My memories of Rajesh Khanna

When I logged into Facebook on the morning of Wednesday, the 18th of July, I saw a link to “vaada tera vaada” from one of my friends, saying "RIP, Rajesh Khanna".

I immediately logged onto Twitter – it is my source for latest news (and links to news) around the world. And yes, #RIP Rajesh Khanna was trending as the top item on Twitter for India.

Now I’ve seen hoax RIP hashtags on Twitter before – and there was just this very slight hope within me that this was a hoax – but I knew, deep within myself and with an increasingly sinking feeling, that this was it. This was the end.

I took a deep breath and slowly began reading the tweets and the attached links. They were pouring in  like a tsunami wave – Twitter is known as THE medium for “outrage”,  but that does it great injustice. Outrage is just a show of emotion – and Twitter does emotion brilliantly in 140 characters.

All this while, my heart was sinking. Like most people, I did know that Rajesh was in pretty bad shape. So in a sense, it was not entirely a surprise or a shock. But somewhere within me, there was still the hope that he would get better, that he would be around for some more years. After all, he was just 69 – and that’s young, by today’s standards.

But it was not to be. The man who loved to die in his films because his audience seemed to like his films to end that way, decided it was time for real life to imitate reel life just this one last time.

Memories of Rajesh movies, memories of Rajesh songs began flooding my mind.  I immediately went to youtube to watch some of his songs. Not his most famous songs, but some songs that I personally like watching again and again. 

Where Rajesh stands out, in my opinion.

I started with “rona kabhi nahin rona” from Apna Desh. No glamour here, no heroine, no silk kurta – just a chacha singing to his brother’s kids. I remember singing this song a lot to my niece way back in the early 80s when she was about three.

I then moved on to “yahan wahan saare, jahaan pe tera raaj hai” from Aan Milo Sajna. This song took me right back to my childhood. This is a Rajesh song close to my heart – again it is “pure” Rajesh, if you know what I mean. I even tweeted this, saying “tere hi to sar pe mohabbat ka taj hai”.

And so I went on. I began posting songs on Facebook – only to a select group. (A lot of my friends are non-Indian and presumably do not know who Rajesh Khanna is. I did not want to spam them).

 Rajesh-Mumtaz with “gore rang pe na itna gumaan kar” (Roti), one of my favorites.

 Then “ye jo chilman hai” (Mehboob Ki Mehndi), another of my favorites – Rajesh in kurta singing an ode to a beautiful Leena Chandavarkar.  Beautiful poetry here by Anand Bakshi.

Then one of my childhood favorites – I must have sung this song (badly) at least a million times. “Kahin door jab din dhal jaaye” (Anand).

And “ye shaam mastaani” from Kati Patang.

And “ye kya hua, kaise hua” from Amar Prem.

And the fun-filled “mujh se bhala ye kaajal tera” from The Train. - Rajesh with Nanda.

And another of my favorites, “o mere dil ke chain” from Mere Jeevan Saathi. Another one of those "million times, badly-sung" songs by me.

I did not want to drive my friends crazy – I stopped with just these songs, I think. I did listen to many more though – “gusssa itna haseen hai to pyar kaisa hoga” (Maryada), “nainon mein nindiya hai” (Joroo Ka Ghulam)…

In what was still an indescribably incredibly inconsolably despondent mood, I then updated my Facebook status to:

Kya samjhega aalam koi
Badaa bhaari hai aaj dil ye mera
Ki le gaye ho saath safar pe tumhaare
Tukda jo kabhi tha dil ye mera

(Who will understand my mood today
The weight that bears upon my heart
For you’ve taken with you on your journey
A piece that used to once be my heart)

Yes, I know it is rubbish poetry. But I was in no frame of mind to construct anything remotely comprehensible at that time.

The thing is, the news of Rajesh Khanna's death took me right back to my childhood. I am talking of the late 60s/early 70s. I was only a young boy then but I vividly remember watching his films then. I vividly remember many of the songs from his films even if I did not quite understand then the storyline.

For me, Rajesh Khanna was the first star I “knew”.  I’d heard of Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor and Dev Anand – and also Shammi Kapoor. I’d seen their movies as well. But their time at their peak  was “before” my time (in the case of Shammi, “just before” my time).

Rajesh, on the other hand, peaked just at the time that I began watching, and becoming aware, of movies. So I could “feel” his popularity in a way that I could not feel the popularity of the big names before him.

And what popularity! By now a lot of people have talked about how he was “the first superstar”, “THE phenomenon”.  You hear lines (sometimes sounding patronizing) saying “only people who lived during that period will quite understand what he was”. 

Even if one allows for a bit of misty-eyed exaggeration, I think it is fair to say that it is not much more than a bit. I will speak only from my own experience. Yes, I was very young then, so my judgment may be questionable, but there was enough evidence all around me to suggest that there was Rajesh Khanna – and there was everybody else.

The first time I remember hearing his name was when one of my sister’s friends was chatting with my sister. She had just seen Baharon Ke Sapne and told my sister “The movie is ok. I actually didn’t like it very much. But oh, Rajesh Khanna….”. 

I suspect there were many, many more who went “Oh, Rajesh Khanna…” in the years to come.

I distinctly remember Aradhana’s success. I got to see it much after it was 

released – but I remember the impact it had everywhere around me.  There was hardly a day you did not hear an Aradhana song. Either on the radio, or somebody singing or humming it. That is how it seemed to me at least. “Mere sapnon ki rani” and “roop tera mastana” practically competed with each other for which was the more popular song of the time – any other song would have come a VERY distant third. 

The measure of Aradhana’s popularity can best be gauged by the fact that my paternal grandmother, who did not know a word of Hindi, and certainly knew no other Hindi songs, had heard the songs of Aradhana. We didn't have a tape recorder then, so if at all we heard anything, it was on radio. Various songs would be playing - but the moment an Aradhana song played - her eyes would light up and she'd say “Aradhana!” (Well, considering it probably played every single day, it might not have been such a difficult task to recognise the songs, I suppose).  

