Hi All Geetaji fans,

I stumbled upon this article when I came to know of another forum.
This article was originally published in a Marathi book. This has been translated into English by this great user (Milind) for the benefit of all. Many many thanks to his great efforts.

Its a long article so it will be published in 4 parts.

I hope we all can enjoy it.

Best Regards
Parag

About the book and the author :

The name of the book is "Geet-yatree" by the late Shri Madhav Moholkar. This book is in Marathi. In fact the book is a collection of articles which had originally appeared over a period 10-15 years in various Marathi literary ( not film ) magazines.

They were later collected and published in book form. The author, the late Shri Madhav Moholkar, was not a professional film critic but a Professor of Hindi, in love with Hindi films and film music especially of the period he grew up in.

The writing is more aneccdotal in form without being egotistic or pushing the 'I' too much. They are not typical biographical articles either , which tend to be - born on ***, educated ***, list of songs/filmography, etc.

The writing tends much more towards the literary style rather than the gossipy one, a rarity in popular writing about films ( not technical books/course material about film appreciation, acting, direction et al.).

Tum hi kaho karenge kya yaad jo humko aaoge (Part-1)


I saw and heard Geeta for the last time on the night of 'Yaad-e-Shakeel'.I little imagined then that it was to be her final concert in my life.I'd previously heard her sing in 4-5 programmes. She always sang with great feeling, whether it was a heart-rending song or a flighty, light-hearted one.At Yaad-e-Shakeel, apart from Geeta many others sang - Rafi, Mukesh, Mahendra Kapoor, Ravi, Chandru... But the queen of the night was, undoubtedly,Lata.Everyone's attention was centred on her. Most of the audience was eager to hear her sing.

On the stage, everyone danced attendance on her.When she was to sing the musicians would be alert, the music director would stand and conduct the orchestra.She'd come and sing like an empress.For Geeta there was no orchestra, no one on stage bustling about, no thunderous welcoming applause.She slowly walked onto the stage, pulled up a harmonium and started to sing.Slightly disarranged hair, sad face, eyes filled with pathos - she'd intermittently shut them while singing - and that huge Shanmukhanand Hall filled with her extra-ordinary, sad voice:

'Aankhon mein noor, dil mein ujale nahin rahein
jalwe wohi hain, dekhnewale nahin rahein '

Geeta poured her soul into the song but I wonder how many hearts that non-film ghazal of Shakeel's touched that night. For there were no cries of 'Once more' as there had been for Lata and Rafi.Looking at her, she didn't seem to be singing for anyone but herself.In the same pathos-laden voice and with eyes shut, she started singing another one of Shakeel's songs :
'Koi door se awaaz de, chale aao..., chale aao...'

For a second, it didn't sem to be a human voice at all.It was the cry of a tormented soul roaming the skies.Geeta never could sing with her throat.It was her soul that sang.Those words coming from the depths of the unknown : 'Chale aao...chale aao...'
Who was calling her from afar?

After that I never saw her again.But one night,having dozed off while lying in the dark listening to the radio, I woke up with a start.The radio was still playing and in the dark I could hear Geeta sing :
'Koi chupke se aake, sapne sulake, mujhko jagake bole
ke main aa raha hoon...'

It'd been ages since I'd heard a new song of Geeta's.It felt as if my past had returned. Perhaps the hope tha Geeta was living on would be fulfilled after all.Who could say? Hadn't a miracle happened in Kishore Kumar's case.Geeta had said : Everyone ran after Kishore Kumar once two of his songs from Aradhana became hits, otherwise it was only Burmandada (S.D.) who had any time for him? If two of my songs become hits, it might be the same with me.

It was not to be.Miracles don't happen in everyone's life.One day, with great determination, she broke all the bonds, not just to the film world but to the real one as well.Leaving behind for us :
'Ek din hamko yaad karoge...'

The same emotive voice...I was running to school one hot and sunny morning.I'd barely reached McConkey Chowk when, from behind, came the words :
'Tadpoge, fariyaad karoge,
ek din hamko yaad karoge...'

I quietly turned back and went and stood outside Usmania restaurant.The first time I received a caning from the Headmaster for being late to school was for Geeta Roy.Before classes commenced, we'd shut the classroom doors and sing in chorus the songs of those days...'Ek din hamko yaad karoge'.No one who sang in that chorus will have forgotten Geeta in the hurly-burly of dreary, routine existence.To forget her is to forget one's own past, to forget oneself.Had I known she would depart so suddenly, I'd have reminded her of her song from Savera :
'Aankhon se door jaake bhi dil se na jaane paoge
tum hi kaho karenge kya yaad jo hamko aaoge'

Geeta didn't have to plead with anyone to get a chance to sing in films.Her magical voice brought the film world to her doorstep.One day as she was singing in her house, a noted music director of that time, Shri Hanuman Prasad was walking down that street.Hearing her voice, he could go no further.He turned back and found the house the song was emanating from.A slim, dark girl was sitting with her back to the door, singing, lost to the world.Impressed, Hanuman Prasad took her father's permission to use Geeta as a playback singer - and Geeta sang her first song in 'Bhakt Prahlad' under his baton.
The (then) young music director S.D.Burman, saw indications of his future success in that voice.His film 'Shikari' had had good songs but they hadn't become as popular as Naushad's songs from 'Ratan'.He was convinced that if this 15-16 year old girl was to sing for him, his songs would be hits. So, brushing aside the established singers of the era like Shamshad, Zohra, Rajkumari, & Ameerbai, he insisted on using Geeta's voice for 'Do Bhai', going to the extent of fighting with Filmistan's Rai Bahadur Chunilal, to do so.His confidence turned out to be fully justified.Geeta brought him unprecedented success.Her songs were on everyone's lips through the length and breadth of Hindustan :
'Mera sundar sapna beet gaya...
main prem mein sab kuch haar gayee, bedard zamana jeet gaya...
Mera sundar sapna beet gaya...'

A friend who was studying in a college in Lucknow at that time said that in those days even the 'kothas' of the 'tawaifs' would resonate with 'Mera sundar sapna beet gaya...' rather than the usual thumris and ghazals.
I liked a song of Rafi's from 'Do Bhai' : 'Duniya mein meri aaj andhera hi andhera...Bhagwan kahaan hai meri kismatka sitara...'. But Geeta's were the songs to achieve great popularity - 'Ek din hamko yaad karoge', 'Hamein chhod piya kis des gaye, piya lautke aana bhool gaye', and 'Mera sundar sapna beet gya'.Her incorrect short enunciation of the long 'bhoo' in 'piya laut ke aana bhool gaye' jarred, but, the prolonged 'bee' in 'Mera sundar sapna beet gaya' conveyed effectively and with great feeling the sadness, the distress at the fact that everything was ended,finished, , that it would never return."Sapna toot gaya' was common in film songs, but 'sapna beet gaya' had never been heard before or since.I was used to reading 'din beet gaya' but,even at that young age, I could appreciate the poetry in 'sapna beet gaya'.

The lyricist was Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, who'd come to Mumbai to become an actor, had even essayed a role in 'Aath Din'.But from 'Do Bhai' onwards he came to the fore as a lyricist.His touching verse must be given its due share of credit for the success of 'Do Bhai's music along with S.D.Burman's music and Geeta's singing.

