Bolly Songs & Movies: Golden Era

Showing posts with label Golden Era. Show all posts

The Great Muslim Socials of the Golden Era of Bollywood

Muslim Social is one of the genres of Bollywood. Many films were made in this genre and many of them were great hits too. The 1950s to ’70s were the decades when the popularity of the Muslim social opened a window to a world both exotic and familiar at the same time.

Pukar released in 1939 was made by Sohrab Modi was based on Mughal emperor Jahangir, the Muslim social drama genre reached its peak with Mehboob Khan’s Najma (1943) starring Ashok Kumar and Sitara. After the success of this film, many films on Mughals were made including Humayun (1945) by Mehboob Khan, Shahjehan (1946) by A R Kardar.

in the 50s the Social drama of Nawabs and other top-class people of the society was made. In 1960 Guru Dutt produced and acted in Chaudhvin Ka Chand which became a hit opening the window for more such films. Here is the list of few such films.

Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960)- One of the top-grossing films of 1960, produced by Guru Dutt, directed by Mohammed Sadiq, starring Guru Dutt, Waheeda Rehman and Rehman.The setting is the city of Lucknow in UP, Aslam (Guru Dutt) and Nawab (Rehman) are the two friends caught in a love triangle with Jameela (Waheeda Rehman).

Song of Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1960)

Mere Mehboob is a 1963 Indian film directed by H. S Rawail and starring Ashok Kumar, Rajendra Kumar, Sadhana, Nimmi. The film became a blockbuster and took the number one position at the box office in 1963. It drew a background from Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh and traditional Lucknow. The famous song "Mere Mehboob Tujhe Mere" was shot in the University Hall and in a couple of places, one gets to see the University.

Song of Mere Mehboob 1963

Benazir (1964)- The film is a Bimal Roy production.Starring Ashok Kumar, Meena Kumari, Shashi Kapoor and Tanuja. Directed by S.Khalil and music by Sachin Dev Burman. Benazir, a Muslim family drama, revolves around the film's key characters, Nawab, Anwar, Sahida and Benazir, among others. Nawab and Anwar are brothers who live in an upper-class neighborhood. Nawab is married and has a child. A bachelor, Anwar on seeing Sahida falls in love with her and proposes marriage to her. Although married, Nawab has an affair with Benazir, and keeps her as his mistress.

Song of Benazir (1964)

Bahu Begum is a 1967 Hindi film directed by M. Sadiq, and starring Pradeep Kumar, Meena Kumari and Ashok Kumar. The film has music by Roshan and lyrics by Sahir Ludhianvi. This film is known for songs, "Hum Intezaar Karenge Tera Qayamat Tak", sung by Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhosle and "Duniya Kare Sawaal" by Lata Mangeshkar. The film is a Moslem period drama set in the erstwhile Era of Lucknow woven around a mythical story of Bahut Begum's manor.

Song of Bahu Begum 1967

Mere Huzoor is a 1968 film starring Raaj Kumar, Mala Sinha, and Jeetendra, Akhtar Hussain (Jeetendra) saves the life of Nawab Salim (Raj Kumar) and earns his gratitude. Salim invites Akhtar to come to his palatial home, On the way on a train journey, he meets beautiful Sultanat (Mala Sinha) and falls in love with her. On arrival at Salim's house, Akhtar is treated with the utmost respect, provided employment, and a place to live. Akhtar meets with Saltanat and both plan to get married. Unknown to them, Salim also loves Saltanat, but Saltanat rejects his advances, and proposal, leaving him heartbroken. Soon Saltanat and Akhtar get married and settle down.

Song of Mere Huzoor 1968

Mehboob Ki Mehndi is a 1971 romantic musical film produced and directed by H. S. Rawail. The film stars Rajesh Khanna and Leena Chandavarkar. Shabana, the heroine is able to save herself, and her family, only by educating herself and doing the job of a tutor.

Song of Mehboob Ki Mehndi 1971

Pakeezah is a 1972 film, written, produced and directed by Kamal Amrohi starring Meena Kumari, Raj Kumar and Ashok Kumar .Meena Kumari's performance as a gold-hearted Lucknow nautch-girl drew major praise. However, this was to be Meena Kumari's last great performance. Set in the Muslim Quarter of Lucknow at the turn of the 20th century, the movie centers on the mental plight of a tawaif and her longing to be loved, accepted and respected by society.

