Bollywood's Love for Darjeeling started with Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai

It was the song Jiya Ho Jiya Ho Kuchh To Boldo from the 1961 film Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai picturized on Dev Anand sitting on top of a car that popularized Darjeeling to Bollywood. The whole film was based on the backdrop of Darjeeling. This film was the first film to showcase the beauty of Darjeeling on screen..
Since then. Darjeeling with its pleasant and scenic beauty has always attracted filmmakers. The toy train is always synonymous with romanticism. Many songs were shot here. Of late the town has not been featured much in the movies. The reason can be that the makers prefer foreign locales these days. Here is a list of movies or songs shot in Darjeeling.

Jab Pyaar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961)

It was written, produced, and directed by Nasir Hussain. it featured Dev Anand and Hussain fixture Asha Parekh in the leading roles. Pran played the villain in the film and Rajindernath starred in a supporting role. Many of the songs went on to become classics and are still remembered even now, particularly, "Jiya O Jiya" and "Teri Zulphon Se Judai", sung by Mohammad Rafi, were big hits as well as "Sau Saal Pehle", by Mohammad Rafi and Lata Mangeshkar.

Song of Jab Pyaar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961)

Professor (1962)

The next Bollywood film directed by Lekh Tandon, starring Shami Kapoor and Kalpana. The entire movie was made in and around the town of Darjeeling. The famous song “Mai Chali Mai Chali” was shot at Batasia Loop and Chowrasta.

Song of Professor (1962)

Aaye Din Bahar Ke (1966)

Aaye Din Bahar Ke is a 1966 Hindi film produced by J. Om Prakash. It became a box office hit. The film stars Dharmendra, Asha Parekh, Nazima, Sulochana Devi, Balraj Sahni, and Rajindernath. The film is a musical romance with music given by Laxmikant Pyarelal. Anand Bakshi is the lyricist. This movie had covered and showcased the beauty of Tea Gardens of Darjeeling.

Song of Aaye Din Bahar Ke (1966)

Jhuk Gaya Asmaan (1968)

Jhuk Gaya Aasman is a 1968 film directed by Lekh Tandon. The film stars Rajendra Kumar, Saira Banu,

Another movie directed by Lekh Tandon was shot in Darjeeling. It seems that the directors love the Queen of Hills.. The song Kaun Hai Jo Sapno Mei Aaya was shot here.

Song of  Jhuk Gaya Aasman 1968

Aradhana (1969)

Aradhana is a 1969 Indian romantic drama film directed by Shakti Samanta, starring Sharmila Tagore and Rajesh Khanna. An extensive part of the movie was shot in Darjeeling. Its song “Mere Sapno Ki Rani” which was shot on the streets of the hill town of Darjeeling. Rajesh Khanna rode a jeep and followed Sharmila Tagore on the Toy Train by singing a song..

Song of Aradhanaa 1969

Main Hoon Na (2004)

Main Hoon Na is a 2004 Indian action-comedy film, co-written and directed by Farah Khan in her directorial debut. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Zayed Khan, Sushmita Sen, Amrita Rao, and Sunil Shetty. The song “Chale Jaise Hawayein” was shot in the campus of St. Pauls in Darjeeling.

Song of Main Hoon Na

Parineeta (2005

The film featured Vidya Balan (In her Bollywood Debut), Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan in the lead roles. Years after Sharmila Tagore enjoyed the song of Rajesh Khanna from the toy train, her son Saif Ali Khan sings a song on the Toy train relieved the journey in the UNESCO world heritage Darjeeling Himalayan railways. However, no other parts of the film were shot at Darjeeling, but the single song captured all the emotions of the actors and beauty of Darjeeling well.

Song of Parineeta (2005)

Barfi (2012)

The film stars Ranbir Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, and Ileana D'Cruz in the lead roles, The film is directed by Anurag Basu. It is one of the latest and hit movies that were shot in the Himalayan town of Darjeeling.