Tum hi kaho karenge kya yaad jo humko aaoge (Part-2)



Ghulam Haider was the music director of the Dilip Kumar-Kamini Kaushal film ‘Shaheed’ in which Lalita Deolkar had sung ‘Bachpan ki yaad dheere dheere pyar ban gayee’, and Surinder Kaur had sung ‘Badnaam na ho jaye mohabbat ka fasana’, Hum tumko na payenge, tum humko na paoge’, and ‘Taqdeer ki aandhi aisi chali, kashti se kinara chhoot gaya’. But it was in Geeta’s voice that Raja Mehdi Ali Khan’s words found true expression:


‘Main do din ki mehmaan piya
mohe chhod chale hain pran piya, pranpiya
aaya gham ka ek toofan piya, pranpiya
hai deepak banker kaanp rahe hain pran hamare
main to bisaroon balma, mera dil na bisare'


To watch a dying Kamini Kaushal sing ‘hai deepak banker kaanp rahe hain pran hamare…’ in Geeta’s helpless tone was an agonising experience. She looks down from the balcony (or window?) at the funeral procession of her lover, a freedom-fighter who has given his life for the country, and collapses. Chandramohan was last seen in this film. If memory serves me right, Geeta also sang in Ghulam Haider’s ‘Majboor’. That film had one of Lata’s earliest songs ‘Ab darneki koi baat nahin, angrezi chhora chala gaya…’. I vaguely remember some discrete lines of Geeta’s songs – ‘meri bagiya mein phool khile’, ‘jab nain se nain mile’, ‘main to rah gayee aaj akeli re…’

Apart from Ghulam Haider, among the earlier generation of music directors, Geeta also sang in Shyamsundar’s ‘Actress’, which starred Rehana and Shyam.Rehana later went to Pakistan and the handsome Shyam fell from a horse while shooting for ‘Shabistan’ and died. I remember three songs from ‘Actress’ – First Rafi’s ‘Ai dil meri aahon mein itna to asar aaye, jab aankh khule unki tasveer nazar aaye’, second, the Rafi-Shamshad duet ‘Dheere dheere bol, bol mohabbatwale bol’, and third, the Shamshad –Geeta duet


‘Aankhon aankhon mein dil se dil ki baatein keh gaye…’
Hum tadapte hain ke armaan dil ke dil mein rah gaye…’


Shamshad’s, the joyful voice of a woman whose eyes have conveyed her love, while Geeta’s had all the pathos of one whose feelings remained unsaid.

Khemchand Prakash’s ‘Jaanpehchaan’ had songs by Geeta, Talat and Shankar Dasgupta. I saw that film many times.Not just the songs, even the background music of ‘Jaanpehchaan’ was wonderful.The film itself, however, was over-romantic, unrealistic, and filled with inconsistencies.But I was at an age when any reason would suffice to see a film over and over again – a song, a particular scene, dialogues, background music, dances…Talat-Geeta’s sweet duet was on my lips for a long time:


“Armaanbhare dil ki lagan tere liye hain
Nagari mere jeevan ki sajan tere liye hai…
Loota hai mere dil ne mohabbat ka khazana
Jo teri kahani hai wohi mera fasana
Ye phool, ye khushboo, ye chaman tere liye hai…
Ye chand, ye dharti, ye gagan tere liye hai…”


Hazy memories of many songs play around in my mind. I feel they’re related to Geeta…but it’s difficult to be certain. ‘Door se ek pardesi aaya, poochho kya kya laya’ was one of Geeta’s songs from that era which I used to like a lot. I can still remember the tune. But which film was it from? Was it Geeta who sang with Rafi the duet ‘Kyon karta maan jawani ka, tu ek bulbula paani ka’ in Husnlal-Bhagatram’s ‘Naach’? Sometimes I remember ‘Tera kaaton se hai pyar, tera kaaton se…’- was it a Rafi-Geeta duet from Anil Biswas-C.Ramchandra’s ‘Girls’ School’? Was one stanza in ‘Kya bataoon mohabbat hai kya’ from Shankar-Jaikishan’s ‘Parbat’ sung by Geeta?

My old like-minded friends are no longer around to answer these questions.

I would grieve over meaningless things which seemed, then, to matter far more than the everyday troubles of real life. Why doesn’t Naushad give Geeta Roy 12-14 songs in a music-oriented film? He’d done it time and again for many singers keeping in mind the characteristics and limitations of their voices.Those songs, those singers never faded from people’s memories. Saigal, Surendra, Umadevi, Talat, Mukesh, Rafi, Lata…Geeta should have figured on that list.If only Geeta had sung in at least one of Naushad’s films…A doubt rears its head sometimes: One stanza of Suraiya-Shyamkumar’s ‘Tu mera chand main teri chandni’ from “Dillagi” is picturised on a little girl on a swing.Her voice resembled Geeta’s.Was it Geeta’s?
Basically Geeta had a typical Bengali voice, born to sing soulful songs in Bengali tunes. .Playback singing converted it into a multi-coloured rainbow.Once, when I was newly acquainted with Geeta’s voice, I was fooled.

I heard Madan Mohan’s ‘Mori atariya pe kagaa bole’ from ‘Aankhen’ and was convinced that it was sung by Geeta.But when, immediately afterwards I heard “Humein chhod piya kis des gaye’ which was on the other side of the record, I realized my mistake.’Mori atariya pe’ was definitely not Geeta’s voice though there was some resemblance.The singer was Meena Kapoor.She had a decent voice but blunt as compared to Geeta’s.The same was the case with Sandhya Mukherjee.Geeta Roy’s voice was sharp and ‘shiny’. In the words of the poet Grace ‘…the silken, gleaming knife blade of Geeta Roy’s voice…’so sharp and fine that it could effortlessly pierce one’s heart. I can’t say why but the stanza ‘har raat meri Diwali thi, main piya ki honewali thi’ from ‘Mera sundar sapna beet gaya’ creates the illusion of Ameerbai Karnataki.

In the early stages of her career, only Geeta’s sad songs used to be heard everywhere.A voice that spoke of the pain and hopelessness of life.It seemed to be a limitation of that voice. It seemed that she would keep singing the same sort of songs. Of course, every singer has limitations. I still remember that when I was young I felt that Talat was singing the same song again and again.Would the same happen with Geeta? ‘Mera sundar sapna beet gaya’, ‘Ek din humko yaad karoge’, and ‘Piya lautke aana bhool gaye’ from ‘Do Bhai’ were essentially of the same type.It seemed that Geeta would keep singing within this limited perimeter.But Geeta was to prove everybody wrong!

There was a Muslim boy in my school who used to wear a bright red shirt, white trousers, and a green handkerchief around his neck.When he spoke of someone with affection he’d call him ‘salaa’. About Geeta he’d complain,”Saali gaati acchha hai par roti bahut hai”. He was a great fan of Shamshad Begum and Zohra and was very fond of Zohra’s songs like ‘Saamnewali gali mein mera ghar hai, pataa mera bhool na jaana’, ‘Mere jobana ka dekho ubhaar’, ‘Mera husn lootne aaya albela’. When Shamshad gave jhatkas on words like ‘wui ma’, ‘hai daiyya’, ‘hai ram’, he’d put his hands on his heart and exclaim “hai, hai”! On hearing Chitalkar’s ‘Jawani ki rail chali jaaye re’ he’d lose all self-control and emit ear-splitting whistles. Once he came running to my class during recess, grabed my wrist and said “Chal”. Without bothering to answer my “Where?” he dragged me to Jikriya restaurant and told the man at the counter, “Woh naya record lagao!” Well pleased with the confused expression on my face as I listened to the song, he said,”Abe saaley, ye wohi hai teri ronewaali!”

Geeta was singing in a seductive voice – Time is rapidly passing, love and beauty are transient.Youth is short, laugh and enjoy it.

