Only Kishore’s version was included

The second song from Rimjhim in my collection was Mere Ghar Aage Hain Do Do Galiyaan.

When I read the title of the song for the first time, I noticed that the word Ke – which should have been there between Ghar and Aage – was missing.

Although the film’s soundtrack contained three versions of the song, my collection contains just one – the one (Kisho)rendered by Kumar.

While one of its other versions was sung by Shamshad Begum, another was sung by Mohana.

All of them were written by P L Santoshi, and composed by Khemchand Prakash.

It was (Kisho)rendered by Kumar

At the time of writing this, it was the fifth day since Kishore Kumar’s 93^rd birth anniversary (which fell on August 4, 2022).

He sang some mind-blowing rain songs later in his career, but the subject of this post was from a film whose title could be translated to, “The pitter-patter of raindrops”.

I am talking about Rimjhim (1949).

If the two songs from the film in my collection were arranged in the alphabetical order, Jagmag Jagmag Karta Nikla Chand would be the first.

Bharat Vyas wrote the song, which was composed by Khemchand Prakash.

It was a memoRabLe duet

Paras could be translated to, “A mythical stone that turns base metals into gold”.

And as far as Hindi films were concerned, it was the title of one that released in 1949.

My collection contains one song from the film – Dil Leke Chhupne Wale.

By the way, the film’s title could well have been used to describe Ghulam Haider, who composed its songs, and turned Lata Mangeshkar – one of the two people who lent her voice to the track – into a diamond.

The other was none other than Mohammed Rafi.

Shakeel Badayuni penned the song.

This social commentary was supeRB

The title of the 1949 film Kaneez could be translated to, “Slave”.

But the only song from the film in my collection was, interestingly, a song that sympathised with the well-heeled.

It was titled Duniya Mein Ameeron Ko Aaram Nahin Milta (which could be translated to, “The wealthy people of the world do not get enough rest”).

Mohammed Rafi was one of the two men who lent their voices to the track.

The other was S D Batish.

This superb piece of social commentary was written by Hasrat Lakhnavi, and was composed by Ghulam Haider.

This Mukesh solo was mind-blowing

Andaz released in 1949.

Spread across my blogs, the subject of this post – Toote Na Dil Toote Na – was the third song from the film in my collection.

If they were arranged in the alphabetical order, it would be the second.

And if they were arranged in the ascending order of their durations, it would be the first – it was just a couple of minutes and 43 seconds long.

The song was sung by Mukesh Chand Mathur, who was the voice of the soundtrack.

It was written by Majrooh Sultanpuri, and was composed by Naushad.

It was (Kisho)rendered by Lata

Ziddi released in 1948.

Spread across my blogs, the subject of this post was the second song from the film in my collection.

It was titled Yeh Kaun Aaya Re.

The next four words of the song went, “Karke Yeh Sola Singar”.

It could be translated to, “Who is this person who has put make-up on and come?”

It was the first-recorded duet of Lata Mangeshkar with Kishore Kumar.

While the former was the voice of the soundtrack, the latter was the male voice of it.

Nakhshab Jarchavi wrote the song, which Khemchand Prakash composed.

Khan Mastana sang with Rafi

Harikrishan Giri Goswami rechristened himself Manoj Kumar after watching his idol Dilip Kumar’s 1949 film Shabnam, in which his character’s name was Manoj.

The duo starred in two separate films that shared a title – Shaheed.

While the Dilip Kumar-starrer released in 1948, the Manoj Kumar-starrer released in 1965.

My collection contained just one song from the former – Watan Ki Raah Mein.

Khan Mastana was joined behind the microphone for it by Mohammed Rafi.

The song – which was three minutes and 22 seconds long – was written by Raja Mehdi Ali Khan, and composed by Ghulam Haider.

Lata’s breakthrough featured Mukesh’s vocals

Majboor – which released in 1948 – was regarded as Lata Mangeshkar’s big break in Hindi films.

The songs of the film were composed by Ghulam Haider (who later migrated to Pakistan*). Mangeshkar considered him her godfather.

The only song from the film in my collection was Ab Darne Ki Koi Baat Nahin.

The man who joined her behind the microphone for it was the one and only Mukesh.

Nazim Panipati wrote the song.

(*Note: Born in Hyderabad, Sind, in 1908, he died of throat cancer in Lahore at the age of 45 on November 9, 1953.)

 

It was a Mukesh solo

Mukesh Chand Mathur – who went on to become Raj Kapoor’s ghost voice – was the male voice of the soundtrack of Aag.

He sang Zinda Hoon Is Tarah, which was the longest of the four songs from the film in my collection – it was four minutes and 36 seconds long.

Behzad Lucknavi wrote the song, which Ram Ganguly composed.

(*Note: As his nom de plume suggests, Lucknavi was born in Lucknow, now the capital of Uttar Pradesh, on New Year’s Day in 1900. He later migrated to Pakistan, and died in Karachi on October 10, 1974.)

Shamshad sang it with Rafi

The obsession of the Hindi film industry with the not-so-nubile age of 16 probably began with the soundtrack of Aag, and with Solah Baras Ki, in particular.

The song happened to be Shamshad Begum’s second song from the film in my collection.

She was joined behind the microphone for it by the one and only Mohammed Rafi.

It was, in fact, his only contribution to its soundtrack.

The song – which was written by Behzad Lucknavi (whose real name was Sardar Hasan Khan) – was composed by Ram Ganguly.