Song of Barfi 2012

Laxmikant of Laxmikant Pyarelal - A Musical Prodigy

 Laxmikant(3rd Nov 1937- May 25, 1998)  spent his childhood amidst dire poverty in the slums of Vile Parle (East) in Mumbai. He lost his father very early in his life.
His father’s friend, a musician himself, advised Laxmikant to learn music. Accordingly, Laxmikant learned to play the mandolin from the well-known mandolin player Hussain Ali and later from Bal Mukund Indorker and violin from Husnalal (of the Husanlal Bhagatram fame). When he was only 10 years old, he played mandolin in a Lata Mangeshkar concert in Radio Club, Colaba. Lata was so impressed that she talked to him after the concert and asked him to join  Sureel Kala Kendra, a music academy for children, run by the Mangeshkar family. Here he met the young Pyarelal, who was 3years younger to him. They used to spend long hours at the recording studios, sometimes getting work for each other and even playing together whenever they got the opportunity.
Lata Mangeshkar saw talent in him and Pyarelal, helped them to fight poverty by recommending them as a musician to the music directors of that time like Shankar Jaikishan,, OP Nayyar, etc.
In 1953, they became assistants to Kalyanji-Anandji and worked with them as assistants till 1963. They worked as music arrangers for many music directors including Sachin Dev Burman (in Ziddi) and also for his son Rahul Dev Burman (in his first film Chhote Nawab). Laxmikant–Pyarelal and R D Burman remained very good friends, even when Laxmikant–Pyarelal started giving music independently. R D Burman played mouth organ for all songs of Dosti. Laxmikant once made a guest appearance playing the role of himself as a Composer of Song “Dil Ki Baat” in Teri Kasam (1982), which had music by R D Burman.
Laxmikant was a diehard fan of Shankar Jaikishan, in fact In their early days, Laxmikant–Pyarelal's music was very similar to Shankar-Jaikishan's music,  Laxmikant–Pyarelal's first film as music director was not released. The first released movie which featured them as music directors was Babubhai Mistry's Parasmani (1963), all the songs of the film became immensely popular, esp. "Hasata Hua Nurani Chehara", "Wo Jab Yaad Aaye".In the third quarter of 1963, LP’s first-ever songs Hasta Hua Nurani Chehara form Parasmani hit the “Binaca Geet Mala”.
Laxmikant–Pyarelal hit the big time with Rajshri Productions' 1964 film Dosti. The film had two newcomer heroes who never became popular, and the film was a success due to its music. They won their first Filmfare Best Music Director Award for this movie, ahead of stalwarts like Shankar-Jaikishan (for Sangam) and Madan Mohan (for Woh Kaun Thi?). Then came Lootera, a superhit musical non-star cast film, which is remembered only because of Lata Mangeshkar's superhit songs with Laxmikant–Pyarelal.
In 1966 L-P consolidated its place in Hindi film music. L-P's first musical hit film, with a big star cast, Aaye Din Bahar Ke was released, followed by Pyar Kiye Jaa.In the same year few more of their films released such as Sant Gyaneshwar (Songs: "Jyot Se Jyot Jagate Chalo",); in Hum Sab Ustaad Hai (Songs: "Pyar Batate Chalo", "Ajanabi Tum Jane Pehachane Se"); in Mr. X in Bombay (Songs: "Mere Mehboob Quayamat Hogi", "Chali Re Chali Re Gori", "Khoobsurat Haseena"); and in Shriman Fantush..(Songs: "Sultana Sultana Tu Na Ghabarana", "Yeh Dard Bhara Afasana"). 
In 1967 LP received their second Filmfare Trophy for Milan without any stiff competition. That year this Jodi gave a series of hits, one after another. Non-star cast film Farz was L-P's first golden jubilee musical hit, followed by big star cast films such as Anita, Shagird, yet another Golden Jubilee hit, Patthar Ke Sanam,
They dominated the music industry along with R D Burman in the 70s and 80s.theycomposed over 3000 songs, or even more, in nearly 500 films. After Milan, they won 5 more Filmfare awards. for Best Music Director.
Their music in Bobby has been rated the 17th best soundtrack ever by Planet Bollywood on their "100 Greatest Bollywood Soundtracks". Other soundtracks in the list include Amar Akbar Anthony (25), Roti Kapada Aur Makaan (27), Dosti (32), Hero (36), Ek Duuje Ke Liye (44), Karz (50), Ram Lakhan (59), Kranti (61), Tezaab (65), Do Raaste (74), Milan (75), Khalnayak (77) and Prem Rog (85).
Laxmikant died on May 25, 1998, Pyarelal went to self retirement.