In 1975, during our summer holidays, we had gone for a family event deep in rural South India - in Thanjavur district, often considered then the bastion of anti-Hindi sentiment. There I got to spend some time with my cousins. They spoke Tamil and English – but not a word of Hindi. Anyway, they started playing Antakshari – and as one would expect,Tamil songs were being tossed around with great gusto. With my count of known Tamil songs then being a grand nil,  I must confess I felt totally out of place.

One of my cousins, seeing my lost look, stopped and said “Hindi?” I said “Yes”. “OK” he said. And immediately started with “mere sapnon ki rani…”. The others joined in. Ok, it was just the first couple of lines, the words were quite messed up, the accent even more so - but it felt just SO good.  And then there was the inevitable follow-up with “roop tera”. 


To date, I consider these as two of the most popular songs of Hindi cinema that I’ve known in my life - not counting songs from before my time.

Aradhana was THAT popular. Rajesh Khanna became an overnight star. Sharmila – already a popular heroine – went right to the top. I remember Madhuri magazine, having a discussion about who the No.1 heroine was – they had photos of three heroines (the ones in contention) – Asha Parekh, Waheeda Rehman and Sharmila Tagore.

When, in the late 90s, Kaho Na Pyar Hai – with its very popular numbers - became a super-duper hit, catapulting Hrithik Roshan to overnight fame,  it reminded me of Aradhana – and Rajesh Khanna – all those years ago. Hrithik did not quite manage to do a Rajesh follow-up act though. He became ONE of the stars, whereas Rajesh left all others behind to emerge as the one and only superstar.

Like I’ve said, in those years, there was Rajesh – and there was everybody else. It is not that others were not delivering hits. Dharmendra and Shashi Kapoor, for example, also did well in that period. But the Rajesh tsunami was such that everybody seemed to have eyes for him - and him only.  

There is this general impression that it was the female constituency, particularly young girls, that was crazy about Rajesh Khanna. True, but that's not the entire story. People of ALL generations, all age groups, male-female, were pretty crazy about him at that time. 

There were a whole lot of newcomers in that period. I remember Vinod Mehra, Rakesh Roshan, Parikshat Sahni (then called Ajay Sahni), even Amitabh Bachchan, Shatrughan Sinha and Vinod Khanna (both starting off in villain roles), Randhir Kapoor, Anil Dhawan, Navin Nischol, Vijay Arora, Kabir Bedi, Rakesh Pandey, Romesh Sharma, Vikram…I’m sure there were others too that I have not named here. Some of these definitely tried to copy Rajesh Khanna. Rakesh Roshan, for example. But they could not QUITE pull it off.

That was the time when people would blindly go to watch a movie just because it was a Rajesh movie. They were guaranteed that smile, that look, that nod of the head – and some glorious songs. Whether the heroine was Asha Parekh or Sharmila Tagore or Mumtaz or Tanuja or Hema Malini or anybody else, it did not matter.  Even if the film did not have a heroine opposite him, it did not matter. All that mattered was that it had Rajesh Khanna.

He did the odd cameo too. Not many talk about it – but I thought he did a lovely cameo as the flower vendor in the tear-jerker Anuraag.

I saw almost all his movies from that early period, in those early years of the 70s. I will not name the movies here, it is almost the entire list of that time. I knew most of the songs from his movies by heart. You just heard them so many times that you could not help it.

I cannot say with absolute certainty what my very first Rajesh movie was. I think it was Sacha Jhootha, though it could just as well have been Do Raaste. I remember seeing these movies very early on, as also Maryada. 

True, in terms of superstardom, his reign at the top was all-too-brief.


And true, towards the end of his golden period, his mannerisms took over and watching him became difficult. His hamming, together with a questionable selection of movies, resulted in his loyal fan-base getting disenchanted and beginning to feel let down. (I know, I was one of them).

And yes, that was exactly the time when Amitabh Bachchan’s star was rising with some excellent performances in movies like Zanjeer and Deewar. The times were changing - the mood in the country was becoming increasingly cynical and anti-establishment. Romance was taking a backseat, anger was in the front row. There were protests, bandhs, strikes all over the place - I remember that even as a young boy.


Movies are usually a reflection of the times and the society in which, and for which, they are made. More and more people began identifying more easily with the "angry young man" image of Amitabh than the soft, romantic image of Rajesh (which was anyway beginning to get seriously dented with his exaggerated mannerisms). But there is no doubt that, in addition to self-created reasons for his self-destruction, there was the external environment too that was beginning to become alien to Rajesh's style.


Oh, how I hated the fact that Amitabh was taking over Rajesh's place. I had nothing against Amitabh - in fact I grudgingly liked him, especially in his movies with Jaya Bhaduri. And I loved Majboor, one of his most under-rated performances, in my opinion and still one of my Amitabh favorites.

But nobody, NOBODY, took Rajesh's place. He was going through a bad phase, that was all. That's how I convinced myself - though I secretly knew that the magic was wearing off. And well, if everybody in the country was angry about something or the other at that time, I was angry at the movies Rajesh was doing, I was angry at his hamming. But I was still a Rajesh loyalist and I wasn't willing as yet to allow another person to sit on that throne. 

I think a lot of Rajesh fans must have switched loyalties and become Amitabh fans at that time. At that age, in school at least, you tended to be identified either with Rajesh or with Amitabh.  To be fair to those who switched, it was really becoming very difficult to continue to defend Rajesh. So I wouldn't call them fair-weather fans. 


I remember one such ex-Rajesh fan even challenging me "Tell me, can Rajesh act like Amitabh in Deewar?" I struggled with my defence - and could only manage "No, but I don't WANT Rajesh to act like Amitabh. I just want Rajesh to be Rajesh. Like he used to be". 


Oh, those mid- and late-70s were difficult times for a Rajesh fan.

And yes, Rajesh’s lack of professionalism, his poor public relations, his whims, his lack of maintenance – all of these, individually seriously problematic but collectively conclusively disastrous,  ensured that his career, once it tipped over, went into free fall. 

When you read about some of those stories today, they sound outrageous but one needs to bear in mind that those were different times. The film industry has changed a lot over the years. Today actors are far more professional, they are extremely conscious about not just their appearance but their image, they are often very boringly politically correct, they are very media-savvy. I think Rajesh was on such a cloud that he did not pay much attention to these non-acting attributes required for an actor's sustained success in the industry. 

