could think of was this lovely duet by Lata and Rafi picturised on Sandhya and Prashanth. Hasrat jaipuri’s lyrics tuned beautifully by Ramlal, this is a gem of a song. And the depth in Rafi’s and Lata’s voice has taken it to a different level altogether! What a romantic duet it is!

U : Unse rippy tippy ho gayi (Agra Road, 1957) :  I discovered this song few months ago and fell in love it it. It’s such a cute and fun filled number sung by Rafi and Geeta Dutt. I was actually planning to include this is Geeta Dutt special post but I reached 10 before this could come up then. So here it goes! Picturised on Vijay Anand (this is his debut film as a hero) and Shakeela. He does resemble Dev Anand a bit, esp when he’s sulking. Yoddling is a quality that we generally associate with Kishore da. Felt good to hear Rafi yoddling for a change! There are few lines in Gujarati and few in Punjabi in between. Geeta and Rafi yoddling away to Roshan’s music and Prem Dhawan’s lyrics is very delightful.

V : Vo jo chahane wale hain tere (Duniya Rang Rangili, 1957) : I couldn’t figure out who was singing this song on screen…but who cares, as long as it’s sung by Rafi in real. It’s  sweet number written by Jan Nisar Akhtar and composed by O.P Nayyar. Check out Rajendra Kumar, he looks so young and handsome.  Is the girl Chaand Usmaani?

W : Woh hum na the woh tum na the (Cha Cha Cha, 1964)  : Rafi here sings for Chandrashekhar. He is so dull,  doughy and expresssionless. I don’t like him, every time I see him I keep wondering how he became an actor. Hence I am putting Helen’s picture below. Lets forget about the movie and the actor…coming to the song, it’s an excellent track. Penned by Neeraj and composed by Iqbal Quereshi, this is a touching song brilliantly rendered by Rafi.  

X : Phir aane laga yaad wohi (Yeh Dil Kisko Doon, 1963) : Ok, so this song doesnt begin with “X” – but then, how many songs do? I will just use this letter to insert another lovely song. And this song is specially dedicated to Nasir and Richard. We had a long discussion about this song sometime back. But due to my usual restriction of not including songs from the movies that I haven’t seen, I had left this one out in Shashi Kapoor special post. But since that’s not the case this time, here it goes to you both for reminding me of this song. Shashi Kapoor’s image below is for bollyviewer. This is one of the most melodious song, beautifully picturised. Ragini’s moves are so graceful and elegant. Shashi is a darling. Rafi is magical, Qamar Jalalabadi’s lyrics and  Iqbal Qureshi’s composition is so mystical with Usha Khanna chanting those simple syllables Pyaar ka aalam, it infuses so much feel to the song.

 
Y : Yeh teri saadgi yeh tera baankpan (Shabnam, 1964) : This post has been one hell of a revelation to me! I never knew Rafi had sung this song for Mehmood! Usha Khanna’s composition and Javed Anwar’s lyrics are simple and sweet. And Rafi as usual is outstanding! He could convincingly slip under the skin of characters that were poles apart: he sang for the brooding Dilip Kumar in Deedar with the same ease with which he lent his voice to a frolicking Johnny Walker in C.I.D.  And it is so difficult for the listener to decide where Rafi excels more and who his voice suits the best!

Z : Zara ruk jaa (Sitaron Se Aaghe, 1958) : I was feeling sad that I couldn’t include a song picturised on Johnny Walker so far. So am more than happy now for being able to do so. Apart from Rafi, I remember this song for Johnny Bhai’s cycle stunt and his friends going around puncturing everybody else’s cycle tyres. Rafi and Johnny share an amazing chemistry. Each song of this combo is special and tailor-made for them – the sync between Rafi’s voice and Johnny’s acting is always so perfect! I have a broad smile on my face everytime I see Johnny perched on a tree (he looks so comfortable there) and jumping down singing Zara ruk ja…

Rafi saab was the most versatile and probably had the most mellifluous voice. His voice reflected the great energy and smartness of youth and exuded great skill and craftiness. He could sing slow, fast , semi classical, Bhajans, Qawalis, taranas, Geet, romantic numbers, sad songs – just about anything with equal zest and gusto.

Also, when I began listening to  songs of Rafi, I realized one thing – he enriched the compoistions that he sang for. Now this is quite  exceptional and rare because he did not require a great composition to create a a great song.

I feel like Kahin bekhayal hokar choo liya kisi ne when I listen to his songs. This is one song that I really missed putting up here along with Jo unki tamanna ho, Woh din yaad karo, Yeh jhuke jhuke naina and many more!!! Be it any song of his, even if I am listening to it for the very first time, I feel a sense of familiarity towards it.

I came across this blog while searching for few songs and since what was written there exactly described the songs and how I felt about them, I couldn’t help copying them. And I must admit that it did save a lot of time. Writing up about these songs do take a lot of time. And it gets quite distracting as well – I search for one song on youtube, see some other song on related link section and that leads to another song and so on (as it’s too much of a temptation to resist). So when I find few lines already written up about the song, it’s god-sent! 🙂 A big thank you to Cinema Corridor and all other fellow bloggers for all your contributions and wikipedia for providing me with so much of information always! I had acknowledged everybody in my earlier post on Shammi Kapoor but somehow I forgot about this one. Could be because it took me couple of days to finish this post and by the time I reached the end, I was just happy that I had completed the post and was in a hurry to publish it.

Love you Rafi saab!!! May your soul rest in peace.

Kishore Da’s songs coming up next. I should have done that today, but first things first. And that reminds me I still have my Mukesh special post pending!

Ten of my Favourite Geeta Dutt Songs

Geeta Dutt was launched in a chorus song in Bhakta Prahlad (1946), where she sang only two lines. But her rendering of those two lines stood out. She rose to fame with her next major assignment – as a Playback singer for Do Bhai. Initially she was typecast into singing bhajans and sad songs, but it was S.D Burman who recognized the magic in her voice and brought out a new facet of Geeta’s singing in Baazi. It’s believed that no female singer has better articulated the spirit of Burmanda’s music in its early years than Geeta.

Apart from S.D Burman, she worked a great deal with O.P Nayyar who developed the side of Geeta which had emerged with Baazi. Under his baton she turned into a really hep singer who could belt out any number – soft, sultry, happy, snappy, romantic, teasing or tragic.

Quoting him on Geeta: ” ……….Who will deny there is a unique quality to her singing. Give her a blatantly westernized tune this momentand a complex classical composition the next, and she will do equal justice to both with an ease of expression which a singer can only be born with. She is particularly good for songs accompanying boisterous jamborees. With that tantalizing lilt and fascinating curves she puts into her singing,she is the ideal choice if it is seductive allure you want in a song……..Geeta Dutt is an asset to any music director.”

Remembering Geeta Dutt fondly today, 20th Jul, on her Death Anniversary,  here’s a tribute to this great singer – some of her songs that I like the most.

