FROM WOH KAUN THI TO NAUNIHAL
By Kohinoor Dasgupta
Naina barse / Lata Mageshkar
Lag jaa gale / Lata Mangeshkar
Shokh nazar ki bijliyan/ Asha Bhosle
Woh Kaun Thi? (Who Was She?) inaugurated a year of films whose plots allowed Madan Mohan to catch up with a few tunes which called out to him like Sirens from his musical imagination. Fortunately, it was up to the film heroes to deal with the mortal danger of listening to the ravishing music.
Naina barse rimjhim rimjhim (Tears fall like rain) was a tune which Madan Mohan had composed 18 years before Woh Kaun Thi? Now the tune gathered to itself Raja Mehdi Ali Khan’s phantasmic words, rooted in the Hindu idea of soul mates, an emotional bond that endures through several cycles of birth and death.
The song, like its own soulmate, Lag ja gale (Hold me) is apt for the film and for the celluloid maya that is Sadhana's persona. Naina barse is as adaptable as a sari. It goes the whole nine yards and flutters beyond a snowy precipice, urging the hero to take the plunge to union-in-death. As easily it is a wispy silhouette in the fog. It is a fake identifier of a woman, in her own home.
Despite having words describing endless suffering, in the film Naina barse is a manipulative song. Its first line mimics rhythmic rainfall, repeating patterns. The next line is a cry, as if of grief. Every first couplet of the body of the song suggests the monotony of waiting; then comes a cry, pure siren song, after which the notes trip along, sowing confusion about the reality of the singer’s grief, and her own reality.
On the other hand, Lag ja gale, with its forceful orchestration and Mangeshkar's unhurried exploration of the extreme reaches of musical notes, sounds very like human longing and heartbreak. Depending on who you think is singing the song in the film, it is either perfect or too dire, but brilliantly confusing and a Madan Mohan-Lata Mangeshkar-Raja Mehdi Ali Khan-Sadhana-Raj Khosla marvel.
I also love Asha Bhosle’s Shokh nazar ki bijliyan (Your electrifying glances), enacted by Parvin Chaudhari (with Manoj Kumar) in a scene filmed at Simla Skating Club. The tune suited Bhosle’s voice and her breezy 1960s style.
Agar mujhse /Lata Mangeshkar
Aap Ki Parchhaiyan (1964) starred Dharmendra and Bengal’s famous actress, Supriya Choudhury. The film’s name recalls a line from the song Aapki nazron ne samjha from Anpadh. Yes, Raja Mehdi Ali Khan wrote the songs of Aap Ki Parchhaiyan too. Agar mujhse mohabbat hai (if you love me), sung by Mangeshkar, is in the style of Lag ja gale, lingering over notes, but instead of being wistful and fatalistic, it is persuasive.
Kyun roz akela / Bhupinder Singh
Kyun roz akela jaata hai ay suraj, Le chal saath mujhe (Why do you leave by yourself, Sun? Take me with you) from Dak Ghar (1964) was written by Kaifi Azmi and sung by Bhupinder Singh with minimal musical accompaniment. Madan Mohan chose to convey the pathos of Azmi's words in Raag Shivranjani.
Ek baat poochhti hoon/ Lata Mangeshkar
Tum hi to meri pooja ho/ Lata Mangeshkar and Talat Mahmood
Ek baat poochhti hoon (Tell me why) from Suhagan (1964) begins with a brief sitar-tabla flourish. Though using the well-worn question-answer format and familiar imagery, Hasrat Jaipuri infused originality in the answers. The plot of the film is morbidly mirrored in this song but well concealed by Madan Mohan’s natural music (ascending notes for the questions, a probing insistence) and Mangeshkar’s light-hearted rendering. You are supposed to think it is a cheerful love song.
"Kiski lagan mein yeh shamma har raat dil ko jalati hai?
Chanda ke pyar mein chakori kyun apni jaan gawati hain?
Sholon ki bahon mein, chahat ki rahon mein marke bhi zindagi pati hai.”