“Husn bhi faani aur ishq bhi faani hai
hanske bitaale, do ghadi ki jawani hai
o re jeenewaale, o re bholebhaale, sona na, khona na
suno gajar kya gaaye, samay gujarta jaaye…”

It was hard to believe that this was the same Geeta who’d sung ‘Ek din humko yaad karoge’ and ‘Mera sundar sapna beet gaya’. This was the start of a new era in Geeta’s career.Her voice acquired a heady, intoxicating quality. It became increasingly apparent that Geeta’s voice was alluring, provocative, sensual.The same S.D.Burman who had recognized the pain in Geeta’s voice and given her sad songs in ‘Do Bhai’ recognized her sensuality and gave her the club dancer’s songs in ‘Baazi’. But the one who later made full use of the sex-appeal in her voice was O.P.Nayyar. Geeta’s intoxicating voice often reminds me of Neeraj’s lines: ‘Shokhiyon mein ghola jaaye phoolon ka shabab, usmein phir milayee jaaye thodisi sharab…’

Tum hi kaho karenge kya yaad jo humko aaoge (Part-3)


She was a little younger than Lata.Both arrived on the scene at about the same time. Yet, unlike Lata, right from the start Geeta seemed to be in full bloom. The voices of Zohra, Shamshad, Rajkumari, Ameerbai, Noorjehan, Suraiya, and Surinder Kaur were the mature voices of women.Geeta’s voice, too, was that of a young woman.In Lata, for the first time, was heard the sweet, coaxing, tender voice of a girl.That voice so bewitched everyone that the few new female voices that entered films thereafter were of the same type – Suman Hemmady, Asha Bhosle, Sudha Malhotra, Madhubala Jhaveri, Hemlata, Sulakshana Pandit…Asha’s voice had Shamshad’s sharpness and Geeta’s allure but the type was that of Lata.After all these years Lata’s voice still sounds like a girl’s: smoother and more polished now, with the passage of time, but having lost its earlier softness and vulnerability.

Lata ruled our hearts for years but our love for Geeta never lessened, such was the enchantment of her eternally youthful voice. Lata was sugar, Geeta, sometimes sweet and sometimes spicy. Her voice wasn’t flat; it had depth. Compared to Lata’s it was multi-dimensional. It was changeable, flexible; with the ability to assume any form.Geeta sang ‘Baat chalat nayee chunari rang dali…’ so well that if she hadn’t entered films she could have become a singer to rival Lakshmishankar. Was classical music the true form of her voice? But then she’d suddenly become a ‘Jogan’ and sing ‘Main to giridhar ke ghar jaaon…’
Who wrote that sublime story of a Yogini and the discontented, atheistic young man who created ripples in her quiet life? As I recollect, the film’s credits had a question mark after ‘Story’. Many say that the story of ‘Jogan’ was written by Sardar Chandulal Shah. Dilip Kumar and Nargis’ scenes are still imprinted on my mind. Bulo C.Rani’s music served to enhance the intensity of the film.I liked Talat’s ‘Sundarta ke sabhi shikari, koi nahin hai pujari…’ but the atmosphere of the entire film was permeated with Geeta’s voice.Eyes filled with the kohl of dark clouds and the heart with their thunder…

‘Zara tham ja tu ai sawan…
Mere sajan ko aane de...aane de…aane de…’

I used to like Juthika Roy as a bhajan singer.But her voice tended to sound monotonous. The first time in my life that I was overcome with emotion was when I heard Kabir and Meera in Geeta’s voice.In ‘Jogan’ Geeta’s voice was ethereal, glowing with the touch of the divine, with a mystical spiritual force.

‘Main to Giridhar ke ghar jaaoon
Giridhar mharo sacho preetam
Dekhat roop lubhaooon…’

Her singing was a revelation of the sweetness of love and worship.The eternal love of Meera and Krishna…without him there was not a moment of peace for her:
‘Meri unki preet purani
Un bin kal na paoon…
Main to Giridhar ke ghar jaaoon…’

Geeta had submerged herself in Meera’s ‘sagun’ worship.With equal ease and devotion she sang Kabir’s mystical ‘nirgun’ song:
‘Suney mandir, suney mandir diya jalake
Asan se mat dol re, tohe piya milenge…’

Singing these lines, she created an illusion of the forlorn emptiness of an ancient, vast, cavernous, deserted temple.Bulo C.Rani’s mastery of his craft is shown in his use of not just the sitar but the veena too, as accompaniment.The strings of the sitar dance softly in ‘Main to giridhar ke ghar jaaoon’; in ‘Mat ja, mat ja…’ their solemn resonance creates an atmosphere of frightening silence, of a great tragedy which has just happened before our very eyes. The heart-rending echoes of Geeta’s ‘Jogi’ would pierce the soul, bring tears to the eye.

‘Prem-bhakti ko panth hi nyaaro, humko gail bata ja
Jogi, humko gail bata ja
Chandan ki main chita rachaoon, apne haath jala ja
Mat ja, mat ja, jogi, paon padoon main tore’

This was the destiny of ‘prem-bhakti’! ‘I’ve burnt to ashes. At least anoint yourself with my ash before leaving.’ Those pleas were to fall on deaf ears.He would not remain.Neither did Geeta.

Nargis starred in ‘Jogan’ and Madhubala in ‘Sangdil’.She was a ‘Devdasi’ forbidden to marry.But the suffering, besotted youth in both films was the same – Dilip Kumar. He ‘lived’ both the roles. In ‘Sangdil’ as in ‘Jogan’, the Devdasi sang in Geeta’s voice:
‘Darshan pyaasi aai dasi, jagmag deep jalaye…’

‘Darshan pyasi’ Geeta, in ‘Pyaasa’ thirsts, at a spiritual level, for the embrace of her beloved:
‘Aaj sajan mohe ang lagalo, janam safal ho jaaye
Hriday ki peeda, deh ki agni, sab sheetal ho jaaye…’

Again and again I wonder: Which was the real Geeta? The yogini in white, ektaari in hand, completely immersed in devotion, or, the half-naked seductive, intoxicating vamp? The Geeta who introduces herself as ‘Mera naam Chin Chin Chu’ or the one singing ‘Jai Jagdish Hare’? The one who sings ‘Tora manwa kyon ghabraye re, lakh deen dukhiyaare praani jag mein mukti paaye Ramji ke dwar se’ to reassure the frightened, disturbed mortal standing at the temple door, or the Geeta encouraging him to write his destiny with his own hands: ‘Tadbeer se bigdi hui taqdeer bana le, apne pe bharosa hai to ye daav laga le’?
‘Tadbeer se bigdi hui taqdeer bana le’ brings back memories of the ‘Baazi’ days.Geeta’s and mine.Even at that time people would confuse tadbeer and taqdeer. ‘Tadbeer se bigdi hui taqdeer bana le’ or ‘Taqdeer se bigdi hui tadbeer bana le’? When Geeta passed away, all the papers mentioned this song but the confusion remained. One even printed it as ‘Taqdeer se bigdi hui tasveeer bana le’! Poor Sahir.

Club dancer Geeta Bali sings this song to encourage Dev Anand who has lost his all while gambling:
‘Darta hai zamane ki nigahon se bhala kyon
Insaaf tere saath hai, ilzaam utha le
Apne pe bharosa hai to ye daav laga le’

‘Baazi’ marked Sahir’s re-entry into films.He’d written this song in the form of a ghazal but Burman’s tune was western.This song of Geta’s became so popular that a wave of similar songs followed. Baazi created a new trend in film music.The credit for that goes, along with S.D.Burman, to Geeta’s multi-faceted voice.’Suno gajar kya gaaye’ from Baazi would create such tension –
‘Bichada zamana kabhi haath na aayega
Dosh na dena mujhe, phir pachtayega’

Geeta would lengthen the last syllable and give a slight jhatka on it. Geeta Bali’s dance on ‘Tip tip tip tip’ was attractive:
‘Dekh ke akeli mohe barkha sataye re
Gaalon ko chumey, kabhi cheetein udaaye re
Tip tip tip tip tip tip…’

Geeta’s naughty tone and Geeta Bali’s acting gelled wonderfully.
Baazi’s heroine Kalpana Kartik was neither beautiful nor an accomplished actress. Later, when we heard that Dev Anand had married her, we unanimously held Geeta responsible.In fact, at that time rumours were rife about Dev Anand and Suraiya’s romance.

