Bollywood Retrospect: The best of lyricist Hasrat Jaipuri

Starting with Barsaat (1949), Raj Kapoor’s team consisting of music directors Shankar–Jaikishan and lyricists Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri churned out popular scores film after film for over two decades. Unlike Laxmikant–Pyarelal, who had a clear demarcation of responsibilities, both Shankar and Jaikishan composed tunes. A widely accepted thumb rule to identify the composer of a Shankar–Jaikishan song is based on the song’s lyricist – Shailendra wrote lyrics for Shankar’s tunes and Hasrat Jaipuri penned Jaikishan’s compositions. The outlier in this tremendously successful team, Hasrat Jaipuri isn’t celebrated to the extent that Shankar–Jaikishan and Shailendra are.

After Jaikishan passed away in 1971, Raj Kapoor's partnership with this talented quartet disintegrated. This was a huge setback for Hasrat Jaipuri and he was never able to regain his foothold in the film industry. I would argue that the decline in his career post 1971 did not really impact his legacy. Between 1949 and 1971, he had already built a body of work that is worth celebrating. In this post, I pick a few gems from this period of Hasrat Jaipuri’s career.

Jiya Beqarar Hai Chhayi Bahaar Hai (Barsaat, 1949)

Barsaat was the beginning of a beautiful friendship. After the success of the film and its music, the team of Raj Kapoor, Shankar – Jaikishan, Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri would go on to recreate magic for films like Awara (1951), Aah (1953), Boot Polish (1953), Shree 420 (1955), Chori Chori (1956), Anari (1959), Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai (1960) and many more. In fact, Shankar – Jaikishan, Shailendra and Hasrat Jaipuri became a team even without Raj Kapoor, with movies like Daag (1952), Patita (1953), Seema (1955), Basant Bahar (1956), Ujala (1959) and Junglee (1961). Of the seven Hasrat Jaipuri songs in Barsaat, 'Jiya Beqarar Hai' was the most popular. Hasrat’s unpretentious lyrics for the song would become his hallmark. In the long term though, it was this simplicity that took the sheen off his status as a premier lyricist. 

Mohabbat Aisi Dhadkan Hai (Anarkali, 1953)

Anarkali was arguably C. Ramchandra’s best film score. The film’s music was so awe-inspiring that even a music director of Naushad’s stature was worried about how his music for the similarly themed Mughal-E-Azam (1960) would fare in comparison with Anarkali. Rajendra Krishan’s 'Yeh Zindagi Usi Ki Hai' was undoubtedly the winner from Anarkali but Hasrat Jaipuri’s 'Mohabbat Aisi Dhadkan Hai' has also stood the test of time and proven to be an evergreen classic.

Yaad Kiya Dil Ne Kahan Ho Tum (Patita, 1953)

Shankar - Jaikishan’s mellow tune, Hemant Kumar’s singing and the screen presence of a cigarette-smoking Dev Anand lend a very laidback vibe to 'Yaad Kiya Dil Ne Kahan Ho Tum'. The song doesn’t necessarily represent Hasrat Jaipuri’s best in my opinion, but the lyrics go well with the song.

Nain So Nain Naahi Milao (Jhanak Jhanak Payal Baje, 1955)

Vasant Desai’s “Nain So Nain” is another excellent Hemant-Lata duet. This mellow, semi-classical beauty has some lovely aalaaps by Lata and Hemant da that along with a chorus are presented beautifully as vocal harmonies, a concept alien to traditional Indian music. Hasrat Jaipuri excels with some lovely, dialect-infused lyrics. How often do we hear a word like “guiyan” in film songs?

