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

[swarapriya]

Nagin (1954) - Post 3 (Instrumentals)

Here are some instrumentals of some of the popular songs from the film...

[swarapriya]

Nagin (1954) - Post 4 (Instrumentals)

Here are more instrumentals of some of the popular songs from this film...

[swarapriya]

Nagin (1954) - Post 5 (Instrumentals)

This final post has some more instrumentals of some of the popular songs from the film...

[swarapriya]

(Shailendra) New Delhi (1956)

Here is another beautiful album from Shankar & Jaikishan. Even though the movie is dated yet there is no denying to the fact that it has an endearing story. Rajinder Singh Bedi’s touching humane story revolves around the theme of integration. It highlights that we should live peacefully in spite of our differences between our habits, different spoken languages, North versus South, one caste compared to the other, and other topics. These serious topics were told in an entertaining style. The net result was that this movie proved to be a crowd pleaser when it was originally released.

The album boasts beautiful songs, all solos, six by Lata and three by Kishoreda. All songs were winners with Lata's "Tum Sang" a chartbuster and so were all three of Kishoreda's songs. My favorite from this album is Kishoreda's beauty, "Nakhrewaali". I don't think anyone else can sing such a song except for Kishoreda. Yodeling, inflections of sounds, modulation of the tone, such total control over the voice, Kishoreda was undoubtedly a master of it.

I am uploading all songs from an original soundtrack album in two back-to-back posts. Here is the first set of songs…

[swarapriya]

Concluding Songs from "New Delhi (1956)"...

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

[swarapriya]

(Shakeel) Mughal-E-Azam (1960)

"Mughal-E-Azam" was probably the most magnificent movie ever to adorn an Indian screen. Every scene of this movie exudes excellence, commitment, compassion, and myriad colors of opulence. Made with such care and love of art and craft, it stood the test of time like the blissful beauty in the center of this movie, the ever enchanting late great Madhubala.

Here are some of the facts surrounding this movie (some of the following material is borrowed from our fellow member Saksham Sharma’s write up)…

K. Asif, the producer and director of the movie, originally wanted to make the movie in mid-40 with Nargis as Anrakali, Chandramohan as Salim, and Sapru as Akbar. The plans were abandoned when Chandramohan died and most of the actors hired to star in the movie migrated to Pakistan after the partition.

The movie was in production for nearly a decade.

It was the costliest movie ever made until that time.

Dilip was sent to London to model so that he can get the best fit of the wig they ordered for his role.

Asif Saab originally planned to film the movie in color. But with unusual length the movie was taking to undergo production because of the detailed preparations, he has to bow to the pressures of the financiers and distributors and has to shoot the movie in black & white. A couple of songs and the climax were shot in color. But nearly 85% of the movie was in black & white.

Asifji oversaw every detail of the movie.

Costumes were tailored by Delhi-based professionals.

For embroidery, folks from Surat were employed.

Jewelry was made by the goldsmiths from Hyderabad.

Kolhapur craftsmen took care of the designs of the crowns.

Weapons used in the film were made by Rajasthani ironsmiths.

To design authentic looking footwear Asif utilized the talents of folks from Agra.

The magnificent Mughal Darbar was built by 150 carpenters, many decorators, and several painters.

Battle scenes were staged elaborately with thousands in cast. Many of the soldiers used in these scenes came from the Indian Army’s Jaipur regiment. Nearly 8,000 troops were used. They also used 4,000 horses and 2,000 camels. R.D. Mathur, who photographed the movie, used eight different cameras to capture the battle scenes.

Madhubala wore real chains for her prison scenes. Because of their weight and the strain and duress caused by them, plus the health problems she was having, she has to nurse her bruises for days before returning to the shooting again.

Dilip Kumar was at odds with the director when Asif Saab told him the top billing will be given to Prithviraj Kapoor as the movie was told from his point of view. The situation aggravated when Dilip learned as the movie was progressing that his younger sister who was a frequent visitor to the shooting was having an affair with Asif. An outraged Dilip stopped talking to Asif even though he cooperated in finishing his acting assignment.

The movie was dubbed into Tamil and English. Both versions were flops.

The song “Pyaar Kiya” was actually shot in the Sheesh Mahal palace for a huge cost.

Music director Naushadji worked with the lyricist Shakeel Badayuni Saab many grueling hours that turned into days to get the right effect for the song “Pyaar Kiya”. By one estimate, the lyrics and the music were changed over 100 times before everyone was satisfied with the results.

Rafi Saab’s “Zindabad” song had a chorus of 100 singers accompanying him in the song.

Many songs were composed for the film by Naushad Saab. But not all of them were used in the film. By one estimate, Naushadji may have composed as many as 20 songs for the film.

Bade Ghulam Ali Saab sang two songs for the film. Initially when approached by Naushadji and Asif Saab, Ali Saab declined to sing. The story goes that Ali Saab demanded nearly 100 times the remuneration of other playback singers were getting those days to sing. He thought this would get rid of Asif Saab. However, Asif Saab agreed and paid the remuneration demanded.

The movie was released and became a roaring success and broke every box-office record of those days.

Critics were all praise for the movie. However, Dilip’s performance was heavily criticized as most thought he could have done better.

The movie received six Filmfare nominations in the categories of the Best Picture, the Best Director, the Best Actress, the Best Music, the Best Dialogues, and the Best Cinematography. It won the awards for the Best Picture, the Best Dialogues, and the Best Cinematography.

