Her Story: Finale!

We have walked along with our leading lady through various phases in her life. It has been a good life and we wish her well for the remaining part of her journey. We would like to end the story with "she and her family lived happily ever after". But, before that, just listen to what she is saying in this song from "Mamta" (1966).

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Music: Roshan

Her Story: Years Later

Life has been kind to our leading lady and she is a happy woman, loving and being loved by her family. It has been many years since she got married. Watch her husband paying compliments to her in this lovely song from "Waqt" (1965).

Singer: Manna Dey
Lyrics: Sahir Ludhianvi
Music: Ravi

Her Story: Contentment! - 2

Days turn into months and months into years. When our leading lady and her husband reflect on their past, they find that they have been blessed with what they had desired when they started their life together. Watch their contentment in this song from "Sanjh Aur Savera" (1964).

Singers: Asha Bhosle, Mohammad Rafi
Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri
Music: Shankar Jaikishan

Her Story: Contentment! - 1

She was a daughter some time ago. But she has blossomed into a wife and a mother now. Watch her contentment in a beautiful, and very meaningful song from "Basera" (1981). Enjoy Gulzar's magic when he engages in a wordplay with savera and basera. Jahan pe savera ho, basera vahin hai changes to jahan pe basera ho, savera vahin hai in the later part of the song. Indeed, very profound!

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Gulzar
Music: R. D. Burman

Her Story: Three's Not A Crowd!

The baby is growing. Most of the parents' free time is spent with the little one now. In fact, it is hard for them to imagine what their life was like when the apple of their eyes was not around. Presenting a song from "Ek Hi Rasta" (1956) where the small family is out on a picnic on a cozy tandem bicycle.

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Hemant Kumar
Lyrics: Majrooh Sultanpuri
Music: Hemant Kumar

Her Story: The Baby's Here!

Presenting a duet from "Sharmilee" (1971) today that shows the journey of a couple from the wedding to the arrival of their bundle of joy. With this, we come to the point at which we had started our story, that is, the birth of our heroine. The very same little girl is a mother today. And though I do not believe in celebrating any "Day", it is a coincidence that I am posting this song on the eve of the "Mother's Day". This also happens to the 50th post in this series.

This baby--it does not matter whether it is a girl or a boy--will grow with the love and care of its parents. There will be lullabies, birthday parties, going to school and everything that happens during growing up. But we will not chronicle all of that in this space. We will continue with our story. This will remain "Her Story" in which the child may sometimes make an appearance.

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar
Lyrics: Neeraj
Music: S. D. Burman

Her Story: Parents-In-Waiting!

Another beautiful song that shows the joy the soon-to-be parents experience as they think about the arrival of the little one. This one is from "Mera Qasoor Kya Hai" (1964).

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Mahendra Kapoor
Lyrics: Rajendra Krishan
Music: Chitragupt

Her Story: Celebrations!

Friends and family celebrate as they look forward to the baby's arrival. The expectant mother is all aglow with anticipation of motherhood. Watch her in this song from "Zindagi" (1964). A surprise element: Helen sporting a very different look in a role that must have been a big departure from her image.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Hasrat Jaipuri
Music: Shankar Jaikishan

Her Story: Stork's Visiting!

The birth of a baby. That is the single most important event that changes everything in the life of a couple. The months leading up to that special moment are spent in pleasant anticipation of the days to come. Presenting a duet from "Tere Mere Sapne" (1971)--the second song from this film to appear in this space--that shows the expectant parents singing and dreaming about their soon-to-arrive baby.

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar
Lyrics: Neeraj
Music: S. D. Burman
 

Her Story: Making Up!

If the tiffs and spats were fun, making up is fun too. A song from "Kora Kagaz" (1974) comes to mind for this situation.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: M. G. Hashmat
Music: Kalyanji Anandji

Her Story: Tiffs And Spats

Married life is not always about being good and saying sweet things to each other. It has its share of tiffs and spats. This breezy duet from "Salaam Namaste" (2005) is just right for this situation, even though the lead pair was not shown to be married. They were a couple in a live-in relationship.

