Three Of A Kind, Dev, Dilip & Kishore Options

[chotuyash44]

Thanks

[swarapriya]

(Dilip) Madhumati (1958)

(Note: Most of the following write up I used elsewhere in this Forum for uploading these same songs earlier.)

“Madhumati” is like a poem on the celluloid. It has that lyrical quality, that melancholic beauty, that haunting sweetness that stays with you forever. Bimalda who directed the movie was unquestionably a cinematic genius. But 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 seems 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 in the backdrop of the story, it is like a magnificent book that is engrossing from its cover page to the last and once you start reading it is difficult to put it down.

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 unforgettable camera work and inspiringly moody but melodious 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 lovely voices of Lata and Mannada. You feel the aches of love and pangs of separation 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 he clearly drew from the days he spent growing up in the hills of Assam.

Dilip gives a great performance. But these types of roles are just a routine for him. One expects this from Dilip Saab and he seldom disappoints you. He has done them before. He has done more of the same in the future as well. 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 the viewer spellbound. As an innocent simple woman with no worldly experiences she shines brilliantly. As a woman falling in love she expresses her anxieties and vulnerabilities with graceful ease. As a lovely 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 (Bimal Roy), 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 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 songs from this album and several specials in three back-to-back posts. The first two posts contain 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 …

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Nov 3 2010, 08:59 AM

[swarapriya]

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

Here are more songs from this fine musical album...

[swarapriya]

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

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".

Here are these songs and more ...

[simplefable]

SP..it is as usual, a great pleasure to read your note. Madhumati evokes a unique kind of feeling which is hard to put down in words. The mystique around the whole film is spellbinding. I saw it in 1982, almost three decades and still the magic is always there. I was so involved with the film and the climax brought me goosebumps. As you rightly said, Vyjayantimala steals the show all the way. She carried her portly figure with such fine aplomb and grace, it needs to be seen. As the innocent country belle and as the refined city dweller, she showed a fine distinction.
All in all, when a brilliant director and equally brilliant music director come together, we cant expect a better job than this. Visuals are absolutely stunning ! I saw the film back to back twice, sitting in the same chair ! indeed it was a magical treat to cherish for a lifetime !
Read somewhere that Bimal da was not happy with any outdoor locales for shooting closeup shots of Dilip when he embraces cosmos flowers and went on to grow them in his backyard and took the shots there....goes to show what perfection is all about !

[swarapriya]

SP..it is as usual, a great pleasure to read your note. Madhumati evokes a unique kind of feeling which is hard to put down in words. The mystique around the whole film is spellbinding. I saw it in 1982, almost three decades and still the magic is always there. I was so involved with the film and the climax brought me goosebumps. As you rightly said, Vyjayantimala steals the show all the way. She carried her portly figure with such fine aplomb and grace, it needs to be seen. As the innocent country belle and as the refined city dweller, she showed a fine distinction.
All in all, when a brilliant director and equally brilliant music director come together, we cant expect a better job than this. Visuals are absolutely stunning ! I saw the film back to back twice, sitting in the same chair ! indeed it was a magical treat to cherish for a lifetime !
Read somewhere that Bimal da was not happy with any outdoor locales for shooting closeup shots of Dilip when he embraces cosmos flowers and went on to grow them in his backyard and took the shots there....goes to show what perfection is all about !

It is so good to hear from you after a long time SF. Hope things are going well. Thanks for your observations. Cheers. -S

[swarapriya]

(Kishore) Aasha (1957)

Vyjayanti Mala was a daughter of a friend of M.V. Raman, the director of this movie. Raman offered her to work in the Tamil version of "Bahaar (1951)", which he was about to direct for AVM Studios. Vyjayanti Mala's father agreed. Kishoreda had a role in that movie. Vyjayanti acted in Tamil, Telugu, and Hindi versions of "Bahaar", all directed by Raman. She also acted in "Ladki (1953)" also directed by Raman for AVM. That movie also was made in Tamil and Telugu. Kishoreda starred in the Hindi version. After the success he enjoyed with these movies Raman undertook to make movies for his own banner. "Aasha" was one of them. Incidentally, it also stars Kishoreda. In all these three Hindi films, apart from the director, one commonality was that all had Vyjayanti Mala and Kishore Kumar in them.

