This BLOG is about the Past of Hindi Films Specially Black and White Cinema We will refresh your memories by bringing out forgotten or unseen songs and clippings of film scenes We will try to give you as much information as we gather from our research.
This Blog was started as a one-man’s passion for film history but has now become an addiction for many music lovers who are equally passionate about Hindi films
Today's generation may not be familiar with this name but one or two generations before it was a big name in the Hindi film audience. It was founded by AV. Meiyappan (28 July 1907- 12 August 1979), set up the first studio in 1946, with a vision of transforming the world of cinema with top-class storytelling styles. Over the decades, each member of the AVM family has kept up with that legacy, adapting it to changing times.
It has produced over 300 films in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, and Hindi cinema. The first film 'Alli Arjuna' a Hindu mythology was released in 1935, produced under 'Saraswathi Sound Productions' and then under 'Pragathi Studios'. The first Hindi film was 'Bahar' released in 1951.
AVM has introduced numerous actors in Southern industries, some of the prominent actors are Sivaji Ganesan, Rajkumar, S. S. Rajendran, Vyjayanthimala, Kamal Haasan, and many more.In 2007, AVM produced Sivaji which at ₹ 95 crores, was said to be the most expensive film ever made in the history of the Indian film industry at that time.
AVM made 21 films in Hindi, a few of these are Bahar(1951), Ladki(1953), Bhai Bhai91956), Chori Chori(1956), Miss Mary, Hum Panchhi Ek Daal Ke, and Bhabhi all released in 1957, Chhaya(1961), Mein Chup Rahungi(1962), Manmauji(1962), and Meharban(1967).
In 2014, the studio entered into the OTT platform with Tamil film Idhuvum Kadandhu Pogum
Among the many things that have vanished from Hindi films are the villain's Den, heroines, and sacrificing mothers tied to pillars waiting to be rescued by the hero. Filmmakers never missed an opportunity to keep a dance song in that situation. This trend started in the 50s and continued till the early 90s.
Among the early villain’s den songs is from Baazi (1951). Tadbeer Se Bigadi Hui Taqdeer BanaLe,The desperate, out-of-luck hero Dev Anand is about to leave the gambler’s den in Star Hotel until the seductive Geeta Bali appears with her guitar and sings, “Apne pe bharosa hai to dav laga le” Another popular song of this situation was Kahin Pe Nigahen Kahin Pe Nishana from the 1956 film C I D
In this blog I have selected a few such songs performed in a super villain's hideout when the leading hero or heroine is under captivity. Sometimes lead leading actors are also disguised while performing choreographed dances in the villain's presence to deceive him or extract important information.
Song of Baazi 1951
Song of C I D 1956
This is a very popular song 'Aaiye Meharbaan' picturized on Madhubala in Howrah Bridge(1958) Ashok Kumar tries to get cosy with the bad guys who may be involved in his brother’s death. The hotel’s biggest draw, the beautiful Edna (Madhubala), is fond of Kumar and charms him with Aaiye Meharbaan, while the villain Pyarelal (KN Singh) looks on.
Song of Howrah Bridge 1958
In another Dev Anand starrer, Jaali Note (1960), Anand is an undercover police inspector hobnobbing with criminals in their underground den beneath the Paris Hotel, where they are entertained by a then-unknown Helen dancing to Nigahon Ne Pheka Hain Panje Ka Chakka.
Song of Jaali Note (1960)
In the 1960 film Jis desh mein ganga behti hai Raj Kapoor goes to dacoit place and sing a song
He was eleven years old when he saw his first film 'Shabnam'(1949) starring Dilip Kumar and Kamini Kaushal. This film and its hero Dilip Kumar created magic on the young Harikishan Giri Goswami that he decided to adopt the name of Dilip Kumar's character from the 1949 film as his screen name.
