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
Talat Mahmood began his singing career at the age of 16 in 1939, when he began singing the Ghazals of Daag, Mir, Jigar etc. on All India Radio, Lucknow. His voice had a quality distinct from all the other singers. HMV was quick to notice this and offered Talat his first disc in 1941 Sab din ek samaan nahin tha, Bun jaoon ga kya se kya main, Iska to kuch dhyan nahin tha.
His reputation as a ghazal singer was not limited to his hometown of Lucknow, but it reached the city that proved to shape his destiny – Calcutta. He acted in 3 Bengali films before coming to Bombay in 1949. His big break came with the song Ae dil mujhe aisi jagha le chal jahan koi na ho composed by music director Anil Biswas, his mentor in Bombay, for the soundtrack of the film Arzoo (1950 film).
In this blog, I have selected a few unheard and rare songs of Talat Mahmood of the 40s
Talat's first-ever recording of 1941
TALAT MAHMOOD - Sab din ek samaan nahin tha NON FILM GHAZAL
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
He never ever wanted to become an actor. He came to Bombay to become a director. Those days, actors were looked down upon. They were believed to come from the lowest strata of society. So he joined Bombay Talkies as a technician. he worked in the camera department. Later, he was made a lab assistant." It was sheer fluke that he became an actor. He got the lead role in Jeevan Naiya (1936), a Bombay Talkies production. His first big hit was Achhut Kanya (1936), where he again paired with Devika Rani.
.He was the first superstar of Hindi cinema as well as the first lead actor to play an anti-hero. He was the hero of the first blockbuster film(Kismet 1943) of Indian cinema. He also became the first star to reinvent himself, enjoying a long and hugely successful career as a character actor. He was also the first Bollywood star to enter the small screen (TV)
Post Kismet, Ashok Kumar became the most bankable star of the era, delivering a succession of box office successes with movies like Chal Chal Re Naujawan (1944), Shikari (1946), Sajan (1947), Mahal (1949), Sangram (1950) and Samadhi (1950). He produced several films for Bombay Talkies during the final years of the company including Ziddi (1948), which established the careers of Dev Anand and Pran, Later on, he quit the Bombay Talkies and started Filmistan Studio with Shashdhar Mukharjee, his desire to return to Bombay Talkies was always there." He re-bought Bombay Talkies in 1947. "Devika Rani had left by then. But the Talkies had fallen on bad days. The debts amounted to Rs 28 lakhs. We made movies like Majboor, Ziddi, Mahal and Mashal to repay the debts."
With the advent of the 1950s, Ashok Kumar switched over to more mature roles, with the exception of the 1958 classic Howrah Bridge. Despite the arrival of a younger crop of stars like Dev Anand, Dilip Kumar and Raj Kapoor, Ashok Kumar remained one of the stars of the era with hits like Afsana (1951), Nau Bahar (1952), Parineeta (1953), Bandish (1955) and EK Hi Raasta (1956). His most successful film of that era was Deedar (1951), in which he played second fiddle to Dilip Kumar.
Ashok Kumar played an important role in several landmark movies in the 1960s and 1970s, including Bandini(1963), Mamta (1966), Jewel Thief (1967), Aashirwad (1968) (for which he won a Filmfare Award as well as National Award in 1969), Purab aur Pashchim (1970), Pakeezah (1972), Mili (1975), Chhoti Si Baat (1975) and Khoobsurat (1980).
Ashok Kumar's last film role was in the 1997 movie Aankhon Mein Tum Ho.
He passed away on 10th Dec 2001 at the age of 90 following a heart failure.
The comedy songs are liked in every generation starting from the 30s till now. The way these songs have been sung with spunk, the hilarious lyrics and the comic timing of the characters who have sung these on the screen combined with the liveliness of the supporting cast makes these classics in their own right. There’s always some truth to parodies. These Bollywood songs are honest and funny at the same time.
There was a song in the 1940 film Punarmilan, written by Pt Anand Kumar, composed by Ramchandra Pal and sung and acted by Snehaprabha. The song ( Hans le jee bhar bhar kar Hans le) was a rage at that time.
Khemchand Prakash (12 December 1907 – 10 August 1949) is immortal to the music lovers who like old Bollywood songs.Very few of us know that greats like Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Naushad, Manna Dey, and Bulo C Rani were mentored by him. But the creator of these musical gems and the mentor of this league of stalwarts is now largely forgotten. On his Death Anniversary, I pay my tribute to this great composer who composed the song Aayega Aane Wala Aayega sung by Lata Mangeshkar.
He got his training of music from his father Pt. Goverdhan Prasad was a renowned Dhrupad singer who received royal patronage and sang in the Jaipur Durbar. Khemchand was not only a trained classical singer but also mastered the Rajasthani folk music and trained as a Kathak dancer. Once the king of Nepal was in Jaipur, he saw him performing there, invited him to come to his Kingdom. He went there and spent 5 years in Nepal.