Who makes the lamp burn?
Why does the partridge die for the moon?
In a fiery embrace, on the wings of desire, death is life. [My translation]
Madan Mohan used a shehnai-sitar jugalbandi to accompany the title credits of Suhagan. This music bleeds into the brief Hindustani Classical music intro of Ek baat poochhti hoon and slips down the years into Ruke ruke se kadam.
Tum hi to meri pooja ho (I worship you), the Mahmood-Mangeshkar duet, is a treat in the way of all their work together. It looks forward to Ay sanam aaj yeh qasam khayen, possibly their last duet sung under Madan Mohan’s direction.
Meri mehboob kahin aur/ Mohammed Rafi
Nagma-o-sher / Lata Mangeshkar
Rang aur noor ki barat / Mohammed Rafi
Gazal (1964), directed by Ved-Madan, is a film about poets and a person’s voice. To his credit, writer Agha Jani Kashmiri made a person’s intellect and gift of literary expression an important component of her or his unique personality. The young woman Naaz, played by Meena Kumari, Madan Mohan’s favorite actress, gives up love because she has lost her voice. She can no longer look forward to an equal poetry, to modify the title of Vikram Seth’s novel about two violinists. Unusually, considering her time and milieu, her self-esteem does not derive from physical beauty and social status.
Sahir Ludhianvi wrote the songs of Gazal. My favorite is Meri Mehboob, kahin aur mila kar mujh se (Beloved, meet me somewhere else) which starts this way:
"Taj tere liye ek mazhar-e-ulfat hi sahi
Tujhko is wadi-e-rangeen se aqidat hi sahi.”
Even though you consider the Taj to be an image of love,
Even though this beautiful place is venerated by you. [My translation]
Inquilabi poet Ejaz (played by Sunil Dutt) addresses the song to Naaz during a mushaira at her home in Agra. She sits with her girlfriends, in purdah. As she listens to the song, a man whom she had privately dismissed as shallow becomes interesting. Meena Kumari, seen in profile throughout the song, nevertheless conveys Naaz’s joy. Rafi's delicate, persuasive work gives Ejaz an endearing personality.
His other song, the famous Rang aur noor ki baraat (This pomp and pageantry) is similarly attractive, and the tuneful yelling at the end is part of the excitement of the final scenes of the film. Anyway, what can possibly be wrong with a song that boasts this line:
"Betallukh-si mulaqat kise pesh karoon?”
On whom shall I bestow the gift of random meetings? [My translation]
The companion song to Rang aur noor is one that Naaz sang earlier in the film, her own writing: Nagma-o-sher ki saugat kise pesh karoon? (To whom shall I give this gift of melody and verse?) Ejaz had overheard it while passing by her home. In that song, after presenting a few edgy couplets to shock her friends, she craved intellectual companionship:
"Koi humraaz to payoon, koi humdum toh mile!”
How I wish I had a confidant, a peer! [My translation]
After referring to Madan Mohan as "Ghazal ka shehzada” in the Legends set, out of all her work for him, Lata Mangeshkar chose to play Nagma-o-sher.
All three songs have the radif, "Kise pesh karoon?” Madan Mohan composed the songs keeping in mind that poetry holds centerstage in this film.
Meri ankhon se koyi neend/ Lata Mangeshkar
Pooja Ke Phool (1964) has that song which swings on the notes of the sitar, Meri ankhon se koi neend liye jata hai (Someone steals my sleep). In the Legends set, it is prefaced by Jagjit Singh’s comments. Singh praised the way Madan Mohan incorporated the "thumri ang” of Hindustani Classical music into film songs. Lata Mangeshkar’s high, pure voice gives an otherworldly dimension to many beautiful compositions from Madan Mohan, and here as well. The woman in the film is in love. She cannot sleep, but Mangeshkar voices a dream for her.
The songs of Jahan Ara
Jahan Ara was the last hurrah of the great playback artiste, Talat Mahmood. He sang three solos and a duet with Lata Mangeshkar in this 1964 film, but such was the taste of the wheeler-dealers of the time that we almost did not hear the songs in Mahmood’s voice. His name is last on the list of playback credits.