In Baazi, Dev Anand came into Kalpana Kartik’s life and her heart started pounding.She expressed her happiness in Geeta’s voice:
‘Ye kaun aaya ki mere dil ki duniya mein bahar aayeeee’
Geeta’s voice, overflowing with joy, climbed higher and higher at‘eeee’.
‘Dulhan banke jawani ki umangein gungunati hai
Basa hai kaun aankhon mein ki aankhen muskurati hai
Bikharke kis ki baahon pe ye meri zulf lehrayee
Ye kaun aaya…’

The loving entreaty Geeta conveyed in her pronunciation of ‘baalam’ in the line ‘Tum bhi na bhoolo baalam, hum bhi na bhoolein’from ‘Lakh zamanewale dale dilon pe taalein’ touched the heart.With dreams in her eyes Kalpana poured her heart out to Dev in Geeta’s voice:
‘Dil ki kahani apni zubani, tumko sunane aayee hoon
Aankhon mein leke sapne suhane apna banane aayee hoon
Aaj ki raat piya dil na todo, man ki baat piya man lo
Aj ki raat piyaaaa…’

Geeta’s pleas were so sincere, so heartfelt that Dev was unable to break Kalpana’s heart.We used to laugh that Dev wouldn’t have married Kalpana had it not been for Geeta’s singing.
Baazi’s director was Guru Dutt.Was it because he stepped into Geeta’s life that she sang ‘Ye kaun aaya ki mere dil ki duniya mein bahar aayee’? Was it love which caused her to sing
‘Achanak ye mere haathon mein kis ka haath aaya hai
Na main janoon, na dil jaane, wo apna hai ya paraya hai…’?

And was she serenading him with ‘Man ki baat piya maan lo’? Only Geeta knows!
Then came Guru Dutt’s ‘Jaal’.Though it was Dev Anand, Geeta Bali and S.D.Burman’s film, it wasn’t fully Geeta’s. Lata sang ‘Ye raat ye chandni phir kahaan’ with Hemant Kumar but Geeta sang the light duet with Kishore Kumar.When Kishore sang ‘De bhi chuke hum dil nazrana’ Geeta would brush him off with ‘Chhodo ji ye raag purrana dil ka…’Geeta sang ‘purrana’ ( for purana ), ‘acchha’, ja ja’ with all the teasing allure that suited Geeta Bali right down to the ground.She also sang in a chorus song in Jaal:’Jor lagake haiya, pair jamake haiya…’

Geeta’s voice rarely conjures up images of Meena Kumari or Waheeda Rehman.The mind sees Kamini Kaushal or Geeta Bali.Geeta was heard in Guru Dutt-Geeta Bali’s ‘Baaz’ too, in her challenging
‘Zara saamne aa, zara aankh mila
Tera shukriya kar doon ada…’

Kishore Kumar would often repeat a line of a song at a higher pitch, e.g. in ‘Are bhai nikal ke aa gharse’ and ‘Apne labon pe dekho aaj bhi tarane hai-dan dar dan dar dan dar da’. In the song ‘Maazhi albele’ from Baaz, Geeta, too, has similarly sung the line ‘Man ki naiya dagmag dole’ at a higher pitch. In Guru Dutt-Geeta Bali’s ‘Sailaab’ there’s a Geeta song which transports one to a different plane:
‘Hai ye duniya kaunsi, ai dil mujhe kya ho gaya…’

When Shami Kapoor entered Geeta Bali’s life in ‘Coffee House’ she warned him in Geeta’s voice:
‘Is mehfil mein aana bachke…?’
And in Geeta Bali-Raj Kapoor’s ‘Bawre nain’ is the evergreen ‘Khayalon mein kisike is tarah aaya nahin karte’ which Geeta has sung (with Mukesh) for Vijayalakshmi.
Kamini Kaushal starred in ‘Do Bhai’, as she did in ‘Shagun’ in which she was paired with Dilip Kumar.Apprehensive that he might run away at night, unknown to him, she ties a rope to him and keeps the other end in her hand. As soon as he tries to tiptoe away at night, she pulls the rope, he stumbles and she asks him in Geeta’s voice:
‘Mera dil tadpake kahaan chala
Itna to batake ja…’

Shabnam also had a Geeta-Mukesh duet that spoke of the pain of separation:
‘Kismat mein bichadna tha, hui kyon unse mulaqat re…’
Na roothke humse ja, ki mera dil nahi mere pas re…’
Then swims before my eyes Kamini Kaushal’s innocent face singing ‘Tu kaun hai ye maaloom nahi, phir dil kyon tujhe bulata hai…’, and sometimes Bina Rai in Anarkali – ‘Aa jaane-e-wafa’, ‘Duniya ki nazar ishq ke kadamon pe jhuka de’.Geeta singing for Nirupa Roy in ‘Har har Mahadev’ – ‘Kankar kankar se main poochoon Shankar mera kahaan hai’, or asking with pleasurable anticipation ‘Gungun gungun karta bhanwara, tum kaun sandesa laaye’.
When Waheeda Rehman and Meena Kumari sang Geeta’s songs, she was no longer at the summit.Lata-Asha had overtaken her and Geeta was on the downslide. When Waheeda became ‘Chaudveen Ka Chand’, Geeta had been eclipsed to the point where she was not heard in Guru Dutt’s own film.

S.D.Burman was the music directorfor Guru Dutt’s ‘Baazi’ and ‘Jaal’; but for ‘Aarpaar’ came O.P.Nayyar. Nayyar made Geeta sing in her intoxicating tone for ‘Aarpaar’:
‘Haan bade dhoke hain is raah mein
Babuji dheere chalna, pyar mein jara sambhalna’
Asha Bhosle’s ‘Man more gaa jhoomke’ from Nayyar’s ‘Mangu’ which came later, reminded me of ‘Babuji dheere chalna’.Geeta’s ‘haaan’ and Asha’s ‘gaaa’ had the same kick.But Asha sometimes allowed her voice to sound a little cheap, or vulgar.This was never the case with Geeta.She was seductive, sensual ,yes, but never cheap. Her surrender in ‘Ye lo main hari piya, hui teri jeet re…’ when newly in love sounded very sweet. Nayyar’s ‘Aasman’ did not have the style of ‘Aarpaar’ but Geeta’s ‘Dekho jaadubhare tore nain’ and ‘Dil hai diwana’ were lovely.The music of Geeta’s ‘Pom pom baaja bole’ from the same film used to be played in Binaca Geet Mala.

Till Asha arrived on the scene, Nayyar’s songs were heard in Geeta’s voice. Sometimes she’d ask ‘Jaata kahaan hai deewane’ and sometimes relate her love story in ‘Aankhon hi aankhon mein ishaara ho gaya’. Sometimes she’d plead ‘Acchha ji maaf kar do’ or ‘Tumhi ne dard diya hai tumhi dawa dena’.’Thandi hawa kali ghata’ from Mr. & Mrs. 55 was popular but my favourite was ‘Preetam aan milo’.