1. Ae dil mujhe bata de tu kispe aa gaya hai (Bhai Bhai, 1956) : I must say that this is a Madan Mohan hangover 😉 It’s such a playful number filled with so much of innocence. It conveys the feeling of a first teenage crush, so unsure and so happy at the same time. Am not a teenager any more but given a situation like this, I would love to dance to this tune myself  – though very filmy, I am not as creative as the people in fims to sing a song of my own (so I would adjust with this) . Madan Mohan’s melodious composition, Rajendra Krishan’s lyrics, Geeta’s magical voice and the glow in Shyama’s face and the twinkle in her eyes – it’s such a mesmerizing blend!

2. Tadbeer se bigdi hui  (Baazi, 1951) : It’s S.D Burman’s jazzy musical scores in Baazi that demonstrated a new facet of Geeta’s singing. She had this ability to breathe life and emotion into any song she was singing. Take this one for example – at times I wonder if this really had two Geetas in this song – one onscreen and the other one behind the screen singing for her. Both are so vibrant and lively. Every emotion that Geeta Bali displays on screen can be felt in the voice. Sahir’s lyrics are quite meaningful and inspirational which inspite of the jazzy music stands out.

3. Arey tauba yeh teri ada (12 O’Clock, 1958) : Be it this or Tum jo hue mere humsafar, Aji ho suno toh, Kaisa jadoo balam tune dara….each song is a gem. Early in the morning, I had heard Kaisa jadoo balam tune dara in Bhoole Bisre Geet on Vividh Bharati, and I was humming it the whole day. I was so definite that I would include it in the list here but then I thought of Arey tauba yeh teri ada and I changed my mind. There’s quite a lot of similarity between Ae dil mujhe bata de and Kaisa jadoo balam tune dara – they both have the same feel to it where as Arey tauba is different in every way and it has HELEN in it!  Aji ho suno toh is quite different too, it has an unique lilt to it, quite different from other songs sung in restaurants and clubs but Arey tauba wins for me. This song does look and sound like a precursor to Mera naam chin chin chu  – the ending music of this song was the starting music of  Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu.

4. Babuji dheere chalna (Aar Paar, 1955) : This is Geeta Dutt’s trademark song. The first thing that strikes one when you hear Geeta Dutt sing is that she never sang. She just glided through the tune. This song just goes on to prove this! Be it Geeta’s rendition or Shakeela’s moves, they just flow with the music. Amazing! This song demonstrates the sexiness in Geeta’s voice and her easy adaptation to western tunes. Though it’s inspired by Perhaps perhaps perhaps, I find Babuji breathtakingly sensuous. Geeta Dutt’s breathy and sultry singing, the brilliant music and picturisation: all of it make it a superb example of what an inspiration should be!

5. Jaane kahan mera jigar gaya ji (Mr. and Mrs. 55, 1955) : This song is such a fresh breath of air. An all time favourite of mine. Beautiful and mischievious at the same time with the  right amount of teasing flirtatiousness. Rafi and Geeta Dutt’s rendition for Johnny and Yasmin is so perfect. I love everything about this song. Saw the video after quite a long time today and this reminds me that I had wanted a dress like Yasmin’s when I had first seen this video. By the way, long ago I had heard on tv/radio that Johnny Walker married the girl in this song. But Yasmin and Noor are two different people, right? He was married to Noor (Shakeela’s sister).

6. Aaj saajan mohe ang laga lo (Pyaasa, 1957) : An amazing movie with lovely songs. We have discussed quite a lot about the movie and the song when harvey reviewed the film followed by the musings on the film. As he rightly puts – “The song itself evokes memories of “Aan milo, aan milo shyam saanware” from Devdas. Common to both songs is the origin in the Bhakti. In Bengal and Orissa it is heavily influenced by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. The ‘aim’ is to be in love with God so much that one dissolves in the divine. This is the emotion in the song as well. When the song begins placidly Waheeda is shown downstairs. She listens to the song with suspicion and wariness. As the song moves ahead she is shown climbing the stairs symbolising her slow transition and moving to higher levels. She is so overcome with love for Guru Dutt that tears well up in her eyes. And as the mridangs beats rise to a crescendo the emotions swell and she is about to hug him. She raises her arm up and then she moves back and runs to her room. And in this moment there is such clarity as if everything dissolves in the present.”  – truly fantastic and mindblowing! Be it Jaane kya tune kahi or hum aap ki aankhon mein, each song is a beauty (am only talking about the songs that have Geeta’s rendition) but Aaj saajan mohe is not just beautiful, it’s divine.

7. Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam ( Kaagaz Ke Phool, 1959) : This song is a result of Kaifi Azmi’s lyrics, Burmanda’s music, V. K Murthy’s cinematography, Guru Dutt’s direction, Geeta Dutt’s voice and Waheeda’s onscreen presence.  It’s such a  haunting melody – a heart-touching rendition, which has left an indelible impression in my memory. I first heard it on radio and it was only after few years that I actually saw the picturisation. And it took my breath away! I usually prefer playful and romantic numbers but this is one of those few sad songs that I simply adore. Geeta Dutt’s voice lingers in my heart long after the song is played. She makes every word throb with meaning – what an intensity of expression!

8. Piya aiso jiya mein (Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam, 1962) : A gem of a song! It just can’t get any better than this. Marvelous singing and incredible performance. When Geeta sings the lines more angan me jub purvaiyya chale, the windows in your brain will open to admit the air full of love. This is a very beautiful & happy song, with traces of a subtle pain, floating deep within the heart….Both Geeta and Meena have no match – they are stupendofantabulouslyfantastic!!! While each of the performances are spot on, if there is one person who is the heart and soul of the film, it is Meena Kumari. Her portrayal of Chhoti Bahu is perhaps the greatest performance ever seen on the Indian Screen. The sequence where Chhoti Bahu dresses for her husband singing Piya Aiso Jiya Main is a poignant exploration of a woman’s expectations.

9. Mujhe jaan na kaho meri jaan (Anubhav, 1971) : This is probably the last recorded song of Geeta Dutt.  It’s such a great song,  something mystically romantic about it.  Exotically crafted – be it Gulzar’s lyrics, Kanu Roy’s haunting music, Geeta Dutt’s seductive voice,  Tanuja’s performance or the cinematography (esp the raindrops sliding through the window and the plants outside dancing to the breeze and trying to hold the raindrops on their leaves – amazing piece of work!), it’s simply mindblowing – An unmatched classic! It has that lingering effect too….tugs at my heart strings every time I listen to it and it stays with me long after I have heard it. Honth jhuke jab honthon par, saans uljhi ho saanson mein (note the way she breaks the flow and takes a breath while singing saans uljhi ho) and that laughter while singing Meri jaan at the end!

