The Three Reigning Queens, Albums of Madhubala, Meena Kumari & Nargis Options

[swarapriya]

Concluding Songs from "Tarana (1951)"...

I am including in this post a couple of extended version songs and a special version of "Seene Mein Sulagte Hain". This song is by the famous ghazal singer Jagjit Singh. It is taken from his album, "Close to Heart". Here are these songs...

[swarapriya]

(Nargis) Awara (1951)

I am re-uploading these songs on request...

K.A. Abbas had a tremendous influence over the movies Raj Kapoor made early in his career. He was responsible for the proletarian ethos of the Raj’s early films. The culmination of coming together of Abbas ji and Raj was professionally strange, to speak the least. Raj was a deeply religious person. Abbas ji on the other hand was probably an agnostic but a definite rationalist. If Raj was progressive, that was veiled and became somewhat clearer only though his films. He didn’t adhere to any ideology and definitely was apolitical. In contrast Abbas ji was a hard core and avowed, die hard Marxist.

Abbas ji wrote stories, dialogues, or screenplays for some of Raj’s best movies. These include “Awara” (1951 - screenplay and dialogue), “Shree 420” (1955 - story, screenplay, and dialogue), “Jagte Raho” (1956 - screenplay), “Mera Naam Joker” (1970 - story and screenplay), “Bobby” (1973 - story and screenplay), and “Henna” (1991 - story). Almost all these movies were smashing successes except for “Jagte Raho” and “Mera Naam Joker”. Even these two became kind of cult classics many years after their releases.

Abbas ji in an interview fondly recalled his association with Raj Kapoor as follows: "While Raj Kapoor is no great ideologue, he is not allergic to ideas. Indeed, with his basic sympathy for the common man, he is more than amenable to socially progressive ideas and humanist ideals, so long as their presentation does not interfere with the popularity potential of his film".

What did Raj Kapoor thought of Abbas ji? Here is what Raj said in one interview: “Fortunately, I have from the very start been happy in my professional associations and it was quite early in my film career, when I was scarcely a film and a half old, that my association with K.A. Abbas began. That was ‘Awara’, an exciting intellectual adventure, which set off an exchange of ideas and a way of working between Abbas sahib and myself that continues to this day. ‘Awara’ embodies my earliest fashioning of the sort of universal humanity symbol which was to go on taking finer shape through a succession of films until ‘Mera Naam Joker’, where it emerged as the crystallization of my entire philosophy of life.”

Here are some interesting tidbits. Dewan Basheshwarnath Kapoor, father of Prithviraj and grandfather of Raj, appeared as a judge in the beginning of the fim. Shashi Kapoor, younger brother of Raj, played young Raj in the film. Prem Nath, Raj’s brother-in-law appeared as one of the singers on the boat in the song “Naiyya Teri”. Raja Navathe, the assistant director of this film, later directed Raj’s musical “Aah (1953)”.

I am uploading all the songs and some specials in five back-to-back posts. The first two posts contain the complete songs from the film. The third post contains a few music clips. The fourth post contains several extended version songs. The fifth and the final post contain some specials.

Here are the details of the songs and the songs themselves in the first post…

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Jun 20 2011, 11:40 AM

[swarapriya]

Continuing Songs from "Awara (1951)"...

Here are the rest of the songs from this great musical masterpiece...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Jun 12 2011, 07:51 AM

[swarapriya]

Some Music Clips from "Awara (1951)"...

Here are some music clips from this trend setting movie...

[swarapriya]

Some Extended Version Songs from "Awara (1951)"...

Here are some of the extended version songs from this musical extravaganza. Please note that the full version of "Tere Bina" includes two songs that were part of the dream scene. These are "Tere Bina" and "Ghar Aaya". If you decide to download these two songs separately, you don't to download the full version and vice versa.

Here are the songs...

[swarapriya]

Concluding Songs from "Awara (1951)"...

Here is the fifth and final post of songs of this magnificent movie. I am uploading here a couple of specials with introductions by Raj Kapoor himself. These came the "Legends" album. Details are shown in the table below. I am also posting three instrumentals. The source for these was "You Tube".

Here are the songs and instrumentals...

[ShankarJaikishanFan]

(Nargis) Awara (1951)

I am re-uploading these songs on request...

K.A. Abbas had a tremendous influence over the movies Raj Kapoor made early in his career. He was responsible for the proletarian ethos of the Raj’s early films. The culmination of coming together of Abbas ji and Raj was professionally strange, to speak the least. Raj was a deeply religious person. Abbas ji on the other hand was probably an agnostic but a definite rationalist. If Raj was progressive, that was veiled and became somewhat clearer only though his films. He didn’t adhere to any ideology and definitely was apolitical. In contrast Abbas ji was a hard core and avowed, die hard Marxist.