It was three minutes and 56 seconds long.

Mukesh (Shams)had Begum for company

Shamshad Begum was the voice of the soundtrack of Aag.

She was one of the two people who lent their voices to Raat Ko Jee Chamke Sitare, the second song with the word Ji (or Jee) in its title*.

The other was Mukesh.

Behzad Lucknavi wrote the Ram Ganguly composition.

It was the shortest of the four songs from the film in my collection – it was just a couple of minutes and 49 seconds long.

(*Note: The other was Dil Toot Gaya Ji. It was a Begum solo, but was not ncluded in my collection.)

Meena sang it with Shailesh

It was with Aag – which released in 1948 – that Raj Kapoor (the legendary filmmaker and actor, and the Hindi film industry’s original showman) established his banner, R K Films, at R K Studio in Chembur, Mumbai.

His namesake, Meena Kapoor, was one of the two people who sang Dekh Chand Ki Ore (alphabetically, the first of the four songs from the film in my collection).

She was joined behind the microphone for it by Shailesh.

Saraswati Kumar Deepak wrote the song, which was composed by Ram Ganguly, and was three minutes and 39 seconds long.

Interestingly, Rafi was a replacement

Although I knew Ashok Kumar – who played the lead in Sajan (1947) – was a singer of note himself, I was surprised to know that he was supposed to sing the film’s songs.

But he was replaced by Mohammed Rafi, because he couldn’t reach the recording studio on time due to the riots.

The only song from the film in my collection was Rafi’s version of Humko Tumhara Hi Aasra.

Moti B A wrote the C Ramchandra composition.

The other version of the song was a duet. Lalita Deulkar joined Rafi behind the microphone for it.

Zohrabai was among the SiNgers

In the previous post, I mentioned that Noor Jehan migrated to Pakistan in 1947.

But that wasn’t before she played one of the titular protagonists in Mirza Sahiban, her last film in India, which also released that year.

She also happened to be one of the three ladies who rendered the only song from that film in my collection – Haye Re Ud Ud Jaaye Mora Reshmi Duppatwa.

Shamshad Begum and Zohrabai Ambalewali were the others.

The song was written by Qamar Jalalabadi, and composed by the late Pandit Amarnath and his younger brothers, Husnlal Bhagatram.

Jehan’s India career almost (Ra)finished

Noor Jehan, popularly called Mallika-E-Tarannum (‘The Princess of Songs’), migrated to Pakistan after the partition of India.

But among the last few songs she rendered in India was Yahan Badla Wafa Ka, which was a duet from Jugnu (1947).

The man who joined her behind the microphone for it was the one and only Mohammed Rafi.

The next five words of the song – which was written by Tanvir Naqvi – went, “Bewafai ke siva kya hai”.

Therefore, it could be translated to, “What do you get in return for loyalty, but disloyalty?”

Firoze Nizami composed it.

Rafi featured in it too

In the 1950s and the 1960s, Mohammed Rafi was the undisputed king of playback singing.

But he had been delivering hits in the second half of the 1940s too.

One of those was Woh Apni Yaad Dilane Ko.

It was one of the two songs from Jugnu (1947) in my collection.

Here’s a fun fact: The singer, who was in his early twenties at that point, featured in a cameo in the song too!

Asghar Sarhadi and M G Adeeb wrote the song, which was composed by Firoze Nizami (who was one of Rafi’s gurus).

 

This was an Amirbai solo

Amirbai Karnataki – a former playback singer and Hindi film actress – derived her last name from the fact that she was born in Bilgi, a town in Bagalkot District in Karnataka in 1906.

The singer suffered a paralytic attack in 1965, and succumbed to it four days later (on March 3, 1965). She was in her late fifties then.

One of the popular songs she rendered was Insaan Ki Tehzeeb Pe Ehsaan Hamara.

It was a Naushad composition from Elaan, which released in 1947.

Zia Sarhadi – whose pseudonym means Zia from the frontier – wrote the song.

This Dutt solo was prophetic

The man who would go on to live up to his first name as the ‘Raja’ (king) of ghazal writing in Hindi films – Raja Mehdi Ali Khan – wrote a song that featured on the soundtrack of a film that released in 1947, and went on to become a prophecy.

The track in question was Yaad Karoge, Ek Din Hum Ko Yaad Karoge.

And the film was Do Bhai.

The lady who rendered it (and was indeed remembered forever) was none other than Geeta Dutt.

By the way, a prince – S D Burman – composed the song.

This geet shaped Geeta’s career

Music director S D Burman, unwilling to yield to producers’ objections to his young, untrained mentee rendering the songs of Do Bhai (1947), put his reputation at stake, and went on to give the then-teenager a break.

The singer in question was Geeta Dutt (nee Roy), and the most popular song from the film was Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya.

By the way, she happened to the voice of its soundtrack, because she rendered five other songs in the film, including three solos.

The film also marked the debut of lyricist Raja Mehdi Ali Khan.

Shamshad ne kya khoob sunaya!

Before I started writing the subject of this post (which is the first post to my new blog, titled Twenty From The Forties), my collection contained just one song from Dard, which released in 1947.

The second track from the film in my collection also contained the word Afsana – it was titled Hum Dard Ka Afsana Duniya Ko Suna Denge (which could be translated to, “I will tell the story of my pain to the world”).

And boy, kya khoob sunaya Shamshad Begum ne!

The song was written by Shakeel Badayuni, and composed by Naushad.