10.  Nanhi kali sone chali hawa dheere aana (Sujata, 1959) : A lovely lullaby – what a soothing rendition! This song speaks a volume about the movie – a mother putting her baby to sleep and  an adopted girl child sleeping in another room. A very well written and executed tale, not to forget absolutely fabulous music by SD Burman. It’s raining outside and there’s a cool breeze coming in from the window…how I wish my mom was here too, I would have asked her to sing this for me. I’m going to play this song to put myself to sleep tonight.

Geeta Dutt, with no formal training in singing of the type of songs that were in vogue at that time, introduced her own brand of appealingly fresh and free flowing style of singing. Her singing was based on instincts and spontaneity, guts and feelings, and love and pensiveness that resulted in breathing life and emotion into each song she sang.

To quote Raju Bharathan, Music Critic…

“Geeta Dutt was thandi hawa and kaali ghata rolled into one. The moment she came, you got the refreshing feeling of aa hi gayi jhoom ke. There was a rare swing in her voice. She hit you like a thunderclap……….This made Geeta Dutt the one singer that Lata Mangeshkar really feared. In training and technique Lata was way ahead but neither training nor technique was of much use when pitted against Geeta in the recording room……..

Truly love her. She will always remain alive through her songs!

May her soul rest in peace!

Ziddi (1964)

Ashok (Joy Mukherjee), is the youngest son in the family of Judge Sachin Shankar (Ulhas) and Mumtaz Begum.

He has two brothers and a younger sister (Lata Sinha). Both his brothers  are married and one of his sisters-in-law is Bela Bose. She hardly makes an appearance for 2 mins, what a waste of character!

Sachin is a pretty strict parent who wants everybody at breakfast table by 8 AM and expects all his sons to go to work and earn their living. The other two are great sons as per him who are professionally and financially settled in life and his only complain is about Ashok, who’s still in bed when everybody else has already gathered for breakfast. And he’s also not happy about Ashok wanting to become a writer.

Ashok goes to meet a publisher (Murad), who also doesn’t approve of his choice of profession because he thinks Ashok doesn’t look like a writer!!! (Now what’s that supposed to mean?)

Mr. Chaterjee (Asit Sen) makes an entry here and the publisher tells him that he has been summoned to Ooty by Thakur Mahendra Singh (Raj Mehra) as the Manager of his Tea Estate. And apart from looking after the Tea Estate his job would also include keeping an eye on Asha (Asha Parekh), Thakur’s daughter. He gives Mr. Chaterjee Asha’s photo, where she’s posing beside an elephant with a gun and gives him a brief introduction saying – “Yeh Thakur saab ki beti hai, Asha. Aur uski teen hi shauk hai zindagi mein – Sheron ki shikar, haati aur ghodon ki sawari and aadmi ke kapde pehena aur unko neecha dikhana” (This is Thakur’s daughter, Asha and she lives just for three things – to kill tigers, to ride horses and elephants and to wear men’s outfit and to make them feel inferior).

Ashok also sees Asha’s pic and is totally smitten. He has a feeling that if he gets to meet her he can come up with a story that would establish him as an Author. He takes her pic and goes on the road singing Teri surat se nahin milti kisi ki surat . Judge spots him singing by the swimming pool and takes him back home. Finding Ashok’s behaviour weird, he feels Ashok must be suffering from some illness and calls a Doctor. Doctor says he’s fine, it’s just that he’s suffering from loneliness –  which he finds all the more weird – lonely in a house full of peaople?! Doctor then goes on to explain that they should get Ashok married. At this, the entire family literally runs out of the house in search of a girl, leaving bewildered Ashok behind.

Ashok runs away from his house and goes to Ooty.

Judge is furious to find Ashok gone and is all the more angry when he discovers Ashok’s note that says :  “Zindagi bhar gadha na reh jaun, isi liye romance aur adventure ki talaash mein jaa raha hoon” (I don’t want to remain a fool all my life, that’s why I am off in search of Adventure and Romance).

He’s almost robbed off his belongings in the train by Mohan Choti while he’s asleep – And this scene is hilarious…Ashok’s dreaming about Asha and is blabbering in his sleep. That’s when Mohan Choti enters his compartment and what follows is very funny – extremely situational monologue from Ashok and Mohan’s expressions just perfect to blend with the scene. This is once of my favourite scenes in the film.

When Ashok finally wakes up and realizes that his suitcase is nowhere around, he follows Mohan and jumps out of the train behind him. Just then they hear a gunshot and Mohan drops Ashok’s suitcase and runs away. Ashok then spots Asha with a gun and she screams at him for scaring her prey away – according to her, the tiger she was about to shoot ran away because of Ashok 😛

She takes her jeep and drives away. Ashok retrieves his belongings and starts walking towards some civilization from the jungle he is in. Back at Thakur’s (Raj Mehra) house, everybody’s searching for the jeep. The new Manager was arriving and Mahesh (Mehmood), their driver was supposed to go to the station to receive him but both the Jeep and the driver are missing.

Seema (Nazima), Asha’s sister is sure that Asha must have taken the Jeep and Thakur is very angry about the whole affair and promises to scold Asha when she gets back. Lakshmi (Sulochna), Thakur’s wife, is hurt that Seema isn’t very fond of her sister and keeps complaining about her. And both Thakur and Lakshmi are busy blaming each other for spoiling Asha. In between this, Asha drives in complaining that somebody scared her prey away. And on being asked about Mahesh, she tells her pet, Majnu (an elephant) to bring him back. Poor soul was put in a drum and kept under Majnu’s invigilation.

Both her parents are extremely fond of her and they easily forgive her for all the pranks she’s upto and overlook them. As a result, Asha is such a spoilt brat, stubborn to the core and quite irritating as well.

Mahesh is then sent to the station to bring the Manager. On his way he sees Ashok walking with a suitcase and assumes him to be the new Manager. So he brings him home and introduces Ashok to everybody as the new Manager of Mahendra tea State.

Asha is furious to see him home and tries all the possible pranks to get him kicked out. She isn’t very successfull in doing so but she doesn’t give up.

 As a punishment for taking the Jeep in the morning, Thakur prohibits her from going to the Jalsa (a local fete) that night. And Ashok is instructed to keep an eye on her and make sure that she doesn’t even step out of the house.

Stubborn and bent on proving how inefficient Ashok is, she sneaks out of the house and in a hurry mounts an untamed horse and sets off. When Ashok realizes this, he goes behind on another horse, saves her and brings her back home, literally drops her on her bed and locks her room from outside. But she calls Majnu below her balcony, jumps on her back and goes to the Jalsa and dances to Raat ka samaa jhume chandrama.

Ramdas (Dhumal), is the Supervisor of the Tea Estates. He has a very pretty daughter Sheela (Shubha Khote) who’s madly in love with Mahesh. But Ramdas doesn’t approve of their romance and picks up a quarrel with Mahesh for the silliest of reasons.

Ashok takes up his job as the new Manager the following day. It’s almost 12:30 in the afternoon, he tells Ramdas to break for lunch at 1 and heads home for lunch himself.

