RUNA LAILA- Duma Dum Mast Kalandar

 

Her tryst with Indian films came about after a chance meeting with music director Jaidev in Delhi, at a party hosted by businessman and music connoisseur Ashok Khanna. He gave her a chance to sing at the inauguration of Doordarshan. For a few years, she used to sing in Doordarshan. She became famous among viewers by her song Damadam Mast Kalandar.

Her name has been written on the Guinness World Records for recording 30 songs within 3 days. In 1982, she won Golden Disk Award as her album Superuna composed by Bappi Lahiri was sold over 1 lakh copies on the first day of its release.

She was born in East Pakistan, was educated in Pakistan, settled down in Bangladesh after the creation of the state in 1971, has worked in India and travels the world with her shows. Where does she really belong? 

 Her first recording was with Kalyanji-Anandji for the title song of Ek Se Badhkar Ek. She gained popularity in India with the songs O Mera Babu Chail Chabila and Dama Dam Mast Qalandar . After that, she sang two songs for Gharonda"Tumhe ho na ho" and "Do deewane shaher mein " composed by Jaidev.
She shares a close association with Bappi Lahiri too. In fact, Bappida recorded a pop album in her voice called Superuna in London. The singer remembers it all fondly. “We recorded at the Abbey Road Studios, made famous by The Beatles and I think we were the first people from the subcontinent to have done so. It was a spectacular experience. The songs are still popular and I perform them at my shows even now.” The songs were indeed so popular that Bappida used the hit single, De De Pyar De in the film Sharaabi (1984). 

Her name has been written on the Guinness World Records for recording 30 songs within 3 days. In 1982, she won Golden Disk Award as her album Superuna composed by Bappi Lahiri was sold over 1 lakh copies on the first day of its release.
Runa has also sung versions of Mehdi Hassan’s ghazals, which became quite famous. In October 2009, she released Kala Sha Kala, a collection of Punjabi wedding songs, in India. In 2012, Laila served as a judge on the show Sur Kshetra, an Indian television contest show for amateur singers. She described her relationship with fellow judge Asha Bhosle as that of sisters. In 2014, she collaborated with Sabina Yasmin on a song for a television play "Dalchhut Projapoti", the first time they worked on a song together

Her playback singing in films – The Rain (1976), Jadur Banshi (1977), Accident (1989), Ontore Ontore (1994), Tumi Ashbe Bole (2012), Devdas (2013) and Priya Tumi Shukhi Hou (2014) - earned her seven Bangladesh National Film Awards for Best Female Playback Singer.

Runa has sung in seventeen languages including her native Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Gujarati, Pashto, Baluchi, Arabic, Persian, Malay, Nepalese, Japanese, Italian, Spanish, French and English.

If you liked this BLOG, you would also my Youtube Channel Bollywood Unplugged, the link is given below

https://youtu.be/xkNXojm0fIA

                  Original Full Sufi Song Damadam Mast Qalandar by Runa Laila

Duma Dum Mast Kalandar

Song of Ek Se Badkaar Ek 1976

Song of Yaadgaar (1984)

Mera Babu Chhail Chhabila Mai To Naachu Re

Ghazal  of Runa Laila

Superuna composed by Bappi Lahiri 

Sanjeev Kumar- The Actor of All Seasons

 

Sanjeev Kumar ( 9 July 1938 – 6 November 1985) started his acting career as a theatre actor He made his film debut with a small role in Hum Hindustani in 1960, got his first break in hindi film as hero in Nishan which was directed by Aspi Irani.released in 1965 He did stunt films like Husn Aur Ishq, Ali Baba and Forty Thieves, Nishan, Smuggler and Gunehagar, Raja Aur Runk.He  made his presence felt by his natural and down-to-earth performance as a doctor and as Sumita Sanyal’s lover in Ashirwaad. In 1968 he left footprints of his talent in 'Sangharsh' opposite Dilip Kumar. In 1969, Hrishikesh Mukherjee cast him in a strong supporting role as hero Dharmendra’s friend in Satyakam..In 1970, the movie Khilona brought Samjeev Kumar recognition. 

 Gulzar first spotted him; later he cast him in the roles of older men in Koshish (1973), Aandhi (1975) and Mausam (1975) He never minded playing small roles or playing older roles. He played older roles and always cared about the scope of the roles.Sanjeev Kumar was an actor for all seasons. Be it comedy or tragedy, he could do it effortlessly. Sanjeev Kumar was known for his iconic roles in the films like Sholay, Trishul, Shikar, Pati Patni Aur Woh etc

Sanjeev Kumar was nominated for 14 Filmfare Awards, thrice as Best Supporting Actor and the remaining as Best Actor. He won the awards twice as Best Actor and once as Best Supporting Actor.He got 2  National Awards from  the Govt.of India.

