SOTW: Bade Achhe Lagte Hain

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.

SOTW: Rail Gaadi

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.

SOTW: Jaane Woh Kaise

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.

SOTW: Kahin Ek Masoom Naazuk Si Ladki

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!