Ghaalib's Representations on Screen

 

I think that there has been no great ghazal singer who hasn’t sung Ghalib’s work, be it, Mehdi Hasan or Jagjit Singh, most of them have sung his ghazals. He is said to have written his first poem at the age of 11, and by 19, was writing verses that became increasingly incomprehensible to even his contemporaries. 

Ghalib's life was the subject of hundreds of plays regularly performed in Northern India and Pakistan. These plays were based on his life and his personal and professional relationships starting from the Parsi Theatre and Hindustani Theatre days.  He remains the topmost poet whose poems are used as songs in Hindi films but he was not shown much on screen. The first time a full feature film was made in 1954 by V Shantaram named Mirza Ghalib (1954) in which Bharat Bhushan plays Ghalib and Suraiya plays his courtesan lover, Chaudvin. 

Gulzar produced a TV serial, Mirza Ghalib (1988), telecast on DD National that was immensely successful in India. Naseeruddin Shah played the role of Ghalib in the serial, and it featured ghazals sung and composed by Jagjit Singh and Chitra Singh

 Mirza Ghalib (1954) made by Sohrab Modi won the President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film and the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi in the 2nd National Film Awards for 1954. Suraiya's singing (of Mirza Ghalib's ghazals) and her acting was especially applauded by the Prime Minister, Jawahar Lal Nehru, who remarked to her " You have brought back Ghalib to life", in a special screening of the film in Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Gulzar's Mirza Ghalib produced by Doordarshan TV was a masterpiece. Naseeruddin Shah, who played the role of the poet in the TV show Mirza Ghalib, considers it his finest performance at par with movies.

Gulzar, who almost seems to consider Ghalib his guru, often using his lines or concepts in his own work, penned a brilliant poem in his honour to begin the show — Ballimaran ke mohalle ki wo pecheeda daleelon ki si galiyaan.

The 2015 film Masaan contains various examples of poetry and Shayari by Ghalib,

Song of Mirza Ghalib(1954)

Song of Mirza Ghalib(1954)

Song of Mirza Ghalib T V Serial by Gulzar

Song of Mirza Ghalib T V Serial by Gulzar

A Scene from Mirza Ghalib 

If you liked this blog, you would also appreciate my Youtube Channel Bollywood Unplugged, the link is given below

https://youtu.be/BFj560iRLJA

Mehdi Hassan- Gulon Mein Rang Bhare

 

Mehdi Hassan's voice gave life to the lyrics of the song and transformed it into a timeless entity to be hummed by generations to come. This happened when he sang 'Gulon Mein Rang Bhare'  the words of Faiz Ahmed Faiz for the film  Farangi (1964). It moved the poet so much that he bestowed the song to Mehdi Hassan.

This happens when two great combines together to create something, a masterpiece is born. This ghazal is widely considered to be amongst the most popular as well as the very best of Faiz Sahib’s ghazals. Indeed, as many would consider it to also be amongst the best of Mehdi Hasan’s ghazals.

This ghazal was not written for the film It had already been recorded by Radio Pakistan’s Central Production Unit. The radio version had just a sarangi, a tabla and a tanpura yet it had become a massive hit. This became a rage only when it was re-recorded for the film. There was no situation in the film for this song but the director Khalil Qaisar was hell-bent on including in the soundtrack. 

 Ismail Khan, the uncle and mentor of Mehdi Hassan fashioned it in the Jhinjhoti Raag, Heavy orchestra was used. violins were introduced instead of Tanpura. The ghazal’s resounding success catapulted Hasan’s career in the industry and he never looked back An anecdote linked with this song is that during many get-togethers, people would request Faiz Sahab to recite the ‘Mehdi Hasan ghazal.

Mehdi Hassan. Born on July 18th, 1927 in Rajasthan of pre-partition India, he was initially named Ismail Khan. As a child, he was weak and fell seriously ill, and after many prayers, he recovered on the 8th of Muharram, after which he was renamed Mehdi Hassan. He was born into a traditional family of musicians, and his father and uncle had even been invited to the court of the Maharaja of Baroda, one of the greatest honors at the time. Growing up in this family of musicians, Mehdi Hassan gained an understanding of “raag” at the early age of six. By the time he was eight, he also performed in the presence of the Maharaja, who greatly appreciated him.

