This BLOG is about the Past of Hindi Films Specially Black and White Cinema We will refresh your memories by bringing out forgotten or unseen songs and clippings of film scenes We will try to give you as much information as we gather from our research.
This Blog was started as a one-man’s passion for film history but has now become an addiction for many music lovers who are equally passionate about Hindi films
An unusual pairing was made by the producer and director M L Anand for the Neelkamal Films in 1958. It was signing Kishore Kumar opposite Nargis for the film Ek Tha Raja Ek Thi Rani. The film, written by Inder Raj Anand, had them both in double roles, in a tale of mistaken identities. The supporting cast included Johnny Walker, Pran, Ulhas, Mukri, Anwar Hussain (Nargis’ brother), Ram Mohan and Minoo Mumtaz with Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri writing the songs, which were composed by Shankar-Jaikishan.
M L Anand had already directed Nargis earlier in Lahore (1949), one of the first films to address the trauma of Partition of the sub-continent, and in Bewafa (1952), where Raj Kapoor played a rare negative role in a love triangle that also co-starred Ashok Kumar. It is said that 8 songs of the film were recorded in the voices of Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar, Mohammed Rafi, and Geeta Dutt. The film also made quite some headway in its filming following a major schedule in Shimla. One of the songs, recorded on September 9, 1958, Kaisi Khoob Raat Hai, a light-hearted ditty sung by Lata Mangeshkar, Kishore Kumar and Mohammed Rafi was all set to be filmed later in Kashmir. But then Nargis got pregnant with her first child, actor Sanjay Dutt. She opted out of the film, leading it to be shelved for good.
The pairing of Nargis and Kishore Kumar never happened. Today, just the film advertisement (the picture accompanying this piece) and a couple of surviving stills with Osianama give us a hint of what might have been…
Not many of us remember her today but once she was among the topmost singers of Bollywood. She sang for 100 films, till the early 1950s. She is best known for her songs, "Sun Bairi Baalam Sach Bol Re" in Bawre Nain (1950), "Ghabaraa Ke Jo Hum Sar Ko Takraayan" in Mahal (1949) and "Najariya Ki Maari" in Pakeezah (1972). She was just 10 years old when she recorded her first song for HMV in 1934 and she started her career as a stage artist. Vijay Bhatt and Shankar Bhatt of Prakash Pictures spotted her during one of her shows. Her first film with them was a Hindi-Gujarati bilingual called Sansar Leela Nayi Duniya. She got important roles in films like Aankh Ka Tara and Turki Sher (1933). She was the heroine in Bhakt Ke Bhagwan and Insaaf Ki Topi (1934). She also used to sing for popular music director Lallubhai. He gave music to films starring Rajkumari ji like Nai Duniya, alias Sacred Scandal (1934) (Sansaar Leela in Gujarati version), Laal Chitthi, alias Red Letter (1935), Bombay Mail (1935), Bambai Ki Sethaani (1935) and Shamsheer-e-Arab (1935). She sang many duets with G M Durrani. The 1942 film Nai Duniya had many duets of Rajkumari and G M Durrani. Nai Duniya was a 1942 Bollywood film directed by Abdul Rashid Kardar and starring P. Jairaj, Shobhana Samarth, and Mazhar Khan. Suraiya sang her first song; "Boot Karun Mai Polish, Babu" with Naushad as M.D. in this film. Rajkumari had a soft and very sweet voice with a small range. She sang quite a few songs with Mukesh. She did not get much opportunity to sing with Mohammed Rafi – mainly because Lata Mangeshkar was a fast upcoming singer at the time. She sang with Noor Jehan in Naukar (1943). She never sang with K. C. Dey, but she did sing songs composed by him, as well as his nephew, Manna Dey. Rajkumari was married very late in life. Her husband was V.K. Dubey who was from Varanasiwhere he spent a lot of his time (because he owned a shop there), while she settled in Bombay. He later joined her in Bombay. Rajkumari Dubey died in 2000. Her last song was with R D Burman for the 1977 film Kitab.
