KYA DEKHTE HO

Song: 46


Sometimes when it really got warm, club crooner liked to wear the bare minimum. She was so good au naturale that her attire was just a formality. Like a bronze statue chiselled out of precision and passion by Pygmalion himself, she stood tall and proud. Yet when people couldn't help staring, she could ask innocently, " What you looking at?" much to the hero's chagrin. Gulp, he went...."Errm at your face, I swear!"

Zeenat was afterall the perfect 10 when it came to gorgeous women who graced Indi screen. Even as women, many of us have ogled at her. I remember how when Satyam Shivam Sundaram had got released, we were still kids and our parents had left us home when they went for it. Many years later, in college a bunch of my female friends and I had gone to a seedy hall in Patel Nagar in Delhi and watched the movie with a bunch of rikshawalahs and such like, whistling and staring. She was just too good to behold in that. The story though farfetched, justified her attire through a deep and heavy spiritual and social message which is not entirely untrue.

But it was Feroz Khan who to quite an extent succeeded in portraying women who did not have to be sati savitri or dress like one to be considered virtuous. His heroines were a fine blend of the sexy and sweet, bold yet bashful. The lines between the hot and happening vamp who was only the toast of the smokey casinos and the heroine one could take home to mom, blurred because of directors like Feroz. Here were women who revelled in their sensuality, looked like a million bucks but had not lost their ability to love and be loved in the purest sense of the word. Also how these songs never seem jarring is because the lyrics always maitained some decorum. So whoever justifies cheap songs today by saying that 'situation hii aisee dete hain', need to know that the power of words can not be understimated.

And why this song is remarkable too is that it is one of Rafi's last songs, that he sang at the fag end of his career at age 56/57, the other one being the beautiful 'Maine Poochha Chaand Se' from Abdullah. He soon died after this, leaving a rich legacy of songs that brought so many moments of cinematic brilliance.


 

O HASEENA ZULFON WALI

Song 45:


But it was not before long that the traveller had to get back to the urbane charms of the metropolis. The club crooner had been waiting anxiously for him all this while. Only he could match her vitality, her verve. She was after all textured from the darkest hour of the night, vileful and enchanting. She was a restless spirit, searching, probing, seeking that paramour par excellence. Someone who could match steps with her zest for life. Someone who could kindle the fire in her. She was not bothered if she got burnt in the flame. She was a firebrand too.

A lesser woman would have kept away and tamed herself, but not the club crooner. She courted danger every night. She walked the tight rope with elan. Her passion was her propellant. She could burn the floor with her moves, her meandering curves leading him into a maze of mysteries, till he was wrapped around her little finger. When the two of them got together, any Ms. Goody two shoes was reduced to watching gobsmacked, frozen to her seat. Club crooner may not have been the lead woman, but steal the show she could! Yes, with great finesse and flourish, right from under Ms. Goody Two shoes' hoity toity little nose!

DEEWANA HUA BADAL

Song 43:

And sometimes when they met in the morning hours, it was  as if calm descended on Earth. The still waters of the lake woke up to mirror their sentiments, the stray clouds watched in wonder, awestruck. There were no facades, there were no fake platitudes. What they felt for each other was as true as the beautiful mountains behind. Solid and stable, waiting for centuries to see this very morning. There was joy in confession. There was peace in truth. For the truth was that they were made for each other. They felt fortunate to have met despite all odds. The traveller from the plains had come here to witness the beauty of this beautiful valley. She, a spring flower had in fact bloomed for a hundred years, every year, to finally be seen and admired by the traveller. As they disclosed age-old secrets buoyed on a shaky shikara, Kashmir sizzled with endless possibilities......

ACHHA JI MAIN HAARI

Song 42:

Asha has hundreds of duets with Rafi but its the Geeta Dutt ones that I am searching for, probably I will cover them next week. Here's an adorable Asha Rafi number that I suppose everyone loves. Asha's voice is fresh as a daisy and so is Madhubala on screen and Dev is aptly khaoing a lot of bhaav what with such a beauty persuading him. If I am in a foul mood, one thing that can surely lift my spirits and act as a great therapy is to be around food, plan and prepare something new, get my creative juices flowing and lose myslf in the colours, tastes, textures and aromas of interesting ingredients. Knead and roll, shape and size, balance and offset. Work out new combinations.