The destiny landed him in Kolkata and he joined the legendary New Theaters. While working in New Theatres, he had a chance encounter with Prithviraj Kapoor, and they became lifelong friends. At his suggestion, Khemchand Prakash moved to Bombay along with Kidar Sharma, KN Singh, and last but not the least, the much-celebrated KL Saigal.
He was assistant to composer Timir Baran in Devdas (1935 film), and he sang a comedy song 'lo kha lo madam khaanaa' in Street Singer (1938). He made his debut as music director in 1939 with Supreme Pictures' films Meri Aankhein and Gazi Salauddin and was soon signed up by Ranjit Movietone Film Studio.
In this film, the great music director Naushad was his assistant. Khemchand Prakash used the Arabic style of orchestration to synchronise the ambience of the subject. He also composed Mirza Ghalib's famed ghazal, 'Kabhi neki bhi uske jee mein gar,' in Kalyani's voice. He got another offer for Dwarka Khosla's Meri Aankhein, wherein singer-actor Khursheed got her maiden break and sang 'Aisa geet suna jao' and 'Sach ke khel khilaye aasha,' 'Doodh piyo sab doodh'. These two films established Khemchand and in times to come, he gave classical gems to music lovers.Khursheed was his leading singer and both of them gave many hits of the early 40s.
Khemchand tasted real success when he joined Ranjit Movietone and accomplished nineteen films during his five-year stint. His films, Pardesi and Shaadi became hits. Pardesi had a ghazal, 'Pahle jo Mohabbat se inkar kiya hota' (Khursheed), which became an instant rage. It is said that Khursheed rehearsed this ghazal for fifteen days before recording it.
His biggest hit with Ranjit Studio was the film Tansen in 1943. Songs like "Diya jalaao jagmag jagmag", "Rumjhum rumjhum chal tihari", "More balpan ke saathi", "Sapt suran teen gram", "Hath sine pe jo rakh do to karara aa jaaye" were big hits. It is said that he played a key role in classic songs of Devdas( 1935) sung by KL Saigal: 'Balam aayo baso morey man mein' and 'Dukh ke din ab beetat nahin'. He also did cameo roles in New Theatres' films, and this song, 'Madam lo kha lo khana,' in Street Singer, was picturized on him and Kanan Devi. He was also seen in Debki Bose's Sapera.
After Tansen, the next film he did was Bhanwra (1944), starring K L Saigal. Khemchand Prakash offered a totally different type of music in Bhanwara, as evident in its compositions: 'Thukra rahi hai duniya,' 'Muskratey huey aankh churaya na karo,' 'Hum apna unhey bana na sakey,' 'Diya jisney dil' (Saigal), and a duet with Ameerbai Karnataki, 'Kya humne bigara hai,' became super hits.
Another classic of Khemchand Prakash was' Bhartihari' released in 1944, starring Surendra and Mumtaz Shanti. His compositions were once again in classical mode: 'Chanda des piya ke jaa' (Ameerbai Karnataki), and a duet in a dialogue form, 'Bhiksha de de maa pingla' (Surendra-Ameerbai Karnataki), became a listeners delight.
Prabhu Ka Ghar (1945) was the last film he composed music for Ranjeet Movietone, the same year his movie Dhanna Bhagat directed by Kidar Sharma had 'Panchhi pinjara hua purana' (Khan Mastana), that also became quite popular. He had differences with the owner Chandu Lal Shah of Ranjeet Movietone on the issue of using a new voice in a film. Chandu Lal Shah didn't agree and outright rejected the new voice. The new voice was that of Lata Mangeshkar. Thereafter, Khemchand Prakash started freelancing.
As a freelancerhis significant film was Kishore Sahu's silver jubilee 'Sindoor'(1947) with such unforgettable numbers: 'Kissi Ke Madhur Pyaar Mein' (Nasim Akthar-Sushil Sahu), and Ameerbai's solo, 'O Roothey Huey Bhagwan'
1948 marked yet another significant film of his career, Bombay Talkies’s Ziddi. He gave first major break to Kishore Kumar as a singer for the song "Marne ki duaaen kyun maangu".Ziddi featured a beautiful song of Lata Mangeshkar "Chanda re ja re ja re".Lata sang for him for the first time in Asha released in 1948.
Kishore Sahu had Khemchand in his own home production 'Rimjhim'. He composed a rare gem for Kishore, 'Jagmag jagmag karta nikla chaand poonam ka pyaara' This film also had a super hit number in Shamshad's voice, 'Na tum aaye na neend aayi'. Kishore Sahu and Khemchand again came together in Sawan Aya Re, which had all-time greats of Rafi-Shamshad, 'Aye dil na mujhe yaad dila baatein purani.'In the same year released the film Mahal, its song 'Aayega Aane Wala' became a hit and made Lata a household name. The film and its music became a super hit, unfortunately, Khemchan Prakash died before the release of this film. He died at an early age of 41 on 10 August 1949 due to Cirrhosis.