At that age, I read about all this only in magazines - mainly Filmfare, Star and Style and Stardust. Film magazines were not subscribed to (or encouraged) in our household but we would always get hold of them from friends. So there was plenty of film information (and gossip) available to us.

Even at that age, I was very sceptical of what I read in these magazines. So to me, what I saw on screen was what I made of an actor or a situation. In any case, these backstage problems (of unprofessional behaviour) were something that did not matter to me. The hamming yes, the backstage problems, no. They were all none of my business anyway.

 I do remember reading a lot of anti-Rajesh Khanna writing in the late 70s. It was as if everybody had been waiting for him to fall. As if everybody was out to get him, waiting for that chance to get that dagger in, and to twist it.

That his personal life was also becoming a mess, did not help one bit. At that time, it felt like any news about Rajesh was only bad news – nobody seemed to have a good word to say about him.  And the witch-hunt seemed to go on, for ever and ever.

 So if we are to keep score, I am pretty much convinced that he paid the price for his failings in far greater measure than he deserved.  No wonder then that he chose to lead a somewhat secluded life in his later years.

I don’t think Rajesh ever totally got over the shock of his sudden fall from grace. When you are at THAT height – and the fall is SO precipitous, it is difficult to keep your senses around you. Your sycophants leave you, your so-called friends leave you – life suddenly becomes very lonely.

What Rajesh critics often fail to mention is that he did realize his mistakes later. I clearly remember seeing an interview where he admits his mistakes. He does not blame anybody else for them.  Surely that counts for something?

I stopped seeing Rajesh Khanna movies after a while. They became painful to watch – if only because I knew what he had once been. Maybe there was the odd good movie at that time – I just did not have the heart to watch it. I call that the “Janta Hawaldar” period – I remember this being one of the movies I expressly skipped at that time. 

I do remember watching Thodisi Bewafai and Avtaar though.  Both of them were telecast on Doordarshan (as the Sunday evening movie) - and I’d heard they were good. So, rather hesitatingly, I decided to watch them – and am glad I did. I quite liked them. 

In the last couple of years, I’ve caught up with some of the Rajesh movies I’d avoided in my Rajesh blackout phase. Movies like Rajput and Kudrat. I thought he was OK in both of them. 

But, on the whole, my memories of Rajesh will be of the Rajesh of my childhood. 

With his death, he has taken a part of my childhood with him. But I certainly bear him no grudge – for he gave me so much more in my childhood, so many wonderful moments to cherish and enjoy, that I will remain ever-grateful to him for this.

As I sign off (still emotional), I cannot help thinking that a tribute to Rajesh without some of his songs would be oh-so-incomplete.


So I will leave you with some of his songs that I feel he could be singing to his various constituencies. 

For his critics (whose numbers ran into millions), I have "mere naseeb mein aye dost, tera pyar nahin" (dear friend, it was not in my destiny to get your love). Anand Bakshi's lyrics in this song are just mind-blowing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPVvXlnV3Vg

For his fans (whose numbers hopefully outnumbered his critics), I have "maine tere liye hi saat rang ke sapne chune, sapne sureele sapne". (I have picked dreams of seven different colors for only you, sweet dreams). Gulzar's lyrics here - quite typical, actually.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC8DuvNCjbY

For children, I think his message to them (actually Anand Bakshi's message in Kishore Kumar's voice) is invaluable - "rona kabhi nahin rona". Simple words, deep message - "jo apna nahin, tum uske liye, jo apna hai, nahin khona" (In your pursuit of something that doesn't belong to you, don't lose what you do have).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bw4-8SmRXow

For the youth (and with his message to take care of the elderly thrown in), I think he'd have liked to exhort them to enjoy their youth and make the most of it with "yahan wahaan saare jahaan mein tera raj hai". Anand Bakshi again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVibx0Y9Thc

For the female constituency (and one need have no fear about that number not running into many millions), I can imagine him singing one of my favorite romantic numbers - with that nod of the head of course. The song, with a gorgeous Leena Chandavarkar, with beautiful lyrics (Anand Bakshi again!) and Rafi saab's voice. Oh, how I love the fact that this is Rafi saab's voice.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I1cs6m8hcc


Thank you SO MUCH for everything, Rajesh Khanna. I guess we were just fortunate to have you with us for as long as we did. You will always live on in our hearts. Rest In Peace.  And do enjoy your time up there with Kishore and RD. 

As for me, well, I can only say chhoti chhoti baaton ki hai yaadein badin.

And if I may call you my yaar, I'd like to also add nafrat ki duniya ko chhod ke pyar ki duniya mein, khush rehna mere yaar. 

Valentine's Day - Ten romantic songs from Hindi films

For someone who’s pretty crazy about old Hindi film songs, I’ve never posted a list here on any theme. I’ve only ever posted random songs as and when I felt like discussing them. And even these have been very occasional postings.

But I do read a few film blogs and they often have these “lists” – songs of a particular music director, songs in village fairs, songs in horse-driven carriages, and so on. I’ve always enjoyed these “list” posts – and added my bit in the comments sections of these blogs.

Today I felt like putting out a list of my own out there.And much like others place constraints on their lists, I have placed some on mine too. I find it more fun to make a list under constraints – while it might make the job more difficult on one hand, it actually helps in the song elimination process on the other.

My list is a list of soft, soulful, romantic songs where a male character is talking about, or talking to, a female character, describing her beauty and/or how much he loves her. In other words, something I know nothing about. ;-)

I know it sounds complicated, but I needed to do this to narrow down the type of song I'm considering here. Romantic songs come a dime a dozen in Hindi films, so I had to define some boundaries around them upfront. This means a song like “ehsaan tera hoga mujh par” (Junglee) does NOT make the cut. In fact, no “sad” song makes the cut.

Again, what’s soft, soulful and romantic can be a matter of debate. I used a simple rule for myself – would this be a song I’d consider singing to my love in my attempt to win her over? (Ok, ok, I know that ship sailed a long time ago ;-) but hey, this is just a lab experiment. J). If yes, then it qualifies to be considered.

