Song: Mai Ri Movie: Dastak (1970) Music Director: Madan Mohan Singer(s): Madan Mohan and Lata Mangeshkar Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
This soulful song caught my attention the very first time I listened to it. One reason for this is of course the brilliant music and lyrics, but a stronger reason was Madan Mohan’s voice. This was the first time (in fact the only time) I heard Madanji’s rendition and I was smitten.The music is soulful and evokes pain in your heart. It doesn’t take much intelligence to guess what the song and the movie is about. The lyrics of the song is worth noting. With lines like ‘Padi nadiya ke kinare mein pyaasi’ and ‘Mohe bahaa le jaaye aisi lehar koi aaye na’ and ‘Paakar bhi nahin unko mein paati’, the song makes you realize the pain of the female protagonist. This song stays with you for a long time in a haunting sort of way.
Music is by Madan Mohan, of course, and the his voice adds charm to the song. Lataji does a great job, no doubt, but after you listen to the song in male voice, the female version doesn’t shine that much. Lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri.
The video which I link below has the song in male voice first followed by female voice. There is no video, just a still of the male protagonist, Sanjeev Kumar and female protagonist, Rehana Sultan.
I am not questioning why. That is the name of the song from the movie Kambakkht Ishq (notice the two Ks) which I quite liked. This is the only good song in the movie and it grabs your attention as soon as it starts playing. This is one of those songs where men and women wonder why certain things happen to them! Like Aisa Kyun Hota Hai Baar Baar from Ishq Vishq and Kuch To Hua Hai from Kal Ho Na Ho.
It is a soft, romantic (which turns sad later) number sung beautifully by Shaan and Shreya. The opening piano piece is so melodic. Shreya’s mellifluous voice adds the needed soft touch to this song. Shaan is good too. There is some kind of ‘rap’ that goes in the background which is quite irritating. The song could have done without this, really. The relatively new lyricist Anvita Dutt Guptan has penned the lyrics and it is quite interesting.
I especially liked these lines:
Dhuan dhuan si kahani hai
To bhi aankhon mein bhi paani hai
Gaalon se yeh jo guzarti hai
Tere gham ki nishani hai
This song should definitely be on your playlist. Atleast for now.
In an attempt to resurrect this blog, I am starting a weekly series post: Song of the Week. Every Friday, I am going to blog about one song, old or new, popular or not, sad or romantic, be it any song, just one song which caught my attention. Hoping that readers will like this series, let’s talk about this week’s song. This is in memory of Hemant Kumar, whose birthday falls in the month of June.
Piya Aiso Jiya Mein Samaye Gayo Re is a soft, romantic song from Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam. Melodious music is a characteristic of Guru Dutt’s movie and this is no exception. The song is picturized on Meena Kumari (who many will praise as beautiful, but I disagree) who is waiting for her beloved husband. Guru Dutt, who plays the ‘ghulam’ or the servant, does not appear in the song. Geeta Dutt has lent her beautiful voice to this song which makes this song even more special. Her vioce has the right amount of playfulness and love in it which the song demands. Hemantda’s music in this movie is to die for. While other more popular songs of this movie can be heard even today, this song is slightly less known. Lyrics can be easily found, so I am not posting here.
Here is a video of that song. Don’t miss the funny English subtitles.
PS: Is Meena Kumari getting a pedicure in this video?
Come Republic Day or Independence Day, this song is bound to fall on your ears. I never gave any particular attention to this song, but this article in yesterday’s Hindu made me take notice of it. What looks (or sounds) like an innocent song, may not be that innocent after all. Read the article to see what I mean.
My first reaction to this article was one of dismissal. I thought the author was creating a scene out of nothing. After all, it is not possible to include every freedom fighter in a 5 minute (or whatever its length may be) song. The omission of certain people might be accidental. And the usage of color red instead of saffron, could it be that the Hindi word for saffron could not be fit in the song’s meter?
Is this a case of an unintentional bias against certain category of people and the author being too cynical? Or does the author really have a point? What do you say?
Song: Zara Si Aahat Hoti Hai Movie: Haqeeqat (1964) Music: Madan Mohan Singers: Lata Mngeshkar Lyrics: Kaifi Azmi
I first listened to this song on Lata Mangeshkar’s Legends series. I still can’t believe how blissfully unaware I was of the existence of this song. This is probably the one song which caught my attention immediately and has held it till date.
