A poet and an actor: Sahir and Sunil

Sahir Ludhyanvi

Sunil Dutt

                                        
 Music is such an integral part of my life. I wouldn't be amplifying if I say, music (read old Hindi songs) is one thing that keeps me going and gives me that stimulus whenever I feel low, the best part being that there is a song for every mood in our Hindi Film industry. You name it and you get it.

 I had always intended to write a post on the lyricists of our music world however this is such a vast subject that it never happened. A few days back, when I was listening to my favourite show on the radio, I came to know that it was the birth anniversary of Sunil Dutt: 06.06 and  most of his songs on air were penned by Sahir, it instinctively gave me an idea to bring forth the two giants of our Hindi films. Sahir who was a wordsmith, whose words still create magic on screen, his thoughts in refined Urdu and equally polished Hindi had brought a revolution during the 60's because of his thought provoking poetries and needless to say his shayris and songs hold true in the contemporary times as well. Sunil Dutt: well words are not required to lay out an introduction, the name speaks volumes!  The versatile and the extremely watchable Balraj Dutt aka Sunil Dutt who started as an announcer in Radio Ceylon, debuted opposite Nalini Jaiwant in Railway Platform, gave a memorable performance in solo actor film Yaadein which was also nominated for Oscars.

This post is a tribute to the two stalwarts of our Hindi Cinema...Sahir and Sunil. While choosing just a handful from the ocean of Sahir and Sunil Dutt songs is a task, these five numbers remain my perennial favourite in no particular order.

1. Chalo ek baar phir se: Gumrah (Mahendra Kapoor)

This is a quintessential Sahir song and the song took its shape when Sahir was to see his lady love Sudha Malhotra married to someone else in a party. The moment they met in the party, Sahir popped up with a line...Chalo ek baar phir se ajnabi ban jaye hum dono and the rest as they say is history.
Filmed on Sunil Dutt, the song wonderfully encompasses the anger and helplessness of a man in love with a woman who is no longer his. The song starts with a very happy ambience: a piano, the smiling guest who sings to entertain the host, but soon we are to see the shade of pain overshadowing the smile as a restless Mala Sinha seeks support of Ashok Kumar, which dissolves quietly as the hero gathers his composure again. My most favourite line from the song...Vo afsaana jise anjam tak lana ho mushkil, use ek khubsoorat mod par chhodna achcha. How true is that when the tale cannot be culminated, it's better to find a beautiful way out and just let it be.

2. Kisi pathar ki murat se: Hamraaz (Mahendra Kapoor)

Another Piano song where we see a totally opposite Sunil Dutt and that is why I call him versatile. From a helpless lover he emerges as a strong, secure lover all set to woo his lady come what may.

ye socha hai ke dil ki baat uske rubru keh dein
natija jo bhi nikle aaj apni aarzoo keh dein
har ek bejaan taqaluff se bagawat ka irada hai

Impeccable lines by Sahir and brought alive by Sunil. What more one can ask for!

Watch this song and tell me if he doesn't look a dapper in that black suit....who wouldn't fall for him!

3. Tum mujhe bhool bhi jao: Didi (Sudha Malhotra and Mukesh)

A philosophical song in its own right and only Sahir could have come with such poignant lines.
The song that deals with the unrequited love, the throes of being in love  knowing it will never be fulfilled!

Tum mujhe bhool bhi jao toh ye haq hai tumko
meri baat aur hai maine toh mohabbat ki hai
mere dil ki mere jazbaat ki keemat kya hai
Maine kyuon pyar kiya tumne kyuon pyar kiya
in uljhe sawalaat ki keemat kya hai

and the man sings:

Zindagi sirf mohabbat nahin kuch aur bhi hai
zulf o rukhsaar he nahin kuch aur bhi hai
bhookh aur pyaas ki maari is duniyan mein
ishq he ek haqeqat  nahi kuch aur bhi hai

Such is the poetry by Sahir which proved his name right...Truly a magician he was with words. 

 Picturised on Sunil Dutt and Shobha Khote, the number is an excellent example of the infusion of the joys of love and the pangs of separation with some generous dose of practicality. The woman loves the man, the man loves the woman but has his nose dipped deep into the shakles of mankind and hence are doomed never to be together. Hai! Feel sad for the lady.