Mahesh also takes a break saying he’s going to meet Sheela. On his way, Ashok sees Asha perched on a tree branch chewing Sugarcane, he flirts a little with her and she instructs Majnu to pick him up and throw him in the well, which Majnu obediently follows.

Mahesh sees Sheela getting lunch for her father and walking towards the Tea Estate. He asks her for some food and they climb the clock tower where she feeds him. He sets the time to 11insh hoping to spend some more time with her. Ramdas is hungry and keeps waiting for his daughter who doesn’t turn up. When he glances up to the clock tower to see the time, he is surprised  and figures out that something’s wrong.  So he sets out to investigate. When Mahesh sees him, he runs away at such a speed and without even looking around that he also ends up in the same well as Ashok. They somehow manage to get out.

 And now, Ashok feels it’s time to do something to tame Asha. But he has to get across Majnu before reaching Asha. So he prepares himself for the mission.

He manages to make friends with Majnu. And with his help, he sort of kidnaps Asha and sings Pyaar ki manzil mast safar. Now that Majnu is on Ashok’s side, Asha decides to sell the disloyal Elephant. She sits on Majnu and begins the auction. Ashok comes disguised as an Arabic and buys the Elephant for a huge amount. When she dismounts after the deal is done, he jokes with her saying, he had bought the entire package for that much, ie the elephant along with her on his back!

There’s a lot of drama in between. Ashok comes across a letter sent by Mr. Chatterjee, the original supposedly new Manager of the estate – who has written saying he fell ill and couldn’t come on time but now that he has recovered, he would be arriving soon. It’s just because Mahesh thought he was the Manager, he was brought to the house and given the job. He’s worried and thinks of going back home. When Mahesh learns the truth he decides to help Ashok. They both go to receive Mr. Chatterjee, who comes marching to the background score of “So he’s a jolly good fellow”. They take him to a fake graveyard haunted by Sheela clad in a black saree and they tell him that all the people killed by Asha are burried in this graveyard.

She hates Managers and there’s a slot especially reserved for Managers. At this Mr. Chatterjee runs away from there and is never heard of again.

Seema was out of town all this while and Ashok had never met her. One evening he’s sitting in his room typing his story and reciting some lines (he has quite a shayarana andaaz, the way he flirts around with Asha, the lines he uses –  they are very poetic and very very romantic), a dog happens to sneak in and Seema comes following the dog. He’s pleasantly surprised to discover another pretty lady in the house. And she’s a very sweet girl and they get along very well from the very beginning. When he notices Asha observing them, he makes fun of Asha and she walks away in a rage.

At the Jalsa, when Mahesh spots Ramdas sitting with Ashok, he drapes a dupatta over him and Sheela introduces him as Roopmati, her widowed friend to Ramdas. Ramdas falls madly in love with Roopmati. He continues pretending to be Roopmati at few more occassions.

 At one of them he flirts with Ramdas as Roopmati and then fools him and sneaks out of the house with Sheela singing Main tere pyaar mein kya kya na bana and at another Roopmati agrees to marry him provided that he gets Sheela married first. But some Astrologer had told Ramdas that he would die if Sheela gets married and has a child. When Mahesh discovers this, he confides in Ashok about it. And Ashok decides to help Mahesh,  disguised as a Sadhu baba, he  tells Ramdas to get his daughter married within seven days or else he’ll die. Ramdas’s in a dilemma now…one astroger told him that he’ll die if he gets Sheela married and now another is telling him that he would die if he doesn’t get her married.

Asha happens to cross by just then and Ashok, disguised as Sadhu baba, takes advantage of the situation, tells her few things about her at which she’s shocked (a Sadhu who knows so much about her) then tells her that she should dress properly…she’s a girl and should behave like one, mustn’t go around hunting tigers all the time…blah blah and at the end he says if she goes on this way, Ashok might choose Seema over her.

She goes back home and sits infront of the mirror, tries on a little make up and even wears a saree. The she goes down hoping Ashok would see her.

She gets mad at Ashok when she sees him sitting and talking so sweetly to Seema.

Seema is going for a picnic with her friends and invites Ashok to join them. He happily accepts the invitation and asks Asha if she would like to come along as well….

Asha : Jahannum mein jao! (Go to hell!)

Ashok : Akele jaane mein mazaa nahina ayega, aap bhi chaliye na (it won’t be fun going alone, why don’t u come along as well)

At the picnic, Ashok and Seema are busy with their sheron-shayari when her friends ask him to sing a song. He says : “If I knew how to sing, wouldn’t I have become an actor?” And then he hears Majnu and realizes that Asha is somewhere around. So he jumps around singing Janu kya mera dil ab kahan kho gaya.

By the end of the song, Asha ties some balloons to the basket in which Seema’s doggy is sitting and the basket flies away. Seema gets all hysteric seeing her doggy so helpless up in the air.

 Ashok scolds Asha and she replies saying : “Badla lena hai na, toh mere Majnu ko gubbare se bandhke suraj pe bhejde. Kutta bahut romantic ho raha tha isi liye maine usse chand pe bhej diya romance karne” ( Take revenge , do the same thing with my Majnu, tie balloons to him and send him to the sun. Your dog was getting very romantic, that’s why I sent him to the moon to romance).

Ramdas gives in and gets Sheela married to Mahesh.

Ashok continues flirting with Seema, even more when Asha is around, just to make her feel jealous. But Seema, unaware of Ashok’s intention, takes everything he says seriously and actually falls in love with him.  They go out one day and Asha sees Seema very happy with Ashok. At this sight, Asha loses her control and shoots Ashok. He falls down in the lake.

He doesn’t appear on the surface….it’s then that she realizes what she has done. Full of regret, she goes running back to the place where she had met Sadhu baba to seek his help. When she deosn’t find him there, she confesses her love for Ashok and starts talking to herself. Ashok, knowing she would come there, swims out and comes right there. For a while he converses with her from behind the bush as the Sadhu baba but after a while he comes out of his hiding and they declare their love for each other and sing Champakali dekho chhu ke jaadu kiya mere pyaar ne.

Ashok writes to his parents about Asha and asks them to come over. Thakur Mahendra Singh and his wife also find out that they are in love with each other and they readily accept Ashok into their family. Only Seema is heart-broken.

Just after Mahesh and Sheela get married, the first Astrologer comes and scolds Ramdas for not listening to him. He tells him the Sadhu who told him to get Sheela married was a fake. Ramdas gets very scared and doesn’t even let Mahesh touch Sheila. Mahesh is so sad –  Pyaar ki aag mein tan badan jal gaya.

Ashok’s family comes over to Ooty and all is well….