In fact C.H.Atma’s Saigal-style rendition of ‘Preetam aan milo’was justly famous; but Geeta did not suffer in comparison. No one could forget the longing, the anguish in her ‘Preetam aan milo’. Lata-Asha lost to male singers, not Geeta.When the same song was sung by Lata/Asha and a male singer, their songs faded from memory while the male singer’s version became famous. Kishore’s ‘Jeevan ke safar mein rahi milte hai bichad jaane ko’ is far better known than Lata’s. Talat’s ‘Jaaye to jaaye kahaan’ eclipsed Lata’s version.His ‘Ae gham-e-dil kya karoon’ from Thokar is far better known than Asha’s. More such examples can be given. This never happened to Geeta. Her despairing ‘Kaise koi jiye, zeher hai zindagi’from ‘Badbaan’, set to music by Timir Baran and S.K.Pal, is remembered more than Hemant Kumar’s. Her ‘Hai ye duniya kaunsi ai dil mujhe kya ho gaya’ from ‘Sailab’ comes to mind far more than Hemant Kumar’s. Though Hemant Kumar has sung ‘Na ye chand hoga na taare rahenge’ as well as Geeta, it is Geeta’s that haunts us:
‘Nazar dhoondhati thi jise pa liya hai
Ummeedon ke phoolon se daman bhara hai
Ye din humko sab din se pyaare rahenge…’

This Geeta-Hemant Kumar duet from ‘Shart’ had entranced me at that time. It’s hard to believe that this soft, sentimental song was written by the same lyricist who wrote songs like ‘Kajra mohabbatwala, ankhiyon mein aisa dala, kajre ne le li meri jaan’ for O.P.Nayyar – S.H.Bihari. Even today, when I hear ‘Na ye chand hoga’ my mind is troubled by the memory of an unknown lover.

A piece of news I’d read long ago buried in the inner pages of a newspaper. A broken-hearted young man, unsuccessful in love, committed suicide by throwing himself in front of a train. In his pocket was found a piece of paper addressed to the girl he’d loved. It bore only the following lines:
‘Zamana agar kuch kahe bhi to kya
Magar tum na kehna humein bewafa
Tumhare liye hai, tumhare rahenge
Na ye chand hoga, na taare rahenge
Magar hum hamesha tumhare rahenge…’

Tum hi kaho karenge kya yaad jo humko aaoge (Part-4)



Then there was Geeta’s sweet love song with Hemant Kumar from ‘Shrimatiji’ – ‘Do naina tumhare pyare pyare, gagan ke tare karein ye ishaarein, dil dil se milayenge’. And the duet in ‘Hum Bhi Insaan Hai’ which she’d sung with Subir Sen, whose voice resembled Hemant Kumar’s, - ‘Gori tore natkhat naina, vaar karein, chhup jaayein...’
In Hemant Kumar’s ‘Sahib, Bibi Aur Ghulam’ ‘chhoti bahu’ Meena Kumari’s mute suffering found an outlet in Geeta’s voice – the poignant voice of a lonely woman who has waited long…far too long:

‘Jiya bujha bujha, naina thake thake…
Piya dheere dheere chale aao…
Koi door se awaaz de, chale aao…chale aao…chale aao…chale aao…’

Meena, adorning, anointing herself to win the love of her fickle, adulterous husband:

‘Piya aiso jiya mein samay gayo re
Ki main tan-man ki sudhbudh ganwaay baithee…
Har aahat pe samjhi wo aaye gayo re
Jhat ghunghat mein mukhda chhupa baithee…’

Meena realizing that even drinking alcohol at his behest has failed to stop him:

‘Na jao saiyan chhudake baiyan
Kasam tumhari main ro padoongi…’

In both the early and the latter parts of Geeta’s career the songs she recorded for S.D.Burman became popular.Her songs from ‘Pyaasa’ and ‘Kagaz Ke Phool’, both Guru Dutt films with music by S.D.Burman, could be heard everywhere.After all these years I still feel like humming Geeta’s song from Burman’s ‘Pyaar’ starring Raj Kapoor and Nargis. Nargis sings this song on her way to an assignation with raj:

‘Aa gayee re aa gayee
Banke ki ranee aa gayee’

Geeta’s voice brims with enthusiasm and ecstasy. Her dreamy tone said it all – ‘Wo sapnewali raat, milan ki raat kabhi to aayegi…’. As an aside, in ‘Pyaar’ Kishore gave playback for Raj Kapoor. He’d sung a sad song:’Mohabbat ka chhotasa aashiana, kisine banaya, kisine mitaya…’. In Burman’s ‘Sujata’ Geeta had sung ‘Bachpan ke din bhi kya din the’ (with Asha) and ‘Nanhi pari sone chali’. Her ‘Aan milo, aan milo’ from ‘Devdas’ was unforgettable. And Asha-Geeta’s conversational duet of two friends who’ve divined each other’s secret, written by Shailendra for ’Insaan Jaag Utha’:

‘Jaanu jaanu re kahe khanke hai tora kangana
Main bhi jaanu re chupke kaun aaya tore angana’

In ‘Pyaasa’ Waheeda sings as if to mesmerise Guru Dutt:

‘Jaane kya tune kahi, jaane kya maine suni
Baat kuch ban hi gayee…’

The allure, the solicitation in Geeta’s voice and Burman’s creativity in using Chinese blocks made this song distinctive.And Geeta’s mischievousness in her duet with Rafi – Rafi would ask ‘Hum aapki aankhon mein is dil ko basa de to’? To which Geeta would reply ‘Hum moond ke palkon ko is dil ko saja de to’? And the same Geeta entreating her beloved to shower her with love to soothe the ache in her heart, to quench the fire in her body:

‘Aaj sajan mohe ang laga lo…’

After ‘Pyaasa’ came ‘Kagaz Ke Phool’ – another lyrical film. Like ‘Pyaasa’, ‘Kagaz Ke Phool’ too was unforgettable.And even if one somehow managed, with great effort, to forget everything else about it, how could one forget Geeta’s

‘Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam
Tum rahe na tum, hum rahe na hum’

Two minds passionately drawn towards each other, yet unaware of what they seek, of their destination, knitting dreams with each breath…

‘Jaayenge kahaan soojhta nahin, chal pade magar rasta nahin
Kya talash hai kuch pata nahin
Bun rahein hai dil khwab dum-ba-dum
Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam…’


I was studying in college in 1953 when Geeta and Guru Dutt got married. I’d felt very happy when I’d read this news.Much later I’d told this to Shailendra while reminiscing about old times.Mischievously, while tapping the ash from his cigarette into the ash-tray, he’d remarked,”Begaani shaadi mein Abdullah diwana…’At that time I had the naïve idea that when two artistic souls came together their life was bound to be filled with happiness. What’s the point in searching for reasons? Whatever the causes, whether it was anyone’s fault or not, despite Geeta leading the life of a virtuous Indian wife, the marriage was not a happy one. Perhaps it was ordained by the stars in the skies? First came disagreements, then the arguments and quarrels, and finally a frightening, explosive silence…Guru Dutt, in a moment of weakness, took the easy way out of this suffering, leaving Geeta alone with her children in this pitiless world.

Her love story was over.And the music in her life? She’d already sacrificed that for love.Guru Dutt did not want his wife to continue working as a playback singer after marriage.He found it infuriating to come home tired from the studio and find Madam gone for a recording.For a while Geeta tried to walk the tightrope.She’d go for recordings but as evening fell, panic would grip her, causing her to lose control over ‘taal’ and ‘sur’.Finally, as always, she accepted defeat and fell in with her husband’s wishes.She stopped singing for any films other than his.After his death singing became a matter of financial necessity, but, by then the film world had shut its doors on her. Geeta’s days were over.Asha had taken her place.She had quit music for love and now was left with neither:

‘Meri premkahani khatam hui, mere jeevan ka sangeet gaya…
Mera sundar sapna beet gaya…’

I’d loved Geeta’s ‘Waqt ne kiya kya haseen sitam’ as one would love a flesh and blood human being.It was much later that I came to realize that not all the injustices of time are beautiful, or desirable.Geeta’s voice was the same, we were the same; but the world around us had , unknown to us, changed. I’d heard rumours about Geeta’s drinking but had refused to believe them.People say that when Meena was living the role of ‘Choti bahu’ in ‘Sahib,Bibi Aur Ghulam’ and Geeta was voicing her anguish, both were slowly falling prey to the demon drink.Again, what’s the point in looking for causes? The bottom-line is that Geeta, who promised us, ‘Na ye chand hoga, na taarein rahenge, magar hum hamesha tumhare rahenge’, left us half-way…
Geeta died on 20th July.