Poetry has always been an integral part of my love for Hindi songs, so the songs I’ve picked had to be pretty high on the lyrics content. They didn’t need to use fancy Urdu words (which, btw, I absolutely love) but they needed to have something interesting in their lyrics. They needed to "talk" to me. I do recognize though that this is another subjective demand I’ve placed on my list.

Now, the clear-cut, indisputable constraints.

I’m limiting my list to one song per singer. That’s a massive tying of hands when you consider the number, and quality, of songs that get excluded just because ONE Kishore or Rafi song got picked. But that’s life. Ok, it isn’t but if life’s a bitch, so’s my list.

To add to the fun, I’ve decided to limit it to ONE song per music director. Much like the above singer restriction, that puts many beautiful songs out there in the cold (and my heart breaks at the thought) but I’m steeling myself.

I must be some sort of masochist because I wasn’t even satisfied with this level of tying of hands. I decided I'd restrict my songs to one-song-per-actor. So, Rajesh Khanna, for all his plethora of romantic songs, has no bigger bite at the apple than, say, a Raj Babbar.

And guess what? To make it even more interesting (or restrictive), I thought I’d limit it to one song per actress. So even favourites like Waheeda and Nutan are not favourites as far as this list is concerned.

Finally I added just one more restriction. Not that I have anything against female singers, but this would be an all-male list. If only because of the theme – it is the male praising the female, so even if the female so much as utters one word, the song is disqualified. Also, it would be a male solo, so duets like “huzoor is qadar bhi na ithra ke chaliye” are not allowed.

That’s it. I could have thought up a few more restrictions on myself but I thought this is a decent set to start with. To summarise:

1.       Soft, soulful, romantic song where the male character is describing the female character’s beauty or telling her how much he loves her

2.       High on quality of lyrics (subjective call, of course)

3.       One song per singer

4.       One song per music director

5.       One song per actor

6.       One song per actress

7.       Only male solos

I have also chosen to stay with a standard restriction that most impose on their lists – one song per film. With the thousands of films out there, it seems extremely unfair if one film were to grab more than one slot in a ten-song list.

The restrictions I have NOT imposed on myself (and I’ve seen on other lists) are (a) that I should have seen the movie and (b) period boundaries. My songs cover every decade from the 1950s to the 1990s.

I will admit, not much thought has gone into this list. In fact, this list is a result of my having a comfortable seat in a near-empty AC bus today enroute to another part of town. I had a piece of paper – and a pen – with me. Since it was Valentine’s Day, my thoughts meandered in the direction of romantic songs. One thing led to another, and soon I had ten songs on my list, satisfying these conditions. (The main reason there's no restriction of "one song per lyricist" is, on the bus journey I was very confident of singer/actor/actress/music composer but not so sure about the lyricist for each song. And I got my list pretty much ready on the bus journey itself).

Please let me know what you think of the list. And of course, your own suggestions are most welcome. For many songs, I could myself think of alternatives – but the constraints helped in the selection/elimination process.

Ok, that was a LONG build-up, but let’s now get down to the business end of this post. The songs are in chronological order.

1) Ye hawa ye raat ye chandni (Sangdil - 1952). Talat Mahmood’s voice, Rajinder Krishan’s lyrics, Sajjad Hussain’s composition. Song picturised on Dilip Kumar, for Madhubala.

Talat Mahmood, in his silken voice, has sung many a melodious number but this is one that I fell madly in love with the very first time I heard it. I think the lyrics were what bowled me over rightaway – “tujhe kya khabar hai o bekhabar, teri ek nazar mein hai kya asar, jo ghazab mein aaye to keher hai, jo ho meherbaan wo qaraar hai, mujhe kyon na ho teri aarzoo, teri justaju mein bahaar hai”. Considering it’s for Madhubala, I think the lyrics probably come quite naturally. ;-)

2) Ae mere pyare watan (Kabuliwala - 1961). Manna Dey’s voice, Prem Dhawan’s lyrics, Salil Chaudhary’s composition. Song picturised on Balraj Sahni, Wazir Mohd Khan (thank you, Arunkumar Deshmukhji for the correction) for his country.

Ok, here the song is not being sung to a female character as such, it is being sung to and about a person's homeland. This is a song I really , really, REALLY, love. It is soft, it is soulful, it is romantic (in the sense of a person’s love for his country), it has lovely lyrics, it has everything. So when I was thinking of a Manna Dey song, this immediately came to mind. And however hard I tried to think of another one (I did think of “kaun aaya” (Dekh Kabira Roya) and “ae meri zohra jabeen” (Waqt) but this Kabuliwala song beats them, in my opinion. When I listen to “sab se pyaari subah teri, sab se rangeen teri shaam, tujh pe dil qurbaan” (and the way Manna Dey has sung this) its effect on me cannot be described. Just to clarify, this song isn't being sung for India, it's being sung for his home country, Afghanistan. Actually it doesn't matter - at a generic level, it's a song of love for one's country. 

So maybe I’m cheating a bit here (and please feel free to find me another Manna Dey song that could replace this one) but I’m sticking with this for now.

(EDIT:  One of my friends, Ava, has come up with a Manna Dey romantic song that satisfies all my criteria. Not only is it is a lovely song, it is also more in line with the theme of this post than the song I picked above. I am therefore including it in this blogpost as an additional song (not removing "aye mere pyar vatan" - don't have the heart to!). The fact that Madan Mohan is the composer of this song delights me - I don't need to feel that guilt anymore for not finding a slot for him earlier. (I really wanted to have "main nigaahen tere chehre se" in here but my own rules worked against me on that one)).

Here's Ava's proposal slotted here as 2a). Thanks Ava.
2a)   Har taraf ab yehi afsaane hain (Hindustan Ki Kasam - 1973). Manna Dey's voice, Kaifi Azmi's lyrics, Madan Mohan's music. Song picturised on Raj Kumar, for Priya Rajvansh).

3) Tum agar mujhko na chaaho to koi baat nahin (Dil Hi To Hai - 1963). Mukesh’s voice, Sahir’s lyrics, Roshan’s music. Song picturised on Raj Kapoor, for Nutan.