For this (anecdotal) historical about Shah Jahan’s favorite daughter, Madan Mohan built for his fans a Mughal room of music. The walls are inlaid with gems. The cold marble floor has a floral design in warm colors. From the title scroll onwards, Madan Mohan’s music vivifies the film even today. Baad muddat ke yeh ghadi aayi (We waited for this moment), sung by Rafi and Suman Kalyanpur, Haal-e-dil unko sunaya na gaya (Couldn’t unburden my heart) by Mangeshkar, Jab jab tumhe bhulaya (Whenever I tried to forget you) sung by Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle, and Woh chup rahen toh (If he stays silent) by Mangeshkar are all encrusted with classical music arrangements such that they suit the loneliness of an imperial princess and the art of imperial courtesans.
Mahmood’s three songs also have the support of glittering musical arabesques, but they are not bound to the palace. Why would they be? They are sung by a poor poet who lives outside the palace walls. Main teri nazar ka saroor hoon (I am your indulgence) is sung in a sophisticated, poetic way. This song, along with Phir wohi shaam (Another evening), Tere ankh ke ansoo pee jaoon aisi meri taqdeer kahan (I am not fortunate enough to comfort you in your sorrow), and the duet with Mangeshkar, Ay sanam aaj yeh qasam khayen (Let’s pledge today, love), more than his limited scenes, forged a long-lasting identity for the poet, played by Bharat Bhushan.
Phir wohi shaam and Shaam-e-gham ki qasam (composed by Khaiyyam for the 1953 film Footpath) may be thought of as bookends of an era. Phir wohi shaam is unique in Madan Mohan's oeuvre. Whenever Mahmood sang, Madan Mohan made sure that the singer's unique voice and artistic sensibility was all the music of the song. It seems to me that the composer shut the door on one pathway of his musical imagination when Mahmood was no longer in demand.
Woh chup rahen to mere dil ke daag jalte hain, written by Rajinder Krishen, is a ghazal with an elegant fire conceit. This is a special song, filmed on Minoo Mumtaz, a tribute to the art of generations of discerning courtesans as well as humble professional musicians and dancers who collected poetry, received rigorous training in music and dance from Ustads and made sure that there was a livelihood for artistes and poets. Sometimes, as in this song, they expressed their personal sadness:
"Yeh khoyi khoyi nazar! Kabhi to hogi idhar, ya sada rahegi udhar?
Udhar toh ek sulagta hua hai virana,
Magar idhar to baharon mein bagh jalten hain.”
This distant gaze! Will it ever turn towards me?
On his side, there is a smoldering wilderness.
But here, a spring garden is in flames. [My translation]
Sawan ke mahine mein/ Mohammed Rafi
Dev Anand played a young man battling alcoholism in Sharabi (1964). Madan Mohan has spoken about how the song Sawan ke mahine mein (In the month of rains) literally composed itself, music, words, et al. Abstainers from alcohol may wonder angrily why such a lovely song was wasted on such a habit, but our judgments do not count! "Sangeet rachna bhi ek tarah ka nasha hain,” (Creating music is also a sort of addiction) said Madan Mohan, and that is that. The song penned by Rajinder Krishen examines the temptation to drink so that pain and self-loathing let up for a while. Anand plays Keshav, a poor and unemployed man whose mother and sister depend on him financially. The song is used throughout the film, with the following lines sung in the beginning:
"Sawan ke mahine mein
Ek aag si seene mein
Lagti hai to pee leta hoon
Do-chaar ghadi jee leta hoon."
In the month of rains
When something like a fire gets hold of me,
I drink.
I live a little. [My translation]
Then on, the song whispers in the background like a death wish. When Keshav’s life starts to unravel rapidly, the song slows into a dirge.
"Mujhe le chalo aaj phir usi gali mein
Jahan pehle-pehle yeh dil ladkharaya tha.”