You would also appreciate my Youtube channel Link is given below 

The Iconic Mirror Scenes of Bollywood

https://youtu.be/tcAAE7QwScA

Here are the songs of their Award-winning films of LP

Song of Dosti 1965

Song of Milan 1967

Song of Jeene Ki Raah 1970

Song of Amar Akbar Anthony 1977

Song of Satyam Shivam Sundaram 1978

Song of Sargam  1979

Song of Karz1980

Shahrukh Khan - A Journey from Dil Dariya to Dilwale Dulhania

It was Lekh Tandon who gave Shahrukh Khan his first break in acting in a small role in a  TV Serial "Dil Dariya" but "Fauji" became the first serial telecasted before this in 1989. After that, he appeared in another serial " Circus". He continued doing minor roles in many serials such as "Ummeed" (1989), "Wagle Ki Duniya"(1989-1990) and few Tele Films like "Doosra Kewal" and  "In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones". His performance in all of these shows was appreciated by critics.

It was Hema Malini who gave him a break as Hero in the film "Dil Aashna Hai"(1992) but once again it was the film " Deewana" which released first in 1992, thus began his journey to Bollywood. In the same year, two more films "Chamatkar" and " Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman" released and both were successful.

In 1993 Shahrukh Khan (born 2nd Nov 1965) established  himself in Bollywood with the release of  Darr (1993), and  Baazigar (1993) both the films were super hit, His performance in Baazigar, which would be his first of many appearances with actress Kajol, won Khan his first Filmfare Award for Best Actor., now he was in demand.
In 1994, Khan played a love-struck musician in Kundan Shah's comedy-drama film Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa opposite Suchitra Krishnamurthy, the same year released Anjaam, co-starring Madhuri Dixit, he played the role of an obsessive lover, he won the Filmfare Best Villain Award for this role.

The year 1995 was the milestone for him. He appeared in seven films, the first of which was Rakesh Roshan's melodramatic thriller Karan Arjun. Co-starring Salman Khan and Kajol, it became the second-highest-grossing film of the year in India. His most significant release that year was Aditya Chopra's directorial debut, the romance Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, in which he played a young Non-resident Indian (NRI) who falls in love with Kajol's character during a trip across Europe. From this film, he became a superstar.
The year 1996 was not good for him,  all four of Khan's releases failed critically and commercially. The next year in 1997 he was seen in Yes Boss, Pardes, and Dil To Pagal Hai, He portrayed Rahul, a stage director caught in a love triangle between Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor. The film and his performance met with critical praise, winning Khan his third Best Actor Award at Filmfare.
In 1998, he portrayed a college student in Karan Johar's romance Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, in which he was involved in a love triangle along with Kajol and Rani Mukerji.  The film was Super duper hit, he won the Best Actor award at the Filmfare Awards ceremony for the second consecutive year,
He became a producer in 1999 in a collaboration with the actress Juhi Chawla and the director Aziz Mirza for a production company called Dreamz Unlimited. The company's first production, Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani (2000), starring Khan and Chawla, was a commercial failure, but this year Aditya Chopra's Mohabbatein (2000) released and later Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. released in 2001 were super hit, in fact, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham... remained the top-grossing Indian production of all time in the overseas market for the next five years.
In 2002, Khan played the title role as a rebellious alcoholic opposite Aishwarya Rai in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's period romance Devdas. The film earned numerous accolades including 10 Filmfare Awards, with Best Actor for Khan,

The year 2004 was a critically and commercially successful year for Khan. This year Ashutosh Gowarikar's Swades released which was commercially not successful then released Main Hoon Na and the last was Veer Zara, both were successful.
From 2007 onwards, Khan began to star opposite the third generation of heroines, most notably opposite Deepika Padukone in Om Shanti Om (2007) and Anushka Sharma in Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008). Khan went on to co-star with Padukone in the action-comedies Chennai Express (2013) and Happy New Year (2014), 

                                     Shahrukh khan's first serial " Dil Darya 1988

                                             Shahrukh Khan in TV serial Fauji

Song of Deewana (1992)

Song of Baazigar(1993)

Song of Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge(1995)

Song of Karan Arjun(1995)

Song of Dil To Pagal Hai(1997)

Song of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998)