Song of Pakeezah 1972

Naushad- The Man Who Introduced Raaga Based Songs in Hindi Movies.

Naushad started as an independent music director from the 1940 film Prem Nagar. He made Hindi songs popular by mixing UP and Bihar folk music with Indian classical music.He first got noticed with A.R. Kardar's film Sharda (1942) wherein 13-year-old Suraiya debuted with the song "Panchhi Ja" for the playback for heroine Mehtab. It was Rattan (1944) that took Naushad right to the top

It was in 1946 he got superstar status with the two immortal songs from the film Anmol Ghadi.. In the same year, K L Saigal gave one of his immortal songs "Jab Dil Hi Toot Gaya" under his composition in Shahjehan (1946) in Raag Bhairavi. His favorite ragas were raga Pahadi, Aiman, Darbari, Kafi or Des along with Raga Bhairavi. He also composed songs in unconventional and difficult ragas such as Jaijaiwanti, Kedara, Brindabani Sarang, Bihag, Durga, Kirwani and Kalavati.

In this blog, we take a journey of his raga-based songs in Bollywood.

In the 1944 film Rattan, he composed 10 songs and the music by Naushad was such a phenomenal hit that the company earned Rs 3 lakhs in royalties from Gramophone sales in the first year. You would be surprised to note that the producer Kardar spent 75,000 rupees on the production of this film.

The Song based on Raga Pahadi

Song of Rattan 1944

Raga Bharavi

Song of Shahjahan 1946

Raga Kafi

Song of Shahjahan 1946

Raga Pahadi

Song of Anmol Ghadi 1946

His most durable composition Suhani raat dhal chuki was shaped in Pahadi and was from film Dulari made in 1949 that became legendary and is still considered an integral part of any singer’s repertoire in any musical gathering.

Raga Pahadi

Song of Dulari 1949

Raga Pahadi

Song of Andaz 1949

Raga Jaijalvanti

Song of Andaz 1949

Raga Bhimpalasi

Song of Babul 1950

His classical genius was the 1952 film Baiju Bawra in which he used the voices if the great Ustad Amir Khan and D V Palusjar. The climactic contest between Tansen and Baiju Bawra in the royal court of Mughal emperor Akbar demanded music of the highest finesse to exemplify the capabilities of these historical legends. Naushad introduced classical music with deft handling, making it melodious for mass appeal and yet retaining enough artistry as the situation demanded.
There could not have been a better composer than Naushad Ali to make this film an unforgettable feature of Indian cinema. The music in “Baiju Bawra” is divine! It is, in fact, the soul of the film.
There are many moments in “Baiju Bawra” when the contribution of Naushad emerges the strongest point of the movie. Mohammad Rafi, lyricist Shakeel Badayuni and Naushad leave you in a trance with the all-time great number “Man tarpat hari darshan ko aaj”. Rafi had reportedly confessed to this being one of the toughest songs of his career as a demanding Naushad sought perfection from the legendary singer.

Raga Bharavi

Song of “Baiju Bawra” 1952

Raga Darbari

Song of “Baiju Bawra” 1952

Raga Malkauns

Song of “Baiju Bawra” 1952

Raga Gara

Song of Mughal-e-Azam in 1960

Raga Darbari Kanada

Song of Mere Mehboob 1963

Raga Kalavati

Song of Dil Diya Dard Liya in 1966

The Songs written by Hasrat Jaipuri for Other Music Directors

We all know that Hasrat Jaipuri and Shailendra were the lyric writers for Shankar Jaikishan but both of them wrote for other Music directors also and gave us many immortal songs. He made his debut from the 1949 film Barsat, this was also Shankar Jaikishan's debut film. The success of the film and its songs made him and Shailendra the permanent Lyricist for Raj Kapoor films and Shankar Jaikishan

Immediately after Barsat, he wrote a song under the composition of Bulo C Rani for the 1950 film Wafa. The song 'Armaan Bhara Dil Toot Gaya' a duet by Lata & Mukesh, was a hit. He also wrote a song for the composer Sajjad Hussain for the 1951 film Halchal. He wrote a song for Anarkali 1953 under the composition of C Ramchandra. He worked with SD Burman in just 3 films ...Tere Ghar ke saamne had super hit songs Similarly in 1963 film Ziddi. With Kalyanji Anandji he wrote for' Ji Chahta Hai' and Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani. With O P Nayyar in Howrah Bridge

Here are a few of the great songs of Hasrat Jaipuri composed by Music Directors other than Shankar Jaikishan

Song of Anarkali (1953)

Song of Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje (1955)

Song of Tere Ghar ke Saamne 1963

Song of Ziddi 1964

Song of ji chahta hai 1964

Song of Bhoot Bungla (1965)

Song of Ghar Ghar Ki Kahani 1970

Song of Munimji (1972)

Shamshad Begum - The Highest Paid Female Playback Singer from 1940–1955.