Take me back to the place where I lost my heart. [My translation]
Rafi sings the dirge superbly. It is an affecting tune, not entirely original, as it resembles one of the traditional ways in which new poems are read at Urdu salons or mushairas. The tune also looks forward to a beloved Manna Dey number from Ek Phool Do Mali (1969), Tujhe suraj kahoon ya chanda, written by Prem Dhawan and composed by Ravi.
No matter what season it is when you listen to Sawan ke mahine mein, it invariably enfolds you in damp monsoon winds and petrichor.
Kar chale hum fida / Mohammed Rafi
Zara si aahat hoti hai / Lata Mangeshkar
Hoke majboor mujhe usne bhulaya hoga / Bhupinder Singh, Mohammed Rafi, Talat Mahmood & Manna Dey
Chetan Anand’s Haqueeqat (1964) was based on "the aggression in Ladakh in October 1962”, and has the famous patriotic number Kar chale hum fidaa jaan-o-tan sathiyon/Ab tumhare hawale watan sathiyon (We have sacrificed our all/ Our country is in your hands now, friends), written by Kaifi Azmi and sung by Rafi. Mangeshkar’s Aayi ab ki saal Diwali (This Diwali) is no less moving.
A few edited couplets from Azmi’s Andeshe became another famous film song, Hoke majboor mujhe usne bhulaya hoga (It must have killed her to move on) sung by an elite ensemble of playback singers.
The Raag Yaman-based Zara si aahat hoti hai (The slightest rustle) is lilting and, thanks to Madan Mohan, a good match for the combination of shyness and moxie that Priya brought to the silver screen, but how did the Ladakhi girl master Hindi? Mangeshkar was fond of her other song in the film, Khelo na, mere dil se (Don’t toy with my heart) because of its emotional sensitivity. Truly, the complaint of the song is not original at all, but Hindi films did not yet have a song that expressed the emotion exactly, without turning the woman into a helpless neurotic!
Pt. Mukhram Sharma wrote the realistic, topical story of R.C Talwar’s Naya Kanoon (1965). Rafi belted out one of his endearing odes to the apple of the hero’s eye in this film. Hasrat Jaipuri wrote Kuchh aisi pyari shakl mere dilruba ki hai (My sweetheart has such a lovely face) and Madan Mohan wrote the teasing, upbeat music based on Raag Chhayanat and introduced the song (with a chuckle, no doubt) with a fragment reminiscent of Zindagi bhar nahin! Why not? He had Rafi, he had the charming hero of Barsat ki Raat too, and he had an entirely different song!
An entirely different song from Naya Kanoon itself is the less-heard Unhe qissa-e-gham jo likhne ko baithe, written by "Deepak" for the poet of the film, Deepak. Rafi sang this poem without accompanying music, but with empathy for the poet who asks an uncomprehending merchant (who was not in the least like Girdharilal Manchanda, the producer of Naya Kanoon!) to buy his work.
"Unhe qissa-e-gham jo likhne ko baithe
Toh dekhe kalam ki rawani mein aansu.
Yeh anmol taare yeh ulfut ke moti
Unhe humne bheje nishaani mein aansu.”
*
Muqaddar ke kasib ka kitna karam hai
Ke likkhe hai meri kahani mein aansu.”
“When I started writing her my painful saga,
I noticed the ink turning to tears.
These priceless stars, these pearls of love,
I sent her.
*
Such is the generosity of fate,
That my story has a bountiful supply of tears. [My translation]
No juice! Says the merchant to the poet, turning him away.
Mere dil se aake lipat gayi/ Mohammed Rafi & Asha Bhosle
Mere dil se aake lipat gayi (Got entangled with my heart) from Neela Akash (1965) was heard for the first time by the public in 2000, in the Legends set. It is an addictive song! Written with characteristic flair by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, it is romantic and sassy at the same time, with quirky, retro-sounding instrumental phrases, and a flirtatious cat-and-mouse beat. The two marvelous playback artistes engaged in a bit of laidback competition to enhance the charm of the song.