My memory was refreshed when I listened to this song recently on Farishta, Worldpsace’s radio station for old Hindi music. The show was a special on Lata’s songs from 1960s and aired some of her best songs, some of which I was not even aware of. Kudos to the organizers of this show and the host, Rakesh. Hope to listen to more such shows in the future. One complaint I have is they don’t publicize the shows enough. If they repeatedly advertise these special shows on their stations, people will be informed about them. I don’t know how many such shows I have missed for not being aware!
Coming back to the song, it is from the movie Haqeeqat. I know nothing about the movie. Neither have I watched it, nor have I read about it. In fact, I avoided watching the video of the song until now. After listening to the song so many times, I have created an impression of the song in my mind. It is soft and beautiful and just like how I want it. I didn’t want to shatter this image after watching the original video. But I did watch it today and was not disappointed. The video does justice to the song – it doesn’t go overboard by making the lady dance and sway.
The music is by none other than Madan Mohan. The beautiful words which express the longing of the lady for her beloved have been written by Kaifi Azmi, another artist par excellence. The best part of the song has to be Lata’s voice. It is young and supple and is just right for the song. For once I think this song couldn’t have been as good in anybody else’s voice. Her harkatein, certain pauses between words – all contribute to bring out the eagerness in meeting the beloved. Lata’s voice has so much of longing and waiting squeezed in it. In short, this song is magical from beginning to end.
Zara si aahat hoti hai to dil sochta hai
Kahin yeh woh to nahi
Chupke seene mein koi jaise sada deta hai
Shaam ke pehle diya dil ka jala deta hai
Hai usi ki yeh sada, hai usi ki yeh ada
Kahin yeh woh to nahi
Shakl phirti hai nigahon mein wohi pyari si
Meri nas nas mein machalne lagi chingari si
Choo gayi si jism mera kiski daman ki hawa
Kahin yeh woh to nahi
Anand Ashram, a 1977 movie, had Sharmila Tagore, Ashok Kumar, Maushami Chatterjee and many others. Its music was very popular. Music was by Shyamal Mitra and lyrics by Indeewar.
Tum Itni Sundar Ho, a famous song by Yesudas and Preeti Sagar can be heard on Vivdhbharti even now. Jab Chaho Chali Aaoongi is a peppy song sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Tere Liye Maine Sabko Chhoda is a beautiful, sad song by Kishore Kumar. The singer’s voice is deep and sonorous in this. These are some of the songs, but the song I like the most is Sara Pyar Tumhara.
I love this duet song, sung by Asha Bhosle and Kishore Kumar. Melodious tune, beautiful singing and lyrics make this song very attractive. You will like it the first time you listen to it. The music director presents a different kind of music for each song and this song is no different. Kishore and Asha seem to be having a conversation rather than singing out the written lyrics. The wordings are beautiful too. It’s slow pace and melodious tune will suck you in.
Sadly, I don’t hear this song on any radio station. I first heard it on Radio City when Sheetal used to host the 11 o’clock show. Now I hear it on Worldspace’s Farishta. Sheetal Iyer is the Program Director of Farishta, BTW. I don’t know if she has any say in the song selection, but Farishta plays a variety of old Hindi film songs and it is a treat to listen to. Thanks to such radio stations, old, almost forgotten songs are still alive.
Junoon Kuch Kar Dikhane Ka on NDTV Imagine is going on well with its share of drama, tears and of course great music. One thing I look forward to in this episode is Sufi music. Sufi singers sing some songs which I have never heard and this is one chance to get to hear some great music and also increase one’s knowledge about Sufi music.
July 25 episode was one of the weakest. The singers were asked to switch genres and Sufi singers ended up singing filmy songs (yuck), folk singers sang Sufi songs and Bollywood guys sung folk. Sufi singers did sing the songs well but it was no where near the magic they create singing Sufi songs. Folk singers singing Sufi was probably the worst combination. More than the awful singing, what is annoying is the point of this whole exercise. These singers are not claiming that they can sing other genre songs. They are not competing for the title of Most Versatile Singer On Earth. A good singer need not be versatile. Not every singer can be Kishore Kumar or Asha Bhosle. Let the singers be themselves.
July 18 episode, on the other hand, was enjoyable. Sufi singers paid tribute to their mentor, Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, by singing his songs. Harshdeep sang ‘Mohe ang ang baje amdhur bansuri’ which was so melodious and beautiful. A search revealed that the song is from Rahat’s album Charkha. But the actual song in the album sounded so different from what Harshdeep sang. I later realized that the original song is Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan’s composition and the album, Charkha, has a varient of the same song. The latter song is a bit more modern, so to say, with varying rhythm and Western instruments and the song just doesn’t sound ‘Sufi’. I prefer Harshdeep’s version so much better.