The story of the film was of the refugees of the 1942 Rangoon war, Shanti (Kamini Kaushal) and Dilip Kumar( Manoj)who fall in love while on the way to Bengal. He too was a refugee from Pakistan, the film made a long-lasting impact on the young Harikishan. In an interview, Manoj Kumar said "It is because of him that I became a fan of cinema. I fell in love with his character in the film whose name was Manoj. I must be 11-year-old then but I instantly decided that if and whenever I become an actor I will keep my name as Manoj Kumar,"
Manoj Kumar (born on 24 July 1937) his family had to migrate from Jandiala Sher Khan Pakistan to Delhi due to the PartitionHis family lived as refugees in Vijay Nagar, Kingsway Camp, and later moved to Old Rajendra Nagar area of New Delhi. His fascination for films brought him to Bombay. He took part in the first Filmfare Talent Hunt competition hed in Bombay. Dharmendra was also one of the contestants.
Manoj Kumar got his first role in the film 'Fashion' released in 1957, the hero was Pradeep Kumar. Manoj Kumar played the role of an 80-year-old beggar in the film. This was a very small role. After this he got another small role in the 1958 film 'Sahara' starring Meena Kumari.
Manoj Kumar got his first leading role in Kaanch Ki Gudia (1961) opposite Saida Khan.Its song 'Saath Ho Tum Aur Raat Jawan; was a hit but not the film.Before this another film 'Honeymoon'(1960) with the same lead was released first
Hariyali Aur Rasta (1962) was the first hit film of Manoj Kumar, but subsequent films were flop In 1964 he got a major hit 'Woh Kaun Thi' After this film he never looked back. In 1965 his film Shaheed got him branded as a patriotic image. His directorial debut Upkaar (1967). In this award-winning film, he played both a soldier and a farmer. The film was also noted for the famous song "Mere Desh Ki Dharti", written by Gulshan Bawra, composed by Kalyanji-Anandji, and sung by Mahendra Kapoor. Upkaar was declared a blockbuster and won him his first Filmfare Best Director Award.
He appeared with his idol Dilip Kumar in the 1967 film Aadmi, he was nominated Filmfare Best Supporting Actor Award. Again in 1981 he directed him in the film 'Kranti'
After Kranti in 1981, Kumar's career began to decline, when the films he did with him in lead role like Kalyug Aur Ramayan in 1987 and later Clerk in 1989 failed at the box office. In 1989, he cast Pakistani actors Mohammad Ali and Zeba in his film Clerk. He quit acting after his appearance in the 1995 film Maidan-E-Jung. He directed his son, Kunal Goswami, in the 1999 film Jai Hind which had a patriotic theme. The film was a flop and was the last film Kumar worked on.
Here are some forgotten and rare songs of Manoj Kumar
‘Dil jalta hai to jalne de’. was the first major song from Mukesh from ” Pehli Nazar”(1945). It was Anil Biswas who composed this song and wanted him to singin Saigal style The song became so popular that he was branded for the sad songs. He was next to Saigal for such types of songs.Initially, all the composers used Mukesh mainly for such songs.
After this film, however, Anil Biswas helped Mukesh to develop his own distinct style, away from the Saigal effect. Mukesh songs of Anokha Pyaar-48, Lajawab-50 and Aaram-51 are a testimony to this effort becoming a success. Just listen to ‘ Aye Jaan e Jigar’ song and you will agree. The anguish of a failed lover, despondency of a purposeless life, the Heartache-all this is expressed by Mukesh like no other singer.
Naushad also recognized Mukesh's voice, he took him for the first time in the 1948 film 'Anokhi Ada'.Mukesh coming out a winner with his ‘ kabhi dil dil se takrata to hoga’. Mela-48 put a stamp of approval on Mukesh from none other than Dilip Kumar. He sang many songs for him, in fact he was the voice of Dilip Kumar in Andaz(1949) and Rafi was the voice of Raj Kapoor in that film.
