INDEEWAR- " Mere Geet Amar Kar Do"

 

With the song of Malhar(1951) "Bade Armano Se Rakkha Hai Balam Teri Kasam", the underrated lyricist of Bollywood became Indeewar. His original name was Shyam Lal Babu Rai. He made his debut as a lyricist from the 1946 film Double Face as 'Azad'. This was his name in the literary circle. With this name, he wrote many songs for films from 1946 to 1951.

 He wrote over a thousand songs in over 300 films in a career spanning over four decades, he gave us many immortal songs like 'Zindagi ka Safar' (Safar),' Koi jab Tumhara Hriday Tod De (Purab Aur Paschim), 'Kasme Waade Pyar Wafa' (Upkaar), Hothon Se Chhoo lo tum (Prem Geet) and also the song like ' Aap Jaisa Koi Meri Zindagi Mein' (Kurbani)

He worked with various film composers but his association with Kalyanji Anandji produced many great songs such as 'Chandan Sa Badan' (Sarswati Chandra, 1968),  'Zindagi Ka Safar Hai Yeh Kaisa Safar' (Safar, 1970), 'Dil Aisa Kisi Ne Mera Toda' (Amanush, 1975), and 'Dushman Na Kare' (Akhir Kyon, 1985).

He was nominated as Best Lyricist for the first time for the song "Ek Tu Na Mila" (Himalaya Ki God Mein) next for "Samjhauta Ghamon Se Kar Lo" (Samjhauta) in 1974 and finally won it for "Dil Aisa Kisi Ne Mera Toda" (Amanush) 1976'.

 In the 1980s, there was a drastic shift in the musical taste of the masses. During this time, Indeevar wrote many hit songs for Bappi Lahiri - 'Naino Main Sapna' from Himmatwala (1983), and 'Tohfa Tohfa Laaya Laaya' from Tohfa (1984).

He died on February 27 in 1999 during a journey. His last projects include Rajesh Roshan's films Karan Arjun in 1995 and Koyla in 1997. 

Here are a few of the memorable songs written by Indivar

Song of Malhar 1951

Song of  Dulha Dulhan 1964

Song of  Punarmilan 1964

Song of  Saheli 1965

Song of Himalaya Ki God Mein 1965

Song of  Upkaar1967

Song of Anokhi Raat 1968

Song of Saraswati Chandra 1968

Song of Purab Aur Paschim 1970

Song of Safar 1971

Song of Samjauta 1973

Song of Amanush 1975

Song of Prem Geet 1981

Clever Wordplay in Bollywood Songs

 

Hindi film songs have been an integral part of Hindi films. A song is appreciated or become immortal not only by its tune but also by its orchestration, vocals, audiovisual aspect and its lyrics. Flashy, peppy songs may become an instant hit, but do not have shelf value.

Lyrics of a song play a major role in a song to become immortal. Unfortunately, the songs of this generation lack the lyrical value. Today most of us do not know the lyricist of the currently most popular song. We may not be interested to know the name of the writer of the song. There was a time when the words of the songs were so beautiful that you would like to know the writer of the song.

Clever wordplay has become a thing of past, Almost almost all the lyricist of the Golden Era played with words, I have selected a few of these songs in this blog.

Recall the song 'Deewana Mujh Sa Nahin Iss Ambar Ke Neeche/Aage Hai Qatil Mera Aur Mein Peechhe Peechhe'. Majrooh Sultanpuri played on the word Qatil. Qatil signifying here the sweetheart to whom he can lay down his life.

Hasrat Jaipuri wrote these lines for the song from 'Rajkumar'(1964),' Tumne Kisi Ki Jaan Ko Jaate Hue Dekha Hai/ Woh Dekho Mujh Se Rooth Kar Meri Jaan Ja Rahi Hai'.The play on Jaan as both 'Beloved' and 'Life'. was unique.

Another example is 'Ke Jaan Chali Jaye, Jiya Nahin Jaye/ Jiya Jaye Toh Phir Jiya Nahin Jaye' here Anand Bakshi play Jiya as heart and life. This he wrote for the 1969 film Anjaana.

There is another song from the film 'Saudagar'(1973), ' Sajna Hai Mujhe Sajna Ke Liye' This song was written by Ravindra Jain, here Sajna means to get 'make up' and her beloved.