"Aasha", shot partly in color, was only a moderate success but has good music. The song "Ina Mina Dika", especially Kishoreda’s version, was a sensation when the movie was originally released. It still is a popular song. In the film, there is a solo version of this song sung by Asha. Whenever Asha gives a concert, she always includes this song in her repertoire, either as a solo or as a duet. The movie had no duet version of this song but Asha is generally joined by one of the popular singers accompanying her on the tours and together they perform this song as a duet.

I am uploading the songs of this album in back-to-back two posts. The first post has all the songs from the film. The second post contains extended versions of several songs.

Now for a description of the songs in the first post and the songs themselves …

[swarapriya]

Concluding Songs from "Aasha (1957)" ...

I am uploading several extended version songs in this post, all thanks to the courtesy of the Forum members. Also, it is interesting to note that Subhash Ghai in his film “Karz (1980)” uses almost the similar situation picturized for the song “Raat Andheri” in this film to nab the culprit.

Here are the songs ...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Nov 9 2010, 04:58 AM

[swarapriya]

(Dev) Patita (1953)

Amiya Chakrabarty, who introduced Dilip Kumar in "Jwar Bhata" in 1944, directed this successful movie. He was basking in the glory of "Daag (1952)", also starring Dilip that dealt with issues related to alcoholism, and takes here another thought provoking subject to handle about a woman who was a rape victim resulting in as an unwed mother of a child. Chakrabarty later made other great films like "Seema (1955)", "Kathputli (1957)", and "Dekh Kabira Roya (1957)". But only days after "Roya" was released he passed away at the age of 44 with a heart failure.

Subject may have been very serious in "Patita" but its music was definitely one of the great creations of the brilliant music director duo, Shankar & Jaikishan. Each and every song was a super hit with three solos by Talat Saab, two by Lataji, and a duet by Lataji and Hemantda. 57 years after the movie was released, the songs from this film haven't lost any of their appeal. That is the testimonial of the genius of the incomparable S&J.

Here are all the songs from this film from an original soundtrack album. I am also including a short clip of "Hain Sab Se Madhur" with Talat Saab's introduction. This is taken from the album "Legends: Talat Mahmood - The Silken Voice (CD5)".

Now for the songs...

[akbaralibhai]

Thank you Swarapriya for Patita, a wonderful SJ album.

[nandi]

Thanks for Pardes and many more that I have recently downloaded from your collection.
There are times when I download valuable songs from your postings and I feel I have stolen something from you and the Board.
nandi

[swarapriya]

Thank you Swarapriya for Patita, a wonderful SJ album.

You're welcome Bhai Saab. In total agreement. This is one great album. Cheers. -S

[swarapriya]

Thanks for Pardes and many more that I have recently downloaded from your collection.
There are times when I download valuable songs from your postings and I feel I have stolen something from you and the Board.
nandi

Nandi. You've always been a pal. Don't need to feel guilty about downloading these songs. These songs are put in the open for sharing. That is my justification. Cheers. -S

[swarapriya]

(Dilip) Yahudi (1958)

This period drama was directed by the great Bimal Roy. The story dealt with the persecution of Jews by the Romans some 2,000 years back. In this film, there are some beautiful songs composed by Shankar & Jaikishan.

Geetaji makes a rare appearance for S&J. She sings here the duet “Bechain Dil Khoi Si Nazar” with Lata. In the movie, the song was filmed on Cuckoo and Helen.

Interestingly, this very same year Bimalda's "Madhumati" was released and swept almost all of the Filmfare Awards. However, Shailendra (who also wrote all of the songs for “Madhumati”) won the Award for Best Lyrics for the song "Yeh Mera Deewaanaapan" from "Yahudi".

Here are all the songs from an original soundtrack album including an extended version of "Meri Jaan Meri Jaan"...

This post has been edited by swarapriya: Nov 25 2010, 06:16 AM

[swarapriya]

(Kishore) Bandi (1957)

Here are the songs from this album...