If I can just give to the world more than I take from it, I will be a very happy man. For there is no greater joy in life than to give.
Motto : Live, Laugh and Love.
You can follow me on Twitter too . My handle is @Raja_Sw.
The weather was
pleasantly sunny today, so I went out for a walk in the early afternoon.
There’s a fairly
big pond near my place – there were a couple of elderly gentlemen, seated by
the edge, basking in the sunshine and fishing in the pond. I don't know why, but I paused
for a few minutes. I think it was just to see if anything would happen. Maybe a
fish would bite.
But nothing happened.
That is when it struck me.
Maybe fishing is like Test cricket.
People of an older generation spending hours
sitting in one place, waiting patiently and intently for something to happen.
Occasionally a wicket falls (just like a fish
bites) – and they get very excited. Discussing the event. Analysing it.
And then it is back to the long wait.
Sometimes you think the fish has taken the bait,
you are excited – but it turns out to be a false alarm. Much like an appeal in
Test cricket that's turned down.
Sometimes nothing happens ALL day - and yet you
feel satisfied that you've enjoyed the proceedings.
Yes, fishing and Test cricket. Lots in common. :-)
So I finally got to
watch the first episode of Aamir Khan’s Satyamev Jayate just now. Yes, five
days too late but better late than never. And now that I’ve seen it, I find
myself competent to comment about it firsthand and not form an opinion based on
others’ opinion of it.
It would be an
understatement to say that I had seen a lot of Twitter buzz about the
programme. There were lots and lots of tweets - during the programme, after the
programme, people posting links of articles written right after the programme.
Most of this buzz was
positive, ranging from mild enthusiasm to wild ecstasy. Many even said they
finally found a reason to watch TV. A lot of the positive vibes came because
people seemed to like the format and the way the whole programme was constructed.
It did seem to be
extremely well-constructed. Right from the introduction of the programme and
its goal, to the specific issue it was discussing, there seemed to be a sense
of purpose about it.
This was not just sensationalism or random “breaking
news”. This seemed to be about raising a serious issue in all its seriousness,
supporting it with first-hand accounts, further supporting it with research and
facts.
And, as if to drive
home further the magnitude of the issue, the apathy and complicity of the administration was also exposed. The shocking story of doctors caught on camera
discussing how to get rid of the foetus is one side of the story, the equally
shocking other side is that no action has been taken against even one of these
doctors (and there are 140 of them). And this, inspite of promises made by the
Prime Minister of the country. And for good measure, the President too.
Every story tugged at
one’s heart strings, every aspect of the programme either confirmed a suspicion
or raised awareness. Yes, female foeticide is not just something that poor,
uneducated people in villages do, it happens also amongst the urban,
well-to-do, educated. Everybody who thinks a girl child is a curse – and this
cuts across all classes of society.
Very importantly, the
programme did not just stop at raising an issue. Yes, that in itself has value
but it went further and tried to find solutions to the problem.
The letter to the Rajasthan Chief Minister
asking for the setting up of a Fast Track process in the cases against the
doctors may appear symbolic but it could go far beyond just symbolism. It could send out a message to indifferent
and corrupt administrations across the country that a vehicle to demand change
is being put in place – by the people the administration is responsible to. And
this is being done in not just a peaceful manner but within the legal and
democratic framework of the country.
Yes, I know I am
jumping the gun here, this is just ONE letter to ONE administration – but I’d
like to think this could be the start of something bigger, that this could set a chain of thought in process. This is not extra-constitutional (as far as
I know) – it is just channeling of people power to demand action and
change. We all know that as individuals
we feel extremely helpless in Indian society (unless you have money and/or
influence, you are a nobody), but as a collective force, we may be able to
bring about change. And that’s what this programme seemed to try to reinforce.
Anyway it’s very very
early days yet – and it’s unfair to build such expectations from, what is
essentially just a TV programme - so I
will try to keep myself grounded. And just say that at the very least, it seems
to help raise awareness about an issue in a non-sensationalising and
hard-hitting style. And as many have said, if this helps to save one more
foetus, it would have already done good.
Fortunately I have a
rather mixed bunch that I follow on Twitter, and so on most discussion items I
get more than one side to the story. Just the way I like it.
I found a fair amount
of criticism about the programme too. Most of the criticism could be bracketed
under the following categories:
1. Yeah,
so suddenly NOW we realize that we have a female foeticide issue in the
country? We needed Aamir Khan to tell us that?