Abbas ji wrote stories, dialogues, or screenplays for some of Raj’s best movies. These include “Awara” (1951 - screenplay and dialogue), “Shree 420” (1955 - story, screenplay, and dialogue), “Jagte Raho” (1956 - screenplay), “Mera Naam Joker” (1970 - story and screenplay), “Bobby” (1973 - story and screenplay), and “Henna” (1991 - story). Almost all these movies were smashing successes except for “Jagte Raho” and “Mera Naam Joker”. Even these two became kind of cult classics many years after their releases.

Abbas ji in an interview fondly recalled his association with Raj Kapoor as follows: "While Raj Kapoor is no great ideologue, he is not allergic to ideas. Indeed, with his basic sympathy for the common man, he is more than amenable to socially progressive ideas and humanist ideals, so long as their presentation does not interfere with the popularity potential of his film".

What did Raj Kapoor thought of Abbas ji? Here is what Raj said in one interview: “Fortunately, I have from the very start been happy in my professional associations and it was quite early in my film career, when I was scarcely a film and a half old, that my association with K.A. Abbas began. That was ‘Awara’, an exciting intellectual adventure, which set off an exchange of ideas and a way of working between Abbas sahib and myself that continues to this day. ‘Awara’ embodies my earliest fashioning of the sort of universal humanity symbol which was to go on taking finer shape through a succession of films until ‘Mera Naam Joker’, where it emerged as the crystallization of my entire philosophy of life.”

Here are a couple of tidbits. Shashi Kapoor, younger brother of Raj, played young Raj in the film. Prem Nath, Raj’s brother-in-law appeared as one of the singers on the boat in the song “Naiyya Teri”. Raja Navathe, the assistant director of this film, later directed Raj’s musical “Aah (1953)”.

I am uploading all the songs and some specials in five back-to-back posts. The first two posts contain the complete songs from the film. The third post contains a few music clips. The fourth post contains several extended version songs. The fifth and the final post contain some specials.

Here are the details of the songs and the songs themselves in the first post…

Great job as always! Really though-provoking write-up -- I didn't really think about the differences in ideology of Abbas and Kapoor before.

[swarapriya]

(Nargis) Awara (1951)

Great job as always! Really thought-provoking write-up -- I didn't really think about the differences in ideology of Abbas and Kapoor before.

Thanks for the compliments, SJF.

When someone appreciates what your penned thoughts are on a subject that matters a great deal to you, then you know that the effort was worthwhile. Cheers. -S

[hemdutt]

Some Extended Version Songs from "Awara (1951)"...

Here are some of the extended version songs from this musical extravaganza. Please note that the full version of "Tere Bina" includes two songs that were part of the dream scene. These are "Tere Bina" and "Ghar Aaya". If you decide to download these two songs separately, you don't to download the full version and vice versa.

Here are the songs...

Here are the two extended version songs (Source Vinyl). from original sound track.

10 Tere Bina Aag Ye Chandni Dur.9.47 256kbps





This post has been edited by hemdutt: Jun 13 2011, 05:14 PM

[hemdutt]

07 Awara Hoo 3.09 160kbps



This post has been edited by hemdutt: Jun 13 2011, 05:14 PM

[swarapriya]

07 Awara Hoo 3.09 160kbps

Thank you Hemduttji for sharing the vinyl versions of these two songs. Cheers. -S

[ShankarJaikishanFan]

Last few requests: Do Bigha Zamin, Parineeta (1953) and Beqasoor (1950). Thanks!

[swarapriya]

(Meena) Do Bigha Zamin (1953)

Here is an instant classic from Bimalda. This was his maiden venture as a producer and director. Its story was written by Sail Chowdhury who also composed its music. Its screenplay was written by Hrishikesh Mukherjee who also was the editor and one of the assistant directors of the movie.

The movie garnered several awards. It won the Best Picture Filmfare Award and the Best Director Filmfare Award. It was the first movie to win an International Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. It won a prize for Social Progress at the Karlovy Vary Film Festival. It also won a National Award.

The movie introduced comedian-actor Mehmood in a bit role. It had the child actor Jagdeep in a small role. Meena Kumari appeared as a guest. When I uploaded these songs earlier, Abhay, one of our fellow members wrote how Meena ended up acting in this film. Here is what the comedian Asit Sen said in a Filmfare interview. Asit Sen had a role in “Do Bigha Zamin” and also was working simultaneously in another movie in which Meena Kumari was the leading lady. On the sets of this other movie he narrated the story of “Zamin” to Meena. Moved by the story, Meena, already an established star, approached Bimalda to give her a small role. Bimalda couldn’t refuse her request. She ended up playing a guest role in the film.