He  won the BFJA Awards for Best Actor (Hindi) for his exemplary portrayal of a deaf and mute person in Koshish, in which the female lead was played by Jaya Bhaduri, who acted as his deaf and mute wife and was herself nominated for Best Actor award by Filmfare for the same role.
Some of his important films are  Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), Manchali (1973) Aap Ki Kasam (1974), Aandhi (1975), Mausam (1975). Swarg Narak (1978) Biwi O Biwi (1981),Pati, Patni Aur Woh, Angoor (1982),Naya Din Naya Raat and Hero (1983).

His role as Mirza Sajjad Ali, a chess-obsessed Lucknowi (citizen of Lucknow), in Satyajit Ray's classic Shatranj Ke Khilari (1977) exemplified that aspect. Perhaps his best remembered roles were in the blockbuster films Sholay (1975) and Trishul (1978). His portrayal of the character Thakur, from Sholay, released in August 1975 was one of his stellar performances. In Naya Din Nayi Raat (1974) he played Nine Roles ,Beside hindi films he has done many regional films in different languages including Marathi, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, Sindhi and his mother tongue Gujarati.

Sanjeev Kumar lived life rough and had a strange premonition that he would die before he was 50, as no male member in his family had lived beyond 50. He was barely 46 when he died on November 6, 1985.

Song from Raja Aur Runk  1968

Song from Khilona 1970

Song of Manchali 1973

Song from Pati Patni Aur Woh

If you liked this Blog, you would also appreciate my Youtube Channel Bollywood Unplugged , the link is given Below

https://youtu.be/HYmLiQ0MPmk

PIYA PIYA PIYA MORA JIYA PUKARE- How a Mistake in the middle of the song recording covered during picturizing of the Song

 

This song appears in the 1955 hit musical comic Baap Re Baap directed and produced by A R Kardar. The movie starred Kishore Kumar, Chand Usmani. This song is a duet of Kishore Kumar and Asha Bhonsle, written by Jan Nisar Akhtar, and the music was composed by O P Nayyar.

During those times, there were no digital recording facilities like today, where if there is a mistake it can be rectified by computers. Those days there used to be only one microphone for the singers, and another for musicians. If the singers want to record a duet, one would sing his/her line, get away noiselessly for other singers to sing, and come again for their own part. And, if a musician makes a mistake, the whole track would be recorded again from the top. There was also no technique to alter the intensity of sound, if the sound was supposed to come from a distance, the singer had to stand away from the mic, slowly advancing towards it, to get the desired effect.

This song is significant in that Asha Bhonsle made a mistake in the middle of the song and late Kishore Kumar went ahead with the mistake in the song, without going for a retake. When the song was being recorded, Asha Bhonsle gave an alaap a second time, when it was not required. Kishore Kumar signaled her to go on and complete the song as it was. After the recording was over, he told everybody that he, being the hero of the movie, would place a hand on his heroine’s mouth, when that particular shot in the song would come. That was how the problem was resolved.

This song was picturized on Kishore Kumar and Chand Usmani on a Ghoda Gadi (a horse carriage). Watch this song video at 2:09 minute of this video, how brilliantly Kishore Kumar covers up the mistake made by Asha Bhonsle  She started singing the part which was to be done by Kishore Kumar. But then she stopped abruptly. The music director wanted a second recording. But Kishore Kumar denied of recording the second time and as he was the hero of the film he did a cover up of that part by closing her mouth. What a genius! Kishore Kumar the legend.

Song of Baap Re Baap 1955

If you liked this blog, you would also appreciate my Youtube channel Bollywood Unplugged the link is below

https://youtu.be/tcAAE7QwScA

The Movies that Guru Dutt Announced and Abandoned

 

One of these aborted projects was Gouri, launched in 1957. Guru Dutt Films Private Limited, fresh from the success of Pyaasa that year, announced a film in Bengali and English. Gouri was to have been directed by Guru Dutt and was billed as the acting debut of his wife, playback singer Geeta Dutt.

Gouri was set in the director’s favorite city, Kolkata. The plot revolves around a successful sculptor of Durga idols who meets a prostitute, who, to him, resembles the goddess. Moved by the woman’s plight, he marries her. They lead a blissful life until one of his friends starts blackmailing him. When his parents find out about their daughter-in-law’s past, they start mistreating her. The woman runs away. 