I seriously feel that people who don't love food only live half a life. I get along better with people who love food and somehow cannot relate that well to people who just eat to as if perform a necessary obligation.  When you're a spontaneous person you don't need recipes. I have thousands and thousands of recipes that I feverishly collected initially but I love to improvise and try new things every time. I almost never make the same thing the same way twice! Of course if the experiment works, you accept the accolades graciously. If it backfires, you just give it an exotic Italian/French/Moravian name and say it is the rage in Milan or South of France or Scandinavia. At best you'll have to roll back if you're asked to utter the same name again.

Then there are some people who when angry or perturbed, give up on food. There are people who can watch other beings gobble down bricks of cool ice cream on a sultry night and not get tempted themselves. There are people especially women who turn up at parties and then refuse to eat anything, either they are on a fast (arre should have told when I invited you na, that it was your weekly fast!)or watching their diet  that they totally disrespect the lengths the host might have gone to, to plan a meal. Happened to me today too. Then so much food goes waste. Either you should inform your host that I will come over but I eat like a sparrow/don't eat at all/I just look at food/I just smell food and I am full. We have quite a few professional hunger strikers in India who go on fasts at the drop of a hat. They hold the whole system on ransom and threaten and refuse to take a morsel before their demand is fulfilled. I seriously have never understood the idea of giving up food. Be thankful to what God has given you, make sure you share some food with the less fortunate. Feeding a hungry person is a very fulfilling experience. Everyone does not have to go out there and change this world. One step at a time with our near and dear ones, with the people who touch our lives is a great way to start. Before I say something that I have to rollback, I guess I'll just keep shut coz this song needs no introduction. Have a great week ahead with or without food. After all bhaav is the only thing you can khao once you've given up on food!! :-)))

ISHARON ISHARON MEIN DIL

Song 41:


Which is not to say Shammi and Sharmila didn't sizzle in the rustic songs too. Quicksilver, they could transform into two simpletons, simply happy to be together in this beautiful, big, wide world. The high haunted hills were witness to their love, as was the mist, as were the beautiful conifers and pathways. They had passed by that path, sometimes greeting the rising morning sun, at other times, as a mysterious dusk set in. The nights had been theirs right from the beginning of time. The nights, with their songs and subtle hints, the masked messages and the passive passions. It were the nights that brought relief from the bitter realities of life. The lack of bright lights subdued what stared in the eye in the daytime. You could interpret the shadows the way you wanted.....and renew some age old promises.

Well Delhi is so hot these days, that the night brings relief anyway. This is the time when you can put your feet up, sink into bed and psyche yourself into that second helping of icecream with the logic that it's made of milk and therefore rich in calcium and good for you! So what if you have to spend twenty extra minutes on the treadmill tomorrow. :-) 

RAAT KE HUMSAFAR THAK KE GHAR

Song 40

And if you thought Rafi could only sing songs that smelt of mother Earth or very rustic characters, you had another one coming. Or that all Shammi Kapoor was good for was the buffoonry and silly pranks, you were so wrong too. Both could, when they wanted, transform into this uber stylish and suave gentleman, wooing demure ladies like noone else. Shammi's teddy bear persona made the women feel petite and lady-like in his presence. His smouldering intense gaze could warm the coldest of hearts and his self assured manner could put them at ease. I think he carried a suit rather well and did justice to these phoren locales so well. Rafi was always the voice of Shammi and together they etched so many diverse characters-sensitive, cool, warm, fool, prankster, dancer, mimic, jubilant junglee and caring brahmachari. I have been in a very Paris-ey mood past few days and this song somewhat conveys the mystical allure of Paris by night. Sharmila too, I believe changed her look from the pretty but girl-next-doorish debutante of Kashmir Ki Kali and previous Bengali movies, into this femme fatale. Watch her as she makes saree look so so chic. If you ever want to learn how to carry a saree well, I'd say Sharmila is pretty much my benchmark. Asha, well she is just being herself, sultry and sizzling. Lyrics are by Hasrat Jaipuri and music by Shankar Jaikishan. Difficult to sum up the ouevre of their talent!!! And what a beautiful thought to let an evening slowly transform into morning! Rafi and Asha created sublime magic and how!

