Shair Aur Sargam, Songs From Movies of 7 Great Lyricists Options

[swarapriya]

(Shailendra) Chhoti Chhoti Baten (1965)

This was late great character actor Motilal’s labor of love. He wrote its story, produced it, and directed the film besides acting in it. After finishing the movie he died before it was released. It won the National Awards as the third Best Feature film and fetched Motilal the Best Writer Award. These awards came posthumously.

The movie was a character study of people you live, work, and interact with. Hardworking all his life, barely able to meet family and debt demands, the principal character portrayed by Motilal finds one fine morning himself inheriting a great fortune. He fulfills all wishes of his family and embarks on a journey to find a safe haven where he can settle down in peace. He temporarily finds peace in a small remote village only to discover that what he is looking for cannot be found.

The music for the film was composed by Anil Biswas. By strange coincidence this was also his last film before his retirement. Biswasji lived until 2003, but after this 1965 film he never worked on any other film. There are several great songs in this film. There is a story behind the song “Zindagi Khwaab Hai”. When Motilalji passed away, lyricist Shailendraji wrote this song as a tribute. In Raj Kapoor’s 1956 masterpiece “Jagte Raho”, Motilal’s character has a song that started with the exact same wording. It was also written by Shailendraji. The tribute song was to be included in this film as a background song. However I found that in the film I saw it was missing. Incidentally both songs were sang by Mukeshji, who was related to Motilalji. It was Motilalji who brought Mukeshji to Mumbai and introduced him to the Hindi film world.

Here is this and other songs from this film…

[swarapriya]

(Anand Bakshi) Apna Desh (1972)

This movie was a remake of the 1969 Telugu film hit “Kathanayakudu”. It was also made in Tamil and Kannada. The movie about bad people or politicians appearing to be good may have been a novel thing when this movie was made. After these many years the subject matter now seem to be somewhat dated even though it is still very relevant.

This is a watchable movie thanks to several good performances. Rajesh Khanna looked slim and trim and was disarmingly good. He was paired with Mumtaz who as usual was very appealing. But it was Om Prakash who nearly stole the show in the role of a vicious wolf disguised as a god loving and charitable “lamb” of a person.

I read that the little nephew of Rajesh Khanna in the film actually was Sridevi as a child artiste. This must be some mistake. The “boy” has no resemblance to Sridevi what so ever.

RD’s music proved to be a big asset for the film. My personal best is the song “Kajra Laga Ke”. The tune and the way the song was molded appeared to me borrowed by RD from his dad’s 1971 hit song “Hey Maine Qasam Lee” from “Tere Mere Sapne”. That song was done by Lataji and Kishoreda, as is this song. A note about the part 2 of “Sunn Champa”. It is a one-line song, not different from the part 1 of the song. The only difference is that the part 2 version is preceded by some music.

I am uploading these and other songs from the film and a few instrumentals in three back-to-back posts. Here are the songs in the first post…

[swarapriya]

Concluding Songs from "Apna Desh (1972)"...

Here are rest of the songs from this popular album...

[swarapriya]

Instrumentals of Songs from "Apna Desh (1972)"...

Here are a few instrumentals of the songs from this film...

[swarapriya]

(Hasrat Jaipuri) Suraj (1966) - Post 1 - Songs from the Film

This lackluster routine period drama had two things going for it. There are a few spectacular dazzling dances by its beautiful heroine, Vyjayanthi Mala. The other thing is the great music by the bubbly and effervescent music director duo Shankar & Jaikishan. The movie became a huge hit thanks to them.

Mumtaz appeared in yet another insignificant role as a companion to the princess. Her turn to explode as an actress to reckon with is still a few years away but she was destined to make her mark. The movie could have made crispier by eliminating worthless comedy involving Johnny Walker, Agha, and Mukri. Their antics dominated much of the screen time and yet their scenes were not even funny.

All songs from the film became hugely popular. This was the movie in which S&J introduced Sharda as a singer. She had two solos and both of them were hits.

