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
Not many of us remember her today but once she was among the topmost singers of Bollywood. She sang for 100 films, till the early 1950s. She is best known for her songs, "Sun Bairi Baalam Sach Bol Re" in Bawre Nain (1950), "Ghabaraa Ke Jo Hum Sar Ko Takraayan" in Mahal (1949) and "Najariya Ki Maari" in Pakeezah (1972). She was just 10 years old when she recorded her first song for HMV in 1934 and she started her career as a stage artist. Vijay Bhatt and Shankar Bhatt of Prakash Pictures spotted her during one of her shows. Her first film with them was a Hindi-Gujarati bilingual called Sansar Leela Nayi Duniya. She got important roles in films like Aankh Ka Tara and Turki Sher (1933). She was the heroine in Bhakt Ke Bhagwan and Insaaf Ki Topi (1934). She also used to sing for popular music director Lallubhai. He gave music to films starring Rajkumari ji like Nai Duniya, alias Sacred Scandal (1934) (Sansaar Leela in Gujarati version), Laal Chitthi, alias Red Letter (1935), Bombay Mail (1935), Bambai Ki Sethaani (1935) and Shamsheer-e-Arab (1935). She sang many duets with G M Durrani. The 1942 film Nai Duniya had many duets of Rajkumari and G M Durrani. Nai Duniya was a 1942 Bollywood film directed by Abdul Rashid Kardar and starring P. Jairaj, Shobhana Samarth, and Mazhar Khan. Suraiya sang her first song; "Boot Karun Mai Polish, Babu" with Naushad as M.D. in this film. Rajkumari had a soft and very sweet voice with a small range. She sang quite a few songs with Mukesh. She did not get much opportunity to sing with Mohammed Rafi – mainly because Lata Mangeshkar was a fast upcoming singer at the time. She sang with Noor Jehan in Naukar (1943). She never sang with K. C. Dey, but she did sing songs composed by him, as well as his nephew, Manna Dey. Rajkumari was married very late in life. Her husband was V.K. Dubey who was from Varanasiwhere he spent a lot of his time (because he owned a shop there), while she settled in Bombay. He later joined her in Bombay. Rajkumari Dubey died in 2000. Her last song was with R D Burman for the 1977 film Kitab.
Started his film career as a story writer when he joined Filmistan in 1948. The famous films he wrote for Filmistan include Anarkali (1953), Munimji (1955), and Paying Guest (1957). The first film he directed was Tumsa Nahin Dekha in 1957 for Filmalaya. Another film he directed in 1958 was Dil Deke Dekho. The highlight of both of these films was its music. His films were full of adventure, romance, fun, music, outdoor and entertainment He started his own film company, Nasir Hussain Films and turned producer-director. He made musical hits like Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961), Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963), Teesri Manzil (1966), Baharon Ke Sapne (1967), Pyar Ka Mausam (1969), Caravan (1971), Yaadon Ki Baraat (1973), and Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977). Nasir Hussain was an admirer of Dev Anand, when he was making his first film as a director Tumsa Nahin Dekha he wanted Dev Anand as his hero but Dev Anand refused the film because of the heroine being a newcomer so Shammi Kapoor was approached. Similarly when Teesri Manzil was planned Dev Anand was signed for the film but due to differences with Hussain he opted out and Kapoor was cast.
Nasir Hussain introduced Asha Parekh with the film Dil Deke Dekho opposite Shammi Kapoor since then she was inall of Hussain's films until Caravan (1971). Hussain, Majrooh Sultanpuri, and R.D. Burman collaborated on Teesri Manzil, Baharon Ke Sapne, Pyar Ka Mausam, Caravan, Yaadon Ki Baraat, and Hum Kisise Kum Naheen.
He made Yaadon Ki Baraat in 1973 which was written by Salim-Javed, who had written Zanjeer the same year. Both the films dealt with the hero wanting to avenge his father's death, and both featured Ajit as the villain. Yaadon Ki Baraat has been identified as the first masala film.
The 1980s were not good for him, all his filmsZamane Ko Dikhana Hai (1981), Manzil Manzil (1984) and Zabardast (1985) all flopped, Hussain's son Mansoor Khan took over the reins of Nasir Hussain Films, although Hussain continued to write scripts and dialogues for films like Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (1992). In Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, he introduced his nephew Aamir Khan as a hero. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak was a milestone in the history of Hindi cinema, setting the template for Bollywood musical romance films that defined Hindi cinema in the 1990s
Urdu Shayari is primarily a spoken art form and therefore more suited to theatrical and cinematic adaptation. In fact, when this Shayari was decorated with music, it made Urdu poetry accessible and entertaining to the masses. Urdu, from the very beginning, was the most important language of the talkies. Starting from the first Sound Film "Alam Ara" till the 8os Urdu Shayari was predominantly used in Hindi songs. As Urdu was the lingua franca of artistic expression, Urdu poetry became indispensable to songwriters. Two of the earliest lyricists in Hindi cinema – Kidar Sharma and Dina Nath Madhok – perfectly symbolized this synergy between poetry and cinema. .The credit of the first song and the singer in a movie goes to Wazir Mohammad Khan who acted and sang this song De De Khuda Ke Naam Se De, it was in Urdu.