Singers: Gayatri Iyer, Shaan
Lyrics: Jaideep Sahni
Music: Vishal Shekhar

Her Story: Calling Up!

He is away, but he needs to talk to her. Now, that is not a problem at all. Especially in this age when so many options are available for instant communication. But things were not so simple just a few decades ago. Listen to this quaint little song from "Patanga" (1949) and enjoy. It will surely bring a smile to your lips.

Singers: Shamshad Begum, C. Ramchandra (Chitalkar)
Lyrics: Rajendra Krishan
Music: C. Ramchandra

Her Story: Of Absence And Fondness

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. He is in her thoughts all the time. His condition is not too different either. Watch them in this sweet song from "Ghar" (1978).

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Gulzar
Music: R. D. Burman




 

Her Story: He's Away!

It is back to the rough and tumble of daily life for the young couple. The new bride finds it hard to adjust to the fact that her husband needs to be away for some time. This song from "Uphaar" (1971) seems just right for this situation.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal

Her Story: Bliss!

The newly-weds are finding bliss in each other's company. If they can be happy doing routine domestic chores (see previous post), they can have the time of their lives riding a simple bicycle. The modest two-wheeler never looked so "cool" as it did in this lovely duet from "Tere Mere Sapne" (1971).

Trivia: Most of this film was shot on location around the coal mines in Chhindwara, Madhya Pradesh. It is based on A. J. Cronin's novel "The Citadel".

Singers: Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar
Lyrics: Neeraj
Music: S. D. Burman

Her Story: Settling Down

The new bride and groom find pleasure in everyday chores when they settle down in their new home. Here is a number from "Saath Saath" (1982), that shows a young couple finding their feet in a small house in Mumbai.

Singers: Chitra Singh, Jagjit Singh
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar
Music: Kuldip Singh

Her Story: Marital Home! - 3

In my last post, the new bride found herself in a joint family in Delhi. What would it have been like if she were to marry into a similar large clan in Mumbai? This song from "Piya Ka Ghar" (1972) comes to mind when one thinks of the Mumbai scenario. In this film, Basu Chatterjee addressed the issue of privacy--or lack thereof--for a newly-wed couple forced to share a one-room tenement with many others in the family.

Trivia: This film was a remake of a popular Marathi film "Mumbaicha Javai".

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Anand Bakshi
Music: Laxmikant Pyarelal

Her Story: Marital Home! - 2

The new bride will take some time to get acquainted with her new family. Presenting a folk song from Chhattisgarh which was used in "Delhi-6" (2009) very beautifully. The sasuraal is being likened to a genda phool (marigold). Just as so many petals come together to form a lovely flower, all members unite to make a joint family.

It is a catchy tune with warm, endearing visuals showing a family on a terrace in Old Delhi, busy making red chilly pickle on a mild winter day. But it is not just work. There is singing and dancing too. When Waheeda Rehman is dragged by other ladies to join them in the dance, she lights up the screen with her elegance and grace that hasn't diminished a bit with age.

Singers: Rekha Bhardwaj, Shraddha Pandit, Sujata Majumdar
Lyrics: Prasoon Joshi
Music: A. R. Rahman, Rajat Dholakia

Her Story: Marital Home! - 1

The bride arrives in her marital home to start a new life. This song from "Chaudhvin Ka Chand (1961)" depicts that moment nicely.

Singer: Geeta Dutt
Lyrics: Shakeel Badayuni
Music: Ravi

Her Story: Leaving! - 2

"Kaheko byahi bides" is one of the finest vidaai songs that we have. I was wondering if I should dare to post any more from the same genre after that. But succumbed to the temptation of posting this melody from "Anokhi Raat" (1968).

Trivia: This was Roshan's last film as a composer. This particular song was recorded after his death, based on the tune set by him.

Singer: Lata Mangeshkar
Lyrics: Kaifi Azmi, Indeevar
Music: Roshan