Shamshad Begum’s debut in Hindi films came in 1941 in Khazanchi, a year before Noorjehan’s in Hindi films in Khandan (1942), both under Ghulam Haider. The song 'Sawan Ke Nazare Hain' made her instant famous and became favourite of every household. In the next year the song Duniya mein garibon ko aaram nahi milta from Zameendar (1942), and Gaaadiwale dupatta uda liya jaye re from Poonji (1943) made all the successful music directors of that era to approach her to sing their compositions

Naushad acknowledged in an interview that he was indebted to Shamshas Begum in reaching the top. It was Begum's solo and duet songs sung for Naushad in the late 1940s and early 1950s which made Naushad famous. Naushad was floored on the clarity of her tone, She sang 60 songs under his direction. She was the lead singer in Anokhi Ada, Mela (1948) and Chaandni Raat (1949).

Two of the most iconic songs of our films – Ana meri jaan meri jaan Sunday ke Sunday and Mere piya gaye Rangoon – are C Ramchandra-Shamshad Begum creation, She sang nearly 60 songs for C Ramchandra. He used her voice for the first time in a film Safar, 1946, in a duet with him. She is credited with singing one of the first Westernised songs, "Meri jaan...Sunday ke Sunday", this made her the most sellable female voice. She kept getting more offers to sing songs and was the highest-paid female singer from 1940 to 1955 and again post-Mother India in 1957 to 1964.

In 1946, S D Burman asked Shamshad Begum to sing in his debut Hindi film as music director, Shikari (1946), with the song, "Kuch Rang Badal Rahi". In 1949, came Shabnam, in which Burman asked her to sing duets named "Pyar Main Tumne" and "Kismat Bhi Bhichadna" with Mukesh, which became popular. Shabnam was Burman's biggest hit to that date with Filmistan, In 1954, when Nayyar got a break as a composer, he approached Begum to record songs for Mangu. Nayyar described her voice as resembling a "temple bell" for its clarity of tone. He worked with her until the late 1960s and gave her many hit songs, including "Ab To Jee Hone Laga" from Mr. & Mrs. '55, "Leke Pehla Pehla Pyar", "Kahin Pe Nigahen Kahin Pe Nishana", "Boojh Mera Kya Naam Re" – CID (1956); "Main Jaan Gayi Tujhe" from Howrah Bridge, "Zara Pyar Karle" from Mangu, "Saiyan Teri Ankhon Mein" from 12' O Clock, "Thodasa Dil Lagana" from Musafirkhana, and many others.

She stopped recording her songs in the year 1955 after her husband's death, the songs released between 1955 and early 1957 including songs from films such as CID, Naya Andaz, Baradari, Mr. & Mrs. '55 and other hits continued to be popular. At this juncture, Mehboob Khan approached her in 1957 and said he wanted a full-throated voice for Nargis in Mother India. The first song she sang after returning to her career was "Pee ke ghar aaj pyari dulhaniya chali" for Mother India. She made a successful comeback and subsequently recorded many notable songs for films such as Howrah Bridge, Jaali Note, Love in Simla, Bewaqoof, Mughal-e-Azam, Bluff Master, Gharana and Rustom-E-Hind.

You would be surprised to know that Lata Mangeshkar and Kishore Kumar were part of a chorus in a few songs of Shamshad Begum. From 1949 to 1960, beginning with the song "Dar Na Mohabbat Karle" from Andaz, Mangeshkar and Begum have sung many duets together, with the most famous being "Pyar Ke Jahan Ki" from the 1949 film Patanga, "Bachpan Ke Din" from 1951's Deedar; their last song together was Mughal-e-Azam's song "Teri Mehfil Mein Qismat" in 1960

She sang over 6,000 songs in Hindi and Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, and Punjabi languages and of the 1287 songs were Hindi film songs.

Shamshad Begum died at her Mumbai residence on the night of 23 April 2013 after a prolonged illness. She was 94 that time. Her melodious voice with powerful lyrics gave us songs that have remained popular even today.