NIGAHON NE PHENKA HAI PANJE PE

 Song 39:

 

The club crooner was the hero's trump card, she aided and abetted him in his various trysts. She flashed upon his consciousness like a bolt of lightning, stupefying him with her one mischievous glance. She was quick on the uptake, matching step for step. Together they were like a hand of three aces, making paces, throwing caution to social graces. Their motive was moolah. Who could have thought of an alliance coolah than this. Fire and ice, sugar and spice, roll of dice, game of cat and mice. There was sure to be lot of thrill and adventure, vendetta and intrigue, moments of mystique, quicksand chases and cuts and grazes. A rollercoaster ride, seek and hide, swim and glide, beating the tide. To what end, that the time would tell. Dazzling booty or being branded Jezebel? Seemed no one really cared as long as the journey was fun. But such Asha songs were as if made for perky Helen, and Rafi backs aptly for a twisted Dev Anand.

MAIN PYAAR KA RAHI HUN

Song 38:

But my favourite song from the film is this one for which somehow I am unable to locate a video. But the song is good enough just to listen and envision. It reminds me of a very interesting time a few years ago. Circa 2004-2005, somewhere in Central India. The ladies of an entire regiment were staying behind while their men had gone for defence exercise at the borders. Now this is a very nice time to connect and bring on the camaraderie in a typical army set-up.

We all had little toddlers whom we would put in our prams and get together at someone's place. We'd knit sweaters, embroider dainty daisies on delicate handkerchiefs, share recipes for sinful desserts and also try them out, ending with a pot luck or something. This was before Twitter and FB and we'd also recommend and share books. Then someone floated a book called 'The Bridges of Madison County' recommending it on 'high' priority. Soon one after the other, we fell for the riveting story of a mysterious, rakish traveller Robert Kincaid who comes and sweeps away the heart of a beautiful but kinda rough around the edges and sorta disillusioned Francesca Johnson for four days while her own family is away! Then we all procured the movie from somewhere and watched teary eyed, as Clint Eastwood and Meryl Streep brought it alive. Though for me the book was better, as for most of my friends.

We oohed and aahed and passed on the book and waited to see the reaction of the next slain heart, then going 'See I toldya na!' When the men returned after almost two months we were a regiment of about 16 ladies with a collective crush on Robert Kincaid. We had slept, talked about, walked, sang, eaten, danced with Robert Kincaid! The men were curious as to who the hell is Robert Kincaid. We'd give them bits and pieces, little hints about the story, but made sure they didn't get to read it. For we did not want them to be Robert Kincaid to anyone else! Hahahaha

This song too has the same appeal, as if almost made for an Indian version. What is it about the strange attraction between someone who is pretty much a vagabond, a free spirit, a seeker of higher truths, the National Geographic photographer types and a woman living a life of convention, steeped in traditions and duties. Perhaps when they meet it is that for a few moments they see a life so different from each other. The traveller drops anchor for the night and knows what is home and hearth, what it is to wake up to the scent of a woman every morning and for her it's a rite of passage to probably an adventurous life she had envisaged for herself eons ago, but the memory of which lies buried in ennui and domestic routines. It is ultimately about getting a glimpse of the road not taken...... 

AAP YUN HI AGAR HUM SE MILTE RAHE

Song 37:


Another Asha-Rafi duet from the same movie, that further amplifies the infectious charm of Sadhna and Joy Mukherjee. I must say both are particularly nice looking, yet easy and effortless in their emoting. Both seem drenched in the confidence of youth and acceptance of their God gifted looks and talent, not in the least trying to overpower each other.

