Muse & Music, Music of the Golden Age Options

[swarapriya]

(Mumtaz) Hercules (1964)

I don't have a single song from this album. I am requesting the Forum members to upload any songs from this movie. The following table shows some of these. Thank you very much in anticipation ...

[swarapriya]

(Nutan) Anari (1959)

Here is one of my favorite movies. The music, acting, story, and direction all these come together to make it an instant classic. Over the years, it hasn't lost even a bit of its lustre. There was some superb acting by Lalita Pawar and Raj Kapoor and they shared some of the most memorable scenes in the movie. Every song is a gem with one exception. To me "Ninteen Fifty-Six" is a little bit of a let down.

This movie walked away with several Filmfare awards, and rightfully so. Raj won the Best Actor award. Laita Pawar won as the Best Supporting Actress. Shnankar & Jaikishan won as the Best Music Directors. Mukesh was adjudged as the Best Playback singer for the song "Sab Kuchh Seekha Humne". Finally, Shailendra won as the best lyricist for the same song.

I am posting all the songs from this album here. I am also poting a couple of specials in the second post. Here are the songs from this album ...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Dec 5 2009, 12:00 PM

[swarapriya]

Songs of "Anari (1959)" Continued ...

Here are couple of songs of "Anari" from the "Legends" series. Raj gives a very nice introduction to the song "Kisi Ki Muskuraahaton Pe". This is from the album "Legends: Raj Kapoor - The Showman (CD 3)". In the second song , "Sab Kuchh Seekha Hum Ne", Raj also says a few words in the beginning. This also is from the same album. Here are these two songs with Raj's introductions ...

[desai2rn]

(Nutan) Anari (1959)

Here is one of my favorite movies. The music, acting, story, and direction all these come together to make it an instant classic. Over the years, it hasn't lost even a bit of its lustre. There was some superb acting by Lalita Pawar and Raj Kapoor and they shared some of the most memorable scenes in the movie. Every song is a gem with one exception. To me "Ninteen Fifty-Six" is a little bit of a let down.

This movie walked away with several Filmfare awards, and rightfully so. Raj won the Best Actor award. Laita Pawar won as the Best Supporting actress. Shnankar & Jaikishan won as the Best Music Directors. Mukesh was adjudged as the Best Playback singer for the song "Sab Kuchh Seekha Humne". Finally, Shailendra won as the best lyricist for the same song.

I am posting all the songs from this album here. I am also poting acouple of specials in the second post. Here are the songs from this album ...

Swarapriya,

Could not agree with you more. This is one of most favoriye movie. Seems better every time I watch it.
A great movie all around. Back in the old days when DVD's were expensive I had to choose one, and Anari
was my choice. Of course I had a vhs copy of it prior to that. Raj Kapoors lived that role. I don't think
any other actor could have come close to him in portraing the role. As they say he was the only one who
'could smile with one eye and cry with the other'. Most expert rate him as a one of greatest directors, and rightly so, but imho he was as good an actor if not better.

Of course Anari was great due to outstanding direction by Hrishida, great music by SJ, beautiful lyrics
by Shilendra and soulful singing by one only Mukesh. Not to forget great support by Lalita Pawar, Motilal
and Nutan

Now I have to watch it again soon.

Thanks.

[swarapriya]

Swarapriya,

Could not agree with you more. This is one of most favoriye movie. Seems better every time I watch it.
A great movie all around. Back in the old days when DVD's were expensive I had to choose one, and Anari
was my choice. Of course I had a vhs copy of it prior to that. Raj Kapoors lived that role. I don't think
any other actor could have come close to him in portraing the role. As they say he was the only one who
'could smile with one eye and cry with the other'. Most expert rate him as a one of greatest directors, and rightly so, but imho he was as good an actor if not better.

Of course Anari was great due to outstanding direction by Hrishida, great music by SJ, beautiful lyrics
by Shilendra and soulful singing by one only Mukesh. Not to forget great support by Lalita Pawar, Motilal
and Nutan

Now I have to watch it again soon.

Thanks.