This is a song I used to like a lot before I saw the movie. And then, I really fell in love with it. Before I saw the movie I had imagined this to be a serious, sad song where the hero is venting out his frustration at his failed love – the lyrics would suggest as much. But I discovered I was completely wrong – it is a light-hearted song, sung early in the movie at Nutan’s birthday party (at least I think it was her birthday party). Raj Kapoor has only recently met Nutan and he is flirting with her. And she is responding in her inimitable style.  

Ah, Nutan! This was the movie which made me fall madly in love with her (this, and Tere Ghar Ke Saamne and Paying Guest, all of which I saw within a week of each other). I SO love Nutan when she is not in her “mera pati mera devta hai” roles – and she is lovely in this film. I cannot have a romantic songs list without a Nutan number in it, so this is it. And can I see myself singing this song? Sure I can! Now to find a Nutan to sing it to. ;-) Or a Madhubala or Waheeda. ;-) 

4) Ye nayan darey darey (Kohraa - 1964). Hemant Kumar’s voice, Kaifi Azmi’s lyrics, Hemant Kumar’s own composition.  Song picturised on Biswajeet, for Waheeda Rehman.

This is another song that I consider very high on the soft, romantic scale – and even Biswajeet cannot spoil it for me. :-)  I was toying between this and “zara nazron se keh do ji” (Bees Saal Baad) but I thought Waheeda  Rehman is better picturised here, so this song won it. 

In fact, though this list is an all-male list, since the object of affection is female, she does play a role in influencing my choice of song.  The very presence of Waheeda is good enough reason for me to pick a song. Or a movie.

5) Tum agar saath dene ka waada karo (Humraaz - 1967). Mahendra Kapoor’s voice, Sahir’s lyrics, Ravi’s music. Song picturised on Sunil Dutt, for Vimi.

Between them, Humraaz and Gumraah have a whole host of soulful, romantic songs penned by Sahir 

Ludhianvi. Amongst them, this song perfectly fits my requirements – I love the lyrics in this song. “Main akela bahut der chalta raha, ab safar zindagani ka kat-ta nahin” has such a “real” sense about it! And no, it's NOT autobiographical. ;-) And then the praise “maine khwabon mein barson taraasha jise, tum wohi sangemarmar ki tasveer ho, tum na samjho tumhaara muqaddar hoon main, main samajhta hoon tum meri taqdeer ho”. Sahir’s always been right up there for me as a lyricist – and he absolutely nails it here for me. Very soulfully rendered by Mahendra Kapoor, I might add.

6) Ye jo chilman hai (Mehboob Ki Mehndi – 1971). Mohammad Rafi’s voice, Anand Bakshi’s lyrics, Laxmikant-Pyarelal’s music. Song picturised on Rajesh Khanna, for Leena Chandavarkar.

Some may be surprised that I picked this as my Rajesh Khanna romantic song pick. But I love, love, love everything about this song – and while it also means no other Rafi saab song gets picked, I just could not bring myself NOT to pick this one. Look at it – it’s just perfect. Rajesh Khanna is at his buttoned-kurta best, his mannerisms are just about right, not OTT (those were still early days for him), Leena Chandavarkar is oh-so-sweet, the typically Muslim setting is just beautiful – and the lovely lyrics by Anand Bakshi are beautifully given shape by LP. What’s not to love?

So move aside “o mere dil ke chain”, this one deserves its place in the sun. It’s been behind a chilman of its own for way too long.

7) Pal pal dil ke paas (Blackmail – 1973). Kishore Kumar’s voice, Rajinder Krishan’s lyrics, Kalyanji-Anandji’s music. Song picturised on Dharmendra, for Raakhee.

I think I might just have escaped the censure that was awaiting me all this while for being more than halfway down my list and not coming up with this one. For this is for many THE most iconic romantic song of them all. And I’m not putting this up here just to conform (heaven knows I’m no conformist!) – I really, really love this song. I know I say this about every song but I can’t help it.

This song has everything I’m looking for – soft, soulful lyrics, wonderfully composed by K-A and sung as only Kishore Kumar could. I’ve sung this song a million times – this is my favourite travel-cum-loneliness song, I tend to sing it A LOT. Years ago, when I would return from work by local train in Mumbai (Bombay) at the late hours of 1.30 or 2.00 a.m, this song would give me company. Everything about it is just perfect!

8) Tu is tarah se meri zindagi (Aap To Aise Na The – 1980). Manhar Udhas’ voice, Nida Fazli’s lyrics, Usha Khanna’s music. Song picturised on Raj Babbar, for Ranjeeta Kaur.

I remember that by the time 1980 came around, Hindi movies had begun to take a different path altogether. Those were the days of big-budget multi-starrers. Or Amitabh Bachchan towering over all others. Or South Indian producers coming back into Hindi films on the back of Jeetendra and Rekha.  Or it was disco. In all this, there was the occasional song – which had none of these frills - that stood out  purely on the strength of its melody.

One such song was “Tu is tarah”. The first time I heard it, I could not recognize the voice (Manhar). All I knew was that I fell madly in love with it. (Yes, I do tend to fall madly in love with a lot of things quite often J). It was a reasonably popular song (and had three versions of it), so it would play on radio quite often. Those were the days before the internet, so you couldn’t just google or youtube it. I used to wait to listen to this song.

As with all my other songs here, the lyrics of this song are just beautiful. I can listen to this song again and again (yes, I’ve listened to this too a million times) and never get bored. In a list of soulful, romantic songs, this song can proudly claim its place in my top-10 list.

9) Chhupaana bhi nahin aata (Baazigar – 1993). Vinod Rathod’s voice, Rani Malik’s lyrics, Anu Malik’s music. Though the song is sung by Vinod Rathod, it's effectively picturised on Siddharth, for Kajol.

This song might come as a surprise for many, but in a film with superhit songs, this is the one which is most often forgotten. I have always liked this song and I think it deserves to be better-known. And since I did not set any period constraints for my list – and this song satisfies all my required criteria – I have no qualms throwing it in here. 

