Just Walking Around

Melody Memories

Is it just me or do you also feel that Bollywoods song & dance department has been taken over by in your face Punjabi lyric and wanna be musicians doubling up as song writers peppering the songs with Punjabi words just to make the songs hit on the dance floor. Does anyone really know what the lyrics mean or is it the intoxicating beats that accompany the song that makes them groove to the music. Call me old fashioned I still think the lyrics of yore in pure hindi or even peppered with chaist urdu were much much melodious than the current lot. Take the case of hit songs of the original Bollywood Triniti – Raj Kapoor –Dilip Kumar – Dev Anand . 

They were pure melody , pure hindi lyrics composed by heavy weight like Shailendra ,Sahir Ludhyanvi , Majrooh Sultanpuri  to lilting tunes by stalwarts like Salil Chowdhary ,Shankar Jaikeshen , S.D Burman and sung by great singers Kishore Kumar , Mohd Rafi , Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosale . The songs are still remembered word for word. Your brain can jog down memory lane whenever you hear the first sound bar of these compositions on the radio .

A song like Dil Tadap Tadap ke keh raha Aa bhi jaa .. Tu Humse Ankh na chura …Tujhe Kasam hai aa bhi jaa.. from Madhumati sung by Mukesh and Lata didi picturised on Dilip Kumar –Vyajanthi Mala can be picked up easily from its opening bars. Or take for instance the song Suhana Safar Aur ye mausam haseen .. Hume dar hai ke hum kho na jaye kahi from this same film …a litrally haunting melody again recognized by its unique composition and simple lyrics. Suhana Safar Aur Yeh Mausam Haseen carried the composer’s trademark brand of haunting vibe about it, and brilliant lines from Shailendra that were simple yet profound. The unassuming charm in Mukesh’s voice also lent beautifully to the composition. Salilda’s arrangement made brilliant incorporation of Western harmonies et al over a folk base – particularly noteworthy was the employment of flutes like birdcalls, to go with Dilip Kumar’s nature walk onscreen.

On a related note: Among the folk elements Salil Chowdhury brought into Madhumati’s soundtrack, one had its sources in Europe. One of the album’s big hits, Dil Tadap Tadap Ke, was based on the Szla dzieweczka do gajeczka, a Polish folk song. This movies play list included other hits like Aaja Re Pardesi , Chad Gayo Papi Bhichooaa , Ghadi Ghadi Mera Dil Dhadke ,Julmi Sang Aankh Ladi and even the funny song  Jungle Me Mor Nacha Kissi ne nahi Dekha … Ham jo thodi si pi ke zara Jhume haay re sab ne dekha picturized on the legendary comedian Johnny Walker and exceptionally sung by Rafi is stuck In your head once you hear it.

If songs from Dilip Saab’s movies were melodious and lilting , songs from Dev Anand movies were more peppy and effervescent like Pal Bhar Ke Liya Koi Hume Pyar Karle ..Joota hi sahi … or Chudi Nahi hai mera dil hai dekho dekho tute naa.. or the  nok jhon wala song between Dev Saab and the ethereal beauty Madhubala 

Acha ji mai hari chalo man jao noa .. Dekhi sab ki yari mera dil jalaon na .. Chhote Se Kusur Pe Aise Ho Khafaa Ruthhe To Hujur The, Meri Kyaa Khataa
Dekho, Dil Naa Todo Chhodo, Haath Chhodo
Dekho, Dil Naa Todo Are Chhodo, Haath Chhodo
Chhod Diyaa To Haath Maloge, Samajhe ………Aji Samjhe

And then there were the songs from the original Showman Raj Kapoor  , songs that were simple in its lyrics but carried great essence  .. Sajan Re Jhoot mat bolo  khuda ke paas jana  hai na haathi hai na ghoda hai wahan pe paidal hi jana hai .. Others made you laugh Echak Dana Bichak Danan, cry Jina yahan Marna Yahan Eis ke siva jana kahan and sing along with ..Dum Dum Diga Diga or Pyar Hua Ikrar Hua…These songs are evergreen classics .