Shashi Kapoor and Nanda starred in Neend Hamari Khwab Tumhari (1966). Early in the film, Madan Mohan pays tribute to Sahib Bibi Ghulam (1962) and S.D. Burman by using a snatch of Bhosle’s Saqia aaj mujhe need nahin ayegi. Later, he visits his own bank of musical memories: a band briefly strikes up Zaroorat hai.
Sapnon mein agar mere / Lata Mangeshkar
Pt. Shivkumar Sharma pointed out "orchestral blending” as a signature of Madan Mohan’s work. He also marveled at the blending of the composer’s imagination and the voice and art of Lata Mangeshkar. The song which follows his remarks in the Legends set is Sapon mein agar mere (If, in my dreams). This song is from Dulhan Ek Raat Ki (1966), a film directed by Dharam Dev Kashyap. Sapnon mein belongs to a class of songs created by Madan Mohan and Mangeshkar which knock on the doors of another world, obscure, Edenic, perhaps only a construct of intense longing, "far from the madding crowd” and that crowd’s strictures, injustices, and boundaries. In the film, Sapnon mein has a gorgeous prelude in sitar, probably played by Ustad Rais Khan. Sitar accompanies the song as well. The lyrics were by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, who died before the film was released.
"Beeteen huin woh yaaden hasti huin aatin hain
Lehron ki tarah dil mein /aati kabhi jaati hai.”
Those days that are gone, days of smiles,
Memories ebb and flow like waves. [My translation]
The couplet is separated by a cool whiplash of music, signifying the intrusion of another memory, one that provokes Nirmala. But at this moment she is focused on a more recent injury, and she cannot even loathe the person who inflicted this new pain. Sapnon mein agar is based on Raag Kalavati, as is Ek haseen shaam ko (One lovely evening), sung by Rafi. The songs, having a common origin but separated at birth, fitted like yin and yang in Madan Mohan's imagination.
Mangeshkar sang several songs for Dulhan Ek Raat Ki, including Maine rang li aaj chunariya sajna tore rang mein (I am no longer separate from you) which is in the style of Piloo thumris. Mahendra Kapoor sang a lovely duet with her: Aap ne apna banaya (You love me). Kayi din se jee hai bekal (I feel restless) couches Nirmala’s premonition in a chipper tune. Bhupinder Singh (uncredited) sang the title song, Zindagi dulhan hai ek raat ki (Life doles out no more than a day of happiness). Acclaimed actress Nutan walked the character of Nirmala to the edge of insanity.
Tu jahan jahan / Lata Mangeshkar
Nainon mein badra chhaye / Lata Mangeshkar
Aap ke pahloo mein /Mohammed Rafi
Mera Saaya (1966) was another hit film of Raj Khosla, the director of Woh Kaun Thi? According to Wikipedia, Mera Saaya was a Hindi adaptation of Raja Paranjpe's Marathi film Pathlaag (1964) and the original material was a Marathi novel, Asha Parat Yete, by Jayant Deokule.
Mera Saaya was filmed in Eastmancolor by V. Babasaheb, who shot some memorable scenes at the Lake Palace Hotel, Udaipur.
Dressed by Bhanu Athaiya, who would win an Oscar for Costume Design for Gandhi (1982) Sadhana plays a conservative Rajput woman and her mysterious lookalike. A line of music from Woh bhooli dastan returns in Mera Saaya as a full-fledged song: Mangeshkar’s Tu jahan jahan chalega, based on Raag Nand. Composed with a sweeping, echoing, suspenseful orchestral accompaniment, Tu jahan jahan wafts through the film, imposing a supernatural answer on questions raised in the courtroom. Madan Mohan must be credited for creating the unique mood of the film and for bestowing on the story a loftiness and momentousness by means of his composite work. The background music and all but one song suit a lakeside palace with blue chandeliers.