This song is a celebration of romance and affability. The best thing about these chance encounters is that initially you do try to sweep aside what's stirring inside you as mere excitement or the ruffling of a few feathers. You do not have any expectations. You dismiss it as nothing, an infatuation, a passing phase. You even avoid it, warning yourself and the other person to keep off. Rafi even asks in as many words that why indeed was she following him all over the place?! Beautiful lyrics by Raja Mehndi Ali Khan so relevant today! Well here we are in Twitter-land today, following hundreds and thousands of people. But some people do stand out and catch your eye. I have been on social media for the last five years. I was greatly into FB earlier. And this song thingy, I used to do four years ago there. Till I bored my friends and family to death! Hahaha.  For me it was just venting and sharing. People often saw more into my posts than necessary. I took a break then. Of course when your close family is on social media, it becomes difficult being too transparent.

Then work took over, there was no time. I write much more for my various official commitments, but that is often very structured writing, on someone else's mandate, someone else's topics and themes. It gets edited by ten different people with ten different world-views. It gets altered and manipulated for commercial gains, strategy, coherence, reach and hundred other variables.

Yet today when I meet my friends, there are many, including an old college lecturer who was on FB, who ask me that why I stopped writing on songs! They sweetly say that they used to wait every morning for my song for a long long time! And that come hell or high water, storm or sunshine, if there was one thing that was regular and constant it was Shivani's songs! Nice of them indeed. But I am here now. A new audience, a new chapter. Blogging is like instant gratification. Keep coming when you have time to take a break. Hope we fall in love some day! Aap yun hi agar hum se milte rahe dekhiye ek din pyaar ho jayega......indeed.

BOHAT SHUKRIYA BADI MEHERBANI

Song 36:


Talking of rural India, there are again so many hues and colours. There was a time when most movies had a strange, quintessential Indian village, which was a mishmash of the lowest common denominators of Indian culture, basically to appeal to a wide cross-section of people. The heroine mostly wore ghagra choli even if walking in snow or spouting Punjabi style songs, as in the previous one. There was always the cruel cruel money-lender, a famine, one mela or fair scene, a bullock cart race. But Kashmir was always pretty popular as a unique region of India with a distinct attire and culture.

This movie Ek Musafir Ek Hasina starred the fresh pairing of that ethereal Sindhi beauty Sadhna, easily one of the prettiest faces ever on Indian screen and Joy Mukherjee, who my Mom would educate me about over Chitrahaar dinners way back, whispering softly that he had the best physique in her time! At a time when heroes hardly frequented any gyms or flashed their biceps on screen, Joy Mukherjee was the first one to flaunt a naturally athletic build and sporty attire with his tall, broad shouldered strature.

The gist of the story goes: Ajay Mehra (Joy Mukherjee) is on a secret mission to Kashmir to counter Kashmir rebels right after Independence. While on mission he is injured due to a bomb blast. A young girl Asha (Sadhana) from a poor family is forced to flee for her own safety following an attack on her house by Kashmir rebels. She comes across Ajay who is injured. She nurses him back to health over a period of time and they start falling in love with each other. But after the bomb blast, Ajay has lost his memory. Hence they both decide to go to  Srinagar to get treatment for him at a hospital. But Ajay gets some clues as leads and decides to go to Bombay to find the truth about himself....

The movie also had some stunning Rafi and Asha duets. And as this song showcases, duets were not always about competition or witty retorts. Sometimes you met some people, with whom there was no conflict. No matter what the odds, you just understood each other completely and were thankful to God that this great person indeed touched your life, even if for a short while. There would be no permanence or eternity but the few moments spent together had given you the happiness of a lifetime. Be grateful for all you have.  Music was by O P Nayyar and lyrics of this song are by S H Bihari.

UDE JAB JAB ZULFEN TERI

Song 35:

Back from my after-dinner stroll and must say I am pepped up as ever. People in my house have actually started suspecting why I come back so happy from my walk? Haha! I am sure they think I am upto no good. Little do they know how energising it is to connect or simply observe people from different walks of life. There is even this subtle romancing going on at this time amongst the younger lot, age old hints and signals, fun messages sent through intermediaters and clandestine rendezvous. I am talking about the maid's carnival. People across all sections of society do fall in love after all and do whatever there is to win over love.