Talking of Classics the era of late 50’s . 60 and 70’s was the golden age of Bollywood in terms of movies being made and the songs that were created. On the one hand you had Music composers like  Madan Mohan who dominated the Bollywood industry from the 1950s to the 1970s. He was known for the Ghazals he composed, mainly using the voice of Lata Mangeshkar, Talat Mahmood and Mohammed Rafi. Lata Mangeshkar christened him the "Ghazal ka Shehzadaa" (the Prince of Ghazals). Lata, in a live concert in the late 1990s, said that she found Madan Mohan's compositions difficult to master. Songs like Aap Ki Nazron ne Samjha from Anpadh , Lag Ja Gale form Woh Kaun Thi ,Jhumka Gira Re from Mera Saaya ,Teri Ankho Ke Siva from Chirag and Tum Se Kahoon Ek Baat from Dastak are some of his gems .The tunes have become immortal  and remembered even today.

Most of the top film actors of those days had fallen into a groove with their preferred composers. For instance, Raj Kapoor had Shankar Jaikishan, Dev Anand had the Burmans, Dilip Kumar had Naushad.

As these Troika peaked another start slowly roze on the horizon . For long Shammi had tried unsuccessfully to fit into the conventions set by the reigning troika of Dilip Kumar (the eternal tragedy-king), Raj Kapoor (the Chaplin-esque vagabond) and Dev Anand (the perpetual chocolate hero). Now he would set his own rules and make his own norms. So out went the old Shammi, the soft, sophisticated, sentimental lover sporting longish hair and in came the new Shammi, the raw, robust romantic aggressor, showing off a duck-tailed hairstyle a la Elvis Presley and James Dean. He became a hero who fully embodied the wacky Junglee-Jaanwar-Badatmeez-Pagla Kahin Ka spirit.

This new Shammi did what no other hero had done earlier. He swayed, sashayed and sizzled while singing songs on screen. He became the first dancing star of Bollywood. And yes, he also made ‘Yahoo…’ a war-cry for macho lovers! The way he smiled, the way he pouted and the way he looked into heroine’s eyes, everything was infectious; simply because it was fresh, fun and flamboyant. Even his famed dances were never choreographed; on the dance-floor, he just needed a catchy melody and a zingy beat and then he rock ’n’ rolled his way into countless hearts.

In the realms of classic Bollywood music, Shammi Kapoor-songs have become a genre by itself. Racy, robust, rhythmic and romantic numbers composed by the master composers like O.P. Nayyar, Shankar- Jaikishan, Ravi, Usha Khanna and R.D. Burman added their own magic to this rebel star’s screen persona.

Some of my Favorite Shammi Kapoor songs are Yun to humne laakh haseen dekhe hain  fromTumsa Nahi Dekha  composed by O.P. Nayyar Yahoo…Chaahe koi mujhe junglee kahe from Junglee composed Shankr Jaikishan Baar baar dekho – China Town – Ravi Dil deke dekho dil deke dekho dil deke dekho ji- Dil Deke Dekho – Usha Khanna Yeh chaand saa roshan chehra – Kashmir Ki Kali – O.P. Nayyar Asman se aaya farishta- An Evening In Paris-Shankar Jaikishan Aaja aaja main hoon pyaar tera- Teesri Manzil -R.D. Burman Aawaz deke hamein tum bulaao-Professor-Shankar Jaikishan Dil ke jharoke mein tujhko bithakar- Brahmchari- Shankar Jaikishan Re Mama Re Mama Re – Andaz – Shankar Jaikishan

Shammi Kapoor, Mohd. Rafi and their songs have become inseparable, from each other and from the swinging 60s that they represented.

By  the 70’s the scene changed with one Superstar looming large on the Indian Silver Screen .Say Rajesh Khanna and all you can think of is his trade mark smile , the tilt of his head , dialogue delivery and his silver screen romances. Essential to making hima superstar and the ultimate romatic hero are some evergreen tunes that resurrect during Valentine’s Day.