Song of Teesri Manzil 1967

Song of Rajkumar 1964

Song of Anjaana 1969

Song of Saudagar 1973

Song of Teen Deviyan 1966

Song of Himalya Ki God Mein 1965

Kavi Pradeep- His Songs Ignite Patriotism

 

Songs have always played an undisputed role in inciting the spirit of nationalism in the hearts of millions of people. Many patriotic songs, written by the literary stalwarts like Tagore or Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. 

Kavi Pradeep was the first songwriter to write patriotic songs for Bollywood. His song ' Chal Chal Re Naujawan", for the 1940 film Bandhan, made waves since the Indian freedom movement was at a crucial juncture.
The impact and popularity of the song can be gauged by the fact that the song used to be sung at these assemblies by patriotic INC activists. INC also formed a children corp known as “Vanar Sena” under the leadership of Indira Gandhi. Vanar Sena adopted the song as its marching song and Indira herself used to sing it at the meetings. She later admitted that this song had a lifelong impact on her.

His next song , “Aaj Himalaya ki choti se phir humne lalkara hai”  for the 1942 film 'Kismet' was very popular in the Quit India Movement. It is said that he had to go underground to avoid the arrest from the British Government.

Even after independence, he wrote many such songs. Recall the songs of Jagriti (1954)  'Aao Bachcho Tumhein Dikhayen Jhanki Hindustan Ki, Is Mitti Se Tilak Karo, Yeh Dharti Hai Balidan Ki" (sung by himself), "Hum Laye Hain Toofan Se Kishti Nikal Ke, Is Desh Ko Rakhna Mere Bachcho Sambhal Ke" and "De Dee Humein Azadi Bina Khadag Bina Dhal, Sabarmati Ke Sant Tu Ne Kar Diya Kamaal".

He always believed in writing songs in simple words portraying a meaning fitting into the situation. The popularity of his songs was due to his down-to-earth lyrics and simple language that was well understood by everyone.

He was the writer of Aye Mere Watan Ke Logo, that become one of the greatest patriotic songs of the country. It was while Lata Mangeshkar was rendering the song that the Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru, was moved to tears. For writing the song Kavi Pradeep was conferred the honour of "Rashtriya Kavi" (National Poet) by the government of India.

Beside writing patriotic songs he wrote all type of songs for Bollywood,In a career span of five decades, Kavi Pradeep wrote about 1,700 songs.

Kavi Pradeep received numerous awards throughout his life. Some of which are:Sangeet Natak Akademi Award – 1961 and Dada Saheb Phalke Award in 1997.

He died of old age at his bungalow, 'Panchamrita', at Vile Parle in north-west Bombay on 11th Dec 1998. He was 84 

Song of Bandhan 1940

Song of Kismet 1942

Song of  Mashal 1950

Song of Jagriti (1954)

Song of Nastik (1954)

Song of Naag Mani (1957)

Song of  Paigham 1959

Song of  Sambandh  1969

Javed Akhtar- Guru Dutt was his Inspiration

 

Javed Akhtar (born on 17th Jan 1945) arrived in Mumbai on 4 October 1964 to become a filmmaker. His dream was to make a film with Guru Dutt as Director with Akhtar Ul Imaan as the writer, who wrote films like Kanoon(1960), Dharamputra(1961), Waqt(1965) and many more.

His dream of meeting Guru Dutt and working with him shattered only in 6 days of his arriving in Bombay. His idol Guru Dutt committed suicide on 10th Oct 1964. So his dream could not be fulfilled working as his assistant and learn filmmaking. In a TV show, he said that Jaal(1951), the second film of Guru Dutt was his inspiration, even the character of the angry young man in his films was inspired by this film.

He was born as Jadoo Akhtar in Gwalior, (Madhya Pradesh) to Jan Nisar Akhtar, a Bollywood film songwriter and Urdu poet, and singer Safia Akhtar, a teacher and writer. Akhtar's early years were spent in Lucknow, Aligarh and Mumbai, mostly with relatives. He was a gifted debater in college, he won the Rotary Club Prize frequently.

Poetry was in his genes but he didn't want to be a poet. He even didn't want to be a writer but circumstances made him scriptwriter. Within six days of his arrival, he had to leave his father's home. He had 27 paise in his pockets. He had no certainty of either food or shelter.

To start earning money, he started doing an odd job as a clapper boy with Kamal Amrohi in a salary of Rs 50 per month. He had a struggle of 5 years. During his struggle, he even Ghost wrote many stories and dialogues for established writers.