The lyrics are actually quite good to listen to – I remember they impressed me quite a bit when I first heard the song. “Hatheli pe tumhaara naam, likhte hain mitaate hain, tum hi se pyar karte hain, tum hi se hi kyon chhupaate hain”. The travails of a guy unable to confess his love to the girl he loves. Been there, done that. (No, just kidding! ;-)). Writing on hatheli (palm) and all that. Sheesh! :-) Nice lyrics though.

(I find sites where this song is attributed to Pankaj Udhas whereas I always thought this was sung by Vinod Rathod. And not just in the film but also playback. Can somebody please clarify the situation? Maybe the Pankaj Udhas version was a non-film version?)

10) Hoshwaalon ko khabar (Sarfarosh - 1999). Jagjit Singh’s voice, Nida Fazli’s lyrics, Jatin-Lalit’s music. Picturised on Aamir Khan, for Sonali Bendre.

Another song from the 1990s that stands out in a decade known more for catchy music than lilting, romantic melodies. But when you get Jagjit Singh, you know you are going to get sanity in the midst of any insanity that’s happening all around him. This is a delightful romantic number, with fun picturisation on a playful Aamir Khan and Sonali Bendre. I never tire of watching it  – and since it meets all my criteria - I thought it brings up very nicely the end of my list. Am very happy to have Jagjit Singh on my list – somehow a list of supposedly “soulful” songs without a Jagjit number in it doesn’t quite seem right.

So how did you like my list? I thoroughly enjoyed making it – though I must admit there were times when I wished I’d relax my rules just a little bit. (Not having “khilte hain gul yahaan” or "jeevan se bhari teri aankhen" because Kishore was already “taken”, for example. Or "main nigaahen" because Rafi was "taken".) And it seems like sacrilege to not have even one song of Naushad, SD Burman, Shankar Jaikishen, Madan Mohan, OP Nayyar or RD Burman. But that’s how it turned out for me and, all things considered, I’m glad I didn’t break the rules – and yet managed to come up with ten songs that I’m quite happy with.

Let me know what songs you’d have liked to have in your list. Of course my constraints don’t apply to you, so feel free to enrich this post with your suggestions.

Women's Day, Sahir Ludhianvi and "Aurat ne janam diya mardon ko"

Today is the 8th of March.

Which happens to be International Women’s Day.

And, today the 8th of March 2011, also happens to be the 90th birth anniversary of one of India’s greatest poets of the 20th century, Sahir Ludhianvi.

I have therefore decided to borrow one of Sahir saab's poems/songs today and dedicate it to the occasion of Women's Day.

Everytime I hear this song, my eyes go moist. And it's not just because it has so much depth and pathos (which it does!).

It is because the lament here is, unfortunately, as much valid today as it was 53 years ago when Sahir saab penned these lines.

Even today, many women in India (and in many other parts of the world too) play second fiddle to menfolk.

Even today, there are many women, used and abused by men - and the saddest thing is that most of them just accept it as their fate.

Many of them have been so conditioned to this treatment from their childhood itself that they are not even aware that they are being abused. They are not even aware that there could be an alternative lifestyle for them.

Many women in India are so bound in tradition that they believe that breaking out of it, in fact even challenging it, is fundamentally wrong. Now, respecting the good aspects of tradition is just fine but when such tradition only imposes restrictions on women, instead of empowering them, surely it cannot be worth perpetuating for tradition’s sake?

The fact that TV, with its powerful reach now into even the remotest corners of the country, still churns out sickening woman-humiliating stereotypes in prime-time soaps is an indication of how powerful persons in the media (ironically, some of them actually women) perceive the role of women to be in society.

And hardly a day passes when there is no news of a rape or sex-trafficking or sexual harassment or exploitation or some such offence against women.

I’d like to think it is not all doom and gloom. And it does look like things are improving, what with improved education levels amongst women, more women being employed, increased awareness amongst womenfolk. Yes, there is progress.

But much of it is in urban India only. A large part of rural India is still caught up in a time warp, at least as far as women’s empowerment is concerned.

So there’s a long way to go still.

And I am ashamed to say that I cannot vouch for any significant progress in men’s attitude towards women. I should not generalize and paint all men with the same brush (there are a lot of good-hearted men out there who have tremendous respect for women) but there is an equally large (possibly larger) group of men out there who carry enormous baggage in their heads about their being the “superior” and “more powerful” gender.

It is to THIS group of men that I actually want to play this song.

I want them to listen to this song, every word of it. Let every line sink in.

I want them to remember where they have come from, who carried them in their wombs for nine months, who rocked their cradle when they were babies.

In my opinion, this song should be compulsory education in every boy’s high school. This version is in Hindi but there should be regional language versions of this too. And one in English too.

Or, if this version is not quite “modern” enough for today’s youth, maybe somebody can come up with a more modern version for today’s generation. Surely, this is worth a junoon (revolution)? Let’s make it viral.

I believe that every effort, in any which way, to reduce the incidence of offences against women, can only be a good thing. It will reduce the pressure on organizations like Prajwala which are working day and night to prevent sex-trafficking and to help the victims of sex-trafficking.

With this in mind, and with a little bit of hope, I am posting here “Aurat ne janam diya mardon ko” from Sadhna (1958).

(Aside: Sadhna is one of India’s less-known but most progressive movies made by BR Chopra, one of my favourite directors. BR Chopra challenged Indian society, he discussed uncomfortable subjects like widow remarriage (Ek Hi Raasta), prostitute aspiring for and marrying into “respectable” society (Sadhna), experiences of a wedlock-born child (Dhool Ka Phool), Hindu-Muslim tensions around partition of India (Dharam Putra), adultery (Gumraah) and many more. I wish we had more directors like BR Chopra today).

I also sometimes write a guest article for a very popular Hindi song blog belonging to one of my friends. I chose to write about Sahir and this particular song there too. Since his is a very popular blog (and that's something I certainly cannot say about mine ;-) ), hopefully the message will reach more eyes and ears. Here it is.

Finally, here is the song itself. What a gem from Sahir saab! Listen to every word of it.

My friend, Madhulika Liddle, who has a wonderful blog of her own here recently provided the transliteration and excellent translation of this song in English on her blog. I am taking the liberty of reproducing it here for the benefit of readers. Many many thanks to Madhu - it is an outstanding translation.