I learnt of her death the next day, from the newspapers. A concert of Juthika Roy was scheduled to be held at Birla Matushree Sabhagaar on 22nd July. I’d already purchased tickets for it. I hadn’t attended a programme of Juthika Roy’s in years, and, apart from her, Talat, Jagmohan and Surendra were to sing as well.When the entire assemblage stood up in silence to pay respects to Geeta I felt as if I’d found the right place to express my feelings. It’s often difficult to freely express our emotions about those whom we love.When Saigal died, the students of a college wanted to hold a condolence meeting but the Principal refused permission.Again and again they pleaded, saying,” We don’t want a holiday, we just want to express what we feel about Saigal.” Permission was denied. Undeterred, they gathered together with great determination, voiced their feelings about Saigal and then quietly dispersed to their classrooms.

Juthika Roy came onto the stage and started singing a bhajan of Meera’s:’Pag ghunghroo bandh Meera naachi re’. Once Geeta had sat there with her harmonium singing ‘Main to Giridhar ke ghar jaaoon’. Juthika was singing ‘Mat ja, mat ja, jogi’; but it was Geeta I could hear. Her favourite Bhairavi.The entire audience was clapping to the rhythm of Jagmohan’s ‘The spring is coming’ and my mind was echoing Geeta’s ‘Barkha ki raat mein he ha ho’ from ‘Sardar’ which he’d set to music. That day, Talat sang well but my mind was elsewhere. He was singing ‘Jhoome re’ and I was wondering: Which was that stormy duet of Talat-Geeta? How could I forget? And suddenly Shailendra came to mind.It was his song from ‘Anandmath’:’Kaise rokoge aise toofan ko’.Talat joining in before Geeta’s notes could fade and vice versa…Surendra came onto the stage. I used to know a duet he had sung with Geeta.Was it from ‘Meri Kahani’? ‘Har dil ko hai duniya mein dil ka sahara…’Surendra’s melancholy ‘Kyon yaad aa rahe hain gujare hue zamanein, dukhbhare fasanein, rote hue taranein’ touched a raw nerve. He was singing ‘Hum bhor ke diye hain, bujhte hi ja rahe hain’.

Saigal, Khemchand Prakash, Ghulam Haider, Shyamsundar passed away when the mind was still young and vulnerable. They were followed by Ghulam Mohammad, Husnlal, Shailendra, Shakeel, Roshan and Jaikishan – and now Geeta…
A part of us dies with the passing away of each person who has been part of the emotional fabric of our lives.We are lamps of the dawn, flickering into oblivion…

‘Hum bhor ke diye hain, bujhte hi ja rahein hain…’

This is the end of the article. I hope you guys read this one.

Its truly an emotional sketch of an artist par excellence..

Another article found on the net :

The low notes behind the high [size=3]

by


Lata Khubchandani


Yaad karoge, yaad karoge, ik din humko yaad karoge...Those were
prophetic words. Today, exactly 25 years after her death, nobody has
been able to fill the void left by Geeta Dutt. For her fans still
maintain that even the Mangeshkar sisters cannot compare with the
husky sensual voice that could manage the devotion of "Jai Jagdish
hare" (Anandmath), the naughtiness of "De bhi chuke hum dil nazarana dil
ka" (Jaal), the intensity of "Koi door se aawaaz de chale aao" (Sahib
Bibi aur Ghulam), the sensuousness of "Kya ho phir ke din rangeela ho"
(Nau Do Gyaarah), the softest of lullabies like "Nanhi kali sone chali"
(Sujata) or the lightest cabaret numbers like "Mera naam chin chin choo"
(Howrah Bridge).


Her distinctive voice was what made Guru Dutt fall in love with her
and marry her. During a recording for the film `Baazi', Guru Dutt heard
her singing the song "Tadbeer se bigdi hui taqdeer bana le". He wanted
to know who the singer was. The two met. It was in 1951, and Geeta Roy
was already a household name while Guru still had to establish
himswelf. They were married in 1953. And she sang for all his films.


Though Lata Mangeshkar had arrived on the scene and the magnificence of
her range was just being realised by the composers of that time, it
was Geeta Dutt who reigned in the period between 1946 and 1949. All
the film publicity material those days would proclaim, "And finally
the greatest of them all, Geeta Roy."


Geeta was from East Bengal, the daughter of one of the richest
zamindars of the district. Her family migrated to Mumbai during the
Quit India movement. In Mumbai they went through difficult times,
till one day Pt. Hanuman Prasad overheard her singing in her apartment
in Dadar. He requested her father to let her sing for his film `Bhakt
Prahlad'. She had to sing just one solo line in this chorus song but
that was enough to turn her destiny around. S.D.Burman heard the song
and was enchanted with her voice. He gave her a solo number in his
film `Do Bhai' despite the producer's trepidation. The song was "Mera
sunder sapna beet gaya": the rest is history. She was just 15 years old
at the time but she brought so much to her rendition of that song that
it remains overwhelmingly popular even today. After that, there was no
stopping her.


While her career took off, however, her personal life was turbulent.
Both she and Guru were temperamental, both were aritstes and she was
better known at the time. Ego clashes were inevitable. They had two
song, Tarun and Arun, and a daughter, Neena. The children adored
their mother. Their only surviving son Arun recalls, "Mummy was an
extrovert, a fun-loving, happy person, extremely generous, while my
father was an introvert, an intense man. She was very sentimental and
would fall for any sob story. Though they had their problems, she
never let us witness them. We were more attached to her -- we hardly
saw him."


Some people believed that Geeta was not a versatile singer, that she
could sing only a particular type of song. They were wrong. Consider,
after all, the subtle enticement in "Jaane kya tune kahi" from `Pyaasa'
and the mischief in `Sun sun sun sun zaalima' from Aarpaar and contrast
it with "Ja ja ja ja bewafa" from the same film. Wistful longing comes
through in "Thehro zara si der to" from `Savera', matchless until she
herself sang "Mat ja mat ja mat ja jogi" in `Jogan', her personal
favourite. An extremely difficult and outstanding number from the same
film was "Jara tham ja tu", a masterpiece infused with emotion that
defies duplication.


O.P.Nayyar had once remarked that, "Geeta might not have a trained
voice, but the emotion in her voice sets it apart."


Life wasn't very kind to her, but she did not let that affect her zest
for living. Her son Arun recalls, "I remember the good times we had --
at a moment's notice mummy would say, `Come on let's go for a picnic',
and we'd pack up and leave. She loved having people around, our
friends used to stay over and she'd cook and look after everyone --
she loved doing that.


Comedienne/singer Tun Tun (Uma Devi) recalls, "No one ever returned
from Geeta's house empty-handed, whether it was paying the fees of a
schoolchild or anything, she was always ready to give. I knew them
closely. We used to sit and listen to her sing. She could sing any
type of song, even ones with a Western touch. She did have a
difficult time in her personal life though and it is not possibe for
an outsider to understand her trauma."


Guru Dutt had introduced a new girl, Waheeda Rehman, in his film `CID'.
The arrival of this young actress and Guru Dutt's involvement with her
increased the clashes between the temperamental couple. Guru Dutt also
wanted Geeta to stop singing for outside producers. They separated for
a while. But they cared too deeply for each other for the separation
to last. They came together again and their child Neena was born. But
that reunion didn't last either. Mukul Roy, Geeta's brother recalls,
"Geeta suffered tremendously during these breaks, she was very
emotional and couldn't handle the stress. They were to be reconciled
again. A date had been fixed. But Guru Dutt had drunk a lot the
previous night and taken sleeping tablets too. He never woke up. This
was in October 1964.. Geeta had a nervous breakdown and couldn't even
recognise here own children for six to eight months. Guru had also
left her insolvent." Their son Arun says bitterly, "My father could
make an expensive film like `Kaaghaz ke Phool'. In those days, it cost
him Rs. 16 lakhs, but he couldn't leave anything for his wife."