De De Khuda Ke Naam Se De from Alam Ara
In the 40s till Golden Era, the Urdu Shayari was at its prime. TheUrdu poets of the era belonged to different parts of the country. Stalwarts like Jan Nisar Akhtar (father of Javed Akhtar), Sahir Ludhianvi, Kaifi Azmi (father of Shabana Azmi), Mazrooh Sultanpuri and Shakeel Badayuni, were either related or were close friends with each other. Almost all lyricists of that time had formal training in Urdu poetry and were well-versed with its various forms like ghazal, nazm, qawwali etc. Their careers began in mushairas
Song of Dulari 1949
Song of Chaudhavin Ka Chand 1960
From romantic sonnets like Chaudhavin Ka Chand to songs of desperate misery like Dekhi Zamane Ki Yaari, and qawwalis like Yeh Ishq Ishq Hai, this was truly the high noon of Urdu poetry in Bollywood. The philosophical song " Mein Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya" by Sahir Ludhianvi from the movie Hum Dono, exemplifies what a naturally poetic time this was for the Hindi cinema.
Song of Hum Dono 1961
The advent of parallel cinema, commonly called “art films”, further gave opportunities to traditional poets such as Shahryar, who wrote the lyrics for Umrao Jaan and Gaman. Independent artists like Jagjit Singh, Ghulam Ali, Salma Agha also wrote tunes for famous Urdu ghazals. Many of these were used in movie soundtracks and gave us classics like Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho and Chupke Chupke Raat Din.
True to his name "Sahir" which means a magician, he proved to be a magician of words. He painted fascinating images in songs and ghazals, Spellbinding his listeners and readers for decades. For about thirty years, he remained associated with the Hindi film industry. He composed hundreds of songs for Hindi/Urdu films. Most of his songs became hugely popular and are even today sung and hummed by people of all generations. Sahir made his debut as a lyricist with the film "Azadi Ki Raah Par" in 1948. but got fame only associating with S D Burman. Two films, released in 1951, had songs that sky-rocketed in popularity and are hummed even today. First was "Thandi Hawaiian Lehraa Ke Aayen" from Naujawan. The second was a landmark film, marking the directorial debut of Guru Dutt - Baazi. Both films, coincidentally, had music by S. D. Burman. S.D. Burman and Sahir Ludhianvi went on to compose music for 18 movies, Some of the well-known films are characteristic of Burman-Ludhianvi team: Devdas, Jeevan Jyoti, Jaal, Society, Armaan and Taxi Driver. The last film Sahir made with Burman was Pyaasa. In Pyaasa, Guru Dutt played a poet named Vijay. After Pyaasa, Sahir and Burman went separate ways due to artistic and contractual differences. Sahir Ludhianvi has written about 700 songs for 30 music composers in his 32 years career as lyrics writer ( 1921 to 1980 ) Sahir won a Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist for Taj Mahal (1963). He won a second Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist for his work on Kabhie Kabhie (1976) and he was awarded the Padma Shri in 1971. Sahir was considered a *romantic*: personal romance and the resultant disillusionment, followed by universal romance and the resultant frustration with *the way it is*. He never minced the words, did not sublimate emotions. He expressed thoughts clearly and directly. .During the last years of his life, Sahir suffered from alcoholism and underwent a radical personality alteration marked by moodiness and despair. Sahir Ludhianvi passed away at the age of 59 (25 October 1980) from a heart attack. A bungalow named Parchaiyaan in Andheri, Mumbai became Sahir’s abode from the 1970s till his last days. List of Films with S D Burman
Mohammed Rafi (24 December 1924 – 31 July 1980) is considered as one of the greatest and most influential singers of the Indian subcontinent.He was known for his ability to mold his voice to the persona and style of an actor, lip-syncing the song on screen in the movie. He has recorded songs for over a thousand Hindi films and has sung songs in various regional Indian languages as well as foreign languages, though primarily in Hindi-Urdu and Punjabi over which he had a strong command. In this blog, I plan to divide Rafi’s very long career into 10-year slots, look for a film that has his first association with the music director, and then pick up one solo song that seems to slip from our memories. 1944 to 1953 Rafi moved to Bombay, Maharashtra in 1944. His first recorded song in a Hindi film was a duet with G M Durrani "Aji dil ho kaabu mein to dildar ki aisi taisi...," for Gaon Ki Gori, As can be expected the first five-year period of Rafi had a very large number of music directors who deployed Mohammad Rafi first time.