Rajesh Khanna’s Romantic songs ruled the roost . Be it Mere Sapno Ki Rani from Aaradhana , the sensous Roop Tera Mastana , Kora Kagaz Tha ye dil mera a declaration of love againfrom Aaradhana , O mere Dil ke chain from Mere Jeevan Saathi . And in romance sometimes there is the feeling of heart brake . While Khanna made ladies swoon , he also excelled at expressing the pain of love in a song like Yeh Jo Mohabat Hai from Kati Patang. But in the same movie there was another song which was more uplifting Yeh Sham Mastani. A peppy and foot tapping song from Rajesh Khanna’s movie Aap Ki Kasam was Jai Jai Shiv Shankar . But two of his songs become anthem for Celebration of Life or a sort of Salutation to life one being Zindagi Ek Safar Suhana and the other from his landmark film Anand – Jindagi Kaisi Hai Paheli . A Film in which Khanna diagnosed as person with Cancer Limpho Circoma of the intestine to be exact ,spends his last moments with his doctor played by Amitabh Bacchan and changes the perspective of life for the people around him . Making them believe Life is to cherished even if it is shortlived. A dialogues is still etched in my mind “ Jindagi Badi Honi Chahiye Babumoshay Lambi Nahi”

With this film another star was born and become the face of the Angry young man of the 80’s the legend Amitabh Bachann. Even though most of his films were filled with resentment and aggression against the socio –political scene of the 80’s , they too had memmerising songs be it O Saathi Re from Mukadar ka Sikandar , Choo kar mere man ko from Yarana or that zesty song Khai ke Pan Banaraswala sung by the vivascious Kishore Kumar. Legend has it to get exact feeling Kishore da had a special Banarasi Paan made for him and actually chewed the same before singing this hit song. Then there were the softer numbers like Tere Mere Milan Ki ye Raina form Abhiman with unforgettable lines like “tujhe thaame kayi haathon se miloonga madbhari raaton se” and the other gem Inteha Ho gayi Intezar Ki  again with memorable lines which go ‘baat jo hai usmein, baat wo yahaan kahin nahi kisi mein, wo hai meri bas hai meri, shor hai yehi gali gali mei.’

In late 70’s and early 80’s you had films from Basu Chaterjee and Hrishikesh Mukherjee  with the common man’s hero Amol Palekar in the lead and unforgettable songs like  Janeman Janeman Tere Tere do Nayan , Uthe Sab ke Kadam Dekho Ram Pam Pam ,Gori Tera Gaon Bada Pyara ,  Suniye Kahiye Kahiye , Na Bole Tum Na Maine Kuchh Kaha and Aanewala Pal . All these songs as affable as  Amol Palekar himself.

Those were the days of pure melody , with songs touching your heart with lyrics so simple and hummable that every time you heard these songs you wanted to sing along. To end I would like to rededicate one of my favorite songs and one which I used to woo my then fiancé and now my sweetheart wifey Kashmira ..

Bade Acchee lagte hai
Kyaa????
Yeh Dharti, yeh nadiyaa, yeh rainaa aur?
Aur tum
Bade Acchee lagte hai
Yeh Dharti, yeh nadiyaa, yeh rainaa aur?
Aur tum mm mmmm

Hum tum kitane paas hai
kitane duur hain chaand sitaare
Sach poochho to maan ko jhoothe lagate hain yeh saare

Magar saccche lagate hai
Yeh Dharti yeh nadiyaa, yeh rainaa aur?
Aur tum mm mmmmmm

Tum in sab ko chood ke kaise kal subah jaaogi
Mere saath inhe bhi to tum yaad bahut aaogi
Tum in sab ko chood ke kaise kal subah jaaogi
Mere saath inhe bhi to tum yaad bahut aaogi

Bade Acchee lagte hai
Yeh Dharti, yeh nadiyaa, yeh rainaa aur?
Aur tum mm mmmmm

Bade Acchee lagte hai
hmmmm hmmmm hmmm hmmmm hmm
hmm hmm hmmm