Rasik Balma (Chori Chori, 1956)

Songs of heartbreak seem to bring out the best from lyricists and so it is with Hasrat Jaipuri’s lyrics for 'Rasik Balma'. Despite some uncomfortably high-pitched notes, Lata pulls a stunner in this song. When Shankar – Jaikishan won the Filmfare Award for Best Music Director for Chori Chori, they requested Lata to perform 'Rasik Balam' at the award function. Piqued that Filmfare had no award category for singers, Lata refused to perform the song and boycotted the award function. In what became a recurring occurrence in the industry, Lata Mageshkar had her way when Filmfare introduced the Best Playback Singer category for the first time in 1958. Unsurprisingly, Lata was the first winner in this category for 'Aaja Re Pardesi' (Madhumati).

Ehsaan Tera Hoga Mujh Par (Junglee, 1961)

An important part of Shammi Kapoor’s rise as a superstar was Mohammed Rafi’s voice. The two artists were inseparable onscreen as Rafi skillfully imbued Shammi Kapoor’s onscreen persona into his singing. Some of Rafi’s best songs for Shammi Kapoor were composed by Shankar – Jaikishan and penned by Hasrat Jaipuri in films like Junglee (1961), Professor (1962), An Evening In Paris (1967), Brahmachari (1968), Prince (1969), Tumse Achha Kaun Hai (1969) and Andaz (1971), to name a few. Of all the songs that were produced by this team, the one that stands out for me is 'Ehsaan Tera Hoga Muhj Par', a song seething with romantic tension and one in which we get to see Shammi Kapoor’s mellow side for a change.

Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne (Geet Gaya Pattharon Ne, 1964)

Shehnai maestro turned Hindi film composer Ramlal pulled off a coup of sorts by getting classical singer Kishori Amonkar to sing the title song of Geet Gaaya Pathharon Ne. Other than singing for her own compositions for Govind Nihalani’s Drishti (1991), 'Geeta Gaaya..' was the only Hindi film song sung by Kishori Amonkar. Although there was another duet version of the song with Asha Bhosle and Mahendra Kapoor, Kishori Amonkar’s version captured filmgoers’ imagination and was a big hit.

O Mere Pyar Aaja (Bhoot Bungla, 1965)

Bhoot Bungla was RD Burman’s second film and despite a superb overall score filmgoers only had ears for Pancham’s adaptation of Chubby Checker’s 'Come On Let’s Twist Again' - 'Aao Twist Karen'. He would have to have to wait for another year for his first hit, “Teesri Manzil”. Strangely, this was the only time Hasrat Jaipuri wrote for RD Burman. Listening to 'O Mere Pyar Aaja', as melodious a Lata-Pancham song as any, one wonders why.

Bhanwre Ki Gunjan Hai Mera Dil (Kal Aaj Aur Kal, 1971)

Shankar – Jaikishan took a while to warm up to Kishore Kumar as a singer. In the 1950s, the only time they used Kishore Kumar’s voice was when they were composing for a film where he played the lead role. That changed in the late 1960s as Kishore’s popularity as a singer increased. Shankar – Jaikishan’s songs with Mukesh, Rafi and Manna Dey overshadow their work with Kishore, but they did have some lovely songs with him as well. One of my favourites is the waltzy 'Bhanwre Ki Gunjan' (Kal Aaj Aur Kal, 1971). Hasrat’s simple lyrics and the happy melody make this a very hummable song.

Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana (Andaz, 1971)

Andaz was Jaikishan’s last film. He succumbed to liver cirrhosis after the film’s release leaving Shankar to carry on the Shankar – Jaikishan flag. Andaz and it’s music were extremely successful and a big part of their success was Rajesh Khanna’s electrifying, if brief, role in the film, boosted by the exhilarating 'Zindagi Ek Safar Hai Suhana'. Hasrat’s happy-go-lucky lyrics, embellished by Kishore’s yodeling and Hema Malini’s giggles, were very popular with the youth of the day and won him his second Filmfare Award for Best Lyricist. Jaikishan’s demise took its toll on both Shankar’s and Hasrat Jaipuri’s careers. Hindi film music would never be the same again.

Bonus: C. Ramchandra performing “Mohabbat Aisi Dhadkan Hai” on BBC.

This superb rendition by C. Ramchandra gives Lata’s original a run for its money.