Nainon mein badra chhaye (I see dark clouds) written by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, is a superb Mangeshkar rendition based on Raag Bhimpalasi. Ustad Rais Khan played the sitar for the number. Rafi’s Aap ke pahloo mein (Here, by your side) works in the manner of those glorious traditional thumris set in Jangla Bhairavi whose few words and heartrending music rake at the pain of separation from the beloved.
Meri awaaz suno/ Mohammed Rafi
Tumhari zulf ke saaye mein / Mohammed Rafi
Meri awaaz suno from Naunihal (1967) is indelibly associated with Mohammed Rafi, so much so that people may not even recall that Madan Mohan composed the music for the words written by Kaifi Azmi. The great playback singer was at the height of his art and fame and sang an unforgettable tribute to the late Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India.
MERI AWAAZ SUNO
Written by Kaifi Azmi
"Meri awaaz suno, pyar ka raaz suno.
Maine ek phool jo seene pe saja rakkha tha
Uske parde mein tumhe dil se laga rakkha tha.
Tha juda sab se mere ishk ka andaaz, suno
Zindagi bhar mujhe nafrat si rahi ashkon se
Mere khwabon ko tum askhon mein dubote kyun ho?
Jo meri tarha jiya karten hain kab marten hain?
Thak gaya hun, mujhe so lene do, rote kyun ho?
Sote bhi jaagte hi rehten hain jaanbaaz, suno.
Meri duniya mein na purab hai na pachchhim koi
Saare insaan simat aaye khuli bahon mein
Kal bhatakta main jin rahon mein tanha
Kafilen kitne mile aaj unhi rahon mein
Aur sabhi nikle mere humdum-o-humraaz, suno
Naunihal aate hain, arthi ko kinare kar lo
Main jahan tha inhe jana hai wahan se aage.
Aasma inka, zameen inki, zamana inka,
Hain kayi inke jahan mere jahan se aage.
Inhen kaliyan na kaho, hain ye chamanzar, suno
Kyun sawari yeh chandan ki chita mere liye?
Main koyi jism nahi hoon, ke jalaoge mujhe
Raakh ke sath bikhar jayoonga main duniya mein.
Tum jahan khaoge thokar, wahin paoge mujhe
Har qadam par hai naye mor ka agaaz, suno.”
LISTEN
By Kaifi Azmi
Listen, I will let you into a secret.
The rose which I wore next to my heart
Was the symbol of my love for all of you.
Mine was a different sort of love.
All my life, I had no truck with tears.
My dreams are not to be washed away by tears.
Folks who live like I did, do they die?
I am tired, let me sleep, why cry?
Brave patriots are alert even in sleep.
My world is not divided into East and West.
My embrace is for all of you.
Those roads on which I wandered alone yesterday,
Are now the meeting places of throngs of partisans.
Everyone was with me, it seems!
Move my corpse aside, make way for fearless, joyful children!
They must go further than I could.
The sky, the earth and the world belong to them.
Many discoveries and feats lie in store for them.
Do not call them buds, they are the gardeners.
Why have you built me a sandalwood pyre?
I am not a mere body that you can cremate.
My ashes will mingle with this air and earth.
I will hold you when you stumble.
Each step breaks new ground; there are promises to keep. [My translation]
There is another excellent Rafi number in Naunihal, Tumhari zulf ke saaye mein shaam kar loonga (Time flies in your company). The musical arrangement adorning this song is timeless. I think generations of polished ghazal singers took cues from Madan Mohan on how to use accompanying music! Rafi sang this number quite seriously, though the teasing, hyperbolic words must have tested his composure. I am grateful that he preferred to stay immersed in the beauty of the music and the learned phrasings.
In the collage:
Row 1 (l to r): Bharat Bhushan, Manoj Kumar & Sadhana, Madan Mohan
Row 2 (l to r): Nutan, Sadhana, Minoo Mumtaz
Row 3 (l to r): Parvin Chaudhari & Manoj Kumar, Supriya Chowdhury & Dharmendra
Row 4 (l to r): Sunil Dutt, Meena Kumari, Dev Anand, Asha Bhosle
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