The Three Reigning Queens, Albums of Madhubala, Meena Kumari & Nargis Options

[swarapriya]

(Nargis) Meena Bazaar (1950)

Here is one of the finest albums from the musical duo Husnlal & Bhagatram. There are twelve songs in this film. Rafi Saab has 10 of them with two solos and eight duets. I am uploading 10 songs here, all by the courtesy of the Forum members. Thank you. I am missing two duets shown in red italics in the table below. If you happen to have them, please kindly share them with rest of us. Thank you.

Here are the songs ...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Jan 7 2010, 11:03 AM

[swarapriya]

(Madhubala) Sangdil (1952)

In a 20-year period Sajjad Hussain, the music director of this film, (see the attached photo), did only 14 films. This is mainly because, though recognized as a brilliant composer, he had problems getting along with people. He was one of the great players of Mandolin on which he could play Indian classical music. Apparently this in itself was a tribute to his genius. He was expert in several other instruments including flute, veena, violin, piano, and sitar.

It was Meena Kumari’s father who introduced him to the film world. His very first film “Dost” made in 1944 became famous because of the hit songs he composed for its heroine, Noor Jehan.

The genius he was, he always got into trouble with his fellow workers. He bad mouthed Lata Mangeshkar who abstained singing for him. He called Kishore Kumar as “Shore Kumar” and Talat Mahmood as “Ghalat Mahmood”. Yet, his composition in this film by Talat, “Yeh Hawa”, is considered to be one of his best compositions and one of Talat’s best songs. He got into fight with Dilip Kumar during the shooting of “Sangdil” and Dilip never worked with him again, even though much of the success “Sangdil” enjoyed had to do with its music. He also had differences with the lyricist D.N. Madhok. These kind of stories about Hussain go on and on ...

Sajjad Hussain's entire repertoire includes less than 100 songs in 14 or so odd films. But almost all his compositions were huge hits. Composer Anil Biswas had paid a great tribute to him saying that Sajjad Hussain was the only original composer Hindi cinema has known.

This film was adapted from the classic English novel "Jane Eyre" published in 1847 by Charlotte Bronte under the pen name of Currer Bell. It was made into a movie in Hollywood several times. The interesting subplot of this movie is the real life romance between the leading pair Madhubala and Dilip.

I am uploading songs from this album in two separate posts. All songs from the first post are from a CD. The second post songs are by the compliments of the Forum members.

Here is the first set of songs ...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Jan 7 2010, 11:05 AM

[swarapriya]

Songs of "Sangdil (1952)" Continued ...

Here are the rest of the songs from this album. These all are by the compliments of the Forum members. Thank you. I am also uploading an extended version of the song "Dharti Se Door". The extended version is similar to the regular version except it is preceded by nearly 90 seconds of music.

Here are the songs ...

[parag_sankla]

Dear Swarapriya

Excellent post on the film Sangdil and its music. As you rightly mentioned, the stories of eccentricity of Sajjad Hussain are numerous. On one hand he supposedly bad mouthed Lata ji, on the other hand he is reported to have said "Sirf Lata gaati hain, baaki sab roti hai". Somewhere else I read that he said that only Noor Jehan and Lata can sing, why other singers try to sing.

Once a famous Sarangi player (Ram Narayan ?) was a part of his orchestration and his playing was not up to the satisfaction of Sajjad. Sajjad has said to have made this comment "Yeh Naushad miya ki dhun nahin hain, yahan aap ko dhang se bajaana padega." He has also supposed to be said that he (the Sarangi player) should be thankful to Hindi film music, otherwise his instrument (Sarangi) was only limited to be played at a Kothewali's place..!

Too many stories..too whimsical a person...

[Aditya Pant]

Dear Swarapriya

Excellent post on the film Sangdil and its music. As you rightly mentioned, the stories of eccentricity of Sajjad Hussain are numerous. On one hand he supposedly bad mouthed Lata ji, on the other hand he is reported to have said "Sirf Lata gaati hain, baaki sab roti hai". Somewhere else I read that he said that only Noor Jehan and Lata can sing, why other singers try to sing.

Once a famous Sarangi player (Ram Narayan ?) was a part of his orchestration and his playing was not up to the satisfaction of Sajjad. Sajjad has said to have made this comment "Yeh Naushad miya ki dhun nahin hain, yahan aap ko dhang se bajaana padega." He has also supposed to be said that he (the Sarangi player) should be thankful to Hindi film music, otherwise his instrument (Sarangi) was only limited to be played at a Kothewali's place..!

Too many stories..too whimsical a person...

I wonder how many of these stories are true and how many change hue and colour as they're passed around . I read the "Naushad Miyan ki dhun" incident somewhere, but there he had supposedly said this to Lata!

[parag_sankla]

Yes Aditya, you are right. The Sarangi incident has nothing to do with "Naushad miya ki dhun", sorry I mixed up the things.

I surely remember reading the second part though. The article also mentioned that Ram Narayan was a famous name by that time and Sajjad's tiff with him did not go well with other musicians or even some film producers.

Here is a link to a website on Pandit Ram Narayan, the famous Sarangi player

http://ramnarayansarangi.com/home.htm

Regards
Parag

[parag_sankla]

Songs of "Sangdil (1952)" Continued ...

Here are the rest of the songs from this album. These all are by the compliments of the Forum members. Thank you. I am also uploading an extended version of the song "Dharti Se Door". The extended version is similar to the regular version except it is preceded by nearly 90 seconds of music.

Here are the songs ...