. He got a job as a scriptwriter on Yakeen(1969) which flopped. Akhtar then joined with his friend Salim Khan to develop the story for Adhikar(1971). Their first film as a scriptwriter was Andaz(1971) followed by Haathi Mere Saathi and Seeta Aur Geeta (1972). After that he along with Salim became the topmost scriptwriter of Bollywood,

They have worked together in 24 films including two Kannada films – Premada Kanike and Raja Nanna Raja. Of the 24 films they wrote, 20 were hits.
Javed is a Urdu poet before writing songs for films he was writing poetry.It was Yash Chopra who insiisted him to write songs for his film Silsila(1981). After that he gave us many memorable songs He won 5 National Awards for his songs and also 5 Filmfare Awards for lyrics. In 2013, he received the Sahitya Akademi Award in Urdu, India's second-highest literary honour, for his poetry collection Lava.
He was also nominated a Rajya Sabha MP.from Nov 2009 to Nov 2015.
He married to Honey Irani, with whom he had two children, Farhan Akhtar and Zoya Akhtar, both film directors and actors. The father-and-son duo has worked together in films such as Dil Chahta Hai, Lakshya, Rock On!! and Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara with Zoya. He divorced Irani and later married Shabana Azmi, the daughter of eminent Urdu poet, Kaifi Azmi.
Some of his Award-Winning Songs

Song from 1942: A Love Story (1994)

Song from  Papa Kehte Hai 1996

Song from Border 1997

Song from Refugee 2000

Song from Lagaan 2001

Qamar Jalalabadi- A Forgotten Lyricist

 

Qamar Jalalabadi (9 March 1917 – 9 January 2003), a poet who wrote more than 700 songs in more than 150 films gave us many immortal songs. One of his songs became the Radio Ceylon's anthem on the first of every month for decades, "khush hai zamana aaj pehli tarikh hai".

 Some of his memorable songs from his early films are  "Ik dilke tukde hazaar huye, koyi yahan gira koyi wahan gira…" in Pyar Ki Jeet (1948 film), , “Ik Pardesi Mera Dil Le Gaya” (Phagun, 1958), “Mera Naam Chin Chin Chu” (Howrah Bridge, 1958), “Dum Dum Diga Diga” (Chhalia, 1960) and “Main To Ik Khwaab Hoon Is Khwaab Se Tu Pyaar Na Kar” (Himalay Ki God Mein,1965).

Right from the age of seven, he started writing poetry in Urdu. There was no encouragement from home, but a wandering poet named Amar Chand Amar met him in his hometown and encouraged him to write, recognising his immense talent and potential. 

To try his luck he came to Pune in the early 1940s. In 1942, he wrote lyrics for his first film Zamindar, the song  "Duniya me garibonko aaraam nahi milta" sung by Shamshad Begum became popular. Besides writing songs he also wrote dialogues and script for films. In 1944 he wrote dialogues and songs for 1944 film 'Ramshastri' and 'Chand'.  The noted dancer Sitara Devi performed some of his songs in Chand (1944). Chand was one of the earliest of Qamarji's successful and memorable films.He worked with S D Burman in 1946 in the film “Eight Days” where the comic song “O Babu Babu Re” became quite popular. He went on to work with music director Sardar Malik on many films. 

In 1947, he wrote songs in more than 10 films. "sunti nahi duniya kabhi fariyaad kissi ki" (Renuka, 1947) and the ghazal "Dil kis liye rota hai...pyar ki duniya me, aisa hi hota hai" (sung by Naseem Banu for the film Mulaquat in 1947) became very popular.

 He wrote either the script or dialogues for many films such as "Shaheed"(1948), “Munimji” (1955), “Phagun” (1958), “Ujala” (1959), “Maya” (1961) and “Taj Mahal” (1963). 

Here are a few of his memorable songs

Song of Zamindar (1942) Audio only

Song of Eight Days (1946)

Song of Pyar ki Jeet (1948)

Song of Shabnam 1949

Song of Sanam 1951

Song of Aansoo1953

Song of Pehli Tarikh 1954

Song of Howrah Bridge (1958)

Song of Howrah Bridge (1958)

Song of Phagun (1958)

Song of Chhalia (1960)

Song of Chhalia (1960)

Song of Himalay Ki God Mein (1965)

Song of Johar Mehmood In Goa (1965)

Song of Aansoo Aur Muskan (1971)