Mukesh became the voice of Raj Kapoor after the success of Barsat (1949), he sang almost all the songs for him except a few exceptions. on his death raj Kapoor said that he has lost his voice. In fact, after the demise of Mukesh, Talat, Hemant, and Kishore to a certain extent sang sad songs, but the sentiments of Gloom, sorrow, and despair disappeared from Hindi film songs.
The last song that he recorded was Chanchal Sheetal Nirmal Komal from “Satyam Shivam Sundaram” in June 1976. Soon after recording this song he left for a musical tour of the US. Mukesh had sung 930 songs in 533 films. he gave music to 2 films and acted in 7 films in his early years. Some of his films were, “Aadab Arz” (1943), “Aah” (1953), “Mashuqa” (1953), “Anurag” (1956).
Anand Bakshi (21 July 1930-30 March 2002) was fond of writing poetry since his youth, but he did this mostly as a private hobby. He worked in Army but left it to join Hindi Film Industry as a writer or a singer but not a lyricist. He got his break writing songs in a film titled Bhalaa Aadmi (1958), acted by Bhagwan Dada. He wrote four songs in this film. His first song in this film was "Dharti Ke Laal Na Kar Itna Malaal" which was recorded on 9 Nov 1956. (In his own voice on All India Radio interview).
Anand Bakshi thought at that time that now his career has started but it was not like that, he had to struggle further. He was given one or two songs in the films like Miss Toofan Mail, Sun To Le Haseena(1958), CID Girl, Laal Nishaan(1959) but he got noticed from the 1962 film 'Kala Samundar' Qawwali “Meri Taveer Le Ke Kya Karoge”. Plus the films ‘Mehndi Lagi Mere Haath’ His first super hit song was 'Mere Mehboob Kayamat Hogi' from Mr X in Bombay, the first time he worked with Laxmikant Pyarelal.
His real career as a lyricist started from the movie 'Jab Jab Phul Khile'. One of those songs 'Ek tha gul ek thi bulbul..' became very popular.This year another film 'Himalaya Ki God Mein' had 4 super hit songs in his name. Apart from these two films ‘Lutera’, ‘Shriman Funtoosh’ and ‘Teesra Kaun’ had memorable songs. Notable mentions required though, for “Hamen Kya Jo Har Su Ujaale Huye Hain” from ‘Namaste Ji’ and “Ye Dard Bhara Afsaana” from ‘Shriman Funtoosh’. And yes – “Pyaar Ka Fasaana Bana Le Dil Deewaana” from ‘Teesra Kaun’.
In this blog, I am posting the forgotten and rarely listened songs of Anand Bakshi
We all remember the song "Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya" with this song Geeta Dutt became famous That was in 1947 with the release of 'Do Bhai' music was given by S D Burman. 1947-1949 saw Geeta Roy rule as the number one female playback singer in the Hindi film industry as she moved from strength to strength. She married Guru Dutt in 1953 whom she fell in love with during the recording of the songs of' Baazi'(1951).
In 1957 Guru Dutt started a film 'Gauri' in Hindi and Bengali with her as the heroine. This film was supposed to be shot in the new cinemascope technology. It is said that a lot of expensive types of equipment were ordered from abroad and the shooting began with a lot of expectations from Geeta DuttThe shooting of the film began and a few reels were shot. Based on the available information, at least one song sung and acted by Geeta was recorded. To much dismay of Geeta, Guru Dutt decided to scrap the film. It was a case of shattered dreams for Geeta who had pinned her hopes on this film. The words "Mera Sundar Sapna Beet Gaya" sung by her almost ten years ago had become true.
