Have a story to tell? A theme to work on? An emotion to express? A mood to paint? Easy. You can do all this and more with Hindi film songs. For musical stories or theme-based songs or lyrical expressions of moods or...whatever, this promises to be a fun-filled ride. Come, get on the bandwagon!
A duet from a super hit film "Aasha" (1980) today. The film won several Filmfare Awards. It is a drama starring Jeetendra, Reena Roy, Rameshwari and Girish Karnad. It featured several good songs including the very popular Sheesha ho ya dil ho.
Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal
A rare song from "Anokha Daan" (1972) today. Asit Sen was the director of this film. Kabir Bedi, Anil Dhawan, Zaheera and Archana played the main roles. It is a good song. Not much is known about the story, though.
Greetings to all on the occasion of Ganesh Chaturthi!
Appropriately, a saawan song from "Shree Ganesh" (1962) today. It is a duet, but I could not find out who the second singer is. Indeevar and Madhur have been credited with some songs from this film, but not sure who wrote this particular number. It is a lovely dance sequence, though.
Singer: Suman Kalyanpur
Lyrics: Info not available
Music: Bulo C. Rani
Bella Bambina is Italian for beautiful girl. It is used as a refrain in this song from "Ek Do Teen" (1953). This film featured Meena Shorey, Yashodhara Katju, Motilal and Iftekhar in leading roles.
Singer: Asha Bhosle
Lyrics: Aziz Kashmiri
Music: Vinod
Many great personalities contributed in the making of "Bhumika" (1977), a film inspired by Marathi stage and screen actress of the 1940s Hansa Wadkar's memoirs, Sangtye Aika. Smita Patil gave an excellent performance in the role of the protagonist. Shyam Benegal was the director. Naseeruddin Shah, Amol Palekar, Anant Nag, Amrish Puri, Kulbhushan Kharbanda and Om Puri were part of the cast. Girish Karnad and Pandit Satyadev Dubey wrote the screenplay and dialogue respectively. A beautiful duet from this film today. The clip with the full song does not have the video from the film, while a slightly shorter version of the song is with the actual visuals. So posting both the clips.
Here is a solo from "Bandhan" (1969), a drama starring Rajesh Khanna and Mumtaz. The song celebrates the month of saawan very energetically. Some rain would have added value to the visuals, though.
A duet from "Lakeer--Forbidden Lines" (2004) today. It is an action/romance drama that flopped at the box office. A. R. Rahman has reused his composition from a Tamil film, Rhythm for making this song. I am also including the clip for the Tamil song.
Singers: Kavita Krishnamurthy, Shaan
Lyrics: Mehboob
Music: A. R. Rahman
Another song featuring saawan ke jhoole! Swings are an integral part of saawan in our culture and traditions. This beautiful number is from "Anjaan" (1956). Vyjayanthimala and Pradeep Kumar were the lead actors in this film.
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Rajendra Krishan
Music: Hemant Kumar
A lovely song with two versions from "Jurmana" (1979) today. Both the versions are in the same clip. I have given a longer title to this post to distinguish it from Saawan ke jhoole pade posted earlier.
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: R. D. Burman
Presenting a lively composition by R. D. Burman today. This energetic duet is from "Kudrat" (1981). This is a drama based on the theme of reincarnation. It was written and directed by Chetan Anand. It featured Rajesh Khanna and Hema Malini in lead roles. The cast included Vinod Khanna, Priya Rajvansh and Raaj Kumar. Other well-known songs from this film are Humein tumse pyaar kitna, Tune o rangeele kaisa jaadu kiya and Chhodo sanam kaahe ka gham. In spite of having a great cast and good music, the film did not do well commercially. It did win the Filmfare Award for Best Story, though.
Singers: Asha Bhosle, Suresh Wadkar
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Music: R. D. Burman
"Khazanchi" (1941) is a murder mystery. Set in pre-partition Lahore and Bombay (as Mumbai was called then), it was a super-hit and the top earner of 1941. It starred M. Ismail, S. D. Narang, Ramola Devi, Manorama and Janki Das. Composer Ghulam Haider created a flutter in the music industry by combining elements of Hindustani classical music with those of Punjabi folk songs while working on this film. Almost all the songs were popular. There is a distinct male voice in today's presentation, but the name of the singer is not credited. I wonder if it is Ghulam Haider himself.
A sweet duet from "Reshmi Rumal" (1961) today. This film featured Manoj Kumar and Shakila in lead roles. I could not find a better clip, so some of the charm of this number is lost because of the poor video and somewhat jerky audio. But do listen to the song and enjoy it anyway!
Singers: Asha Bhosle, Manna Dey
Lyrics: Raja Mehdi Ali Khan
Music: Babul
"Chupke Chupke" (1975) is one of those films that provided clean entertainment to family audiences. Directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee, it is a remake of a Bengali film, Chhadmabeshi. Starring Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore and Jaya Bachchan, it is a wholesome comedy. Dharmendra's shudhha Hindi and Amitabh's impeccable English along with other comic situations make this film a delightful watch.
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: S. D. Burman
Today we celebrate Krishna Janmashtami. I was looking for a suitable song for the occasion that would fit in my current theme. And I thought of this beautiful bhajan. I must have heard it many years ago on the radio. It did not appear in any film. But perhaps it was well-known in the non-film music category.