There are three songs from this film that are my favorites. One is Rafi Saab’s duet with Asha, “Kaise Samjhaaoon” and the other two are Rafi Saab’s solos “Bahaaro” and “Chehre Pe”. Of these three “Bahaaro” is such a great pleasure. I just do not get enough by tirelessly listening to this over and over again. God Bless Your Soul, Rafi Saab!

“Bahaaro” probably is one of the best romantic songs written, composed, and sang. Filmfare Awards were given to Hasrat Jaipuri for its rich lyrics and to Rafi Saab for so deliciously singing the song. S&J grabbed yet another Filmfare Award as the Music Directors of the film. They were assisted by Dattaram & Sebastian.

The song “Bahaaro” has been a perennial favorite with all the budding musicians. It was literally played by hundreds of instrumentalists using various instruments. I am uploading several of these here.

I am uploading all songs from the film, a couple of specials, and a whole bunch of instrumentals in six back-to-back posts. Here are the songs in the first post…

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Nov 7 2018, 07:04 PM

[swarapriya]

Suraj (1966) - Post 2 - Concluding Songs from the Film & Instrumentals on Flute

Here are the rest of the songs from this popular musical and a few instrumentals on the flute...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Nov 7 2018, 07:05 PM

[swarapriya]

Suraj (1966) - Post 3 - Instrumentals on Guitar

Here are a few instrumentals of the song "Bahaaro" on various guitars...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Nov 7 2018, 07:05 PM

[swarapriya]

Suraj (1966) - Post 4 - Instrumentals on Keyboard

Here are a few instrumentals of the song "Bahaaro" on various keyboards...

[swarapriya]

Suraj (1966) - Post 5 - Instrumentals on Saxophone

Here are a few instrumentals of the song "Bahaaro" on saxophone...

[swarapriya]

Suraj (1966) - Post 6 - Songs on Various Instruments

Here are a few instrumentals of the songs from the film on various instruments...

[swarapriya]

(Majrooh) Pardesi (1970)

This predictable story had some life thanks to a good performance by the beautiful Mumtaz and a few good songs composed by Chitraguptji. It has been many moons ago (December 4, 2017) last we heard his songs in this column. Here are all the songs from the film…

[swarapriya]

(Rajinder Krishan) Nai Roshni (1967)

Director Srdihar (“Nazrana (1961)”, “Dil Ek Mandir (1963)”, “Pyar Kiye Jaa (1966)”) made better movies than this kludge of a family drama. He put together a good set of actors but major characters in the movie were ill defined. But one thing redeems this movie. The combination of Ravi, Rajinder Krishan, and Rafi Saab deliver songs that will be remembered for ages. Rafi Saab’s four solos give a glimpse of why he was one of the greatest singers of our time. Ravi composed all these songs to touchingly moving great lyrics by Rajinder Krishanji. There are other songs that are also very good. Of them one of my favorites is Asha’s “Yeh Tohfa”. Asha is simply scintillating in singing this beautiful song.

The movie title credits show Krishna Kalle as one of the playback singers. I could only think of the snippet “Gamya” as a possibility. Perhaps a full version of this song exists. There is another snippet “Aakhir” that has a male voice singing it. It was picturized on Raaj Kumar. I do not believe Rafi Saab was the singer. I had a feeling that actor Raaj Kumar may have lent his voice. I invite experts to clarify who the correct singers for these two snippets are. Thank you.

I am uploading these and other songs from the film in two back-to-back posts. Here are the songs in the first post…

[swarapriya]

Concluding Songs from "Nai Roshni (1967)"...

Here are the rest of thr songs from this fine album...

[swarapriya]

(Shailendra) Guide (1965)

"Guide" was undoubtedly a pinnacle of achievement for Anand Brothers, Dev and Vijay. It has a fascinating history behind how a bestselling novel transformed into a fabulous movie. Dev Anand read R.K. Narayan's novel "The Guide" and decided to make it into a movie. Even though Narayan initially refused, Dev, a master of persuasion convinced the author to allow him to make the novel into a movie.

Convinced that the novel has the universal appeal, Dev next set his eyes on making this in Hindi as well as English. He was able to find the Nobel laureate author Pearl S. Buck (for her work "Good Earth") to coproduce with him. Next he chose Waheeda Rehman to be his heroine. Initially Waheeda was hesitant to play the role. Mainly because the movie dealt with adultery and playing that role she thought may prove to be committing a professional suicide. Again Dev used his charm and persuading power to win Waheeda over to accept the role.