Now this is one of the best Rafi-Asha duets ever, from Naya Daur too. It has a typical foot tapping quality of most Punjabi songs. In Indian folk traditions, there are many formats where the male and female singer compete in a war of wits, as if it were. Each verse is meant to provoke the other and the retort is given by the other party, often in jest. Such Punjabi tappas or tappe were common during weddings and other festivities. There was also the tradition of reciting chhand (sort of Hindi limerick). I have faint memories of weddings where often the ladkiwalas (the bride's side) would urge the groom to recite some chhand as he waited anxiously at the girl's door to get a sight of his lady love. Only when he managed to exhibit some poetic prowess, was he allowed into the wedding reception and got to meet the bride. Then there was a very elaborate 'Sehra' poetry that was written on a board and also sung or recited by one of the bride's relatives in praise of the groom (of course once he was allowed in). This was a good pretext to hide the groom's shoes while he was engrossed in basking in the glory of praises showered at him. The shoes would then be returned by the bride's younger giggly sisters only when he gave them some hefty cash and little rings called kalichdis. How sweet were all these traditions. Many of them are getting drowned in loud DJ nites. And as you see poetry was pretty much a part of our lives.

If nothing else when there were power cuts earlier, people would gather under a tree outside in the courtyard and play Antakshari. Now we have 24 hour power back up or generators/invertors that have inverted these casual fun activities into nothingness. So this song as I said, has that community feel again, with some fun wit thrown in every verse. Sahir Ludhianvi betrays his Punjabi or Ludhianvi roots in this one, shifting from Urdu to a more Punjabi style Hindi, music also by that doyen of Punjabi peppy O P Nayyar. Then Rafi and Asha in perfect sync and two brilliant actors- Dilip Kumar aka Yusuf Khan, arguably one of the best actors ever of Indian screen and Vyjayanthimala Bali, one of the most graceful dancers ever. I certainly can't help dancing to this one everytime I hear it. Evergreen classics are made of these!

SAATHI HAATH BADHANA

Song 34:


Rafi and Asha too were exceptional together. Rafi's voice had that rustic, son of the soil, close to mother earth appeal. Asha, when need be, could also shed her dancing diva/siren shenanigans and sound just like a village belle. The magic was more than evident in all the songs of this iconic movie called Naya Daur.

Yes, unlikely choice for this collection but today, when my maid goes for one month holiday to her gaon, I appreciate her more than anything. My world simply collapses without her support system. I have also been tweeting about how at night our locality is like a maid's carnival. After working hard all day, they step out of their little one room tenements (where often families of 5-6 live), to catch some fresh breeze. They are chirpy and chatty, talking away on their mobiles, laughing, bickering in corners, slapping their kids lovingly. It is such a sight. They still have community, bonding and communication.

All the residents of our society of course at that time are engrossed in their TVs and laptops and hardly step out, isolated in their little islands of power. I really enjoy this fun glimpse into the life of a multitude of people who make our life so much easier, but live in the shadows, the background. But these people, these teaming millions are the real strength of India, a resource, provided we empower them and give them opportunities. Now it is for wise statesmen to decide what these opportunities should be, food or livelihood to earn their own food. India debates the Food Security Bill and there are divergent views emerging. There is speculation that probably it will be yet another scheme meant to fill the coffers of corrupt politicians and middlemen and whether the food reaches the needy in totality is a question mark.

This movie Naya Daur is set in post-independence India where industrialization is slowly creeping in. The focus is on tongawallahs who earn their living transporting people on tongas (horse carts). Their livelihood is threatened when the son of a rich landlord (Jeevan) begins operating a bus service in the town, which he subsidizes heavily with the sole intention of first driving the tongawallahs out of the town and then making profits. 

Dilip Kumar plays one of the tongawallahs who petitions the landlord over this injustice. Jeevan's character proposes a competition to decide which service is the best: The bus or the Tonga? It is decided that there will be a race between the vehicles. If the bus wins, the tongawallahs will not complain further. If the Tonga wins, the bus service will stop. This competition was a farce from the start since nobody could dream that a horse cart could beat a machine. Kumar, however, accepts the challenge to everybody's surprise. His logic is that they would be driven to starvation if the bus service continues. This race at least gives them an opportunity to try to do something. 

