Muse & Music, Music of the Golden Age Options

[swarapriya]

(Sharmila) Dastaan (1972)

The story of this movie was attributed to I.S. Johar. But I read somewhere that it was a remake of an old hit. B.R. Chopra produced and directed this movie. Dilip plays a dual role, one good and the other bad. With the team of Chopra and Dilip, I expected a lot from the movie. Remember their previous collaboration, "Naya Daur (1957)"? Expectations or not, this movie was a major disappointment.

There was scope in Dilip's role, but his acting was tame. Direction was uninspiring. Sharmila, who was love interest of both brothers, was the only one who stood out. Also some of the songs are great. For example, Rafi Saab's solo, "Na Tum Zameen Ke Liye Hai". But the standout song for me is that beautifully melodious song sung by Asha, "Woh Koi Aaya". She and Sharmila who sings this on the screen do a great job with the song.

Here are the details and the songs themselves ...

[swarapriya]

(Vyjayanti) Madumati (1958)

“Madhumati” is like a poem on the celluloid. It has that lyrical quality, that melancholic beauty, that haunting sweetness that it seems like it stays with you forever. Bimalda who directed the movie was a genius. However, he was working here with an unusual type of subject. Yet, the film clearly demonstrates why he was such a brilliant director. Every frame has his masterly touch. Every scene has his indelible imprint. Everything in the film seem to work together like a well oiled machine. Its story and its unfolding, its acting, its music, its crisp editing, its photography, its unspoiled locales, its innocent and simple folks, it is like a magnificent book that is engrossing from its cover page to the last.

Bimalda, master of his craft, creates an unforgettable ambience and sets the movie into motion in a heartwarming romantic mood. He is brilliantly aided by the camera and some inspiring music. In Salilda’s hands the music becomes such an integral part of the movie that it casts a magic spell on you. Listen to the haunting melody of “Aaja Re Pardesi” as Vyjayanti Mala glides through the mist. How about the echo ridden song in the amazing voice of Mukesh intersecting with not so far away horizons when he sings “Suhaana Safar”? What a lovely folksy and festive song it is, the song “O Daiyya Re Daiyya Re Chadh Gaya Paapi Bichhua” in the mesmerizing voices of Lata and Mannada. You feel the aches of love when you hear that beautiful song “Dil Tadap Tadap”. You feel distressed when Rafi Saab sings “Toote Hue Khwaabon Ne”. Salilda’s magnificent score is saturated with the divine beauty of the surroundings the movie was shot in. His music apparently shows the inspiration from the days he spent growing up in the hills of Assam.

Dilip gives a great performance. But these are just routine for him. One expects this from Dilip Saab and he seldom disappoints you. But the real show stealer is the performance by Vyjayanti Mala in the title role. Looking stunningly beautiful, she displays hitherto unexplored histrionic talents that keep you spellbound. As an innocent woman she shines brilliantly. As a woman falling in love she expresses her anxieties with ease. As a graceful dancer she is full of glee and gay abandon. This was a total and complete film for her.

“Madhumati” was a biggest commercial success for Bimalda. The movie walked away with a whole bunch of Filmfare awards. It won awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Bimal Roy), Best Actress (Vyjayanti Mala), Best Music (Salil Chowdhury), Best Supporting Actor (Johnny Walker), Best Art Direction (Sudhendu Roy), Best Editing (Hrishikesh Mukherjee), Best Female Singer (Lata Mangeshkar for “Aaja Re Pardesi”), Best Dialogue (Rajinder Singh Bedi), and Best Cinematography (Dilip Gupta). Its story and screenplay were written by Ritwik Ghatak, an eminent director by himself, who was nominated but didn’t win. Dilip was nominated for Best Actor but lost out to Dev Anand for “Kala Pani”.

I am uploading all of the songs from this album and several specials in three back-to-back posts. The first two posts contains songs from the original sound track album. The third post contains several extras. Some songs included here are either from a DVD or through the contributions of the Forum members. Thank you. I am also including two specials, one with Dilip’s introduction and another with Lata’s.