2. Yeah,
so you think just because Aamir Khan says this, the problem is going to get
solved? How much such talk have we heard in the past and how many of those
problems have been solved?
3. What? Aamir Khan’s getting 3 crore per episode (or whatever it is)? For telling us our problems. Man, what suckers we are!
4. This
female foeticide issue is an easy one for Aamir to take up. Let’s see him take
up a more grey issue.
5. Star
Plus may have hit a bonanza here but this is just showbiz, so let’s see it for
what it is. And corporates need people’s goodwill so they will obviously align
themselves with this sort of “social message” agenda.
I understand where
each of these arguments is coming from - and will try to take them up one by one.
1. Yes, that female foeticide happens is not necessarily a revelation that is being brought to us only by this programme. But I'm sure there are many who, even if they are aware it happens, must have been shocked by the numbers. And the research about it being an urban malaise too.
So let’s give the programme at least SOME credit for raising awareness – not everybody is as aware as the “intelligentsia” in this country. And yes, when Aamir Khan says it, it is more likely to be heard than just any Tom, Dick and Harry. That's the perk a celebrity has and a common man does not.
2. We, as a people, have
been through (and are going through everyday) so much of credibility loss
amongst institutions in the country that we’ve become a skeptical lot. We don’t
trust anything or anybody anymore – not the government, not the media, not the
corporates, not our celebrities. We believe everybody has a hidden agenda. It
is sad, but that is how it is. When all around you, you hear stories of scams,
paid media, crony capitalism, a failed justice system and what-have-you, you can be excused for
being cynical.
I would just say,
let’s for one moment put all our cynicism aside and give this programme a
chance. Let’s not rubbish it before it’s even got a chance to develop roots.
What’s the worst that can happen? That it becomes another farce of a programme
and nothing comes out of it? Well, I sincerely hope it doesn’t go that way but
if it does, surely that’s not the worst thing to happen to a TV programme. I, for one, would still rather see this than
most other stuff dished out nowadays on TV.
3. For those who talk
about how much Aamir charges per episode, I have only this to say - what does it really matter? It is
between him and the TV channel. It is not really our business. If we don’t like
the programme, we can just switch off or switch to another channel.
4. As for those
suggesting Aamir’s picked an easy issue this time, why not wait before drawing
out those daggers? It’s way too early for them – let him first slip up on
future issues before you thrust that dagger in. Ever heard of “benefit of
doubt”?
5. And, finally, if Star Plus has
hit a bonanza, so what? It’s the job of a channel to serve content to the
public, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. If this time it has worked – and just happens
to be related to spreading social awareness amongst the public – surely that’s
not a bad thing? I can think of programmes with far more damaging content that
have been hugely successful commercially.
And if corporates support
a social message initiative, hoping to garner public goodwill, so what? Surely
there are worse ways for them to spend their money?
All in all, I’m in the
pro-SMJ camp at the moment. And those who know me, know that I am myself very
cynical of a lot of things happening in India right now. But I’m not going to
let my cynicism get the better of me on this one. Not for now at least.
So brushing aside
cynics, I can only think that the only other constituency that would be against
this SMJ initiative would be those with vested interests. Otherwise I can’t see
people opposing this as such.
Anyway, let’s just
hope there are concrete results to show on the ground for the activist steps at
the end of the first episode. That will give a huge amount of credibility to the programme. I hope there will be mention of follow-up results of previous episodes, in future episodes.
One more thing. This programme needs to be localised, it needs to be done in regional languages because of the reach of regional TV. A lot of the Indian population watches only regional TV.
Looking forward to the
next one. Yes, maybe finally, there IS a reason to switch on that TV.
P.S: Here's the video of the programme - episode 1 - for those who have not seen it yet, or would like to see it again.
In business, one of the long-established
rules-of-thumb to retain your performing employees is to ensure that
non-performers are recognized and dealt with as such.
When a non-performer is carried in
an organization - worse, when he or she
is pampered or promoted – the extent of demotivation for the performing
employee is often no less than if he or she had been delivered a resounding
slap. It makes a mockery of the performance standards of the organization.
It is, or at least should be, no
different for citizens of a country. The ability of different citizens to
deliver depends no doubt on each one’s capability. But at the very least, a
citizen is expected to abide by the laws of the land and not to break them.