If you want to hear Harshdeep’s version, the only way to do it is to download the video. Rahat’s version is available on Dhingana (the first song). I wish I could get the original Nusrat version.
Aziz Mirza is back with a new movie, Kismat Konnection. The trailers are promising, but if one decides to watch a movie depending on its music, then I am staying far away from this movie.
Mirza’s movies have always had great music, with melody being given a lot of importance. While Yes Boss had soulful numbers like ‘Ek din aap yun’, ‘Chaand Taare’ and the super hit song ‘Mein koi aisa geet’, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani had its own share of good songs like ‘Aur Kya’. Chalte Chalte had a fresher feel to it. Abhijeet ruled the roost with ‘Tauba tumhari yeh ishare’ and ‘Suno na’.
I have always enjoyed Mirza’s movies and the music and was looking forward to the new movie’s music. I didn’t find even one good song. Pritam’s name as the music director does not help much. Melody is no where to be seen. With loud, glaring music and punjabi and English lyrics, and every song being duplicated as a remix – it’s an album one should stay away from. Not a single song worth listening to.
I was totally disappointed with this music. I hope at least the movie is not as disappointing.
After marrying into a Marathi family, I was introduced to the rich Marathi music. Though I can’t grasp the nuances of the language, I can understand enough to appreciate a Marathi song. I heard some lovely songs from my husband’s collection and wanted to listen to some more. So, on my request my husband compiled a few must-listen Marathi songs for me. And I found this wonderful song on that list.
It is sung by Asha Bhosle, whose name frequently appears in Marathi music world. Apart from the singer, I know nothing about the composer or lyricist or the movie itself. So I will talk about what I know – the song.
The song is sung by a lady who is about to get married. She is experssing her anxiety, happiness and the nervousness altogether. In my opinion, (and I hope all girls agree), this song accurately describes how a soon to be bride feels.
I don’t know enough Marathi to accurately translate this song, but I can dare to try translating the first two lines. Marathi experts, please excuse any mistake.
Phulale re kshana maaze
These moments of my life have bloomed with happiness
Mendi ne, shakunachya, shakunachya, mendi ne, sazale re kshana maaze
These moments of my life have been decorated by the auspicious mehendi.
If this doesn’t tempt you to listen to the song, then the fault is all mine. Even if you don’t understand Marathi, you will still enjoy this song. Give it a try. (It is the third last song)
Lyrics of this song (in devanagari script) can be found here.
Song: Yaad Teri Aaye Movie: Ugly Ya Pagli (2008 ) Music: Anu Malik Singers: Mohit Chauhan Lyrics: Amitabh Verma
The movie name doesn’t promise a song like this. Anu Malik has packed a bunch of easily ignorable and forgettable songs with this beautiful and soulful song in this album. The song is soft and slow and has a lilting feel to it. One imagines floating in the air while listening to this song. Mohit Chauhan’s lazy and halting singing only adds to the laid back mood of this song. It is a ‘tanhayi’ song where the guy is singing in the memory of his beloved. But, honestly, I feel happy every time I listen to the song and don’t feel sad as expected. I guess this is one of those ‘Missing you, but I am enjoying this time’ kind of song. Lyrics is not out of the world but with lines like ‘Tujhse juda hua to aaj khudse juda hua’ and ‘Chupke chupke sab se chupke rota hai aasmaan’, it’s a worth a listen.
Ek pal mein kya se kya hua jadoo sa kya chala
Tujhse juda hua to aaj khudse juda hua
Aaye yaad teri aaye jaaye
Jaaye jaan bhi na jaaye
Soona soona sa hai mausam ojhal si shaam hai
Tanha tanha sa har rasta tanha makaam hai
Gumsum gumsum si lagti hai aayi hai jo hawa
Chupke chupke sabse chupke rota hai aasmmaan
Bejaan dhadkanen meri aankhon mein hai dua
Tujhse juda hua to aaj khudse juda hua
Aaye Yaad teri aaye jaaye
Jaaye jaan bhi na jaaye
Kisne socha tha aisa bhi aayega ek din
Khali khali hongein har palchin tere bin
Bechaini hai betaabi hai dil hai bujha bujha
Mara mara deewano sa phirta yahan wahan
Saasein ruki ruki meri khamosh hai sada
Tujhse juda hua to aaj khudse juda hua