Dear Ramesh,

You're reflecting my feelings as well. Well said. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Cheers,
Swarapriya

[swarapriya]

(Waheeda) Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962)

A great writer, director, and a very close friend of Guru Dutt, Abrar Alvi passed away on Novermber 18th. May his soul rest in peace. The following write up about this movie is in his honor and memory ...

This outstanding achievement in Hindi film history started when Guru Dutt bought the rights from Bimal Mitra on whose novel the movie was based on. The movie was made in Bengali earlier in 1956 and was a success. It was directed by Kartik Chatopadhyay and starred Uttam Kumar as Bhootnath (Guru played it in Hindi) and Sumitra Devi as Chhoti Bahu (Meena Kumari in an unforgettable performance lived the role in Hindi).

Bimla Mitra was hired to work with Abrar Alvi, a lifelong friend and associate of Guru, who eventually also directed the movie. Mitra translated with the help of Alvi it into Hindi and Urdu. At Guru’s advise, Alvi taped the entire Urdu script in his own voice to get a sense of dramatic appeal the story offers.

Raj Khosla, who worked as an assistant to Guru and got his first break as a director with Guru’s “C.I.D. (1956)”, says that if “Pyaasa” was based on thoughts and deep rooted feelings of Guru’s youth, “Ghulam” showed the maturity of an artist that resulted in an immaculate film.

Guru Dutt originally considered Shashi Kapoor to play the role of Bhootnath. Then he changed his mind and considered Biswajeet for the role. As often is the case with Guru, he changed his mind again and settled himself to play the role. Guru gave a dignified performance by bringing a great deal of pathos and sincere sensitivity to the character. Rehman, his long time friend from Prabhat Studios days and who has worked with him earlier in two of his very successful movies, was brought in to play the role of Chhote Babu. Rehman was just natural and unforgettable in the role. For Manjhle Babu, Guru cast Sapru, again an old friend from Prabhat days. Interestingly, the character speaks only once in the entire movie, and it was done deliberately. It was felt that his silence actually creates a menacing and sinister presence the role calls for. Indeed it was.

Guru originally wanted Nargis to play the role of Chhoti Bahu. Nargis excused herself saying that she is retired. But most film people are of the opinion that Nargis rejected Guru’s offer because, Guru dropped the movie “Raaz” he was making with Sunil Dutt, and didn’t even inform him. He also considered a London-based lady named Chhaya, who was a friend’s wife. Because she had no prior acting experience, he dropped that idea. Finally he turned to Meena Kumari. This was almost like a stroke of genius. Meenaji brought a unique perspective, silent dignity, solemn suffering, sincere subtlety, and unique depth to the character that will be remembered for ages to come. Meenaji was only 32 at the time, and was going through some rough period in her life herself. In Vinod Mehta’s biography, “Meena Kumari”, the author quotes a paragraph from her diary that illustrates how she was obsessed with the character she was portraying. She wrote, “This woman is troubling me a great deal. All day long – and a good part of the night – it is nothing else but Chhoti Bahu’s helplessness, Chhoti Bahu’s sorrows, Chhoti Bahu’s smiles, Chhoti Bahu’s hopes, Chhoti Bahu’s tribulations, Chhoti Bahu’s endurance, Chhoti Bahu’s, Chhoti Bahu’s, Chhoti Bahu’s … Oh! I am sick of it.” For her performance of a lifetime, Meenaji won the Best Actress Filmfare ward. She was also nominated the very same year in the same category for her portrayals in “Aarti” and “Main Chhup Rahoongi”.

Guru initially wanted S.D. Burman to score the music for the film. But Burmanda was indisposed and wasn’t available. Guru also offered Sahir Ludhianvi to write the lyrics. But Sahir declined the offer. Then he turned to Hemant Kumar to compose the music and Shakeel, who worked with him in “Chaudhvin Ka Chand”, to write the lyrics. The score probably was one of the best score ever provided by Hemantda. The delicate, fine, and the haunting quality of the songs all have that Hemantda’s imprint on them. (The song “Na Jaao Saiyyaan” was itself based on Hemantda’s original Bengali song, “Oliro Katha Sune”.) One of the highlights of the score was that not just the songs were simply superb, but also the highly atmospheric background music. The aura of tragedy, the scars of loneliness, the frustrations risen out of neglect and rejection, these moods are all given expression in the background score with that deeply affecting melancholic touch. An eerie feeling, just like the one Hemantda gave music to his own film that very same year, “Bees Saal Baad”. For all his magnificent efforts Hemantda was not even nominated for any awards for “Ghulam”!

