Song: Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
Movie: Balika vadhu (1976)
Music Director: R D Burman
Singer(s): Amit Kumar
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi

When you want to express your love in simple words, this is the song you should sing. There is no mincing words here, everything is straight and to the point – bade achhe lagte hain. These simple words make this song a favorite with lovers. The singer, Amit Kumar, son of the versatile singer Kishore Kumar, sounds so much like his father that it is no surprise many people think this song has been sung by Kishoreda himself. Music is by Panchamda. Anand Bakshi has penned the words. The song is from Balika Badhu (no connection whatsoever with the Avika Gor starrer television series Balika Vadhu), which has Sachin Pilgaonkar in the lead. Sounds like an interesting movie. It is on my TBW (To Be Watched) list. If anyone has watched this movie, do let me know what you think.

This post is part of the Song of the Week series.

Song: Rail Gaadi
Movie: Ashirwad (1968)
Music Director: Vasant Desai
Singer(s): Ashok Kumar
Lyrics: Harindranath Chattopadhyay

While the whole country is celebrating Teacher’s Day, I would like to dedicate this song to all the little kids. This is one of those children songs which is enjoyed by the small and the big alike. The first time I heard this song, I was laughing my head off. I didn’t know that such an entertaining song existed and more importantly couldn’t believe that it was sung by Ashok Kumar. Dadamoni and singing? And for kids?

Dadamoni has packed a lot of energy in his singing. That part where he is ringing the bell for the train is so sincere. The lyrics of the song is great – you hear the names of a lot of stations.

The song is from the movie Ashirwad, which I know nothing about. I plan to watch the movie even it is just for this song and another one which is quite similar, Naani ki naav chali. This being a Hrishikesh Mukherjee movie, it will be a good watch.

There is some confusion over the lyricist of this song. Music India Online lists Gulzar as the lyricist, but the album I have ‘Remembering Hrishikesh Mukherjee’ has Harindranath Chattopadhyay as the lyricist and Earth Music agrees with this.

Song: Jaaneman Jaaneman Tere Do Nayan
Movie: Chhoti Si Baat (1975)
Music Director: Salil Chowdhary
Singer(s): Asha Bhosle and Yesudas
Lyrics: Yogesh

This bubbly, playful song stuck with me the first time I heard it. The song is from the movie Chhoti Si Baat, a light-hearted comedy with Amol Palekar as the naive,  seedha-saada guy who is trying to woo Vidya Sinha. Ashok Kumar, who makes a late entry in the movie, helps Amol Palekar win his lady love. Asrani also plays a role in the movie and contributes to the comic factor.

The song is unusual for its singers. Ashaji and Yesudasji in a duet! How unusual can it get? Yesudas is known for his classical, serious type of songs and was probably the worst choice for this song, but he pulls this one off with ease. I personally feel he is overshadowed by the effervescent Ashaji, but that’s my opinion.This is a true duet song wherein the singers are having a conversation. One questions and the other answers. One states and the other disagrees. I love these kind of duet songs.

The song is sweet on your ears and is pleasant to watch too. The sweet, innocent romance of Amol and Vidya unfolds in this song. Amol is watching a movie with Dharmendra and Hema Malini on screen and he starts fantasizing about his own lady. Why am I talking about the picturization? Watch it yourself.

PS: Another beautiful song from this movie is the title song.

Song: Jaane Woh Kaise Log The Jinke
Movie: Pyaasa (1957)
Music Director: S D Burman
Singer(s): Hemant Kumar
Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi

This song reminds me of my college days, engineering college days in particular. No, don’t get me wrong. I did not experience any love disappointment, just that I rediscovered this song during those days and I would hum this song sitting in bus, waiting for my bus at the stop and sitting in class while boring lectures were going – basically all the time.

Hemantda acquired a special place in my heart after I heard this song. For a long time, I was under the wrong assumption that this song is sung by Manna Dey and when I finally realized who the real singer was, I was not surprised at all. It had to be Hemantda with his expressive voice.