Shashi Kapoor(18 March 1938 – 4 December 2017) made his debut as a leading man in the 1961 film Dharmputra. He started as a child artist with his brother Raj Kapoor's directorial Aag (1948). He became global with Merchant Ivory productions The Householder (1963), The Householder was the first collaboration between producer Ismail Merchant and director James Ivory, a documentary filmmaker till then. They went on to make nearly forty films together, many of which were written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala. Shashi Kapoor worked in seven films made under the Merchant–Ivory Productions banner: The Householder, Shakespeare Wallah, Bombay Talkie, Heat and Dust—all directed by James Ivory—and three films by three other directors—The Deceivers, In Custody and Side Streets. Shooting for the film started in 1961 and was completed in 1963. It was made in two versions, Hindi and English, the latter was picked by Columbia Pictures. It was a huge hit — both with critics and audiences — for a film that was made on a budget of $125,000. After The Householder, Shashi Kapoor signed their next film, Shakespeare Wallah.It was released in 1965, this was a film about a traveling troupe of actors who perform Shakespeare plays in India. Satyajit Ray gave the music for the film, and Madhur Jaffrey won the Best Actress award (Silver Bear) for 15th Berlin International Film Festival. Pretty Polly (also known as A Matter of Innocence) was a 1967 British film, directed by Guy Green and based on the short story Pretty Polly Barlow by Noël Coward. It stars Hayley Mills, Shashi Kapoor, Trevor Howard, and Brenda De Banzie. Bombay Talkie (1970) was the next film Shashi Kapoor did with them. Jeniffer Kapoor, his wife was the heroine of that film. You would be surprised to note that Amitabh Bachchan played a minuscule role in the movie. The music of the film was given by Shankar Jaikishan. Siddhartha was a 1972 Indo-American film based on the novel of the same name by Hermann Hesse, directed by Conrad Rooks.Shashi played Sidhartha and Simi played Kamla in this film. Simi Garewal's nude scene caused controversy in India. The Indian Censor Board, at that time, did not even permit on-screen kissing in Indian films. Heat and Dust (1983) was the next film directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant. It stars Greta Scacchi, Shashi Kapoor, and Julie Christie. Heat and Dust was based on the novel written by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, which won the Booker Prize in 1975. The screenplay for the film was written by the writer herself. It was Merchant Ivory's biggest commercial success The other films he acted are Sammy And Rosie Get Laid(1987), The Deceivers (1988), In Custody (1993),Jinnah (1998) and Side Streets(1998),
Sajan Ki Galiyan, 1966. The film, besides Sadhana and Dev Saab, was to be the launchpad of Zaheeda, Nargis’ niece, who later was introduced in Prem Pujari (1970). This was the 3rd film of Dev Anand and Sadhana together after Hum Dono(1961) and Asli Naqli (1962). The film was to be produced cinematographer Fali Mistry (Guide, Hare Rama Hare Krishna) and to be directed by Raj Khosla,
If there is one director Sadhana worked with extensively, it was Raj Khosla. The two teamed up for four films – Ek Musafir Ek Hasina (1962) and Khosla’s unforgettable mystery trilogy with the actress – Woh Kaun Thi? (1964), Mera Saaya (1966) and Anita (1967). The music of Sajan Ki Galiyan was being composed by Shankar-Jaikishan. Fortunately (or unfortunately as one rues what might have been), two songs from the film can now available on YouTube. One is the deliciously romantic Mohammed Rafi solo, “Humne Jinke Khwab Sajaye” a signature S-J composition written by Hasrat Jaipuri. The other clip is a short scene and a song featuring Dev Saab, Sadhana and Zaheeda – “Hum Khoob Jaante Hai”, sung by Mohammed Rafi, Suman Kalyanpur and Geeta Dutt.
This film was to be made in color. It was the second color film after the Guide for Dev Anand.The clips of the songs of this film are featured in Film Hi Film (1983), which wove scenes from incomplete films into the storyline of an old-time filmmaker (Pran) training newcomers for a film he is making in a bid to recapture his long lost glory. Pran coaches them for the intended movie by showing them various scenes from unfinished films.