Mehdi Hassan sang for more than 300 films, and his fan base stretched beyond Pakistan to India. His contributions as a playback singer not only made him famous, but they also made the film, poetry and poet memorable. For instance, Ahmed Faraz’s ghazal, “Ranjish Hee Sahi,” was immortalized when Mehdi Hassan sang it.

It is important to note that Mehdi Hassan changed ghazal from a purely classical genre to a semi-classical genre. This transition allowed the format of ghazal to be more openly adapted in films.Mehdi Hassan sang in two Hindi films also.

He passed away on 13th July, 2012, and the world was deprived of a beautiful voice. His songs can still be heard in households and streets, transcending borders and languages. 

Original song from Farangi 1964

gulon mein rang bhare runa laila

       Gulon Mein Rang Bharey - Kamran Hasan Son of Mehdi Hassan

"The Unforgettable Film Songs" of Jagjit Singh

It is believed that Jagjit Singh was the singer, who popularized ghazal, an Indian classical art among masses. He is considered to be the most successful ghazal singer and composer of all time in terms of critical acclaim and commercial success. 

Jagjit Singh came to Mumbai in 1965 to become a playback singer in Hindi films. Those days Mohammad Rafi was in his peak, there was Manna Dey, Kishore Kumar, Mukesh already established singers, there was no chance for him at that point of time. He had to struggle for a song in films. He obtained work initially as a singer of advertising jingles. He got the first break in the 1973 film Avishkar when music director Kanu Roy asked him and Chitra Singh to sing 'Babul Mora Naihar Chhoto Jaye' 

His first album "The Unforgettable" in 1976 made him and Chitra Singh star. The album is notable for one exceptional ghazal, Raat Bhi Neend Bhi, based on a Firaq Gorakhpuri poem. Another Ghazal by Kafeel Aazar ' Baat Niklegi To Bahut Door Tak Jayegi' was sung by him. The album was released by The Gramophone Company of India Ltd.

The popularity of the couple attracted the Hindi film Industry. He was offered to compose music for the film 'Premgeet' released in 1981, he sang a ghazal"Hothon Se Chhu Lo Tum" in this film which was a hit among masses. After the success of this film, he got   2 films, Saath Saath and Arth. The song "Tum Ko Dekha To Yeh Khayal Aaya" and"Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho" were very popular. His compositions for the TV serial Mirza Ghalib (based on the life of the poet Mirza Ghalib), remain extremely popular among ghazal aficionados. 

In this blog, I have selected a few of his songs from Hindi films

Song of Avishkar 1973

Song of Premgeet 1981

 Song of Saath Saath 1982

Song of Arth 1983

Song of Arth 1983

Song of Dushman 1998

Song of Sarfarosh1999

Song of Tum Bin 2001

Song of Joggers Park 2003

Ghulam Ali - Chupke Chupke Raat Din

 

Ghulam Ali ( born on 5 December 1940), one of the best ghazal singers of his era also gave playback in Hindi films. He was introduced to Hindi cinema with a Hindi film song 'Chupke Chupke Raat Din' in B. R. Chopra's film, Nikaah (1982). 

Though the music director of the film was Ravi, he composed this Ghazal with his approval. This Ghazal was written by Urdu poet Hasrat Mohani (1875-1951) and contained 17 couplets but in this film, only 3 couplets were taken.  In the lyrics, the central character is recalling all the events that took place that made him fall in love. In the screenplay, he is sitting on a lounge chair, listening to this song on the record, and feeling sorry for himself...

He became a big name in India after this song. This Ghazal became a rage in the 80s. Asha Bhosle and Jagjeet Singh also rendered their voice later on. In fact, in 1983 an album 'Meraj-e-Ghazal' of Asha Bhonsle and Ghulam Ali was released.

Ghulam Ali's styles and variations in singing Ghazals has been noted as unique, as he blends Hindustani classical music with ghazals, unlike any other ghazal singer. Highly popular in Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, as well as among South Asian diaspora in the US, the UK and the Middle Eastern countries

Song of Nikah 1982

chupke chupke raat din by asha bhonsle

chupke chupke raat din by jagjit singh 

Runa Laila - A Legend Forever

 

She was born in East Pakistan, was educated in Pakistan, settled down in Bangladesh after the creation of the state in 1971, has worked in India and travels the world with her shows. Where does she really belong? 