 …but how can we have such a simple and smooth climax, right?….So here comes the twist – Judge sees a photo hung on the wall of Thakur Mahendra Singh’s house and that triggers a lot of memories – he immediately refuses to get Ashok married to Asha as he knows of Asha’s parentage –  a father who is an escaped convict, in jail for murder, and a mother whose profession was: prostition. And then everybody is surprised to see Asha drunk – singing and dancing to Yeh meri zindagi ek pagal hawa at a party.

And in between all this, Moti (Madan Puri) makes an entry.

Who is Moti? What’s the secret behind Asha’s family? How will Seema react to all this? Will she take revenge? What happens to Mahesh and Sheela? Does Ramlal ever get to know the truth behind Roopmati?

Not a hard ending to guess at all 🙂

I really like Joy Mukherjee and it’s Rafi’s songs and Joy that made me watch this movie. If you are not very fond of Joy Mukherjee, be content listening to or watching the songs on Youtube for Rafi. Well, I am not scaring anybody away….but there’s nothing much in the movie to like. I did like few things like the scene between Ashok and Mohan Choti in the train, Ashok flirting with both the sisters but it wasn’t right of him to play with Seema’s emotions the way he did, Mahesh and Sheela’s romance which was very cute ( I really like this couple and it wasn’t irritatingly OTT), can’t say the same about Ashok and Asha though, it was too short. Ashok spent more than half the movie pursuing Asha, the rich, spoilt-brat. Everybody looked good, so that was one consolation but other than that, I didn’t find the movie all that great. It was average and one time watchable, but I don’t see myself watching this movie again.

I do adore Asha Parekh but in this movie she was very screechy and irritating. Missed the Love in Tokyo chemistry. But Nazima made up for that, she was very cute and sweet. Wonder how and why Joy didn’t fall for her. I hardly said anything good about the movie….it isn’t all that bad either and I don’t regret watching it. I would rate it 6 (only 5 for the story, extra point for all the other things I liked about the movie. Had Asha been better, it would definitely have scored 7 + for me).

Ten of my Favourite Meena Kumari Songs

31st March marks the death anniversary of  Mahjabeen Bano aka Meena Kumari aka the Tragedy Queen of Hindi Film Industry, who not only portrayed tragic roles in movies, but led a tragic life in real as well. With very fond memories, here is a list of songs through which she flirts, romances and cries—just, generally, keeps me glued to the screen admiring her but wondering about her fate at the same time.

1. Ajeeb daastaan hai yeh (Dil Apna Preet Parai, 1960) : This must be one of the most popular songs even till this day.  The picture of Meena Kumari singing this lovely number when she realizes that the man she loves is committed to someone else, is forever etched into my memory. And it has gorgeous Nadira in it too 🙂

2. Koi pyaar ki dekhe jaadugari  (Kohinoor, 1960) : A romantic duet filled with excitement, thrill and magic of being in love where she lip-syncs with her Knight in Shining armour after he rescues her from the clutch of wicked Jeevan.

3. O raat ke musafir (Miss Mary, 1957) :  I saw her in a light-hearted role for the first time ever in this movie. For a change she’s showing attitude and not crying her heart out…and I personally feel that she’s enchanting in this avataar. Wish she had done more roles like this.

4. Koi bata de dil hai jahan (Main Chup Rahungi, 1962) : This is such a sweet, innocent and romantic song. As the name of the movie suggests, it’s weepy Meena again, but it had some wonderful songs – Koi bata de, Chaand jaane kahan kho gaya, Ae dil kabhi toh koi aayega. Apart from the story, which gets highly melo-dramatic at one point of time – but thankfully doesn’t get boring because of the child, this movie had such a strikingly good looking couple, amazing performance and like I said before, very melodious songs.

5. Chalte chalte yunhi koi (Pakeezah, 1972) : Though I like Yeh mausam hai aashiquana better, this song finds its place in this list because this is one of Meena’s signature songs. And apart from the songs and Meena’s performance in this movie, there’s one more thing that became very popular with this movie- Aap ke paon dekhe, bahut haseen hai. Inhe zameen par mat utariyega maile ho jayenge

In 1952, on the sets of one of her films, Meena Kumari fell in love with and married film director, Kamal Amrohi. Soon after marriage, Kamal Amrohi and Meena Kumari produced a film called Daera (1953), which was based on their love story. They also planned another film, Pakeezah. However, it took sixteen years (1956 to 1972) before Pakeezah reached the silver screen. (The scenes in Pakeezah’s popular song, Inhi logon ne, were originally filmed in black and white, and were later reshot in color.)
Initially, after its release in February 1972, Pakeezah opened to a lukewarm response from the public; however, after Meena Kumari’s death less than two months later, people flocked to see it, making it a major box-office success.

6. Na jao saiyaan (Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam, 1962) : This is another signature song of hers. There’s actually a tie between this and Piya aiso jiya mein. The role of Chhoti Bahu, an alcoholic wife, is one of her best performances ever.

Upperstall wrote about her performance in Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam :

While each of the performances are spot on, if there is one person who is the heart and soul of the film, it is Meena Kumari. Her portrayal of Chhoti Bahu is perhaps the greatest performance ever seen on the Indian Screen. The sequence where Chhoti Bahu dresses for her husband singing Piya Aiso Jiya Main is a poignant exploration of a woman’s expectations and sexual desire. And later on when she has become a desperate alcoholic, you cannot help but cry with her in the sequence where she pleads with her husband to stay with her and then angrily turns on him to tell him how she has prostituted her basic values and morals to please him. However the common factors between the actress’s life and Chhoti Bahu are too dramatic to be merely coincidental – The estranged marital relationship, the taking of alcohol, turning towards younger male company, the craving to be understood and loved – all elements evident in Meena Kumari’s own life

7. Kabhi toh milegi (Aarti, 1962) : Its such a haunting melody! Lovely composition, inspiring lyrics, great voice and Meena’s screen presence – it has such a lingering effect, it just keeps playing in my mind over and over again long after I listen to it.

This song always reminds me of Rahe na rahe hum from Mamta and vice versa…saw somebody else’s comment on youtube stating the same. I’m feeling good to know that I have a company here.

8. O chaand jahan woh jaye (Sharada, 1957) : One of my favourite Lata-Aasha duets picturized on serious Meena and playful Shyama. Love their expressions…I find Shyama more dominating here, her lines and expressions are better. But since this also features Meena, I just needed an excuse to put this song here 🙂

9. Tu ganga ki mauj main jamna ka dhara (Baiju Bawra, 1952) : Though she had done few movies as a child artist followed by some mythological movies, it was this film that gained her fame and established her as an actor.  When I had first seen this song during my school days, I almost couldn’t recognize her, she looked so young!

10. Rang aur noor ki baaraat (Gazal, 1964) : I couldn’t possibly end this post with everything happy and romantic and sweet…I had to include a number that had the sorrow factor and this tops my list! Though the song is in a male voice, Meena remains the primary focus throughout…one look at her – those eyes brimming with tears, all my heart goes out to her.