The rest of the tongawallahs do not share his hope. They blame him for his foolishness. In the end, he is left alone with nobody's support except his sweetheart, played by Vyjayanthimala. As the movie unfolds, a hopeless situation begins to turn around because of the way the people come together. Mishap after mishap occurs, but nothing can deter the determined. The highlight of the film is definitely the heart-stopping final race where the underdog wins.

The movie probably inspired that other great Aamir Khan starrer Lagaan, from what I can see. Never underestimate the power of the common man.

SUN SUN ZALIMA

Song 33:


Sure we're becoming an individualistic society. We fend for ourselves, we are much more selfish than our parents' generation, we focus on what we want.  For many of us, we're happy being solo. But what's life when sung all solo! There is fun in duets. Duets reveal chemistry, biology, social sciences, harmony, coordination, adaptation and improvisation. When two brilliant singers sing together, they bring out the best in each other. They may complement each other or compete with each other. But they will surely co-opt and co-erce hitherto unchartered paths and territories from each other. If both the artists are confident of their own selves, they will never infringe upon each other's identity and turf.

Exploring some duets of Asha and Geeta and I have to, have to begin with Rafi. Both Asha and Geeta had brilliant duets with Rafi. Now here was a combo where the deep, masculine and very Indian voice of Rafi intermingled with the vivacious charm of Asha/Geeta. It always spelled magic. So while Lata Rafi duets are memorable and almost too perfect, the ones in this segment will give you something to ruminate, something to mull over. A thrill, a pep, like a gentle zephyr blowing on a balmy night. Sugar and spice, brawn and blush, swagger and swoon, Martini and moon. You conjure images of a confident, strong, solid man (Rafi) and a not-so- sure, not- so- perfect, not-so-prima-donna, girl next door (Geeta Dutt). She may huff and puff but she is not haughty for long, she can be won over with little humour, with some personalised attention. She may pretend to throw a tantrum but not for long. The guy was just too adept at handling her. And anyway time spent frowning is such a waste of time. (And it gives you facial lines in the wrong places). So the result of these Rafi-Geeta songs is simply magic.

And what lovely styling. Simply love Shyama's ensemble, casual messy plaits, peddlepushers, a deserted garage, some nimble piano notes, yeah, very old Hollywood musical. This is a mid-summer night's dream. Full marks to Guru Dutt for directing and acting so well at that young age. Of course the music by O P Nayyar and lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri add to the charm of this sweet 'getting mock angry and make up song'. Do make up before going to bed-that's a golden rule. Have a great night with your loved ones! 

KALI GHATA CHHAYE MORA JIA

Song 32:

Then again Nutan who mostly synced perfectly with Lata's vocals, had some songs by other singers that brought out a different element in her. This fresh and tentative Asha song is a case in point. Let's just say a more youthful and effervescent voice helped tone down the heaviness of the movie. This was one intense role of Nutan that won her the filmfare. Based on a Bengali short story by the same name by writer Subodh Ghosh, the film explored the situation of caste in India. The music is by S. D. Burman and the lyrics by Majrooh Sultanpuri. It was entered into the 1960 Cannes Film Festival.

Sujata is a romance between a Brahmin young man, Adheer (Sunil Dutt) and an untouchable woman, Sujata (Nutan). The movie has Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's fight against untouchability and the myth of 'Chandalika' in Hinduism as its subtexts on the basis of which it tries to criticize the practice of untouchability in India.

Brahmin couple Upen and Charu bring up the orphaned Sujata. Although Upen is fond of the adoptive child, his wife Charu and mother can never fully embrace Sujata because she is an untouchable. They never fail to remind Sujata that she doesn't belong amongst Brahmins. One day, Upen's wife falls down the stairs and is rushed to the hospital. The doctors tell the family that in order to save Charu, they need blood of a rare group. Only Sujata's blood matches, and she willingly donates blood. When Upen's wife knows that her life was saved by Sujata, she realizes her mistakes and accepts her as her daughter. Sujata and Adheer are finally married.