Transliteration

Aurat ne janam diya mardon ko
Mardon ne use bazaar diya
Jab dil chaaha masla-kuchla
Jab ji chaaha dhutkaar diya
Aurat ne janam diya mardon ko

Tulti hai kahin dinaaron mein
Bikti hai kahin bazaaron mein
Nangi nachvaayi jaati hai
Ayyashon ke darbaaron mein
Yeh woh beizzat cheez hai jo
Bant jaati hai izzatdaaron mein
Aurat ne janam diya mardon ko

Mardon ke liye har zulm ravaan
Aurat ke liye rona bhi khataa
Mardon ke liye laakhon sejein
Aurat ke liye bas ek chita
Mardon ke liye har aish ka haq
Aurat ke liye jeena bhi sazaa
Aurat ne janam diya mardon ko

Jin hothon ne unko pyaar kiya
Un hothon ka vyopaar kiya
Jis kokh mein inka jism dhala
Us kokh ka kaarobaar kiya
Jis tan se uge kopal bankar
Us tan ko zaleel-o-khaar kiya
Aurat ne janam diya mardon ko

Mardon ne banaayi jo rasme
Unko haq ka farmaan kaha
Aurat ke zinda jalne ko
Qurbaani aur balidaan kaha
Ismat ke badle roti di
Aur usko bhi ehsaan kaha
Aurat ne janam diya mardon ko

Sansar ki har ek besharmi
Gurbat ki god mein palti hai
Chaklon hi mein aakar rukti hai
Faaqon se jo raah nikalti hai
Mardon ki hawas hai jo aksar
Aurat ke paap mein dhalti hai
Aurat ne janam diya mardon ko

Aurat sansar ki kismet hai
Phir bhi taqdeer ki heti hai
Autaar-payambar janti hai
Phir bhi shaitan ki beti hai
Yeh woh badkismat maa hai jo
Beton ki sej pe leti hai
Aurat ne janam diya mardon ko

Translation
Woman gave birth to men
And men gave her the marketplace
To crush and trample at will
To reject and cast off at will
Woman gave birth to men…

She is weighed somewhere in dinars
And sold somewhere in bazaars
She is made to dance naked
In the courts of the debauched
She is that dishonoured creature
Who is shared out between the honourable
Woman gave birth to men…

For men, every torment is acceptable
For a woman, even weeping is a crime
For men, there are a million beds
For a woman, there is just one pyre
For men, there is a right to every depravity
For a woman, even to live is a punishment
Woman gave birth to men…

The lips which gave them love:
They traded those very lips
The womb in which their bodies were formed:
They reduced that womb to mere merchandise
The body from which they grew, like buds:
They shamed and abased that body
Woman gave birth to men…

The customs that men created
Were given the name of rights
The burning alive of a woman
Was decreed to be sacrifice
In return for purity she was given bread
And even that was called a favour
Woman gave birth to men…

Every disgrace in this world
Is nurtured in the lap of hardship
The path that begins in hunger
Leads inevitably to the brothel
It is often the lust of men
That takes shape in the sin of women
Woman gave birth to men…

Woman is the destiny of the world
But she is still the one abased by fate
She bears reincarnations and prophets
But she is still the Devil’s daughter
This is that ill-fated mother
Who lies on the bed of her sons
Woman gave birth to men…

Paas aakar toh na yunh sharmaaiye (Laadla-1966)

Anybody who knows me reasonably well knows that I am really crazy about old Hindi songs. I never tire of listening to them and I spend hours on the net trying to discover old songs that are new to me. Or songs that I vaguely remember from my childhood but have lost track of. Thanks to the net nowadays, it is possible to trace these songs again and to be able to enjoy them, usually with video. I cannot thank enough those persons who have uploaded songs for the enjoyment of others.

Among songs of which I had just vague memories as a child but managed to catch up on the net are songs like "pretty pretty Priya", "aaye baithe khaaye piye khiske", "aankh milaaye na, muskuraye na" and "sau baras ki zindagi", to name just a few. Songs which I have not heard since the age of six or seven. It really does not matter whether the song was a hit or not, whether it is considered a good song or not - all that matters is that it is somewhere in your subconscious and you get a thrill from being able to catch up with it again.

And then there are songs that I discover every day. I am humbled by the treasure trove of music out there. And this is just Hindi film music that I am talking about. Imagine how much more music is out there - it is an ocean. Sometime, I would also like to know more about other music - country, rock & roll, jazz and other types.

Anyway, I discovered this Hindi film song today - totally by chance. And have fallen madly in love with it.

Madly enough to write about it here, with the video, lyrics and English translation. (As usual the translation is not literal, it is more intended to convey the meaning of the song than anything else).

The song is from Laadla, a 1966 film. I fell so madly in love with this song that I decided to - and managed to - see the movie today itself. It is an AVM (famous South Indian producers) movie. Nothing great about the film in my opinion - average storyline, lots of over-acting (not uncommon in South Indian production-based movies) and a rather unimpressive Sudhir Kumar (of "Dosti" fame) as hero. Kumud Chugani is the saving grace - she is really sweet and pretty. I quite liked the songs in the movie though I had never heard them before.

Without any more bla-bla :-), let's get straight to the song.
"Paas aakar toh na yunh sharmaaiye" sung by Mohammad Rafi and Asha Bhonsle. Lyrics are by Rajinder Kishan and music is by the Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOW2-4iFACk


Lyrics in Hindi

R : Mohammad Rafi, A : Asha Bhonsle

R :Paas aakar to na yunh sharmaaiye (2)
Do ghadi ka saath hai, khul jaaiye
A : Aap ke dil mein jo hai, keh jaaiye (2)
Hum sunenge, shaukh se farmaiye
R : Paas aakar to na yunh sharmaaiye (2)

R :Sochta hoon main kahoon ya na kahoon (2)
Chup raha hoon aaj tak, chup hi rahoon
Chup hi rahoon
Sochta hoon main, kahoon ya na kahoon
Chup raha hoon aaj tak, chup hi rahoon
Chup hi rahoon
A :Dekhiye ab aur na uljhaaiye (2)
Hum sunenge, shaukh se farmaiye
R : Paas aakar to na yunh sharmaaiye (2)