Now for the songs …

[swarapriya]

Continuing Songs from "Madhumati (1958)" ...

Here are rest of the songs from the original sound track album of this beautiful film ...

[swarapriya]

Concluding Songs from "Madhumati (1958)" ...

Here is more of a good thing ...

I am including here some songs contributed by the Forum members. Thank you. There are two specials in this post. For the song "Suhaana Safar" Dilipji gives an introduction in praise of Mukesh's beautiful voice. This is taken from the album "Legends: Mukesh - The Soulful Voice (CD 2)". I am also including a special of the song "Zulmi Sang" with Lata's introduction. She showers praises about Salilda's music composing style. This is taken from the album "Lata in Her Own Voice-2".

Come, let's enjoy these melodies ...

[parag_sankla]

In spite of tough competition and "non-musical" challenges, Mubarak Beghum got an opportunity to sing a Mujra song for this film. Agreed that the song is not a top notch song as compared to some of the other songs from the same film, yet it has its own beauty. Unfortunately with music lovers heavily biased against "other" singers, Mubarak Beghum kept singing "Hum haale dil sunaayenge, suniye ke naa suniye" but seems like no one listened to her!

[swarapriya]

In spite of tough competition and "non-musical" challenges, Mubarak Beghum got an opportunity to sing a Mujra song for this film. Agreed that the song is not a top notch song as compared to some of the other songs from the same film, yet it has its own beauty. Unfortunately with music lovers heavily biased against "other" singers, Mubarak Beghum kept singing "Hum haale dil sunaayenge, suniye ke naa suniye" but seems like no one listened to her!

Parag,

Well stated. So many talented singers never got their proper due. Mubarak Begum is definitely an example. By the way, in the movie, the song was not shown completely. On the screen it lasts less than a couple of minutes.

Cheers,
Swarapriya

[swarapriya]

(Waheeda) Teesri Kasam (1966)

Most of the following write up is from my earlier post of this film in the thread on Raj Kapoor ...

Here is one of the great movies of Indian cinema. Everything in this movie comes together as a tranquil distilled morning of a beautifully silent village. The acting, the story telling, the direction, the lyrics, the songs, and the whole gamit makes this one an outstanding achievement.

Shailendra bought rights to make this movie from a short story "Maare Gaye Gulfaam" by Phanishwar Nath Renu. He was fascinated with the two principle characters in the story and was willing to spend whatever he has to see the movie made. Shailendra originally had Meena Kumari and Mehmood in the roles that were eventually played by Waheeda and Raj respectively. He took an unknown Basu Bhattacharya, who was an assistant to the great Bimal Roy, to direct the movie. The simplicity and the lyrical nature of the movie has the imprint of a Bimalda movie all over.

Raj was a close and good friend of Shailendra. He had this inkling that this movie was not going to fly. He advised Shailendra against making the movie. But Shailendra was obsessed to see this movie through. It was said that Raj didn't want to take any renumeration for the movie. However, at Shailendra's insistence, he took one Rupee as a token for his efforts.

Raj apparently was not too happy with the choice of Basu Bhattacharya as the director. Basu was new and Raj was irked with the way things were shaping up. In the end, this movie proved to be the greatest achievement of Basu.

The movie was originally scheduled to be shot in Bihar where the actual story takes place. But because of the dacoit problems many other sites were considered. Finally Igatpuri was selected. This is the same place where Bimalda's lyrical poem on celluloid, "Madhumati", was shot.

Both Waheeda and Raj gave wonderful performances. The performance of Waheeda reminds one of the heights she scaled in "Pyaasa" and "Guide". Shankar and Jaikishan provide some of the best music of their lives to some magnificent lyrics written by Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri. Their music captured the simplicity, rustic nature, sweetness, and charm of rural areas.

This labor of love of Shailendra, "Teesri Kasam", when released won unanimous critical acclaim. But it was a financial disaster. Shailendra lost everything he owned. A broken man, Shailendra passed away on December 14, 1966. Ironically, December 14 also happens to be Raj's birthday.

