Bolly Songs & Movies: Hindi Film Music

Showing posts with label Hindi Film Music. Show all posts

'Tere Mere Milan Ki Ye Raina'- The Song based on Rabindra Sangeet

This Classic song from the 1973 film Abhiman was written by Majrooh Sultanpuri and composed by S D Burman was influenced by the song 'Jodi Tare Nai Chini Go Sheki 'of Rabindra Tagore. Over the years, the original Song Jodi Tare Nai Chini Go Sheki has been performed by various artists – Kishore Kumar, Shaan, Anwesha, Shrabani Sen, Shreya Ghoshal, Hemant Kumar, and many more. While I was researching for this song, I found a very rare version sung by the great K L (Kundan Lal) Saigal.

This song appears when the movie reaches its climax when the couple Subir (Amitabh) and Uma (Jaya -Bhaduri) get separated, Uma has a miscarriage, and finally they, fortunately, reunite – what an emotional reunion celebrated with this beauty of a song “Tere Mere Milan Ki Yeh Raina” rendered in public by both.

Though this song was influenced by Rabindra Tagore, S D Burman gave his magical touch to the original tune made this song immortal. We must also appreciate Mazrooh Sultanpuri to give lyrics for the wonderful tune. He was awarded the Filmfare Award as Best Lyricist. S D Burman was awarded the Best Music Director.

If you listen to all the versions of 'Jodi Tare Nai' you will find how beautifully the Abhiman song was composed. The song starts with a hmmm. by Kishore Kumar, a divine hmmm unmatchable. The song is a duet of Kishore and Lata Mangeshkar, one of the immortal duets of both.

This tune was again used in the 1985 film Jhoothi's song set in Rupak Taal (that's the name for the beats on the Tabla). Bappi Lahiri has set his Chanda Dekhe Chanda from Jhoothi.

Song of Abhiman 1973

Jodi Tare Nai Chini Go Sheki by Kishore Kumar

Jodi Tare Nai Chini Go Sheki by Hemant Kumar

Jodi Tare Nai Chini Go Sheki by K L Saigal

Jodi Tare Nai Chini Go Sheki by Shaan

Song of Jhoothi 1985

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 Story Behind the Song 'Zindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli'

This beautiful song from Anand was sung by Manna De, composed by Salil Da, and written by Yogesh is now 50 years old. This song was included in the film to compensate Yogesh, the lyricist for a song he wrote earlier for this film but not recorded. The Director Hrishikesh Mukharjee thought of obliging Yogesh to write a Title song.

It being the title song so Salil Da recorded this song in the voice of Manna Dey. When Rajesh Khanna, the hero of the film heard the recorded version of this song, he said that such a lovely composition should not be wasted on the title. He insisted the song be shot on him. It became the first solo song of Manna Dey for Rajesh Khanna. Interestingly all the other songs in this film were sung by Mukesh for Rajesh Khanna.

The song was shot in three hours and only two antaras were kept in the film. As per Yogesh, he wrote 5 antaras, and three antara were recorded but only two were shot. Manna De used to sing the third antara on many stage shows in those days.

According to Bimal Roy's daughter Rinki Bhattacharya, this melody was originally written for a film Anand Mahal which was delayed so Sali Da used this melody here in this movie. Salil Da in an interview once said that arrangement is not a part of Indian music. It is a western concept but he felt it is also essential for a film song else there would be nothing to hold the edifice. For my compositions, I normally use an Indian melody and flavor it with something western.

In this song too Salil created a unique concoction of eastern and East Europian melody.

Song of Anand 1971

Bollywood Songs for Expecting Mother or Parents

Pregnancy is a kind of miracle. Especially so in that, it proves that a man and woman can conspire to force God to create a new soul. Every child born into the world is a new thought of God, an ever-fresh and radiant possibility.

In India, we have a ceremony called 'Godh Bharai', in the west we call it Baby Shower. Godh Bharai is the traditional celebration of the beauty and splendour of pregnancy and motherhood. The 'Godh Bharai' ceremony is generally performed during the seventh month of pregnancy. Bollywood never misses an occasion to create a song for any situation. There is a long list of songs for this occasion from 1940s onwards. The earliest song in my research is from the 1940 film 'Alakh Niranjan' here the 'Nand', the younger sister in law of the lady; she playfully pulls at her bhabhi’s palla and asks – o tell me, where is the child.

Song of Alakh Niranjan 1940 Audio)

The second song in my list is from the 1947 film Aage Bado, This song is sung by Khursheed and it is picturised on herself. The picturisation shows her holding a doll and imagining it to be her baby. Dev Anand is the hero of the film who is a would be father in this film. This is the second film of Dev anand's career.

Song of Aage Bado 1947

The next song is a naughty conversation piece, minimum emotional and philosophical content. The husband is teasing wife who is expecting their first child. It is a duet of Mukesh and Lalita Deulkar from the 1948 film Mera Munna.

Song of Mera Munna 1948

This is a rare song from the 1953 film Jeevan Jyoti, the debut film of Shammi Kapooir. In this song Chaand Usmani, the heroine of the film and Shammi Kapoor playing the expectant parents. Chaand Usmai is expecting a child and she is singing this song in Asha Bhonsle’s voice, and Shammi Kapoor joins in the end, singing in his own voice.

Song of Jeevan Jyoti 1953

This is an interesting Godh Bharai song here the hero and heroine posed as husband and wife to get a job, actually, they are not. The ladies in the house suspect that Meena Kumari is in the family way. So they started celebrating the occasion. The picturization shows a bemused Meena Kumari being subjected to this “godh bharai” rasm in the song.

Song of Miss Marry 1957

This song is picturised on Nirupa Roy (an expectant mother ) and Kishore Kumar, playing her Devar (brother in law) sings this song. In this song, Kishore Kumar imagines how the kid would behave once he is born. The song was written by Shailendra and composed by Salil Chowdhry

Song of Musafir 1957

It is an expectant parents’ song which is picturised on beaming Dharmendra and Meena Kumari in the 1964 film “Main Bhi Ladki Hoon"

Song of Main Bhi Ladki Hoon 1964

In this song the would be mother played by Vyjyanti Mala, surrounded by ladies viz. Leela Chitnis, Mumtaz Begum and others while Helen sings and dance. The song is from the 1964 film Zindagi.

Song of Zindagi 1964

This is a beautiful song from the 1971 film Tere Mere Sapne, written by Neeraj and composed by S D Burman picturized on Dev Anand and Mumtaz. They are husband & wife in this film and expecting their first child,

Song of Tere Mere Sapne 1971

This song is from Hum Aapke Hai Kaun

Song of Hum Aapke Hai Kaun 1994

Song of Kya Kehna 2000

Here is a baby shower song of the 21st Century that talks about the different demands and wishes of a pregnant mother, with clear instructions for the husband to follow

Song of Filhaal 2002

Last not least a song from Badhai Ho where Neena Gupta is an elderly woman mother of a full-grown son is expecting a child

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.