Song of Gaon Ki Gori. 1944
Pandit Govindram, one of the then leading music director, teamed up with lyricist Ramesh Gupta for Hamara Sansar with what may be termed as a full-fledged 1st solo song. The experts may see that youthful rawness in Rafi’s voice but not in his singing prowess.
Muhammad Rafi 1st solo Song from Film Hamara Sansar 1945
Song of Hamara Sanar 1945
In 1946 S Quereshi another popular composer of that era composed a slightly fast-paced tune which is essentially in the nature of a traditional prayer. Shevan Rizvi has made required changes in the lyrics to suit the song to probably a 78-RPM
record singing length duration. In the years to come, Mohammad Rafi developed a special
forte for this genre.
Song of Arab Ka Sitara 1946
Song of Shahjahan (1946)
Composer Naushad took Rafi for the first time in a chorus with Shyam Kumar, Alauddin and others from the film" Pehle Aap." in 1944. In 1945, he appeared on the screen for the song "Tera Jalwa Jis Ne Dekha" in the film Laila Majnu. He sang a number of songs for Naushad as part of the chorus, including "Mere Sapnon Ki Rani, Roohi Roohi" with K. L. Saigal, from the film Shahjahan (1946). Rafi sang "Tera Khilona Toota Balak" from Mehboob Khan's Anmol Ghadi (1946) and a duet with Noor Jehan in the 1947 film Jugnu, "Yahan Badla Wafa Ka".
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Song of Anmol Ghadi (1946)
Song of Jugnu 1947
C Ramachandra has scored a double solo in Safar. Kehke Bhi Na Aaye Tum can be treated as one of the popular among Mohammad Rafi’s early songs.C.Ramchandra went onto
compose 22 more songs of Mohammad Rafi by 1949
Song of Safar 1946
Song of Safar 1946
S D Burman also opens an account with Mohammad Rafi solo in Do Bhai. Raja Mahendi Ali Khan’s lyrics have been done a very fair justice by Mohammad Rafi in the way the song has been rendered. S.D. Burman used Rafi as a singing voice of Dev Anand and Guru Dutt in the years to come.
Song of Do Bhai 1947
In 1948 composer Ram Ganguly had used Mohammad Rafi in the maiden Raj Kapoor film Aag, but that is a duet with Shamshad Begum – Solah Baras Ki Bhayee Umariya.
Song of Aag 1948
Hans Raj Behl has used Mohmmad Rafi for one solo and one duet (with Geeta Dutt) for Chunariya. This can be taken as first of the signature HRB-Rafi song, which seems to pave for fairly qualitative combined work in the years to come.
Song of CHUNARIYA 1948
Rafi's partnership with Shankar Jaikishan was among the most famous and successful in the Hindi film industry. Rafi sang his first song under Shankar Jaikishan in their Debute film Barsaat in 1949. This was the only song he sang in his movie
By the end of the year 1949, Mohammad Rafi became very popular among music directors and the public. The overall tally of Mohammad Rafi’s songs for the year 1949 is 121 songs, with 21 music directors, spread over 49 films.
Song of Barsaat 1949
In 1950, Mohammad Rafi had had 29 solos out of 108 songs He became a favorite of Naushad. This year another great music director Madan Mohan gave Rafi his first solo with him in the 1950 film Aankhen
Song of Aankhen 1950
The year 1951 has 26 solos from a total of 72 Mohammad Rafi songs. The year had Naushad switching over to Mohammad Rafi for background voice of Dilip Kumar and we have some of the top Mohammad Rafi songs in Deedar. Husnlala Bhagatram also has a twin solo for Mohammad Rafi in Afasana – Duniya Ek Kahani Re Bhaiya – which also was quite popular. Shankar Jaikishan has used Mohammad Rafi for special songs in RK’s Aawara, which is also going to be a very notable trend in itself.
Song of Deedar 1951
Another song by Mohammad Rafi for the film Janam Janam Ke Phere 1951 became very popular. The year, on the whole, seems to be the game turner in the career path of Mohammad Rafi.
Song of Janam Janam Ke Phere 1951
The year 1952 was the year of Baiju Bawra, Naushad gave a slew of Rafi hits in Aan and Baiju Bawra. For Deewana, Naushad had one of Rafi’s immortal "Tasweer Banata Hun Teri Khoon-e-Jigar Se."
The year 1952 had 80 songs to Mohammad Rafi’s account, of which 32 songs were solos.
Song of Deewana 1952
Song of Baiju Bawra 1952
The year 1953 had 31 solos songs of Mohammad Rafi out of a total of 71 songs. This year Salil Chaudhary made his debut with Do Bigha Zameen, Rafi was given one song in this film. Rafi also sang for O P Nayyar for the first time in Baaz.
Here is the song that can be said to be one more defining step in Mohammad Rafi’s career.
Jal Jal Ke Shama Ki Tarah Fariyad from the film Fariyadi 1953 composed by Baldev Nath Baali
The song is cast in what we know as Mohammad Rafi’s signature style for the songs of sad mood.