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Meerabai
Music: Hridaynath Mangeshkar
Some songs are evergreen. The duet that I present today is one such. Shot entirely on shikaras in Kashmir, it is as fresh as it was 50 years ago. Yes, it is from "Kashmir Ki Kali" (1964). Watch Shammi Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore glide gently on the lake in their boats singing this lovely song. Enjoy!
Singers: Asha Bhosle, Mohammad Rafi
Lyrics: S. H. Bihari
Music: O. P. Nayyar
Greetings! India celebrates its Independence Day today.
It is mostly fun and sometimes a challenge to find a song for a special day as today, and match it with the ongoing theme. I am happy to present a beautiful song from "Veer Zaara" (2004) today. The visuals are stunning and the lyrics lovely. The composition is pleasant too. And yes, there is a bit of saawan in it, with Shah Rukh Khan and Preity Zinta getting drenched in the rain in spite of being under a blue plastic sheet.
A forgotten song from "Yaadgaar" (1970) today. Manoj Kumar and Nutan played the lead roles in this film. Nutan sings in her own voice in this song. This film featured several songs that are better known. Jis path pe chala, Iktara bole tun tun, Baharon ka hai ye mela are some of them.
Enjoy a song from a fairly recent film "Commando--A One Man Army" (2013) today. It is an action thriller featuring the very athletic Vidyut Jamwal in the title role. The voice is unmistakably that of Rahat Fateh Ali Khan.
Singer: Rahat Fateh Ali Khan
Lyrics: Mayur Puri
Music: Mannan Shah
A very sweet duet from "Pyaar Ki Pyaas" (1961) today. This was a drama about a couple and their adopted daughter. It featured Shreekant and Nishi in lead roles. The daughter was played by Honey Irani. It would have been nice to see the video, but I could not find it.
Here is a duet from "Anjaana" (1969). This was a story of love between a poor boy--though looking at Rajendra Kumar in the video, it will be better to call him a man-- and a rich girl, played by Babita. Yes, the same lady who went on to marry Randhir Kapoor. Both had a mediocre career in Hindi films and are better known as parents of Karisma and Kareena Kapoor.
Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Mohammad Rafi
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal
"Bandini" (1963) was the last directorial venture of noted director, Bimal Roy. Starring Nutan, Dharmendra and Ashok Kumar, it tells the story of a woman prisoner serving life imprisonment for murder. It did well at the box office and was critically acclaimed too, winning several Filmfare Awards. It features memorable songs composed by S. D. Burman. O re maajhi, O jaanewale ho sake to laut ke aana, Mora gora ang lai le, Jogi jabse tu aaya mere dwaare are some of them.
Today's song is from this film too. It conveys the emotions of a woman who is reminiscing about the month of saawan in her native place and wishing that her brother came to take her to her parental home. Today we celebrate Rakshabandhan, a festival highlighting the bond between brother and sister; so this solo is quite apt for the day.
Singer: Asha Bhosle
Lyrics: Shailendra
Music: S. D. Burman
A soulful solo from "Jab Yaad Kisi Ki Aati Hai" (1967) today. This film starred Dharmendra and Mala Sinha. It was a family drama/romance with a bit of suspense.
Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Raja Mehdi Ali Khan
Music: Madan Mohan
"Sindoor" (1987) was a family drama starring Shashi Kapoor, Jeetendra, Govinda, Jayaprada and Neelam. Rishi Kapoor made a guest appearance. Presenting a very popular song from this film today in its several versions.
Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Suresh Wadkar, Mohammed Aziz
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal
Here is a melody from "Jagte Raho" (1956). In this film, Raj Kapoor was seen in the role of a poor peasant who comes to the city looking for work. Nargis did a cameo.Kahe ko byahi bides which was posted in an earlier series, Her Story; has a strong resemblance to this song.
A duet from another Sunil Dutt starrer today, "Nehle Pe Dehla" (1976). The leading lady is Saira Banu. Perhaps this is one of those songs that were good, but not very popular.
Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: R. D. Burman
A delightful solo from "Mehrban" (1967) today. This was a family drama starring Sunil Dutt and Nutan. It is a pity that I could not find a video for this song.
Singer: Asha Bhosle
Lyrics: Rajendra Krishan
Music: Ravi
Today is Kishore Kumar's birth anniversary. And as a tribute to him, the first song that comes to mind which would fit in the current theme is Rim Jhim Gire saawan. But that has already been posted in an earlier series, Rain Songs. So, here is a duet from "Jaise Ko Taisa" (1973) with Jeetendra, Reena Roy and pouring rains.
Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: R. D. Burman
Today, I present a duet that excels in all the departments. Lovely lyrics, wonderful composition, sublime voices of Asha Bhosle and Mohammad Rafi, and the ever beautiful Waheeda Rehman and handsome Dilip Kumar on screen. This song is from "Dil Diya Dard Liya" (1966). Here, saawan is not used in its traditional sense of rainy season, but more as a symbol of the leading couple's blissful state of mind.
Singers: Asha Bhosle, Mohammad Rafi
Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni
Music: Naushad
A delightful duet from "Sanjh Aur Savera" (1964) today. This composition is based on Hindustani classical music and is indeed very pleasing to the ear. The visuals are a complete misfit, though. Mehmood's antics look out of place!
Hindi film songs have always celebrated the month of saawan (July-August) in their songs and dances. It is that time of the year when everything looks clean, green and fresh. Let us join in the celebrations with some memorable numbers. The first one to appear in this series is a duet from "Mera Gaon Mera Desh" (1971).