The song is clearly meant for a heart-broken lover’s situation. The tune is so simple as if Hemantda is reciting those lines rather than actually singing it. There is very little background music thus giving all the importance to Hemantda’s voice. His voice is so heavy and drawn-out, you can actually feel the burden. And the words, oh my, heart-wrenching, tear-jerking words. Tell me, whose heart will not melt for the person singing these lines:

Isko hi jeena kehte hain to yuhin jee lenge
Uff na karenge lab seelenge aasoon peelenge
Gham se ab ghabarana kaisa gham sau baar mila

I love this song so much, I can go on and on about it, but let me stop here by saying I love the simplicity of this song. Simple music, simple tune, simple words but the feeling are far from being simple.

Song: Aake Seedhi Lagi
Movie: Half Ticket (1962)
Music Director: Salil Chowdhary
Singer(s): Kishore Kumar and Kishore Kumar (??!!)
Lyrics: Shailendra

This song was recently refreshed in the minds of the music lovers by Aabhaas, the young, shy contestant in Star Plus’s Voice of India. He sung this song on the show and won the hearts of the judges and the audiences alike. He was one of the few contestants who chose to sing old beauties and left the newer dance numbers to the other contestants. There was another female contestant, whose name I forget, who too chose to sing old numbers and she chose some real gems like Mai Ri from Dastak. No surprise, neither of them won the show.

The special thing about this song is the playback singer. I know Kishore Kumar is special by  himself, but this song is even more special because he has sung the male and female lines of this song. The movie has Kishore Kumar in the lead role as a mentally retarded person who considers himself a little boy and acts like one. The title, Half Ticket, refers to him because he asks for half ticket when he travels by train. This song is picturized on Kishore Kumar dressed up as a village girl and Pran, who wants to catch hold of Kishore for ulterior motives. Kishore Kumar’s male voice is for Pran and the female voice is for Kishore Kumar himself. Kishoreji has sung this song with such sincerity that you can’t make out the female voice is his if you don’t know beforehand.

This black-n-white, light hearted comedy movie is worth a watch. Watch it for Kishore Kumar.

Song: Aankhon Mein Raho
Movie: Company (2002)
Music Director: Sandeep Chowta
Singer(s): Sowmya Raoh
Lyrics: Nitin Raikwar

A fairly recent song from a blockbuster movie. The best part about the song is it has almost no background instrument accompaniment. It is a soulful, quiet number driven solely by the singer’s captivating voice. Music is by Bengaluru (let’s be politically correct) based Sandeep Chowta (remember him), who sadly disappeared into oblivion because he was used only by Ram Gopal Verma.  The singer is Bengaluru lass Sowmya Raoh whose first Hindi film song was this one. Didn’t she cut an album later with Chowta? Lyrics are sweet and simple. It’s Sowmya’s haunting voice which is the highlight of this song. This song is picturized on Vivek Oberoi and Antara Mali, but the song is not complete in the movie. It was more like ‘blink and you missed it’ type, so not many people know this song. While Khallas and Ganda Hai were ruling the charts, this song went and sat quietly in a corner. Here it is, a bit dusty, but a beautiful song nevertheless.

Song: Kahin Ek Masoom Naazuk Si Ladki
Movie: Shankar Hussain (1977)
Music Director: Khaiyyam
Singer(s): Mohammed Rafi
Lyrics: Kamal Amrohi

This is one of the best songs from the Khayyam-Rafi duo.  The same music director-singer pair who has given us memorable songs like the melancholic ghazal Hamari Yaad Aati To Hogi and the romantic duet with Lata Mangeshkar Simti Huyi Yeh Ghadiyan, totally shine in this song. This song is picturized on Kanwaljeet (remember him?) who is dreaming and fantasizing about his beloved. The music is soft and not too over powering giving all the importance to Rafi, his singing and his soft-as-silk voice. Rafi’s voice is the best thing about this song. Right after the song starts, there is a place where Rafi says ‘Haaye’ and your heart misses a beat there. I call Rafi the king of ‘Haaye’s – he has a range of them, and nobody can beat him in that. Words are too beautiful. I can’t write down the whole song here, but every word is note worthy. Just read these lines:

Chalo Khat Likhe Jee Mein Aata To Hoga
Magar Ungliyan Kapkapaati To Hongi
Kalam Haath Se Chhoot Jaata To Hoga
Umange Kalam Phir Uthaati To Hongi
Mera Naam Apne Kitaabon Pe Likhkar
Woh Daaton Mein Ungli Dabaati To Hogi

I have a personal reason for my love for this song. I heard this song for the first time on Radio City. Sheetal Iyer who used to host the 11 o’clock show on old Hindi songs played this song on her show and I fell in love with it. I didn’t have any clue about the whereabouts of this song, so I mailed her asking her the details. She surprised me by promptly replying, giving me all the information. I couldn’t find this song in any music shop. I checked with all my friends who were fans of old Hindi songs, but none of them had it. Some of them, like me, hadn’t even heard of it. Enter my dear husband (who wasn’t my husband then) and he had this song in his collection. To be honest, this was enough reason for me to fall in love with him, but I never told him that. After he shared the song with me, I listened to it non-stop for five days. This was the only song on my playlist and I couldn’t thank my husband enough. Our relationship started with the sharing of this song and our love for music is still one of the highlights of our five years long relationship. Hardly a day passes without either of us mentioning something about the Hindi film music. Enough with the sentimental love story. Here is the video of the song. Enjoy!

Song: Huzoor Is Kadar
Movie: Masoom (1983)
Music Director: R D Burman
Singer(s): Bhupinder and Suresh Wadkar
Lyrics: Gulzar

This movie tackled a controversial subject, considering the time it was released in. If you have Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi in the lead roles, you can’t expect a masala potboiler, it has to be art or parallel cinema. Masoom had the amazing R D Burman-Gulzar duo which gave some memorable gems in this movie. The first song that comes to mind is of course Tujhse Naaraaz Nahin Zindagi. Though there are two versions of this song, male and female but for some reason, the one sung by Lata Mangeshkar overshadows the other one. The male version is just as beautiful, but Latadi’s popularity is probably the reason for that. Another popular song is the peppy, children’s song Lakdi Ki Kaathi. Gulzar saab is given the credit of writing a children’s song which is not very childish. I don’t know about childishness, but this song seems to catch the attention of every little kid.

Another beautiful song lies hidden under the popularity of these two songs. Huzoor Is Kadar is one of those rare duet songs where both the singers are of the same gender. The song is picturized on the slightly tipsy Naseeruddin Shah and Saeed Jaffrey. Gulzar saab took sympathy on lesser mortals like us and has used all simple words and that is probably what makes this song beautiful. Panchamda’s music is mesmerizing. Watch the video.

Song: Pyaar Ki Dastaan
Movie: Luck By Chance (2009)
Music Director: Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy
Singer(s): Amit Paul and Mahalakshmi Iyer
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar

To add some different flavor to this series, let’s look at a relatively new song. Pyaar Ki Dastaan is a slow, romantic number from Luck By Chance and is special to my husband because it is sung by Amit Paul. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, Amit Paul was the runner up in Indian Idol 3. He lost to the undeserving Prashant Tamang, but that’s a different story. Javed Akhtar, who was one of the judges on that show, promised to give him a break and he is kept his promise through his movie.

Music is by Shankar, Ehsaan, Loy and the song is sung by Amit Paul and Mahalakshmi Iyer. Amit’s voice shines throughout this song. His voice suits songs like these – soft and melodious. Mahalakhsmi complements Amit so well that they seem to be having some kind of conversation. Lyrics don’t let the song down. I leave you with the video of this song. Enjoy!

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.