"Teesri Kasam" won the President's Gold Medal for that year. It was also nominated for the Grand Prix award at the 1967 Moscow International Film Festival.

There are several songs in this album, and each one of them is a sheer beauty. I will upload these in three back-to-back posts. First two have the songs from the album. The third post has a couple of specials.

Now for the first set of songs …

[swarapriya]

Continuing Sogs from "Teesri Kasam (1966)" ...

Here are the rest of the songs from this beautiful album ...

[swarapriya]

Concluding Songs from "Teesri Kasam (1966)" ...

I am uploading in this post a couple of specials. The song "Chalat Musafir" has an introduction by the director of the film Basu Bhattacharya. He speaks (in English) in praise of Mannada. This is taken from the album "Legends:Manna Dey - The Maestro CD-3". The other song, "Sajanwa Bairi" has an introduction by Lata. She talks collectively about Shailendra, Mukesh, and Raj Kapoor. This is taken from the album "Legends:Raj Kapoor - The Showman (CD4)".

Here are these songs ...

[parag_sankla]

Not sure if I mentioned this earlier or not, but a small information worth sharing about the film Teesri Kasam. In order to help Shailendra, Raj Kapoor had offered to release the film under RK films banner. He said that it will help to attract more viewers but Shailendra insisted to release it under his own banner.

[swarapriya]

Not sure if I mentioned this earlier or not, but a small information worth sharing about the film Teesri Kasam. In order to help Shailendra, Raj Kapoor had offered to release the film under RK films banner. He said that it will help to attract more viewers but Shailendra insisted to release it under his own banner.

Thanks for sharing this Parag. This is new information to me.

Cheers,
S

[swarapriya]

(Zeenat) Heeralal Pannalal (1978)

This album is very special to me because it has Hemantda singing a song for RD. This hasn't happened too many times. It is a rarity and that makes it very special. Hemantda was one of the favorites of SD in 50's and early 60's. I expected that he will sing at least a few songs for RD. But sadly this was not the case. I could only find two instances. One is from this movie, and the other is from another 1978 album by RD, "Chor Ho To Aisa". There may be others that I am not aware of. May be someone can throw light on this. Thanks.

Here is Hemantda's song and others from this album ...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Apr 18 2010, 02:22 AM

[sangeetbhakt]

(Vyjayanti) Madumati (1958)

“Madhumati” is like a poem on the celluloid. It has that lyrical quality, that melancholic beauty, that haunting sweetness that it seems like it stays with you forever. Bimalda who directed the movie was a genius. However, he was working here with an unusual type of subject. Yet, the film clearly demonstrates why he was such a brilliant director. Every frame has his masterly touch. Every scene has his indelible imprint. Everything in the film seem to work together like a well oiled machine. Its story and its unfolding, its acting, its music, its crisp editing, its photography, its unspoiled locales, its innocent and simple folks, it is like a magnificent book that is engrossing from its cover page to the last.

Bimalda, master of his craft, creates an unforgettable ambience and sets the movie into motion in a heartwarming romantic mood. He is brilliantly aided by the camera and some inspiring music. In Salilda’s hands the music becomes such an integral part of the movie that it casts a magic spell on you. Listen to the haunting melody of “Aaja Re Pardesi” as Vyjayanti Mala glides through the mist. How about the echo ridden song in the amazing voice of Mukesh intersecting with not so far away horizons when he sings “Suhaana Safar”? What a lovely folksy and festive song it is, the song “O Daiyya Re Daiyya Re Chadh Gaya Paapi Bichhua” in the mesmerizing voices of Lata and Mannada. You feel the aches of love when you hear that beautiful song “Dil Tadap Tadap”. You feel distressed when Rafi Saab sings “Toote Hue Khwaabon Ne”. Salilda’s magnificent score is saturated with the divine beauty of the surroundings the movie was shot in. His music apparently shows the inspiration from the days he spent growing up in the hills of Assam.