When Meena Kumari was born her family was going through a financial crisis. She was forced to act in movies at the age of 7 to support the family due to which she lost out on her carefree childhood days. Later in life she fell in love and got married to Kamal Amrohi, but that didn’t last for long and they got divorced which led her into a depression. She craved for love and care all her life and this is very evident in her poetry. She found solace in heavy drinking. Her health began deteriorating and at the age of 40 she died of liver cirrhosis.

May her soul rest in peace!!!!

I just realized that I have 2 songs referring to Chaand (O raat ke musafir, O chaand jahan woh jaaye) in my list already….and the other two with Meena-Chaand combo that come to my mind are : Chaand jaane kahan kho gaya, Ruk jaa raat theher jaa re chanda….any other songs you can think of?

Love Marriage (1959)

No, it’s not the IPL fever, at least not yet. I was off today and took out few VCDs to watch. It was tough to decide which one to watch first – Dil Deke Dekho being my all time favourite and Anupama has been on the top of my must watch list for quite some time now.

I had a tough time just deciding between these two. I then made up my mind to get up early tomorrow and watch both the movies. 🙂 Among the other three, I randomly picked one and it turned out to be Fashionable Wife.  I was actually looking forward to seeing it (just to check out how silly it is), esp after Spy in Rome – it’s also made by the same person. 😛 But fortunately or unfortunately, there was some problem with the cd.

Rishte Naate – the title itself sounded so emotional and sentimental (most of the times I simply end up buying movies without even thinking if I’ll ever watch them). And I was in no mood of seeing something depressing today. That  left me with only one option – Love Marriage!

A Cricket match in progress and that too with such a good looking batsman, I was more than happy just looking at him hitting fours and sixes.

After winning the match, he celebrates his victory with his friends at Sporting Club of Jhansi.

Scared that he might get caught by his brother, he sneaks into the house, with his shoes in his hands only to find his Bhabhi, Uma (Pranoti Ghosh) and his nephew, Munna (Master Anwar) waiting for him to hear the result of the match.

Just then his brother, Anil Kumar (Abhi Bhattacharya) comes back home from work, and all of them get back to their duties – the entire household is scared of him, including their pet dog, who quietly gets back into his basket for the night the moment he senses Anil’s arrival, signalling the others too.

Few obvious things – Sunil Kumar (Dev Anand) or Sonu, as his Bhabhi calls him, is extremely fond of his Bhabhi and nephew. He adores his brother, but is scared of him as well. Anil, on the other hand, is tired of Sonu’s kiddish ways and feels it’s high time he starts taking his life seriously.

The next morning Anil receives a letter from Mr. Choglekar. He had spoken to Mr. Choglekar regarding a job for Sunil, who’s a first class BA graduate. And Mr. Choglekar mentions in his letter that there’s a vacancy in Bombay and that Sunil should apply for it ASAP.

Bhabhi is all worried about having to send her brother-in-law away. But Anil is adamant about sending Sonu to Bombay. When Bhabhi does his packing and makes other necessary arrangements, he goes to the Sporting Club to meet his friends.

He finds one of his friends missing. One asking he finds out that he’s been too busy visiting Neelam, a kothewali bai. And all are worried that he’ll ruin his life at this rate. So they all set out to rescue him.

Sonu literally drags his friend out of there. Now Neelam takes this as a personal insult and vows to destroy Sonu and his family.

Sonu leaves for Bombay and he goes directly to his Mamaji, Naren Babu’s house, only to find it locked. On asking his neighbours he finds out that Mamaji has left for Jhansi.

With no place to stay in Bombay, he’s pretty worried. When he sees an ad in newspaper announcing an availability of a room, he goes to see it.

He manages to drive away all the other people who’ve come with the same purpose and finally goes to meet the owner but Geeta (Mala Sinha) refuses to share her flat with a guy. She wants a female flat-mate!

He meets Mr. Shampi, Geeta’s neighbour, on his way out, who narrates Geeta’s history to him – that she’s an orphan and is looked after by her Chacha-Chachi. She was studying in Bombay but started working to support the family after her Chacha passed away. And now she wants to share her flat so that she doesn’t have to pay the entire rent.

Now, it happens that Mr. Shampi knows Anil. When he learns that Sonu, aka Sunil is Anil’s brother, he decides to help him and convinces Geeta to give the room to him.

Sunil then sets out to meet Mr. Choglekar, who’s very worried about the Cricket Match the following morning because his team doesn’t have a proper batsman.

Sunil offers to help him out and after hesitating for a while he lets Sunil bat for his team. Geeta is a huge Cricket fan – she even has pictures of lots of cricketers stuck on her wall. So it’s only obvious that she’s on her way to see the match the next morning. Sunil asks her for direction to the stadium and she’s rather surprised.

She doesn’t believe that he can play – the way he behaves she thinks he’s an illiterate and good for nothing. Anyways, she takes him to the stadium with her.

Sunil not only wins the match but manages win Geeta’s heart as well. Here’s a scene from the game followed by She ne khela he se aaj cricket match.

Next day’s newspapers are flooded with Sunil’s photos and tales on how Choglekar’s team won the match because of Sunil. Sunil goes to Geeta’s room to show her that he’s not all that bad and what he witnesses there leaves him rather surprised – he sees Geeta cutting his picture from the newspaper and talking to herself about him. Pleased he runs back to his room and after checking himself in the mirror continues to the terrace to sing Kahan jaa rahe the kahan aa gaye hum.

Geeta looks so lovely here listening to him singing.

Both fall in love but are unable to express their feelings to each other.

Choglekar throws a party to celebrate his team’s victory and Sunil invites Geeta to it. Celebration and party implies that there’s one more song here. But I found this song somehow out of place, it would be more apt in a Manoj Kumar movie. But I love the dance preceding the song, no matter what Sunil says about it – Tin kanastar peet peet .

Sunil finally gets the job he had come for and better still he gets posted to Jhansi! But he’s not very happy about it because he doesn’t want to leave Geeta and go. But is delighted to learn that Geeta has quit her job and is leaving for Deolali, which falls on the way to Jhansi, where her Chachi lives. They leave by the same train the following morning.

This time Sunil is determined to tell Geeta that he’s in love with her.  And he even partially succeeds in doing so 😛

A little after Geeta arrives home, Champa, Chachi’s house maid informs her that some Sunil Babu has come to meet Chachi. This Chachi-Sunil encounter is hilarious, followed by Hum jaan gaye sarkar tum lakh karo inkaar.

Chachi is not all that well and her last wish is to see Geeta married. When she has an attack, she makes Sunil promise that he’ll marry Geeta right away. He’s little hesitant about the idea of getting married without informing his Bhaiya and Bhabhi but seeing Chachi ji’s condition, he gives in and gets married to Geeta.

He feels that he should go home first and inform his family then send for Geeta, but Chachi remains adamant that a girl, after marriage,  should follow her husband whereever he goes. So they both leave for Jhansi.