Two scenes were filmed and music director SD Burman had recorded two songs when Guru Dutt stopped production.

 Had Gouri been made, it would have been India’s first film in the Cinemascope format, rather than his Kaagaz ke Phool two years later.  

Geeta Dutt in Gouri.

Gouri was one of Guru Dutt’s many incomplete projects. Nasreen Munni Kabir suggests in her biography Guru Dutt: A Life in Cinema that this indicated “an increasingly disillusioned and fractured state of mind”. Kabir writes, “Guru Dutt’s personal life was in turmoil, and he smoked and drank heavily.” This is borne out by lyricist Kaifi Azmi, who wrote the lyrics for 1959’s Kaagaz ke Phool. Azmi is quoted in the biography as saying, “What he wanted to say in the film [Kaagaz ke Phool] wasn’t clear. His mental state was like that, he wasn’t clear... There were more scenes that were edited out than remained in the completed film.”

Even as Kaagaz ke Phool was underway, Guru Dutt set his assistant, Niranjan, off on another project. The intended film, Raaz, was adapted from the Wilkie Collins classic tale The Woman in White. The film starred Sunil Dutt as an army doctor and Waheeda Rehman in the double role of twins.

Raaz moved in fits and starts, and Guru Dutt eventually replaced Sunil Dutt as the lead. Some scenes were shot in Shimla and two songs were recorded by composer RD Burman, who was making his debut. One track featured three dancing girls and was sung by Geeta Dutt, Asha Bhosle, and Shamshad Begum. But after shooting and editing five or six reels, Guru Dutt shelved the film since he was unhappy with the way it was shaping up.

Raaz, starring Guru Dutt and Waheeda Rehman.

Another film that got shelved was a Bengali film 'Ek Tuku Chhua' a proposed adaptation of the novel 'Neel Kamal' written by Gulshan Nanda, which was to be directed by Sadiq. One scene was shot but the film was shelved, the reason is unknown.

According to Dutt’s other brother, Devi Dutt, Guru Dutt offered Niranjan another film after the Raaz debacle, titled Moti Ki Mausi and starring Tanuja and future scriptwriter Salim Khan. Moti Ki Mausi hit a wall after Niranjan died from alcohol-related complications.

Some of the projects did finally make it to the theatres with other producers, actors and directors. Professor (1962) was first announced by Guru Dutt a couple of years earlier as a story of a man too young to be a teacher and too old to love. It was to have been directed by Shashi Bhushan with Kishore Kumar and Waheeda Rehman in the leads. Dutt even asked Abrar Alvi to direct the film, but Alvi declined.

Alvi did, however, write the screenplay for the movie, which was eventually made by Lekh Tandon with Shammi Kapoor. Raj Khosla, Guru Dutt’s former assistant, re-worked the shelved Raaz as Woh Kaun Thi? in 1964 with Manoj Kumar and Sadhana.

Sadhana was also supposed to have starred in Picnic, with Guru Dutt. The project was to have been directed by RS Tara, with music by N Dutta. Unlike the other incomplete films, of which nothing remains because of our tragic ignorance of the importance of archiving and preservation, snippets of two songs from Picnic have survived. One is this lovely duet sung by Mohammed Rafi and Asha Bhosle.

https://youtu.be/S87t0_bQJ90

Kitna Rangeen Hai Ye, Picnic.

Following the critically acclaimed Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Guru Dutt attempted an Arabian Nights-style adventure, which was to have been his first film in colour. In an essay titled Classics and Cash, Guru Dutt recalled the shock when he announced Kaneez sometime in 1962 or 1963. “I have been trolled by friends and critics for taking up Alibaba as my next film,” he wrote. “‘From a provocative social theme to Arabian Nights? What a fall, Guru!’ they kept on twitting me. I have to explain every time that I want to show that even Alibaba could be a subject with contemporary significance. 

Kaneez was to have starred Simi Garewal. But this one also failed to make it to the finishing line and was shelved after initial filming. Garewal complained to the Cine Artists Association and ensured that she recovered her dues.

Simi Garewal in Kaneez.

The two films that Guru Dutt left unfinished at the time of his sudden death on October 10, 1964, were his own production, Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi, and K Asif’s magnum opus, Love and God, an epic take on the Laila-Majnu tale starring Guru Dutt as Majnu and Nimmi as Laila. Dharmendra stepped into Baharen Phir Bhi Aayengi.

If you liked this blog, you would also like my Youtube channel, the link is given below

https://youtu.be/QImHqUeYbbo