Dilip gives a great performance. But these are just routine for him. One expects this from Dilip Saab and he seldom disappoints you. But the real show stealer is the performance by Vyjayanti Mala in the title role. Looking stunningly beautiful, she displays hitherto unexplored histrionic talents that keep you spellbound. As an innocent woman she shines brilliantly. As a woman falling in love she expresses her anxieties with ease. As a graceful dancer she is full of glee and gay abandon. This was a total and complete film for her.

“Madhumati” was a biggest commercial success for Bimalda. The movie walked away with a whole bunch of Filmfare awards. It won awards for Best Picture, Best Director (Bimal Roy), Best Actress (Vyjayanti Mala), Best Music (Salil Chowdhury), Best Supporting Actor (Johnny Walker), Best Art Direction (Sudhendu Roy), Best Editing (Hrishikesh Mukherjee), Best Female Singer (Lata Mangeshkar for “Aaja Re Pardesi”), Best Dialogue (Rajinder Singh Bedi), and Best Cinematography (Dilip Gupta). Its story and screenplay were written by Ritwik Ghatak, an eminent director by himself, who was nominated but didn’t win. Dilip was nominated for Best Actor but lost out to Dev Anand for “Kala Pani”.

I am uploading all of the songs from this album and several specials in three back-to-back posts. The first two posts contains songs from the original sound track album. The third post contains several extras. Some songs included here are either from a DVD or through the contributions of the Forum members. Thank you. I am also including two specials, one with Dilip’s introduction and another with Lata’s.

Now THIS is an album, I don't think I would ever tire of.

As soundtracks go, it ranks among my favorites. It is hard to find too many films with these many songs
where so many of them (arguably all of them) are so extraordinary. One could certainly find at least 4 or 5
such albums for each of the great composers where one does not wish to skip any song when listening to the
album. But given the volume of Hindi films, that is not a large number.

"Zulmi sang aaNkh laDi" is such a lovely Lata solo. The liveliness in her voice even surpasses Vyjayanthi's
dancing at points. Even the "throwaway" songs like the Mubarak Begum mujra, the Asha and chorus
"Kancha le kanchi le laagyo" and the Dwijen Mukherji song are excellent.
Salil never did right by Asha - never gave her enough songs. Then again, given his extraordinary
partnership with Lata, it is not surprising. Still, as a die-hard Asha-phile, it irks me.

And of course Rafi excels in the superlatively despondent "TooTe hue khaaboN ne". The film
version (that you have uploaded) where he repeats the first line of the antara for some reason adds a
distinct beauty to the song.

[sangeetbhakt]

(Zeenat) Heeralal Pannalal (1978)

This album is very special to me because it has Hemantda singing a song for RD. This hasn't happened too many times. It is a rarity and that makes it very special. Hemantda was one of the favorites of SD in 50's and early 60's. I expected that he will sing at least a few songs for RD. But sadly this is not the case. I could only find two instances. One is from this movie, and the other is from another 1978 album by RD, "Chor Ho To Aisa". There may be others that I am not aware of. May be someone can throw light on this. Thanks.

Quite the array of singers in this album - Asha, Lata, Kishore, Rafi, Hemant Kumar, Bhupinder and of
course Pancham himself.

BTW, the female voice in the Hemant version of "Aaja mere pyaar aaja" is not Asha (I should sure hope not,
since it is IMO the single irritating feature of an otherwise nice song - what an interesting composition). Whilethe HFGK says that it is just "bachhi ka swar", I have it somewhere in my notes that it is Jayashree
Shivram. If it is her, she sang under RDB's music direction years later - the title song for the film "Raama o
raama". She also sang a song in the film "Jai shiv shankar". Both are duets with Amit Kumar.
Sadly, she did not get better with time IMHO.
I would love to find a smooth way to cut out her voice from this Hemant Kumar song and just listen to him.

Oh btw, that adds yet another singer's name to the list of singers in this film.

[swarapriya]

Madhumati (1958)

Now THIS is an album, I don't think I would ever tire of.

SB

This album is a beauty alright. I'm with you every way on this. Your expression of thoughts about the songs of this movie echo my sentiments as well. Thank you very much for sharing these.

Cheers,
S

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Apr 18 2010, 02:41 AM