When Geeta got on her feet again she started doing stage shows to
support her children. The film industry with typical callousness had
forgotten all about her. Asha Bhosle replaced her in O.P.Nayyar's
films. Even die-hard Geeta loyalists stopped giving her work. She
started drinking and in the latter part of her life was in and out of
hospitals till she died of cirrhosis of the liver on July 20, 1972.


It was towards the end of her life that we again heard the magic of
her voice. In `Uski Roti' she sang, "Aaj ki kali ghata" -- the voice had
lost none of its power. In `Anubhav' again, she gave us three fabulous
numbers : "Mera dil jo mera hota", "Koi chupke se aake" and "Mujhe jaan na
kaho meri jaan", and listeners were reminded again that no one could
match the pain in that voice.

Truly a moving tale so sad and melodious, just like many of her songs.

Parag, would you have those Meera bhajans by Geeta mentioned in the article? Listenign Meera in her voice would really be something! .. uncomparable to say the least.

Hi Shivani

Yes, indeed ! The fact that Geetaji suffered so much in her life makes me fall in love with her voice even more..!!

I have "Jara tham ja tu" from "Jogan" at this moment. I am uploading it.

I will search the other bhajans and upload them tomorrow..

Cheers

Parag

Anyone having the above highlited song???

Abbasi

Abbasi bhai,

Nice find from the article.. Hoping that some of our great collectors might have it..

In the mean time, other bhajans from "Jogan"

"Ghunghat ke pat khol"

The next one is

"Eri Main toh prem diwani"

The next one is not a bhajan, but a light song..

"Gend kheloon"

Thanks Parag for sharing this nice article.

every singer had a turnover in his/her career. Geeta Ji could not main tain her position and she made both ends meet by doing jingles with Kavita Krishnamorty and concerts.but the gems which she rendered in less than 2 decades are the invaluable treasure.no singer can match her till date

ashish

In the mean time, here is

"Kahe Nainon Mein " from "Jogan".

Lyric: Buta Ram
Music: Bulo C. Rani

The next one from "Jogan" is

"Daro Re Rang daro re rasiya
Phagun ke din aayo re"

Lyric: Pt. Indra

Bulo C. Rani was one of the music directors of late 40's and early 50's who utilized the voice of Geetaji in various moods. For the records, he composed all the 10 (or 11 ?) songs of the movie "Darogaji" in the voice of Geetaji. The movie was produced by Nargis's brother and starred Nargis.

Incidentally, Nargis played the heroine in the movie "Jogan" as well. Geetaji also gave playback to Nargis for the immortal duet "Arman bhare dil ki lagan tere liye hain " with Talat Mehmood (Movie: Jaan Pehchan, MD : Khemchand Prakash, *ing Nargis and Raj Kapoor).

Enjoy the song !

Best Regards
Parag

Here is "Sakhi ri chitchor nahi aaye" from "Jogan"

The next from "Jogan" is :

Dag mag dag mag dole naiyan
Paar lagao aao khiwaiyaan"

thanks parag for the songs

Yeh lijiye Paragji:

Pyaare Darshan:


Click to view attachment

Abbasi

Hi Abbasi bhai, many many thanks for such a quick response.

Best Regards
Parag

Many thanks Ashish. Please share if you have any rare songs of our beloved singer.

Thanks in advance
Parag

hi parag i have songs but not in high bit rate that's why not uploading

By the way, here is "Arman bhare dil ki lagan tere liye hain " with Talat Mehmood (Movie: Jaan Pehchan, MD : Khemchand Prakash)

Parag

Just for a change of mood, listen to this comic funny number from the movie Adhikar (1954)
Sung by Kishorda and Geetaji. MD : Avinash Vyas, Lyrics : Raja Mehendi Ali Khan

"Kamata hoon bahut kuchh par kamai doob jaati hain
Kuchh income tax le jata hain, kucch biwi udati hain"

IMHO, Geetaji has matched the chulbulapan in Kishorda's voice to the T in this song..

Have fun ..!!

P.S. This was uploaded on HF around 2 months back. I thought its a good idea to share it again for the benefit of those who do not have this song in their collection...

Here is a romantic and light hearted number from the movie Jaal (1950)
Sung by Kishorda and Geetaji. MD : S D Burman, Lyrics : Sahir

"De bhi chuke hum dil nazarana dil ka.."

Another soft and romantic number from Kishorda and Geetaji.
"Naachati zoomati muskurati aa gayi pyar ki raat .."

I dont remember the movie and the MD.

Courtsey: HF (Uploaded on the Kishorkumar forum couple of months back)

Film: Miss Mala(1954)
MD: Chitragupt
Lyrics: Anjum Jaipuri

Hi MMUK, many thanks for the quick update.

Best Regards
Parag

Reviving this article and the request for a rare non-film song of Geeta ji

Aankhon mein noor, dil mein ujale nahin rahein
jalwe wohi hain, dekhnewale nahin rahein

Song penned by Shakil Badayuni

Cheers
Parag

Reviving this old thread..A nice article about Geeta ji !

Cheers
Parag

Thanks for providing these marvelous articles about our beloved singer geeta dutt.

Reviving this article and the request for a rare non-film song of Geeta ji

Aankhon mein noor, dil mein ujale nahin rahein
jalwe wohi hain, dekhnewale nahin rahein

Song penned by Shakil Badayuni

Cheers
Parag

Parag..Thanks for bringing these articles into our attention. I just went through all of them from the beginning..and it was absolutely sad.
Artists inspite of their huge personal losses contribute so much to the betterment of society, they were never appreciated for it.
Personally I can never compare Lata and Geeta's voices..Lata is a perfect voice...But Geeta has that extraaaa verve, which moves hearts. It is beyond doubt that she had a raw deal both on personal and professional fronts. Even OP Nayyar felt that he should have given Geeta a lot more chances...
Jo bhi hain...Geeta remains for ever..in her heartfelt songs..
These lines..are so poignant.. " A part of us dies with the passing away of each person who has been part of the emotional fabric of our lives". How TRUE??

Shiva, its my pleasure. Thanks for reading through this article and posting your response.

Best Regards
Parag

Venkat, thanks for your comments.
Just like you said, it always makes me sad thinking about what Geeta ji had to go through in her personal life which ultimately affected her professional life as a playback singer.

Come think of it, she was the no.1 singer in 1949. Even when Guru Dutt fell in love with her, he was just a struggling assistant director and she was an established singer.

Her faithful MDs like SD, OP and Hemantda also deserted her when she began drowning her loneliness in alchohol. At one point of time she even stopped giving playback to Waheeda. The singing assignments were already reducing and after Guru Dutt's demise, she had 3 children to take care ! What a tragedy of life !!!

Kaise koi jiye
Jeher hain zindagi
Utha toofan woh
Raah ke sab bujh gaye diye

Another article found on the net

http://saregama.wordpress.com/2007/11/23/r...ing-geeta-dutt/



Geeta Dutt was vivacity personified. If one listened to her songs with eyes closed and tried to imagine the face behind the voice, one would see an innocent face with shining eyes full of life.

While one can dance to her tunes in Mera naam chun chun chu from Howrah Bridge, Tadbeer se bigdi huyi from Baazi dance songs, one can peacefully go to sleep listening to her Nanhi kali sone chali hawa dheera aana from Sujata. This particular lullaby is a particular favorite of mine. The wording are beautiful, the inclusion of the sound of baby’s anklets, the wonderful singing - the song is just great.