He’s so tensed that he doesn’t even know how to face his family, esp his brother.

Scared, he jumps off the rickshaw and sends Geeta alone to handle his Bhaiya and Bhabhi – to break the news of their wedding to them.  She does manage to impress Bhabhi.

Anil and Uma are more than happy with the news and they both adore Geeta. They celebrate the occasion and my wait for Helen finally ended when she came to dance to Dil se dil takaraye (the title track) – beautiful and graceful as ever.

All’s well and everybody is happy but as expected that doesn’t last forever.

Remember, Neelam and her vow to ruin the family? When I had just started wondering what happened to her, she made an entry.

Sunil ends up visiting her regularly and takes to drinking – Kareeb aao na tadpao

When Geeta learns this, she demands for a divorce!!!!

What happens to Sunil and Geeta? What leads Sunil to Neelam in the first place? Will things ever be the same again?

It was a delightful watch. I thoroughly enjoyed watching it –  lovely starcast, great performances, wonderful songs and a good story. Inspite of the twist with Neelam, and little bit of emotional atyachar towards the end (luckily it wasn’t very long), it was good.

Both Dev and Mala were loud at times, but given the storyline, I didn’t mind much. With some one like them on screen, and not to forget those lovely songs, I hardly had the time to complain about anything.

10 of my Favorite Waheeda Rehman Songs

Waheeda Rehman, one of the most beautiful and versatile actresses , was born on this day. Here’s wishing her a very very Happy Birthday! Here are few songs of hers which I truly love :

1. Chaudhavin ka chaand (Chaudhavin Ka Chand, 1960) : The song says it all! One of my all time favourites, amazing composition, beautiful picturization and lovely Waheeda.

2.  Zara nazron se kehdo ji (Bees Saal Baad, 1962) : What expressions! The gait with which she walks, the faces she makes, the way she leans against a tree branch chewing the sugarcane, the way she gets up after falling down from the swing (again, the first thing she does is to pick up the sugarcane!), her smile, her attitude, her innocence – an ‘ada’ of her own.  There’s something very very cute about this song.  Everytime I hear this song (which is almost everyday), I have a broad smile on my face, esp  when ‘Yeh bholapan tumhara, yeh shararat aur yeh shaukhee, zaroorat kya tumhe talwar ki, teeron ki, khanjar ki…nazar bhar ke jise tum dekhlo woh khud hi mar jaye’ comes. And last but not the least what an amazing usage of the prop – sugarcane!!!

3.  Khuda bhi aasman se jab (Dharti, 1970) : Should I say everything about this song is heavenly? (except for Rajendra Kumar’s shirt ;-)) Great poetry, fabulous rendition and ever”green” Waheeda.

4. Na tum hamen jaano (Baat Ek raat Ki, 1962) : Both Hemant da’s (Naa tum hamen jaano) and Suman Kalyanpur’s version of this song are great. I chose Sumanji’s rendition here because Waheeda looks better in this one. I had actually thought of making a list of ten songs in male voice, but couldn’t help including this  one.

5. Kaanton se kheench ke yeh aanchal (Guide, 1965) : My dad used to watch Rangoli on DD when I was a kid. And I always used to get confused as to who is who…esp the actresses – back then, they all looked the same to me. This song was pretty popular and used to come very often. It was through this song that I started recognizing Waheeda. And it was this song that led me to watch this movie.  I love Piya tose naina lage re as well,  but Kaanton se kheench ke yeh aanchal holds a more special place in my heart.

5. Paan khaye sainyaan hamaro (Teesri Kasam, 1966) :  I’ve always liked this song – it’s so simple and so sweet. And post dustedoff’s comment, I think of this song as a dessert in the ‘musical menu’ of bollywood songs.

6. Raat bhi hai kuch bheegi bheegi (Mujhe Jeene Do, 1963) : This  is such an expressive performance…simple and yet sensuous.  Beautiful, in every way – lyrics, music, Lataji’s voice and Waheedaji’s grace.

7.  Bhanwra bada naadaan hai (Sahib Bibi aur Ghulam, 1962) :  Simply love the way Waheeda scratches her head and sticks her tongue out. 🙂 Very innocently picturised and it’s its simplicity that adds to it beauty.

8.  Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam (Kaagaz ke Phool, 1959) : This is such a hauntingly melodious song – so beautifully sung and portrayed.

9. Jaane kya tune kahi (Pyaasa, 1957) : She looks so young and so pretty in this song. Terrific combo of Geeta Dutt’s voice and Waheeda’s screen presence.

10.  Kahin pe nigahen kahin pe nishaana (C.I.D, 1956) : Innocence and beauty personified, though her role has a grey shade in the movie, not all that innocent.

Like I said earlier, I had initially thought of listing all 10 songs in male voice but suddenly thought of Guide and all the other songs just followed. There’s quite a lot I want to write but am too tied up with work at the moment. Lots of things to be added and updated here but I want to publish this post before the day ends.  So, will update it as and when I get time.

The original list had –  Woh shaam kuch ajeeb thi,   Yeh nayan dare dare , Apni toh har aah, Phoolon ke rang se, Parbaton ke pedon par (she shares the screen with her husband),  Gaata rahe mera dil (one of the most popular duets featuring Waheeda).

It wasn’t possible to include all her songs here and I know I have missed quite a lot of her popular songs.

Bewafa 1952

This post has been pending for a long time!!! I’m so glad that I’m finally writing it.  It was Raj Kapoor’s birth anniversary on the 14th and  I somehow managed to watch this movie but didnt have time to review it.

Raj Kapoor’s films dealt with diversified subjects which sometimes involved teenage romance , sometimes oppression of women and sometimes (or most of the times) corruption in the society. And no doubt  that all the movies of his (at least the ones that I have watched so far) were superb (Anari, Awara, Shree 420, Jaagte Raho, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai, Chhalia, Diwana to name a few). They had amazing actors, great story line, faboulous music and these are movies made to perfection (almost).  I like and respect Raj Kapoor as an actor and as a film-maker. But most of his movies are so socially awakening that they usually leave me morally (or should that be socially) depressed for days. Except for Chori Chori, I cant think of re-watching any of his other movies. And I usually have to prepare myself to bring myself to watch his movies.

After mentally preparing myself for more than a week I eventually watched this.

Roopa (Nargis) lives in a chawl with an alcoholic uncle (is that Siddiqui in the second screencap?).

He’s unemployed himself, sits at home and drinks the whole day. But he forces her to go out to work and earn money so that he can buy alcohol with it.

He mistreats her and literally beats her when she fails to get money. Everybody in the chawl is aware of Roopa’s fate. The children in the chawl enact the scene of Roopa’s uncle scolding her and punishing her on the streets where one becomes Roopa and another Roopa’s uncle. But it’s only Raj (Raj Kapoor), her neighbour who offers to help her. He even lends her some money when her uncle beats her and throws her out of the house saying she cant come back till she gets some money to buy alcohol for him.