Started his film career as a story writer when he joined Filmistan in 1948. The famous films he wrote for Filmistan include Anarkali (1953), Munimji (1955), and Paying Guest (1957). The first film he directed was Tumsa Nahin Dekha in 1957 for Filmalaya. Another film he directed in 1958 was Dil Deke Dekho. The highlight of both of these films was its music. His films were full of adventure, romance, fun, music, outdoor and entertainment He started his own film company, Nasir Hussain Films and turned producer-director. He made musical hits like Jab Pyar Kisi Se Hota Hai (1961), Phir Wohi Dil Laya Hoon (1963), Teesri Manzil (1966), Baharon Ke Sapne (1967), Pyar Ka Mausam (1969), Caravan (1971), Yaadon Ki Baraat (1973), and Hum Kisise Kum Naheen (1977). Nasir Hussain was an admirer of Dev Anand, when he was making his first film as a director Tumsa Nahin Dekha he wanted Dev Anand as his hero but Dev Anand refused the film because of the heroine being a newcomer so Shammi Kapoor was approached. Similarly when Teesri Manzil was planned Dev Anand was signed for the film but due to differences with Hussain he opted out and Kapoor was cast.
Nasir Hussain introduced Asha Parekh with the film Dil Deke Dekho opposite Shammi Kapoor since then she was inall of Hussain's films until Caravan (1971). Hussain, Majrooh Sultanpuri, and R.D. Burman collaborated on Teesri Manzil, Baharon Ke Sapne, Pyar Ka Mausam, Caravan, Yaadon Ki Baraat, and Hum Kisise Kum Naheen.
He made Yaadon Ki Baraat in 1973 which was written by Salim-Javed, who had written Zanjeer the same year. Both the films dealt with the hero wanting to avenge his father's death, and both featured Ajit as the villain. Yaadon Ki Baraat has been identified as the first masala film.
The 1980s were not good for him, all his filmsZamane Ko Dikhana Hai (1981), Manzil Manzil (1984) and Zabardast (1985) all flopped, Hussain's son Mansoor Khan took over the reins of Nasir Hussain Films, although Hussain continued to write scripts and dialogues for films like Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) and Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikander (1992). In Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, he introduced his nephew Aamir Khan as a hero. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak was a milestone in the history of Hindi cinema, setting the template for Bollywood musical romance films that defined Hindi cinema in the 1990s
Urdu Shayari is primarily a spoken art form and therefore more suited to theatrical and cinematic adaptation. In fact, when this Shayari was decorated with music, it made Urdu poetry accessible and entertaining to the masses. Urdu, from the very beginning, was the most important language of the talkies. Starting from the first Sound Film "Alam Ara" till the 8os Urdu Shayari was predominantly used in Hindi songs. As Urdu was the lingua franca of artistic expression, Urdu poetry became indispensable to songwriters. Two of the earliest lyricists in Hindi cinema – Kidar Sharma and Dina Nath Madhok – perfectly symbolized this synergy between poetry and cinema. .The credit of the first song and the singer in a movie goes to Wazir Mohammad Khan who acted and sang this song De De Khuda Ke Naam Se De, it was in Urdu.
De De Khuda Ke Naam Se De from Alam Ara
In the 40s till Golden Era, the Urdu Shayari was at its prime. TheUrdu poets of the era belonged to different parts of the country. Stalwarts like Jan Nisar Akhtar (father of Javed Akhtar), Sahir Ludhianvi, Kaifi Azmi (father of Shabana Azmi), Mazrooh Sultanpuri and Shakeel Badayuni, were either related or were close friends with each other. Almost all lyricists of that time had formal training in Urdu poetry and were well-versed with its various forms like ghazal, nazm, qawwali etc. Their careers began in mushairas
Song of Dulari 1949
Song of Chaudhavin Ka Chand 1960
From romantic sonnets like Chaudhavin Ka Chand to songs of desperate misery like Dekhi Zamane Ki Yaari, and qawwalis like Yeh Ishq Ishq Hai, this was truly the high noon of Urdu poetry in Bollywood. The philosophical song " Mein Zindagi Ka Saath Nibhata Chala Gaya" by Sahir Ludhianvi from the movie Hum Dono, exemplifies what a naturally poetic time this was for the Hindi cinema.
