Nagin (1954) is a film directed by Nandlal Jaswantlal and loosely inspired by Bijon Bhattacharya’s play Jiyankany and William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. It stars Vyjayanthimala and Pradeep Kumar, and has a hit musical score by Hemant Kumar. It included thirteen tracks, including the hit "Man Dole Mera Tan Dole", whose "Been Music" was performed by Kalyanji on clavioline and by Ravi on harmonium, who once worked under Hemanta Mukherjee's direction and later became independent music directors.
Nagin was a box office hit, and the popularity of its music would boost the careers of the personnel involved in the production, especially Vyjayanthimala, who being a gifted dancer trained in the classical style of Bharata Natyam, offered an outstanding visual complement to Lata Mangeshkar’s voice. Nagin also propelled Kalyanji’s career, despite his apparently secondary role as the performer of the ‘Been music’ theme, which moreover was arranged by Ravi, on the Clavioline.
The first time Kalyanji used the Clavioline to recreate the sound of the been was in S.N. Tripathi’s Naag Panchami (1953). Tripathi then recommended Kalyanji to Hemant Kumar, who was able to take advantage of the novelty effect that the synthesized snake charmer’s sound could still achieve, due to the relative lack of success of Naag Panchami – at least as compared to Nagin.
Hemant Kumar skyrocketed to fame with Nagin. All the songs were hit but the song "Tan dole mera man dole. became immortal.One of the reasons for the appeal of Nagin’s music is the seamless integration of the" Been sound" with the main melody.
The reason being actual "Been" instrument not used in the song because the "been" is constrained and can only move from one note to an adjacent note. It cannot jump suddenly from a note to another note which is not adjacent. Also, you cannot produce short, staccato sounds on the been.
It is said that when “Nagin” was released, snake charmers entertained the crowd outside the cinema halls during the intermission. It is also said that some theatre owners would engage these snake charmers to keep an eye just in case the tune from inside the hall ‘attracted' a reptile in the neighborhood.
The ethereal Vyjayanthimala, barely 18, illuminates the screen with her stunning beauty, moving around daintily from one song to the other; from the bewitching “Man Dole Mera Tan Dole” to the poignant “Mera Dil Ye Pukare Aaja…” Of course, the soul of the movie remains Lata Mangeshkar's voice and Hemant Da's unforgettable composition to some impeccable lyrics by Rajinder Krishan. Simply unmatched…
Vyajayantimala in an interview told that Man Dole Tan Dole Snake dance created a sensation,crowds thronged to see those snaky gyrations to Lata Mangeshkar hit.This dance is inspiring today's generation too as well as western youth.
Here are some Dance Videos on the Nagin Song
Song from Nagin 1954
Modern Nagin Dance