Asifji refused to accept the award for Best Picture as he was very upset that his film deserved better recognition with more awards and because the judges turned a cold shoulder towards it.

Most personalities associated with this movie have passed away. (The two living legends are Dilip Kumar Saab and Lataji.) That the legacy these folks left behind stood the test of time is evident when this movie was colorized and re-released in 2004 and became a success.

Naushadji composed memorable and beautiful songs to the lyrics penned by Shakeel Badayuni Saab. Like the legend of "Anarkali" they still stay youthful with overflow of conviction of love.

All songs I am uploading here in two back-to-back posts are from an original soundtrack album and a DVD. I will upload these starting in the next post…

[swarapriya]

Mughal-E-Azam (1960) - Post 1 (Songs)

I am uploading songs from this beautiful album in two back-to-back posts. Here is the first set...

[swarapriya]

Mughal-E-Azam (1960) - Post 2 (Songs)

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

[swarapriya]

(Anand Bakshi) Dil Se Mile Dil (1965)

I do not have a single song from this album. I am requesting members to share any songs from this film they may have. Many thanks...

[swarapriya]

(Hasrat Jaipuri) Chori Chori (1956)

Songs from this film were recently uploaded in this very thread. They are available starting at the following location...

http://www.hamaraforums.com/index.php?show...4658&st=665

[swarapriya]

(Javed Akhtar) 1942 - A Love Story (1994)

Producer & director Vidhu Vinod Chopra originally had Madhuri Dixit in mind when he developed the story for this film. But because of other commitments Dixit was not readily available. The role went to Manisha who was a relatively newcomer to the industry. When the movie was released her looks and performance won the hearts over of movie going public. She became an established actress.

This was the first movie that was shot in Dolby stereo. This was also the first movie to show the leading pair kissing each other. That earned it U/A certificate from the censors.

But most of all the movie will be remembered for its mesmerizingly mellifluous music. This movie was a crowning achievement of R.D. Burman’s genius as a music director. Burmanda passed away before the movie was released but he left an indelible mark with songs that will be remembered for ages. All songs from the film were massive hits. Javed Akhtar Saab who wrote the lyrics was simply brilliant in his penmanship.

The movie was nominated for several Filmfare Awards. Jackie Shroff won the Best Supporting Actor Award. It was Burmanda for the Best Music Award. Akhtar Saab won the Best Lyrics Award for “Ek Ladki”. Kumar Sanu won the Best Male Playback Singer Award for the same song. Kavita Krishnamurthy won the Best Female Playback Singer Award for the song “Pyaar Hua”.

I am uploading these songs and some instrumentals of these popular songs in three back-to-back posts. Here is the first set…

[swarapriya]

Concluding Songs from "1942 - A Love Story (1994)"...

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

[swarapriya]

Instrumentals of Some Songs from "1942 - A Love Story (1994)"...

Here are some of the instrumentals of some of the popular songs from this film...

[swarapriya]

(Majrooh) Chalti ka Naam Gaadi (1958)

I do not understand how the tax related economics work but apparently Kishoreda to avoid huge amounts he owed in income taxes made a couple of movies, one in Bengali and the other in Hindi, hoping that they will flop. The Bengali version, “Lookochuri”, starring Kishoreda opposite Mala Sinha with Hemantda’s music made in 1958, instead clicked in a big way and became a hit. He also made in the same year, 1958, the Hindi film, “Chalti ka Naam Gaadi”. As luck would have it, the Hindi film also was a huge hit.

A disgusted Kishoreda ceded all his rights to the movie, “Gaadi”, by gifting them to his secretary friend, Anoop Sharma. Kishoreda and his problem with income tax officers persisted till his death.

Aloke Dasgupta was the cameraman of the “Gaadi”. He was only 23 years old when he was put in charge by Kishoreda to photograph the movie. Dasgupta also played another important role. As Kishoreda’s romance with Madhubala started progressing, he became the couple’s confidante.

Kishoreda originally signed Kamal Mazumdar to direct both “Lookochuri” and “Gaadi”. But Mazumdar became nervous on the first day of the shoot of the “Gaadi” movie. Directing three brothers he felt was a daunting task and decided not to proceed. Satyen Bose was a friend of Kishoreda who directed him and Ashok in their previous movie together, “Bandi (1957)”. At Kishore’s request, Bose came in to direct the first scene even before knowing what he was getting into.

Satyen Bose was not happy with the choice of the cameraman because of Aloke’s lack of experience. The picturization of “Ek Ladki” was a test case for Aloke. After the shooting of the song was completed, Bose was happy with the results, and Aloke stayed as the cameraman.

When the movie was released it became a huge hit. Its songs became a rage. The duet, “Haal Kaisa Hai”, went on to adorn Binaca Geetmala’s weekly top of the charts for more than a year. My own favorite is Kishoreda’s solo “Ek Ladki”. Apparently the song was inspired by Tennesse Ernie’s English song from his album “16 Tons”. Both Jaidev and RD were assistants to SD.

I am uploading songs from this album in three back-to-back posts. The first post contains all of the songs from the film. The second post contains some specials. The third post contains some of the instrumentals of some of the popular songs from the film. These start beginning in the next post…

[swarapriya]

Chalti ka Naam Gaadi (1958) - Post 1 (Songs)

Here are all the songs from this beautiful album...