Reluctantly she takes the money from him, unsure how and when she’ll be able to repay him. But he says he feels sorry for her for all that she has to go through and especially when he sees her dressed in rags. Also tells her that she doesn’t have to repay him. On a second thought he adds that she could come to his room and clean it up for him if she really wants to do something in return.

She feels so indebted that she lands up in his room the following morning to clean it. He is awed by her innocence and playfully sings Kaam haathon ka.

Her uncle keeps illtreating her so much that on one occasion when he throws her out of the house, she vows never to come back again and goes to kill herself.

But she realizes that she has never lived her life so she doesnt have the right to take it either (thankfully she realizes it on time and saves all the effort and trouble that hero would have had to go through otherwise to save her;-))

Innocent and unexposed to the outside world, she doesn’t know what to do or where to go. All that she knows is that she has to live and that she’s not returning back to the chawl. She just keeps walking aimlessly. Exhausted she sits under a street light, leans on the post and falls fast asleep.

She wakes up to find an artist’s easel infront of her.  And from behind the easel appears Ashok (Ashok Kumar), a painter who’s been making a portrait of her.

She’s scared first, then angry that he made her portrait without her consent. But when she sees the artist’s work and he promises to pay her Rs. 5 if she lets him complete it, she gives in. She agrees to be his model and accompanies him to his studio. He tries to make her sit in the same position and completes his painting.

And she…she’s more than happy to earn Rs. 5 for posing 🙂

Ashok is not a very successful artist himself.  He’s been painting for a long time but nobody ever cares to buy any of his work. And very predictably she becomes his lucky mascot. Once he starts making her portraits he gets his recognition as an artist, his work becomes popular and people start buying his paintings for thousands.

In the meantime he also teaches her how to read and write.

To celebrate his success Ashok throws a big party and Roopa (who’s been living in his house all this while and quite rich and popular herself now through his paintings) is his co-host. She looks gorgeous as she accompanies him all dressed up for her first public appearance.

Ashok’s looking so good here that I couldn’t resist myself from putting up this one!

Party without a song sounds so incomplete….so here comes the song, and that too quite a catchy one O tana derna tana mere dil mein aa jana. I wonder who this pretty lady (the one singing the song) is. Since she was dancing the whole time, I couldn’t get a clearer screencap, will have to check memsaab’s gallery for her name.

It’s so obvious that Ashok is in love with Roopa that everybody at the party keeps asking Ashok when he’s getting married. After the party when everybody leaves Ashok tells Roopa about it.

Ashok : Everyone was asking me when I am getting married.

Roopa : You are getting married?

Ashok : Yeah, I think I should. What do you say?

Roopa : I think so too. (After a pause) So when’s the wedding?

Ashok : You should be the one deciding the date.

Roopa : Me? You could have done it yourself and just informed me.

Poor Ashok, Roopa doesnt figure out that he’s asking her to marry him!

All’s well till now, but that’s just the first 40 minutes of the movie. Now comes the twist in the story. Raj re-enters Roopa’s life. He sits outside the wall (of Roopa’s  house), under a tree singing Tumko fursat ho expecting her to come out after she hears his voice while Roopa is swimming inside. But she doesn’t. So he jumps the wall and gets in.

She’s delighted to see him. She gets him introduced to Ashok and also asks Raj to stay back for dinner.

After dinner he sings Dil matwala and I fell in love with this song instantly. And I guess so did Roopa because she gets up the following morning singing it herself  Dil matwala (It’s the same song but tunes are different. Lata’s version is different from Talat’s).

The first time they meet Ashok senses that something’s wrong and doubts Raj’s intention. When he sees Raj trying to woo Roopa, followed by Roopa’s inclination towards him, Ashok warns Roopa to stay away from Raj. But all his efforts to do so prove in vain. Roopa is no longer interested in sitting still and posing for Ashok’s paintings. Half the time she waits for Raj to come and when he shows up, she leaves Ashok and his incomplete painting and leaves with Raj.

He takes her to a club one night. And oh god Roopa looks so beautiful and innocent.

Here we are treated to this lovely number Aa jao mere dilruba by another lovely lady (whose name I am yet to figure out).

By the way, I kind of like her outfit!

Coming back to the story, Roopa and Raj get pretty late that night. And Ashok scolds Roopa for coming home so late. He also points out that Raj is interested in her wealth and not in her. At this she promises Ashok that she will never see Raj again. So when Raj comes to meet her the following day she sends a word through her maid, Neeli (Neelam) saying she’s not at home. However, Raj sees her standing by the window seeing him leave. To convince her that his feelings for her are true, he sits almost all night singing Tu aaye na aaye teri khushi in the rain. This melts Roopa’s heart and she forgets all about her promise to Ashok.  She goes running to Raj and asks him to take her away with him.

He agrees to it and they fix a time. Raj is to come the following night at 10 and take her with him and go. Excited, she packs her things the whole day and is all set to leave. Ashok tries to convince her but she doesnt listen to him.  She goes outside the gate, sits on a bench and waits for Raj the whole night.

But unfortunately he doesnt turn up and she returns back home. Heart-broken and depressed she sings Ek baar jhalak dikhla ke hume . After a couple of days Raj turns up to apologize saying he’s extremely sorry that he couldn’t come that night to take her and begs her for one more chance. After a little bit of convincing she agrees. There’s nothing left for Ashok to say now. But Neeli, tells her that she’s making a mistake by trusting Raj again and pleads her not to go with him.

But Roopa has already made up her mind and this time Raj does come to take her. And she goes away with him.

She comes back home later on to find this painting.

Now, why does Roopa come back home again? What happens to Raj? Why is Raj’s character so mysterious? Is he really after Roopa’s wealth or is it just Ashok’s jealousy trying to create misunderstandings between them? What stopped Raj from coming that night, the first time they decide to leave Ashok’s house? Is Ashok really as good as he appears to be? And finally the million dollar question – who’s bewafa? Who betrays who?

Here, I take back my word – “Except for Chori Chori, I cant think of re-watching any of his other movies.” I wouldnt mind watching this movie again! What a power-packed performance, great songs (though I had never heard some of them before, I liked them a lot), and a good story with an apt title!

M.L. Anand’s direction, Akhtar Hussain’s story and  Sarshar Sailani’s dialogues were neither below the mark nor over the board. Music by A.R. Qureshi was pleasant and melodious, songs perfectly rendered by Talat, Lata, Shamshad Begum and Geeta Dutt and in situations and places where you expect them the most, pretty predictable.

I actually enjoyed watching this movie and wasn’t even depressed at the end of it (at least not as much as I had expected to)! May be that’s because it’s more of an emotional drama than a social. It has its own share of fun moments, romance, jealousy, competition, poverty, failure, innocence and betrayal. I would call it a complete package. And to top it all, it’s just 1 hour 46 mins long or should I say it’s just 1 hour 46 mins short? 😉