Song of Mohabbatein 2000

Song of Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham. 2001

Song of Devdas. 2002

Song of Veer Zara. 2004

Song of My Name Is Khan 2010

Journey of a Song from Karbala to Guide,Immortalised by Dada Burman

This immortal song " Allah Megh De Pani De" is one of the two songs sung by S D Burman in the 1965 film Guide. This song was adopted by Burman Da from a Bengali folk singer Abbasuddin Ahmed's song, who taught him his signature technique of “voice breaking”.
After Ahmed, several singers have performed this number. Laxmikant-Pyarelal created another version of ‘Allah Megh De’ in the film Palkon Ki Chhaon Mein (1977) with singers Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhosle. Music director Bappi Lahiri rejigged it in Amaanat (1994) and his disco song ‘De De Pyar De’ (Sharaabi, 1984) is also a variation of the tune. Singers Shafqat Amanat Ali and Shubha Mudgal sang a peppy version for composer Debojyoti Mishra in Ramchand Pakistani (2008) but it is the Burman’s version that is best remembered, most likely because he remained true to the original.
This song had a long journey from Bengal to Mumbai, and finally to Pakistan. This song is a Bengali folk genre Jaari Gaan. The name Jaari is most probably taken from the Persian word "Zari" Most Jaari Gaan was based on the Islamic legend of the Battle of Karbala, In medieval Bengal, this genre of folk songs was performed by mostly Sunni Muslims. The followers of Husayn ibn Ali during the battle of Karbala. They used to cry out to God to send them rain-bearing clouds, or megh. 
In this blog, I am posting  various versions of this song

Song of Guide 1965

                              ALLAH MEGH DE PANI DE : ABBASUDDIN AHMED

Song of Palkon Ki Chaon Mein

                                                    Allah Megh De (Runa Laila)

                                                  Allah Megh De by Shaan

Song of Amanat 1994

                            Allah megh de , pani de chaya de re tui lopamudra mitra

                                            Allah megh de- ramchand pakistani

Sahir Ludhianvi - Tum Na Jane Kis Jahan Mein Kho Gaye

Sahir(March 8th, 1921- 25th Oct 1980) made his debut as a lyricist with the film "Azadi Ki Raah Par" in 1948. The film had four songs written by him. His first song was "Badal Rahie Hai Zindagi". However, it was the year 1951 that would bring him fame and recognition. That year 3 of his films released having the music of S D Burman in all of these three films,
Three of his songs that sky-rocketed in popularity and are hummed even today. First was "Thandi Hawaayen Lehraa Ke Aayi" from Naujawan. The second was from a landmark film  Baazi."Tadbeer Se Bigdi Hui Taqdeer Bana Le" and the third was"Tum Na Jane Kis Jahan Mein Kho Gaye" from Sazaa.
This was followed by the chartbuster Yeh Raat Yeh Chandni Phir Kahan from Jaal(1952), Sahir took film lyrics to the heights of genuine poetry. Now his pairing with S D Burman was to create many immortal sings. Both of them worked together in 18 films. While 1957 saw the end of Sahir’s partnership with SD Burman.,
Sahir’s mastery over the Urdu language, immaculate diction, intensity of feelings and emotions and enchanting style of expression made him a lyricist of a different kind — a class apart. In Guru Dutt’s Pyasa, his songs Yeh duniya agar mil bhee jaye to kya hai, Jinhen naaz hai Hind par woh kahan hain, Jane woh kaise log thhey jinke pyar ko pyar mila won him acclaim.

After S D Burman, his pairing with O P Nayyar and Ravi also created many immortal songs. It was the songs of Naya Daur and Tumsa Nahin Dekha established the pairing with O P Nayyar and with Ravi from the 1963 film Gumrah.
Sahir did work with other composers including, Roshan, Khayyam, and N Dutta, their collaboration produced the score for Milaap (1955), Chandrakanta (1956), Saadhna (1958), Dhool Ka Phool (1959). 
In 1958, Sahir wrote the lyrics for Ramesh Saigal's film Phir Subah Hogi, its music was given by Khayyam. The song Woh Subah Kabhi Toh Aayegi with its minimal background music remains popular.  Khayyam collaborated with Sahir in many films including Kabhie Kabhie and Trishul.
From about 1950 until his death( 25 October 1980), .Sahir Ludhianvi wrote songs for a total of 122 movies from 1948 up to his death including three unreleased movies, one Punjabi movie and two Pakistani movies. Six movies with his songs were released posthumously. The 50s and 60s were Sahir's most prolific years. He wrote songs for 84 films during these two decades.

Song of Baazi 1951

Song of Naujawan 1951

Song of Sazaa 1951

Song of Jaal 1952

Song of Taxi Driver 1954

Song of  Devdas 1955

Song of  House No 44 1955

Song of Munimjee 1955

Song of Funtoosh 1956

Song of Pyaasa 1957

Song of Naya Daur 1957

Song of Tumsa Nahin Dekha 1957

Song of Sadhana 1958

Song of Dhool Ka Phool  1959

Song of Barsaat Ki Raat  1960

Song of Hum Dono  1961

Song of Gumraah   1963

Song of Taj Mahal  1963

Song of Waqt 1965

Song of Aa Gale Lag Jaa   1973

Song of Kabhi Kabhi  1976