The movie has only a few songs. But it has that Salilda’s lilting touch that elevates them to beautiful melodies. I am re-uploading these on request from an original soundtrack album. Here are these songs…

[swarapriya]

(Madhubala) Beqasoor (1950)

Here are the songs from this album, with two music directors, Anil Biswas and Hansraj Behl. All these songs were originally contributed by our fellow member AKF. Thank you very much AKF ji for these lovely songs.

I am re-uploading these on request...

[swarapriya]

(Meena) Parineeta

Here is one of the great movies from Bimalda. Filmed in stunning black and white, with an award winning incredible performance from Meena Kumari, and ably supported by Ashok Kumar, the movie remains as one of the classics of Indian Cinema. The story taken from Sharat Chandra Chatterjee’s 1914 Bengali novel of the same name was produced by Ashok Kumar himself. Incidentally, Bimalda who won the Best Director award for the movie, went on to make Sharat’s “Biraj Bahu” in 1954 with Kamini Kaushal and Ashok Kumar, and the following year, in 1955, he brought another Sharat’s literary classics to life in “Devdas” with Suchitra Sen, Vyjayanti Mala, and Dilip Kumar.

Ably assisted by the brilliant editing of Hrishikesh Mukherjee and Kamal Bose’s cinematography, Bimalda narrates the story at unhurried pace without losing the grip on the characterization spontaneity. Even the dialogues are delivered in soft tone so that the absence of loudness adds to the beauty of the proceedings of the movie.

Bimalda was a photographer and editor before turning as a director. He was the cinematographer of Saigal’s classic “Devdas” made in 1936. Kamal Bose, who was the cameraman for this movie, captures various moods of the principal characters in glorious black, grey, and white colors. As the critic Shoma Chatterjee aptly observed: “…the camera was Bimalda’s brush and his unfailing grip over it made him maneuver it with gentle strokes, sweeping into his canvas the rich poetry and the powers of human beauty, the intensity and the variety of human emotions…”

The two main characters played by Meena Kumari and Ashok Kumar walk through their respective roles with such professional skill that watching them is like taking a lesson in acting. Meena looking ever so beautifully captures all the subtleties of human emotions like love, pathos, uncertainties, and anxieties that her character goes through with commendable restraint collaborated with consummate artistry.

I am not much familiar with the work of the music director of this movie, Aroon Kumar Mukherjee. Besides this film, it appears like he gave music to “Pratima (1945)”, “Muqaddar (1950)”, “Samaaj (1954)”, and “Teen Bhai (1955)”. He seems to have sung in some movies too. “Kismat” made in 1943 was one of them. Too bad he didn’t get opportunities to provide music for more films because he proved his prowess by composing some beautiful songs for this movie. When I initially uploaded these songs, one of our members, Faraaj, wrote in a message that Mukherjee was initially a playback singer, mainly as a voice of the great thespian, Ashok Kumar.

My favorite song from this film is by Geetaji that seems to make a definitive statement. The song “Chaand Hai Wohi” is rendered with such sweetness and sung as if Geetaji put her whole soul into it. This beautiful composition is brilliant, intense, and romantic all at the same time. The listening experience of this mellifluous song leaves one totally consumed. Per our Geetaji expert, member Parag Sankla, for some curious reason this song was removed from the film few weeks into its release. If indeed this was the case, it is a pity.

Manna Dey has two parts of the song, “Chali Raadhe Rani”, in this film. These types of songs are so routine to Mannada and yet he puts that “extra” something into them that make them stirring listening experiences. I am uploading the same song by Geetaji as well. This apparently is not from the film and is a version song.

Asha also has a couple of beautiful solos. Especially her song “Gore Gore Haathon Mein” is very enchanting to listen to. The song is made special the way the antaraas return to the mukhdaas in the composition with percussion instruments giving able support.

Finally, let me also mention about the song by Ashit Baran, who also starred in the movie as the “other” person in Meena Kumari’s life. His song “Toota Hai Naata” almost sounds like Hemantda’s, yet it has distinctiveness of its own. Per Faraaj, Baran was a respected singer of the 40’s. He sang several memorable songs for Panakj Mullick and R.C. Boral. Faraaj also observed that the song “Toota Hai Naata” doesn’t appear to be original and has shades of Roshan’s song from “Malhar (1951)”, “Dil Tujhe Diya” sung by Mukesh.

Bimalda, the master of the movie medium, seamlessly integrates these songs in such a way that they become part of the narrative, smooth and beautiful, but never obtrusive.

I am re-uploading these songs on request. Here they are…