In India, very sadly, this is
where the law-abiding citizen gets a resounding slap. The person who pays taxes
is made to feel stupid by the one who dodges them. The person who commits a
crime gets away comfortably while the victim is left to deal not only with the
scars from the crime but also with the knowledge that the criminal is very much
at large, probably laughing at the victim and the “system”.
THIS to me is THE biggest
governance deficit in India.
When the citizens of the country
cannot depend on their law-enforcers, whether it be the police or the justice
system, for something as basic as protection of their rights – whether to life
or to property or to their dignity – what can they depend on then?
When the laws of the land exist
only on paper, are they worth anything more than toilet paper?
When it is the law of the jungle
that is in practice, albeit packaged in an impressive structure of a “legal
framework” and a “judiciary” in a “democracy”, is is not the biggest fraud on
the citizens of the country?
In my humble opinion, the answers
to the above questions are “nothing”, “no” and “yes”, in that order.
Everyday we hear about crimes
committed in the country. The papers are full of them, the TV is constantly
blaring another “Breaking News” item about them.
What actually happens then? Is
there any follow-up? Is anybody taken into custody at all? Are the perpetrators
made to pay for their crime? If so, to what extent?
Talking about extent, brings me to
another point. Now I’m not a lawyer but I think one of the common points often
raised in a case is that the punishment should fit the crime. This is
especially used by the defence counsel to try to get the accused off as lightly
as possible, even if he or she has been found guilty. Sort of damage mitigation,
if you will.
In India, this works wonders for
the defence because it is in Indian nature – and this has been translated into law
– that except for the most heinous of crimes, a lot of punishment is actually much
like a rap on the knuckles. So the criminals continue to roam
the streets at large, sharing public space with the law-abiding citizen. And
then we wonder why the number of crimes is increasing every day and why the police force is stretched!
Even this rap on the knuckles is of course based on a big
assumption that the criminal, now the accused, is actually found guilty.
And this is based on a bigger
assumption that legal proceedings will happen at all, instead of the case
papers gathering dust in some chamber.
And this is based on an even
bigger assumption that the criminal will be brought into the justice system at all. Most of
these law-breakers just have a laugh as they are comfortable in the knowledge
that their power and influence will ensure nobody dares touch them.
So THIS is the country the
law-abiding citizen has to live in. Day in and day out he has to live in the
hope that his path does not cross that of one of these criminals. Because he
knows he cannot depend on the system to help him. He knows the David-Goliath story is only biblical, it does not happen in real life. At least not in India.
Over the last two decades, India
has made giant strides in its economic development. Today it occupies a seat
next to the biggest powers in the world at the G20 and other such global meets.
More and more Indian corporates are now global players. Some of the richest men
on earth now are from India.
Yes, that is one side of the India
success story. And it cannot be denied that this success has put more money
into the hands of Indians of all strata of society.
But has this translated into more
safety for the ordinary citizen? I am not sure. If anything, the “aspirational”
Indian seems to very easily slip into becoming an “ugly” Indian, for whom the
ends need to be achieved any which way. When we are talking hundreds of
millions of “aspirational” Indians, there is easily a critical mass for concern
here.
The administration is sadly not
geared to cope with this. Like in other areas of infrastructure deficit, the
police force is inadequate – in every sense. From its numbers, to technology
solutions, to training, to even intent. As has been discussed above, the confidence
that the common man can have on the legal and judicial infrastructure to
provide him justice when taking on criminals is a four-letter word, starting
with “z” and ending with “o”.
Safety of the citizen is a basic,
fundamental right in any country. Maybe we should take the safety of our people just a little
bit more seriously and remind the government of the day, every single day,
about its deficit in this area. After all we do talk about “fiscal deficit” very
often, we talk about “economic growth” every single day. Then why not “safety” –
especially when rapes are happening every single day, not to mention murders?
Don’t get me wrong. Economic
growth is important too – this is not a zero-sum game. We need economic growth
AND we need safety of our citizens AND we need solutions to other
infrastructure deficits.
It is just that we seem to talk so
much about economic growth, about the state of our roads, about our education
system – all this suggesting an underlying premise that we lead a day-to-day
safe life, doing whatever we do on a daily basis.
Well, maybe some of us do. But
many of us – and this is a number that probably goes into hundreds of millions
- don’t.
This is for, and on behalf of,
those who don’t. PLEASE do something for them. PLEASE sensitise and modernise the police force, PLEASE make sure criminals are not allowed to walk the same streets as the law-abiding citizen, going about his daily life.
Surely this isn't too much to ask for? It says a lot about the situation we are in, that we are now being made to implore our administration for what should be our basic, fundamental right.