 4. Meri mehboob kahin aur mila kar mujhse: Ghazal: (Mohammad Rafi)

Now, this is one song that prompted me to see the movie and when I had seen it...I was swept away  by Sahir's poetry, Sunit Dutt's charm and Meena Kumari's beauty! Urdu language and Muslim traditions come alive on screen and acting by the two legends is just superlative. This is a movie which is known not for its story but for its poetry and songs.
This particular song is a harsh thrash on another song that is sung in praise of Taj! Hats off to Sahir sahab who could pen down such words in that era and took to the criticism that followed after the release of the movie Ghazal.

Anginit logon ne duniya mein mohabbat ki hai
kaun kehta hai ki saadik na they jazbe unke
lekin unke liye tashheer ka samaan nahi
kyuonki voh log bhi apni he tarah muflis they

And the other stanza that says:
ek shanshah ne daulat ka sahara lekar hum gareebon ki mohabbat ka udaya hai mazaaq!

5. Hum jab simat ke aapki bahon mein bahon mein aa gaye: Waqt (Asha Bhonsle, Mahendra Kapoor)

I had myself juggling between this song and the one from Hamraaz; tum agar saath dene ka wada karo, but then the song from Waqt found its place here as I did not want to repeat the movie.
This is with the beautiful Sadhna, a dreamy number that is so soothing to the senses. A unique song written by a unique poet and performed by our unique Dutt sahab! Enjoy!

Million thanks to the actor and the poet. The actor who gave us the classics and the poet whose pen was mightier than the sword.    

      

      


 
   

Suman Kalyanpur: an unsung legend

While listening to Yaadein on Radio 4 FM, a programme on old hindi songs, tonight, I happened to know that Suman Kalyanpur has a strikingly similar voice to that of Lata mangeshkar's. The songs, which I ignorantly believed to have been sung by Lata are actually sung by Suman Kalyanpur. Many of her songs are sung in Lata's style: her intonations, her voice has such an uncanny resemblance to Lata's voice that the revelation was simply shocking.


Today, 28th january also happens to be her birthday and that being the prime resaon that a whole slot of 2 hours was dedicated to Suman Kalyanpur's songs and thankfully I became aware of this fact! Listen to this song, 'na tum hamein jaano' and let me know if you are not misled by the voice. I grew up listening to these songs yet was blissfully unaware of the singer. How injust is that to the singer. May be that was the time when every other singer was just overshadowed by the two sisters and if the voice happened to be like theirs then the chances of remaining in the shadow increased manifold.
 

Suman Kalyanpur mostly sang duets with Rafi and beautifully she sang!All of them were roaring hits. One song  worth mentioning here is 'baad muddat ke vo ghadi 'which was to be initially sung by Lata but subsequently was sung by Suman Kalyanpur. Listen to the melody and not once you'll miss Lata's voice. Her rendition is so perfect and well what do I say of Mohammad Rafi; he is capable of doing anything to you: he could make you laugh, cry, tug your heartstrings, make you shake your leg. Even after so many years of his death, his voice is as fresh and vibrant.

Now, that I've been listening to just Suman's songs for 2 hours, there are so many other songs; solos and duets which I would like to post here but that would be a bit extensive task for me. I'll keep that for some other time. Anyway, listen to this one, 'rahein na rahein hum'. It has both the versions; the first half is sung by Lata and the other half by Suman. Both are exceptionally wonderful. That was the era where everything; music, lyrics and voice were extraordinarily beautiful.

Another song without which my post about this true artist would be incomplete is 'na na karte pyar tumhe se kar baithe'. If I were to make a list of my all time favourites then this number would definitely be there.

Actually,I must thank Mr. Farrukh Viqar, RJ at 89.1 Radio 4 Fm for airing Suman kalyanpur's songs! Listeners like me got the chance to know about her, her similarity to Lata's voice that became a curse for her for she didn't get her due in the Hindi film industry. One song, not many of us know was sung by Suman and then it was sung by Lata Mangeshkar. 'Haal-e-dil unko sunana tha, sunaya na gaya'. This one number was first sung by Suman Kalyanpur in 1964and is from the film Fariyaad. Listen to Suman's voice, it's totally magical.
     

 Now, take a look at the song sung by Lata Mangeshkar. It's 'haal-e-dil yun unhe sunaya gaya'. It's strikingly similar, on the same tune and same style of singing. It is from the film Jahanara released in 1964.

The one sung by Suman kalyanpur came few months before the one sung by Lata Mangeshkar. Now does that ring a bell! Why Lata ji had to sing a similar kind of a song composed by Madan Mohan?
Was she trying to outdo Suman kalyanpur? Because rarely do we see such kind of similarities in songs.