The colourful journey of her career has taken her all over the world. From Madison Square Garden to Sydney Opera House, from Europe to Africa – the veteran has stepped on proudly carrying the legacy of Bangladesh and mesmerized her audience in India and Pakistan. She has lent her melodious voice to over 10,000 recordings, in 18 languages.

In her decorated career, Runa Laila has achieved such height of fame and recognition that most artists can only dream of. She has voiced the magical lyrics of some of the globally renowned lyricists and performed the duet with singers at the similar altitudes of success.

She was born (17 th Nov 1952) in Sylhet to Syed Mohammed Imdad Ali, a civil servant posted in Karachi, and Amina Laila. In 1966, she made her breakthrough with the song Unki Nazron Sey Mohabbat Ka Jo Paigham Mila for the Urdu film Hum Dono. She used to perform on PTV In a show called Bazm E Laila.

Her tryst with Indian films came about after a chance meeting with music director Jaidev in Delhi, at a party hosted by businessman and music connoisseur Ashok Khanna. He gave her a chance to sing at the inauguration of Doordarshan. For a few years, she used to sing in Doordarshan. She became famous among viewers by her song Damadam Mast Kalandar. Her first recording was with Kalyanji-Anandji for the title song of Ek Se Badhkar Ek. She gained popularity in India with the songs O Mera Babu Chail Chabila and Dama Dam Mast Qalandar . After that, she sang two songs for Gharonda"Tumhe ho na ho" and "Do deewane shaher mein " composed by Jaidev.
She shares a close association with Bappi Lahiri too. In fact, Bappida recorded a pop album in her voice called Superuna in London. The singer remembers it all fondly. “We recorded at the Abbey Road Studios, made famous by The Beatles and I think we were the first people from the subcontinent to have done so. It was a spectacular experience. The songs are still popular and I perform them at my shows even now.” The songs were indeed so popular that Bappida used the hit single, De De Pyar De in the film Sharaabi (1984). 
Her name has been written on the Guinness World Records for recording 30 songs within 3 days. In 1982, she won Golden Disk Award as her album Superuna composed by Bappi Lahiri was sold over 1 lakh copies on the first day of its release.

Runa has also sung versions of Mehdi Hassan’s ghazals, which became quite famous. In October 2009, she released Kala Sha Kala, a collection of Punjabi wedding songs, in India. In 2012, Laila served as a judge on the show Sur Kshetra, an Indian television contest show for amateur singers. She described her relationship with fellow judge Asha Bhosle as that of sisters. In 2014, she collaborated with Sabina Yasmin on a song for a television play "Dalchhut Projapoti", the first time they worked on a song together.

Runa has sung in seventeen languages including her native Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Gujarati, Pashto, Baluchi, Arabic, Persian, Malay, Nepalese, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, French and English.

Song of Ek Se Badkaar Ek 1976

Song of Gharonda 1977

Song of Yaadgaar (1984)

Mera Babu Chhail Chhabila Mai To Naachu re

Song of The Rain 1976  Bangaladesh

Ghazal  of Runa Laila

Superuna composed by Bappi Lahiri 

The Great Ghazals of Khayyam

 

Khayyam came to limelight with the Ghazal "Shaam-e-Gham Ki Kasam" sung by Talat Mehmood from the film Footpath(1953). He gained greater recognition from the film Phir Subha Hogi (1958), in which all the songs were written by Sahir Ludhyanvi. Since then, he preferred to work with poets rather than film lyricists. That is the reason one finds poetry playing an equal role in Khayyam's compositions as the music or the singer.

Khayyam's music had the touch of ghazal but was rooted in Indian classical music. In a career spanning over four decades, he gave Hindi cinema some of its most memorable movie soundtracks with films like Umrao Jaan, Kabhi Kabhie, Raziya Sultan, Bazar, and many others. 

I am posting a few of my favorite Ghazals of Khayyam

Song of Footpath 1953

Song of Phir Subha Hogi 1958

Song of Shola Aur Shabnam (1961)

Song of Shagoon (1964)

Song of Kabhi Kabhie (1976)

Song of Thodi Si Bewafaai (1980)

Song of  Ahista Ahista (1981)

Song of  Umrao Jaan (1981)

Song of  Umrao Jaan (1981)

Song of  Bazaar (1982)

Song of  Bazaar (1982)

Song of Razia Sultan (1983)

Song of Anjuman (1986)