Her playful, nuaghty songs like Jaane kahan mera jigar gaya ji from Mr&Mrs.55 and Hum aapki aankhon mein from Pyaasa, Ae Dil Mujhe Bata De from Bhai Bhai is what she is most famous for. These songs lift your spirits in no time.

Her sad songs are probably not that well known. Songs like Chand Hai Wohi Sitare Wohi Hain from Parineeta, Mera sundar sapna beet gaya from Do bhai makes one can be filled with grief. The last song, especially, is so melancholic. Geeta Dutt is literally crying in the song.

How can one forget the drunken, sensual singing of Na Jao Saiyan from Sahib biwi aur ghulam? The minimal background music, the intermittent pause singing and music, her slurred pronunciation makes one wonder if Geeta Dutt was really drunk when she sang this song.

Another favorite of mine, Piya Aiso Jiya Mein from Sahib Biwi Ghulam has Geetaji dreaming about her beloved. The lady sounds like she is actually in love and you blush and turn pink listening to the song. Look out for the subtle harkatein - no one could do it except for Geetaji. She is playful, complaining, mischievous - all at the same time!

She is the inspiration for many singers. It’s no secret that Asha Bhosle used to imitate Geetaji in her initial days. The song Jaanu Jaanu Ri from Insaan Jaag Utha is such a pleasure to listen to. Two of the best female singers of the Hindi film industry, Geetaji and Ashaji, create magic in this song.

With Geeta Dutt’s demise, Hindi industry has incurred a big loss, which is impossible to fill. Asha Bhosle gracefully stepped into her place and has done all the justice to it. If anyone can be compared with Geetaji, it has to be Ashaji. Nevertheless, if Geetaji had survived for a few more years, we would have had more gems from her.

Another tribute to Geeta ji


http://www.boloji.com/poetry/3101-3200/3165.htm

Here is one more tribute by M L Dhawan

Her voice lives on

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070715/spectrum/main6.htm

Her voice lives on contd..

I found another article in Devanagari font as a Word document. So I installed the fonts and then made them into JPEG files..

So here is 1 of 5

2 of 5

3 of 5

4 of 5

The last one..5 of 5

I can type in this information for those who can't understand the Devanagari font.

Let me know if any one is interested.

Best Regards
Parag

Reviving the request for this non-film song penned by Shakil Badayuni sahab

'Aankhon mein noor, dil mein ujale nahin rahein
jalwe wohi hain, dekhnewale nahin rahein'

Thanks in advance

Best Regards
Parag

Another article found

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2007/20070715/spectrum/main6.htm

Her voice lives on

M.L. Dhawan remembers the singing sensation of yesteryear Geeta Dutt whose appeal has not declined for the present generation


Geeta Dutt’s association with Hindi film music began with Dhirubhai Desai’s Bhakta Prahlad (1946) when at the age of 13 Geeta had just two lines to sing of the song suno-suno prabhu binti hamari prabhu bhool hui mujhse bhari. Her rendering of those two lines surprised everybody (including the composer Hanuman Prasad) and became the genesis of a great musical career.

Geeta’s sense of rhythm and cadence were impeccable. She did not, however, follow the established norm of singing in a ghazal-motivated voice. She introduced a free flowing style of singing that relied on spontaneous expressions rather than trained vocals.

Producer Chunilal Shah told S.D. Burman if you insist on this girl’s voice I am ready to go along with your choice provided I like what I hear. In Do Bhai’s (1947) Mera sundar sapna beet gaya, Yaad karo ge yaad karo ge ek din humko yaad karo ge...’ her voice conveyed the sweetness of honey and the pain of a bee sting. She carved a niche for herself by holding her own against Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhonsle and Shamshaad Begum etc.

In the initial years of her career, Geeta was known for singing bhajans in films like Har Har Mahadev (1950), Jogan (1950) etc. S.D. Burman was among the earliest composers to discover a rare swing in her voice. His jazzy and westernised score for Baazi (1951) showcased Geeta’s versatility. Her breezy voice articulated the spirit of Burmanda’s music in Tadbeer se bigdi hui takdeer jagga le, Suno gajar kya gaye. Her ability to be both sensual yet sensitive gave Geeta’s voice a unique ethereal quality. Guru Dutt fell in love with Geeta during the recording of Baazi and their romance culminated in their marriage on May 26, 1953.

Geeta Dutt’s voice could render a wide range of emotions and had an inner fire that vindicated the song’s existence. She could spiritualise a lyric and make it sensuous at the same time.

Under the freewheeling baton of O.P. Nayyar, Geeta belted out soft, sultry, happy, snappy, romantic, teasing or tragic numbers. Dekho Jadoo bhare more nain, Dil hai deewana jawan hai zamana (Aasmaan-52) Zara samne aa zara aankh mila, Ai dil ai deweewane (Baaz 1953). Both these films failed but not the vocals of Geeta and tunes of Nayyar. Aar-Paar (1954) songs like Hoon abhi main jawan, Babuji dheere chalna.. were aural champaign. Geeta’s resplendent voice in Thandi hawaa kali ghataa.. (Mr & Mrs 55) on Madhubala dancing by the poolside with a bevy of girls twirling umbrellas still brings a lump to the throat.

O.P. Nayyar’s swinging rhythm was best captured by Geeta in Di de daala nazrana (Musafirkhana-1955), the spell of Jaata kahan hai deewane (CID-1956) still abides. She brought seductive allure in songs like Mera naam chin chin choo (Howrah Bridge-1958).

Guru Dutt launched a film called Gauri with Geeta Dutt in the lead. When she went to the studio for shooting, she learnt that her husband was in love with Waheeda Rehman. Due to her troubled marriage she had complaints from composers about her not being available for rehearsals and recording. Asha took her place and went way ahead of her. Unable to reconcile with her personal and professional frustrations, Geeta found solace in liquor. Things turned worse for Geeta when Guru Dutt committed suicide in October 1964.

Geeta was hardly 35 and had magic in her voice. But times had changed. O.P. Nayyar was going great guns with Asha. Geeta then made that famous phone call to him to ask ‘What have I done that you do not send for me at all’. Following this, he used Geeta’s vocals in the Twelve ‘Twelve O ‘Clock’ (1958) in lilters like Kaisa jadoo balam tu ne daala.

It is the sheer volume and scale of popularity that songs of Burman and Nayyar reached that made them special in Geeta’s oeuvre, she was captivating and alluring with other music directors as well. Na yeh chaand hoga (Sharat/54/Hemant Kumar) Ae dil mujhe bata de.. (Bhai Bhai/56/Madan Mohan) Aye jaan-e-wafa.. (Anarkali/53/Basant Prakash), Khayalon mein kisikey.. (Banware Nain/50/Roshan) etc bear testimony to this. Geeta’s versatility lay in her unique quality of singing. Give her blatantly westernised tune this moment and a complete classical composition the next, she will do justice to both. She portrayed passionately cosmos of pent up emotions in Na jao saiyaan chudda key baiyaan in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962) under the baton of Hemant Kumar. Raat raat bhar intezaar hai dil dard se beqarar hai reflects her own desolute life.

The last songs of her career Mujhe jaan na kaho meri jaan, koi chupke se aa ke, Mera dil jo mera hota (Anubhav-71) and Aaj ki kali ghatta.. (Uski Kahani-1971) recorded by her brother Kanu Roy revealed that to the last moment the quality of her voice had neither faded nor deteriorated. It had its Midas touch intact. Excessive drinking told upon Geeta’s health. She was in and out of hospital a few times. It was in harkisondas Hospital that on account of cirrhosis of liver she breathed her last on the July 20, 1972. She is out of sight but many of Geeta’s songs endure in appeal even today and make us mourn in memory of her life so sadly cut short through emotional damage.