Dear swarapriya

Not sure about the "Extended version" you posted, but this song also appears as a snippet in the film. Our dear friend Anu had posted the video of the same on our YT channel some time back. Here is the link to it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iY0MMwg25A0

The song clearly showcases the strengths of both the voices. One can easily find out who is trying to imitate whom..



Regards
Parag

[Exon]

(Madhubala) Sangdil (1952)

SP,

Thanks for Sangdil album; I was missing a few songs.

Exon

[swarapriya]

Dear Swarapriya

Excellent post on the film Sangdil and its music. As you rightly mentioned, the stories of eccentricity of Sajjad Hussain are numerous. On one hand he supposedly bad mouthed Lata ji, on the other hand he is reported to have said "Sirf Lata gaati hain, baaki sab roti hai". Somewhere else I read that he said that only Noor Jehan and Lata can sing, why other singers try to sing.

Thanks for the note, Parag. Cheers.

[swarapriya]

(Madhubala) Sangdil (1952)

SP,

Thanks for Sangdil album; I was missing a few songs.

Exon

You're very welcome, Exon. Cheers. -S

[Exon]

(Madhubala) Tarana (1951)

SP,

I came across 'jali jo shaak-e-chaman' as a version song by Gowri Kedar at this external link.

Exon

[swarapriya]

(Madhubala) Tarana (1951)

SP,

I came across 'jali jo shaak-e-chaman' as a version song by Gowri Kedar at this external link.

Exon

Thanks for the pointer, Exon. Cheers. -S

[romesh]

(Nargis) Meena Bazaar (1950)

Here is one of the finest albums from the musical duo Husnlal & Bhagatram. There are twelve songs in this film. Rafi Saab has 10 of them with two solos and eight duets. I am uploading 10 songs here, all by the courtesy of the Forum members. Thank you. I am missing two duets shown in red italics in the table below. If you happen to have them, please kindly share them with rest of us. Thank you.

Here are the songs ...

Hi SP

I have one missing song from this film which I am u/l
pl enjoy

romesh

chhod diya ghar baar @192kbps



quote=romesh

[swarapriya]

(Nargis) Meena Bazaar (1950)

Hi SP

I have one missing song from this film which I am u/l
pl enjoy

romesh

chhod diya ghar baar @192kbps

quote=romesh

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

[swarapriya]

(Meena) Parineeta (1953)

Here is one of the great movies from Bimalda. Filmed in stunning black and white, with an award winning incredible performance from Meena Kumari, and ably supported by Ashok Kumar, the movie remains as one of the classics of Indian Cinema. The story taken from Sharat Chandra Chatterjee’s (see the attached picture) 1914 Bengali novel of the same name was produced by Ashok Kumar himself. Incidentally, Bimalda who won the Best Director award for the movie, went on to make “Biraj Bahu” in 1954 with Kamini Kaushal and Ashok Kumar ,and the following year, in 1955, he brought another Sharat’s literary classics to life in “Devdas” with Suchitra Sen, Vyjayanti Mala, and Dilip Kumar.

Ably assisted by the brilliant editing of Hrishikesh Mukherjee,and Kamal Bose’s cinematography, Bimalda narrates the story at unhurried pace without losing the grip on the characterization spontaneity. Even the dialogues are delivered in soft tone that the absence of loudness adds to the beauty of the movie.

Bimalda was a photographer and editor before turning as a director. He was the cinematographer of Saigal’s classic “Devdas” made in 1936. Kamal Bose who was the cameraman for this movie, captures various moods of the principal characters in glorious black, grey and white colors. As the critic Shoma Chatterjee aptly observed, “… the camera was Bimalda’s brush and his unfailing grip over it made him maneuver it with gentle strokes, sweeping into his canvas the rich poetry and the powers of human beauty, the intensity and the variety of human emotions …”.

The two main characters played by Meena Kumari and Ashok Kumar walk through their respective roles with such professional skill that watching them is like taking a lesson in acting. Meena looking ever so beautifully captures all the subtleties of human emotions like love, pathos, uncertainties, and anxieties that her character goes through with commendable restraint collaborated with consummate artistry.

I am not familiar with the work of the music director of this movie, Aroon Kumar Mukherjee. Besides this film, it appears like he gave music to “Pratima (1945)”, “Muqaddar (1950)”, “Samaaj (1954)”, and “Teen Bhai (1955)”. He seems to have sang in some movies too. “Kismat” made in 1943 was one of them. Too bad he didn’t get opportunities to provide music for more films because he proved his prowess by composing some beautiful songs for this movie. My favorite one is by Geetaji that seems to make a definitive statement. The song “Chaand Hai Wohi” is rendered with such sweetness and sung as if Geetaji put her whole soul into it. This beautiful composition is brilliant, intense, and romantic all at the same time. The listening experience of this mellifluous song leaves you totally consumed. Mannada’s both versions of the song “Chali Raadhe Rani” offer soul stirring experiences as well. Asha also has a couple of beautiful solos. Especially her song “Gore Gore Haathon Mein” is very enchanting to listen to. The song is made special the way the antaraas return to the mukhdaas in the composition with percussion instruments giving able support. Let me also mention about the song by Ashit Baran, who also starred in the movie as the “other” person in Meena Kumari’s life. His song “Toota Hai Naata” almost sounds like Hemantda’s, yet it has distinctiveness of its own. Bimalda seamlessly integrates these songs in such a way that they become part of the narrative, smooth and beautiful, but never obtrusive.

Now for the beautiful songs from this film ...