R : Baat ye hai, ho gaya hai mujhko “wo”
A : “wo” ? “wo kya ?”
R : “wo”, “wo”
Baat ye hai, ho gaya hai mujhko “wo”
Samajh lo na…ki “wo”, “wo”
A : “Wo” ka matlab aap hi samjhaiye (2)
Hum sunenge, shaukh se farmaiye
R: Paas aakar to na yunh sharmaaiye (2)

R : Kiske pehle “Pa” hai, aur peechhey hai “Ra”
A : “Ra” ?
R : Kiske pehle “Pa” hai, aur peechhey hai “Ra”
Beech mein kaise kahoon, aata hai “ya”
Aata hai “ya”
A : Ye ajab sargam hai, phir se gaaiye (2)
Hum sunenge, shaukh se farmaiye
R : Paas aakar to na yunh sharmaaiye (2)
Do ghadi ka saath hai, khul jaaiye
A : Aapke dil mein jo hai, keh jaaiye
R : O paas aakar to na yunh sharmaiye

Translation in English

R : Mohammad Rafi, A : Asha Bhonsle

R : Don’t be so shy of getting close to me
It is a short journey, just open up
A : Just say whatever you have in your heart
I will hear you out, please just go ahead

R : I am wondering whether I should say this or not
Whether I should keep quiet like I have been all these days
A : Come on, stop making it all so complicated
I will hear you out, please just go ahead

R : The thing is I have got “that” feeling
A : “That”, what “that” ?
R : “That” feeling, you know what I mean…
A : No, you please explain to me what “that” means…’

R : What comes after “Pa” and is followed by “Ra”
A : “Ra”?
R : And, how do you say it, in between there is a “ya”
(meaning “Pyar” (love) )
A : That is a strange combination, sing it again please
I will hear you out, please just go ahead
R : Don’t be so shy of coming close to me
It is a short journey, just open up

I hope you enjoy the song as much as I did. I do not think it is a well-known song so it is an added pleasure to make this effort to bring it to a wider audience. Also, I have requested my friend Atul to put this on his very popular song-a-day blog. That should really help to boost the popularity of this song.

So sit back and, now that you have the lyrics and the translation, you just HAVE to sing along and enjoy the song.

Boy, it is hard work to write out the lyrics and do the translation ! Atul, respect, man !

And if it is hard work to just write out the lyrics, think of the creative work that goes into coming up with the lyrics in the first place. Respect to the song-writers too !

Mujhe Nahin Poochhni Tumse Beeti Baatein (Anjaan Raahen - 1974)

A while ago I had posted a song "Mujhe Raat Din Ye Khayal Hai" from Oomer Qaid (1961). A song with beautiful lyrics about a man being torn from within by his love.
The song is sung by Mukesh and picturised on Sudhir.

Today I came across another similarly soulful Mukesh song that took me right back to when I had last heard it - almost 30 years ago !!!

This song is "Mujhe Nahin Poochhni Tumse Beeti Baatein".

This song has some of the most powerful lyrics that I know of in Hindi cinema. I know this is a pretty tall statement to make, given the thousands of beautiful songs in Hindi cinema but I do think this belongs right up there, at least as far as lyrics are concerned.

And yet hardly anybody knows this song. Which is one of the main reasons I am blogging about it. It deserves to be much better known (yearh, right ! Like it is going to be better known because of my blog..ha ha).

Anyway, this song is from an obscure movie "Anjaan Raahein" (1974). Somehow it was obscure though it did star Feroze Khan and Asha Parekh. I saw the movie in the late 70s/early 80s. That is when I heard this song for the first (and to-date only) time. I had the text of the song earlier in my Mukesh book but this was the first time I actually heard the song.

What impresses me most about the lyrics is that, for a society steeped in tradition as Indian society was in those days (and still is in some respects), these lyrics are way ahead of the times. We are talking 1974 here.

Come to think of it, though I do not remember the movie very well now, I think it was ahead of its time too. It dealt with issues resulting from lack of appropriate sex education in high schools. Quite bold, for the times.

Here is the video of this beautiful song - picturised beautifully on Feroze Khan and Asha Parekh. Music is by Kalyanji-Anandji.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4akKkofXlk

And here are the lyrics written by Indivar.

Mujhe nahin poochhni tumse beeti baatein
Kaisi bhi guzaari hon tumne apni raatein
Jaisi bhi ho tum aaj se bas meri ho
Meri hi ban ke rehna
Mujhe tum se hai itna kehna

Beetey hue kal pe tumhaare adhikaar nahin hai mera
Us dwaar pe kyon le jaaoon, jo dwaar nahin hai mera
Beeta hua kal toh beet chuka
Kal ka dukh aaj nahin sehna

Mujhe nahin poochhni tumse beeti baatein
Kaisi bhi guzaari hon tumne apni raatein

Main Ram nahin hoon phir kyon ummeed karoon Sita ki
Koi insaanon mein dhoondhe kyon paavanta Ganga ki
Duniya mein farishta koi nahin
Insaan hi ban ke rehna

Mujhe nahin poochhni tumse beeti baatein
Kaisi bhi guzaari hon tumne apni raatein

Here is my attempted English translation. As usual, the translation takes a bit away from the original but I am making an attempt to convey the meaning more than a literal translation. So please bear with me.

I do not want to ask you (or know) about your past
How you (may have) spent your nights
However you are, from now on you are only mine
All I ask of you is to remain mine (forever)
That is all I want to ask of you

I have no right to the past that you had
So why should I lead you to the door that takes you to the past
That past is now behind us
Do not carry today the sorrow (pain) of yesterday

I do not want to ask you (or know) about your past
How you (may have) spent your nights

I am no Ram so why should I have expectations of a Seeta
Why do people search in humans for the purity of a Ganga
There is nobody in this world who is an angel
(We are all humans) so let us just be like humans

I do not want to ask you (or know) about your past
How you (may have) spent your nights

Now, isn't everything about it just beautiful ? You wish there were more people in this world like Feroze Khan here.