Song of Hum Dono 1961
The advent of parallel cinema, commonly called “art films”, further gave opportunities to traditional poets such as Shahryar, who wrote the lyrics for Umrao Jaan and Gaman. Independent artists like Jagjit Singh, Ghulam Ali, Salma Agha also wrote tunes for famous Urdu ghazals. Many of these were used in movie soundtracks and gave us classics like Tum Itna Jo Muskura Rahe Ho and Chupke Chupke Raat Din.
Since the release of Amitabh Bachchan's "Silsila" in the early eighties, no Holi celebration in India reached a crescendo without "Rang Barse" being sung and danced to. If we look into the history of Holi songs in Bollywood, we have seen a gradual but marked change in the style of music and picturization. The first Holi song was seen in the 1940 film" Holi" written byD N Madhok and composed by Khemchand Prakashwas sung by Sitara Devi. Another film "Aurat".released in the same year had two Holi songs in that film composed by Anil Biswas. This film was made by Mehboob Khan. It was remade after 20 years into the iconic Mother India. Both films had Holi songs In the 50s many films had Holi songs. Those days the trend was derived from lord Krishna’s days in the Brij region of northern India where he is said to have indulged in sensuous frolicking with his consort Radha and other belles (Gopikas) of his village. These songswere essentially folk music. And that too mostly Gujarati and Rajasthani folk music. Since then the music, the mood, the style kept on changing every decade. The Holi Songs of the 1940s Sung bySitara Devi, Amritlal ,Composed by Khemchand Prakash
Song of Holi 1940
Aaj Holi Khelenge Saajan Ke
Song of Aurat 1940
Jamuna Tat Shyam Kheln Holi
Song of Aurat 1940
Here is a rare Holi song of the lesser-known film Tilasmi Duniya released in 1946. The singing voices are not identified. There is one male voice and a female voice.It starts off as a song of fun and revelry, which also includes reference to the pastimes of Lord Krishna and Radha Rani. The music was given by Sajjad Hussain, this song here is one more of the rarest of rare treats.
Song of ‘Tilasmi Duniya’ (1946)
Another rare gem is being presented from the 1947 film ‘Renuka’.the voices belong to Zohrabai, Sardar Malik himself
Song of Renuka (1947)
Holi Songs of the 1950s
Song of Jogan (1950)
Song of Rahi (1953)
Song of Aan (1953)
By the mid-50s romance was visible on Holi Songs
In the 1956 filmDurgesh NandiniA romantic Holi song composed by Hemant Kumar and picturized on the elegant Bina Rai and the princely Pradeep Kumar.
Song of Durgesh Nandini 1956
Song of Mother India (1958)
Song of Navrang (1959)
Song of Kohinoor (1960)
This song from the critically acclaimed Godaan is an unconventional Holi song rooted in the folk music of rural India, composed by the sitar maestro Pandit Ravi Shankar.
Song of Godaan (1963)
Song of Do Dil (1965)
From the 50s,60s trend of Nandlal and Krishan now in 70s we see the fun-filled song and teasing each other
Song of Kati Patang (1970)
Song of Paraya Dhan (1971)
Song of Sholay (1975)
This fun Holi song from the Basu Chatterji directed romantic comedy Dillagi is unusual as compared to the typical lively and exuberant Holi songs of Bollywood, which have scores of people dancing in tandem with the lead actors.
Song of Dillagi (1978)
In the80s 90 we see flirtatious songs like Rang Barse or fun and fear song Ang Se Ang Lagana from Darr
Song of Silsila 1981
Song of Darr 1993
In the new millennium, the Holi songs became power-packed, rigorous dance sequences Peppy music became the new flavor.