Also, increasingly the only thing that seems to make people act nowadays is media attention to an issue - so my request is also very much to the media to be an active pressure group to improve law and order in the country. Yes, there are soap operas playing out everyday in the political landscape of the country but I would expect the media, as the fourth estate, to rise above these political saas-bahu equivalents and use their power and influence to bring about social change too.
So please let's re-jig our priorities a bit. Yes, it's great to talk about the growth in GDP. But the people of this country need to first live in safety
before they can enjoy education, roads and all those other beautiful things
that economic growth brings with it.
Somebody help me. I’ve just
realised (I know, very late!) that I’m never going to see Rahul Dravid on a
cricket field again, playing for India. All these glowing tributes that I’ve
been reading the last couple of days have been trying to tell me just that –
but I’ve been in denial. Till this moment.
Don’t give me all that “it had to
happen sometime” logic. If it’s supposed to ease the pain, it’s doing a pretty
lousy job of it. I KNOW it had to happen sometime. But why couldn’t it happen
when Dravid is in his, say, 90s? It’s not like that is unfamiliar territory for
him.
And don’t give me this “the old
order changeth” Tennyson stuff. When he (Dravid, I mean, not Tennyson) was the only guy in the team getting those
runs in England last year, did he look old? And now suddenly he’s old?
And yes, I’m being selfish. Dravid
may be a very unselfish guy, but I’m sorry, I’m not. Well, in many things I am,
but in this matter, I put my foot down. I really don’t care if there’s a
youngster waiting out there. He can replace any other player, not Rahul Dravid.
Didn’t Sachin himself say that Dravid is irreplaceable? So there!
Tell me, what would you rather see
in a Test match? Dravid walking out there to bat at No.3 for India? Or a
? (And don’t be
sly and fill your own name!).
This is not about other players, I
wish them all the very best in their careers. This is about Dravid, and Dravid
alone. Surely he can’t betray all of us like this, can he? Case of “dil ke
tukde tukde kar ke, muskuraate chal diye”. My question then to you, Rahul, is “jaate
jaate ye to bataa ja, hum jiyenge kiske liye”?
Can’t we do something about this? We
can’t even bribe the guy to stay because I’m sure he won’t accept bribes. Can’t
we land up at Jantar Mantar or Azad Maidan and kick off a “Dravid, thou shalt
not retire” protest? Surely he cares enough about his fans to reconsider his
decision? Or maybe, knowing him, we should change the text to “Dravid, the
Indian team needs you”. After all, he’s always done ANYTHING for the Indian
team.
If he’s worried about not spending
enough time with his boys or wife, all that can be arranged. We will make sure
the BCCI revises its Test match calendar to suit whatever Rahul wants. He gets
to pick the dates – you think that will make him change his mind?
He wants another tour of Australia
to make amends for the last one? We can arrange that too. The BCCI will just
have to figure out how. If they can arrange an ad hoc T20 in South Africa out
of the blue, they can arrange another Test series Down Under. We’ll make them
do that!
Or, maybe, just maybe, I’m having
a bad dream here.
I’m going to open my eyes now,
veeerrry sloooowly – and it’s all going to be perfectly fine. It was just a
really baaaad dream!!!
Ok, Rahul, I’ve moved on from
denial to acceptance.
It doesn’t mean I’m happy, but I’m
accepting the situation.
It doesn’t mean I’m not going to switch
off the TV when the first Indian wicket falls, but I’m accepting the situation.
It doesn’t mean I’m completely
rejecting that Jantar Mantar protest idea but I’m accepting the situation.
I survived Vishwanath-1983. I survived
Gavaskar-1987. I was much younger then, I was made of sterner stuff, the heart
wasn’t that mellow, Test cricket still had flag-bearers – I tell you it’s going
to be a lot more difficult this time round.
But I cannot be thinking only
about myself. What sort of Dravid fan would I be if even a little bit of your
unselfishness has not rubbed off on me? You’ve given me so much for so long –
and still I crave for more? That may be human nature but it’s not Rahul Dravid’s
nature.
So, I will just say - thank you
for everything, Rahul. You brought many moments of happiness to millions of us,
you brought hope to us in many situations of despair. One can learn a lot from
you – about professionalism, hard work, humility, team spirit. You are a
role-model for many – and deservedly so.
Wish you a lot of success in your
future, Rahul! You deserve nothing but the very best in your life!
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.