Himachal Govt has taken a lead in encouraging inter-caste marriages by promising Rs 75,000/- to every couple that marries out of caste. Great move to break the age-old barriers of caste from our prejudiced society. Well this song simply sums up the suppressed exuberance every heart feels to connect with another irrespective of colour, caste, creed and language. And trust Nutan to do full justice to a nuanced song.

RAAT MOHE MITHA MITHA

Song 31:

So as I said Asha Geeta were usually the non-conformists (which is why I like them in the first place!) But that was an era when the A-line heroines always got Lata as playback right from Nargis to Meena Kumari and Nutan. These were after all three of the most powerful performers of that era, essaying roles of the strong, self contained, resolute and virtuous Indian woman. Bharatiya Nari. Always in the mould of Sita. Sacrificing, devoted, non-complaining and Lata fitted the bill, with her steady and strong vocals. But it is always interesting to hear different face and voice combinations. Madhubala for instance always got Asha as she was the naughty, bubbly sorts, yet two of her Lata songs that I put up yesterday from Mughal-e-Azam  take her to another level of 'depth of performance'. Dunno what exactly makes a voice suit a face? For instance Mumtaz who was another live-wire and sorta bubbly, surprisingly always had Lata as playback! Does the spoken voice of the artist have to match the playback singer? Or is it the way of speaking, the accent? Similarly if you see Rajesh Khanna, who somehow looked as if he was born to sing Kishore songs on screen, has some stunning ones sung by Mukesh, Manna Dey and Mohd Rafi.

So I love discovering some unusual combos. Think of Meena Kumari and you always think of this simpering, suffering woman, living a life of quiet dejection in a kotha aka Pakeezah or something equally hopeless (not to undermine her performances but yes, her films were kinda sad). So it's a delight to watch this Geeta Dutt playback on Meena in her early days. She is so young and dewy fresh. So stunningly beautiful like one of those Indian dolls women used to make at home as a hobby once from a kit that had a pretty doll-face and body that you could assemble and clothe her in a traditional costume of your choice-Hindu bride or salwaar kameez or lehnga etc.

Geeta's voice adds the further texture of newness, of anticipation, of hope and of the wonder of the first phase of love. Innocent lyrics by Bharat Vyas and simple music by Manna Dey which is minimalistic to say the least. Therefore this song perks up my Sunday morning, for it is not one of those pessimistic and achingly beautiful but sad songs of Meena Kumari's later years, but one that instills happiness and hope in the days ahead! :-)

BHANWRA BADHA NADAAN

Song 30:


It was the singing dancing diva's fate to always bump into the strangest of characters. Not for her the conformity and convention of propah guys. She would always get attracted to the lone ranger, the odd one out, the one with the vagabond in his heart and a propensity to disappear unannounced from time to time. Sure she could have found many a sweet and predictable sort, the dependable ones, the ones that ran their life like immaculate diaries and Grandpa's almanacs with colour coded entries.

But she had to end up with the bhanwra, the bumble bee, buzzing around from flower to flower. She could pull his leg a bit for his 'here today gone tomorrow' habits, his quirks and his idiosyncrasies but she certainly couldn't tame him. Yet whenever they met, they could start from where they had left. There were no hassles with these characters. They were meant to be God's answer to boring routines and smothering schedules. So the diva knew never to aspire to own these characters. It was best to sing with the breeze every time the bhanwra happened to pass by her little garden. That day the flowers would appear brighter, the birds would chirp more merrily. Her wanton black hair would bounce like wild serpents, her eyes would have that special kohl of anticipation and wonder and mischief. The day would pass by like a dream and that night it would be difficult to sleep for she knew when she woke up the next day, if at all she did sleep, there was no guarantee he would be still around. But she'd wait.....she'd wait for him to come by again some day and release the fragrances of her secret garden again ....


Enjoy this superlative number-Asha, Waheeda, Guru Dutt, Shakeel Badayuni, Hemant Kumar-Collective genius!