Originally it was Geetaji who was supposed to sing all the songs in the movie. But with Guru having marital problems, he even tried to commit suicide during the filming of this movie, he decided not to have her sing any one of the songs. This was finally resolved with Geetaji singing three songs, all for Meenaji. Interestingly these three are some of the magnificent songs ever sung by Geetaji. Her personal life at this stage was not much different from the songs she was singing for, that of Chhoti Bahu. Our fellow member, Aditya Pant had a nice article written about how the lives of Meenaji and Geetaji mirror each other. This can be seen at the following address:

http://www.geetadutt.com/blog/?p=559

Guru Dutt had the habit of sending his associates to theaters to observe audience reactions when his movies were released. When his associates informed him about the public uproar about two scenes in the movie, he decided to replace them. One of the scenes is where Chhoti Bahu rests her head in Bhootnath’s lap out of an affectionate affinity. The other scene was in which Chhoti Bahu tells her husband to allow her to take the last sip of liquor for the last time because she has decided to give it up completely. Based on audiences’m reaction, Guru decided to reshoot those scenes immediately. He asked Meenaji to be back for a reshoot from Lonavla where she was shooting for another movie. Rehman was also called back. He had all the film reels in Bombay replaced with new prints. The last scene was replaced with a paralyzed Chhote Babu repenting his decadent ways. In the original release, the movie ends with a song by Hemantda himself, “Saahil Ki Taraf” while Chhote Bahu was riding the carriage. The song was completely deleted from the movie. However, Hemantda reused the same tune for Hrishida’s classic “Anupama (1966)” for the song “Yaa Dil Ki Suno Duniyaawaalo”.

Guru originally considered both Nitin Bose or Satyen Bose to direct the film. He changed his mind and decided to give his friend Alvi a break as a director. It was Abrar Alvi’s first and only film as a director. Even though many people think it was Guru who ghost directed the movie, but Alvi in his own book “Ten Years with Guru Dutt – Abrar Alvi’s Journey”, written by Sathya Saran, says that it was his effort all the way. In a recent interview, Waheeda Rehman, who had a principal role in the film, claims that “It wasn’t really directed by Guru Dutt. Of course, he did help Mr. Alvi throughout but this was because the two were close friends, and felt like giving Mr. Alvi the chance to direct a film.” She continues that “I’m sure he helped quite a bit, but then any director, when giving a film to a colleague, does take interest and lend a hand of support.” Finally she concludes that “Guru Dutt did not direct the film”.

Abrar Alvi, who passed away recently, did admit of help from Guru in the picturization of the songs. If anyone who is familiar with Guru’s work, can easily see his stamp all over in the movie as well as the songs. But let us not take any credit away from Alvi Saab. He made a magnificent movie that generations will remember. Guru never got any award as a film director, but Alvi was recognized with the Best Film Director award for that year by the Filmfare magazine.

The movie was shot partly in a haveli forty miles from Kolkata in a place called Dhankuria. It was an old haveli with approximately 50 rooms in it. The mansion with huge pillars and a huge garden was a perfect setting for the movie. At Guru’s request, Alvi spent several months studying habits of zamindars by staying with some of them in and near Kolkata. Bhanumati, who was an illustrator and designer for the “Eve’s Weekly” magazine, was hired to design costumes.

