The Film Songs that Incited the Spirit of Nationalism Pre Independance

 

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 literary stalwarts like Tagore or Bankim Chandra Chatterjee. Hindi Films also played a role in uniting the people. 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.

Kavi Pradeep wrote a song for the film Kismet during the Quit India movement. “Door Hato” was quite literally a demand for the British to quit India. To avoid objections by the censor board, Pradeep used the line “Tum Na Kise Ke Aage Jhukna German Ho Ya Japan” to make it appear that the song was against the Axis powers of World War II. 

 You would be surprised to find our National Anthem Jana Gana Man which was used before independence in a film called 'Hamrahi' released in 1945. The song was recorded by the film’s music director R.C. Boral and rendered by a choir

The first song in my list is the song Chal Chal Re Naujawan from the film Bandhan released in 1940. It was in 1939 that the film studio Bombay Talkies hired a young and energetic Hindi poet, Pradeep, to pen lyrics of the songs. “Bandhan”, Click at the link below to watch this song

                                                                          https://youtu.be/qjMMXWTHG00

The next song in this list, sung by Ashok Kumar and Renuka Devi, is by a poet who would go on to be called Rashtrakavi – Kavi Pradeep for the film Naya Sansar in 1941

                                                                        https://youtu.be/f-7S5CFtcVU

 In 1941, Sohrab Modi’s ‘Sikandar’ hit the screens. Pandit Sudarshan penned the lyrics for the movie while Mir Sahab and Rafiq Ghaznavi composed the music. The soundtrack has a song “Jeete desh humara, Bharat hai ghar baar humara, Bharat hai sansar humara” 

                                                                        https://youtu.be/HTblXjj3aTw

Song of Kismet 1943

Now our National Anthem Jana Gana Man which was used before independence in a film called Hamrahi released in 1945. The song was recorded by the film’s music director R.C. Boral and rendered by a choir. While the original Rabindranath Tagore hymn had five stanzas, the first of which became the national anthem, the film recorded only four stanzas.

Song of Hamrahi 1945

This song is from the film Humjoli released in 1946. The song was Composed by Hafeez Khan and written by Anjum Pilibhiti, song is sung by Noor Jehan,

Song of Humjoli 1946

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1955 In Indian Cinema

Noorjahan- Inspiration for generations of singers

Noorjehan was the first female singing superstar of Indian cinema and helped laid the foundation for playback singing as we know it. She also inspired a generation of singers including Lata Mangeshkar before single-handedly kick-starting music in Pakistan. Her ability to enunciate with crystalline clarity and her skill in evoking the right emotion, especially in her sad songs, is what made her singing so popular.
She was India's most famous singer and actor before Independence. She had become a household name with such movies as Khandaan (1942), Naukar(1943), Dost (1944), Zeenat (1945), Village Girl (1945), Badi Ma(1945), Anmol Ghadi (1946) and Jugnu (1947).

In 1947, she decided to move to Pakistan along her husband Shaukat Hussain Rizvi. She left Bombay and settled in Karachi Pakistan. Three years after settling in Pakistan, she starred in her first Pakistani film Chan Wey (1951), opposite Santosh Kumar, which was also her first Pakistani film as a heroine and playback singer. Shaukat Hussain Rizvi and Noor Jehan directed this film together, making Jehan Pakistan's first female director. Jehan's second film in Pakistan was Dopatta (1952) which was Produced by Aslam Lodhi, Directed by Sibtain Fazli and assisted by A. H. Rana as Production Manager. Dopatta turned out to be an even bigger success than Chan Wey (1951).