Dev hired Ted Danielwski, a Hollywood man, to direct the English version. Dev wanted Vijay, his younger brother, to direct the Hindi version. But Vijay refused the offer thinking that the movie if made would ruin the image of India abroad. Dev went back to Vijay after making more arrangements for the movie. Vijay refused again stating the same reasons. By this time English version went into production. Never to give up, convinced it should be Vijay who should be handling the Hindi version of the movie, Dev went back to Vijay and persuaded him to change his mind. Third time was charm for Dev and his perseverance finally paid off. Vijay consented to direct the movie independent of the English version.

At nobody’s surprise Burmanda was signed to compose music for the Hindi version. Shailendra was assigned to pen the lyrics. Vijay wrote the screenplay and dialogues for the Hindi version. He also edited the movie. While the preparations for Hindi version were going on, Dev spent considerable energy to finish the English version first. That he did.

Dev had high hopes on the English version. But it was a resounding flop. Disappointed but undeterred Dev was determined even more so to continue with the Hindi version.

The novelist R.K. Narayan, on whose novel the movie was based, saw the script Vijay wrote and decided to disown the entire project. His main objection was that the screenplay was not completely true to his original work. Vijay's argument was that the changes were necessary to make some cinematic allowances. His point was that the story was written sometime back and was dated. To fit the existing atmosphere and maintain the continuity of the theme he felt that some changes were imminent.

The movie itself was bold in its theme by even today's (after 48 years) Indian movie standards. In the end when the movie was completed, this labor of love and hard work, “Guide”, was a huge hit. It was Dev's first color production. Burmanda's music was a rage. Every song was a marvel. Kishoreda had a duet with Lataji. But it was Lataji and Rafi Saab that took all the accolades. "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki", "Piya Tose Naina", and "Saiyya Beimaan (the superb tabla music was performed by Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma)" are melodious masterpieces with Burmanda's stamp all over them. Rafi Saab had three mesmerizing solos in "Dinn Dhal Jaaye", "Kya Se Kya Ho Gaya", and "Tere Mere Sapne." Burmanda had two great songs himself. One of his songs, “Wahaan Kaun Hai Tera (I am including the original Bengali version of this song, also sung by Burmanda, in the third post)", perfectly accentuates the mood of the film. Mannada also made a small contribution by singing one song.

"Guide" went on to win an unprecedented seven Filmfare awards for that year. The awards were for: Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Story, Best Dialogues, and Best Cinematography. One of the grave omission and unforgivable mistake by the award committee was not to recognize Burmanda for such wonderfully everlasting music. He richly deserved the award! Instead that award went to Shankar-Jaikishan duo for their efforts for the movie "Suraj", which also had some beautiful songs. But they were not in the same class as those composed by Burmanda for this film. If awards are a criterion for recognition, then for all the great music he created, Burmanda probably was the one least recognized. (Madan Mohan Ji was another one. But at least most of the movies for which Burmanda composed music were hits whereas several of Madan Mohan Saab’s movies did not fare well at the box office.)

The Hindi version of the movie “Guide” was an Oscar entry that year. The 1964 “Guide” was invited to participate for a screening at a recent Cannes Film Festival in the World Classic category. Even after this many years, what an honor! Here is another note. Dev, the indomitable spirit and the evergreen hero he was, hasn’t made a good movie in his last 30 or so years. But he continued to make movie after a movie each year and was seriously thinking of re-releasing the English version of the “Guide” before he passed away…

I am uploading songs from this film in eight back-to-back posts. The first two posts contain all songs from the film. The third post contains specials with introductions. The fourth post contains some of the version songs. Because of the enormous popularity of the songs from the film, it has inspired many budding as well as seasoned independent musicians to have the songs instrumentalized on their favorite instruments. I am uploading some of these in the last four posts.

The songs start beginning with the next post…

[swarapriya]

Guide (1965) - Post 1 - Songs

Here are the first set of songs from this film...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Nov 14 2018, 07:45 PM