Though Suman kalyanpur's voice was like Lata Mangeshkar's yet it had a distinct flavour of its own. My salute to this singer who remained and still remains to be an unsung legend.

  

Good morning!

After a stretch of grim and grey weather, dawned a bright and sunny morning

Oh, what a lovely day is today!
Golden sunshine coming our way.
Light that is poignant yet pleasant and strong,
bringing warmth and hope,

the sparkling, golden, glittering rays overbrim the soul with grace.
The tweeting, chirping and cooing birds soaring in the sky
with every flight reaching new height.
All are happy, all are gay indulged in the celebration of a new day.
Oh, what a beautiful morning of a grateful winter day.
 

Book Review: You had me at hello

It feels so bereft when a good book comes to an end. All of a sudden you are transported back to the real world. It's not that there's something vicious about the real world but then fantasy is always perfect or it's the perfection that makes it a fantasy. This is what exactly happened to me when I reached the last page of 'You had me at hello'.

Mhairi Mcfarlen is a wordsmith for she certainly knows how to play with words. The book deals with the past and present at such a swift speed that you hardly register it. It is humorous, story is good, I almost knew the end but still the end brought a smile on my face. How we love happy endings!

The two protagonists Rachel and ben are like the Bunty and bubbly. Ben ki Rachel and Rachel ka Ben and yet everything is so platonic between them or it appears so to the readers until the night before their graduation ball. And then things fall apart. They meet again after a decade but the equation is not that simple...Ben is married and Rachel not. What happens then is what the book is about. Mhairi has taken potshots at the people around, at the situations and has done it with a flair and wit. The book is a fiction and yet the characterisation is so real. Makes for an excellent light read.

Snow

Falling fiercely
only to melt away,
passing by the window sills, knocking on the doors,
longing to be inside, begging to be with us.
No door is welcoming, windows tight shut
she drops with a heavy heart on the portal.
The whitest of white, the lightest of all,
she vanishes quietly taking the white with her.

A rather long, snowy afternoon is to be blamed for these words..:)

Aaj jaane ki zid na karo

Am totally obsessed with this ghazal. Originally sung by Farida Khanum and need I say her singing is like an oasis in a desert, Shankar Tucker and Rohini Ravada have also done wonders to this classic. Kudos to Rohini for pulling off  the song so well. Enjoy!

Satyamev Jayate

Sunday, May 6, 2012 marks the beginning of Aamir Khan's show 'Satyamev Jayate' on the Indian television. It is said that this show is first of its kind where the actor himself is the anchor, performer and the producer. Though am not much of a television person, watch just a few selected things but the publicity of this show and the fact that it is being produced by someone who is considered an idealist, had me in front of the screen.

The prologue was quite serene and impressive with Aamir on the beach describing his feelings about the show. How actually he came up with the piece. One thing that struck a chord with me was what Aamir said:  "how we are affected by the malfunctions of the society? I am doing good. My life is in a good shape. So, how and why should it be affected by these social stigmas"? Actually, it is  affected because we are a part of this society and whatever happens in the boundaries of society does have an impact on our lives too.

I fail to understand why do we always need a star to remind us of the prevailing social stigmas. Weren't we aware of this female foeticide all along? Today it was the issue of Female foeticide, tomorrow will be of dowry system and next something else. Again several women will be shown battered and shattered with their heart wrecking stories.

It was so regressive to see that people who represent the educated India are indulged in such acts. I had my eyes all teary when they showed the women who went through the torture of an unwanted abortion not once or twice but five times. I salute them for their courage and never say die attitude towards life despite endless obstacles and troubles.

Will something be ever done to put a stop to this abominable crime or will it just end up as a status on social networking sites? All such intense shows sound all the more intense over a cup of tea but once the tea finishes, the intensity too finishes.

I'm not questioning people's sentiments here but if we are true to our conscience then let's give this social evil a real thought and try to wipe it out from our society lest we'll be heading towards disarray and thence disintegration.

Lastly, hats off to Aamir Khan for bringing up this show which happens to be a portrayal of the society of which we are a part. I would like to quote the lines from the show which I quite liked:


Sirf hangama khada karna mera maksad nahin
meri koshish hai ki kuch badalna chahiye
mere seene mein nahin toh tere seene main sahi
ho kahin bhi aag lekin aag jalni chahiye