She had problems in her marriage and got divorced due to personal differences. She kept custody of the three children from their marriage. In 1959, she married another film actor, Ejaz Durrani, nine years her junior.
After her second marriage, she didn't work in many films. Her husband pressured her to give up acting, and her last film as a lead role was Mirza Ghalib (1961). She last acted in Baaji in 1963, though not in a leading role. She continued singing after that. She sang a large number of duets with Ahmed Rushdi, Mehdi Hassan, Masood Rana, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Mujeeb Aalam.
She visited India in 1982 to celebrate the Golden Jubilee of the Indian talkie movies, where she met Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in New Delhi and was received by Dilip Kumar and Lata Mangeshkar in Bombay. She met all her erstwhile heroes and costars, including Surendra, Pran, Suraiya, composer Naushad and others. 
After 1986 she was not keeping well so she stopped singing assignments. In 2000, Jehan was hospitalised in Karachi and suffered a heart attack. On 23 December 2000. Jehan died as a result of heart failure. Her funeral took place at Jamia Masjid Sultan, Karachi and was attended by over 400,000 people. She was buried at the Gizri Graveyard in Karachi.
She received more than 15 Nigar Awards for Best Female Playback Singer, eight for best Urdu Singer Female and the rest for Punjabi playback. She has also been given the award for the Singer Of Millennium.

Song of Khandan 1942

Song of Anmol Ghadi (1946) 

Song of Anmol Ghadi (1946) 

Song of Anmol Ghadi (1946) 

Song of Jugnu (1947)

The Patriotic Songs Before Independence

Patriotism has always been an important theme in Hindi films. There were many films and songs which were banned or censored during British rule. It was this censor board that had forced V. Shantaram to change the name of his 1935 film from “Mahatma” to “Dharmatma”.  After Independence, many Films and songs were created in this theme. I talk about 10 songs that made exhortations for a free India before 1947.
The first song in my list is the song Chal Chal Re Naujawan from the film Bandhan released in 1940. It was in 1939 that the film studio Bombay Talkies hired a young and energetic Hindi poet, Pradeep, to pen lyrics of the songs. “Bandhan”,  

Song of Bandhan 1940

The next song in this list, sung by Ashok Kumar and Renuka Devi, is by a poet who would go on to be called Rashtrakavi – Kavi Pradeep for the film Naya Sansar in 1941

Song of Naya Sansar 1941

 In 1941, Sohrab Modi’s ‘Sikandar’ hit the screens. Pandit Sudarshan penned the lyrics for the movie while Mir Sahab and Rafiq Ghaznavi composed the music. The soundtrack has a song “Jeete desh humara, Bharat hai ghar baar humara, Bharat hai sansar humara” 

Song of Sikandar  1941

Kavi Pradeep wrote this song for the film Kismet during the Quit India movement. “Door Hato” was quite literally a demand for the British to quit India. To avoid objections by the censor board, Pradeep used the line “Tum Na Kise Ke Aage Jhukna German Ho Ya Japani” to make it appear that the song was against the Axis powers of World War II. 

Song of Kismet 1943

Here is one such pre-independence patriotic song. This song is from “Koshish”(1943). This obscure movie was directed by Rafiq Rizvi for Deen Pictures, Bombay. This song is sung by G M Durrani. Bashir Dehalwi is the music director. Lyricist of this song is not known.

Song of Koshish 1943

This song is from the film  Pehle Aap released in 1944. This was the first song of Mohammad Rafi.written by D N Madhok composed by Naushad.

Song of  Pehle Aap 1944

Now you would be surprised to find our National Anthem Jana Gana Man which was used before independence in a film called Hamrahi released in 1945. The song was recorded by the film’s music director R.C. Boral and rendered by a choir. While the original Rabindranath Tagore hymn had five stanzas, the first of which became the national anthem, the film recorded only four stanzas.

Song of Hamrahi 1945

This song is from the film Humjoli released in 1946. The song was Composed by Hafeez Khan and written by Anjum Pilibhiti, the song is sung by Noor Jehan,

Song of Humjoli 1946

This song was written for the film Paro during the turmoil of Independence of India. By early 1947, it was clear that India would be divided and a new nation, based on religion, would be carved out by bifurcating United India. The name Pakistan was also known to everyone. This film was released in 1947

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https://vimeo.com/276694523

It was Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay who wrote the lyrics for the powerful “Vande Maataram”. It was Sanyasi Rebellion (1763-1800) that inspired Bankim to write the historical novel ‘Ananda Matth’.This song is from film ‘Andolan’. It is not a film song actually, but our National Song, suitably woven into the film story. “Vande Mataram” could have been our National Anthem, but things were manoeuvred in such a way that it did not get that place of honour. Let us see a brief history of Vande Mataram through the years.

Song of Aandolan 1951