The movie also won a Filmfare award as the Best Picture of the year. V.K. Murty’s brilliant photography won him also the Best Photography Filmfare award. The movie also won President Silver Award. It entered the Berlin Film Festival in 1963. India had another entry for that festival, the same year, Satyajit Ray’s “Jalsaghar”. Guru, Abrar, and Waheeda attended the festival. Meena Kumari did not attend because her husband, Kamal Amrohi, declined to go. Guru had much admiration for Ray. Interestingly both movies showed the zamindari life in a specific period of time in Bengal. Ray’s film reflected dignified and cultured zamindari life whereas Guru’s film showed sinful and decadent way of the same set of people. Guru’s movie didn’t make any waves at Berlin. Later it was also entered Oscars in Best Foreign Film category. But Oscar award selectors also didn’t think much of the movie. It doesn’t matter. It still is one of the best movies made in this country. India Times magazine rates it as the best top 25.

Here are the last few words about Meenaji’s unforgettable performance. A critic in Upperstall.com wrote this about Meenaji’s memorable performance. “ … Her portrayal of Chhoti Bahu is perhaps the greatest performance ever seen on the Indian Screen. The sequence where Chhoti Bahu dresses for her husband singing Piya Aiso Jiya Mein is a poignant exploration of a woman's expectations and sexual desire. And later on when she has become a desperate alcoholic, you cannot help but cry with her in the sequence where she pleads with her husband to stay with her and then angrily turns on him to tell him how she has prostituted her basic values and morals to please him. However the common factors between the actress's life and Chhoti Bahu are too dramatic to be merely coincidental - The estranged marital relationship, the taking of alcohol, turning towards younger male company, the craving to be understood and loved - all elements evident in Meena Kumari's own life …”

They are remaking this movie with Priyanka Chopra (as Chhoti Bahu) and Salman Khan (as Bhootnath). I don’t want to make any judgment about it but you know what happened with Sharukh Khan-starrer “Devdas”. Don’t want to think about it …

I am uploading all the songs in three separate posts. Here is the first set of songs …

[swarapriya]

Songs of "Sahib Bibi Aur Gulam (1962)" - Post 1

Here is the first set of songs ...

[swarapriya]

Songs of "Sahib Bibi Aur Gulam (1962)" - Post 2

Here is the second set of songs ...

[swarapriya]

Songs of "Sahib Bibi Aur Gulam (1962)" - Post 3

In this post I am uploading Lata's version of "Koi Door Se Awaaz De". This is taken from her album "Lata's Shraddhanjali (CD 2)". When the "Bibi" was released, it had the song by Hemantda, shown in red italics in the table. Guru Dutt had the song deleted from the movie. The tune later was used by Hemanta for "Anupama (1966)". if by any chance anyone happens to have this song, I am requesting them to please upload and share with rest of us. Thank you.

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Dec 6 2009, 04:13 AM

[swarapriya]

(Rekha) Zameen Aasman (1972)

The unique thing about this album is that its music was compsed by that multi-faceted genius, Kishoreda. Here is a phenomenon with no formal musical training, finding his niche in so many different areas that you can't help but admire. I cannot substantiate for sure the exact source of these songs. I marked them as from a CD but they could have been, at least some of the songs, from the Forum. Nevertheless my many thanks to the members. Here are the songs ...

[lakshmi]

(Mumtaz) Hercules (1964)

I don't have a single song from this album. I am requesting the Forum members to upload any songs from this movie. The following table shows some of these. Thank you very much in anticipation ...

Swarapriya,

I have only one song from this movie

HERCULES(1964)
md N.Datta

song ja ja re beimaan - Suman Kalyanpur - 3:30/128

[yunus]

Thankyou Swarapriyaji for Zameen asmaan and Lakshmiji for the hercules song.

Yunus

[swarapriya]

Swarapriya,

I have only one song from this movie

HERCULES(1964)
md N.Datta

song ja ja re beimaan - Suman Kalyanpur - 3:30/128

Thank you very much Lakshmi for the song. Cheers. -S

[swarapriya]

Thankyou Swarapriyaji for Zameen asmaan and Lakshmiji for the hercules song.

Yunus

You're very welcome, Yunus. -S

[sangeetbhakt]

Here is one more from "Hercules" (1964), music by N Dutta.

Song: Is jawaani se tauba
Singer: Asha Bhonsle
Duration: 3:11
Bitrate: 128 kbps
Format: mp3