Geeta Dutt In Gauri
Since the film was supposed to be a musical, it is said that two songs were recorded for the film but were never released on discs. it was the legendary S D Burman (whom Geeta used to call "Kaka" (Uncle) with affection). Geeta Dutt is reported to have recorded a song "BANSHI SHUNE AAR KAJ NAI SE JE DAKATIA BANSHI" for the film Gauri. The record version was probably never published. This is confirmed from a 1958 Bengali magazine article by Colin Paul. Later S.D. Burman himself recorded the song in his own voice at around 1960/1961 and it was a hit. The song has lyrics by Gouri Prasanna Majumdar and music by S D Burman himself. The same tune was later used for Shakti Samanta’s film Anuraag (1972) where Lata Mangeshkar sang the song "Neend Churaye Chain Churaye Daka Dale Teri Bansi" for Moushumi Chatterjee making her debut in Hindi films. The film Gauri got shelved and the original tunes were probably never heard by anyone. The shelving of the film Gauri had a severe impact on Geeta as a person. A truly spirited woman she was, she continued to sing memorable songs as if nothing had happened, but for sure she was hurt deep inside in her heart. Those days Guru Dutt was in love with Waheeda Rehman, their family life was in trouble. Guru Dutt broke with Geeta Dutt for the sake of Waheeda Rehman. Waheeda never reciprocated her love to Guru Dutt since he was a married man with children. Moreover, she respected him as a Great artist and nothing else. At this juncture, it is hard to imagine Guru Dutt’s state of mind. He was caught between two situations. Breaking up with his wife and not getting attention from Waheeda. Finally, Guru Dutt found the easy way out. He apparently committed suicide on October 10th, 1964
After Guru Dutt's untimely death in the year 1964, Geeta Dutt suffered a lot of financial, health related and personal problems. She was practically left with no money (being made insolvent from Guru Dutt Films due to the debacle of the film "Sailaab" earlier) and three children to support. The days of her career as a leading playback singer were over and she was not getting many singing assignments. Between the years 1964 and 1967, she sang less than a couple of dozen songs, mostly in obscure and/or low-budget films. Going by the rule of the film industry, one and all had deserted her. Even those people whom she had helped building their careers had conveniently forgotten her. The composers for whom she sang several hit songs turned back towards her. She was forced to do stage shows and radio jingles and even those were not a great success. It was a sad story to see a top playback singer being treated like this by the film and music fraternity. It is reported that she decided to venture into other areas of films and music. She was to compose the music for a film under the moniker "Pyaasi" and it is said that she even recorded a song in her own voice. We do not have any information if any records of songs she composed were released or not. This was the time, when she decided to try her hand at acting one more time, this time in her mother tongue Bengali.
Cover of Badhu Baran's Booklet
Geeta Dutt got a role in a Bengali film titled Badhu Baran in the year 1967. The film was directed by Dilip Naag. The film introduced Rakhee (who later became Rakhee Gulzar and went on to become a popular actress in Hindi films) to the film world. The film was made by D.S. Productions
The film had an impressive star cast in Pradeep Kumar paired with Geeta Dutt. Based on the available information, the film did not do too well at the box office. A good amount of interest was among the music and film lovers who watched this film to see their favorite singer Geeta Roy acting in a film. The film ran for about 5 or 6 weeks or so in Kolkata.
Elegant Geeta ji in Badhu Baran
The music of the film was composed by the legendary and brilliant composer Kamal Dasgupta. It is a pity that the composer chose to have Geeta sing just one song for this film. The song she sang is "Amar alor o shishu o andhar ja"This turned out to be Geeta Dutt's last recording in a Bengali film
Song of Badhu Baran 1967
She tried to resume her singing career. But Asha Bhonsle had already overtaken her. Geeta Dutt started drowning her woes in alcohol. Her health kept failing as she drank more and more alcoholic drinks..ultimately she died on July 20th 1972 due to cirrhosis of the liver at the tender age of 42. Geeta Dutt was a brilliant playback singer of Hindi films, strikingly beautiful with dreamy almond eyes, who left us nearly 50 years ago. Despite possessing a rich voice, her career was heavily marred by bad luck and an unhappy marriage.
The last recorded song of Geeta Dutt was a duet with Talat Mahmood in the 1972 film Midnight which went unnoticed. In this film she sang a solo also.
